2020 Vision

Today I’m standing in for Sean who is in Paraguay for the football mission, they arrive back on Friday morning. We are looking forward to hearing about their experience. One of the best things I’ve seen so far was the worship service at the drug rehabilitation centre in Florianopolis, the singing from the people there was really moving, transcending the language barrier. It was a reminder that it’s not by the power of human reason that people are won to Christ and changed, but by the Holy Spirit who doesn’t need our words to break through into someone’s life.

I have to confess that I didn’t get much time in the last few weeks to delve down into today’s topic as much as I’d like. However the good news is that the Holy Spirit is never too busy and he can help us to understand the truth better than I can explain anyway. It has been in the forefront of my mind though that even though things are happening so fast in the world, we mustn’t lose sight of the most important thing the Lord wants us to do and be.

We are nearly at Christmas which is one of the great times in the Church calendar, recognised not just by us but also recognised by the world. So we have an opportunity to reach out with the Gospel as we will be after church today when we go carol singing.

I was talking with my brother in the US and he was telling me that Thanksgiving at the end of November is his favourite time of year, more so than Christmas where unfortunately the message of Jesus is distracted by all the commercialism. He said the best thing is that everyone gets together as families where the only thing is that - being together. There are no gifts given, it’s just about spending time together.

Last weekend we were down in Martinborough for our anniversary and we enjoyed a sample of life in small town New Zealand. Martinborough has a population of under 2000 and a square just like Palmerston North where we lived for a couple of years in the 90’s. The town square gives the people a focal point for gathering in the weekend a little like a church at the centre of town can. There was always some resistance in Palmerston North to the tower at the centre of the Palmerston North square because it had a cross on the top of it and the witches didn’t like it. While we were living down there, we were told that there were quite a few covens operating in the area but the churches were very strong and the mayor was also a Christian so we never felt the oppression. When the Cross was perhaps suspiciously blown down in 2006, a new lantern was added to the top of the tower with a Cross inside. A victory over the witches !

Well while we were travelling in and around Martinborough we visited the nearby French influenced Greytown, and afterwards decided to visit Stonehenge Aotearoa which is about 11 km away.

It was mainly my idea because in Brittany near the town where we go, they have constructions very similar to Stonehenge in England and there is a lot of mystery attached, so I thought it would be good to go and learn about it. Mhairi was much more hesitant and with good reason. It was certainly a strange place, the stone circle could not be seen from the car park nor the reception building and only appeared in plain sight when you got very close. We decided not to walk through the entrance gates into the centre of the circle as we thought that would just invite trouble. When we left there was no way back except by the reception where the woman was crouched down behind the front desk and she didn’t stand up to say goodbye. Stonehenge UK is 5000 years old and there’s mystery around how the stones were moved there and what was it’s purpose. Same in Brittany, where the culture is steeped in Celtic mythology and the influence of the Druids. There’s this fascination with magic and having power over nature and the gods that is really dark and goes back to Ancient Babylon. You might think that is all ancient history. Well at Stonehenge Aotearoa you learn that all of that practice is still going on today. Yes, the witches, the Wizard of New Zealand and other druids will soon be gathering at Stonehenge Aotearoa for the Summer Solstice and conducting their services just like we do for Christmas. No wonder the spiritual battle in New Zealand heats up at this time of year. We need to be alert and praying against the darkness because they are praying as well !

And darkness is advancing in New Zealand there is no doubt about it, with Euthanasia, Abortion and legalisation of Marijuana advancing through the parliamentary system. We also see the redefinition of marriage as an attack on the Lord’s way and on all married Christians no matter what anyone says. So we need to be alert at what the Devil is trying to do especially now he knows his time is very short. As elders we are conscious of the spiritual battle and are seeking to be trained because we know in this time we are living in we need to be especially equipped for spiritual battle as Bob has been teaching from Ephesians 6 recently. In the Catholic Church they are training more exorcists because of what is going on in the world and it is only going to increase as we near the hour of Jesus’s return.

Standing at Stonehenge last weekend, it was easy to discern the light from the darkness, to see that there are really only 2 ways you can go. Either you trust the Lord as your Saviour or you go your own way which is what this nation has been doing.

Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 
2 Corinthians 4:1-6

The Devil confuses the world with many religions but the Gospel is the only message that tells you you need a Saviour because you are a sinner. Jesus died on the Cross for your sins and not just yours but the whole world. Think about it, Jesus is on the one side and all the other religions are on the other, they all depend on us rather than God.

For a start, many people don’t believe they need a Saviour, they think that if there is a Heaven they will go there because they are basically a good person. Have a close look, you don’t see a cross on top of a Mormon nor a Jehovah’s Witness church. The Hindus and Buddhists believe in reincarnation, that they will eventually reach a better state if they are good. The Spiritualists believe something similar except they believe their evolution will be in the spiritual realm after death, they don’t see a need for the Saviour either. That is why we should be very sceptical about some of the NDE’s. The Muslims don’t believe anyone else can pay for their sins, they must pay by doing more good than bad. The Jews are closer but they reject their Messiah and so are also awaiting the judgement of God. The Catholics really are sitting on the fence, it was too hard to add them to my illustration ! They believe in Purgatory, in that way they are sitting on the fence unable to decide whether it’s by grace or works. They need to abandon that belief, fully crossover and put their faith in Jesus alone, not Mary, not the Pope, not the Rosary, not the Confession either. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves.

OTHER SINNER
It was so interesting to follow what happened to Israel Folau when he spoke out. Most sinners ignored his message because they didn’t believe it. However one group did react very strongly. People do get offended at being told they are a sinner, that they are not a good person but in fact wicked and need to repent and put their faith in Jesus or else they will die in their sins and go to Hell. The only reason most people didn’t react is because they didn’t believe it. The Church has stopped talking about Hell, we are only preaching about Grace. So unless the Church persists in preaching the truth, then no wonder people don’t react because they have no reason to ! When people do react it’s because deep down they are disturbed that they may be in danger, they want to shut their ears and not listen ! This is the time for the Church to be a light in the darkness, working on the night shift not discouraged and asleep.

180 DEGREES
The basic Gospel is you need to repent, turn 180°, come to Jesus who is the Gate for the sheep. You certainly don’t see a Cross at Stonehenge Aotearoa, it’s a circle. I’m not going to repeat the Spiritualist doctrine here, why should I advertise for the Devil ? Suffice to say that it appears good on the surface but just look a little bit closer and you can see the truth that it is the same old Babylon religion with blood on it’s hands.

I was reminded of the PCC statement of Faith, it is very important what a Church says it believes and of course how it acts to prove it’s beliefs !

We believe: -

1. The unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead. 
2. The sovereignty of God in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgement. 
3. The divine inspiration and infallibility of Holy Scriptures as originally given and their supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. 
4. The universal sinfulness and guilt of human nature since the fall, rendering humankind unable to save itself by its own efforts and making it subject to God’s wrath and condemnation. 
5. Redemption from the guilt and penalty of sin only through the death of Jesus Christ the Son of God, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. His death on the cross, as our representative and substitute, was once for all, a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.
6. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead following His crucifixion and burial and His ascension to heaven, and the resurrection of believers in Him to eternal life. 
7. The work of the Holy Spirit in conviction of sin and righteousness in individuals and bringing them to repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. 
8. The indwelling and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in every believer. 
9. One holy universal Church which is the Body of Christ and the priesthood of all true believers.
10. The expectation of the personal return in glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge both the dead and the living.

I hope you have signed on the dotted line, it’s basically the Apostle’s Creed that every Christian Church has. We don’t talk very often about our PCC statement of Faith, perhaps it seems like a legal document, very dry and dull. But if we knew it off by heart, we won’t ever be fooled by the all the other religions that the Devil has on offer, one to fool every type of person.

As Paul said But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 
Galatians 1:8

That speaks against the Angels of Muhammad and of Joseph Smith, people who follow those religions are under a curse, strong words indeed.

Well also in the last few weeks I have been doing some work for Family First to update a Church directory for the whole of New Zealand. There are about 3000 we would recognise as having pretty much the same doctrine as PCC, even the Catholics. As I said before, the Catholics just need to abandon their works based doctrines and trust in Jesus alone. But as my friend said to me once, we’re all a bit screwed with our theology ! Just believe in Jesus, ok ?!

As we are going through the churches, often one by one, searching for their contact details, viewing their websites, I have been encouraged to see all the work going on in all the towns and cities around New Zealand to present the Good News about Jesus, the simple message of the Son of God coming into the world, going to the Cross for our sins, his resurrection to life and the coming of the Holy Spirit. We are blessed to live in a land whose foundations have been set right. Truly in New Zealand, no one has an excuse. But the churches need to wake up because many have fallen asleep and we are losing the fight on really important issues. If the Churches would only work together then New Zealand would be transformed in just a few weeks. But we need to prepare for battle because it’s only going to heat up from here. Already in Sweden they are micro chipping people, within 10 years it will be all over the World.

At the Elders Retreat in November this year, we heard from the Lord that as Elders he wants us to take care of the sheep and the lambs. You need to be in church at this time in history, don’t think you can go it alone and survive as a Christian. Don’t wander off and become a lost sheep. There are many ravenous lions and wolves ready to devour the lost sheep. When we come back from the holidays in February we will shortly after be going into a teaching series on 40 days of Community in the 6 weeks leading up to Easter. It’s going to be a very important time for PCC. We want to ensure everyone is part of what the Lord will be doing in our community and in New Zealand in 2020. More on that later.

But I think we need to pray for all the churches in Papatoetoe and in New Zealand. We need to pray for the ones like St Matthew in the City that they will rediscover a ministry of truth to go with grace. We need to pray for our Churches because they are under attack especially at this time of year. We pray against all works of darkness at this time. Against the prayers of the witches and wizards that there power will be reversed and that the name of Jesus will be lifted up. In Whangarei you know all the churches meet once a month and they get more than 200 to their city prayer meetings. We need to pray that right through to April and Easter 2020 that there will be a spiritual awakening and repentance in this country and that Easter will be a time of transformation not seen before.