<![CDATA[ - Church's Blog]]>Mon, 21 May 2012 04:59:02 +0000Weebly<![CDATA[Let the Penny Drop]]>Sat, 19 May 2012 23:17:40 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/05/let-the-penny-drop.htmlThis week I had the privilege of listening to Tri Robinson of the Boise Vineyard share on leadership.  He mentioned that in the 90s we were more concerned with church growth as measured by numbers.  ‘How are you doing?' at a church leaders’ meeting meant ‘how big is your church?’  As leaders we were looking at how big numerically we were and not how big our people were.  We had breadth but often lacked depth.  He said he started looking at what is required to grow disciples instead of a crowd.

He talked about how in his mind the week after week teaching we were doing wasn’t making a difference as we all knew people whose lives have suddenly imploded.  This sudden breakdown is not really sudden.  It is more like the eruption of a volcano.  It appears to happen suddenly but the explosion has been building over time. 

So, why does this happen?  Jesus said we would know the truth and the truth would set us free.  Luke 4:18 He said that He had come to set the captive free.  We are set free and continue to extend that freedom within our life by revelation from the word of God.  When you understand something is yours, no one can take it from you.  The devil stole man’s authority from him in the garden because Eve had misinformation about God’s word to them.  Jesus came, took back the keys to life and death, and gave us authority.  We don’t necessarily know or understand the extent of that authority when we first come to the Lord.  But we are not to stay in ignorance.

When Jesus asked his disciples in Matthew 16 who did people say he was, there were a number of answers put forth.  But Peter, when asked who did they, the disciples, think he was, said he was the Christ, the son of the Living God.  Jesus commended him but told him it wasn’t revealed to him by man but by his father in heaven.  Revelation is the key to our growth. 

Paul said he prayed for our understanding of the love of God to grow.  We need revelation to face the uncertainty and trials that come our way.  If we don’t know who we are in Christ, we will waver and fall victim to our circumstances.  We won’t resist temptation but yield to it.  We need revelation to grow and stand firm in faith.

After His resurrection Jesus appeared to His disciples who were hiding and completely confused about what had happened.  Luke 24 says, “He said to them, “"This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."  Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” (Verses 44 and 45) Until that point everything He said was a mystery.  He breathed revelation into them by the Spirit of God.

We need revelation.  We need to pray for revelation.  We need to ask God to take this word that He has given to us and break it open for us.  As He gave to the Israelites manna from heaven He has given us food to sustain us through His word. 

If we want to see believers become big people for the Kingdom of God, should we not be asking God to open their minds to the scriptures from which we preach?

]]><![CDATA[Tree People]]>Tue, 15 May 2012 10:40:32 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/05/tree-people.htmlPicture
Mark 8:23-25 “Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"  He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.”

A few years ago an eye examination revealed I had cataracts in both eyes.  My age at that time was considered to be very young to have them developing. Normally they would have been ignored until I was older except for the fact that they were in the centre of my line of vision.  I had been praying for years asking the Lord to heal my vision but I never expected the answer to be cataract surgery.  When they finished I had one eye slightly better than 20-20 and one eye slightly less.  The amazing blessing was I no longer needed to wear glasses to drive as confirmed by the optician’s eye test following the operations.

Even though I could now see clearly there were things that I thought I should be able to see but couldn’t.  I knew this to be true by having checked whether other people could see something clearly that I couldn’t.  One day I was driving in an area of London that I wasn’t familiar with.  I stopped at a red light at a junction where I wasn’t sure whether to go straight on or turn right.  As I looked at the street sign it simply wasn’t clear enough to me.  I desperately needed to know what to do in this situation.  The thought came to me that I had 20-20 eyesight and I could see that.  The physical fact indicated by the eye surgeon and confirmed by the optician was I could see that sign.  But my mind was not allowing me to.  I had worn glasses for 38 years for short sightedness.  My mind had learned to interpret the messages from the eye one way and was blocking the new information.  I commanded my brain to line up with my eyesight and see the information correctly.  Instantly the sign came clear and I knew how to proceed.

It dawned on me that the brain plays a huge role in receiving our healing when we pray for it.  Our brain becomes conditioned to facilitate actions over and over again without conscious thought.  If you have a sore foot, initially you will be conscious of walking in a manner that relieves or minimizes the pain.  After a time you walk that way without even thinking about it.  The brain has compensated for the problem and adapted a pattern of response to accommodate the situation.  My brain was patterned to see things blurrily from years and years of getting that signal when I didn’t have glasses on.  Even with them on the image was never as clear as it should have been.  So after the operation my eyes were changed but my brain wasn’t.  This idea was confirmed by a recent eyesight breakthrough where a sensor was placed on the retina and connected to the optic nerve.  The man who received the implant could see nothing before the operation out of his left eye.  After he could see light and the impression of an arc, which came from the edge of a plate he was looking at.  He said that his brain needed to learn what these images were that were now coming to it from his eye.  (Check it out on the BBC website)

When another pastor and I prayed for a woman who couldn’t keep walking due to the pain in her leg, she was astonished as all the pain left her leg.  Yet as she walked away she limped a wee bit.  The pastor I was with said it was conditioning in her mind and that by the end of the street she would be walking normally.  As we watched, her limp diminished the farther she went.  

It makes you wonder of how often people have received physical healing only to have it sabotaged by their brain’s conditioning?  I think that we need to pray not only for the pain to go, the condition to be healed, but also that the brain be rewired to receive the change.


(photo courtesy of Ambro)http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1499
]]><![CDATA[Home Groups]]>Mon, 14 May 2012 16:45:56 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/05/home-groups.htmlWe have started three new home groups this past week.  It is very exciting to see what the Lord will do through this.  The leadership team felt it was the next direction in which the Holy Spirit was taking us.  It is an opportunity for all the able and gifted people we have in our family to stretch their muscles and apply all their leadership skill. 

If you would like to be involved in one, contact us at info@gracevineyarduk.com and we will send you the locations, times and contact details for the groups.

]]><![CDATA[Organism or Organization?]]>Fri, 04 May 2012 15:43:41 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/05/organism-or-organization.htmlGrace Vineyard Walsall has some basic tenets that form the bedrock of the church.  We believe there is only one foundation and cornerstone: Jesus Christ.  We believe the Holy Spirit will lead the church by His voice.  With both of these in place we are committed to all the manifestations of His gifts to the church.  We do believe that the apostles and prophets are foundations stones with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.  Ephesians 2:19 – 22 states: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”  This is foundational to the church.  It is not negotiable either.

Having laid this foundation under the direction of the Lord we feel it is time to add more clarity to the church’s functional presence.  Before I explain that let me say the following.

A church in my mind is much like a person in the way in which it grows.  The cells form and multiply through division and specialize into different parts.  The skeletal system grows to accommodate the increasing size of the baby.  It is an internal system that grows with the child until they reach full maturity.  A baby is a living; growing, dynamic being that will take 20 years to reach full maturity. 

To me a church must grow and then develop structure, as its size requires.  Structure is to follow growth not precede it.  Organizational structure is limiting and consumes energy simply to maintain it alone.  An external skeletal system is much more rigid and limiting in growth. 

With Grace Vineyard Walsall we have tried to grow the church organically.  We now feel we are at a point where we need to add some structural definition to the church.  The church leadership, Joel and Katie Inkster, Phil and Margaret Bristow, Bonnie and Jim Inkster, met for a day in April to explore and define this stage of development.  We realized that there are 7 spheres of management required to keep everything flowing.  All 7 areas are interlinked and all will be under the supervisory guidance of the leadership.  Even so, those in charge of an area will have the capacity to make decisions and to act on behalf of the leadership.

The 7 areas are: administration, prayer, worship, children’s ministry, pastoral oversight, training, and external relationships. Katie Inkster will oversee administration. Phil and Margaret Bristow will oversee prayer. Joel Inkster will oversee worship.  Katie will oversee children’s ministry.  Bonnie and Jim will oversee pastoral oversight, training and external relationships.  We think these assignments will work well.  If not, we will change them.

]]><![CDATA[Don't Miss It!]]>Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:48:17 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/04/dont-miss-it.html
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]]><![CDATA[Power and Authority ]]>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:44:06 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/04/power-and-authority.htmlLuke 9:1 When Jesus had called the 12 together he gave them power and authority to drive out demons and cure diseases.

Jesus gave his disciples power and authority.  That power is ‘dunamis’, the very word we get our word ‘dynamite’ from.  It means mighty, wonder working, abundant strength, that which provides miracles.  Authority is delegated influence.  A police officer has delegated authority.  They have influence over the territory they work in and they have the power to enforce the law.

It is interesting that the first thing Jesus gives them power and authority over is the demonic.  In order to bring the Kingdom of God into a person’s life that which has been influencing them must go.  Once that influence is gone the reign of God comes flooding in.

In Luke 11:20 Jesus says, ‘But if I drive out demons by the finger of God then the Kingdom of God has come upon you’.  We need to take up the authority and the power given to us by Christ.  We have authority over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19)

Mark 16:17 says that these signs will follow those that believe: In My name they will drive out demons.  If we want to see people set free and the Kingdom of God come, then we need to exercise our authority.  It has been delegated to us and we have the most powerful weapon to back it up; the love of God found in the name Jesus.

]]><![CDATA[Expect the Unexpected]]>Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:23:59 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/04/expect-the-unexpected.htmlRecently Jim and I had to go to the Walsall Council office to deal with our council tax.  While there a lovely young lady looked us after.  As we talked I was drawn to the ring on her finger.  So, I commented on how beautiful her ring was and asked if she was married or engaged.

She was delighted to tell us she was married but had an infection under the ring so she couldn’t wear the wedding band.  Bingo!  I had now discovered how God was going to touch this woman’s life.  I asked her if I could pray for her finger.  Her response was classic…’What?’  I repeated ‘pray for your finger to be healed’.  And with that she said, ‘sure’ and gave me her hand.

And so I got the privilege of bringing the Kingdom of God to the Walsall Council.  Yahoo!  God is on the move!

My observations from this occasion are:

1. I was not planning to go with Jim at all.  I had an agenda for the day and it didn’t include going there.  However I felt from the Spirit: ‘Go – you need to be a presence there’.  I argued the point, even discussed it with Jim.  His response was: ‘Are you going to be logical or obedient?’  There’s a good one.  Some times going somewhere or talking to someone isn’t logical but actually spiritual.  Think about Philip (Acts 8:26) when he was told to go walk on the road and ended up talking to the Eunuch from Ethiopia.  He got to share the gospel with an important official, baptise him and end up somewhere totally different.  That is not very logical but its Kingdom.

2. I was drawn to her ring.  It wasn’t that exceptional but it was what the Holy Spirit was drawing me to.  Like something being highlighted.  This is what Paul said when he was in Athens.  Acts 17:22 ‘I see you are very religious people’ – and at that point he got to preach and bring the Kingdom of God to Athens.  Jim and I had prayed before we went that God would lead us and show us the person He would have for us this day.  You need to be alert and seize the moments.

3.  I had to open my mouth in order for her to respond.  I could have just left that place and not prayed.  But in Matthew 11:12 it says, ‘From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been subject to violence and violent people have been raiding it’.  That word ‘violent’ means an enforcer, to be seized, press in, energetic.  We need to seize the moments given to us and press into every opportunity.  When we do, we enforce the Kingdom of heaven and advance God’s presence here on earth - like it is in Heaven.  Sound familiar – your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

We have good news to bring.  Luke 4:18 says, ‘the Spirit of the Lord is on me because He has anointed me to bring good news’.  Walk in that anointing and be an enforcer of the good news.  The very last verse in Mark 16:20 says, ‘then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it’.

Stepping out to bring the Kingdom doesn’t mean you are going to have trumpets blowing and a neon sign saying, ‘Pick Me, Pick Me!’  What it means is walking in obedience, stepping out and being bold.  I didn’t feel warm and fuzzy, excited or nervous.  I just offered what the Kingdom of God had to give in her time of need and that was healing.

We left the Council building knowing we had done what God wanted us to do.  The rest is in His hands.  She encountered the love of a gracious Heavenly Father and He who began a good work in her will bring it to completion. 

I wonder whom God has for me to encounter next?  And where will we end up?  What fun!

]]><![CDATA[Do You Want to Get Well?]]>Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:23:36 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/04/do-you-want-to-get-well.htmlJohn 5: 5 “One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"”

It seems incredible that Jesus would ask an invalid if he wanted to get well. This man was at the Sheep Gate pool along with a large number of disabled people who were all waiting for a miracle of healing. It is odd that he would ask the man if he wants to get well. I would take it for granted by his action of gathering with the others to wait for this phenomenon to happen that he does. He must want to get healed, isn’t it obvious?

When we pursue ministering healing to people, do we make a mistake by not asking them if they want to be well? I know that when the opportunity comes at meetings to receive prayer for healing not everyone who is infirm in my opinion comes forward. If I had their condition, I would go forward but they don’t.

But Jesus knew that not everyone wants to get healed. They may be in the right place for such an opportunity but they may have a lot more to give up than we realise. Firstly, it could be a total revamp of their life style. They may be on benefits of some type and are not really keen on giving them up. If you have never worked for 38 years, what will you do? Who will hire you? Receiving a healing could upset your entire sense of security.

Secondly, there’s their identity. He had been this way for 38 years and knew nothing else. Everyone knew him as an invalid and related to him that way. They probably helped him get to the pool, took him home, helped with his groceries, and slipped him a few pence here and there. Identity is powerful. We can be entrapped by it even though it isn’t that beneficial. Like the blind man that Jesus healed, people weren’t certain it was he or not after he could see. (John 9). 

Thirdly, there is their sense of belonging. The group of disabled people that waited at the Sheep Gate pool were a small subculture within the community. They would know each other well, banter and laugh with each other, and develop ways of doing things for and with each other. If he could walk, he would no longer belong to this group. His difference would separate him from them even if he dedicated himself to helping people from that group. He’s no longer one of them. 

This is a real issue within the deaf community over the cochlea implants that can restore their ability to hear. Check it out by doing an Internet search. In response to the question, why is the deaf community against cochlear implants, the deaf person wrote: “For one, you have to be deaf to understand "Deafness" is not a disease. We have been telling people that we are just fine, leave us alone! Cochlear implants being drilled in babies heads, they can't say "leave us alone." 

Being moved by compassion for someone is good; it is love in action. But love honours people too. Jesus would not force healing on someone who didn’t want to be healed and neither should we. In ministry we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings rather than following a format. When moved by compassion we should ask the Lord what do we do next?

]]><![CDATA[The Big E!]]>Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:07:53 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/04/the-big-e.htmlLuke 8:40 “Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him.”

The word, expect, is an action word, a verb.  When you expect, you are in anticipation that something is going to transpire.  The dictionary defines it as to look for as likely to occur.  When a woman is pregnant we say she is ‘expecting’.  Another definition is to wait the birth of.

Expectation is synonymous with faith.  Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  When we walk in faith, we walking with an expectation that the very thing we are trusting God for will occur.

You see the crowds would not have gathered if they didn’t believe that Jesus was coming.  But they did!  They had an expectation, a belief or faith that He would soon be there.  Because of that hope they gathered.

We need to have an expectation or faith that God is going to come when we ask.  Hebrews 11:6 says, “that without faith its impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those that earnestly seek Him”.  When we have faith, even though we don’t see what we are hoping for we can begin to move toward that very desire.  Why?  Because we are looking for something that is likely to occur just like these crowds described in the bible.

Just like a pregnant woman prepares for a baby and then is waiting, as we wait for God to come and move in our midst, lets be expecting him to do great and marvellous deeds in our midst.

]]><![CDATA[Revealing the Father’s Heart]]>Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:38:03 +0000http://www.gracevineyardukblog.com/1/post/2012/03/revealing-the-fathers-heart.htmlLuke 7:13 ‘When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."’

Luke 7:13 reveals something to us of the heart of the Father.  In this account we see a funeral taking place, the only son of a widow.  When Jesus saw her, it states his heart went out to her.  Interesting that his heart went out to the mother not to the dead son.  She was the one in pain.

Jesus was moved by compassion.  Compassion is the sorrow you feel for the sufferings of others.  However, that sorrow is combined with tenderness.  It is gentle and merciful towards the grief-stricken and the burdened.  In Matthew 9:36 it says that when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them.  Why?  Like so many people today they were harassed and helpless.

Jesus only did what he saw the Father doing.  The Father’s heart for a dying, sick world was to send His Son so that none would perish. 

In this account in Luke we see the Father’s heart displayed in the actions of Jesus.  Jim said to me, ‘Compassion is love in action.’  I can see that in Jesus.  As He was moved by compassion He healed the sick, raised the dead, feed the multitudes and calmed the storm and restored lives.

Back in Matthew 9:36 Jesus says to the disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.’  How true a statement!  All we have to do is look around and we see people harassed and helpless.  Just last night a friend of our son ended up in hospital.  Our son called and asked what should he do?  We knew what was in his heart to do and that was to go and do what Jesus would do.

All of us come in contact with people in dire situations.  We are called as Kingdom people to walk in compassion.  As we do we reveal the heart of a loving, compassionate, merciful Father, who is moved when people are hurting.

Ask the Father to put His heart in you and to send you out into the harvest field to put His love into action!

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