grace games

I've been working on a project for church aiming at getting not yet Christians involved in mission. It brings up questions of why do we bother, and can it be mission without them being able to evangelise? Having the good works but not the faith.

Jesus life and ministry can be expressed in one word, grace. His ministry to the poor and oppressed was an expression of His grace. His ministry of the cross was and is an expression of His grace. To take away any of His ministry is to limit His grace.

Therefore, when we talk about ministry lets not talk about things we do, rather lets talk about what we are administering. We are ministers of grace, just as Jesus is the ultimate grace giver, and lets make sure it is a full grace not missing out any aspect of Jesus ministry of grace.

So when it comes to allowing the not yet saved to mission lets be aware that the grace they administer comes from the same source as Jesus did. But lets also be aware that Jesus offers more. Lets build on their grace showing them the ministry of Jesus so their grace may become full.

There seems to be some places around Salvo circles that hold youth meetings and other meetings and count all the people that are coming, they get happy with the numbers, then one day they realise that alot of the people are 1) already saved and 2) just popping in from other corps. This suggests that there is a serious lack of 1) care for the unsaved and 2) outreach to get people saved.

Our meetings have become too Christian, they have become too apatheitc, mediocre, lukewarm, selfish. My understanding of a Salvation Army meeting was to get people saved and sanctified. Today we go to sing and to 'worship.' Don't get me wrong, those things are fine. But how about this.

Instead of counting how many people are in your meeting, try counting how many people there are outside your meeting in your 1) your sphere of influence (school, work, friends, family...) and 2) your community. (town, city, suburb...) that are going to hell because no one bothered to tell them that Jesus saves, sets free, brings wholeness, forgives, accepts, heals, delivers etc

We have a good message to share, why don't you share it today. Call someone up, email, myspace, facebook, street preach.

Theres a dieing world to save

JESUS IS LORD OVER EVERYTHING

Some really cool stories here... Try read them all, they're all pretty cool, supernatural, and God glorifying! Warning: if you're not a Holy Spirit lover you may take offense...
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I'm back from camp! And yes I did get the gastro bug which a few of us are pretty certain was food poisoning... For those of you who dont know I went to a Salvo camp in Adelaide and they had to finish a day early because over 20 youth and leaders got sick! They even had to quarantine the sick (lepers) from the rest of us on the edge of camp. It reminded me how in Bible times, and some places today, that the lepers were on the outskirts of town and people would ignore them etc... So, instead of ignoring them we decided to tease them to cheer them up... One guy preached to them and a couple got saved! Hallelujah! The week was great hearing RC, SC and AW and others preach! The last night was awesome, the leaders had a powerful prayer time beforehand where we sung Awesome God followed by an outbreak of shouting praises to our king! The night ended with demons getting booted out of every hole we could find! God is our deliverer! Hallelujah!
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Last nights Macca youth meeting was great! Not heaps of people there but heard some great testimonies! Worship was great with a leader seeing angels whispering into peoples ears! Then I had a short preach and a guy got saved! Hallelujah! To cement it all in, I got him to exercise his new God given power and authority over sickness and he layed hands on a guy with a bad neck and he was healed! Hallelujah! He hadn't been saved 20minutes and he'd obeyed Jesus command to heal the sick! Glory to God for He alone is worthy of all praise and honor!
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While I was sick and in bed I saw something evil in the spirit outside my window, as I prayed I saw a vision of a lion roar and scare it away! The lion kept roaring throughout the night as I was praying for healing...
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I heard great stories of Holy Spirit stuff while I was hanging with some guys at easter camp. One guy was prayed for by a friend of mine, he had a glory fit and woke up underneath the salvo flag, a symbol of being dead to sin alive in Christ!

Friend also prays for people but shoots them with a bow and arrow that we cant see. People have watched this holy prayer warrior at work and has been reported that he will walk behind people in worship un-noticed and shoot someone and they will be affected somehow, some even jerking forwards... Other times shot in knees to work for healing... Apparently this guys brother uses a spear...

These guys also prayed for another friend of mine that angels would tickle him (there is more context to this story... dont freak out too quick with questions of "why") and the guys said it was unbearable! He was getting tickled all over!
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Theres some stories of my last week for you to chew over and think about. How can you use the same techniques in your ministry today and this week?

I'm going to Adelaide for a week! I cant wait to get there and soak up the Holy Spirit times we will be having. Pray for the team that is leading. Pray for the speakers. Pray for the youth that they will be impacted and challenged to lay it all down for Jesus.
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Jesus has come to change the world. It is a simple message. He has given us simple commands. Love God and love others. We get so caught up in theology, structure, routine, ritual etc. This week I'm reading the gospels to see what God is really asking of us.

I encourage you to read the gospels with an open mind, then lets look at what Jesus did and taught and see how we match up...
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I have been reminded that we need to be a holiness movement today. Search your soul, is there any darkness on there? Any bitterness? Resentfulness? Unforgiveness? Any thing that is not of God? Jesus died to take that away and restore your relationship with the creator of all things created. We are commanded to be holy, God reminds us that He is the God that makes us holy, so lets submit to His will and get made holy today by the cross through the Holy Spirit. Now.
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Jesus saves!

HAZARD: ETERNAL PUNISHMENT

I have been flat out this week. Yesterday I went and did some OH and S training for my red card. (Construction site) And I learnt something that has made alot of sense to me. When there is a hazard there is a chain of things to do to make sure that the hazard doesn't eventuate...

Step 1 - Elimination - Is there a way to eliminate the hazard?
Step 2 - Substitution - If we cant eliminate, what can we swap it with?
Step 3 - Engineering - If we cant swap it, how can we change it?
Step 4 - Admin - If we cant change it what policies, procedures can we put in to harm minimise?
Step 5 - Personal Protective Equiptment- This goes with the above steps, what can we wear to protect us from the hazard?

We are living in dangerous times. People are going to hell as we read this blog. That is a BIG HAZARD. People seem to like Jesus but not the church, so what should we do?

We can eliminate the things they dont like about church, the boring bits, the hypocrisy, the rituals, the sitting down listening to one person... What do we need to swap? We can swap the 'conservative' church for new expressions of church. House churches, cafe churches, etc...

But what do we do? We start at the other end of the hazards list. We look at ourselves, ourselves, ourselves. Then we look at the policies we have, as if that would make a difference to anything, and then we look at tweaking the problem. Never do we look at elimination or substitution. And if we do its a last result.

William Booth was not like this. He eliminated things that were preventing people from getting saved. Things like baptism, the sacraments, boring church. He substituted the old form for the new form, for The Army. And people loved it. He adapted for OTHERS. He didn't start off with personal protection and sheets of paper that say how to do things. He started from the top.

What are we doing? We have lost our way. We have lost our tradition. We are not even being logical. We are controlled by this fear of change. Its time to break free Salvation Army! Its already happening in some parts.Llook around your Territory to see some of the logical soul saving thats going on...

I heard a great story the other day from a guy who works at a Salvo Store. A guy stumbled in drunk, then the salvo guy had a brief chat followed by a prayer. The guy left completely sober! God is good!
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A friend of mine was working at a cleaning place. She was earning chicken feed and wasn't too happy until she found out that the Indian guys she was working with were illegal immigrants and they were getting paid under $4 per hour. She reported it and the guys who owned the business got shut down. Lets be on the look out for Asylum seekers, listen to their story and look after them where we can.
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Every place has a DNA. Its what makes it up, so in the church setting beliefs, structures, principles, values etc make up the DNA. One of the key DNA bits of the early church and of the Chinese church is that they multiply. The early Salvation Army had this too, with people of all ages opening fire in different countries, towns and cities.

Has The Salvation Army lost this part of who we are? When was the last outpost your corps started up? When was the last time your corps started a new meeting for different people? When was the last time you multiplied yourself and led someone to the Lord? When was the last time you even thought about doing it?

We need to imprint this multiplying DNA on us again. We need to be telling new converts that they are church planters. We need to plant more churches, corps and outposts ourselves! We shouldn't have to wait for DHQ or THQ. Just do it. Its who we are.

Start dreaming! Where do you think needs a light in the darkness? How can you make it happen? Stop putting it off, just do it. Theres a dieing world to save!

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?

Alan Hirsch

Ive been at Forge Mission Conference and the Youth workers and interns conference this weekend, they're all tied in together. Its been pretty good. My highlight so far has been listening to Alan Hirsch.

He's basically told us that we have been getting discipled by our culture, through materialism, consumerism etc and that the church is in decline in the one third world. Both statements are true. He then goes on to say that China which rose from 2 million people to 130 million people in 60 years without "leaders and buildings" is the pattern for us to follow.

People ask him how they did it. And he likes to get people in a room and not let them get out or get a drink until they've worked out how. "Everybody knows how, they just dont act on it." I believe this is true. Often we overlook how simple the message is. We also have a problem with leaders. That is, we rely on them.

The Biblical way of leadership is not based on "leadership" but rather what we are set to be... Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds and Teachers. (Ephesians) Then he says when they all work together it works. It creates a movement. But we dont operate in that system. "Every movement in decline is driven by shepherds and teachers." You need the APE at the front, they're the ones that pick up steam. I could say so much more, but I'll leave it for my next post...
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Heres a couple of quotes for you to look at in the mean time...

"In my redemption is the redemption of the world.

"Our loss of eschatology has led to a loss of urgency

"Father Christmas (Santa Clause) is a materialistic pedophile

On consumerism, tv etc "Everyday we are being discipled into another story.

"The culture is discipling us, not Jesus

He explained how in Australia we have the Tall Poppy Syndrome, where we cut down to size our leaders, heroes etc This makes leading people hard... In the USA they have Heroe Worship, ite easier to lead people as they follow champions... We need to find a new Champion following...

"The basic message is "Jesus is Lord." Easy to understand, hard to follow...

"The best critique of the bad is the practice of the better.

"Pacify now is spiritual and moral cowardice.

"You're designed to achieve what your already achieving.

Praise God! A guy from the breakfast club got saved today! He devoted His life to living for Jesus. We prayed that He would be filled with the Holy Spirit and He had a glory fit and fell on the ground! Hallelujah! As he lay on the floor you could see he was clearly deep in prayer. One cool thing was that he was doing the palms up prayer and he said they got too heavy to hold up! The Holy Spirit was filling and overflowing him! Please pray that his commitment will not weaken but will grow stronger every day as he ministers in his school!
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We've got a new group. Not sure what to call it yet. Probably C.A.T.S Community Action Teams. 4 groups that the followers of Jesus in Plenty Valley Youth are expected to be involved in, Power Evangelism, Fair Trade, Servanthood and Fund raising. So far its going really well and we have opened it up to any youth to join, so we are building some great teams that will serve the community and give us opportunities to lead people to Christ!
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Just saw OASIS on ABC. It really really touched me. Not really sure what to say, but I will reflect on that over the next few days.
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I spoke early in the week of prophetic boundaries/rules. Heres the basic run down...

When giving the word you must test the word
is it encouraging, building up and or edifying?
is it line with the word of God?
is it line with the fruit of the Spirit?
is it true?
we also need to test the source: is it of God? Is it of us? Is it of the enemy?
is the voice/vision/person speaking etc in line with the fruit of the Spirit?

When receiving the word
dont accept it all as from God straight away
test the word against scripture, the church, the Spirit
is it true?
does it make sense?
if it doesn't make sense "put it on the shelf" leave it there until it is confirmed

New Discipleship?

We have been struggling, like most churches with discipleship. Christian kids have always been in Bible studies, they know alot about the Bible yet they find it hard to apply it. In our corps we see 80% of the work done by just 20% of the congregation. Meanwhile Christ is calling us to live for Him. The percentages just dont add up.

So last night we gave them a challenge. We gave them 3 ministry choices and they had to commit to being actively involved in one of these each week. The choices were; Power Evangelism, Servanthood, and Fair Trade.

We gave them a form that had a box for every week, and in the box they had to fill out, what they were going to do, where, etc And so the youth worked out for themselves how they are going to be ministering. We're trying to say good bye to the days when the leaders have to do everything. So now, if your following Jesus at Plenty Valley or Macleod, you need to be involved in a ministry group.

We also got them to sign a covenant for this term deciding to read 2 chapters of the Bible each day, pray for people every day, 3 conversations with not yet saved people a week, etc So we're putting the emphasis on them working and living for Jesus. Discipleship this way looks alot more like how Jesus did it. Feel free to copy our idea that we stole from the Bible...

church growth

Ive been reading some of Alan Hirsch's, "The Forgotten Ways" and have come across some cool stats...

Christians in 100Ad = as few as 25,000
Christians in 310AD = up to 20 Million!

Christians in China 1949 = 2 Million
Christians in China 1980 = up to 60 million

To put things in an even better light, When Mao came in to power in China he kicked all the missionaries out of China, killed all the leaders, and in some reports even second and their tier leaders. So when people were allowed back into China they expected to find a small struggling church! But what a difference 30 years can make! Historians are saying its the fastest church growth in history.

Further evidence that church is not about the leaders. If you're not a leader what are you doing? Live out your faith today.

Prophetic Fun

Last night was the kick of our divisions youth 24/7 prayer. I took a group for the 2am-5am shift and we had a blast! We started off with a bit of listening prayer. We just asked God to speak to us and asked Him questions and let Him talk back to us. After a while it was pretty clear that we were all hearing God so we moved on to "Prophetic Piggy in the Middle."

We had someone jump in the middle and we all prayed for them, asking God to speak to them through us. So we asked God "Is there anything you want me to say to them?" We all got answers and it was very prophetic, delving deep down into our hearts. I had a vision someone had of me at Easter camp confirmed along with some good challenges...

After this we moved on to "Blindfold Prophesy." For this one we sat the prayer down in a chair and they weren't allowed to open their eyes. Then we had someone sit behind them. Then the pray-er had to ask God for something to say to them. Again we had some very prophetic words, visions etc and pretty much every time the person praying knew who they were praying for! This was alot of fun as we praised God that we were hearing Him speak to us!

Some of the people there had not heard God speak to them so clearly before and so the night was really really fun! To see the youths smiles when the words they heard from God were confirmed was my highlight. The more I do ministry the more I realise that my job is simply to teach, equip and empower. I dont need to be the person prophesying or anything, I would much rather a group of youths doing it than me just because I'm the 'leader.' Its great seeing that the same Jesus I hear speak to me is the same Jesus that speaks to the youth!

I'm sure I'll get some comments and emails about these games, so this week I will blog about some of the boundaries and rules we have for these games so people dont freak out! But at the end of the day who is going to complain that a bunch of youth simply waited on God to speak to them?

But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 1 Corinthians 14:3

Holy Spirit

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:29-32

I find it interesting that the Holy Spirit is given to us once we believe in Christ. This means that all believers have the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Holy Spirit is our passport to heaven! This is good news for us all!

I use to look up to powerful men and women of God and think "They really have the Spirit!"
I use to look up to pure men and women of God and think "They really have the Spirit!"
I use to look up to passionate men and women of God and think "They really have the Spirit!"
I use to look up to prophetic men and women of God and think "They really have the Spirit!"

And now I realise that yes, they have the Holy Spirit. They rely on the Spirit and acknowledge the Spirit. They are filled with the Holy Spirit. But so do I! What was the difference?

The last passage tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. How do we do this? By sinning, and it lists a whole bunch of sinful behaviors.Therefore, if we continue to sin, there is every opportunity that we will lose our Salvation. If we continue to sin the Holy Spirit will be forced out of us and or rendered to the sidelines unable to participate in our life.

Jesus came to give life in its fullness, but many Christians dont realise that to receive this we need to give Him our life. Sadly too many Christians have one foot in the world and one foot in the Spirit. They lose out on the best of fullness of life the world has to offer, (although it really is not life rather sin leading to death...) and we miss out on the fullness of life that God has to offer. They are trapped in this middle place. This place is called mediocrity, apathy and lukewarm. And we know if we are lukewarm we will be spat out!

So acknowledge the Holy Spirit today, cast off all sin. Rely on the Holy Spirit and give in totally to God and the plans He has for your life. Obey Him! Allow the Spirit to transform your life, and the lives of those around you!

WARNING AND ENCOURAGEMENT

To everyone reading this blog. God still does miracles, I have seen Him heal the sick and devils been cast out of people. I have seen God change peoples lives in an instant. God is still alive. He is still working! I hear God speak to me, and i know many people who hear God as well. Sanctification is real, and it is possible to live a holy life, our actions coming out of a heart of love. We believe the Bible is the word of God, it is our rule of faith and practice.

There are however, people who are among our ranks who do not want us to believe these miracles. They see our reports of miracles and scoff, they mock us and make up excuses why they did and didn't happen. They claim they can't possibly be of God. They never accept invitations to talk and listen to peoples personal stories. They seek evidence upon evidence upon evidence when the basic principle of Christianity is faith. They pull down leaders and people of God who work tirelessly, who pray for hours on end, and who have abandoned their lives for the gospel. People who walk in the power of the Holy Spirit are looked down upon as weird and heretical by those who don't have the Spirit, and this causes divisions. They genuinely believe they are doing the right thing by denying miracles for the edification of the church, yet the only people they are denying is God Himself who was the actual person that healed the people, meanwhile the people who were healed know in their hearts that they had a touch from God.

Do not let these people lead you astray. Their motives are buried in fear. Yet we do not live in fear for perfect love drives out all fear! Let your motives always be out of love. Do not claim miracles that are not miracles, do not claim healings that are not healings, do not claim salvations that are not met with the fruit of repentance. Do not get ahead of yourselves, lets seek after God and let Him perform the miracles, and when people see that God is the one who performs miracles we wont have to defend ourselves. Lets make it clear that God is still alive and performing miracles all the time!

Do not treat those who disbelieve without respect. They are doing what they believe to be the right thing and we cannot discourage that. Rather, take every opportunity to pray with them, to lay hands and pray for a revelation from God for them, and once they accept Gods word, pray for an infilling of the Holy Spirit so that they too can walk in the power of God.

Let it be clear that we do not pray for miracles for our own personal advancement. Rather we pray for miracles out of compassion for the sick and lost, praying that God would reveal Himself to people in a supernatural way, that will tear the veil that is over their eyes which prevents them from seeing Jesus in His glory. We must give God all the glory for the Great things He has done, is doing and will do. People, do not steal His glory.

"But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, "In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires." These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." Jude v17-23

Supermarket Revival

This is one of my favorite video testimonies! Its from www.jesusculture.org and there are a whole stack of them there! This video shows the simplicity of preaching the gospel. I'm sure you will enjoy it!

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!

Holy or Hoax?

There has always been stories of people being raised from the dead. In fact there is a book called, ""Saints Who Raised the Dead" which has "True Stories of 400 Resurrection Miracles" written by Fr. Albert J. Hebert, S.M. Currently there are tons of reports of miracles of people being raised from the dead. Here are a few:

Heidi Baker, under her ministry thousands have been raised from the dead
David Hogan, under his ministry (Freedom Ministries Mexico) there have been over 400 people raised
Reinhard Bonnke, under his ministry people have been raised
Scott Holtz ministry has raised people from the dead
A friend of mines friend does mission trips to remote Aboriginal towns and under this ministry people have been raised from the dead
Teresa Neumann from breaking Christian News reported on February 21st 2008 of people being raised from the dead in India leading to mass conversions
There are over 600 videos on youtube on people being raised from the dead
In some places in PNG where my friends have ministered raising the dead is so common that they (communities of PNG people) pray for the dead to be raised at every funeral! Its simply what they do! Its their culture!
There have been reports of African Salvation Army Officers (who are still in big appointments) have raised the dead too.
Someone mentioned to me that "Onfire" printed an article of someone raising from the dead

So, heres the question. "Has every person who has ever claimed someone has raised from the dead in their ministry/experience been a false prophet?"

If we say yes. 1) That would mean alot, and i mean alot of lying. It would mean that the worlds Christian Spiritual leaders are all liars. It would mean that all these people are lying for no reason. This view does not make sense! These Christian leaders who love people, who give their life away for people, are lying... What a stupid comment. And fame? Are they after fame? Why would they elaborate on dead people rising from the dead? It does not make sense.

2) Perhaps they would say something like, "They weren't really dead." Where does this question come from? It comes from a heart that does not want to believe. People in 3rd world countries know when people are dead. They live amongst the dead, it is regular for them to be amongst the dead. So when they say they're dead, they're dead. And even if they got it wrong 9 out of 10 times that still means at least hundreds have been raised...

Those two statements are terrible. They are fueled by doubt, unbelief and a very negative view on Christian leadership.

If we say "No" they are not all hoaxes, then we need to admit that atleast some people have been raised from the dead.

Why can people not accept the fact that people have been raised from the dead? As for wanting death certificates, if you have been raised from the dead you dont need one! So, of course theres no death certificate! Thats because they came back to life!!! (also, there are people who have death certificates and display them proudly when they testify...)

The fact of the matter is if you say people dont get raised from the dead then you are saying that pretty much all Christian leaders throughout time have been liars or stupid. And I am not game to say that. That view in my opinion comes from a view that lacks any faith whatsoever, it lacks discernment, it lacks respect, it lacks an understanding of Jesus command for us, me and you, to "raise the dead."

doubt is evil

It is almost trendy to doubt in the church today. I hear people say a little bit of doubt is good. i hear people justifying their doubt all the time. It didnt sit well with me so I looked up doubt in the Bible and this is what I came up with...

“Why do you doubt?”
Matthew 14:31
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Luke 24:38
He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?”

Jesus is amazed that people would doubt. There is no need for it. Once we see who God is, the just, holy, compassionate, all powerful God who can do anything why would you doubt? Jesus does not see doubt as good, rather as unbelievable!

Do not doubt
John 20:27
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

Romans 14:23
But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

James 1:6
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

The opposite of doubt is faith. Here Jesus is telling us to stop doubting and to have faith. If you have doubts, stop it, instead have faith. Perhaps doubt comes from the enemy. I’ve seen this in my own experience. The enemy starts telling lies, we accept them and doubt creeps in. Stop believing the devil and start believing in the Creator/Saviour of the world. God wants us to live a life of faith, not doubt.

Faith leads to the miraculous
Matthew 21:21and Mark 11:23
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.

If we do not doubt and have faith we will see the miraculous happen! Hallelujah! I can witness to this fact! Step out in faith, don’t just say you have faith, step out in it and you will see God do awesome things!

So in closing, doubt may be trendy in some churches. But is a lie from the devil. It is not ok to doubt. The solution to doubt is to look at who God is, and put your faith in Him. The solution is to listen to what God says, read your Bible and believe. And when we start believing we will see the miraculous happen!

The knowing too much sin

Living in the Western World we know so much about injustice. We know 30,000 kids die each night, we know theyre dieing of preventable diseases, we know people are in slavery, people are being bought and sold as sex slaves, we know people get abused, we know people are treated unfairly and working in sweat shops. We know there is war and famine, and extreme poverty. We know that even in our own towns there is injustice. And for most of us, including me we are involved in the sin of knowing too much. Let me explain...

Heidi Baker found out about the poverty and kids homes needing urgent help in Mozambique and simply said, "Lets go." The rest is history with thousands of churches starting up, thousands of kids homes, huge amounts of kids getting adopted, people being raised from the dead and thousands and thousands of people getting saved. All because she heard and responded.

We are living in the sin of knowing too much and not doing anything about it. I am included. I am convicted of it and am working out what I need to do to get out of this sin. But at the end of the day theres a far greater reason for this though, and it has nothing to do with me. It has to do with "others." Am I willing to love others? What about you?

Yesterday I didnt write down about Matthew 25 because I saw it as simply loving people, but we in the western world do not get it. We see it, yet do nothing. You ask, "What am I called to do?" Try this on for size, "Feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, invite strangers in, clothe those who need clothes, look after the sick, visit the prisoners. However you treat people is how you are treating God, so treat people like the king of Kings."

What am I called to do?

I get so many people asking me the same question. I have asked question and I am sure you have asked this question. And its funny because we all expect something magical, but the answer is right in front of our eyes...

"What am I called to do?"

The answer to this is so so easy, it seems too easy, and people see the answer then keep asking more and more not realizing it is that simple. Im going to use 3 passages of Scripture that shows what everyone is called to do. (note, this is different from called to be... but thats a question for another day)

“ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and withall your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30

“As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8)

And He continues in Matthew "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28)

So here is what God wants YOU to do. Love God, love others, heal the sick, raise the dead, drive out demons, freely give, make disciples, teach people to obey God.

So you no longer need to ask the question "What does God want me to do." He has already told you. Start doing these things right where you are and see where that leads you. Its not necessarily about specifics e.g should I be a doctor or a lawyer or a pastor, officer etc, its about obeying God. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, officer, whatever, but whatever you do "Love God, love others, heal the sick, raise the dead, drive out demons, freely give, make disciples, teach people to obey God."

Easter camp healing revival!

Jesus is risen from the dead, He is alive and well and changing peoples lives! Easter Camp was amazing, people saved, set free, making further commitments and healed! A healing revival broke out! All glory to God. He is the great healer. Its not people who heal but God. But He wants us to ask Him to heal people and use the authority He has given us to pray for the sick. The basic thing I did was teach youth how to pray. I didnt pray for many youth, instead I got the youth to pray. Check out how awesome God is and how He will use simple old you...

Saturday morning we went out and did some evangelism. Straight away we had people get saved! Hallelujah! Youth were learning how to evangelise and were progressing really well!

1) Then me and Chris prayed for a Christian man with a slipped disk. We laid hands and prayed for healing. In his words,"It is more free!"

2) Then on the way home sharing this story J___ asked if we could pray for his wrist which had been sprained. I got C____ to pray for him, on the second time he was completely healed!

3) Once we got back to the camp he ran and told everyone. L___ heard and asked if God would heal his shin splints. M____ prayed for him and he was healed.

4) M___ who just prayed, had pierced her nose by herself and it was pussy and flakey and quite sore. "Would God heal my nose?" We spoke about it then got A___ to pray for it. It was completely healed!

5) R____ saw this happening and asked to pray for her shoulder. L___ (shin splints) prayed and her shoulder was healed.

6) In the corner we saw D____ who had sprained her ankle and had to sit out the day because she couldn't walk. We went up and asked J____ who was sitting with her to pray. D____ move her foot, "Oh my gosh!" I told her to take off her bandage, she took it off then jumped up and down and started running around the camp telling people how GOD HEALED her!

7) We went outside from here and S___ came up and heard about L____ shin splints being healed and asked if we could pray for his own shin splints. M____ prayed and he was healed.

8) T____ had a sore throat and got S___ to pray for her and she was healed.

9) J____ came up to see what all the commotion was and told us in his croaky voice he didn't believe. We all prayed for him and he spoke. His friend started laughing saying "You've been healed! Youve been healed!" His voice was back to normal! Then J____ started saying he wishes he hadn't been healed. (He didnt want to commit his life to God at this stage...) and as soon as he said that his voice went broken again...

10) In the morning C____ asked me what the go was with healing. Some of the youth that she brought were healed and all the stuff had made a huge difference in their faith. She then said her ankle was sore. You guessed it, M____ prayed for it and then I prayed for it and it was healed, not completely but more than enough to make life more comfortable.

11) C____ (a different one) had spent time in the pool and his eyes were red as and very itchy. I prayed to the God who heals and He took away the pain and itchiness!

12) Then we were testifying at dinner time and C____ (a different one again) asked if I could heal him. I replied "No. But God can heal you!" After dinner him and 3 mates came to learn about this heling stuff. We sat down and praye for C___'s hamstring. He wanted it healed because he loves to shuffle (dance) and the injury stopped it from happening. B____ prayed and it was healed!He got up and danced! Then we prayed for C___'s bruise it didnt go down but when we poked it he couldnt feel it!

13) The C___ prayed for H____'s foot which got healed.

14) H____ prayed for A___'s ankle and it was healed. And I saw them write on the prayer wall later that night, "Thank you God for healing C____, H____ and me."

These are just the ones I was involved in. I also heard of K___'s wrist who the doctors said would take 6 weeks to get better and it was healed and she was doing hand stands to show off what GOD HAD DONE! And this after only two weeks! Other people were healed of tummy bugs and all sorts of things!

These signs were done and built faith, lead people to Christ and empowered youth to be a Jesus follower in their schools and work places!

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power!
1 Corinthians 2:4

Exciting news everyone!

Me and Sarah are getting married! We got engaged last night! I popped the question while we were praying on a hill overlooking Melbourne...

The phone has not stopped ringing and Sarah has not stopped screaming!lol :) Very exciting times!!!

Thanks everyone for all the congrats! We will have an engagement party but we haven't decided when yet, will let you know soon!
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The other week I blogged that I led a kid to Christ. The other day he told me he now has more friends at school! Praise God. Gods changing his character.
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I heard some whispers that some people were challenged by Sunday nights sermon that they approached their corps officers to ask about Soldiership! nice! What about you? If you attend a salvo church why aren't you a soldier? Step up. If you're not a salvo, consider a life of holiness, set apart for God for the salvation of the world! What a vision! Check us out sometime...
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Easter Camp starts tomorrow! So wont be able to blog. Please remember us in your prayers! On one of the days (sat i think) we are doing some evangelism! Also, I'm praying my tooth will be healed in Jesus name while on camp! Imagine the great testimony that is going to be! If you dont believe it start building your faith, I'm trying and its fun! Now Im waiting on the miracle...

Some Nazarites...

Samuel was set apart for God so that people could once again hear God.
Samson was set apart for God for the freedom of the Israelites.
John the Baptist, or JB as I call him was set apart to prepare the way for the new Kingdom.

Are you willing to be set apart to help others hear God, have freedom and enter the Kingdom of God?
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I was able to minister to a breakfast club kid today. We had bacon and eggs for the last brekie club this term. He said "Pigs are ugly, but they're good on the inside." Referring to the bacon. It was an easy opportunity for me to say "God looks at the heart!" Shifting normal conversations into spiritual ones is not hard, you just need to be on the look out, be ready, and be prepared to take a risk!
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I watched "Cocaine Cowboys" last night. Its a documentary about the Miami drug scene in the 70s-80s. Some of the guys were earning more than a million dollars a week. So many people made money that when the cops came in and the drug trade started coming down businesses were going bankrupt because the drug dealers weren't spending their money anymore.

It made me think, what sort of impact are Christians having on the world? What would happen if we all left? How much of a difference are we really making?

Last night was SWEET! Meeting at Macelod Corps went off! Sam McIver got sworn in as a soldier! She had a cool story of how God sometimes visits her in dreams and she was taken up into heaven to have a chat!!! Very cool... Congrats sam! God bless and sanctify her commitment to God for the salvation of the world!

then throughout the worship time before the meeting there was counted to be at least 8 people receiving prayer down the front and in their seats. Heaps of people were praying, Sarah who was worship leading was seeing visions of the Holy Spirit! It was great. Then I preached, then I gave some words of knowledge and people got healed! Hallelujah! Peoples lives changed, they really did, we saw the change. God is good!
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Please pray for my tooth. Its snapped in half but I believe Gods gonna heal it! If you want to pray for me, ask that God would give me more and more faith to receive this miracle!
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Heres a couple of points from my sermon:
Nazarite Vows (Numbers 6:1-21) had 3 expectaions,

1) Cant eat or drink anything from the vine: symbol of SACRIFICE. Are you willing to sacrifice to change the world?

2) Cant cut your hair: Symbol of humility, are you willing to be humiliated to change the world?

3) No dead bodies: Symbol of being set apart from impurity. Are you willing to be set apart to change the world?

More on this later...

Today was awesome!

The gospel was preached.
The sick were healed.
Demons were kicked out!
Hallelujah!

Day 2 of Jesus culture for me, and it was great. Heres there thing, We are the light of the world. Darkness doesn't have an option when light is around. So why is their still darkness? Its because Christians dont realize the responsibility they have. So they empower Christians to light revivals by healing the sick, preaching the gospel and booting out demons!

Today we got words of knowledge then went to the shops to find out what they meant. One of the words I had was "Chocolate moose" and another was a vision of a bent back straightening. We went to the supermarket to find the moose, and while I was looking this lady walked past all bent over, so I talked to her.

I then prayed for her and asked how her back was. She stretched it and it was partly better. So we prayed again! Not completely healed yet, but pray for her complete healing!

I wanted to say "God is doing a new thing" but Hes not. Hes been doing this forever. Lets join in.

This is what Jesus says to YOU and ME: "As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,^[b]drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." What is your answer?

Ok, Im really tired but just had to note down a few things from today...

1) Met with this guy Rory today. Great evangelist. In charge of 3 churches, 1 in narre warren, 1 in geelong and 1 in china! He prayed and prophesied over me! We had a great time. Also his mate who was there has raised a few people from the dead!

Rory has been all fired up since he got saved because no one ever told him about Jesus. It took a divine miracle for something to happen. Shame on us church!

2) Went to JESUS CULTURE tonight! WOW! Theyre a movement of revivalists from the u.s.a and they packed a powerful punchtonight. We are the light of the world, shouldnt be hidden... Darkness has no say when light comes, it HAS to go. So, why is there still so much darkness? Because we Christians DONT GET OUT THERE!

You can change all this and come along to 171 Rook st in vermont at 930 am tomorrow (sat) theyre teaching how to heal the sick then we're going to do it! Tell everyone you know, if you get a chance to read this b4 then!

3) Jesus is coming back! Wohoo!

I was thinking today. If we had the best training, the best resources, the best ideas, the best teachers, the best opportunities to evangelise how many people do you think you yourself could get saved in one year?

Lets say 1 person each month if you were at the top of your game.

Thats 12 people a year.

Now, lets say you have been saved for 3 years.
That means you could have led 36 people to Christ.

5 years = 60 people

10 = 120 people

20 = 240 people

50 = 600 people

Now your saying thats way too many. I dont agree, but lets halve that.

5 years = 30 people

10 = 60 people

20 = 120 people

50 = 300 people

Now imagine if half of your converts did the same thing! We could have a revival on our hands! Instead, many of our churches are not growing by convert growth at all! Mostly because the soldiers, members etc dont evangelise! This is sad. Lets repent of the hundreds and thousands of people who we have let slip into the pits of hell by our apathetic, selfish lifestyles. God have mercy! Lord, awaken our zealous aggressive nature we have as a movement of God!

Ive been going ok with the evangelism challenge. I havent been very good at getting to 5 every day but I have been evangelising every day. I have been searching for people to talk to about Jesus. I have found tracts to be really really helpful.

This gets me thinking, why does The Salvation Army, an organisation with a motto "The world for God", not have tracts? If The Salvation Army is trying to get the world saved then shouldnt we be leading the way in Evangelism teaching, resourcing, equipping and empowering?

Im not just talking tracts now, I mean, TV, internet, clothes and merchandise, evangelism resources, evangelism training kits. We really should be leading the way, but we're not. Where are our goals? Where is has the vision of "The world for God" gone?

Dont frett though. This years "Go For Souls" is to be held in September is shaping up to be HUGE! We're getting BIG time speakers who lead scores of people to Christ. Church planters, crusade evangelists, personal/friendship evangelists, tract designers etc! We're hoping to launch the worlds leading evangelism resourcing website and a new Christian resource that encourages sharing faith straight away!

We're hoping to get all sorts of merchandise out, evangelism kits, training resources, cds, dvds. We're planning mission trip crusades to country corps and possibly overseas.

We're trying to raise up a generation of zealous, fire filled, vision orientated evangelists that will lead millions of people to Christ and usher in the coming of the King! Thats right the return of Christ! A big vision, but definately possible!

The revolution is well on its way!

Who are you evangelising to today? Go For Souls!

Need help? Call me, email me, get in touch, and we'll do it together! We'll even orgainse speakers.trainers to teach evangelism to your corps before the conference! We need to get on it, lets do it!

BLOOD AND FIRE

A mate of mine, one of my youth who got saved last year has started up a Bible study group at his school. First week back (had one last year...lol) was yesterday and he had 31 youth rock up! Not bad hey? That makes it one of our corps largest congregations! And he is in year 11. So, who cares how old someone is, if they have the Holy Spirit give them jobs to do and see God bless it! Hallelujah! Heres to all the people who will get saved and filled with the Holy Spirit there!
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Our drop in center is going well but we're in desperate need for female leaders! Yesterday was our 3rd time doing in and we've gone from having 5-6 people to having 17 youth there yesterday. We haven't advertised, its all been from word of mouth amongst the youth. Now to find ways of presenting the gospel in a fun easy yet meaningful way! If you know any female leaders who could help out, please let me know. If you dont know any, please pray for some!
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And this from national nine news (ninemsn.com)

Five charged over Sydney sex slavery

Friday Mar 7 07:46 AEDT

A group of South Korean women were falsely lured to Australia and forced to work up to 20 hours a day in a Sydney brothel, police say.

Federal Police officers raided six inner-Sydney properties on Thursday, arresting three women and two men allegedly linked to a sex trafficking syndicate worth more than $3 million a year.

"Police will allege the syndicate recruited women in Korea by deceiving them about the conditions under which they would be employed and then organised their entry into Australia under false pretences," the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.

A 46-year-old woman from Greenacre in south-west Sydney, a 42-year-old woman from Hornsby in north-western Sydney and 35-year-old Korean woman are due to appear in Central Local Court.

They are charged with offences including people trafficking, deceptively recruiting for sexual services, dealing in the proceeds of crime worth more than $1 million, and arranging a non-genuine marriage.

Two Sydney men, aged 23 and 28, have been charged with knowingly conducting a business involving the sexual servitude of others and will appear in court at a later date.

Evangelism and the dead being raised!

Ive been trying to uphold my decision to have 5 evangelistic conversations each day and Ive been going a bit up and down. First day was 5, then 4, then 0 (bad day) then 6... We'll see how I go today! As for conversions only the one on Sunday but praise God for that one hey? He called me and told me he now has more friends at school!

A couple of points. 1) If I arent getting many saved after 15 conversations then by you having less conversations how much more time will it take? 2) I have been planting alot of seeds, its good to remember that not all evangelism is about the conversion point... 3) Having to talk to 5 people has pushed me just out of my comfort zone, Ive had to go to the shops real late at night so I can find people to talk to. 4) "More friends at school" because God has done a work in his life! Praise God!
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Check out this article. Its about people being raised from the dead in India! A reporter saw it all happen and is shocked! So are the hindu villages who are now saying that Jesus is the TRUE GOD! How cool is that?

Some who read this will say "but they're in India, theres not enough proof." But I say to them there was plenty of proof on that night, western journalist, massive crowd, mum, the hindus who have now converted must have seen some proof, and the hindus who are still trying to work out what happend and are coming to see the man who was raised from the dead, and the description of one of the dead people. So, either this is a massive hoax or it happend.

If you dont believe this one happend then I say to you you need faith. Infact, if anyone does not believe in God raising from the dead even in todays world I say "get some faith." Thats all there is to it. The scripture says He does, Scripture says we are commanded to. Theres nothing more to it other than faith! You say why doesnt it happen? I say it does happen and it happens with faith! God, help our faith be stronger!

I read in the Year Book (1993 i think...) that Bangladesh had had some terrible floods. All the halls got flooded and they had nearly no where to go for their weekend meetings... Nearly nowhere. They hooked up a bunch of boats together and held meetings from the boats! No corps missed their meeting because they had them in boats! Love it!
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Theres a movie coming out soon (already out in the states) that is sure to rattle a few cages. "EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED" Is Ben Steins journey of finding out that evolution is a load of rubbish and that if you disagree with it you get expelled... Heres a trailor, and make sure you check out the website: http://www.getexpelled.com


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Yesterday we talked about praying for the lost... Heres the first one explained a bit:

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

2 corinthians 4:3-4


Unbelievers need revelation not just information. They dont see the same Jesus as we do. Information is head stuff, revelation affects the head but starts in the heart. People need to repent, metanoia- which doesnt mean turn around, it means to have a change of mind.


The word blinded (tuphloo) means to dull the intellect. The word tupho means smoke., where we get the idea of a smoke screen. The word comes from the word tuphoo which is used for being high minded, proud, and so tie all the words together and we get a puffed up type of image.


The problem people have with accepting Christ is that they have to humble themselves and let Christ be there boss. If youre proud this wont happen!


Therefore we need to do some Spiritual warfare praying asking God to break down these barriers... Now, Im not doing justice to Sheets work but im trying to give you something to look at, but for a more complete look buy his book!lol

Here are some things to pray for when trying to lead some one to Christ... All are Biblical and from "Intercessory Prayer"... I'll show you all of them now but talk about each of them in the coming days because they can get get pretty theological...

• That God would lift the veil (2 Corinthians 10:4)
• For the Holy Spirit to hover over and protect them
• For Godly people to come into their pathway each day
• To cast down anything that would exalt itself against the knowledge of God
• To take down all known strongholds (thought patterns, religions, opinions etc)
• To bind satan from taking them captive
• That the armor of God would be placed on them

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The Kingdom of heaven is like... There was a ship with a captain. Hes crew loved the captain heaps and heaps. They adored him. They sung his praises, in fact they would often get together and talk about how great their captain was. One day the captain saw a ship sinking, he yelled out to his crew, "Quick, let down the lifeboats, lets go and save them!" But the crew were too happy talking to each other about the captain and how good he was, and they never let down the lifeboats, and the other ship sunk and the people died.
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The Kingdom of heaven is like... A policeman was having a hard time at work. It was quiet at the station but there was lots of people breaking the law. He thought to himself, what can I do to make things better? So he started meeting with other policemen. He got a Policeman from America to come out and speak at the police station. But still no criminals came in. He thought, it must be because the place isnt clean enough! So he cleaned the bars of the jail and mopped the floor! But still no one came in! The second policeman however, went out into the dark alley ways, into the clubs and pubs, bikie bars and brothels. He even went over seas to find the worst. Which of these two policemen is the wisest?
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"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Luke 19:10

Hoping to get more regular with blog...

Yesterday was a BIG day!

1) Started talking to one of the young guys whose been coming to church. He followed us into the prayer room and listened to us pray. I tried to get him involved by teaching him how to pray. I soon found out he didn't know Jesus or what being saved meant.

I asked him, have you ever lied? He replied yes. Which makes you a? Liar he replied... I went through a few questions like that and then said at judgment day will God find you guilty or nor guilty? He knew he was guilty and the Holy Spirit came with so much conviction, he was almost in tears. Then I had the privlege of leading him to Christ! I know this is just the beginning of his walk with God but he came and asked for a bible at the end of the meeting. God, please continue to teach, encourage and challenge him!


2) A few weeks ago someone prophesied that leaders would start popping up and coming to me to help with the youth. Yesterday in the car on the way to church I told God, "I have faith, help my unbelief." And I found 2 potential leaders at church! Hallelujah! Please pray that we will obey God when taking/knocking back leaders!

3) I have committed myself to having no less than 5 evangelistic conversations each day. I realize I wont always get this many and that I have some more growing to do to make this a habit, but please pray as I really want to make this a big part of my life!

4) Dutch Sheets book "Intercessory Prayer" is amazing! I'll blog on that tomorrow God willing...

5) Lets GO FOR SOULS! (website should be up in a month or so...)

MCG, New converts and over enthusiasm

I took a couple of youth to the cricket yesterday. I had promised them we'd go and it was Australia's last game at the MCG this year. To make it even more special it was Adam Gilchrist's last game at the MCG!

The boys loved it. They especially loved how we could sit in the front row and sledge the players, how you could yell out whatever you thought of the game and no one would care, and if they did you just yell a bit louder! The boys were also trying to get autographs, and when we left one even said he was going to hold on to his ticket to show everyone he'd been to the cricket at the MCG. It was a great day and one they wont forget soon...

As I sat there often they would say or do something and Id think to myself, "Didn't you know that?" Or "Settle down a bit, that happens all the time." But then I realized this is a new experience for them and I need to settle down and let them experience it for the first time.

New Christians are just like the boys. They get saved and see all the great things God is doing. Often they are the best evangelists as they tell the world what they really think. They get excited about miracles and what God is saying, they get excited about what is out there! This new experience is the best thing to ever happen to their lives!

In the story I am like alot of the older Christians. Getting grumpy for new people being too loud, or getting too excited. i had lost the wonder of the cricket at the MCG. I had been there so many times, it'd just worn off.... And so often people lose the wonder of God, a result of being brought up in a church...

How can this happen? For me, I lost my first love for the cricket at the MCG. For the church we have lost our first love of Jesus. We need to regather ourselves and start loving God more. Reading our Bibles, praying for hours on end. Everyday. More prayer meetings, more worship, more sacrifice, and if we do this then it wont matter what program we run, the Spirit of God will be moving and we will see revival.

Yesterday I allowed myself to go back to the wonder of the MCG and we had a great time. One of the best times for the boys. What would have happened if I didn't get into it and stifled their enthusiasm? This happens in the church, people get disillusioned and leave unsatisfied, searching elsewhere for an authentic Spirituality...

Do you have the spirit of a new boy at the MCG or the hack who thinks they know everything too well but have forgotten the wonder of the MCG?

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love."
Revelation 2:4

I love this band... Thousand Foot Krutch



Move and show me what you can do
When you step into the circle and shake like we do
And move when you just can't take it
And move if you just feel like breaking it

Lets go win the world for Jesus

FULL ON TO FOLLOW JESUS

I read this thismorning and it encouraged me heaps! How full on does it sound to be a follower of Jesus? This goes out to all of you who are in difficult times because of Jesus...

Matthew 10:16-42

16I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

17"Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub,[c] how much more the members of his household!

26"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. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

32"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
34"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn " 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - 36a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'[e]

37"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

40"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. 42And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."

Read Simons blog of a cool salvation!!! And Read Steve Courts about Korea!!!
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Heres a gem of a principle from the Bible on dealing with people you think are doing the wrong thing... Matthew 18:15-17 (NIV)

"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. But 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."

How much better would the church be if we actually lived by that? How much better is that than people going behind your back to other people and talking about how bad you are?

So 4 easy steps:
A) Approach them on your own (then if they dont repent)
B) Then with a couple of people (then if they dont repent)
C) Get the church on it (then if they dont repent)
D) Try and get this person saved

The church in general has not been good at getting 'Christians' to repent. So often people get caught up in 'being saved' that they forget that we still need to live in continual obedient faith in Christ. Are you a Christian who still sins? Then you need to repent.

Sorry to everyone I have spoken of behind your back. Of course if I realise Ive done this I'll talk to you about it. If I dont get in touch with you I probably dont know Ive done something, so approach me as the passage says and restore me!

How good are Kingdom values...
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Our Corps is now going Fair Trade! I was able to talk about it at Corps Leadership Meeing and get to do a quick talk in church about it. We're not going to buy coffee stained by the blood of innocent people anymore, and we're going to strongly encourage all the corps folk to only buy Fair Trade coffee and chocolate from now on!

Governing principles

Why are we offended and opposed to a teaching that says our unbelief kept us from recieving something when so often the Bible says that if we believe and do not waver we will recieve?
Matt 17:20, 21:21, Mark 11:22-24, Jam 1:6-7?

Why are we offended when it is implied that our inability to persevere created lack when the bible says that we "through faith and patience inherit promises?"
Hebrews 6:12

Why are we confused or angry when it is suggested that our not doing something caused failure when the Bible says if were "willing and obedient" we'll eat the good of the land?
Isaiah 1:19

As many as 80% of people who consider themselves born again dont tithe, thereby opening themselves to a curse. Yet they are offended when someone implies that their lack of provision might be their own fault!
Mal 3:8-12

We dont forgive but have th gall to think and believe God will hear and answer our prayers!
Mark 11:25-26

Often we eat poorly and dont exercise and abuse our bodies in other ways. Then we blame our sickness on Gods will!

We dont properly train our children, yet we're offended with the suggestion that their rebellion might be our own fault.
Deut 6:7, Prov 22:6

We dont abode in Christ and His word. Still we blame it on 'God's will' when we ask "ask what we will" and it isn't done.
John 15:7

We know faith comes from hearing and meditating on Gods word (Romans 10:17) and most of us do very little of that. But let someone imply that we didn't receive a promise because of unbelief and we're irate!

The scripture teaches us that "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high" receives the protective promises of the rest of Psalm 91... that i have an armor I must wear and carry, including the shield of faith, to ward off satans fiery darts, (eph 6:13-18)... that satan goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and that i am to resist him, (1 peter 5:8, jam 4:7)... and yet, let someone suggest that my lack of protection from some destructive thing happening could be my own fault and I'm offended. How about you?

Thats taken from Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets...

He also goes on to talk about how not everything is our own fault and that some stuff is Gods will. And he ends with this, "Lets realize that the love of God is unconditional, but His favor and blessing is not."

what do you think about that?

pray, fast, preach

Ive been reading some stuff on revival this week. check out this great quote in the light of 24/7 prayers 7th anniversary...

"As the praying power spread and increased, the work soon took on a very powerful character, so much so that the word of the Lord would cut the strongest men down and render them entirely helpless." - Charles Finney, Holy Spirit Revivals, p158.

All year I have been challenged by God to pray more. I have been challenged that the work we do is not of us, well, not suppose to be of us, but of God! We can work hard and do great things but it will account for nothing if God is not in it.

"Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Mark 10

I read those quotes and think about how our preaching is often without an results, how it can take years for people to get saved and I ask how come the word of God is not always as powerful as the first quote?

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" Hebrews 4

If thats true, why dont I see it happen? Finney was talking about the most resistant people there and the word of God would cut them just as the Bible says. God says He wants everyone to be saved, to repent and to come to a knowledge of the truth!

And so, I finish by saying that we need to pray. We need to be joining Gods mission and not just making up our own and asking God to bless it. We need to talk to and listen to God, we need to be filled with power and authority, we need to know what to do and how. And we need to preach the gospel.

Pray, fast and preach the gospel and lets see revival break out and the return of Christ!

Check out www.catchthefire.com.au

there are two articles worth looking at.

The first one is about chariot wheels been found in the Red Sea!

The second is about how liberal Christianity intensifies the threat of radical Islam. Its based on some talks by Mr. Sookhdeo to Focus on the family in the USA. Its an interesting read.

Sookhdeo is considered one of the leading experts on Christianity- Islam dialogue. Hes a great man and taught my mum and dad about Islam while we were in London on our way to Bangladesh. It was at one of his training schools that I got saved when I was 7 years old!

Anywho, have fun reading!

are we in exile?

God miraculously brought the Israelites out of Egypt. There were wonders galore, everyone knew that their God was powerful! YHWH was the best, the one and only God.

So God delivered them and gave them the law. If you want to be my peoples you gotta follow the law. So God gave them the 10 Commandments and a whole bunch of laws.

But then they all went crazy and started worshipping the wrong things and didn’t realy rely on God, they doubted Him after everything He had done. So God made them walk around for yonks in the desert until they all died and only their kids were alive! Then they entered the promised land!

Can we relate that to us today? The Salvation Army has had a great past, God has worked amazing things. He still does! But generally in Western culture there is no revival, infact we are more accustomed to people leaving than new people coming…

They were given the law,just like we were given our handbook of doctrine with our soldiers orders and regulations. But now many soldiers don’t even know there is such a thing let alone read it and obey it! We have all sorts of people all over the place in all positions who don’t even agree with half our doctrines…

Then they walked around for ages and ages… Until they all died so the new guys went into the promised land. I wonder if the younguns were waiting for them all to doe so they could get in there… Is that the same today? The youth of today want revival and want it now, yet there seems to be some blocks in the way. Could it be some of the ideas of form rather than essence?

Do you think we are in exile?

Giving up stuff

On the way to work I sometimes listen to Hughsey and Kate on the radio. Hughsey is always giving things up, so far hes given up drugs, alcohol, meat, porn, other women (newly married), and today he had another announcement...

He was addicted to something else.

Drum roll.... Running. I thought running? Thats not that bad is it? I wish I was addicted to running, I might get a bit more fit! But He said, "Its taking over my life, Im addicted!" Wow. This made me think...

What is in control in my life. Heres a quick list...

1) Food. I always obey my tummy. Whenever Im hungry I eat! My belly is my god sometimes... Whenever God has asked me to fast, I dont!

2) TV. Whenever I want to relax I turn on the TV. I can sit there for hours, even if theres nothing good on! Going to bed I normally put it on, watch Sports tonight then go to sleep... Im not resting in the Lord, but rather I am escaping reality and numbing myself.

I admire Hughsey for seeing what he is getting addicted to and getting rid of it. Im going to do the same.

This is so familiar to what Paul says in Romans, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

Can you honestly say that you are a slave to righteousness? Have a think. If youre not kill the sinful masters you have...

How bad do you want it?

Revival. The return of Jesus. Heaven.

How bad do you want it?

I was praying last night with some friends and they had some really prophetic stuff for me which is great. Its funny how God can use people to get His message across. Especially when its stuff they had no idea about! Anyways, I have direction after last night, I was thinking of revival, of BIG things of the return of Christ and I heard God saying to me, "How bad do you want it?"

What am I willing to do? What am I willing not to do? Where will I put my money, time and energy? What am I willing to sacrifice? Am I willing to be persecuted? Am I willing to die?

How strong will be my fight? How aggressive? How extreme?

Will my actions match my thoughts, ideas and beliefs?

I challenge everyone reading this too, how bad do you want revival?
How will you fight?

Pray For Souls

Aeroplane story

I went to Perth for a holiday not too long ago. I flew there. And as all good evangelists do, they always tell a plane story... Heres my one...

I sat down and said hello to the guy sitting next to me. After a little while I asked him where he was from. He was from India which gave me a great opportunity to talk about the cricket and the holidays Ive had in India. I then asked him if he was religious to which he replied he was hindu but sometimes went to church. I asked him if he thought he would go to heaven. He said he doesnt know, its up to God to decide.

So I asked him if I could ask a few questions to see if he would go to heaven. "Have you ever told a lie?" He said yes. "What does that make you?" He said a liar. "Have you ever stolen?" He said yes. What does that make you? A thief he replied. I continued, "Jesus said if we look lustfuly at a woman we have already committed adultry in our heart. Have you ever done that?" Of course he replied.

So I said, "By your own admission you told me you are a lying adulterous thief at heart. You have broken Gods law. Those are just 3 of the 10 commandments. When judgment day comes how will God find you? Guilty or not guilty?" He said, "guilty." "And where do you think guilty people go?" Hell he sighed.

I was then able to tell him the way of Salvation! Hallelujah! I will talk more about that in the next post. He still has some things to work out but he promised me he would speak about them to his christian friend. Please pray for him and his salvation.

What have I learnt from that? I have learnt that by listening, taking an interest in someone, and then asking simple questions they will often admit they are guilty and destined for hell. This is great as we get to tell them the good news of Jesus Christ!

Go for souls!

GO FOR SOULS

"Go For Souls" is going to BIG this year. We're looking at going to a few new locations throughout Australia. Have a mission trip to a country town or two, launch a website with resources etc, launch our "Pray for Souls" network, and get alot of people saved. Heck, we might even write a book...

Heres how you can help:

• financial donations
• graphic design stuff for posters
• be a prayer warrior
• have your corps hold a Go For Souls
• Form a regular "Pray For Souls" prayer meeting
• Let us come to your country corps for a mission trip
• Help build a cool website
• Help find some great evangelists to speak and teach
• Anything else you can think of
  

That should get you going for now. Spread the word. We want to have some dates locked in very soon...

It is time for you to act, O LORD;
your law is being broken.
Psalm 119:126

Heres one thing that bugs me. The lack of urgency in the church to get everyone saved. Ive heard so many people palm it off in different ways. "I'm not an evangelists." "I dont know what to say." "Someone else is better than me." Some people even go down the lines of this heresy, "It's not really our job..."

People, it is our job. It is our duty. We have been told to do it! We have been told disciples do this! It is our privilege. It is a natural consequence of the love of God in our hearts. We are told "that God wants everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth!" We need to act.

There is sin galore in our world. There is pain and suffering galore in our world! No one can doubt this. Peoples lives are broken every day. People sin without caring, degrading our holy God and His creation.

"God, its time for you to act! Your law is being broken!"

And the answer comes back, "What are YOU going to do about it?"

The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
turned back on the day of battle;

they did not keep God's covenant
and refused to live by his law.

They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.

He did miracles in the sight of their fathers
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

Psalm 78:9-12

Isn't it sad how history repeats itself.

God we repent of turning our backs in battle, not keeping our covenant or living by your word, we repent of forgetting your great works, the wonders you have shown us, the miracles you have done all over the world!

Can we see the answer to our fall in these verses? What would happen if we got back into the war, if we kept our covenant, walked in the ways of God, remembered what God can do, remembered the wonders and miracles God can do. What would happen? What would your life look like? What would the world look like if all the Christians in the world were to do this?

"IM BACK"

At the beginning of every year I ask God what the year is to be about. What does He want me to focus on, often in general terms. One year it was to be more consistent with my walk with God, and it happened, the next year it was to go harder than I had before and that worked, and this year Gods saying something along the lines of "Go nuts!"

You see my journey has been from getting to know what I believe and why. And I had all sorts of struggles with universities, corps and people with that one, mostly with people who have completely different views that what I perceive the Bible to say.

Once my beliefs started coming through it was time for me to start living out my beliefs. Do I believe God heals people? Yes, so I better pray for the sick. Do I believe there are demons in some people? Yes, so I better pray for deliverance. Do I believe in holiness? Yes, so I better pray for perfect love to fill my heart and to crucify my sinful nature. Do I believe that Jesus is the only way to God? Yes, so I better start evangelizing the world before they all go to hell without ever knowing Jesus and the perfect peace and wholeness of life that He offers. And as I lived more according to my beliefs, we saw great miracles all throughout the year! Just read some blogs from last year...

This year I am feeling called to stepping out of my comfort zone and going a little over the top. Meaning, more time spent in prayer, more time spent in Bible, more time spent evangelizing, more time spent loving people. I want to live my life aiming for revival.

Does your life match what you believe? Does it match what the Bible says will happen? If not, lets make this the year we start living our lives in a Biblical way.