Thought for the Week 2nd April 2017

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4.         Joining Jesus in His Mission – ‘knock’

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  (Matt 7:7,8)

 

Have you ever been to visit somebody, gone to the door of their house and then stood there just hoping that they will come and let you in?  I doubt it.

 

It is much more likely that you wanted them to know that you had arrived so you knocked on the door so that would come and let you in.

 

Having told people who want to live for Him to ask God for the Holy Spirit and seek first His Kingdom, Jesus adds that we should knock because ‘the door will be opened’.

 

There is a way into the fulfillment of all that God has for us and wants to do in our lives but to receive this we need to ‘knock’ and then we can enter in.

 

As I ponder the things that God wants to do to change me more into His likeness I am aware that I have a choice to make.  I can stand there and do nothing, or I can decide to act upon what I know is the right thing to do and I can knock on the door and enter into what He has for me.

 

The same choice faces all of us as Christians.  We can choose to be satisfied with living a life that is partially surrendered to God and through which there is little witness to the world around us or, we can choose to enter into all that He has for us, allow Him to transform us and then, through us to transform the world.

 

To enter in we have to knock.

 

This week, I urge you not to be ‘satisfied’  – but to ask, and to seek and to knock – God WILL respond!

Thought for the Week 26th March 2017

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3.         Joining Jesus in His Mission – ‘Seek’

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  (Matt 7:7,8)

To those who want to join Jesus in His mission and live a life as a ‘living witness’ to the transforming power of Jesus – we need SUPERnatural help.   Jesus tells us to ask for this and then he adds ‘Seek and you will find’ because ‘the one who seeks finds’.

 

By telling us to ‘seek’ Jesus is pointing out that Living for Him is something that we need to look for not just expect God to do without our cooperation.  We need to go looking for it!

 

In the previous chapter, Jesus said:

6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 

Seeking first means that living for Him becomes a priority, Jesus is not just one aspect of our life He is our life.

 

This means letting God change us rather than getting stuck and not making progress – which is where many of us are happy to settle – we stop seeking first His Kingdom because we allow other things to be our priority and the result is that we appear no different to people who don’t know Jesus and we have no witness.

 

This week, will you seek FIRST God’s Kingdom and ask the Holy Spirit to work in your life to bring about the change that He desires?

 

Thought for the Week 19th March 2017

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2.         Joining Jesus in His Mission – ‘Ask’

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  (Matt 7:7,8)

Living the life of a true follower of Jesus is impossible to achieve if we attempt to do it on our own.  The world that we live in has such a powerful pull on us and our own desires are so strong that, left to ourselves, we can never become what Jesus intends, and, our lives cannot be a witness to the transforming power of Jesus.

To become a living witness to Jesus we need SUPERnatural help – that is why Jesus told his disciples, and he tells us to ‘Ask’!   His promise is that ‘it will be given to you’.  The ‘it’ in Jesus’ promise, is the ability to live a life that is being transformed into the likeness of Jesus – a living witness!

Jesus elaborates on His instruction to ask by saying:

 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 

God, the Father is longing to answer as we ‘Ask’ him.  And the promise is that He will give ‘good gifts’ to those who ask him. 

The phrase ‘Good gifts’ is interesting.  Jesus has pointed out that even evil people give good gifts to their children so how much more will God give ‘good gifts’.  The things that God will give us if we ask are ‘for our good’ He will not give us things that will harm us nor will he just give us things that we would like to have.  He will give what is needed to enable us to live the life of a follower of Jesus. 

This is made abundantly clear in the gospel of Luke.  He records Jesus as saying:

Luke 11:11-13

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

The ‘Good Gift’ that God gives is the Holy Spirit!  It is his presence and SUPERnatural power in our lives, not our own efforts, that leads to us being transformed and able to live the life as followers of Jesus.   

This week – ask God to give you the Holy Spirit, to transform you and through you to transform others.

Thought for the Week 12th March 2017

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1.      Joining Jesus in His Mission  – we need Him!

 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”.  (Matt 7:7,8)

Jesus invites everyone who follows Him to join Him in His mission.  Responding to His invitation requires that we live a life that is different, a life that causes people to be curious about what (or who) it is that causes us to be who we are.  It also requires that we tell people about the Jesus who is changing us.

The challenge for many followers of Jesus is that we allow our lives to be shaped by the world that we are surrounded by, rather than by Jesus. The result of this is that there is no apparent difference between us, and the people that we live among.  As such, they are not curious about our faith, and our words, if we share anything, do not make an impact. 

How can this change?

In Matthew chapters 5-7 Jesus preached the ‘Sermon on the mount’.  This sermon outlines what it means to live life in the Kingdom of God, as a follower of Jesus.  The sermon is filled with numerous challenges to do things that cut against everything that comes naturally to us. 

Among so many other things, Jesus tells us: ‘love your enemies and pray for them’ ‘if somebody takes your coat, offer them your tunic as well’ ‘Don’t worry about having material possessions but trust in the God who provides everything’. 

Each of these things, and the many others that he refers to as key aspects of living as His follower, are enormously difficult and most of us, if we are honest, do not even attempt them.

The first disciples, as they heard Jesus teaching in such a revolutionary way must have felt the same as we do.  They must have been thinking, ‘How on earth can I ever live a life like that?’

To those first disciples and to us, Jesus says:

 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  (Matt 7:7,8)

As you go through this week, remember that however difficult it may be to live for Jesus…you can ask Him!

Thought for the Week 5th March 2017

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1.      How do I share the gospel?

This is a key question! How do I reach a place in a conversation where I can tell people what the gospel is?  This is critical and much missed part of conversations that we have. Lets look again at Jesus conversation with the woman at the well to see the importance of this.  At the end of the conversation:

 

25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Put simply – Jesus told her who He was!  If we are going to share the gospel with people it is necessary that we tell people who Jesus is!  Again we are often far more afraid of doing this than we need to be!  We are so concerned about offending a person that we would rather say nothing, here are some things that I hope will help you:

1.      When you have built a relationship with a person who has become interested in your life then it is a natural thing to explain who Jesus is and what he has done in your life. 

2.      Most people are not as against the Christian faith as we think – they just don’t know what we believe.

3.      Using stories and speaking about your own experiences is helpful.

4.      You know enough about the gospel to be able to explain it to a person who wants to know what it is all about.  Don’t become over-anxious and convince yourself, before you even start, that you will get it all wrong!  Remember – you are not alone!  Jesus said ‘I will be with you!’

This week ask God to give you the opportunity to share the gospel message with one person.

Thought for the Week 26th February 2017

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How do I bring Jesus into a conversation?

 

As I mentioned previously, conversations with people can begin so easily and if we show genuine interest and concern for the person we are in conversation with then the talk can continue for a long time.   In many cases this can lead to ongoing conversations at different times and in different places, especially if we  talk about things that matter!

 

I have often found myself saying, ‘let’s chat some more next time you are in the gym’.  Or ‘Let’s have a coffee and talk some more…..’ 

 

A question that I am frequently asked is ‘How do I bring Jesus into a conversation’.

 

For Jesus, in His conversation with the woman at the well, it was not difficult for Him to talk about Jesus, because He is Jesus, he talked about Himself!

 

11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? And them in v13

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”

 Jesus drew her deeper into the conversation by arousing her curiosity about who He was and what He could do in her life.  We can’t do it exactly as Jesus did but we can arouse curiosity by talking about how Jesus is working in our lives.  We can talk about the ways that our faith is a real help to us as we face the same challenges that are being faced by the person that we are in conversation with.  We can mention such things as: answers to prayer, ways that we have felt God with us in times of challenge, how priorities in our life have changed as a result of our faith, specific ways that God is changing me, support and love of other Christians. 

I am convinced that people are far more interested to hear about our experiences of God working in our lives than we think.  If we want to bring Jesus into the conversation then we can naturally and in a non-preachy way just share the ways that we have known Jesus in the midst of the things that life throws at us. 

The person may not believe it straight away, or ever, but it will lead to the possibility of more conversations about faith!

This week ask the Lord to help you to talk about your faith more openly as you engage in conversation.

Thought for the Week 19th February 2017

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How do I continue a conversation?

 

Jesus met the woman at the well and began a conversation by asking her a simple question.  Ok, it’s one thing to start a conversation but how do you continue one?

 

I find that the best answer to this it to listen to the person’s response and then talk with them openly, honestly and sensitively about what they ask and let the conversation continue without feeling the need to ‘jump in about Jesus’. 

 

Jesus had to respond to a very direct response to his request for a drink.  The woman said to Him:

 

“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) John 4:9

 

Her response was filled with concerns about prejudice!  That might have been a conversation ender for a lot of us!  I have to say that I have never been faced with such a challenging question so quickly! In fact, most often, it takes a long time for the conversation to become about things related to my faith.  People seem to talk firstly about things that are happening in their lives, and are often glad that somebody has the time and interest to listen to them.

 

 Jesus response is honest, very appropriate and would help the woman to know who it was that she was talking to!

 

 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”  John 4:10

 

Clearly this is not an answer that any of us could give because we are not God!    What each of us can do by being honest is to talk openly about our faith in God at the point in the conversation that people ask us things that create this opportunity.

 

As you meet people this week and begin a conversation…How could you continue these conversations and talk about things that matter?

Thought for the Week 12th February 2017

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1.      How do I start a conversation?

As we seek to Join Jesus in His mission one thing that is essential is that we talk to people as well as live lives that help people to see Jesus.  Many of us are far happier ‘living a Jesus life and hoping that people will just see Jesus in us and somehow come to know Him’.  The reality is that whilst living the Jesus life is a critical part of joining Jesus in His Mission it will, if effective, lead to opportunities for us to speak with people.  It is just as critical that we take the opportunities to speak if we are to help people find out the truth about Jesus.

With this in mind, one of the questions I am most frequently asked is ‘How do I start a conversation?’

To help you think about this I want to refer to the story in John chapter 4 of ‘the woman at the well’.  Look at how Jesus started a conversation!

 

 ‘When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (John 4:7)

 

She had come to a well, a place to get water, and Jesus asked her for a drink – an incredibly natural question that would lead to a deeper conversation.  Jesus started a conversation by asking a simple question that was appropriate to where he was and what he was doing at the time.

 

Often, when I am at the gym I begin a conversation by asking a person who is lifting weights if they would like me to ‘spot them’  (support the weight as they lift it).  This frequently leads to much deeper conversations!

 

In your life there are many people that you are among and sharing in similar activities to what you are doing – a simple question could lead to a much deeper conversation!  The question could just be ‘How are you doing?’  and then listening to the response!

 

This week, why not start a conversation with a person that you know, who doesn’t know Jesus?

Thought for the Week – 5th February 2017

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Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19

Over the past few weeks I have shared some stories of deep things that Christians saw as they gathered on a rooftop and looked across the city of London.

Where is your ‘rooftop?’

As you read this question you may already be thinking of a high place in the city/town village where you live. Let me suggest somewhere a little more convenient.

In your home I am sure that there is a room with a view. A window through which you can see out into the street, and within sight are other homes, maybe shops, a school, ……. Each of these places is filled with people that God sent Jesus to save.

As you spend time, perhaps each day, with the Lord reading the bible and praying you could make this ‘room with a view’ the place where you do this. You could ask Him to help you to see what He sees and what He is doing. You could ask Him to work in your heart in such a way that He will be able to use you to join Him in reaching the people.

This week, I encourage you to find your rooftop and then be ready to join Jesus in His Mission.

Thought for the Week 29th January 2017

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29th January
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19

I have mentioned, over the past couple of weeks, some of the experiences of God that leaders had as we looked across the vast expanse of London from the terrace of the Alexander Palace.

It wasn’t only the other leaders, God also spoke to me in a way that was very simple but enormously powerful.

Having looked across the city from the edge of the terrace I stepped back inside a small covered area to pray and reflect upon what I had seen. Then, after a few minutes, I looked out again to remind myself of the view and there, just a few feet in front of me, there was a young man standing directly in my sight line and talking loudly into his phone.

My first and instinctive thought was ‘what is he doing standing in the way of my view!?’ He was speaking so loudly into his phone that I couldn’t help hearing what he was saying. It was pretty clear after listening for just a few seconds that he was having a very heated argument with his girl friend, or maybe wife. Without realizing it, I had forgotten about ‘the view’ and my focus was on this young man. Then, very abruptly, he walked away, still yelling down the phone.

I found myself praying! I didn’t know much about his circumstances but it was clear that all was not well.
I believe that sometimes we don’t have to look too far to see the needs that people have and to join with Jesus in His mission to reach these people.

As you go through this week, consider ‘Who has the Lord put in my way? and then, be ready to Join Jesus in His Mission.