Door to door

Candidates weekend was great! There were 75 potential candidates/cadets there and there are some very good officers that will emerge in the next few years! The weekend was lots of fun meeting up with people from all over Australia! The Turners did a great job and the commissioners came down and spoke and they were both great!

But my favorite part of the weekend was going house to house door knocking. The idea was to promote the local corps. Heres a few thoughts on it...

Its terrible how many people did it and came back saying they had never done that before without asking for money. How crazy is that? Where do people live? In their homes. So where should we be trying to get them saved? It seems obvious to me that we should go to homes, thats where sinners live. It may be a surprise to some people but sinners dont go to church! (well some do...lol) So how are they going to get saved unless we go to them?

It made me angry, disappointed and filled me with a passion for souls because out of the 75+ doing the door knocking there was only a handful preaching the gospel. Others were just trying to get people to a program or a meeting. I had the privilege of leading a young man to Christ so it can be done because it happened. Praise God for his salvation!

BUT what sort of Salvation Army are we when our candidates, future leading officers don't preach the gospel? Heres a line from a Major, (it went along a bit like this...) "You can say you preach with your life, but be like Jesus! Even Jesus spoke! Use your words!"

Heres a great positive though. The experience made people think and challenged them to do more of this sort of stuff. Heaps of people came back really excited that people accepted them, welcomed them and opened up in conversation with them. So, although the gospel wasn't preached as much as it could have been, their were shadows of the gospel as people shared stories, had compassion, loved people and prayed with them. If only we could see that Jesus is the answer to their problems!

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This morning I read some more of a book by Catherine Booth and it just so happens it was on a chapter called, "Compel them to come in." The whole chapter is about door to door evangelism.

"Dear reader, here is a sphere for you! You have long wished to do something for your 'blessed , blessed master.' Here is work, boundless in extent, and momentous beyond an angels power to conceive. For it, you need no human ordination, no long and tedious preparation, no high flown language, no towering eloquence, all you want is the full baptism in the Holy Spirit on your heart, the Bible in your hand, and humility and simplicity of manner. Thus equipped you will be mighty through God to pulling down strongholds. You will find your way to many a heart long since abandoned by hope and given up in despair, and in the great day of account you shall have many a sheaf as the result of your labor, and the the reward of your self denial."

discipled...

"You are designed to achieve what you're already achieving."
Alan Hirsch

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. The results which we are getting, we are getting because that is how we have designed it to be. If we want different results we need to do things differently. Or we can do the same thing over and over again, but expect a different result. We can be insane.

One of the popular theories that has been around is that we will do things the same way but better, and we will get different results. True, but they will only be marginal.

The solution has been asked, "Is it to be a revolution or an evolution?" That is, is it to be a big complete change in a blink of an eye, or are we to gradually get there? Alan Hirsch suggests that it is neither. Rather, we need to start telling a different story. We need to follow the story of Jesus, not of the church. We need to get back to the simple gospel message. Jesus is Lord.

Jesus is Lord is easy to understand and hard to follow. But if we get back to this simple message, I believe everything will work out. The problem is, we are not being discipled by Jesus, or by His story anymore. Thats why people who dare to report signs and wonders and miracles are called extreme or laughed at, or suspect of deceit. Instead, we are being discipled by our culture.

We are being discipled by two cultures. One is the secular culture, the other is the culture of the church. They tell us how things should be done, and to a large degree we follow along without even thinking. We accept the ways things are done. We settle in the mediocre, the apathetic in luke warm. We accept the status quo unaware that the gospel of Jesus is urgent.

Our lack of end times theology and beliefs has led to a lack of urgency in the gospel. There is hell and heaven. People are going to hell. The doctrines are true and tested. And if we want people to go to heaven we need to change. There is a problem in the western church, and the problem is us. So far our story is saying we are dieing. But will we change our story to the story of Jesus?

So, who are you being discipled by? Jesus and His story, or the culture and the tradition of the church?

The Divine Order

"Here is the divine order, first, conviction, second, repentance, third, forgiveness, and woe be to the man who transposes this order!" - Catherine Booth (Practical Religion)

Catherine Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, amazing prophetess is speaking of preaching the gospel. She says that there is an order which the sinner must go through before they are saved. In our preaching we need to aim for the sinner to be convicted of their sin firstly. That is they need to know of their sin, they need to know it is wrong and an offense to God. Secondly, we are to aim for the sinner to repent, that is turn around from one way to another, some scholars call it a complete change of mind. Then thirdly we are to preach forgiveness.

Bonhoffer spoke of cheap grace. He spoke that if we do not really know what we are saved from we will have this amazing grace but wont understand it, and therefore wont value it.

If a man sped through a red light and was to recive a fine. He did not realise that he had done this. Then another man came and paid the fine and told the man, the driver would be thankful for a moment. But because they did not know they had even got the ticket would quickly forget this random act of kindness.

However, if the man knew he had a fine to pay. One he could not afford, if it was to cause this person grief, and kept him up at night worrying about what to do next. Then a man came and paid it for him, how much more greatful would he be? Would he not accept that fine with thanksgiving, even calling this kind person a saviour? I can see the man saying, "I owe you big time!"

The same is with Salvation. If we do not know that we are sinners bound for hell because of our own sinfulness; If we do not know that the wages of sin is death, then we are given the great information that God has paid it for us, we will have a cheap grace. A grace that we do not understand and therefore value.

Catherine Booth understood this. She recognised the importance of conviction, repentance then forgiveness. It bears better disciples, disciples that will last. On the other hand if we preach these things out of order, if we jump the gun, then we will ultimately, even though we dont mean to, risk the salvation of those we are preaching to. Be wise with how you lead people to Christ, I have been convicted of this in the past, and since turning to this order, the conviction has come from God and true repentance has come! Lets preach the gospel!

Connections

Connections was great!

Heres a couple of the issues that were discussed...
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TSA is most trusted organisation in Australia. We are seen as a group of people who don't preach to people and this is apparently a good thing. People like us because we don't preach?

What does that mean?

Does that mean we only help people in Jesus name but don't try to get them saved? You can only respond to the gospel if you hear it. Have we as an Army stopped preaching with words and are hiding behind our good works hoping that people will want to get saved? Heres a headline for you, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Mormons etc all help the poor too. We have more than good works! We have the one and only true living God who created and loves His creation!

What scares me is that the fact that "we are seen as a group of people who do not preach it" is seen as a positive! Who cares if that means people like us, our friendship with them is not going to save them from facing up to the consequences of their sinful lives! Yeah we might win a few like we have been, which is great, but arent our expectations a little higher than a few here and there? Aren't we all about "THE WORLD FOR GOD?" After all, we did sing about it.

People can not get saved without putting their faith in Christ. People cannot learn about or respond to Christ unless they hear about it. Works are good, and it shows a glimpse of Christ, but for them to be saved they need more.

I propose we need to keep up the holy living, the responding to people with justice and compassion, but also preaching the gospel strongly! We should not be ashamed of God, the gospels or the fact that we're trying to get people saved!

Is the Salvation army wanting to keep going down the not preaching path, or do they want an Army of evangelists who are trying to plunder hell and populate heaven? I know what I'm called to do...

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Rudd wins the election. There will be a few pastors around the country who will be scratching their heads and bunkering down in prayer to see why their prophecies of a Howard win did not eventuate. Im waiting for their explanation, did they mis-hear or did the prophecy come with a "if?"
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More connections stuff...

Over 2000 people marched for justice in the name of Jesus! Followed by a rally at Fed Square. Heaps of people stopped and listened to the musicians, and the gospel! Nazarite Vow were awessome and testified that they play because of Jesus! Frankie Wants Out were great as they always are, their committment to helping the Salvos out is fantastic. Mez Coleman has a fantastic voice and dazzled the crowd with her cool groove. Bits and pieces played some MXPX, Relient K, Planetshakers etc with the worlds smallest guitar player!lol Great job everyone!

Alot of people herd the gospel!

Around 3000 people gathered yesterday morning for commissioning and the Holy Spirit definitely showed up!
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Some stuff from connections:

Uniform was made with the intent to emphasize the priesthood of all believers. -Is it these days? Have we instead gone the other way and broaden the gap between officers and soldiers even with different colored eplets?

In 1901 salvos took up.8% of the population now we're o.4%

T. Costello encouraged us not to get too close to telling the public we're a church because of its bad press, heres an easy way to do that, lets call ourselves CORPS...

Alan Harley is a great Holiness teacher, more on him during the week!

God is good!

Tonight was awessome at band practice. We had a great prayer time at the end. Pretty much everyone was knocked over by the Holy Spirit. A couple of people even fell forwards! We had people prophesying, prophecies being confirmed, curses being broken, blessings being declared. A great time to the glory of God! Hallelujah!

Second part of Finney... (still in fairly contemp english... my better version coming soon...)

Sins of Commission

1. Worldliness: What has been the state of you heart to world possessions? Have you looked at hem as your own, meaning you have the right to do with them as you like? If you have write it down. If you have loved property, and tried to get it for the sake of it to satisfy lust or ambition, or a worldly spirit, or to lay it up for your family, you have sinned and must repent!

2. Pride: Vanity is a specific form of pride. How many times have you spent more time, going through more of a hassle to decorate your body to go to church than you have spent preparing your heart and mind for the worship of God? You have gone to the house of God caring more about how you look to mortal men and women than how your soul appears in the sight of the heart searching God! You came to divide the worship of Gods house, to draw off attention of Gods people to look at your petty appearance!

3. Envy: Look at the times when you were envious of those who you thought to be above you in any way. Be honest, and if you have accommodated this spirit of hell, repent deeply before God, or He will never forgive you.

4. Highly critical: Times when you have been bitter, when you have spoken to Christians in a manner totally devoid of charity and love, charity requires you always hope the best, and to put the best slant on any ambiguous behavior.

5. Slander: The times what you have spoken behind peoples backs of the faults, real or made up, of members of the church or others, un necessisarily, or without good reason. This is slander. You don’t have to lie to be guilty of slander, telling the truth with the aim of hurting is slander.

6. Lightheartedness: How often have you gone about as though nothing matters, but you would not dare do in front of God.

7. Lying: Understand what lying is. It is any means of designed deception. If you design to make an impression contrary to the naked truth, you lie. How many lies are told in business, and in social times, by words, looks, and actions in order to make an impression on people contrary to the truth.

8. Robbing God: Times when you have misspent your time, wasted hours, which God gave you to save souls, in vain amusements or foolish conversation, reading novels, watching T.V or doing nothing.

9. Bad Temper: Maybe you have abused friends, family, partners, or other people in any way. Write it down.

10. Hindering others from being useful: Maybe you have weakened their influence by insinuations against them. You have not only robbed God of your own talents, but tied the hands of someone else!

More from William Booth for all those who believe the doctrines and take a bit of fire over believing there is hell etc;

"There are plenty of arguments designed to lessen the importance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, or to explain away its merit altogether... There is plenty of interpretation of the Bible which vainly attempts to explain away the punishment of the wicked, so clearly announced in its pages. Take away these things, and the Bible becomes not only an ordinary, but an uninteresting book, to be neither feared nor cared for."
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Check out the 6 resolutions of William Booth on armybarmy. I felt my Spiritual life had plateaued. I was growing in the stuff I was doing but not so much my relationship with Jesus. So I looked at Booths resolutions and came up with my own. E.g William Booth committed to reading no less than 4 chapters of the Bible each day, I'm doing 5...lol I'm pushing myself so I keep improving my relationship with God instead of maintaining it. Don't keep doing the same thing you have always done, try and stretch yourself!
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And lastly, but not leastly, I believe God is sanctifying me and that a couple of the places in my life where I was sinning have stopped! Hallelujah! I have been freed from these sins! It feels good! Im not sinning there anymore! Now, my consecration (devotion to God) needs to keep up with Gods revelation. That means as God shows me more sin etc I need to keep up my devotion to God and then I will stay sanctified.... More on this during the week!
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GOD IS GOOD! Hallelujah! Have an evangelistic talk to someone today!

Booth Quotes

Some William Booth quotes from "The Founders Messages to Soldiers."

"The ruling spirit of the world is selfishness. The spirit of true religion is the spirit of Jesus Christ- the spirit that seeks the happiness and well being of others, even though it involves self-denial and sacrifice, and the spirit of Jesus Christ is the very opposite to the self-seeking spirit of the world, which always, and under all circumstances, keeps it eye on number one..."

AND

"When you renounce all friendly relations with this enemy, and turn your backs on the world forever, the Holy Spirit will come to you, in fuller measure than before. He will fill you with love and power and joy, and make you conquerors over sin and Hell! Why not make that sacrifice now? What do you say?"

1. When we are having our meetings/church etc are we looking at it for ourselves or for others?
2. What Spirit are you breeding by the choices you make?
3. Is yours a life of sacrifice or being served?
4. Notice how Booth talks of full surrender, then once fully surrendered the Holy Spirit comes like it hasn't been before!
5. Are you a conqueror over sin and hell? I mean does sin still have a hold on you?
6. What of the world do you need to sacrifice?
7. Notice how Booth thinks you can be made holy on the spot by renouncing all evil forever!