Monthly Archive for September, 2008

RE:VIEW - Pastor’s Journal

Published
by
Mark
on September 26, 2008
in Gospel Life
. 0 Comments

Today I begin what I hope will be a weekly pastor’s blog - much like a personal journal entry.  I plan to review each week that past and honestly share what I am going through.  This will serve a few purposes; 1. Give you an inside look into a pastor’s life and get to see that we are actually real people and not some super-heroes; 2. That through my ups and downs, victories and defeats, mistakes and progress you can relate and be encouraged to see Jesus in all aspects of your life, and 3. This is more personal - a medium that will allow me to off-load and give me a way to review my life and see what areas I need to change, better manage, confess, repent and grow from.  Having said that, what you might read in these weekly RE:VIEW entries might challenge your own pre-conceived ideas of what pastors go through and serve to give you a deeper look into who Jesus is making me to be.  I encourage you to also start your own “journal” or weekly review and see how healthy it can actually be.  Ok, so let’s start…

Entry 1 - FULLY SICK MATE!

Yep, this week has been fully sick.  Now, if you’re a young, hip Aussie you will read that and think, Cool, sounds like you’ve had an awesome week…a fully sick week! But for the rest of us who still understand “sick” to mean un-well, feeling under the weather and battling ill-health, would then give you a better understanding of my week.

For the past month it seems like I’ve just overcome one illness and then I soon catch the next and my body is feeling the effects.  Tonight I write this entry feeling like I’ve been hit by a bus, then flung in the air to then be smashed by a jet and then driven over by a Hummer…so you could say I feel like ……..?  Isn’t it funny that when we feel sick - fully sick and not the half-hearted sick - that we think that the world is going to end and everything is falling apart.  Or is that just a man thing?  I know you women can soldier on and go about your business unhindered, but us men, well, ok…we are sooks and need some lovin’.  But enough of me feeling sorry for myself.

Something that really devastated me this week which unfortunately has reoccurred on a couple of occasions over the past few weeks is the news that famous “Christian” singer Ray Boltz has come out and announced that he is gay.  Combine this with the news of Mike Guglielmucci’s cancer deception and Todd Bentley’s hypocritical charade and I am sickened by the way satan is licking his lips in sweet victory.  Public ministries that demand living that is above reproach have been revealed as fakes and no doubt will cause many unstable Christians to stumble and even lose heart.  Ray Boltz went into detail about how he has hidden his homosexual life and his divorce from wife Carol, after decades of marriage, now releases him to be real.  You can read more about this in this Christianity Today’s blog.

So what is happening?  Throughout the Bible God refines, purifies and cleanses the sins of man and reveals them for what they truly are.  I can see the refining of God occurring in our churches around the world.  The hidden things being revealed, repentance demanded and we are all forced to see that God is holy and all sin cannot go undercover for too long.  Of course some at this point would say, “How can you judge them?  They are simply real men, weak like the rest of us.  You don’t have a right to judge them!”  While ultimate judgement and justice belongs to Jesus, the people of God are still called to make moral judgements on others to expose sin and call the affected to repentance and restoration.  In the New Testament the Apostle Paul advices the churches he oversees to act this way so that the purity of God’s people will remain and all will see that sin is not to be tolerated.

Yes, I agree that men like Mike, Todd and Ray are weak, flawed and sin-stained men who desperately need the touch of their forgiving and grace-filled Saviour Jesus, but unless they go to Him with a sorrowful heart and are sickened by their sin, they will continue to live deceived and trapped.  Jesus desires that all the captives are set free, that sin loses it’s hold on His people and that we live in the power and might of His grace, but it must be taken personally and applied personally or else it simply becomes powerless in the sinner’s life.  What they did is wrong, sinful and deceptive and the only way they can be free is if they come to Jesus, agree with Him and seek His forgiveness.  This process of love is for them, for me and for you too.

But I can’t hide the fact that I am hurting because such public figures have brought so much shame and ridicule to the Christian community, giving the world more ammunition to use against God’s people.  It will of course not stop the progress of God’s mission and purposes, but it definitely doesn’t help.

I am by no means perfected and I still struggle with the temptations and sting of sin.  Even after years of following Jesus the pressure does not ease and even at times seems to increase.  The only difference is that I have learnt that the saints are just the sinners who fall down and then get up.  Sin cannot hold the Christian down, it cannot keep us bound, it cannot control us anymore.  Jesus broke that curse and we are now called by Him to claim that victory and rise above it.  It does not guarantee a sinless life, but it does give hope and assurance in that fact that Jesus keeps us close and pure and restoration is just a prayer away.

Jesus walks with me, holding me up when I am weak and “fully sick”.  He comforts me when I feel alone and overwhelmed by life.  He forgives me when sin has tripped me.  He restores me when my heart is aligned to His.  He assures me when I doubt I can go on.  He accepts me even when I am not doing ministry.  He has mercy on me when I have messed up.  His grace saturates me when I feel so unworthy.  But the greatest part in all of this is that He knows me, loves me and lives with me so that I live to see another day.

My call to you, the reader, is this…please do not settle for sin and its effects.  Don’t adapt to it as being normal and something for you to manage.  Hate it.  Despise it.  Reject it.  Why?  Because it separates, destroys and divides and life is too short to live under its curse.  Jesus is ENOUGH!

My prayer:  “Jesus my Lord, my Saviour, my God and my King, I adore you and live for you.  Thank you so much for setting me free from sins and its effects and giving me victory even before I step out into the battle.  Thank you for the grace and mercy that you give in abundance and for not counting my sins against me.  I need you right now to close this day embraced and secure in your arms.  Bring healing to my weary body and release from the weakness I feel.  Give me good rest tonight and renewed energy tomorrow.  I pray for the reader to feel the power of your presence and to revolutionize their world as you have mine.  In your name I pray, Amen.”

ESV Study Bible - COMING SOON!

Published
by
Mark
on September 24, 2008
in Gospel Life and Teaching
. 0 Comments

Like a kid leading up to Christmas I can’t wait until I get my hands on the new ESV Study Bible.  Schedule for release in early October, this is a highly anticipated Bible and one that will set a new standard for all Study Bibles.  

The ESV (English Standard Version) translation has really captured my heart since I switched to it at the end of last year.  Having heard some great reviews, my mind was made up when I got my first copy and began to appreciate the literary faithfulness to the original text and the commitment to provide an accurate “word-for-word” translation and yet not lose the beauty of the text.  The team of translators have given the Church a Bible version that will last generations and open up a whole new group of people to the faithfulness and richness of God’s Word.

But now the ESV bulks-up and is about to give lovers of God’s Word deeper insight, greater understanding and a new passion to dig out the divine truths found in this endless source of inspiration.  The ESV Study Bible combines the amazing knowledge and insight by some of today’s most respected scholars and theologians, revolutionary illustrations, charts and maps and a collection of articles/teachings that will add to the wisdom of it’s reader.  After countless hours of researching, editing, writing, collecting and collaborating we are about to enjoy a Study Bible that will satisfy the hunger of the novice and skilled theologion alike.

Take a few minutes to watch this greater introductory video of the features of this Bible.

I look forward to seeing how this valuable resource will help God’s people delve deeper into His Word and get a new appreciation of the life-changing truths in it.  While there are many good translations available to us today like the NIV, NKJV, NLT etc. I encourage you to try the ESV and allow the faithfulness to the text and heart behind it capture you too.

For more info or to even order your copy be sure to visit the ESV Study Bible website.

God Bless you in your pursuit for more of Jesus.

RE:GENERATION

Published
by
Mark
on September 15, 2008
in Teaching
. 0 Comments

I can’t shake the fact that Jesus is reforming His church.  There seems to be a regeneration occurring as He is positioning His church for greater impact.  It is a momentum that is not generated from man’s strategies or formulated techniques but rather shows the sovereign plan of God that will be achieved whether or not we join Him in it.  I love that!  I love it because it takes the focus off ourselves and brings us into a state of awe as we witness His mighty acts and get invited to join Him.  Can you appreciate how special this relationship is?  That Almighty God, Creator, King and Lord of all loves us so much that not only did He send Jesus to redeem and set us free but He calls us to a way of life full of surprises, joy, freedom, hope, peace, satisfaction, and the list goes on…

Regeneration is a word that describes a type of rebirth, a revival and renewal.  It defines the mission of God in so many ways as His love, grace and mercy is poured out to mankind.  Titus 3:5 (ESV) speaks of this when it says, “…Jesus saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…”  What an amazing gift.  Nothing we’ve done can make this regeneration happen but the Holy Spirit’s work alone.  Again, it takes the focus off ourselves and attributes the regenerated heart soley to the magnificent work of God.  

One big distinction between Reformed Theology and the Arminian stream is where the emphasis goes to the moment of regeneration.  Reformed Theology emphasizes God rather than being man centred.  God chose us rather than we chose God.  The choice is His, not ours.  He alone can revive a spiritually dead person.  Ephesians 2:1-9 (ESV) teaches us this, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved…And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  We were DEAD in our sins and unless God decided to breathe new life into us we would still be dead.  Therefore the regeneration of the Holy Spirit is not conditional on us, not dependant upon our works or our own awareness of our need for a Saviour.

We owe it all to the grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ.  God took the necessary steps to save sinners like you and me and I am so, so, so grateful that He did.  Living out of the regenerated heart opens one up to God’s destiny for your life.  As the church gathers and respects this divine act of regeneration we are always brought to a thankful heart of worship.  When God’s people live out of this regenerated heart the church then lives up to it’s intended design and retrieves its core DNA, an identity that is born out of the heart and will of God.

I am thrilled to see more and more evidences of this great work of God.  People drawn to Him beyond any methods we apply or smart strategies we employ, but prove to us that our Senior Pastor Jesus Christ is doing exactly what He said He would do…BUILD HIS CHURCH!  (Matt. 16:18).

Identity in Jesus - Baptism Day

Published
by
Mark
on September 3, 2008
in Gospel Life
. 1 Comment

This past Sunday at CityWest Church I had the honour of baptising three amazing women.  It never ceases to capture me how Jesus works in a person’s life as each one of them had their own unique story to tell.  I looked at them and I could not help but praise Jesus for breathing new life into them and adopting them into God’s Family.

It was a day that started early and ended late but the tiredness and exhaustion I felt as I hit my pillow at about 11pm cannot be compared to anything else in this world.  The atmosphere was thick with excitement and anticipation that God was doing something beautiful.  For me it was a highly memorable moment as it felt like the visible evidence of us coming through a difficult and trying season.  As a church it reminded us once again as to why we are here and brought focus onto our all-important mission.  The mission/cause of Jesus Christ fuels us like nothing else and seeing Linda, Leah and Ruth get baptised highlighted the fruitfulness God longs to see in His churches around the world.  Sure we have not got it right many times and often it seemed like we were riding an out of control car without the capacity to steer, but through it all Jesus has remained faithful.

As I preached about Jesus and had a brag-fest about how magnificent He is, my heart was stirred about the identity we all must deal with.  For some their identity is found in what they do.  For example, “I am a factory worker”, or “I am a property investor”.  For others their identity is shaped by circumstances.  For example, “I am a divorcee”, or “I am disabled”, or “I am unemployed”.  These words might seem insignificant but when spoken from the heart reveal an identity that is challenging to reform.  But here’s the good news…with Jesus our identity is corrected and brought into alignment to reflect who HE is rather than who we think we are.  This is the idea I conveyed to the three women who were baptised and to the church as a whole.  We now have our identity founded and secured IN Jesus so that when God the Father looks at us He sees His Son.  WOW!!  What grace!

Another beautiful moment was having the children of the church (and there are heaps!) to also witness the evidence of new birth in Jesus.  At one point I was about to baptise Ruth when her little boy Jackson yelled out, “My mummy doesn’t like water”.  Well this of course sent the crowd into a laughing fit and it reflected the joy of the day.  Just on a side note, Ruth’s daughter Dayna went to school the next day and announced to her class, “Yesterday my mum had a bath on the stage at church with all her clothes on.”  Um, how do you explain that one?  I guess they have some explaining to do.

What an awesome day!  Celebrations like this just serve to remind me about my heart to see people’s identity crisis’ be transformed under the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.  I get such overwhelming joy when I see someone once lost be found by Jesus that it ruins me.  I get wrecked, ruined and messed-up when I see a person fall at the feet of Jesus and rise up a brand new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).  It ruins me because every other thrill seems to fade into nothing and the work of Jesus consumes me.  May we all live for that cause and be obedient as The Sent Ones.  Reach them for Jesus!