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!

I love prophesy

I love prophesy! I love it how I can be going about my everyday life then all of a sudden something will happen, and out of the blue I'll get a text message from a prophet saying something discerning and encouraging. I love it how I might be stuck on a question and have no idea what to do and seemingly can't hear God then a prophet says "This may sound strange but God says..." Or when life is getting you down a little bit and a prophet says something encouraging. And a really good one, when you're being tempted to do something bad and you get a message reminding you what its all about and it keeps you on track. I love it when I deliver a message and it turns out it actually was from God and not something I just made up! I love knowing I have heard from the Lord God Almighty! I love prophesy!

There are alot of prophets out there. Some good, some bad. Some of truth, some not. Some we listen to, others we don't. But God sends them and we need to listen to them. Please think of the prophets out there who get these weird and wacky words to say to people like you and me, it can be quite scary and risky. But they do it because of the burden God gives them before they give it.

Thank you God for the messages you give us. Thank you to the obedient prophets! Thank you people for listening to the prophets!

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. Romans 12:6

stuff

Firstly, You need to check out www.justsalvos.com! It is awesome!

Secondly, Christmas is coming and I demand that you buy your presents from the gift catalog the salvos have here. It is really really really good! You can buy stuff for people in the developing world. Stuff like mossie nets, rehab, crutches, animals, tools, toys, education, banks, income generating stuff, and even stuff for officers! Prices range from $5 to $1000! Something in everyones price range! Look out for it in ONFIRE. You are oppressing the poor if you don't buy presents from it! Don't waste your money buying people stuff that is crap and they'll forget about and they don't even need, and lets do something positive! Great work whoever put the catalog together, it is FANTASTIC!

Thirdly, me and Sarah were in a car crash last night. God completely protected us. Sarah was driving and we got hit by a car. I looked over to see if she was ok expecting her to be badly injured but somehow no one got hurt, and the cars shouldn't be too bad either. Prayers of thanks, but also, please pray that Sarah can afford all the repairs, insurance etc

Fourthly, the divisional youth event yesterday was good. It got rained out so we took it inside. It was suppose to be full on evangelizing but we can't complain about the rain can we? What impressed me was that there were some guys who were upset that we didn't go street preaching and stuff! I love the culture of us not wanting to be fed all the time but actually want to go out and get people saved! We are a Salvation Army! Hallelujah!

Fifthly, keep you ears to the ground for "So you think you can preach!" Coming soon...

I have started handing out Tracts alot more than I ever had before. I've been very surprised at how effective street evangelism has actually been. I believe the world sells us a message that street evangelism doesn't work in todays culture, but from the results I've seen since "Go For Souls" I can safely say that street evangelism works. People are getting saved because the gospel is being preached! Check out http://www.atstracts.org/ They boast 180 years of changing peoples lives.

A tract is something that is pointed, keeps peoples attention and has a clear gospel message. I now see the value of the War Cry however I believe it is not as pointed as what it could be. So, I have plans to make a monthly newsletter type tract to hand out with testimonies etc all aimed at getting people saved (not just talking through things)...
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On another note, I want to thank God because I have such a great job! We went to luna Park last night for Youth group and I had such a great time with the youth. Its great having people love you so much as they grab you and force you to go on rides with them. It makes you feel so wanted and so special.

Which leads me to this point. Do you go to church to be fed? I use to, but now I go to serve and I find that i am being fed by the people I am ministering to. So, a challenge, if you're worried about not being fed, start serving! Start up some evangelsim stuff, or go help out at a soup kitchen. Most importantly, find a community where you can minister, its about a lifestyle of mission not a day, or job of mission...

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more! 1 Corinthians 9:19

sins of omission

Me and Charles Finney are beginning to translate some of his work into modern english... And maybe even youth language... This is modern English mostly, but I'm working on making it even more relevant... Have a read, you're suppose to write down all your sins so you can repent of them... Its from a chapter entitled "How to promote a revival."

Sins of Omission

1. Un-thankfulness: Think of all the times that God has done something for you, answered a prayer, granted a favor and you have not said thank you! Write down all these times, then go over them 3 or 4 times and see the amazing amount of times that God has never been praised.

2. Lack of love to God: Think how terrible and alarmed you would be if you found out your wife, husband, children, and friends did not love you as much anymore. If you saw them absorbing all their time, hearts and thoughts in some one else. Perhaps you would die of a just jealousy! Now, God says He is a jealous God! And haven’t you given your heart to other things and people, acted the adulterer and offended God?

3. Neglect of the Bible: Write down all the times, perhaps it was days, weeks, months, or even longer when reading the Bible was not a priority, or enjoying.

4. Unbelief: These are the times when you have called the God of truth a liar by your unbelief in His promises and declarations.

5. Neglect of prayer: Times when you did not set aside a time to pray in your own devotions, praying with your family, prayer meetings, or have prayed in a way that would have upset and angered God more than if you had just not prayed at all.

6. Neglect of means of grace: When you have come up with excuses not to go to church and share with believers, when you have neglected spiritual exercises.

7. Lack of love for the souls of friends and family: Have a look around and see all your friends and family, and how little compassion you have had for them. You have stood by and seen them heading straight for hell, and it seems as though you do not care. How many days has there been when you have not prayed for their salvation, or at least had an eager desire to see them saved?

8. Lack of care for the pre-believers: Measure how much you want to see them saved by how much you sacrifice for them, how much do you give to give them the gospel? Does your lifestyle change, even to inconvenience you so that some may be saved? Do you daily pray for them in your devotions? Do you attend the monthly prayer meeting? Do you put aside something to give to God to use for their salvation? If you are not doing these things, and if your souls does not ache for the poor unbelievers, why are you such a hypocrite to pretend to be a Christian? Your profession of faith is an insult to Jesus Christ!

9. Not kept family duties: As you have lived with your family, how have you prayed, what example have you given them by the way you live your life? What direct efforts do you regularly do for their spiritual good? What have you neglected?

10. Neglect to watch your own life: Times when you have completely forgot to watch your own behavior, and have been caught off guard, and have sinned in front of the world, in front of the church, and in front of God.

11. Neglect to watch over your brothers and sisters in Christ: How often have you broken your covenant that you would watch over them in the Lord. Would you watch your wife or child going in to the fire of hell and keep nice and quiet? No way! Of course you wouldn’t! What do you think of yourself, to pretend to love Christians, while you see them disgracing themselves and say nothing to them?

12. Neglect of self denial: The are so many Christians who are willing to do anything for religion as long as it doesn’t include self sacrifice. They only give of their surplus wealth, and perhaps that poor woman who puts in $1 at the monthly prayer meeting has sacrificed more than they have in giving thousands!

who do you worship?

I was talking to some one the other day and they were saying that the devil wants us all to go to hell. And I thought, why does he want us to go to hell? It didn’t make sense. Some people say that the devil is the king in hell. But my Bible tells me otherwise. My Bible says that hell is the place God created to punish the devil and his demons. (Matthew 25) So why does the devil want us to go to hell?

The devil used to be an angel. But he wanted to take Gods place, he wanted to be God. (Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28) This turned into a fight in heaven and the devil and a third of the angels were kicked out. (Revelation 12) Then we see Jesus talking about how He saw the devil fall from heaven. (The Rev 12 passage is just like most of the book of revelation, no one can agree what it actually means... But from the other passages and others like Jude I think we can at least believe the minimum of what I have written down...)

So, I believe the devil is not so much worried about where we spend eternity, but who we are worshiping. The devil sees it this way, every person who does not worship God is worshiping him by default, we are completing the devils plans and mission if we decide to not to follow God. We are agreeing with the devil to disobey God and live for ourselves.

Who are you following? Who are you worshiping when you watch that dirty movie or pass on that nasty bit of gossip? Who are you worshiping when swear and curse other people? Or when you get angry and judgmental? Who are you worshiping when you put your own needs above others? Who are you worshiping when you simply choose to do nothing when something is required of you? As Matthew 25 says, if we do the wrong thing we will go to the place of everlasting punishment, the place prepared for demons!

But don't fear! Jesus doe not want you to go to hell! He has come to save you! Stop worshiping the devil, start worshiping Jesus and you will be saved!

Acts 2:21
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

The Spiritual War

We’re going through a pretty good time at Plenty Valley. A couple of ago we made a goal to get 20 people saved by the end of the year. With 2 months to go we are down to only needing 5 or 6 more to achieve that goal! Hallelujah! Yes, that means 14 or 15 people saved in 2 months! Pretty good going hey?

Yesterday was the first official day of Revolution Recruits! Very exciting! They all signed a promise saying that they believe in Jesus, and that they’re going to pray and read their bible every day, and try to show the love of God at all times… It is a bit wishy washy but that’s because that’s what the trainings about, getting them to a point where they are not wishy washy.

We also went out and handed out stuff like light bulbs and water bottles with appropriate bible messages on them. Steve is an anointed evangelist. He had the privilege of leading another person to Christ! Hallelujah!

The thing is, every time in my ministry at P.V when we’re going really good, or approaching good times, something goes wrong. We’ve had mums pull their kids out of stuff for all sorts of reasons during my time here… Because we’re small, when a few youth go then it’s like we need to start all over again.

And so today I ask for prayer, that as we advance the Kingdom of God in Plenty Valley, that God will protect and shield the youth and that they will be given a time to grow as warriors so that as they do move on, the gospel message will move with them… Thanks

Spiritual Warfare

Firstly, I had that vision of hell but my mate Steve from church had an even crazier one on the weekend which included smells and stuff! Infact, he smelt something that was yuck and didnt know what it was. Then today he smelt in class... The smell of burning hair which is also the same smell as sulfur... Thank you Jesus that i don't need to burn in hell! You can check out his blog here. It's his first blog so we'll see if he keeps it up...

Secondly, did Strike tonight at Macleod with Simon M. It was great. The topic was Spiritual warfare. A huge topic for a small amount of time. We could have done heaps more but we fitted in some cool stuff. We were able to change some beliefs shaped by TV, and told them about the Bibles version! We then prayed for the gift of discernment.

The way we tackled the topic was to basically say angels and demons are real. Angels out number demons 2:1, God has authority (Matthew 28), He gave it to us (luke 10:19), then how to be protected, (Ephesians 6) and how to get set free from them! Thank you Jesus for our salvation!

So, if you think your possessed, or know someone who is, take them to the Macleod folk who will deal with it! They have authority from God, faith to back it up, the armor of God on, and now know what to do! I can just see it now, the demons having an emergency meeting tomorrow morning as all the kids wake up! hahaha Glory to God!

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8

Hell

During "Go For Souls" we were challenged to ask God to show us hell. We were told that one of the reasons why we don't evangelise as we should is because hell isn't real enough. I think thats a good point. Imagine if we actually applied that to the people we love, our friends, family, neighbours etc! Man, would we be busy!

Anyway, i had a vision of hell at the conference, here it is...

I saw the gates to hell and behind it were people aglow. they were glowing because it was so hot. And, they were all weird looking like they'd been melted. And as i stood at the gate into hell i saw hands reaching out, trying to escape. But, sadly, they couldnt. The other thing about it was that there was no sound. no screaming, because there tongues were so parched.

i was talking to someone who knew someone who worked with William booth. when he was asked why Booth was such an effective evangelist he paused then said, "Because he had such a strong belief in hell." Wow.

i don't know about you, but I don't want anyone to go to hell. And as Catherine Booth said, "Its Jesus or Hell!" Or as Jesus said when talking about Himself, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son"

freinds dont let friends burn in hell.

Soldiers

What was your Soldiership training like? What did you learn? Did you learn anything? Was it mostly the doctrines? Mostly the therefores? A bit of both? Was it memorable? Was it rushed? Was it hard? Did it teach you anything practical? Did you learn about how serious a covenant really is? Did you learn how to win the world for Jesus?

From what I have seen and read Soldiership training these days is pretty soft. When I say Soldiership I mean Junior and Senior! Theres no edge to it. Its not hard core. Its almost....boring. It certainly doesn't resemble anything that is going to actually win the world for Jesus. (My opinion, you can disagree...) What I mean is, we have a massive vision, "Win the world for Jesus." But our training doesn't look like it can achieve that goal!

So, I'm working on a solution. I'm not saying its perfect, or the best...yet.lol But the training I'm doing for my youth is practical. How to get people saved, how to do exorcisms, how to heal the sick, how to get holy and stay holy! In fact, the training will be so hard core that I'm even going to learn as I teach it. We're doing 1 worship, 1 Bible study and 1 outreach every week as their training, thats serving and saving on alternate weeks, although, most of the time we can do both at the same time. Then to be sworn in as a Soldier, you need to have started up your own initiative to get people served and saved!

I'm interested, what did your Soldiership training teach you?

Meagan

Tonight Meagan came to thursday night like she has been for a while. She says that,

"Life was just too much, too much hard work to live. Too many people making it worse, and people trying to make it better but actually making it worse. People were trying to help me, but without knowing it they were pushing me towards sinning. Tonight I prayed that God will come into my life and help me, so that I dont live my life on sand but on the rock! Now I feel different! I feel like I dont need to make up for all the bad things I've done wrong because Gods forgiven what Ive done wrong! He's helped me choose what path I want to take to getting my path on track and making me happier! He's helped me not be my worst nightmare! Im now looking forward to having fun, and being able to smile without doing the wrong thing!"

What a testimony hey??? Pray for her as she starts her walk with God! Another one for the Kingdom! Hallelujah!

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Mathew 7:25

Why Muslims follow Jesus...

I read a fantastic article today called "Why Muslims follow Jesus." I have a heart for Muslims as I lived in Bangladesh but check out the article! Heres a few of the points I got from it:

the number of new Christians each year outstrips the number of new Muslims...Muslims are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa and among African Americans by conversion, but elsewhere the growth is mostly by birth or immigration. The major growth for Protestants, especially evangelicals and Pentecostals, has been by conversion.

Reasons why Muslims are converting to Christianity:

1) Seeing a lived faith

• the power of God in answered prayers and healing.

• deliverance from demonic power as another reason they were attracted to Jesus.

• dissatisfaction with the type of Islam they had experienced.

• As with Paul and Cornelius in Acts, visions and dreams played a role in the conversion of many. More than one in four respondents, 27 percent, noted dreams and visions before their decision for Christ, 40 percent at the time of conversion, and 45 percent afterward.

2) The message is the medium

• The gospel message, especially its assurance of salvation and forgiveness, is also a significant attraction to Muslims.

• the spiritual truth in the Bible.

• Bible's teaching about the love of God

• love expressed through the life and teachings of Jesus.

Its amazing, Salvo theology goes so well with that. Incarnational living and loving, signs and wonders and holiness! Simon, you know what I'm thinking...lol

Revolution Recruits

We at Plenty Valley have turned our attention to discipling this term. Not an easy thing for me to do being such a lover of trying to get people saved! So, we're doing Soldiership Training, now called Revolution Recruits as our discipleship tool. It's not going to be all sitting down and listening to a boring guy like babble on, but each week these recruits fore the revolution will attend a worship, outreach and Bible study activity!

The outreach is going to be a mix of slum brigade type stuff, helping people in our neighbourhood with acts of kindness and service, mixed with street preaching, prophetic evangelism and "Pray For Souls." (P4S is a monthly prayer meeting we're having to pray for souls)

Everyones welcome as we at Plenty Valley are recruiting revolutionaries for the revolution, but what we really need is people to help disciple. If you are an active soldier, can evangelise, mentor, serve and disciple well, then we need you to help disciple this next generation of revoltuionaries!

I'll keep you posted as these Revolution Recruits storm the forts of darkness!

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations" Matthew 28:19

Sacrifice

Ive heard a couple of people talk about sacrifice today, especially in regards to Officership.

For a while my grandparents didn't even get paid as Officers. They would go collecting at Pubs and the like just to survive. They survived on peoples good will, my Nana recalls a lady who use to feed them and every now and then would even give her a steak! For a time, my grandparents like many others didn't even get paid as Officers. Thats what I call sacrifice.

When we were in Bangladesh we met some new officers. They told us a story of how they were living in there hut in the village, they had nothing. Literally nothing, and a thief came in during the night. "Give me your valuables" the thief demanded, they replied, "The most valuable thing we have is Jesus..." They then preached to this man who I believe later converted. All these two Officers had was Jesus! Now, thats what I call sacrifice.

As an Officers kid I can reassure everyone that we never went without. Yes, sometimes it was tight and we had to miss out on things, but we are called to sacrifice! It has taught me that Jesus is the most valuable thing we can have.

And who is the ultimate teacher on sacrifice? Jesus. The Holy Creator God tortured, killed and mocked for us, sinners. Why did He do it? Love. Why do we sacrifice? Love.

I often wonder if we didn't get paid as Officers would we would grow more as people like the thief in the night would see that the most valuable thing we have is Jesus... What do you think?

Check out Pete and Jo Brookshaws blogs and see how you can support cadets (soon to be officers) overseas with their inventive initiative, TACO. (Train A Cadet Overseas)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1

Prayers for October 2007
From The Voice of the Martyrs

NIGERIA Christians Killed by Muslims; Hundreds Displaced in Kano, Nigeria – VOM Sources

On September 28, angry Muslims killed 10 Christians and set churches, homes and businesses on fire in Tudun Wada, in Nigeria's Northern state of Kano. According to The Voice of the Martyrs' contacts in Nigeria, "At 9 a.m., Muslims began the attacks, setting fire to homes and churches. They attacked and killed any Christian they came across." More than 50 people were injured, while more than 500 members of the minority Christian population were displaced. VOM contacts added, "Muslim attackers burnt down all eight churches existing in the community, homes and businesses in the area."

Christians believe the attack resulted when Muslim students at a government secondary school in the area claimed a Christian student drew a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on the wall of the school's mosque. VOM contacts reported, "No Christian student would do this, since the school has nearly 2,000 students and only seven are Christian.... [also] the mosque is usually busy with Muslims praying around the clock during the (Muslim) Ramadan fasting season; therefore, no Christian student would have any way of getting close to the wall of the mosque to make such sketches on the wall." Pray for the families of those killed. Pray the Holy Spirit will be their greatest comforter. Ask God to encourage and provide for believers in this area. Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 3:5, 6

Sign up and pray! http://www.persecution.com/

New Blog

My really cool, Jesus loving girl friend has started blogging again... check her blog out at www.livingthebestforgod.blogspot.com.

Also, when I read the Bible Spiritual gifts seem to be things we didn't have before we were baptised in the Holy Spirit, then once baptised in the Holy Spirit they are opend up to us... Sarah can testify that even though she was a born again Christian until she was baptised in the Holy Spirit she didn't have any "Spiritual Gifts" as such. But once baptised in the Holy Spirit she now has gifts like visions etc... Have you been baptised in the Holy Spirit? Do you have Spiritual Gifts or just skills you have had since birth or since you started learning them? Ask the Holy Spirit to fall upon you right now and open up "Spiritual Gifts" to you!

Eccentric Ezekiel

Ive been reading the book of Ezekiel, I love it. There is only one way to describe Ezekiel, he was a crazy crazy man. In todays world we would think he was some weird cult leader!

Ezekiel was a Priest and a prophet, which is kind of rare, which means not only did He work in the temple but He told people what God was saying. From what Ive briefly read it all starts when he has a vision of God, in what I can only describe as a spaceship! I kid you not! Imagine telling people you saw a spaceship and God spoke to you! People would think you were crazy! Thats what Ezekiel was like! (read Ezekiel 1 for a glimpse of the space ship!lol)

He was one of those weird guys that says stuff like, "God told me that..." Even worse he would tell people stuff they didn't want to hear! God had told him that he had to tell people what their sins were because if they didn't and they died then their blood would be on his hands! Imagine being told you need to tell your whole school how their sinning otherwise Gods going to hold you responsible?!? He must have been crazy going around telling people all their sins, I'm guessing he didn't have many friends...

Also, as hes telling people stuff he demonstrates it in all sorts of weird and offensive ways. One of those ways is by lying on his side for 390 days then turning over to the other side and doing the same thing just to prove a point! And to make things worse, he had his food there and God was telling him to cook while he was lying there, so Ezekiel needed a fire to cook. Because he wasn't allowed to move the only thing he was allowed to burn was his own poo!!!! So Ezekiel compromised with God and they decided he wouldn't use his own poo, but he'd use cow poo! YUCK!Imagine if you were doing that? What would people in church think? What would your Corps officer think? I can just see it now, We get the message but thats just too much, don't make too much of a scene, your scaring the people in the church, they think your crazy!" Hahaha

Isn't Ezekiel a bit of a glimpse of how us Christians are seen like sometimes? He sometimes has unpopular beliefs, he tells people they need to repent, he does weird things, he says he hears and sees God, he must have offended and freaked out so many people! But he had good reason to, God told him to! Maybe you know someone who's like this, maybe you need stop judging them, maybe you need to encourage them, maybe thats what God is calling you to. Today, be encouraged that even though God asks us to do things that are weird and wacky, that you are not alone, and that God will reward you! Are you a Jesus freak like Ezeek the geek?

Ezekiel 3:16-19
16 At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me: 17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 18 When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for ^[a] his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 19 But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

Anonymous part 3

Ive had quite a few emails and comments left about the whole "Anonymous" thing so I think I will keep this strand going for a little longer. Im not sure how much I will be able to comment back and forth because Im going to the beach for a few days R&R...

Firstly, lets look at the Scripture I have used...

I wrote, "a light on hill cannot be hidden. (therefore if your hiding something maybe its dark...) If you are scared to comment maybe you are wrong!" Thats taken from Matthew 5. In this passage Jesus is saying that "You" referring to the people listening (thats us) are like a light on a hill if we follow Jesus. Heres the whole thing...

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Mat 5:14-16)

If anonymous is a follower of Jesus, (which he/she always says they are...) then we're not suppose to put it under a bowl to be hidden. Thats stupid. In fact, not only is it stupid to hide, but Jesus tells us to shine behind all men! Why? So that people may see your good deeds and praise Jesus! Which, is exactly the point Im making, if you have something worthwhile saying, something of light, then don't put it under a bowl, that is, let us see your life so we can praise God. If you are in the light and you hide the light (which is what anon does... although, more reguarly than not its not light but dark...) then that is a slap in the face of Jesus and a direct act of disobedience.

I wrote, "If you are scared to comment maybe you are wrong!" Well heres something to mull over, "18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18 What is that talking about, basically if you are made perfect in love then you have nothjing to fear, but not only that love drives that fear away. Don't be fooled people, fear is from the devil. (Not talking about fear of the Lord, which is a different type of fear which Im not going into...) What does fear have to do with? Punishment? If you write a comment and your scared of it then it must have to do with some sort of punishment. Why would you be punished for tlaking in the light? Are you afraid of other people?

I said, ""Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Which is not my words but a direct quote of Jesus in Matthew 10:28! And as I looked back it this morning its made even better sense, "So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." A far cry from "Im anon so people dont get me!" (lots of emails about that one...) I din't say it, Jesus did and its exactly what we're talking about. If you are an exception to this then it must be from the dark... But hey, I have been wrong before, try and prove me wrong!

Isn't it amazing that the Bible is filled with things about if you follow Jesus you will be persecuted yet we want to be anonymous because we dont want to pay the price. Imagine if Jesus kept anonymous so He wouldnt pay the price! hahaha what a joke!

And the last scripture. I put that in because whenever the conversation starts between me and "anonymous" they start crying that theyve been attacked. I work from the Bible, history, tradition, experience and reason. But sadly so many "anonymous" is from reason alone. Of course Im going to have a stronger arguement, I have so much more authority! Not my authority, but the Bible as authorative, and history, reason, tradition etc to back it up.

If I just left this conversation go I would be saying that you are all scoffers. But Im trying to reason with you and show my point because I believe that some of you will take it on. Most of what I have said, I believe is from God through the words of Jesus. I do not see any evidence at all in the Bible that we should be scared of one thing or the other, rather I see that God has told us to be a light, a light which you don't put under a bowl...

What do you guys think of the scripture I have used? And please, don't go silly, Im away and wont be able to delete your comments for a few days...lol

"Anonymous" (2nd edition...)

If you are one of the people that comments as "Anony mous" maybe have a think about what you are hiding, and before you comment get your life in such a way that you don't care if people know it's you for a light on hill cannot be hidden. (therefore if your hiding something maybe its dark...) If you are scared to comment maybe you are wrong! "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

Thats all I'm going to say to anonymous, and to all you bloggers that get annoying anonymous comments, and all you pastors that get stupid anonymous letters, heres a passage from Proverbs I read on Kelvin Merrett's new blog, "If you reason with an arrogant cynic, you'll get slapped in the face; confront bad behavior and get a kick in the shins.So don't waste your time on a scoffer; all you'll get for your pains is abuse.But if you correct those who care about life, that's different—they'll love you for it!Save your breath for the wise—they'll be wiser for it; tell good people what you know—they'll profit from it.Skilled living gets its start in the Fear-of-God, insight into life from knowing a Holy God.It's through me, Lady Wisdom, that your life deepens, and the years of your life ripen.Live wisely and wisdom will permeate your life; mock life and life will mock you." Proverbs 9:7-12

Who are you voting for?

On the weekend Jason Golden told us that his boss Pastor Danny Nahlia had a chance to meet the Prime Minister not long ago. During this time the PM was told to repent, which apparently he did. Perhaps evidence of this is in his new view on the Aborigines... Pastor Danny has also now prophesied that John Howard will win the election! A very bold prophesy considering what the opinion polls are saying!

As voting time comes closer I wonder who to vote for. Let me explain...

1) Which politician to vote for. Do I vote for the one who has a Christian value/moral system, or the guy with more of a Christian view on the marginalized?

I am simplifying a few things but here we go. Also, this is not all there is to these guys, this isn't deep, just something thats been on my mind...

John Howard opposes same sex marriages, opposes abortion, has good economy, good record, and stands up for what he believes in. He allows for freedom of speech. But his laws concerning the poor and marginalized seriously need some work. He says he is a Christian, he repents, prays etc

Kevin Rudd seems to be great for the working class. He seems to care about the average people, and the lower income people. The social type stuff. But he is in favor of abortion, same sex marriage, and religious vilification laws that prohibit intense debate between religions.

"On SBS News Friday 28 September, Mr Rudd was asked the following question - “Mr Rudd, do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?" Mr Rudd’s answer - "Well, I'm a - I'm a, a person who attends church regularly."

2) Which leads me to, who am I voting for. Not which politician but in this election who do I want to be better of? Do I vote for me? Or for the struggling family down the road who get racially abused because they are Africans? Surely both are valid... And at the same time we are to love our neighbor as our self. I think the Christian thing to do is to vote for others...

And just one more question to add while I'm thinking about it. Throughout history whenever there is persecution of the Christians the gospel spreads. If we get religious vilification laws that would persecute Christians would the gospel grow, therefore meaning should we welcome religious persecution???

I know there are gaps in what I have said, pick them out. But tell me who (for you or others) are you voting for? And did I make any sense?

GO FOR SOULS

Hallelujah!

I'm on my way out the door for church but thought you'd like to know:

10 Salvations (9 during outreach!!!)
2 Testified to being healed (1 physical the other emotional)
2 Sanctifications during outreach (I think a couple more last night...)
Heaps of seeds sewn
Amazing worship! Like real hard core letting it rip screaming out to God worship! There were so many times we all just stood there wanting to keep going coz it was so good!
Great preaching, Xander, Jason Golden and Rowan, with electives by the above and Steve Court
And heaps of other stuff

Great weekend, more on it soon!

GO FOR SOULS!

“Go For Souls” starts tomorrow!!!!!
Evening rallies are free!
Get as many people there as you can!
Lets see heaps of people get saved!
Don’t chicken out! What would have happened if Jesus chickend out before He went to the cross?
Jesus commands you to evangelise!
Whats stopping you?
Lets change whatever it is!
Come to Go For Souls evangelism conference!

PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON! MYSPACE AND BLOG IT ALL YOU CAN! SMS YOUR FRIENDS!

Check out the details at www.goforsouls.blogspot.com copy the poster on there and pass it on to everyone!

Thanks guys!

Catch the Fire

I visited "Catch the Fire Ministries" today and had a great time. They are a para-church team who are trying to unite Australian Christians in prayer to win Australia for Jesus. All the people I met today are on fire for God and firey evangelists! A couple of things stood out to me.

The guy I was visiting, Jason, has a Salvation Army flag on his wall! And there was our Territories 24/7 prayer information being flashed all around the office! Someone had found it on the internet and was showing everyone! (thats even before i got there...)
The people there are all different ages! They have young and old evangelists, and when I say old they were like 70 years old plus and still preaching it! hahaha
The stories they shared were amazing! People getting saved left, right and center! Stories of people leading people to Christ on the way to the bank, in the line at the bank, walking to work, and even sitting in the car at the traffic lights talking to the guy in the car next to him!

The underlying theme of everything they do is "Win the world for Jesus!" and it shows, all the staff want to see people saved, they all work for it, pray for it, and then God blesses them and they see it! Hallelujah!

Jason is a great evangelist and has lots to teach us all. He will be speaking at "Go For Souls" Evangelism conference on Saturday morning! You should all come and be challenged! the night sessions are free, the whole thing is only $10, and if you cant pay that I'll give you a job and you can come anyway. There is no excuse for not coming. This is what God calls us to. It is a command to evangelise! What is your response? I cant? I dont know how to? I dont know what to say? Well, if thats so, come to the conference! Skip work, family etc, get there! Our dieing world needs you!

Introverted Evangelism (part 1,part 2 @ Go for Souls)

I am a bit of an extrovert. So when I do evangelism the first thing I can say to someone I have never met before, or even someone I know could be, "Do you believe in Jesus?" I am confident to say that. I am confident to ask questions, probe, challenge etc all on the spot. I see people saved quite reguarly, Hallelujah! But I often feel sorry for introverts.

I am sorry for introverts because they seem to think that evangelism is for extroverts. I feel sorry for them because they think that they need to be like me to be a good evangelist. When really thats crap. God calls us all to be evangelists, we are all parts of a body, we all have different personalities, so we will evangelise in our own way. The problem is that introverts see extroverted evangelists then shy away from evangelism because they think thats how you should do it.

But! Introverts have a lot of qualities I dont have. Look at this:
Extrovert: “act-think-act."
Introvert: “think-act-think.”

Introverts focus on deeper relationships, whilst extroverts can scan a room of people to talk to. Introverts can be great evangelists, they just need to make evangelsim a priority, get passionate about evangelism, and use the personality that God has given them. It will require patience and prayer, but God will make a way.

Check out this link, it will help you out alot!
http://www.onmission.com/site/c.cnKHIPNuEoG/b.2270961/k.7B4F/Evangelism_for_Introverts.htm

Church

Just a thought,

The Army grows when we have outposts and new ventures. When we dont have them we seem to go backwards and actually decline in numbers. What comes first the new plant or a healthy corps that produces people to start the plant??? It doesnt matter. But what does matter id that we need to plant more corps, outposts etc...

If we do this we need them to be fruitful. What works is the first question I ask. We seem to have a few lines of thought here.
1) Attractional church- where we have a big meeting and try to attract people to us, and more specifically to our meetings
2) Integrated- where we try to integrate social work stuff to the corps that is sort of attractional
3)Incarnational- Where we live in a community, work intensively with the people we live near

I dont think Attractional works in the Salvos. Why? Because we're too small, our leaders are spread too thin, and our quality can be beaten very easy.

I havent seen the integrated approach work very well. Why? Because corps are piggy backed by the social stuff and pick up on the spiritual, and the people see right through it and arent cared for or brought into the community.

Incarnational works on a small scale, but when trying to make it grow can be hard. But places like Vancouver 614 has worked if over 150 people in just 54 years in their corps last time I heard.

Incarnational is Biblical (John 1) it is hard work (you cant lie about whether you love people or not, people see straight through it) it is also multiplication based (not addition based, so not just adding 1 person every now and then, its getting new people who start new cells etc..) But it can often missed out on joining together as a large group, but a weekly prayer meeting will sort that out easy!

The question I am often faced with is how did the salvos in the early days disciple their people so fast? How can we do that today?

Anyways, I think incarnational is the way to go, I don't see any other way working, whilst I see places like 614 in Melbourne, Vancouver, and Cho's church growing fast in a cell based incarnational way! What do you think?

The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. John 1:14 (MSG)

Living stones...

This is my 200th post! How times have changed! When I first started writing this blog I was at Greensborough! I recorded the good times and the bad times. Then I went to 614 where I had some great times, and don't forget the conversion of Scott and Sharron! Then I went to Plenty Valley and have had the privilege to blog conversions, sanctifications, healing's, and deliverances! Its important to remember where we have come from and where we are going.

I remember the story found in Joshua 4 where God parts the river and the people cross the over. They then are commanded to make altars from the stones they walked on to remind people where God has brought them. Then when people in the future ask "What do those stones mean?" They have an open opportunity to pass on what God has done for them.

So, today I hope that this blog is like a remembrance stone to what God has done and is doing in my life and in the lives of those around me. I hope that some people may read the blog of people being healed, being freed from depression, and of lives totally changing and ask themselves the question, "what does all this mean?" To which I answer, Jesus is alive! He takes away our sin and pain and swaps it for life in its fullness! And you can have that too!

"You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 2:5

Santified?

What is your idea of sanctification? What does it mean in a practical way? I mean, do you keep on sinning even if it is only every now and then? Brengle claimed at least 15 years without sinning! So, my question is this, 1) Are you sanctified and why do you think so, 2) If you are sanctified do you sin?

My definition of sanctification is "to be made holy". It means that my sinful nature is eradicated and instead I am filled with love! "Its no longer I that lives but Christ that lives in me!"

Why do I ask? Because I go through ups and downs in my life when I believe I am sanctified then times when I am clearly not. I often wonder what more do I have to do to receive this blessing of holiness from God? Maybe I have received it but keep losing it. I never want to get to the point though, when I give up on holiness because I don't think its working, after all I have signed a covenant with God saying I believe it! (Not to mention its pretty clear in the Bible...)

Anyway, Got a new book yesterday, "The Uprising" Its a holiness book for teens written by a teen (Olivia Munn) and Steve Court. So far its pretty good. They liken living in sin to swimming in poo! YUCK! But how true?!?!I am sure God will speak to me through it. But answer the above questions, I want to know what you think...

Here is the poster for Go For Souls:

Add it to your blog and myspace and let everyone know its on this weekend! Lets get as many people there as we can!

"Be with us"

Who asks God to be with them? Its a pet hate of mine when people say, "God, we pray that you will be with us today." I even say it sometimes, even though I immediately regret it... But what a slap in the face of Jesus! He said in the great commission, "I am with you always!" So, by us asking God to be with us we are in effect telling Him we don't believe what He's already told us. It may be just something you say, but stop it, it annoys me!lol

Do you feel God? Is your knowledge of God being with you in the feeling that God gives you? I had a good chat yesterday to someone who feels God alot of the time and when He asked me about feeling God I had a completely different answer. I hardly ever feel God. You see, before me and Jess broke up I felt God alot, then we broke up and I felt terrible and I couldn't feel God. My feelings for Jess were getting in the way of my feelings of the presence of God.

It was in that time I began to trust God, to have faith that He was there! Heres something for you to think about, God has always been there. Even when you can't feel Him! Even when you are in pain. Even when you are sinning! Hes there! And I thank God I don't need to feel God to know He's there anymore! I love it when I feel Him, but I now see that as a special time when God makes His presence felt.

So there you go, don't slap Jesus in the face. Believe what He said. The truth shall set you free! Hallelujah!

"P" for Evangelism

What do we need to be good evangelists? What do we need to do to evangelise? Heres a list of some "P" words to get you started...

Be PASSIONATE about Jesus
Make evangelism your top Priority
Use your own Personality

and heres a lot more...

Pray
Be Persistent (it can take years)
Have Pure motives (the motive is love if you dont know...)
Get Practical! (its not just talking ok?)
Have patience! (Good evangelism is not just making them say a prayer, but its travelling with them until they are ready to follow Jesus!)
Read Passages from the Bible
Be ready for Persecution and accept it when it comes (Jesus promises it so its no "Shock horror!" Rejoice in it!)
Be Prepared (know the gospel, know your testimony!)
PREACH!

If you have and do all the above "P" words you will have a POWERFUL evangelistic ministry!

General Burrows told us all today at ACC to evangelise and that its our priority in mission! And that if we say "its not my gift" thats an excuse. We all need to evangelise!

GO FOR SOULS

Application forms at ACC and the dates are 12-13th, We've only got an old copy of the poster on this computer... But it does make you double check the dates hey? What a great advertisement... What are the dates? 12-13th! Be there!

prophecy, enemies and judgment!

How bout this. We spoke to a Bengali friend who use to work in Bangladesh with Bo Brekke the day we found out about his untimely death. Being a local in the Asian region he commented that the man who killed Brekke (we'll call him J) would get help from Muslim extremists and that they would cloud and confuse the whole situation. And that 'J' would be unlikely to do much prison time... Then reports now say that 'J' was being guarded by 5 guards and he escaped! Now, I do not know for sure that any Muslim had anything whatsoever to do with any of this, but i thought it was interesting...
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Been at ACC this week and had an interesting thought. Our enemy in the Bible is the FLESH, WORLD and the dEVIL. Our sanctification deals with the flesh (sin nature) meaning we only have 2 enemies left. The devil is easy to beat, Jesus did that and has given us authority to do that too, and so we are left with the world. Is this a call to social justice? hmmmm
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And a couple of gems from my daily rations...

2 Thes 1:6-10
God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.
2:8
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

wow! I don't know when Jesus is coming back, but I know I don't need to worry about missing it. It sounds pretty BIG and LOUD! And what a description of hell! Makes me not want to sin... Makes me pretty pleased that Jesus died on the cross for me and took my punishment even though I don't deserve it! Hallelujah!

I think its my personality that i keep wanting to do new things... I could be doing something, or getting ready for something and Im already thinking about whats next. It can be a good thing always looking forward, but I need to keep myself in the now to make sure stuff actually gets done. Why do I say this?

I read this great quote in my rations last night,
"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us." (1 Thes 2:8)

What a great verse that speaks of a holiness incarntaional ministry! Me and some friends have an idea to start up a hardcore holiness-incarnational ministry amongst a poor suburb where we think the main religion is Islam.

Is it my personality or Gods calling we are not sure yet, but please pray for us as we try to work out what and how to do whatever it is God is calling us to!

Also, check out www.goforsouls.blogspot.com and check out the Go For Souls table at ACC! Lets get some people saved!

I read this today and thought it was cool... Ive rewritten it a little bit but I'll quote the good bit...

A Muslim girl in Indonesia got saved then started praying for her family to get saved. After 3 weeks it still felt as though nothing had happened , but then

"...the father turned to the daughter and said, "Why aren't you dead? I have poisoned you three times! Each time I increased the dosage! I don't understand why you are not dead!" To this the young woman replied that she was unaffected because Jesus was now her protector and had taken care of her. Upon hearing this the whole family placed their faith in Jesus as their Saviour!"

Hallelujah! What a simple witness! Make sure you make the most of all your opportunities God gives you! Why dont you drink? Because I believe in Jesus and... OR What did you do on the weekend? I went to church and God did this.... OR even Why are you so forgiving? Because Jesus loves me and helps me...

GO FOR SOULS evangelism conference! Not far away! Make sure you are coming! Its going to be great! People will get saved because of it! Gods raising up some hard core salvo evangelists! even if you don't think you have the gift of evangelism you need to come! God will equip and empower you!

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy! Nothing will harm you! Luke 10:19

PAKISTAN TC MURDERED

News is filtering through about Colonel Bo Brekke who was shot and killed on Thursday night. He was the Territorial Commander in Pakistan. Read the brief at IHQ and a news report here.

He and his wife followed my mum and dad to Bangladesh so his death has been a bit close to home. He had to dismiss an officer for alleged financial wrong doing which has led to his death. Places like Pakistan are corrupt, and so the corruption even comes into The Salvation Army. Some is lack of character other is cultural. We know that Bo has had to make tough decisions like that one before, so i know him as a man of not compromising.

I believe that that is what we need in the Army. Men and women of God who will not compromise their beliefs and mission.

Lets remember all the people in our Army, and in the Christian faith who have not compromised. Bo will be looked back on as a hero, but there are many other officers and soldiers who have led a life of non-compromise with all sorts of loss. They have lost jobs, positions, friends, family, some have even left the Army even though they have poured their heart and soul into it their whole life. Lets thank God for His faithfulness too for without it, everything else would be worthless.

Preaching

I am currently writing a sermon for Sunday. Its got me thinking. In the early church it doesn't seem to say that anyone ever prepared a sermon, and when I look i see that some of the best sermons, like Peters at Pentecost, Steve just before he got stoned etc were not prepared sermons! They didn't spend hours sitting around working out what they were going to say.

In fact Paul said "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power!" And he says if you ever get into boiling water then trust God and He will give you the words to say...

Then I see at uni, bible college, training college etc that preaching has to do with methods. It has to do with saying the right thing, being theologically correct.

it doesn't seem right to me. If good preaching is from a Spirit filled person, someone full of the power of God, then why don't our preaching classes look more like Pentecost and less like a boring uni class? Are we setting ourselves up for failure? i mean, who really listens to many sermons and remembers them during the week? How many "theologically correct university prepared" sermons have seen thousands of people saved compared to those who live in the Spirit? What are we aiming for? What are we expecting?

So, I believe that we do need good theology. We learn that, but when it comes to preaching I think we need to rely less on our methods and more on the power of God... As for me, I'm going back to write my sermon...

House Church

A great expression of the love of God can be found in some house churches. Here the young and old gather to spend time together, to worship God, to bring people into an experience of God and to get people saved. It normally consists of eating together, talking together and doing life together.

What we have been doing at plenty Valley with the youth feels like this. We eat together, watch the tv together, go places together, talk about God together, pray together etc. We have a time on Thursday nights, (all welcome to join) when we eat, play, then worship God with the band. We have people as young as 5 and as old as 60 joining in!

But the number of people coming has gotten to about 15. Wolfgang Simpson a leading expert on house churches around the globe says that at 13-16 you should split in half. Because if you don't people don't get a say and don't feel welcomed and it turns into a congregation.

So the questions I'm thinking are:
how do we grow and at the same time disciple with limited leaders?
Do we split or stay together?
How do we avoid the negative congregation stuff?
How do we keep the great family feeling we have at the moment?

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!

International man of ministry

He is s state rock and roll champ, He is a lifeguard who can swim underwater 150+ metres in one breath, He has sung infront of thousands of people and even on tv, He is a ladies man (just ask the home leaguers...) who always looks after his appearance by wearing pink floral tops, loves his salvo cap, has been known to fake tan and sometimes wears make up... (ok, when he was on tv...)Everyone knows him and he is mates with all the important people. He has been preaching since he was 13, He can play timbrel routines both left and right handed, he is one of the best worship leaders in Australia, Welcomes all the important people on behalf of MCD, Is speaking at connections, has led scores of people to Christ, If you can do something, he can probably do it better... And theres always stuff I dont know about him...

And its his birthday today!

Happy Birthday mate!

Sad stats

Read the Booth quotes below... but hat tip the following stats to CC via SC...

AUS Territory Stats
1996 senior soldiers: 12,129
2006 senior soldiers: 10,978 (9,318 in 2007 year book, reflecting stats for 2005)
1996 junior soldiers: 2,402
2006 junior soldiers: 1,158
1996 active officer strength: 650
2006 active officer strength: 534
1996 number of corps: 186
2006 number of corps: 165
1996 number of outposts: 33
2006 number of outposts: 5

Maybe we have lost our vision/mission/purpose! Aren't we suppose to be winning the world for Jesus? It shows we need more people evangelising! We need more people starting up outposts and corps. It shows every person is important to the mission of the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army needs you, infact, the world needs you! Fight addiction, depression, despair and sin! Join up 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!

Firstly, let me apologize for sounding like I don't like/appreciate older people! I love older people, I even worked in a nursing home for a bit! I did not meant it sound like I don't like older people! Rather I don't like some of the values and beliefs some older people have!

So having said that, I hate the values of church being quiet and in order! I love church when people are speaking out!Testifying! Talking to new people! Trying to get people saved! It is messy, and I love that! Why? Because God is there and is moving without being bound by human comfort! Have a think about that one for a minute... At the center of this is what is our mission? Is it a nice quiet service or is it a meeting to get people saved and or sanctified? What do we really want? I love it messy because that is where I have seen God do great things from 614 to Plenty Valley! God moves when we let him!
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Also, Heres a couple of verses I love, (not meant to be connected to the above, but in a way it does...)

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." Matthew 18:15-17
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Also check out Dave Collinsons blog, especially if your a youth. Weigh in and tell them how good you are...

GO FOR SOULS
Evangelism Conference
OCTOBER 12-13th

LEARN-PRAY-EVANGELISE
GENERAL WILLIAM BOOTH WANTED 100,000 PEOPLE SAVED IN JUST 6 MONTHS! THESE DAYS WE STRUGGLE TO GET ONE SAVED PER WEEK! COME AND LEARN HOW TO EVANGELISE AND WIN THE WORLD FOR JESUS! EVERY FOLLOWER OF JESUS IS TO EVANGELISE. "COME FOLLOW ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN." IF YOUR FOLLOWING JESUS YOU NEED TO EVANGELISE. COME AND LEARN SOME WAYS HOW YOU CAN EVANGELISE!

Key Speakers:
Jason Golden (Catch the Fire Ministries!)
Cpt Steve Court
Lt Rowan Castle

Only $10
brochures out now

www.goforsouls.blogspot.com

COPY THIS POST AND REPOST ON YOUR BLOG AND MYSPACE

Revolution or Evolution?

Ive been pretty busy this week! Havent had much of a chance to slow down but here I am with another poast...

When I think of church disputes I wonder, who is the person who should give in? If there is a congregation with older people with one set of values/vision and misison and the younger ones have a different one who should give in? Is there a compromise in the middle or do we follow whichever one is closest to Scripture?

Generally speaking the church in Australia has been trying to mix two completely different types of church together. Theres the people with a club mentality who want church for themselves and dont really care alot about those not in their club. People are welcome to join but they cant change the way they do things...

Then theres those who actively want to see people saved. They are outward focussed. Pastoral care etc takes a back seat in favour of everyone putting in, everyone being a minister, everyone helping, everyone saving people.

When these two come together they are different and the church has been trying to shift the first type of values to look more like the second set of values. The only problem is is that it is not working! The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. It is a way or evolution. We'll keep going and see what happens.

The other way it can be dealt with is to try and start something completely new. This is revolution. A drastic change. The church would be outward looking and not so insular. It would be a new plant built upon a set of values, and would be very clear what their purpose is.

Pros and cons are for both. Revolution could lose older generations, but get new people saved, evolution keeps generations together but its hard to get people saved.

What is the purpose of the church? What is the purpose of the Salvation Army? I would say to get people saved! That was Jesus' purpose.

As for me, Im beginning to think, are officers allowed to be revolutionaries? Or do they have to be maintainers of the evolution process that has been proven not to work? Am i too negative about evolution? Is it working somewhere? let me know!

On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
Matthew 9:12

PORN

Came across this again this week...





We laugh about it now, maybe find it a little bit offensive, but this is a massive problem in society and many people don't even know it, and if they do know it, they dont want to say anything about it. I even know a few people who have fessed up to porn being a problem in their relationships.

Porn is a $57.0 billion (U.S) world-wide - $12.0 billion in the US industry. Its massive. Its destructive... For more info, stats, help, porn filters for your computer go to www.xxxchurch.com

Free will?

There is a tension between human free will and Gods sovereignty. Is God completely in charge of everything that happens or is it all us, or is it a bit of both?

People are fine to say that God is control of everything until the subject of evil pops up. People are fine to say that Gods will will be done no doubt about that. But I really doubt that. 30,000 kids dieing every night because they're hungry, is that Gods will? I seriously doubt that. The young girl that gets kidnapped raped and tortured? Gods will? I don't think so.

God cant be holding a remote control up in heaven determining what will and wont happen. It would mean that our ideas of God being love, holy and just would all fly out the window.

So what can we say? What is the other choice? The other choice is that God has given us a bit of responsibility. That we choose what we do. I read a great quote in Shane Claiborne's book "The Irresistible Revolution." I think he sums this up, "He wants to ask why God allows all of this poverty and war and suffering to exist in the world. And his friend says, "Well, why dont you ask?" The fellow shakes his head and says he is scared. When his friend asks why he mutters, "I'm scared God will ask me the same question!"...... I can feel the Spirit whisper to me, "You tell me why we allow this to happen. You are my body, my hands, my feet."

So is this just our reason implying this? No way. It sounds awfully like asking God foe His Kingdom to come and His will to be done, it sounds like the sheep and the goats. It's exactly like the God of the Old and New Testaments who likes to work with His creation. And why wouldn't He? We are made in His image...

Last night we had some youth who are not Christians come to band practice. As they sung along to the worship songs just like karaoke, they apparently started to feel better and get in a better mood. Was it just the sound of the music? Was it the video that flashed up on the screen with the songs? Was it they just liked to sing? Or was it something deeper.

I keep hearing it said that "The Lord dwells in the praises of His people." (I cant find that exact verse but if you know where it is or one like it please let me know...) So, if God is amongst His praises then He was there last night and one reason why they were feeling better could have been because God was touching them. Infact, I am convinced that as they sung God touched them and they drew nearer to Him.

Now, heres something thats not totally related but I'll say it anyway. Alot of people bag out churches like Planetshakers. I even use to do it for a short time. Its all about the music they say, or its all hype etc. But its not. The other night at a Bible study almost everyone in the room (and we were all of different ages) said that Planetshakers changed our lives! And to add to that Me and the others all said that it was during a worship time when we heard God say something to us.

So, lets keep worshipping God through music as He comes and lives among us as we sing His praise. I think its a great way of getting people saved and I think the churches with big numbers would all agree!

Also, GO FOR SOULS CONFERENCE is in one month. Cost $10. Get there. Save some souls!

Ive been thinking about how to answer some questions from my last post. This is what comes to mind...

I love the way Jesus gives away power and authority. It makes me feel great! It makes me feel important. I get excited about working for God, excited that God wants to do His work through simple old me! It gives me purpose! It gives me a reason to live. It fills me with passion. And it definitely causes me to make sure I do the best I can for God. I love the grace God gives me. Not just for Salvation but in everyday situations. If I stuff up, God lets me know, forgives me, then gives the power not to do it again. As I am faithful with a few that God gives me, God gives me more. And to top all this off, not only does God give me authority, power, purpose, passion, accountability, forgiveness and grace, but He serves me! Not in the "I am His master" way, no, He serves me out of love... He does what He does for me because He LOVES ME! I serve an awesome God!

Lord, i thank you that you love me. Thank you that you make me feel great! Thank you that you choose to work through me, and that you empower me and allow me to work for you! Thank you that I don't need to go through a long list of people to get to you, Thank you that there is only one mediator between man and God, Jesus Christ! I will serve you all of my days!

Sin in the structure

I have been working on submitting a grant proposal for funding this week. And I have heard it said by many and I mean many officers that the line that a proposal has to go through is way way too long. And as I look at the flowchart and talk to people one thing has become obvious which is the system is choking The Salvation Army.

To show you that Im not making all this up heres the steps I need to go through:

1) Get the right signatures and approval from my corps
2) Then it moves to the divisional board approval
3) Then to the Territorial Corps Program Secretary
4) Then the Territorial Programe planning council
5) Then the Territorial Finance Council
6) Then the information is forwarded to the division via the Corps programme department

And, that’s all pending on wether or not it gets approved at each stage!

Whats wrong with this?

1) It takes too long both time submitting resubmitting etc
2) It takes too long in the chain
3) It takes up a lot of Divisional and Territorial personnel time
4) It makes the statement that even though Divisional Commanders may have a budget of tens of millions of dollars they can not approve $2000 without permission!
5) It creates confusion and dissatisfaction leading to people not even wanting to put in a submission
6) It must make D.C’s and everyone else involved feel like they are not allowed to do the job they have been put in there for
7) Silly positions are made up to accommodate this ridiculous procedure

As a positive, I’ve heard of a Corps in India who was getting some funding for a 1000 seat hall but they thought that was too small so they made a 5000 seat hall instead and then told IHQ. They did some self funding, it worked, it was in line with their mission and IHQ didn’t get to hung up about it.

Then in the latest ONFIRE we read of Kenya, where growth is amazing, probably the fastest if not just the biggest in The Salvation Army, they hold property boards where the different corps tell THQ etc what they have done. The mission is aggressive and they need a structure where there aggressive expansion is allowed to happen. They are not asking for permission but for a bit of help. People are empowered and the mission is being done, souls are being saved and THQ isn’t getting in the way.

All this reminds me of Jesus and His servant leadership. We all know that the best leaders in the world have very similar qualities to Jesus. They empower people, encourage people, they serve people.

THQ and DHQ since they are our leaders should be there to support those on the front lines. Not lord it over us. That is bad practice resulting from the bad theology whether subconscious or conscious.

The General asks us, “Is sin in the camp?” Yes there is. What will the Army do? Are they doing anything at the moment? Let me know.

Lets give DC’s more power. Lets let them do their job. If a project is in line with the four mission directives then lets get on with it!

Join with me and pray for our leaders that they will see the problem and correct it before it gets any worse. Lets create a Territory that will empower its leaders and encourage aggressive growth.

Old people slain...

I had some good discussion on my last post, but I feel I need to clarify a little bit.

One thing that is bugging me and I would guess with alot of youth in The Salvation Army, (but not restricted to The Army, any denomination in Australia...) is that our ideas are put down or demoted because others see our views as views of our generation. However I would say it is based on what Jesus said for us to do! It is based on the Bible. And how the church in Australia over the past 50 years hasn't been able to do it. (Again this is a problem which has stretched across all denominations and it is a problem as we see the continued effects of the last 50 years...)

And so now we see the problems with the older congregations who have been faithful are beginning not to fit in with a Jesus-biblical-missional culture of being a light in the dark. Thats my opinion, debate it please! But give the youth some slack, we're doing and trying to do what we think Jesus commands us to do, it is not out of our generational difference as such, but out of our generational response to the gospel of Jesus.
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Secondly, Bible study today was great! We read through 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:1. As we read it we were all challenged by the bit "compelled by the love of Christ." We then prayed for each other to be filled with the love of God. As we were praying the Holy Spirit fell and so did we as we were prayed for.

This is often regarded to being called "slain in the Holy Spirit." One of my friends hates the term because slain refers to being killed and we haven't really been killed. I try to make the point we're being "like dead" or we're crucifying the sinful nature type thing, but the phrase, "slain in the Holy Spirit" doesn't quite fit...

So, can you please suggest some other names for being slain in the Holy Spirit? I cant think of any that sound as cool as that but I wanna be more correct... help me out!

When the focus of the church starts looking outside rather than inside those who are not looking outside feel left behind because people aren't looking at them as much anymore.

I feel this is one of the major challenges at church t the moment. We are shifting missionally. We are becoming a church for the unsaved, and the safe, comfortable Christians are not getting what they want. They are no longer the focus of the church.

For the church to go forward we now have to disciple everyone about our mission. About Gods lifesaving mission. We need to take people with us. So, by doing this the people on the inside are the people who are getting people saved. The look of an inside person changes.

The problem the church faces is whether to stay with the comfortable safe Christians who don't do mission, or do we refocus our church on mission and create a new set of "inside" people? What are you going to do?

im reminded of Cat Booth, "To change the future we need to disturb the present."

Compassion

September 23 Day to pray for peace... And Sunday 30th September is day to pray for victims of the sex-trafficking industry... Make sure your officers are aware of them and will do something special for them...

Check out the generals site, new pastoral letter is up... i joined his mailing list today, so should you... And following an old army tradition, pray for the General and some head honchos at lunch time...

Also, heres a cool quote I found in Bonnke's book I still haven't finished...

"What could Jesus gain from His works of mercy?He did not need them for His own profit. Why did He go to Bethesda among that litter of humanity, who were like flotsam and jetsam cast up on a forgotten shore? Why should He go to Nain to meet a dead man, or go anywhere or come to earth at all, for that matter? There was no possible benefit for Himself. The truth is, Jesus had a fatal attraction to the wretched. It led Him to a cruel death, but that was no consideration to Him. He would bring His healing touch to broken lives no matter what. We read that in the eyes of Jesus, the multitudes were as sheep without a shepherd and, "He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. Matthew 14:14""

As The Salvation Army, we need to have this fatal attraction th the wretched! William Booth said, "Go for souls and go for the worst!" Too often we put our needs ahead of those who need Jesus most. We put our worship preferences ahead of those who could be saved in our meetings, we put our t.v time or fellowship time ahead of reaching the LOST the LAST and the LEAST! If we want to be like Jesus, lets ask God to fill us with His perfect love, so that we too may be filled with compassion!

Holiness is being made perfect in love. Whatever we sacrifice on the altar, God will sanctify. Lay yourself on the altar, do away with sin, and be filled with the love and peace that surpasses all understanding!

Also, check out www.goforsouls.blogspot.com

GO FOR SOULS

Hey peoples!

Make sure you check out the GO FOR SOULS conference website! It is going to be awessome! Especially if you cant make ACC during the week this is on the weekend and will be great!

Its to teach people how and why to evangelise! Its going to get practical, theres going to be great teaching, great prayer, and then we're going to go and practice!

It looks like the electives will be split in two, softcore and hardcore and every participant will choose one from each of those... Its gonna be great!

And to top all this off, it looks like its going to absolutely free!

More details in the next 3 days then its all set! Keep it in your prayers and wipe your diaries clean from Friday 12th October 730pm to Saturday 14th October all day!

Its aimed at youth but not only for youth! If you dont consider youself "youth" still come it will all be relevant to you anyways!

As William Booth said, "Go for souls and go for the worst!"

Jesus ministry

I find it really interesting that throughout all of Jesus ministry in the New Testament that whenever someone was saved etc that it was by Jesus doing something amazing. That amazing thing was often supernatural and was preceeded by someones faith. So the way it went was something like this:

1) Jesus did something
2) People spoke about it
3) People believed
4) People received

So, my logical thinking tells me that we need to do the same as Jesus if we want the same results. The other thing about Jesus was who He was.

1) He was without sin
2) He loved people
3) No one could fault Him
4) He spoke the truth

The reason why He did things often followed a pattern like this:

1) He was walking around
2) He saw need
3) He was filled with compassion
4) He did something about it

And to wrap it up heres a quick list of the things that Jesus did:

1) He did miracles
2) He preached
3) He taught
4) He prayed
5) He died
6) He rose

I think if we did those things we would have amazing ministries! Lets do it, lets get holy, filled with love and compassion, have our eyes opend to need, and be filled with the power of God to perform miracles! Lets get some people saved today!

40 people read my blog each day. If we all got 2 people saved before Christmas thats 80 people!

GO FOR SOULS CONFERENCE IS GONNA ROCK! Stephen Court, Jason Golden, Xander, and a few others speaking! Make sure you check it out! Posters out this week at last!!!

Demonic strongholds

Its been too longsince I last blogged! Ive been busy with some mates from Perth who have come over to visit me!

I am convinced that the things we do in the physical realm have an impact in the spiritual realm. I dont like making a too big a gap between the two, but there is a spiritual realm that we dont always see and thats what Im talking about.

For example, when we say something against someone it is a curse, when we say something good, it is a bless. When we sin it creates something in us which can lead to a demonic stronghold. If we agree with one of the devils lies, or we agree with a sin, it can create a stronghold in us which is hard to get rid of...

That is, hard to get rid of until you come into contact with the blood of Jesus!

The other night I was talking to a person who asked for a word from God concerning a block he felt in his heart. I prayed and got the word "demonic strong hold" straight away, I argued with God saying I think its just me, but then it was confirmed along with the sin which was allowed to stay because of fear.

Then I told this person about what was going on and the demon begun to manifest. The person started going manic, so we ordered this person to fix their eyes on Jesus! They did and we started praying on our knees and breaking curses in Jesus name! We agreed with Jesus and His laws instead of the devils. As I prayed the person fell forward in the Spirit! It was really cool! Praise God Hes come to give us freedom!

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:19