Increasing New Start project help for Odesa

 Greetings friends, 

This has been a hard few days. For around 20 years Odesa has been a special place for us with special friends. The tragedies of the last few days have just intensified our desire to stand with those who share and demonstrate Christ in a horrifically twisted and broken world. 

You can read of the sad events here in Igor's article. 

As you know since the beginning of full scale invasion our help has gone through a series of phases, from humanitarian hub and displacement support from local churches to our New Start projects which begin the rebuilding of peoples lives through the local church. We want to step up our NEW START SUPPORT FOR ODESA. Led by local pastors who have stayed throughout this dark season, we stand with those who:

1. Continue to offer humanitarian and pastoral aid (from the local church)  to those who are in great and sincerely critical need.

2. Continue to share the love and truth of Jesus Christ and follow up carefully those who are finding the radiance of His grace at such a dark time.

3. Continue to pastor pastors and lead in the initiative of church planting to villages and locations where new believers need a new expression of local church, (where  none currently exist).

We believe that God has led us to this place where we can best steward His resources for good works in his name in a sustainable way and eternal fruitfulness. We have no reservations or hesitations in commending this project and those who faithfully administer it through the (growing) local church.

Even in the dark times, God is Good. The clouds of circumstances can be so dark, but behind remains the Sun. He is unchangeably sovereign, and working His purposes, nothing will thwart His good plans. 

Please pray with us. If you would like more information, please message me and I will give you the details of what we are doing in a secure way. 

Please if you are able consider practical commitment through financial help or considering being part of our ACTION short term teams. If you would like to help as a small group or church we can assist you do that and would be happy to serve you in that way / share through online meetings etc.

If you need the information/ bank details.. please message me and again I will communicate in a secure way. Let's do all we can to support our brothers and sisters in the most helpful way possible and for the glory of Christ.

Thank you for your partnership at such a critical time, it means so much to those in the situation, is highly strategic for the gospel and name of Christ as He is the only one able to help those in such trials and give eternal hope, make sense of our suffering. 

Bless you, thank you ! We give praise to God and deep thanks to you for such a great family. 

Pray for our dear friends in Odesa and the strengthening of the Church.

Sat 2nd March:

Today we weep bitterly with those who weep, and ask the one alone who is able to strengthen and do the work only He can. Living GOD enable in a very supernatural way and minister your presence, nothing else is adequate at such a time. Evil is very present in our world, and so we cry to the one who is altogether good, who gives certain hope for all our days and a desperately broken world.

Today a dear family is grieving, Names will not be shared here, but pray for our precious friend Pastor M whose daughter (the lady in the photo) went to be with The one who reigns over all things and will wipe away every tear. Intercede for this precious family. She is safe in the immediate presence and incomprehensible grace, healing and provision of the one who knows all things and will judge all things. 

Today when the bombs fell in Odesa, she was under the rubble. For a moment terror seemed to reign, but as at the cross soon comes the glory. The enemies of God only pretend momentary victory, the eternal and everlasting word is His. No-one will ever dethrone THE KING OF KINGS in whose arms and grace we are gripped.

Please remember in Prayer: Pastor Yuri's family and fellowship

 With sadness we share the news that Pastor Yuri of Kupyansk was in the prayer house reading his bible when it was hit yesterday. We ask you please to intercede for his family and church family. A friend commented "He is in the arms of Christ now, which is far better". 

100% Dependence on God for whatever is ahead.

Hi treasured friends, badly catered for blog readers. 

A (very) belated happy new year.

There are times when you are taken aback by circumstances, but soon realise the good purposes God has in them. Not all of life however is like that. In fact many (even expected) sufferings, normal to all those who authentically follow the path of Christ ... are mysteriously timed, deeper than we ever expected and increasingly challenging us to ever stronger dependence on the wisdom, power, victory and reign of Christ. Even when we expect suffering in a fallen world, we can still have unexpected thoughts about how much more we need to trust Him.

THE BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE : PIVOTAL HISTORY IS IN GOD's HANDS, ALL HISTORY WORKS TOGETHER FOR HIS GOOD PURPOSES. 

When Paul wrote to the Colossian church, His primary theme was the all sufficiency, complete resource, and real victory in Christ. He applies to every day life Christ's finished work on the cross which is both the means of our salvation and the everyday foundation / power supply of every Christian in a broken world. The Colossians needed to hear it and re-hear it, and so do we today.

Yes there is a "not yet". Creation is yet to be renewed, we have failing bodies, broken world leaders, and sin / greed reign in the hearts of humanity. However, Christ has already demonstrated for all eternity that He is greater than all things, all fallenness and sickness, all the opponents of GOD, all plans of GOD's enemies,  all the weapons against the mission of GOD and the perfect purposes of GOD. The mission of God has taken all the above into account and demonstrated impenetrable authority over it through Christ. 

At the cross we see God's emphatic reign over circumstance, the pivotal moment in History, where Satan does his ultimate worst, but it only forwards the plans of global and eternal salvation of God, the ultimate and irreversible redemption of His people and His creation. The new community harvest in all peoples, for all eternity, is the joy set before Christ (Heb 12:2) which He expresses through fullest faith, complete obedience, true perspective and perseverance through the worst of providence for the best of outcomes. This is the new creation dynamic that Paul assures us is at work in you and me now as we submit to and depend on His Lordship, and live in the hope of the gospel and its cosmic scope (Col 1:23). 

THE NOW PERSPECTIVE: PIVOTAL DEPENDENCE IN OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS. 

As the calendar clocks over from 23 to 24, two millennia after Christ bodily walked our broken world, the world has not solved its own issues. The risen Christ, the ministry of His Spirit amongst His church, and the mission of God outworked through us pointing to Christ, is the only answer for our world.

Rolling news channels are not easy watching, reemphasising to me that daytime telly is a curse not a blessing. The suffering across our world this Christmas was unfathomable. In addition to that context,  a number of our team went through tough times over Christmas. Yes, in the context of our broken world maybe our suffering would seem insignificant to you, and all these things are relative, but for each of us it felt significant, weeks alone in recovery and somewhat lonely inability/ vulnerability in one way or another. Time we had expected to spend with families at home in recouperation after travel, was hijacked by illness and surprise circumstances. In need of a very overdue rest after a somewhat brutal year, our tightly knitted UK team all faced something (Covid, Flu, emergency operations, family hospitalisations,  cancer treatment), and each were hit hard after a year that had run energies down and cashed in on all of the overdraft of our physical / emotional resources bank. 

What did we learn ? 

That is better to be stuck in bed and 100% reliant on God ...than out and about 100% fit and living in your own strength alone. His strength really is outworked and revealed when we are weak. It can therefore be amazingly good and a great joy even in the worst of times to pray simply, "help me LORD", and know more of Him and His strength. Sometimes brain fog and lack of concentration (due to illness) can make us simple before God in a focussed way. How he assures us that He is the one who is really praying with us and for us. It is good to be humbled to pray.  "Thank you that you are at work, regardless of what I am able or not able to do". There is contentment and joy in the power of God even when we feel powerless. The worst of times can also turn out to be the best of times if He is there. There is incomparably greater treasure in knowing God than doing things. Intimacy with Him is greater than Industry. (Ps 46:10).  He is our strength and renewal as we go into 24.

What do we expect this year? 

1. We expect that the victory of the cross will be preached to numerous unreached peoples, frontier mission situations, new areas of gospel ministry and new churches will be born because Christ reigns and guaranteed that the mission of God will be successful.

2. We expect that human suffering will increase but also will the harvest of many people seeking Christ and finding unfathomable treasure in Him at the worst of times. Whether Russia's war in Ukraine, or the ongoing fallout of geological disasters (like the earthquake in Nepal), many will come to seek and bow before their maker and redeemer, rejecting false gods, inanimate idols, human constructs and religions which are of no help at the worst of times or for eternity. Christ is reigning over today, over us today, and all the things which are happening across all of the world today. Many will come to Christ in Ukraine and be built up this year, rooted in Christ through "new start" projects, many will be found by Christ in all sorts of places seemingly forgotten by governments and authorities in the uttermost parts of the world and amongst all peoples. 

3. We expect that He will give us all the resources we need internally and circumstantially to enable us to trust fully, walk obediently and live fruitfully equipped for His work by His power, whatever the demands and path before us. We look at the reality of the year ahead. For us as a team this years diary plan is a gospel trek of Himaylan dimensions...and maybe you are also staring dauntingingly at the reality of this year head on. Maybe you face an uphill task with chemo, ongoing grief following the loss of loved ones, the prospect of fresh trauma whilst you are still recovering from past trauma.  You and I need to remember that we have the ultimate Sherpa before us... one who has walked this road, knows all the dangers to n'th degree, intercedes for us, protects us, and guarantees safe destination. His perfect orchestration of our world and lives is from the podium of all authority, the vantage point of resurrection, cosmological victory over sin, death, hell, suffering and all God's enemies. 

Trust Him: the one who has gone before us.

Whilst submission to human authority can increase our nervousness, trepidation and anxiety, submission to the Godman Christ Jesus brings freedom, joy, delight and peace. 

Please pray for us as a team this year that our delight might be in submitting to Him and knowing His grace and power work through us. We pray the same for you, your church and your family, your team and context of global ministry. If you would like to connect with us, please do so. Lets walk in mutual dependence on Him this year. May 2024 be a year of great dependence in us which shows to our families, churches, communities, world, cosmos the greater glory, authority and goodness of who we depend on. 

A video shared yesterday from one of our New Start Pastors (Ukraine), reminds us of the ongoing reality of suffering. 

A glimpse of the amazing work and places the gospel is reaching after disaster mercy ministry. Here... the rural outreach of ACTION network churches ministering to those following earthquake (Jarakot, Nepal) with the gift of mattresses, also coats, and the message of the greatest gift to our world amongst those who live in real mountains. 

A teapot life

Keep your heart with all vigilance, 

for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 4:11

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."

Matthew 15:18-20

The bible uses the term "the heart" in a different way than our contemporary culture. We might equate it with good effort or a noble stab at something... ("she puts her heart and soul into it") or as a romantic driver ("the moment she told him she supported Everton, Wrexham, WCCC, The Sounders and the Mariners...his heart was won"). Bible wisdom teaches us that the heart is our teapot for life, that out of our core being (soul), everything flows. When I sang "I'm a little teapot" in play-school I didn't realise I was expounding an element of profound truth (I just thought I looked an idiot), but the super deep reality is ... that we are those (by definition of our creator and redeemer) who "pour out" life from our core being. This means a number of things...

GOOD TEAPOT GUIDE

A) We need to guard our hearts carefully and with hyper vigilant radars. (Proverbs 4:11) The state of our hearts (What we allow our lives to be driven by, motivated by, what we feed our lives on, what we allow to interfere and influence with our core beings) matters. We need new hearts of flesh from the God who specialises in redeemed heart transplants. The heart is corrupt above all things, and therefore we need him not only to remake us in new birth, but to help us grow daily in strength conditioning of our new hearts after our transplant. Biblical wisdom is more than mental clarity. It is not just about us thinking His thoughts after Him (it is that), but also instinctively feeling and being motivated in the same manner that the Living God is in His character and core being. This can only happen through (daily, repeated) humble dependent prayer and seeking first His Kingdom and Lordship over our lives. 

B) We need to be aware of wrong (unbiblical) contemporary evaluations of people when something is described as "good". The thinking of our world can infect our judgement and wisdom.

 "He has a good heart" can mean / be used for all sorts of things in lazy evaluation...(He is totally useless but intended well), or  (He causes mayhem and destruction in relationships but is too oblivious and self obsessed to realise the multiplied damage caused to others). In this second instance the core being and behavioural drivers are not good at all. I've heard of too many people excused of core sinful behaviour in churches and mission teams  by a spiritual leader who should know better. They may say something like, "I am just looking to see the good in people... like Paul's evaluation parameters (Phil 4:4-9)", which is a noble ambition, but ultimately there is a huge difference between looking for good in believers where it encourages growth, and simply making an opposite judgement to the reality of a situation which is the definition of foolish thinking. (Note also Christ's words in Matthew 12:33-35 about rotten fruit)

MAKE BIBLICAL JUDGMENTS NOT EXTERNALLY DRIVEN ONES: 

Be careful of "political movers and manoeuvres" in Christian organisations / cultures which evaluate people with a world driven (human ambition) mindset. Far too often I hear of upcoming / potential leaders who are gaining influence that "He is a good guy" when what the intended influencer really means of a young leader is that he is gifted to their liking on the outside (capable, talented, "a mover and shaker" (dreadful and foolish way to evaluate spiritual leadership) or that he has potential as an influencer in line with denominational, hierarchy/ their personal thinking). In reality, biblical evaluations for leadership are always based on character, and in accordance with God's character not our preferences. Whether we are talking about potential or historical issues with young leaders, the only thing of great significance we should be interested in is spiritual Character, and whether they have a heart after God's own heart. Key characteristics such as compassionate and gentle leadership are often seminal factors. The renovation heart training blogs will unpack this more. 

Where does this kind of wrong thinking / wrong driver for evaluation of spiritual leadership come from though ? We are taught in contemporary thinking to evaluate by personality, talent, ability, style or looks... (ie from what we see on the outside). How can some people define Boris Johnson for example (Note: no politics just an interesting observation case) by saying "he was a good prime minister" when others say " he is morally corrupt, an expert liar, and has a trail of destroyed broken relationships in his wake, due to repeated duplicity". The truth is that two people are evaluating from opposite criteria - one from their understanding of outward personality and ability to be a politician in the contemporary world, and the other looking at morality and the state of his heart relationally towards other people. 

C) Model Christ: Judge others with caution, care, humility and grace, with a desire to restore (like God's heart towards us). If it is not your role and you are not needed to pass judgement on others, don't. Private evaluations of people for wisdom calls of friendship and public expressions of evaluations are quite different dynamics. If your leadership or relational role involves guiding others on the assessment of others, do it lovingly and with compassion without losing clarity. What would Jesus do? This is helpful in so many ways when we are considering His Character. However, we do need to remember that He is LORD of all things and all peoples, and whilst the risen Christ is judge of the living and the dead... we are not. Therefore we look to keep a balance as we guard our hearts, from the extremes of being overly judgemental and blind trust or carelessly living without wisdom or alertness.

 The bible reminds us that as we point the finger at others, a greater observance simultaneously occurs on our hearts and core being. Our hearts are an open book to God. Like David (1 Sam 16:7), God looks at our hearts not our performance or personality (Luke 16:15) . Even if our world is evaluating us as "a good egg" or when people ask us how we are we say "I'm good thanks", the objective reality of our core being is not changed an iota, and we stand before a Holy God who sees all things without any impairment or inaccuracy. He has however treated us with incomprehensible grace in Christ. This doesn't mean that we never make wisdom calls and judgements about others ( a contemporary misunderstanding which doesn't stand up with scriptural thinking), but it does mean we should only talk about such when motivated by grace, and love and kindness permeate all our verbalisation of  these things. For Christian leaders following Christ, this is a super sensitive and pivotal issue. Work on it dependant on His help, It really matters that we are alert to this. Talk rightly of others and people will trust your wisdom, and respond to your grace, talk wrongly and your "good influence" can be destroyed in a moment. (Proverbs 18:21, James 3:1-11) 

D) Cry to GOD for help: 

2 Timothy 2:22:

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart

James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

The older we get, and the closer we get to God / understand His heart, the more we know our sin and our capacity for corruption. Our china TeaPots have a great tendency to be very stained. He, however is faithful, and his mercy towards us is new every morning. He has a fresh heart of compassion for all those who transparently cry to Him and ask Him for help. He is faithful and just (1 John 1:9), and will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is the magnitude of our great Father, and He is ready and waiting for us to come for help. Through Christ we can pray on the basis of His purity. In the very act of going to Him with honestly like this, the act of heart transformation begins and ends... His power and the life of HIS SPIRIT in us is effective to change, and HIS GRACE to receive us despite our unworthiness to come, transforms our reflected and instinctive attitudes to others. 

Lord change my heart, and make it more like yours.

4 Hard Learned Lessons (about maintaining the intentional trajectory of frontier church planting).

 1. FOCUS: The missional objective towards "all peoples" needs to be a continual mantra. 

Without such the church will gravitate to a mono cultural missional ghetto objective (confit itself for cosiness, preserved in its own fat) or split into factions of missional priorities for different groupings (be several mono cultural factions working disparately). 

We are called together to work together in different ways: The way of unity (Eph 4) is the way of diversity in the mission of Christ - this is how we maintain the unity of the saints and live "all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28) by pointing to His Lordship and the majesty of His rule and provision. 

2. TRAINING A TEAM: Future leaders are to be viewed and trained both through the lens of local maintenance and scattering expansion. 

It is tempting when leadership is reliant on ourselves or a small group to gravitate towards any who show maturing faith as prospective leaders with willingness to take on ministry responsibility. Intentionality to train in leadership objectives which see the spread of the gospel to unreached areas and other people groups however is key. Without this the passions of future leaders (and their sign up to suffering and sacrifice) cannot be tested. The least this will produce is an understanding of who is naturally more" cut out" or "wired" for static leadership sacrifice in one locality for an extended period, and those who are geared for mobile expansion sacrifice and a scattering pioneering team ministry. 

Some leaders will be a natural fit for a slow change and indigenous contexts of (slower) organic growth. Flexibility and sacrifice will be demanded in both contexts, but in different ways. One will sacrifice all that is known in comfort, the other the freedom to leave and be more flexible. The two needs/ types of leadership run parallel however when we are training a team for the future. If we only have static leadership settling into a community groove, the church becomes intransigent and immobile (early chapters of ACTS), but it we only has mobile leadership (evangelism, and flexibility to go creatively with the gospel,  without life on life discipleship, discipline and leadership) the church never sinks deeper routes for sustainable growth. We need both, but characters may fall more naturally into one camp or the other. Balance comes from keeping unity together in mission. In the dream team all people can be (maturely) all things to all peoples. 

3. OBJECTIVES AND INDUSTRY: The program of the church needs to have explicit and agreed intentional missional objectives and priorities. In short, new workers and ministries need to know what they are signing up for and fit in with God given priorities and objectives which are good for the role community and the development of scattering. Without this each new person who joins will have their own ministry passions and gifting and will gravitate towards what they love to do, without change. This may initially not seem a bad thing, we are instinctively ready to accommodate any who want to serve and lead in gospel industry,  especially in an emerging frontier context, but if every new influential worker dedicates their attention to their own passions, the joint missional objectives and critical ministry areas for the good of the wider church and witness may easily be lost. Ultimately the worker will become frustrated at best as their ministry becomes isolated or under supported, and dissonant at worst as they tug at resources and lobby for priority. This is particularly true when so many ministries are up and running that the program is full, demanding and draining for the people of God. (This is what we may consider as the season of sustaining growth/ or what PLD often call the "awkward" staged church) . We are talking about the pivotal juncture when growth momentum is severely tested. 

 A critical point will be reached whereby the objectives need to return to common goals and rationalisation for expansive mission and the planting in other locations and cultures. At this point the unity may shatter if people are ultimately prioritising / living for selfish rather than united goals in Christ. Personal passion must submit to the greater submission of the good of the new community, and dreams for the gospel must be formulated by Christ, His kingdom, and the global good of gospel expansion.

4. STICKABILITY AND MATURITY: Pioneer and frontier stations (0.00% Christianity) by nature attract pioneering and creative believers. The same readiness which called them to your situation can easily call them away again or to another mission station when times get more tough and the season is primarily one of sustainability not initiation. Many frontier situations can often have a very small leadership team even as disciples grow in their hundreds. This is not sustainable or duplicatable, especially if some of that leadership group decide to go elsewhere for the mission of God, either for good reason (calling) or because they struggle with responsibility (and inevitable wisdom calls/ tensions) as leaders of a maturing new community. Any mission director or leader worth their salt spots the red flag of a mission worker who transports between contexts (like Star Trek transportation without a vapour) without displaying some growth in responsibility or maturity in stickability. 

It may be an over generalisation, but this tension seems particularly true for those with an individualistic understanding of calling and the leading of the Holy Spirit which we might very loosely (lazily/ simplistically)  call a "charismatic understanding." of missional calling. This is the idea that God can "hotline" call me to something without anyone else being party to what God is saying or be needed to confirm its wisdom or legitimately in gifting, timing, or appropriateness.  Whereas those from a more conservative background may show a disobedience in their slowness to listen to a call, to go and get working / stuck into faith driven pioneering mission in the first place, those who individualise ministry and mission conversely may be quick to leave for "another perceived calling of The Spirit" and not stick the course to which they felt "called".  In reality those most fruitfully called to apostolic like frontiers are very deep into accountability with mature missional leadership and accountability. A word of warning however - established church networks ("denominations") may miss this missional calling due to their intransigent missional trajectory.

Of course both perspectives (the wayward pioneer and the lazy Jonah disciple slow to "go") show an immature understanding of The Spirit at work in the people of Christ and the biblical global mission of God. One is slow to trust the immensity and flexibility of His power to sustain us and equip us for His purposes, and the other minimises His Lordship over our own perspective. Both extremes limit sensitivity to other believers in the frontier context who are living obediently, in accordance with the revolutionary gospel of love (John 13:35). 

He unites us into one faith, one baptism, one Lord. Christ is the head of the church, and we are there to submit to His Lordship, objectives with mutual submission to other believers in that context. What HE reveals to us is never at odds with others who submit to His word (bible)  which He also inspired and will never contradict. The same Spirit who gives us wisdom in scripture, gives others around us to test our understanding of our calling, gifting and purpose in the body. Clear missional separations / divisions (ACTS 15:36-39) can happen by His calling. My conscience and biblical reading however is that these are rare rather than the norm. Our encouragement in these verses/ instances is that Christ's Lordship and wisdom is bigger even than these things which are so unsettling and confusing to us. 

Summary: 

MOTIVES and OBJECTIVES MATTER: Many church plants seem to reach a pivotal (tipping)  point in these things regardless of whether in frontier or more (safe) established contexts. The issue is always one of ultimate goal and both what the core team and body of new community have signed up for in the first place. We live for His kingdom and not our own.

It is therefore imperative that the original goal expressed (to be a biblical church which makes disciples who make disciples, and  plants churches which plant churches in accordance with the global gospel mandate for all peoples (including unreached peoples)) remains the initial, primary and continuing objective. It is then clear that if people leave (to start another missional objective) they have done so on the basis of personal preference / instinct, or indeed it is The Spirit's leading (and they can be affirmed, supported, encouraged and appropriately sent by the church.) 

BROKENNESS HAPPENS, BUT GOD IS BIGGER: Those who leave missional contexts on any unhelpful indivudalistic and disruptive basis hurting the church deeply, need to know that the principles and objectives of biblical mission and corporate unity in diversity are still the same.  God's unchangeable objectives and character mean that in all these things we build on the faithful rock and foundation of who He is. We are prayerfully committed to doing our very best under his prompting and biblical wisdom, knowing that He is above, around and working through all macro and micro minutiae his perfect purposes without fail. 

(Gen 2:1, Deut 32:4. John 1:3. Rev 1:8, 22:13, John 17:4. Phil 1:6, Col 2:10, James 1:4)| 

ACTS 20:24

But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God

Praying for healthy, mature church leadership teams in frontier contexts, which will be the means to overspill His grace to all peoples and other unreached contexts. 

The Lifting of Humanity: Our story, calling and delight.

 The lifting of humanity : Our calling and delight.

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 raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 

1) OUR STORY:

We live in a sub-human world. The story across our globe is the same, whether war in Ukraine, crime in Cape Town, perversion by high profilers, or greedy destruction by government.  The majesty of creation and the application of the created order is a distant and veiled memory for our cosmos. As we stand on  the station platform, or witness the fallout of arguments at the checkout, read the rising crime figures and fullness of prisons, or view the grumpiness, dysfunction and chaos of society generally … it is easy to forget that this is not always as it was.  That resignation to view or world as irredeemable would be catastrophic. When all of humanity assumes that this is the best we can do, the apathy to live self centeredly, with a passion for self absorption, self providence, and self preservation compounds the brokenness of humanity and our world as a whole. Without God we live in a hopeless world, but we are not either without him or hope because of Him. The gospel is not a pattern or system for society, it is God himself who came into our mess and redeemed it Himself, by His blood and in his love. His work complete we now witness the cosmological implications of it in our lives, through our obedience and for all peoples.

THE GOOD GOD AND A GOOD BEGINNING:

The complex symphony of the created order reminds us that humanity is exalted to reflect the glory of God, in a uniquely relational and multidimensional way. In symphonic terms... humanity takes the conductor's soaring lead, the dominating melody and main theme being not only the focal point of the entire work but revealing more of the heart behind the masterpiece.  Yet even though created humanity was to be a group of virtuoso soloists, we are still under the control, orchestration, composition and interpretational expression of the conductor (Gen 1:26-2:17). This is the only reason that we are able to work well with each other, in creation or recreation. Our greatest role and impact is under his leadership.  This role is nor passive, it requires discipline and practice. In many ways this is where the analogy ends. Part of our great role in creation for example  is our role of influence, the order to take care of all else that God has made and orchestrated, including all those whom God has made to display his image. In that sense we are like a sub-conductor or orchestra leader. The old fashioned word is that we are made to be God’s “vice-regents” over creation, representative moderators of the zone in which we are placed to rule in the way that emulates the ultimate and altogether good ruler of love and provision. However that zone is so much bigger than we can understand, and there is no greater and bigger purpose than living for God.

Part of the profound tragedy of the fall is that our relationship with society is broken in our rebellion against God. In the analogy we function more as a spoilt child who doesn't practice and sees no point to the Stradivarius in our hands.The greatest and greater catastrophe of course under God is immeasurably more tragic. Humanity has become disconnected with the very one who loves us and orders all things well for our good and his glory, both in our lives and throughout society. The world is full of dissonance and pain, each doing fit in our own eyes, each in competition and friction with others according to our non complimentary passions and priorities.

However complex both creation and the fall of humanity is - creation has a simple biblical summary, and basic purpose in God’s plan.. “it is good”. At least it was before our rebellion. Even the smallest child and least educated of society can "get" what this means, yet comprehension is not the issue, inspiration and recreation is. The same is true for you and I in our lives today as we follow Christ, we are created for good. (Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5;16-18). However, His purposes in us are on an unfathomably higher plane and bigger scale for our world. We are destined in His purposes to be “very good”. The miracle of redemption is that the conductor is with us in our world showing us, equipping us to put the symphony right.  I guess the question you and I need to ask ourselves is… do we understand our redemptive calling and our we living up to it by His help ? Is your multidimensional life visibly good for society and the culture where you live? Is your life making a beautiful noise in a dissonant world?

2) OUR CALLING:

THE SUCCESS OF CHRIST'S REDEMPTION IMPACTS OUR WHOLE LIVES, 

Our dedication and discipline to moral and RELATIONAL PURITY

Our COMPLETE ROUTINE, 

Our PRIMARY PURPOSE IN EVERY RELATIONSHIP AND 

Our TOTAL PURPOSE FOR EVERY PART OF LIFE. 

Philippians 2:15

"that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world"

(see also Matt 5:13-16)

Are you up for this?

The majesty of Christ’s redemptive and completed work means that if you and I are reconnected with the Living God, restored to the place of relationship with Him whereby his presence (by the precious gift of His Spirit upon and working in and through his children) enables us to be redeemed in our relational and social roles. The ramifications of this are as wide as the cosmos and as profoundly beautiful. Whilst you and I might begin to grasp how big God is through the lens of creation, we haven't begun to fathom the magnitude of his character, work and accomplishment through new creation. (1 Cor 2:9. Hebrews 1:2-3, Col 1:15-23, Rev 21:1-7). Neither have we really begun to understand what HE can do through us if we were unreservedly compliant with his extensive work of redemption in our character, lives and witness.

 However, (and please forgive me, I am trying to be gently honest) from my humble / open  perspective this seems to be rarely discussed in sermons, small groups and relatively few spiritual leaders seem to prioritise or be intentional about the the primacy to prepare God’s people for works of (this wider) service in a broken society in order to glorify God on this majestic missional scale, and see his name glorified in all the earth. We seem in contemporary Christianity to be much more dominated by the other part of the Westminster Confession - to "enjoy God forever", without realising that one of the greatest ways and integral means of doing that is to see His transformation of the nations. We tend to train pastors and read Ephesians 4 as pastors with a view of equipping for the good of the church where God has placed us. I think this is an unintentional reading and unconsidered  emphasis. It's certainly far from the context of what Ephesians is about. A desire to be conscientious for redemption in our own context, unwillingly can see the world through a selfishness lens of grace, to see God's purposes only in our microcosmic context, and fall into the error of only seeing the local church as a vehicle for self service, minimising Christ's redemptive purposes and practices in our minds, hearts, and lives. (isa 59:1) (John 3:16) (Psalm 107:2-3) 

Ephesians however has God’s cosmological view in mind, dare I say... His purposes are considerably higher and more profound than the locality and wellbeing of any of our insular local church situations. He is opening our lives to live for something much bigger, greater and altogether more glorious. Our lives are to display His glory. This is not only for our culture and people, but all cultures and all peoples. He is Lord over all, all history, all generations and all peoples whether they acknowledge it or not. His Lordship is greater than the limitations of our experiences, circumstances and dreams even for the gospel.

I am sure that I have been very much party and contributor to this cultural problem and issue of limited vision. We may see our lives as "missional", but how wide is that missional vision? This needs to be something we grow in as we mature in Christ. The predominance of our gatherings together and our ambitions for them sadly gravitate often towards localised encouragement, praise and fellowship… dare I say we see them often as there to meet the needs of his people and celebrate his work of redemption here and now. The church are those whom we love with his love, but His church is not defined by our love. His love is not confined either by our understanding or our desires to do good to those we like. He loved us before we reciprocated his love goes beyond boundaries, and his love is not defined nor confined by us. We often forget that the primary calling of our lives is not to feel good, safe or provided for,  but to be the expression of God’s goodness to a broken world as we stand in the gap in the name of Christ, to take his goodness to where it is not. This is so much bigger than we realise and we need His help to even begin to see His glory and purposes. Our corporate gatherings should reflect this wider view.

However much we grow to display and enjoy His goodness it is to be a testimony to His greater goodness. However much we grow in the knowledge of Him, it is only in order to magnify and radiate his greater glory. Our primary role is to do this in a broken context which does not yet reflect or see such.

In short we are to be at least to be a significant way in which the world comprehends the goodness of God through us. Our success or failure has profound consequence. The focus of the church matters. If we are not a missional church, can we define ourselves as a church at all? This is the core DNA of what the true church of Christ is, a people of redemption, focussed on the spread of redemption for his glory. 

Are our churches so fragile that missional training and the hard work of apologetic preparation (and biblical instruction) for engagement with society would be a step too far for our characters or capacity? Are we perpetuating the cultures that we have signed up for, even if they are self serving and self centred with the goodness of God? Can we ever be a blessing when we only give a begrudging nod to the missional without the primacy of our practical and objective purpose as his redeemed people on earth ? Can we ever get the local expression of God’s people to a good place when they and we are on a trajectory which is continually distancing itself from the primacy of God's global mission and His redemptive purposes for every culture and all peoples?

The truth is that we all get into a limited zone of thinking which equates redemptive living with church, (singing, thanksgiving, belonging) and all the beauties of the new community we have been drawn to by His undeserved grace. However, we are still this side of heaven, and we see with fallen eyes. Part of the truth is that the new community displays still many elements of fallenness and selfishness. Even more profoundly, the majority of our lives are actually lived amongst those who are not part of the new community. 80% of our time may not be lived in church or believing society, and even if we could spend (or chose to live) the majority of lives with those living under the Lordship of Jesus, would this be appropriate as an intentional lifestyle ? 

Why has God in his redemptive purposes not transported us immediately to everlasting glorification at the moment of our repentant confession? Is it not that God’s greatest work and his ongoing work of redemption is shown and displayed in our lives now, as we live for him amongst unredeemed and broken lives, and impact them as a mirror and mouthpiece of Christ himself. The character and love of Christ is our world’s greatest need. This need pervades around our small lives now, and is even more apparent when we look outside our local context motivated by grace. It matters how we see our world and look into the lives and eyes of those we rub shoulders with each day.

3) OUR DELIGHT: 

He has placed you and I to be what our world needs in His purposes. We are not the saviour or Messiah, but we have been placed to be his ambassadors and point to him, in offices where we are the only Christian, the school where we are the only parent with a bible worldview, the unreached frontier country where 0.00% know Christ. What then is our priority? To live for him as an obedient and overflowing expression of thankfulness to Him and a ubiquitous expression of redemption to others. 

WHAT IS OUR FIRST STEP IN REDEMPTIVE LIVING ?

A) Lifting of humanity starts on the path of humility: (Phil 2)

Before we were lifted with Christ He had to go lower for us than we can understand. Philippians 2 reminds us that this is the order of redemption and the path we follow. The first step towards ministering to others is always taking a step away from our pride, and being willing to submit, both to God's will to love others like Christ, and engage holistically with the lives of others who are stuck in the spiritual pit. We can never see ourselves as above this ministry, we never graduate from pit ministry at the coalface, it is always our primary calling and first step of obedience if our lives are shaped by the life of Christ. We will never pay the cost that Christ paid in full, either for Sin or Suffering, He is victorious over both. What we are called to do is be willing to engage with the sin and suffering of others in order that they might see Christ as the answer to both.

Whilst you and I think we are something ("special")  or confuse our spiritual resurrection with Christ as a position of societal superiority, we are of no redemptive purpose. We are as the great preacher said, always" spiritual beggars showing others where we have found food". Pride in children of God is an anathema. Being clothed in grace does not stop us going to those living in spiritual poverty, it fills us with motivation for others to know the same. 

He knows the worst about us but loves us anyway. This is the foundation for our intentional engagement with others in humility. We point to the fact that we think and transparently know, that we are nothing special. In fact without God’s work in our lives (both in creation and new creation) we would show no glory. This impacts the way we talk about our lives, what we are proud of, what we say of our families and children, our satisfaction in work and achievements. All of it has been His goodness and we want others to know his kindness in the same way, and we are flexible to go anywhere for that to be so. One thing we should never do us live a life of isolated forgetfulness of how much he has done for us. 

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and all that is within me,

    bless his holy name!

2 

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

    and forget not all his benefits,

3 

who forgives all your iniquity,

    who heals all your diseases,

4 

who redeems your life from the pit,

    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy...

Psalm 103

B) Have eyes to see those He can lift, and the extent of His grace. Don't be selfish with grace. (Matthew 9:36)

( 1 Kings 22:17, Ezekiel 34:5, Zech 10:2)

THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF PEOPLE AND SITUATIONS THAT NEED LIFTING:

One of the profound things I’ve witnessed over the last two years especially is the amount of society and the world which has neither heard nor seen a redemptive lifestyle in operation under the Lordship of Christ. At the same time however what shocks me more is the intransigent nature of many who live a private “Christian” lifestyle given this backdrop. The old excuse that you don’t need to use words etc… that people will see Christ in you, can at times be an excuse for careless living without an intentional care for the brokenness and eternity of others and what they see and hear in our lives which is of critical and eternal importance to them. Eyes of grace sting with frequent tears for the mess of our world, and maybe that is why we are often tempted not to look at brokenness. Fixing our oyes on Christ does not mean that we ignore a broken world, it means that we trust his character, power and equipping to make us fruitful in it as he draws our focus towards the path of redemptive living where he has placed us, before we are with our redeemer forever and the opportunity is gone forever.

We are not called to ignore brokenness, even if it is for our emotional wellbeing, or because we are busy with church. This is not what we are redeemed for. Our world idolises emotional wellbeing and positive thinking, the bible does not and redemption in Christ is so much deeper than this veneer. We are called to intentionally engage with this worlds brokenness in Christ's name. The message of the N.T. gospels reveals the frontier mission of Christ to such. It is a glorious and undeserved thing He has included us in. Christ's mission is without boundary, and ours must be also. To write off people as "not our responsibility", to say that the hurting and broken sector of society around our church or new community location  is "not our problem", or "not part of our calling or parish" is about as un Christlike as we can be.

Christs laser criticism  reserved for the first century ghetto of religion was repelled by a reply of constant trope and spew of hate. (Luke 7:34). Even in this however, our Saviour's obedience took the hit and scorn, it did not deter him, either to redemptive relationship amongst those far away, (marginalised and "excluded") or was it a distraction to the purposes of God and the path to the cross and empty tomb. In reality these encounters where the path… they are our path as we follow Him… this is our calling before inevitable glorification. Victory in Christ is that we say "no" to marginalisation and segregation of redemption and "Yes" to His bigger purposes in our lives. We seek the lost and broken, the ill who need spiritual restoration and chief physician, the lonely who need the friend of sinners, the spiritually drowning who need a lifeline, the downhearted and downtrodden who need His power in the format of a friend, the neglected and crushed who need His faithfulness, the low and ashamed who need His restoration, the battered and ready to give up who need His new beginning. This is the glory of what we are called to in His purposes. 

Lord give me eyes to see people through your eyes.

c) TRUST HIM FOR PARABOLIC FRUITFULNESS IN REDEMPTIVE LIVING:

THERE IS NO LIMIT TO WHAT HE CAN DO: 

Lord Help me see what a person can be in your redemptive purposes.

• The gang leader has come to Christ in the township, trains for evangelism and shares the gospel non stop. The brokenness has not stopped, he and his family are in danger and the firing line (literally) but crime has fallen off a cliff since Christ came into his life, the ripples into 100's and 1000's of lives are ever increasing as the gospel spreads parabolically into hearts and homes once far away. 
• The young girls who stared at walls and remained in the confines of their room, never going out due to the shame of their rape, now stand at the front of the class teaching a rammed room full of smiles. They are confident of their identity in Christ. They tell of Christ being the only answer to our greatest needs. A new generation grows under the radiance of forgiveness, with ambitions to change the world for the glory of their rescuer. 
• The girls trafficked for prostitution, drive to the war zone to witness to their redemption story in Christ. They return with others who have been through mirrored trauma, trying to joke and laugh as they drive to safety, but the eyes which look back are empty and lifeless. When home, they tend for their unexpected guest on every level. They want to show love, commitment faithfulness and care in the name of the one who cares more than any. They wash clothes, dispose of items with bad memories, `shop for new ones, clean toilets, make beds until one day their house guest also bows the knee to Christ and the smile of joy floods to their sad faces once again. At this moment, the servant of Christ says, I would do it all again and many times more to see that smile of salvation. 
• The boys told that they had no purposes, fix the cars. They do it not for themselves, or even for great profit, but to share a word in season about how the great mechanic has resolved the greatest issues of our lives. We are made for a purpose, and only in Christ does our life work as intended according to the makers instruction. 
• The man who went to prison, and left seeking anonymity to a remote area because of the heinous nature of his crimes... now returns to his original village. He tells his story. The man who took and stole now sows and grows and here is the produce as a gift for you today. He tells of the one who gave him more than he could ever understand, a new start in His Son. A new position as a treasured person, a new openness to be shaped and nurtured, a new love for people which brings him to involuntary tears. From it comes a request to know this God, a request to learn more, a desire for him the redeemed man to pastor those who come to know this same God of new beginnings. Here the story continues. Our God loves new beginnings. 

What is your next step in a life of redemption. Trust him to enlarge your heart, to renew your vision, to widen your friendship, to provide opportunity for new missional friendship. His heart is bigger, his arm is not short to save and his priority is lost people. 

 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,  complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lord of eternity, 

Dwells in humanity,

Kneels in humility,

And washes our feet.

Wisdom unsearchable,

God the invisible,

Love indestructible,

In frailty appears.

Lord of infinity,

Stopping so tenderly,

Lifts our humanity to the heights of His throne.

Oh what a mystery

Meekness and majesty

Bow down and worship

For this is your God

This is your God.