Pastor's Pen 30th August 2015

Targeted treatment

Every week day I turn up at the Level 3 oncology at Royal Brisbane and wait for my name to be called. It doesn’t usually take long before a voice comes over the speakers, “Stephen Gellatly, LA2”. My name is called and I am being summoned to my treatment location LA 2.  “L.A.” stands for “Linear Accelerator” a machine that gives my daily dose of radiation to the area of disease. This treatment is regarded as targeted, zoning in on the unhealthy, diseased cells while leaving the healthy cells untouched (that is the plan anyway and we believe with God’s help this is being achieved).

This treatments safety and effectiveness is conditioned on a couple of variables. Me laying still and allowing the treatment to have its effect, and the operator of the machine lining me up correctly and setting the machines parameters properly. As I have thought about this process, even as I undergo it each day, I often think about spiritual parallels to this treatment that apply to all of us. We are, even as born-again believers, subject to the effect of an even greater disease than cancer; the toxic condition of sin. But as ones who have been saved, who are being saved and who will be saved, God is intent on treating us for this debilitating condition of sinfulness.

Yes when we surrender our lives to Jesus and are born again of His Spirit we are forgiven, the eternal punishment for our sins is cancelled out. But the work of salvation is an ongoing process that is God intention to get rid of the areas of sin that are holding us back from the God ordained purposes He has for us. And just like the daily treatment in LA 2, so too God has some targeted treatment to get rid of the disease.

2 Timothy 3:16 reads, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…” You see God has a treatment He wants us all to submit to in order that we can overcome the pervasive condition of human sinfulness. It’s a targeted treatment that zones in on the offensive areas of our lives so that we can overcome the deadly disease of sin. That treatment is the targeted truth of His living word being brought to bear upon our own lives, habits and attitudes; it’s the humbled, submissive reading of God’s word and receiving its truth. Often we can read the word and see instruction for others, but the first port of call in our daily bible reading should always involve us letting the truth of God’s word do some targeted treatment on us. Like me laying down and remaining still while the Linear Accelerator does its work, so too we need to come and quiet ourselves before God in order to allow Him to target the areas He wants to deal with.

This also requires us to trust the work of the Holy Spirit and resist the words of the enemy. You see God is loving, caring and careful as He treats us for our underlying condition. But the enemy wants you to be restless and he wants to use scripture to condemn and destroy you. In all of this there is a faith required to allow God to target areas we may be afraid to let go of, but if we do as He says, allow His word to search us and destroy the dark cancer of sins power over us, we will be set free in increasing measure to live a freer, more righteous life. 

Ps. Steve.

23rd August 2015 Tony Dodge

Click on the link below to listen to this message by Tony Dodge...

http://k001.kiwi6.com/hotlink/nysfjp821r/2015-8-23.mp3

Pastor's Pen 23rd August 2015

 Words of encouragement

Some of us are talkers and some of us not so much. But whether our words are many or few we all need to stop every once in a while and take a measure of what’s coming out of our mouths. The significant point in all this is that if we claim to have fellowship with Christ the words that flow from us should be a reflection of the new life and the hope we have in Him. But sometimes our perspectives are twisted and we believe the lie of the world that our life is all about us and us getting everything we want, rather than God having His way in us.

The truth is we have been purchased by the precious blood of Christ, redeemed from a hopeless existence to become children of God. This means our life is no longer our own but belongs to Christ. When this is real for us the flow out of our mouths becomes fresh with the encouragement we have from being in Christ.

This is hugely important because the encouragement that comes from our mouths is central to the mission we have all been called to in living for Jesus and sharing Him with others. In Acts 13 when Paul and his companions were moving from region to region to share about Jesus and they came to Pisidian Antioch the Jewish leaders entreated them, “if you have a word of encouragement...please speak.” (v15)

Paul takes his opportunity and shares not some message that simply made them feel better or endorsed their ignorance, but he encouraged them with “the good news” (v32). The good news that he shared was the gospel; a word of encouragement that was grounded in the new beginnings only possible in Jesus Christ...new life (v34) and forgiveness for sins (v38).

For us then, as we seek to live our lives in obedience to Christ and under the direction and leading of the Holy Spirit, we must understand that there is an inaudible request hanging over every relationship God has gifted to us. That request that is heavy with expectation lingers over every conversation we have with every single person God has privileged us to influence. The request is this: “if you have a message of encouragement… please speak.” The logical implication of that is if you haven't got anything encouraging to say please don’t speak!!!

This is not about being flowery or false, far from it. The only true encouragement we can offer comes from the power and truth of the gospel, and that means we may have to confront some sins and deceptions that are threatening to destroy those precious people around us. But remember the word “encouragement”. Its means we won’t be beating people down but picking them up; not hacking them apart with our words but building them up in love. Jesus is wanting to shine through us and encourage those around us with the good news. Are we able to offer them that encouragement?

So whether you speak a lot or just a little, there is just one condition on the words that come out our mouths; if we are going to speak let it be with words of encouragement.

Ps. Steve.

18th August 2015 Seeney Dux

A message from Seeney Dux preached on 18th August 2015

Click on Link below to listen...

http://k001.kiwi6.com/hotlink/6m4txs0l75/18_82015.mp3

9th August 2015

The relational basis of the righteous life

In this message Ps Steve sets aside the erroneous poles of legalism and license in order to recapture the relational essence of how God wants to interact with us as we live out the Christian faith. So often we can let the Bible be a list of rules or on the other hand we can take the soft option of accepting the deception that being forgiven means we can liver as we please. But we must remember that God wants to speak to us as we read His word and His word will always be relevant for our lives.

For more, listen by clicking on the link below...

http://k001.kiwi6.com/hotlink/z8tvn3owbb/9th_August_2015.mp3

Pastor's pen 9th August 2015

Pastor’s pen: “Living in the Truth”

If you have had surgery in recent times and have had a Doctor take you through the risks associated with the procedure, you would recognise the use of statistics to define the chances you have of something going wrong. The language used is in 1 in 100 cases this may happen or in 1 in 1000 cases that may happen, and so on. It is so easy in such circumstances to see yourself as simply a number or a statistic which can easily lead to fear of what may happen to you. I have had these same experiences lately of hearing statistics used to outline the dangers in procedures I am or will be having. But the Lord spoke a powerful word of reassurance into me in recent times from Psalm 91:7. It reads, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand but it will not come near you.”

We are exposed to many facts, opinions and assumptions in life that we can be overwhelmed, even to the point of being so preoccupied with facts that we lose sight of truth. Truth, after all, is what God says and it sometimes runs counter to what is peddled as facts. This is important to recognise in our journey of faith for apart from God’s truth we have little to stand upon and we become extremely vulnerable to the fears and uncertainties of life.

I am so grateful God has quickened this truth into my spirit as I make my journey of faith through this season of trial. It has already born fruit in my faith and expectation. In a recent appointment I was again having various categories described to me of what happens to different people through the radiation treatment process. As I left the Doctor’s office I wondered to myself what category I would be in. Then the truth that God had already deposited in me, that I am not some mere statistic, rose up and fuelled my faith in God’s truth. I am not subject to the storms of fear and uncertainty because I do not belong in a category; I am safe in the hands of my Saviour and my God.

We don’t have to be facing health issues for this truth to become real for us. Stop seeing yourself as a helpless victim of circumstances and rather see yourself as God would intend; safe in the hands of the Living God. That place of security is a place we occupy by faith.

 

Ps Steve

Pastor's pen 2nd August 2015

Pastor’s pen:  Pencilling in some Divine Appointments

Life is so busy. Sometimes to stop and reflect on what we have crammed into our days may give us pause to reflect on the distinct lack of margin in our schedule. The temptation is to feel most important and purposeful when our schedules are chock-a-block. The danger is, however, if we leave no space in our daily list of to-do’s that we end up rushing past many potentially life-changing opportunities that we are too busy to even recognise. But the reality is that God has ordained opportunities for us to connect with people; occasions that often open the door for us to witness to the truth about Jesus. These are divine appointments that God wants us to pencil in to our daily schedule.

1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  We may be racing through life and thinking we never have any opportunities arise that give us the opportunity to share the hope we have in Jesus, but note the part of the verse that says “everyone who asks you”. In order for someone to feel safe enough to ask us why we can be so hopeful we actually have to stop have a conversation and, ready for it, LISTEN to them!

Over the past few weeks I have had quite a few opportunities arise in which I have been able to share my hope with people. But this has not been possible without first listening to them. These opportunities have been in waiting rooms, hospital wards and even on aeroplanes. But just because the person we strike up a conversation with opens the door for us to speak about Jesus, that doesn’t mean we take that opportunity in an arrogant or a prideful way. The verse in 1 Peter finishes by saying we should be doing our sharing, “…with gentleness and respect…”

Ultimately the results of our sharing with others is up to God’s working in the situation and that is why we need to be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying, to know whether this is a divine appointment presenting itself. But in order to sense the Holy Spirit’s promptings we need to leave some margin in our schedules so we aren’t so busy rushing to the next thing that we miss the opportunity to pencil in a Divine Appointment.

Ps Steve