These Bones Can Live

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The Rooftop movement is connecting with churches across the world and encouraging Christians to ‘Join Jesus in His Mission’. Recently Dennis Pethers, the International Pioneer was speaking at New Hope Baptist Church in Mt Juliet Tennesee—his sermon title ‘Can these bones live’.  The message was simple and direct: as we look at our own lives and the huge challenges facing the church in these days we can so easily give up on the hope that things could ever change for the better. In the midst of a seemingly hopeless situation, Ezekiel obeyed God and something amazing happened—dry bones lived! At the end of the message there was a remarkable response as many came to the front of the church in obedience to the word of God and in surrender to the Holy Spirit.

As The Rooftop movement continues across the world we are convinced that the best days for the gospel are in the future, there is hope—these bones can live.

Stay on Mission – 30th April 2018

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3. Dare to!
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Philippians 1:12-18
Staying on Mission with Jesus is not the ‘safe’ option for life, in fact, the opposite is true! Sadly, the result of this is that many who say that they follow Jesus opt for a life that has ‘Jesus in it’ but avoids the challenges that would come if we really joined Him in His Mission. We don’t dare to talk about Jesus because of what it may cost us.
Put very simply, we often choose not to talk to others about Jesus because it is a lot easier not too!
Paul, writing from his prison cell, did not live his Christian life in that way! His perspective is entirely different. He writes:
And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
Repeatedly, in this letter, Paul talks about the joy and rejoicing that he has because the gospel is being preached. And in this verse, there is a glimpse of what causes him to rejoice. He is in prison in chains and yet this, far from preventing the gospel from being shared, is having the opposite effect. Other Christians, who ‘because’ they have seen the absolute commitment that Paul has to the gospel, are trusting in the Lords power, as opposed to their own weakness and, in Paul’s words now ‘dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear’.
I find that expression hugely motivating and challenging and long for a time when the church will be made up of people who ‘dare all the more’! What I love about this is the picture it paints in my mind of people who are growing more and more confident in the Lord. People who are stepping further and further away from the comfort zone that lies within the walls that have been erected as a result of fear! A people who are becoming daring, who, when they get knocked down get back up and dare some more. A people who are so in love with Jesus that bringing glory to him is a far greater motivation than the fear that so often prevents them.

I am not writing from a prison cell as Paul did but I want to encourage you to do what those that he writs about did. This week, for the sake of Jesus and His mission ‘dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear’.
Dennis

Stay on Mission – 23rd April 2018

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1. Compelled
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Philippians 1:12-18
Last time we looked at the motivation that people have for sharing the gospel and reflected upon the fact that many do this for selfish ambition. Surprisingly, the apostle Paul was prepared to overlook this because it was more important that the gospel was being preached.
Paul’s response to this tells us something very important about his purpose, what he understood to be his ‘reason for living’. Elsewhere in the letters that he wrote to the churches we gain an even clearer picture.
To the church in Corinth he wrote:
For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 1 Corinthians 9:16
Just a few verses later in this letter to the Philippians, he writes:
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Philippians 1:21-24
There is little doubt that Paul understood that the only reason he did not want to leave this life was because God wanted him to remain and preach the gospel. He does not take any credit for this and present himself as a great Christian, he says that he is ‘compelled’ – there is nothing in this life that is as important to Paul as preaching the gospel.
How unrecognizable the church would be if the many millions of people who attend services every week were similarly compelled!
How many people in the sphere of your world would hear about Jesus if you were compelled?
Jesus made it abundantly clear that following Him and joining Him in His mission was not the ‘easy’ option that allows us to live lives with ourselves at the center while being grateful that we are saved!
This week, I challenge you to spend time with the Lord and read the gospel accounts of Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin and the sins of the people that are in your world. Ask Him to set your heart on fire!
Dennis

Stay on Mission – 16th April 2018

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1. Motives
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Philippians 1:12-18
I remember when I first became a Christian from a completely ‘Never Churched’ background that there were some passages in scripture that surprised me, and this passage from Philippians was one of them. Paul writes to the church in Philippi, a church that fills him with so much joy because of their partnership in the gospel and, as he writes from a prison cell, he says: The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
It surprised me so much when I first read these words, I thought ‘how could anybody preach Christ with a false motive!
Last week I was meeting with a group of leaders to discuss how they may use The Rooftop process to reach students across the campus of their university. As I was introduced by the leader, he said: ‘Before you arrived Dennis we were trying to decide how famous you are’, they then began to mention names of Christian leaders that I was perhaps more or less famous than.
As they were doing this in a very light-hearted way, I found two things happening inside of me. One was more ‘noble’ I genuinely wanted to say to them ‘It is an utterly irrelevant thing to be discussing, the only person that we should want to be well known is Jesus’. As much as I felt that I also had the feeling that these young people were assessing how valuable I was in the Kingdom. They weren’t doing that but I found my defense mechanisms beginning to click in!
Like every other Christian on the planet there is always a little, or sometimes even a lot of ‘me’ in the things that I do for the Lord and I am so grateful to Him that more often than not he uses me in spite of me.
My prayer is repeatedly something like: ‘Lord help me to make you known through the life that I live and the words that I speak’ – maybe this is a prayer that you could focus on this week – let’s make Him our motive!
Dennis

Stay on Mission – 9th April 2018

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Discipleship 4 – ‘Exchange’
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:23-27

In the famous story of Aladdin and the lamp the wicked merchant tries to trick Aladdin by offering ‘new lamps for old’. He wants the ‘magic’ lamp so he offers a brand new one to replace it in the hope that Aladdin will be tempted and deceived.
His motives were self-centred and power seeking but the phrase ‘new lamps for old’ is, I find, a helpful way of thinking about what it means to become a disciple of Jesus and Join Him in His Mission. As I mentioned last time, Jesus doesn’t offer us an ‘improved life’ he offers us a new life. He doesn’t add to the life we have, He asks us to exchange our life for the gift of eternal life. This means that we have to be willing to ‘give up the old life’ so that we can receive the new – it is a replacement, not an addition! He offers ‘New life for old’.
As Jesus says: For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.
I find these to be hugely challenging words because it is so tempting to want to live my life, in my way, where I decide what I will or will not do and then, have the bonus of a relationship with Jesus who is always there to provide what I need when things don’t work out. I think this is what Jesus is referring to when He says ‘whoever wants to ‘save’ their life. He is addressing a trait that exists in all of us – self interest! His stark warning is that if we only want Him in our life to make it better than we will not receive the life He wants to give us.
He says we must ‘lose’ our life so that we can truly ‘find’ it. But please note the two critically important words that Jesus uses regarding the ‘losing’ of our life, He says, whoever loses their life for me.
As the Apostle Paul writes:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17
The OLD is a me-centred life, the NEW is a Christ centered life!
If we are to join Jesus in His Mission we must receive the new life that He wants to give to us. We must not simply ask Him into our lives, rather we must give our lives to him ‘lock, stock and barrel’! Everything!!
This week, as you consider how you will live for Jesus, ensure that you take some time to give Him any of the things that you are holding onto – ‘New life for old’ – what an exchange!
Dennis

Stay on Mission – 2nd April 2018

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Discipleship 3 – ‘Ambition’
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:23-27
Where I live, in the UK, there isn’t a day, or even a moment that goes by where there isn’t some company or other who is trying to persuade me to buy something or do something that they are trying to sell. TV, Radio, Internet, roadside billboards are just a few of the ways that are used to present me with the encouragement to ‘buy’ what is being sold because it will be so good for me and add so much to my life and make it so much better!
It is tempting, when living in a world that offers us ‘a better life’ to see the offer of life that Jesus gives to be the same, a positive addition to my life which makes it better than it was before. ‘Receiving Jesus’ then becomes a decision to improve my life and make it better.
The words Jesus uses do not make this an option! He doesn’t talk about us inviting Him in to improve our lives, rather He says with absolute clarity ‘For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.’
Jesus doesn’t offer us the bonus of a better life that is somehow added to our life. He calls us to lay down our life and give it all to Him, not to hold on to our selfish desires and ambitions but to make Him our greatest desire and ambition.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians chapter 1:21- 23
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two”
For Paul, to die was gain and the purpose of His life here was ‘fruitful labor’ – Jesus was the desire and ambition of his whole life. He was torn between entering into eternity with Christ or to continue in this life with Christ as the object of all that he was. Such a person can be used by God to complete the mission of Jesus because Jesus is their ambition, not an ‘improved life’ but a whole new life that is received in exchange for a life that is laid down!
This week, as you reflect upon Jesus words: ‘For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.’
Please consider this question: ‘Is Jesus my ambition?’
Dennis

Stay on Mission – 19th March 2018

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Discipleship 2 – ‘Surrender’
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:23-27
If we are to join Jesus in His mission it must begin with obedience to Him! But this obedience is not a ‘one-off’ moment that secures our salvation and then leaves us free to live the rest of our lives following our own wants, dreams and desires. This act of obedience should be the first step in a life that is now continually surrendered to Jesus as Lord.
The Apostle Paul puts it like this:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Gal 2:20
It is tempting to read a scripture like this and attempt to explain it away by saying something like “well that was the Apostle Paul, and he was a really important Christian who God used in remarkable ways”. As plausible as this may sound, especially if it helps us to feel that the same deep commitment is not required from us, the words that Jesus spoke in the passage from Matthew make it clear that this life of obedience, serving a new master, is not just for ‘Super-Christians’.
Jesus said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”.
The first word in this statement takes away our hiding place and leaves us exposed to the call of Jesus to ‘whoever’ wants to be His disciple!
It could not be more plain! Every person who wants to be Jesus’ disciples must deny self, take up their cross and follow Him.
Joining Jesus in His Mission requires a life of surrender to Jesus because, put at its simplest, it is often easier to ‘not follow Him’ when things get a little tough.
We are all surrounded by people who need to hear about Jesus but, it is much easier for us not to witness!
We are all surrounded by people who need to be loved and served, but it is much more convenient for us not to serve.
I confess that as I write these words I am deeply challenged by them myself. So, I ask both me and you: As opportunities arise to join Jesus in His mission this week will we deny self and be prepared to ‘die to our desire for comfort and ease’ so that others may come to know more about the one who loved us and gave Himself for us?
Dennis

Stay on Mission – 12th March 2018

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Discipleship 1 – ‘Obedience’
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. Matthew 16:23-27
If we are to join Jesus in His Mission it is imperative that we obey His frequently repeated call ‘Follow me’. Over the next few weeks I will be l looking at the vital need there is for true discipleship to be rediscovered in our own lives and in the life of the church across the world. I am convinced that this will be critical if we are truly to Join Jesus in His mission and make disciples of people who are beyond the walls of the church.
The words of Jesus are quite clear:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”.
As we consider these words I will be reflecting on how these were worked out in the life of Peter. It is important to say that neither Peter, or any of the 12 that followed Jesus during His earthly ministry are ‘super disciples’. Each person that follows Jesus as a disciple is required to be a dedicated follower. By considering the life of Peter as a disciple, I am not suggesting that he is a ‘model’ disciple rather that the things he experienced are likely to be faced by all who truly follow Jesus and Join Him in His Mission. Peter had to be a disciple so that he could be sent out to make disciples. This is just as true for each of us!
For Peter, it began at the outset of Jesus public ministry:
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matt 4:18-20)
Has it ever occurred to you how life-changing this moment was for Peter? The scripture paints the picture so naturally: As Jesus was walking beside the sea of Galilee, he saw Peter (and Andrew) and said ‘follow me and I will send you out to fish for people’.
This life-changing challenge was presented by a person that Peter had never met! His response is quite extraordinary as he immediately left his nets and followed Jesus! Everything he had ever known was to be left behind and his whole life was to change out of all recognition. In spite of this he said yes!
Why?
Was he being reckless and crazy? Was the fishing industry in a state of decline and he was seeking a new career opportunity?
The simple, but enormously challenging explanation is, I believe, is a very uncomplicated one. The simple explanation is: ‘Peter was obedient’. For him, this was not an act of self-interest but one of absolute obedience to Jesus. He didn’t do it for what he was going to get out of it, he obeyed Jesus because He was Jesus!
The beginning of Peter’s life of discipleship presents a real challenge to many of us who call ourselves Christians. As I travel I meet so many Christians all over the world and one of the questions that I love to ask them is ‘how did you come to faith?’ The answer that I hear most frequently is something that is very different from Peter’s whole-hearted obedience. It is usually something like:
‘I heard the gospel preached and I didn’t want to go to Hell so I asked Jesus into my life to forgive me for my sins’.
What I am about to say will present a huge challenge to many who are reading this short devotion but it must be said. Many Christians began following Jesus by praying a ‘self-interested prayer’. Not a prayer of absolute obedience but a prayer that would lead to us receiving a gift. My observation is that the church is filled with people who have never obeyed Jesus unconditionally – for the mission of Jesus to happen this must change because there is a cost to following Jesus!
There is so much more that I want to say about this over the coming weeks but, this week, please take some time to read the passage at the beginning of this devotion and reflect on what it means for you to be a true disciple of Jesus.
Dennis

Stay on Mission – 4th March 2018

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4. Cross the line.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrew2 12:1-3
Staying on mission with Jesus can be gloriously exciting and fulfilling. It can also be tough and disappointing! Sometimes we can be filled with passion and inexhaustible optimism and stamina, other times we can feel drained and without energy.
The writer to the Hebrews understands this as he compares ‘following Jesus’ with running a race. I think this is such a vivid and helpful picture.
On occasion I have watched the London Marathon on TV and then, at the end, watched the interviews that have taken place with the runners. Over and over again the same story is told. It goes something like: “I reached a point where I felt I couldn’t carry on and that I was going to have to stop, but then somebody encouraged me, a voice from the crowd, another runner. My strength returned and I was able to carry on until the end. And then, as I came into the home straight, the cheers of the crowd lining the streets helped me cross the line”.
We all need encouragement to carry on and the writer to the Hebrews reminds his readers of something that we often forget. He writes: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.
He wants them, and us, to know that the price we sometimes pay as we stay on Mission with Jesus is not just us, on our own, trying to make the world a slightly better place. It is each of us, together, and as part of God’s eternal plan being used to bring glory to His name. The cloud of witnesses that are referred to in Hebrews 12 can be found in the verses that come at the end of Hebrews 11.
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:31-40
What a cloud of witnesses and what an encouragement to keep on going!
As we look to the finishing line – we see Jesus on the other side and then we see He is surrounded by countless numbers of people who have, for the sake of His name, endured suffering and hardship. These people, with Jesus, are calling out to us – ‘keep running until you cross the line’.
In his letter to the church in Rome Paul writes:
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”. Romans 8:18
This week, take time to remember that what God is doing in and through you has eternal consequences and be encouraged by those who never gave up.
Dennis

Stay on Mission – 25th February 2018

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1. Fix your eyes!
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrew2 12:1-3
Running with perseverance is vital if we are going to join Jesus in His Mission. It will not always be easy because when we follow Jesus we will often find that this doesn’t make us popular among people. Jesus said to His first disciples: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18)
This ‘hatred’ can be expressed in a variety of ways that do not necessarily result in the kind of life-threatening persecution that was being faced by the recipients of the letter to the Hebrews. However, whilst not life-threatening, the resistance that we may face as we share our beliefs causes many of us to say nothing because we are afraid of what others will say if we open our mouths.
To those people who are tempted to ‘hide’ and ‘stay safe’ the writer to the Hebrews says: fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith’. Following Jesus is not just about ‘running’, it is vital to focus on who it is that we are running for. Our focus should be on Jesus, the ‘pioneer’ and ‘perfecter’ of our faith. Jesus is the one who did EVERYTHING required for us to receive the gift of eternal life, the one who was ‘despised and rejected by men’ (Isaiah 53:3), who ‘made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:7-8).
‘Fix your eyes upon Jesus’ is the clear instruction and note that it does not say ‘occasionally glance in the direction of Jesus’ but FIX THEM ON HIM. Making Jesus our focus is something that requires daily discipline and a willingness to spend time in the word and in prayer.
Let me encourage you to consider these questions as you begin a new week:
• Have you lost sight of the one who us calling you to follow?
• Are you trying to ‘run for Jesus’ in your own strength?
If you are drifting and feeling weary with the effort then I encourage you, right now, to take some time to speak with Jesus. Open your heart to Him and make Him your focus!
Dennis