Weekly Dispatch by Kevin Clancey - The Word of God

(by Kevin Clancey)

....the Bible is clear, God is still speaking through His people. The Holy Spirit does not contradict the previous revelation of Jesus in the gospels, or the rest of revelation in the Bible, but He illuminates it and applies it so the Word is living among us.

King Josiah was the last good King in Judah before the exile of the Southern Kingdom to Babylon. He assumed his kingship at the age of 8, but by the time he was 16 he was seeking God. At the age of 26 he ordered the repair of the temple which had been brought to ruins by years of pagan worship and neglect. During the rebuilding the Book of the Law was found, this was either the first five books of the Bible, or simply the fifth book, Deuteronomy. After this was read to Josiah he was deeply moved to repentance because he realized how far God’s people had fallen from the covenant laid out in the book. Josiah then led the nation into a national repentance and saved the land from conquest for another generation. King Josiah gave great respect to the Book of the Law. He respected and honored God’s Word by believing it and obeying it. God’s Word, His revelation, is central in revival. It was in Josiah’s time and it is in ours.

When modern Christians use the phrase ‘the Word of God’, they usually mean the Bible. But the Bible teaches that the Word of God is more than the Bible. First and foremost the Word of God is Jesus. Jesus is the Word made flesh according to John. God revealed Himself in person, in human history God showed up in Jesus. This means if you want to know what God is like the answer is to look at Jesus. The Word of God is also the Bible. God has revealed Himself by inspiring a book to tell of His actions and intentions in history. The Bible is God-breathed and is therefore the trustworthy revelation we have to build our faith upon. There are many good books, but the Bible is the unique book of God, it is the Word of God. Third the Word of God is still among us. Holy Spirit is still with us and still revealing, teaching, encouraging and comforting the church. This makes many Christians uncomfortable, it seems so subjective, but the Bible is clear, God is still speaking through His people. The Holy Spirit does not contradict the previous revelation of Jesus in the gospels, or the rest of revelation in the Bible, but He illuminates it and applies it so the Word is living among us.

As we honor the Word of God by believing it and obeying it, revival can begin, grow and be sustained among us. More on the Word of God this Saturday at The Firehouse Church.

Weekly Dispatch --Finishing Well

Finishing Well by Kevin Clancey

It is God's desire that we finish well. Solomon didn't. Asa didn't. But we can.

2 Chronicles 14-16 is the story of King Asa’s reign in Judah. Asa was one of Judah’s good kings. He established reforms in the land that ended pagan idolatry during his long rule. The Bible says because of this King Asa and Judah had a long period of peace during his time. Asa only had two conflicts while he was King and was victorious in both. Yet the story doesn’t end well for Asa. During his final years, Asa stopped seeking the Lord. He turned to foreign alliances for political security instead of praying for God’s guidance. He stopped listening to the voice of God through the prophet Hanani, and imprisoned the prophet when he brought a corrective word from God. And finally Asa fell ill and sought the aid of physicians, who in his day were more like sorcerers, and again did not seek God. Like his great grandfather Solomon, Asa is the story of a man who began well but ended poorly.

In 2 Chronicles 15:2 the prophet Azariah says to Asa, “The Lord is with you when you are with Him, if you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” The Bible is full of promises that God will be found by those who seek Him. But often those who find Him become comfortable in their circumstances and forget about God when life is going well. Many who start out well end poorly.

It is God’s desire for his children that we finish well. Solomon didn’t, Asa didn’t, but we can. This week we will look at God’s provision for us to finish well both in our own lives and in the life of the church seeking to sustain and grow revival.

Weekly Dispatch by Kevin Clancey ~ WORSHIP

What exactly IS

worship?

So what is Christian worship? In modern American church services, it means the singing part of the service. For others it means love feelings for God. Literally, worship means to bow down or lay down. In the Bible, worship always includes the element of a sacrifice. Taking those two elements, worship could be defined as a life surrendered to God and given over to Him as a sacrifice.

In Romans 12, Paul tells us that in light of God's mercies to offer our lives as a living sacrifice. This, he says, is our acceptable act of worship. He says in doing this we will get renewed minds and come to know the will of God. I see at least five things we can lay down or sacrifice in our worship of God:

• We can give God our time
• We can give God our treasure
• We can give God our attention
• We can give God our talents
• We can give God our praise

All of these are things we do in order to worship. But here's another important point: To truly worship we give these things as a free offering of love, born out of a genuine encounter with God. If we do them in a legalistic way, we won't have our minds renewed and we won't come to know the will of God but instead become religious modern day Pharisees. Worship is first and foremost the willing sacrifice made out of love because we have been met by the deep love and mercy of God in Christ.

Worship is first and foremost

the willing sacrifice made out of

love because we have been met by

the deep love and mercy

of God in Christ