Awkward #7 Darwin

It is my belief that Darwin's evolution theory is an end times deception.  To offer an alternative for origins is to strike at the heart of Genesis.  'In the Beginning God...' has to be somehow debunked by the Enemy, Satan who doesn't care if his evil is also taken out of history. Satan has a place prepared for him, the Lake of Fire but a person can end up there if they fail to recognise God sent Messiah to become the sins of the world.  A person who is given Grace to recognise Messiah will see 'the other side of the coin' which is they themselves are guilty of sin and need to be Born Again from above. If a person has been taught that evolution is true then God can be sidestepped and people will default to their sinful nature.

Darwin's work has been built upon since he died but the problems he found are still there.  Here are some interesting excerpts from Darwin:

 ·         See sentences in BOLD below. Portions of Chapter 6 in Darwin's Origin of Species are included before and after the sentences in BOLD below, showing that these are clearly not out of context:

LONG before the reader has arrived at this part of my work, a crowd of difficulties will have occurred to him. Some of them are so serious that to this day I can hardly reflect on them without being in some degree staggered; but, to the best of my judgment, the greater number are only apparent, and those that are real are not, I think, fatal to theory.

These difficulties and objections may be classed under the following heads:—First, why, if species have descended from other species by fine gradations, do we not everywhere see innumerable transitional forms? Why is not all nature in confusion, instead of the species being, as we see them, well defined?

Secondly, is it possible that an animal having, for instance, the structure and habits of a bat, could have been formed by the modification of some other animal with widely different habits and structure? Can we believe that natural selection could produce, on the one hand, an organ of trifling importance, such as the tail of a giraffe, which serves as a fly-flapper, and, on the other hand, an organ so wonderful as the eye?

Thirdly, can instincts be acquired and modified through natural selection? What shall we say to the instinct which leads the bee to make cells, and which has practically anticipated the discoveries of profound mathematicians?

Fourthly, how can we account for species, when crossed, being sterile and producing sterile offspring, whereas, when varieties are crossed, their fertility is unimpaired?

Charles Darwin,
Origin of Species, Ch. 6, p133

So there we have it, Darwin saw the flaws in his own theory and a hundred and forty odd years later we still have no answers to his problems.  He does say that he doesn't find the problems fatal to his Theory.  Oh right then!  Thats like saying the moon is made of green cheese except it isn;t green and it isn't cheese.  But that's not 'fatal to the Theory!'  Perhaps his letter to his friend is 'fatal to his Theory'.  Its got more text around the quote in bold to give it context:

My dear Lyell,

You seemed to have worked admirably on the species question; there could not have been a better plan than reading up on the opposite side. I rejoice profoundly that you intend admitting the doctrine of modification in your new edition;† nothing, I am convinced, could be more important for its success. I honour you most sincerely. To have maintained in the position of a master, one side of a question for thirty years, and then deliberately give it up, is a fact to which I much doubt whether the records of science offer a parallel. For myself, also, I rejoice profoundly; for, thinking of so many cases of men pursuing an illusion for years, often and often a cold shudder has run through me, and I have asked myself whether I may not have devoted my life to a phantasy. Now I look at it as morally impossible that investigators of truth, like you and Hooker, can be wholly wrong, and therefore I rest in peace. Thank you for criticisms, which, if there be a second edition, I will attend to. I have been thinking that if I am much execrated as an atheist, etc., whether the admission of the doctrine of natural selection could injure your works; but I hope and think not, for as far as I can remember, the virulence of bigotry is expended on the first offender, and those who adopt his views are only pitied as deluded, by the wise and cheerful bigots.

Charles Darwin,
Life and Letters, 1887, Vol. 2, p. 229

Also:

Organs of extreme Perfection and Complication.

To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree. When it was first said that the sun stood still and the world turned round, the common sense of mankind declared the doctrine false; but the old saying of Vox populi, vox Dei, as every philosopher knows, cannot be trusted in science. Reason tells me, that if numerous gradations from a simple and imperfect eye to one complex and perfect can be shown to exist, each grade being useful to its possessor, as is certainly the case; if further, the eye ever varies and the variations be inherited, as is likewise certainly the case; and if such variations should be useful to any animal under changing conditions of life, then the difficulty of believing that a perfect and complex eye could be formed by natural selection, though insuperable by our imagination, should not be considered as subversive of the theory. How a nerve comes to be sensitive to light, hardly concerns us more than how life itself originated; but I may remark that, as some of the lowest organisms, in which nerves cannot be detected, are capable of perceiving light, it does not seem impossible that certain sensitive elements in their sarcode should become aggregated and developed into nerves, endowed with this special sensibility.

Charles Darwin,
Origin of Species, Ch. 6, p144

I underlined the part where Darwin tells us the important part of his writing that disproves it isn't really important at all.  He does start the book with honesty then tip toes through this absurdity:

Portions of Chapter 1 and 2 in Darwin's Origin of Species are included before and after the sentences in BOLD below, showing that these are clearly not out of context:

This Abstract, which I now publish, must necessarily be imperfect. I cannot here give references and authorities for my several statements; and I must trust to the reader reposing some confidence in my accuracy. No doubt errors will have crept in, though I hope I have always been cautious in trusting to good authorities alone. I can here give only the general conclusions at which I have arrived, with a few facts in illustration, but which, I hope, in most cases will suffice. 

In other words Charles.... 'just believe it.'  And herein lies the problem.  People don't so much understand evolution as want to have justification for walking away from and idea we have accountability to God.   140 something years later and the 'proofs' for evolution are so ridiculous, weird and whacky that it's amazing people don't fall down laughing at them.  But they don't.  The agenda is twofold:

1.  Do ANYTHING to avoid accountability for sin

2.  Never appear to be unintelligent

Many Christians are comfortable with a 16 Billion year age of the earth.  God 'evolved' the universe over time.  These same people pray for healing for their brothers and sisters and expect the instant response Jesus got in the gospels.  Genesis is literal. 

Gary Ward

...and the elements will melt...

This passage in 2 Peter 3 gives the impression that when the Lord returns the New Heavens and New Earth replace the old order of things.  This is a contradiction of every other passage that tells us when the new Heavens and New Earth replace this one.  Revelation chapters 19 and following show us that there is a Millennial rule of Christ on this earth. This is when he sits on David's Throne in Jerusalem, something that has not occurred yet.   Just to be clear, Jesus is seated on His Fathers Throne right now, and will return to earth to rule the entire earth.  The New Heaven and New Earth occur after the Millennial reign which ends with the Great White Throne Judgement of everyone who rejected Messiah up to that point.  So what is Peter saying?

In verse 7 Peter tells us that he is clear that the destruction is when the Judgement of the ungodly is. But the 'Day of The Lord' is 1000 years before this Judgement.  Peter tells us this in verse 8 saying that the 'Day of the Lord is like 1000 years and a thousand years like a day.'  To Peter the 'Day of the Lord' lasts 1000 years, not a particular day when he is due to arrive.  In much the same way the entire church age is called 'the last days.'  There's been over 725,000 of those last days!  This is obviously a way to label an era.

So verse 10 tells us the Day (era of 1000 years) of the Lord will come like a thief.  The context here is the scoffers who question the coming (v3).  He will come like a thief to them but the faithful believers will be aware of the time.  How do we know that?  1 Thessalonians 5 is clear.  It is those in darkness to whom it comes like a thief not the ones who are watching for His return.  To be clear, I am not suggesting believers will know the exact time... but will be aware of the general timing because of the prophetic clock that is Israel.  As a side note incidentally, time is almost up!

So am I saying that when the Lord comes back everything will be as it is now?  Not at all.  For a start His return is preceded by the 70th week of Daniel from chapter 9 where the last three and a half years are the Great Tribulation.  This is time that is unique as God's wrath is poured out on the world.  It is my understanding that believers will be raptured prior to this and one model I am happy with is that the church is snatched away prior to the seven years. The Tribulation will change the earth but nothing as drastic as the return of the Lord with his Holy ones... glorified believers!  Romans 8 is clear that the sin curse is lifted and what triggers this is the return of Jesus Christ, Glorified to sit on his glorious Throne.  Many passages in the Old Testament describe the changes such as israel being restored to the garden of Eden.  Jerusalem is raised up and becomes a port.  Jesus rules the earth from David's throne with His Bride, the faithful believers.

Peter exhorts us to walk well with the Lord seeing as this is the destiny of the Heavens and the earth. This is a terrifying prospect to read in english... a time when literally, "swhoosh" the entire universe is gone. It is even more unsettling to render the greek for 'the elements will melt.'  A more accurate reading of this phrase can be:

'The organised building blocks that comprise the Creation will be loosed'

By the Grace of God I am a believer in Messiah but I want to offer a chilling reason why Peter may have phrased verse 10 in a way that seems to say the Day of the Lord is the day of the destruction.  For those who scoff can only do so before His return.  So for the scoffer, they reject Christ and have nothing to do with the Millennium.  So from the perspective of the scoffer / unbeliever the day comes like a thief, they are rendered as 'goats' and destroyed if they survive the Tribulation.  They are then raised up on Judgement Day to be thrown into the Lake of Fire and the Heavens and Earth are destroyed.  In context Peter is looking from perspective of the pre-return unbeliever where the Millennial Rule will not be something they take part in.  So for them it is literally the actual day of the Lord... they are killed as 'goats' in that judgement then the next thing the know about is the great white Throne Judgement of all those who rejected Messiah in history.  



Gary Ward

2 Tim 3 Having a form of godliness...

Paul's list to Timothy describes with some accuracy the general western attitudes we see around us. I see Paul describing people generally in the last times before Christ returns.  We can certainly look around us and see all these things and if we are going to be really honest, in us also.  When people like this get saved the idea is that the Lord can do two things.  

Firstly having been truly Justified by the finished work on the cross, a person can then enter the purpose of their salvation:  to be set apart from this world for the Lord.  Secondly, the Lord wants to work through such a person but is unable to do so if they are not engaging the process of being set apart ... sanctification.  This is dependent on engaging the risen, glorified Lord and allowing him access to our core beings.  In short we call this yielding / submission / abandonment.  Those willing get help to do this from the Holy Spirit - this is the purpose of our trials and sufferings and it is all by grace.  This is true of individuals and individuals make a church.  

If a church is not facilitating this as a body, we have the problem of 'a form of godliness but denying its power.'  So people will be able to look like a functioning Christian - attend church, articulate a vision statement, enjoy worship, give to the church and serve - but not engage with the Lord in becoming set apart.  So they have a form of godliness... but... the power that is supposed to occur (sanctification) is hindered.  The logical conclusion is that people are not transformed by the Lord's sanctifying power and this is a huge problem.  We then get people in the church that line up with Paul's list in 2 Tim 3.

The whole point of church is to be 'other than' in the world.  Paul tells us in Romans 11:11 that the church should be making Israel jealous!  The nature of the Gentile believers should be so Godly that Israel take notice.  As it stands the church is a heartbreaking mess, an object of scorn to Jews.   It's actually really easy to point out how the church is missing it.  What is not so easy to dissect is why Men hear about measurable, observable and mend-able shortfalls yet do not act to calibrate themselves and their fellow believers towards the Lord and His word.   

A church of 'form.'

I will try to articulate one of the problems we have that Paul helps us with in 2 Tim 3.  We are all about 'form' but not about 'power.'  Here is an example of what this present church age does:

Don't lose the point of this because of 'Manchester United,' put your own team in there.  

Manchester United is a soccer team in the UK.  They have enjoyed being among the biggest teams in the world because of one factor.  That factor is Alex Ferguson the ex-Manager.  Each home game the seats are full.  They make millions through worldwide shirt sales and are a global brand.  Imagine I look at Manchester United and desire to replicate all their component parts in order to see success.  I would somehow get a 76,000 seat ground, buy world class players, gain the biggest sponsorship deals and play excellent football.  However, it can never be authentic because Alex Ferguson isn't the manager.  People would come to see the product, to enjoy the game.  It can look all as genuine as the real Manchester United but it has not got the vital component.

For many years this is what some men have done with their church planting.  Having seen a great, unmistakable move of God, they observe and study the component parts and go off the replicate it. They get the hall, the great musicians, the gifted and talented presenters, all that comprises the thing that had 'God' written all over it.  Some do a stint of being a junior minister so they can satisfy the Paul-Timothy model.  Its form is flawless.  But it can never be authentic without the power.  I was at a church where its very being was 'form' and not 'power.'  The Pastor had been an observer of the Youth Alive scene in the late 80's.  It was clear something was happening at that time and he came to England to plant a church.  As a gifted speaker, a clarity of thinking and genuinely likable personality, the church grew.  Much of the growth was transfer growth and at the time what was coming from his efforts contrasted the tired Pentecostal scene in the UK.   It caught my eye as in the early 90's I had been fed the erroneous message that the church, and my life was about 'saving the lost.' So obviously I would get involved with the contemporary, intelligent and motivated church.  I served this sort of thing for too many years and while I learned everything about ministry and leadership I saw little inner transformation.  The church was the be all and end all of my purpose.   It offered all my ego requested in attention, adoration and applause.  

I have absolutely no doubt at all that this man and what he was doing was being used by God.  God is like that!  He will exploit any opportunity to accomplish His will and purposes.  That is not to say that God is signing off on these works... He just works within the dynamic.  What this church was doing was trying to provide a context for the Lord to work in and through.  The problem is that church is something that must be birthed entirely from the Lord.  People under the 'form' type of church do one of two things.  They either serve the form of godliness and assume it is of itself the will of God or they embark upon living for Jesus, not this version of his will.  Those who live for Jesus inevitably come to a point where they see the form for what it is (2 Tim 3:9)

The church of 'power.'

For a body of believers to manifest Jesus in its being and its doing there needs to be Apostolic roots. That means someone has to allow the Lord to remove all the 'form.'  That means the Lord reveals the extent of the systems and structures we employ for something to look like it is authentic.  Once stripped down to nothing, the Lord can then get at the Man to be able to purge all that which would hinder the Lord's work through the Man.  This process is the Lord working His power in a person, the power that is denied when the form of church is passed off as authentic.  

When a Man is under that power, the power of the risen, glorified Lord, Jesus can tell him anything and he will do it.  If a Man is subject to worldly forces like self expectation, the need to be seen to be spiritual or similar motives, the voice of the Lord will contradict that which has been assumed to be a leading of the Holy Spirit.  The Lord can work with Men who give themselves to Jesus to be dismantled.  The Lord wants to work through people and show His glory in this dark world.  How taken up with a 'form' of godliness are you?  Is Jesus transforming power at work in your life today?

Gary Ward   

"Everyone will be salted with fire." Mk9:49

The context of Jesus' words in this passage hangs on verse 41.

"Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward." (emphasis mine)

We must never lose sight of the fact that Jesus was talking to Israel first and foremost.  Although the words Jesus speaks to Israel are also spoken to the coming church age, we must first ask what Jesus was saying to the crowd before Him.  Jesus was constantly urging Israel to accept Messiah and verses 42-48 contain hard words for them.  Take note that Israel's stumbling is rejecting Messiah. Gentile believers get the holy sweats when they read this because it suggests that stumbling means when we sin as believers.  Relax, this is not what this is talking about.  Let's explore what is going on here.  

Verse 42 
Unlike Gentile believers, it was possible for Jews to return to Temple sacrifice and define their repentance this way.  We find Hebrews 6 is speaking into this situation.  Believers had gone back to sacrificing animals in the temple to define their repentance.  Having done this they cannot enter true repentance that can only be gained through the risen, glorified Lord, King of the Universe.  So speaking to the gathered crowds which included officials and Teachers, Jesus says they had better not lead those who believe in Messiah back to The Old Covenant practices.  Going back to the Old Covenant goes backwards into a system that spoke of what was to come (Messiah) and would no longer exist as the way to access God's Grace and Mercy.  'Stumbling' was going back to or remaining in the Old Covenant.  This only applies to Jews then and now.

Verses 43-48
Satisfied that 'stumbling' means rejecting Messiah or returning to old practices and definitions, Jesus then goes on to warn Israel that they are better losing body parts than stumbling over who Messiah is. In effect:  What part of your physiology is holding you back from accepting Messiah? Hands, feet and eyes are mentioned by Jesus as these are all involved in how we walk out our practices.  Jesus urges them to assess their ways because the consequence of stumbling (rejecting Messiah) is to be thrown into the lake of fire.  Accepting Messiah would mean loss to them.  They would be outsiders in the environment and at odds with Rome who demanded Caesar worship.  But it is better to suffer loss than to end up in hell.  

Verse 49
Scholars have debated this passage and the usual two answers are that it means the fire of Judgement or it means the fire of sanctification.  I think it means both.  Jesus says everyone will be salted with fire.   Salt in the Old Covenant was a ratification for a sacrifice.  Salt was sprinkled on sacrifices and this gave formal sanction to the sacrifice.  So when someone rejects Messiah they will be thrown into the fire and that will be the ratification, the formal sanction of their rejection.   Those who accept Messiah will also be subjected to the fires of sanctification.  This is also the formal sanction of salvation - to be set apart to the Lord.  Offering ourselves as a living Sacrifice is the key to walking well with the Lord in the New Covenant (Romans 12:1-2).  

The question all people have is :  Will you come to the Lord now and be subject to the fire of Sanctification or reject him and face the lake of fire? Acceptance and rejection of Messiah are formal contracts which both have promises attached.  

Verse 50
Jesus returns to the problem... believers being led back to old ways.  Having entered into Messiah through faith that salt can be lost.  How?  By going back to Old Covenant practices!   Going back to the Old Covenant is turning back on  the formal sanctioning of the living sacrifice you are as a believer.  It is returning to the sacrificial system that is null and void having served its purpose.  Lets not forget that to those listening the topic of salt was a common understanding.  Jesus ends this discourse asking those listening to 'have salt among themselves.'  This was an encouragement for believers to not go back to the old ways ... to remain salty!  He urged them also to stop the turmoil of 'should we / shouldn't we' and be at peace with their acceptance of Messiah and the consequence of this which was to suffer loss / alienation.   

In conclusion
Jesus speaks into the church age in this passage also.  Obviously the message is that it is worth suffering loss for the sake of Messiah.  There is a risk for all believers to lose reward for not engaging the sanctification process but the promise to all believers is that the Good Shepherd will drag us back to the path.  Gentiles do not have an old system to get caught up in and redefine repentance but there are a whole lot of cults out there to lead a believer into dead ends and throttle the life out of them.  

While I was doing this blog I couldn't stop dwelling on Jesus words, " ...because you belong to the Messiah.."  When we have had our best guess at explaining a passage like the one above don't forget that the Lord more desires that we are about loving the Lord and I am particularly warmed by Jesus words that I belong to Him.  The complexities of Scripture aside... I am Jesus' property.

selah.

Gary Ward

"I know that power has gone out from me..."

Luke 8:43-48

43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[a] but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.  When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” 47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her,“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”  (emphasis mine)

One of the more amazing accounts in the Gospels is the healing of the woman with the issue of blood.  This miracle stand's alone as astounding for a number of reasons.  Firstly we find Jesus looking around to find whoever touched him.  The disciples point out that many people had touched him as the crowds were in and around Jesus' personal space.  With all the needs in the crowd why would her particular touch lead to a release of healing power?

Jesus tells us in the passage that her faith had healed her.  What she had done and perhaps the others didn't was act on her assurance that Jesus was Messiah. So her belief in Jesus was paired with action and the firm hope that just touching the Son of God would heal her.    This resulted in power going from Jesus to heal!  If we look a little deeper however we can see something more in this event.

A woman with an issue of blood would be unclean (Lev 15).  But if she touched someone that would make them unclean also.  So when she touched Jesus she made him unclean!  BUT here is the amazing message that we find here... the unclean can come to Jesus and dare to touch him and they would be made well.  Many would think that this means guaranteed healing and it did.  Does this mean we 'touch' Jesus and are healed, because I have seen this not work at all in many cases?  To answer this we may also be able to account for the confusion of the erroneous Bible Teachers who say healing and prosperity are standard components of salvation.

When Jesus was doing Miracles he was demonstrating to Israel that he was Messiah.  He wanted them to see who he was and many acts spoke of the coming Kingdom, Jesus 1000 year reign on earth that would have been immediate had they have accepted Messiah. In this reign both spiritual and physical healing are guaranteed.  So this healing spoke of both spiritual and physical healing, but there is a complication.  Israel rejected Messiah meaning that the millennial reign of Christ cannot  begin until the Gentile age ends.  So we have spiritual healing but not the physical healing as standard.  So when anyone touches Jesus, that is, goes to him in the belief that he can heal them spiritually, power still goes out from Him.  People get saved by this power that is available to anyone with the faith to believe.  Physical healing is not standard now but is possible to Glorify the Lord as He wills.

What an incredible picture!  The unclean can touch Jesus and they will be spiritually healed.  Obviously this occurs once when we first come to the Lord.  But also remember that we mess up as Christians and we go to the Lord in repentance.  Power to heal us from our sins and free us from our deep rooted fractured lives is available 24/7.  Our imagination that Jesus is disgusted with us or we are the 'special case' that He regrets saving are all wrong.  The woman who was unclean went to touch Jesus and Jesus said,

"... your faith has healed you.  Go in Peace."

This is what he says to you and me when we come to him in faith and repentance.

Gary Ward

THE sign of the end times...

Over history there have been seasons of suffering that has had the Church absolutely sure Jesus return is around the corner.  Hitler was thought to be the antichrist, as was Napoleon.   The church correctly looks at events and recount the words of Jesus predicting what the end will look like in Matthew 24. However many of the churches throughout history have just looked for turbulence and individuals rising to lead many astray. They have watched the rise of  some of the signs and come to the conclusion Jesus is around the corner.  Their error has been largely because they don't take Israel into consideration.  Many churches have a Replacement Theology, meaning the church has replaced Israel and Israel have no further place in God's Kingdom.

How wrong can you be!

Israel are central to God's plans and world events have to line up with events in and around Israel. Ever since I became a Christian 25 years ago Jews were returning home to Israel.  The Jewish homecoming is THE sign of the very end of days.  This is a fulfilment of Hosea 3:4-5, Ezekiel 20:34, Isaiah 11:11-12.  There are more prophecies fulfilled concerning Israel yet the majority of churches see no reason to take Romans 9-11 seriously where Paul assures us Israel will be restored and the last seven years of History is all about that restoration through great Tribulation.  

Before the seven years is the snatching away of the church, a phenomenal event known as the Rapture.  So those who are awake look to Israel to see how close we may be to the Rapture. Why is this important?  Jesus said many will be deceived in the last days and will not be included in the redeemed and will therefore miss the Rapture.  Many who don't follow Jesus in faith and repentance think they will be included because they feel they are a 'good person.'  Many who attend church and recited a 'sinners prayer' will also be left behind.  It is the recognition of being implicated as a wretched sinner before God's Holiness that leads to 'repentance' or a recalibration of how you live your life.  If you haven't been born 'from above,' the criteria for being saved, theres still time.

But not much.  

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister told scattered Jews the government is putting significant amounts of money aside  to prepare for a massive immigration program.  He welcomed all Jews to return, especially those being hunted down by Islamic terrorists.  For most this is just another news item from the 'complex situation' in the Middle East.  To those who have made Jesus Lord it is another nudge to indicate that the Rapture is coming and the devastation that brings Israel to her knees before the Lord.

Then Jesus comes back.

Submit and yield to the Lamb now or face the wrath of the Lion later.

Gary Ward

My rebellion exposed!

When you think about it everyone is in rebellion.  You are either rebelling against the Blessed God or rebelling against the flesh, the devil and the world.  Either way you are a rebel!  Up until summer 1989 I was in rebellion against the God who had created the world I lived in and given me the life to form such opinions and stances.  I remember the processes of exploring the questions I had about this world.  To me there had to be something out there that accounted for the world around me.  I was introduced the the Lord at work and believed that God would send Messiah to rescue me from my sin, the sin that meant Jesus had to take my punishment.  I 'repented' which means I began re-calibrating my life, thinking and practices to the Lord's will.

This began a process of seeing that God Created the world, the world is in rebellion towards God and Satan was pouring petrol on these flames.  I entered missions programs, projects and schemes to win the lost.  What was neglected in this grand effort was how implicated I was in the process.  While I had a new found passion for the diminishing of external darkness, it was little taught that my own darkness was also on God's agenda.  Rebelling against the evil and darkness in this world brought attention and because I was good at talking the talk, I was given a label: EVANGELIST!

Now my identity began to be entwined with that label... I liked fitting in and being applauded for the grace in my life.  Whats wrong with that?  Er... everything is wrong with that!  The label served as a distraction from the number one agenda that the Lord has for everyone.  That agenda is sanctification and that process included showing us in full how wretched, pitiful, screwed up and needy we are of Jesus moment by moment.  To label me was tantamount to taking a shiny sign - "EVANGELIST" and hanging it on my dungeon heart.  The heart is deceitful (Jer 17:9) above all things and it was great to polish the sign now and again!  Having 'arrived' there was no point in examining the real me, my core motives and fleshly ways.  Obviously God was vindicating me... why would I peruse the dungeon that my heart really was (is?).  

Can you see how we throw around titles in church but they can become major distractions to the purposes of God in our lives?  We take the roles and functions given by grace to people and do what the world does.  We brand people, make them believe they are what their role is, then place them in boxes where they can't be anything else.  We are Sons before we are servants.  What we do doesn't make us what we are.  Gifts are given to us for others, not to own and parade around with them as status symbols.

I was saved from the ministry life that had me doing the above.  I am now in outright rebellion towards my flesh, the unseen dark forces that hound me and the evil in this world.  Now it starts with me!  I am in need of being brought to my knees and that is the central key to everything else sitting in its right place.  His Glory, and my comparative shortfall, creates a drive towards Him... not just 'doing Christian things.'   Getting fulfillment from doing things is 'works.'  This is not the 'good works' Jesus speaks of and James exhorts us to.  This is your own works as opposed to Jesus working through you.
First I rebelled against God.  Then, as a believer,  I rebelled against God's plan to excavate my heart. Now I think I'm in the right place... mourning for the fallen nature of this world that starts with myself when I choose to go my own way instead of walk in the light.

Lord expose my heart and conquer every last atom of 'me' that stands in your way.

For your name and for your Glory.

Gary Ward

Ephesus Rev 2:1-7

The first of the churches Jesus writes to in revelation is the Apostolic church in the first century.  We are familiar with Ephesus because there is an epistle to that church in the New Testament.  The positive points for this church are that they did not tolerate the wicked and interestingly they rooted out false Apostles.   This is important to the first churches because it was the launching time for the church throughout the world.

A false Apostle is someone who claim they have been sent (apostolos) but haven't.  The way to find a false Apostle is not in the work produced but in the preparation that they underwent to step out in their sending.  From that will come marks of Apostleship that include a clear mandate for the biblical church, and end times emphasis and a Christ centered focus. But in all that flows from the Apostle it is vital they have been through the journey that Jesus leads them through.  The myth around Apostleship is that it must lead to public / miraculous / thousands in attendance.  This is not so as people can be sent to do work that is hidden, depth based and very normal.  To be clear Apostles can be involved in the 'big' stuff so we must refer to the preparation of the Apostle to be sure.

Ephesus was a church that had endurance and worked hard.  However it was the working hard that took their eyes off the ball.  Their devotional life suffered because they were so busy.  What a message for today where spirituality is measured by how 'used of God' we are.  It is a phenomena of modern day churches that as soon as we love Jesus the church starts telling us he loves us so now we need to get people saved.

 'Ephesus' means 'the darling' or 'desired one.'  The first century church met in homes around food and this was the ideal.  The warning to a church who will not repent of this will be displaced by Jesus.  I have been in many churches that have lots of markers that speak of true connection with Christ but may have had their lampstand removed.  How on earth can someone make that kind of observation?

Well to me it is quite easy!  A church is supposed to be dependent on the risen and glorified Jesus Christ.  Many start off with this intention as genuine 'plugged in people.'  As they try to make a church work, over time the aims become about the church and not the Lord.  The reason this happens is because people try to accomplish a 'streaming' connection with the Lord with methods that were not authenticated by Him.  Instead they get a 'download' in the form of a sermon or activities that speak of being a follower of Christ.  You cannot 'stream' Christ himself unless you are free from distractions.  Ephesus got busy and neglected the Lord.  Peripheral issues to do with Christ eclipsed the devotional love relationship with Him.  

To Jesus this is a deal breaker if it goes on without repentance!

A lampstand removed doeskin mean people are rejected, it just means the Lord's means of shining His light to this world is passed on to others who are willing to remain in the critical place of 'first-love devotion.'  People will still attend this type of church but it will be more about systems, structures, stuff that is about Christ and peripheral activities.

Ephesus did not have the problem of leaders who created ranks within the Body of Christ and this was commendable to Jesus.  The Nicolatian Heresy was, at this point just practices.  The Apostolic church had ability in knowing how leadership worked from God's perspective but got carried away with the work.

The letter ends with a promise to the overcomer that they will eat from the tree of life.  The irony of having access to all they needed in Paradises yet failed to access him on earth is underlined with the reward that is common to all believers.  Let him who has ears....

Gary Ward

Philadelphia #6 In conclusion...

The letter to the church at Philadelphia is one of seven letters Jesus had sent to these specific churches at the time.  In chapter 1 Jesus gives an outline of the entire book:

Rev 1:19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

What you have seen:  the risen glorified Jesus Christ Chapter 1
What is now:  Circa AD90 the start of the church age Chapter 2 and 3
What takes place after:  The end of the church age, the rapture onwards Chapter 4-22

Because of hindsight in church history we can see that the seven churches in chapter 2 and 3 were distinctive of churches in time.  It is in the chronological order of their appearing as main movements on planet earth.  Ephasus, Smyrna and Pergamum seem to have all led to Thyatira, the Medievil church that lasted as the major force on the earth for a thousand years or so.  From there we see Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea as post-Reformation distinctives.    Thyatira and all who come after her will all be on the earth as expressions of 'church' when Jesus returns.  We know this because in the last four some allusion to the second coming is mentioned.  Also the last four letters have differences in the way it is concluded.  And obviously we can see these four churches on earth right now!  Thyatira is the Roman catholic church.  Sardis is the denominational church.  Philadelphia is the 'biblical church' and Laodicea is the mega church / prosperity / seeker sensitive church.

In chapter 4 it begins with 'after these things'... then tells us what must be the rapture of the church.  John has a trumpet-voice tell him to 'come up here!'  Then the 24 elders are around the throne singing the song of the redeemed.  Also the lamp stands (the churches) are now in the throne room of God in chapter 5.  

Rev 3:12

The rewards at the end of all seven letters are general rewards for all who go to heaven.  All apply to all Christians who are saved because they speak of aspects common to all saints regardless of their walk.  In verse 12 we see that those who overcome, God moves them into his house!  The reason it sits in Philadelphia is because they were in literal dangerous structures in their city at the time but prophetically it will speak of the church distinctive that fled the dangerous church structures and dwelt outside of them.  In view of all this the Lord tells Philadelphia that they will be in God's house, under his address!  They will be central to its structure.  This is in direct contradistinction to the way they had to become unknown, off the radar, insignificant, un-heralded, hidden and thought of as non-entities.  They are given roles in the very house of God!

Two thousand or so years ago Jesus wrote letters to warn believers to be of good report when he comes.  There is a judgement for believers where we are all rewarded for 'what we did.'  I have absolutely no doubt that the letters to the churches will be referred to.  Of course my exegesis of Philadelphia could be all wrong.  It may refer to something else and I'm just doing my best guess.  What is not wrong though is the characteristics of this church that got no bad report.   They were available for the Lord to access them and vice verca.  Because of this they were yielded to Jesus, they were obedient to his word and walked well in faith and repentance.  This brought persecution but they stood firm with patient endurance.  Whatever you think of my interpretation, please give serious consideration to becoming 'Philadelphia.'  If you do think I've hit the nail on the head contact me about moving from the systems and structures to Philadelphia.  Its not just about 'doing church differently.'  

Gary Ward

Philadelphia #5 Patient endurance

In this series we are exploring one of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3.  I have highlighted Philadephia in chapter three because it sits between two disasters, Sardis and Laodicea.  Philadelphia has no bad report and we have found two reasons why this church sits well with Jesus.  The first is that they had placed themselves in a position where they had no elements that hindered their access the the Lord and His access to them.  Consequently they were yielded to Jesus, obedient to his word and walked well within that context.  We also explored how this sort of discipleship is persecuted by other Christians.  Jesus is clear about how much He values this sort of commitment and verse 10 and 11 underlines this.

Rev 3:10-11

It is great to have a walk with the Lord that is constantly yielding, obedient and walked well. However it is keeping this on the right track which is the challenge for everyone.   Everyone falters over time but it is not the faltering that is the problem.  It is a disregard for the faltering and remaining in a state of 'couldn't care less' about your walk. If we find ourselves walking in our own strength, disobeying God and enjoying the flesh over the Lord we need to repent.  If however you have chosen a church system where there are people placed above you in rank, that hinders the passage to the Lord and his to you.  Christians need to repent of following their Pastor!  "How can you make a claim like that Gary?"

It isn't me who makes this claim... it is the Lord through Scripture!  In 1 Samuel 8 we see God's people insist on having a King to rule 'like other nations.'  In Deuteronomy 17 we find God predicting that the people would want a King and God sets out his criteria.  In Samuel's day they chose to have a King but cared little for God's instructions in Torah.  God relayed to them what would occur but allowed them to go ahead and have a King over them.  Many miss the chilling consequence of this in 1 Sam 8:18 when God says he will not answer their cries once they have chosen the king and the systems and structures having a King brings.  The principle of having people as 'kings' introduces rank and the ekklesia says nothing of rank or hierarchy.

Meeting without rank, honoring 'family' as the basis for our fellowship and allowing Jesus to lead is hard.  Many times Iv'e wanted to return to historical church structure simply because it feels better!  However I am convicted by the thought that Jesus wants people to continue to meet the way He wants us to until the end.  Jesus says those who endure patiently will be spared from the hour of testing coming upon the earth.  I don't think this is the Day of Jacobs Trouble, the great tribulation because the entire church is snatched away before that.  Somehow these believers will be spared from a time when the earth will be tested... is this the 'sorrows' - the 'birth pains' before the 70th week of Daniel?  I'm not sure at all but I'm sure I don't want to be in those times!

When this church is on the earth Jesus says he's coming soon!  It is my understanding that this end times church is the pursuit of Biblical church where people exit the systems and structures of Sardis and Thyatira and meet within biblical directives of 'This do...' a full meal in homes with numerically small groups and leaders who avoid rank.  Laodicea is the corrupt state of the church that follows its prosperity orientated insistence.  Jesus indicates to us that a person can or people can take the crown off Philadelphia, another clear indication that allowing someone to usurp Jesus leadership of such a group is entirely possible.    

The biggest and most seductive lure for us in our day is to give in to the voice of "you really should be doing something about that problem."  If we kick into works mode to solve problems or reach people we go ahead without the sending of the Lord.  So even people who appeal to us with worthy causes are to be thoroughly examines and scrutinized to see if it is the Lord or a diversion from what the Lord wants.  So its not just graeco-roman leadership ranks that are the problem.  It is also the good causes.  We need to be about only that which God leads us into.

Gary Ward

Philadelphia #4 The Synagogue of Satan?

As we dive into Rev 3:9 we have seen that the Church at Philadelphia purposely placed themselves in a position where the Lord could access them and vice versa.  This being the case, the Lord was able to have them where he wanted them, yielded, obedient and predisposed to walking well in faith and repentance.  Now we explore Jesus' rebuke of those who 'say they are Jews but are not.'

Rev 3:9

Those who belong to the 'synagogue of Satan' also got a mention in Rev 2:9 so clearly these people were not on Jesus' good list. There are several resources to try to explain who these people were but the root of the problem may spring from spring from the Galatian controversy.  In Galatians and Acts 15 we see Paul correcting the error that required Gentile Christians to bear the outward marks of the Jew with circumcision etc.  In Hebrews 6 we find the author speaking into the problem of Christians redefining repentance.  They were returning to animal sacrifice in the temple to cover their sins. Animal sacrifice only ever spoke of the coming Messiah and His atoning sacrifice once and for all.

Hebrews 6 warns those doing this that if they redefine repentance then they cannot actually repent. Also they have not understood the atonement if they need to kill an animal.  Also they are dependant on the Temple, the Temple that Jesus said will be destroyed by the Romans.   If God allows the Temple to be destroyed, how can any aspect of Old Testament practice be relevant?  So we have Jews who want to practice Old Testament practice (without a Temple!) and Gentiles who want to also practice Old Testament practices because they don't understand the significance of Messiah and what led up to Him coming.  So general confusion over the place of the Law has been around since the beginning of Christianity.  With the people Jesus is referring to, we have a problem that may suggest it is not just confusion or erroneous teaching that is occurring.

Jesus tell us that these false Jews 'do lie.' It appears that they know exactly what they are doing in taking on the identity of the Jews.  There is a problematic stance in the church called Replacement Theology.'  This is the erroneous view that the church replaces Israel.  God never covenanted with the Church, the church is grafted into the New Covenant God made with Israel.  So many Gentile Christians say they are now Jews because they have replaced them as God's chosen people.  In doing this it has implications on the Jews. For centuries the Jews have been on the receiving end of hatred and murder because the church has not aided them as God's chosen people.  This passiveness aids Satan to unleash on the Jews.  Jesus tells us that this is a lie on purpose.  'Replacement' churches often have a less than watertight hermeneutic.  They probably haven't got to the end of Romans to have Paul assure us that the Jews have a future as God's chosen people.

Because they think they are replacing the Jews they think they are God's chosen people (but a bit more chosen than you).  So if you are not part of their hive you are an outsider and not really very chosen. Ipso facto... 'God doesn't love you as much as he loves us.'  Jesus tells us that he will have these people fall down at your feet and acknowledge that 'I have loved you.'  This is Jesus saying that when the Millennial Kingdom comes the Christians who thought that they had exclusive rights to chosen-ness  will fall down to worship Jesus ranked lower than Philadelphia.  The 'Philadelphia' Christians who looked insignificant, weak, pathetic and small by the 'Mega-church' standards will receive a greater reward when all believers receive rewards for what they had done.

The Roman Catholics and protestants persecuted those who wanted to meet in homes outside the system.  They murdered entire movements and anyone not being of the same thinking were martyred.  Today we don't see the same intensity of persecution for not being dyed in the same ideology but today social martyrdom is very prevalent.  Nowadays swords would have you imprisoned but not acknowledging you as a part of the church and disregarding your life in Christ is common in the scramble to be significant.    

If it turns out my best guess is wrong, then to aim for 'Philadelphia' is something we can do now. Anyone who wants to be diligent over God's word will find very quickly that the Jews are central to the prophetic clock.   There is no real personal application in Rev 3:9 as it deals with Jesus actions against a specific group.  I'm glad Jesus says he will deal with the Christians who persecute those who want to be simple and unassuming about church.  It means I can be at peace with my detractors.

Gary Ward

Philadelphia #3 'you have little strength'

In examining the church at Philadelphia I am underlining the characteristics of the church that Jesus has no problem with.  Philadelphia used to suffer from tremendous earth tremors meaning the people of the city had to move from the dangerous structures to live in huts in the outskirts.  It is also a wine making area.  When we look at the seven churches we find the characteristics of the place where the church is plays a part in the construction of Jesus' letter to that church.  Here we find the people had to exit the structures to live in small huts. It is my conviction that as a church era, Philadelphia is those who have come out from Thyatira  and Sardis and began to seek the Lord according to scripture not history.

Other evidences for this is the wine making characteristic of Philadelphia.  Jesus spoke of new wine needing new wine skins.  The new wine would be the fellowship and love of the New Covenant believers that could not be stored in the old way... temples, ritual, presiding officials.  The new wine would require new wine skins, a new way to do things.  The Apostles followed Jesus command to 'this do in remembrance of me' and met in homes around food.  This new wineskin is what many are recognising as biblical ekklesia... a return to the way Jesus told us to do church and the apostles followed on.   Also note that the 'wine,'  Jesus' desire for all believers is accomplished through love among His people.   It is not insignificant that 'Philapelphia' can be translated 'Brotherly love' or simply 'the friendly church.'

Rev 3:8

Because Philapelphia was used by the Romans as a centre for Greek culture some say 'Philadelphia' is the missionary church.  I do think that the biblical church can be more missions focussed but there is a problem with calling Philadelphia 'the missionary church.'  In verse 8 Jesus states clearly the implication of verse 7.  He knows our deeds! He has placed a door that no one can shut.  Is this really true of any missions era in the church?  I've seen missions work closed down through funding being pulled, people taking charge and making business decisions in missions instead of being led by the Spirit. I feel it is romantic to say Jesus has caused mission work that no man stopped.  So I reject the idea that Philadelpia is a mission era in church for that reason.  While there have been many courageous exploits carried out by better men than me, 'an open door no-one can shut' is simply not true of missions work.

Verse 8 also stated 'you have little strength.'  The Greek word here is dunamis which is connected to the Lord's power working through people.  This statement is that they have little (of their own) dunamis.  This church received no bad report because they yielded their strength / power / workings to the Lord.  This is exactly what the Lord is trying to get us to see.  It is not our own talent, ability, strength that is the key.  It is our side-stepping to allow the Lord to work through us that sits well with the Lord.  Philadelphia also kept Jesus' word and not denied His name.  This yielded group also did what the word of God said.  But not only that, they walked in out well and represented Jesus well. What's the difference in these terms?

There are people in Sardis and Thyatira (Roman Catholicism and Protestant denominationalism) who are representing Jesus well but not obeying Jesus' word on how to meet together.  There are some who meet as per Jesus command yet walk as if they can behave as they please.  Being yielded to Jesus, doing what He said and walking it out well is commendable according to this letter.  In 3:4 we find Sardis and those who soil their garments.  The garments are the white raiment that are imputed holiness and righteousness from the Lord when we believe, repent and follow.  If white raiment is given to us, how can we muddy these garments?  Our wretched version of holiness and righteousness cannot affect this garment as  it is Jesus' status imputed to us.  We muddy the white garments when we disobey the word of God.  We can be walking well but not in the right context of church.

The problems with the other churches (except Smyrna the persecuted church) is an erosion of these three things that Philadelphia gets right.  From Smyrna we find all the churches departed from following Jesus command for church to 'this do in remembrance of me.'  Philadelphia is a coming back to Jesus word, yielding to him and walking it our in faith and repentance.  Up until verse 8 we have observed two things about Philadelphia.  Firstly they distanced themselves from anything that could hinder their engaging and anchoring into Jesus.  Secondly, when they engaged the Lord (or by the Lord), they anchored into Him and were able to render all to Him.  Philadelphia was a church that allowed Jesus to work in and through them.

Do you want to be in a position where the Lord can work in and through you unhindered?  Message me for detail of how the church hinders Jesus work to let His Kingdom come and His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Gary Ward

Philadelphia #2 The Keys of David

In revelation Chapters 2 and 3 we find Jesus commending and correcting churches.  The elephant in the room about this is we as followers of Jesus need to be diligent around what 'church' is and what we do.  The answer I have heard from a lot of people is that gathering together with 'the right heart' is all we need to be mindful of.  This seems to be a lazy response to something Jesus is very precise and clear about in the seven letters.  With this in view we need to examine the church that has no bad report and find what the elements of that church were.  That church is Philadelphia and is on the earth today.  We know this because Sardis and Laodicea are easily identified and Philadelphia sits between these church times.

Rev 3:7

As per all the letters, Jesus introduces himself with a specific title.  here is as Holy and True.  The 'true' element can be translated as real, genuine or ideal. Holy means set apart.  It is a trend that Jesus' titles in the letters are some kind of comment on the church.  Somehow the church at Philadelphia can be seen as genuine and set apart.  We then come across the phrase 'The Key of David. If we look at Isaiah 22:20 we find that Eliakim is replacing the treasurer.  Jesus has the Key of David which represents access to the King.  For this church the Lord has placed an open door before them... to access King Jesus!  No-one can shut this door so from the text it appears 'Philadelphia' are in a position where access to the Lord and His access to them is an open door.  What can Christians do to place them in a position where Jesus is accessible and they are able to be accessed?

The New Testament is clear that this accessibility is something freely given.  Hebrews 4:14-16 is clear that all can access the Lord.  However, looking at the other churches that precede Philadelphia, we find that an overarching problem emerging from Pergamum.  The church becomes merged with the world.  Man steps in and takes over thus creating what I have written about extensively 'Mediatory Substitution.'  This is when the clear passage to the Lord and his clear passage to His people is hindered by the systems and structures man makes around 'church.'  The worst offenders in this are Laodicea when the Lord has to knock on the door of the church... Jesus is outside!

So Philadelphia get back to offering a clear space between themselves and the Lord to allow all Christians equal access to Jesus and in turn the Lord can come and work with His people.  In the churches where there are prominent, presiding leaders it doesn't always mean the leader is in between the believer and Jesus blocking the way.  However, the leader is not in control of how the other believers perceive him/her.  If someone is placing the leader is a position above them in some sort of respect, honoring the office or outright ranking them as 'over' them in some way, it hinders this open door.  Many get saved into churches that have good people leading but in an erroneous structure of leadership.  As westerners we struggle to find a way to lead and default to rank.  But we must explore this default and make changes to make sure the open door to Jesus remains open.

To be able to have this open and clear space for Jesus to allow access and vice verca, it demands a change in the systems and structure of how we meet and practice Christianity.    We are supposed to be able to access the Lord but our very church structures means it is hard or impossible.  When all said and done the access to the Lord and his access to us is for one reason.  The reason, and a characteristic of Philadelphia as the church that received no  bad report is because the access meant the people could be truly anchored into Jesus.  He can access us to make sure we are truly making Him the source of all our lives.  We can access him for the same reason.

Philadelphia was given good report and no bad report for several reasons but one is that they made sure they didn't place anyone or anything before then that would hinder the Lord's access to them and their access to him.  Next we will explore Rev3:8 and find another aspect of Philadelphia which made it sit well with Jesus.  I want to be an overcomer.  I want to do all it takes to be accessible to the Lord.

Gary Ward

Are you 'Philadelphia?' #1 intro

In the small group that meets in our home we have just finished Revelation chapter 1-5.  For many Revelation is something to be treated like a body lying on the floor.  You tentatively approach it and poke it with sticks to see if it will do anything.  By the grace of God we have not had this approach and can see clearly in the plain reading of the text what is happening.  Of particular interest is the seven churches that Jesus writes or dictates to John about in chapters 2 and 3.  Rather than prodding with a stick many use a barge-pole!  The reason is because if we absorb Jesus' letters to the churches we find some unsettling facts.

The obvious fact is that Jesus sees fit to address issues in churches that existed at the time. I am one of the people who believe that the seven churches represent a prophetic overview of the entire church age.  Apart from the fact that studying the seven churches fits forensically with the history of the church, we are told in Chapter 4 that 'after these things' and what I would say is the rapture of the church.  John was called up by a trumpet.  The 24 elders bear all the resemblance of the redeemed through chapters 4 and 5 and curiously the seven lamps which Jesus says represents the seven churches (ages) are now in the throne room of God.  Are we still prodding it with sticks?

One overlooked feature of the seven churches is that the last 4 have two distinct characteristics.  The first on is that the construction of the letter changes and the last part is a post script.  Dr Chuck Missler points this out and his teachings on this are available on YouTube.  Another feature Missler does not fully pick up on is that the last four churches are all present on the earth when the Lord snatches the church away in what we call the rapture.  Maybe this is why the last four churches all have some mention in some way of the return of Christ while the others don't so explicitly.

As we go through the churches and match them to distinct ages we find accurate information.  Thyatira is the Roman Catholic mess and Sardis is the post-Reformation debacle that spawned the denominational sects we see today.  We also have Laodicea which describes the western church, so perceiving 'plenty' as blessing while in reality it is desperately lacking in what Jesus values as blessing.  In there is the church at Philadelphia.  Every church thinks they are Philadelphia because it receives no bad report from the Lord.  For a church to say they are 'Philadelphia' in prophetic history is a less than humble claim.  That said, all churches can aim for what Philadelphia aims for.

Over the next few blogs I will examine Philadelphia and show how church systems and structures can hinder becoming the body of believers who receive no negative comments from the Lord.

Gary Ward

How to be 'against' the 'church'

Many of us who have been trying to follow Jesus for some time have come up against 'church' issues. If you have never questioned something about 'church' then I'd be worried.  When I began seeing things that were not sitting right with me I found that I had to weigh the advantages of serving in that church.  I now know that this is a wrong approach.  If something is wrong I should have prayerfully confronted it.  That way, if I was wrong I could be corrected but if I was right there was opportunity to examine the issues.

If only things were this clean cut!

It turned out pretty rough for me but within all of that was God's intent for good for me and my family.  Now I have a healthy perspective of Church backed up by Scripture.  There is a growing number of people who are waking up to the issues with 'church.'  When I was shown the issues I reacted.  Not realizing that it was entirely by grace that I could discern clearly what was / is going on, I created an us / them paradigm.  Also, because the issues made me angry, I found it difficult to articulate what the Lord was showing me without my own emotional response short circuiting it.   I now see that there was a time that I wasn't supposed to be spitting nails about the issues, but rather allowing my heart to receive the fullness of what the Lord was doing.

The reality of what the Lord was doing is now evident.  He has brought me out of the historical church systems and structures, showed me how it really isn't glorifying Him and sent me to speak into those systems and structures.  Growing into the realization of this was/is not easy and at times I can slip into attack mode.  I think I'm getting better at confronting the issues without Christians disregarding my message because it contains 'Grrrrrr' instead of Grace.

I have some dear friends who think I've gone 'soft' as I am the first to point out that Jude tells us to 'contend for the faith.'  That word has military overtones... to fight! So where is the balance?  Do we kung fu everyone who is associated with historical, man-made practices that dishonor the King?  If the answer is 'no' then how do we contend?  How do we fight?

Firstly we need to be really honest with ourselves.  "Have I genuinely got rid of all personal hurt over the 'church?"  If not we will hurt people... 'hurt people hurt people.'  Secondly, in our efforts to be all about being led by Jesus... is Jesus leading you to do this contending?  Bearing in mind that Jude was under attack leading for him to have to fight... are we contending if we aren't being attacked? Thirdly, are you using scripture as a weapon?  That's not what it is used for.  All things have to be in love.

I am not in any way minimizing the effects of leaders who have mistreated Christians.  But part of your healing is to realize that you willingly gave yourself to that system and structure... its erroneous nature came back to bite... and boy does it hurt!  I'm a survivor.  I had some tough times but now I see clearly that God wanted me to be outside the hive so I could comment on it and try to help others to see how self serving church can be when we really need to detach from it all and reconnect to our source, the glorified, risen Jesus Christ.

So I am 'against' elements of the historical church, the way it practices church and dishonors my King.  But many aren't ready to be free.  They can't see my point of view because they aren't able to process it.  To them the Pastor is their conduit from God.  They need 45 mins of singing and call it 'worship.'  They have fictional 'batteries' that need to be charged so they can survive the week.  The concept of being constantly plugged into their living source and gathering to celebrate that over food and drink is heresy to those unaware of the biblical definition of 'church!'  We are only here to help those whom God can speak to.

People can only hear when they have ears to hear.  Enjoy this movie clip.  It sums it up for me.

Gary Ward

The Feasts of Israel explained

Having been writing about how church should be practiced I wanted to show from the Jewish feasts that what we do as Christians was hinted at in the Old Testament.  God always seems to have us remember things with feasts.  On a macro scale we have Passover for the Old Testament which will be practices again in the Millennial reign of Christ.  Of course this will not be anticipating Messiah then, but remembering what has been and how the Lord is the great rescuer.

Looking at the feasts of Israel can be a complex issue.  It involves the Jewish calendar and is interesting for those who want to exhaust the subject.  Here I want to simply show that the feasts sit with our model of Biblical history.  We are in and around Leviticus 23:1-44 to show these feasts.

In spring Israel had the Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, first fruits and Pentecost otherwise known as the feast of weeks. The first three are seen as the first coming of Jesus or as the Jews say 'Yeshua.'  As we know Jesus was crucified on Passover.  He was the sinless one who was broken and made sin in our place.  This is the feast of unleavened bread.  Then we have first fruits which is the resurrection.  Jesus is first fruits as Paul confirms in 1 Cor 15:23.  I will park 'Pentecost' or the feast of weeks aside for now.

The autumn feasts are Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles.   This is known to represent the second coming.    We have the trumpet which speaks of the rapture and 1 Thess 4:16 speaks of the trumpet call, something revelation chapter 4 starts to explain for John who was seeing all this in order to write it down for us.  Atonement is next and this speaks of the completeness of Jesus work when he comes again.  Sin was covered (Kaporah) but its actual and complete fulfillment will be when we are transformed by his appearing and all the faithful from old and New Testament are raised.  This will occur at the beginning of the Millennial reign when the Lord will return to reign on earth with his bride and the Old Testament saints are raised.   The last of the autumn feasts is Tabernacles where God celebrates His people being in the promised land.  the Macro-view of this is the fact that we will be eternally secured in the direct presence of then Lord forever... I'll drink to that!

Many scholars  have commented that the feast of weeks is awkward when trying to say it represents the church age,  Firstly it is the feast of Pentecost and any christian would have to be asleep to see the significance of this.  It is also celebrated with loaves that have leaven!  This speaks of the inclusion of the gentile church into the new covenant God made with Israel.  That it is also called 'weeks' is compelling about the weekly gathering of the church.  There are some great teachings that go deeper than the purpose of this blog and I would urge all people to explore this rich topic.

Deep into Jewish history we find the church (ekklesia) implicated by a feast, not a corner of bread and a sip of wine.  For more information on how to access the rich and plentiful biblical feasting in the church drop me a line!

Gary Ward

About Tithing...

Tithing

It is my view that Tithing is something that was Law and applicable to Israel 2000 years ago.  Some people say Jesus mentioning it in Mathew 23:23 validates the Tithe.  However the actual tithe involves the Temple... which Jesus said would be destroyed and was in 70AD.  Jesus was speaking to those under Law as was Jesus at the time of speaking.   Also Tithing was never money.  It was always livestock or produce.  It is a strong teaching that the Tithe was the national Tax of Israel and was always meant to be for that specific purpose under Law.

A technicality about the Tithe is that it predates the Law and therefore must be a practice that must be observed.  The same is true of Sabbath. The seventh day was set aside as Holy by God before the Law.  However Hebrews 3 and 4 tells us that because of the finished work of Christ, every day is a Holy and set apart day.  Why?  Because 'Today' is the day we can enter the rest from our own works in Christ's finished work!  The Sabbath is explained for us in New Testament terms.  Does the New Testament tell us anything about how we should give?

2 Corinthians chapter 9 contains Paul's exhortation about giving in a nutshell.  Basically we should give as directed by The Lord and as verse 7 exhorts:

7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Chapter 8 speaks of giving towards a ministry.  Under this we need to be balanced.  I give because I have decided to do so. I have found some ministries a fountain to me so it was not a problem to financially support them.  However that is not the same thing as being under a ministry who expects support. If you have given yourself to a Tithing church then tithe!  Am I encouraging you to do something un-biblical?  No!  You are already in a church that practices un-biblical practices!  So your partying to that system means you signed up for the whole deal!  It's not right to join the Manchester United Fan club then wear blue!  If you are in a system where the Pastor is waged and there are overheads for buildings and outreach needs big $$$ you have more problems than "Tithing."  You have yet to be freed from historical Church that produces a construct of Christianity and bars you from growing the way Jesus wants you to.  e 

So tying this in with the priorities as Family coming under God, look after your family before seeking to find someone to give to.  Seek God about who to give to and if there is nothing after the bills are paid, food is on the table and something to sow into the relationship / family enjoyment... then no sweat... you cannot give.  Of course we all have to audit our actual needs.  Be sensitive to extravagance or indulgence while making the family comfortable.  Audit your consumption now and again and see if there are ways to bless in the leading of the Holy Spirit.

One of the most compelling things about 'what Christians should and shouldn't do' is the letter the Apostles signed and sent to the Church at Antioch.  In Acts 15 we find the Apostles sending instructions about resisting sexual immorality and instructions around food.  Interesting these two areas are where we have to engage, food / drink and sexual activity.  I t appears the Apostles understood that the Gentile believers at Antioch were fully anchored into Christ and therefore needed some instruction about the things that can be neglected in our lives.  I think this is the key:

That we are anchored into the Lord and walking according to His word as revealed in the Bible.  This enables us to be Spirit led and able to walk in the expressed will and purpose of the Risen, Glorified Lord Jesus Christ.  The Law was only ever supposed to point to this reality!  Let's be free from the compulsion to give and enter into the Lord's will for your giving.

Gary Ward