Ministers being USED.

What a privilege it is to be chosen by God for His holy service!  To be a vessel of usefulness to the Lord is a high honour, indeed, the highest honour that can be given to any man. Forget about all your New Year Birthday honours conferred on individuals by Her Majesty the Queen; these pail into utter insignificance compared with being a minister of God.  No human honour is worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as the honour of being chosen and called by God into His service.

And no minister objects to be 'used' in this holy way.  This is why he is in the ministry in the first place.  He placed himself and all that he has and is at the service if the King of Kings.  His strongest desire is to be used by God in the furtherance of the Kingdom.  He wants to be a tool in the Master's hand - and no more - and to be of service to his Saviour.  This is what it is about.

But, then, there is another side to this, as there is to most good things.  The people to whom we minister study how they can 'use' us, not for the glory of God, but in order for them to get their own selfish desires and needs met. They 'use' the minister in a bid to prevent him being used by God.  He is there to visit you when you're ill, to visit the elderly, to say 'hello' to wee Johnny, to 'christen' the children, and especially the grandchildren, to bury everyone "in the sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life" (and woe betide him if he does something different!); he is there to marry the young people, both of whom are true 'saints,' of course; and so on and on it goes.

One minister told me recently that he had a reasonably good meeting of the eldership the night before, but was wondering what these men are planning to do to him behind the scenes!  And once they get what they want from the minister, they will unceremoniously dump him if the price is right!  They will join up with other Gospel-haters in a bid to harm the faithful minister of the Word to the fullest extent.

Have you found that? Or, do you know a servant of Christ who has had this done to him? You know what another name for that is, don't you?  Prostitution.  Church members 'use' the minister in exactly the same way as a man uses a prostitute - as soon as he gets what he wants from her, he dumps her.  In the church, when members get what they want from the minister, they turn on him like savage beasts, demonstrating that the hatred they now have for him is as strong as they love they once showed him.  They discard his as a man throws away the cigarette packet after he has withdrawn thew last cigarette.  They no longer have any need for him!

And church denominations do this as well! How many wrecked ministries and ministers they are up and down the country; and how many utterly disillusioned minister's wives they are in manses!  And how many manse families have gone right off the rails as a direct result of the church's bullying tactics!

The only hope and consolation Gospel ministers have is that even if and when the church dumps them, that in no way equates with God dumping them!  He chose and called them for His work - which is not always and necessarily the same as the work of the church!  They belong to Him.  They are His.  He redeemed them and they are His prized possession, are under His divine protection, and will one day prosper in the hand of the Lord.

If you are in this position, let these truths penetrate your thinking and warm your heart.  You know, a heart that is warm before God will never lack encouragement.

The Set of the Sail

An old poem states as follows:

One ship drives east and another drives west
With the selfsame winds that blow;
'Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales
Which tell us the way to go.

Author:  Ella Wheeler Wolcox

I thought I'd share this with you today, because it has been a blessing to my own heart.  Whatever your circumstances just now, in what way are your sails set?  Remember, it is this that determines your direction, not your circumstances (from a human perspective).

The Gospel According to Isaiah – Isa.53:1

Calvin’s method of preaching is truly expository, and is the model for all truly expository preaching.  Indeed, to get to know the true Calvin, we must see him as a preacher of the Gospel.   This is what took up most of his time and energy in Geneva.  His demanding preaching schedule saw him preaching 10 times every fortnight.  He preached in plain, colloquial French, and used turns of phrase that the common people would easily understand. 

His preaching is Christ-centred throughout.  He discovers Christ in all the Scriptures.  Throughout, he uses the New Testament to interpret the Old Testament.

Isaiah preaches as if he was referring directly to Christ.  His office and calling is to be “the Redeemer of all believers and of all the elect ... of saving all His own.”[1]  And that is what He is!  That is precisely His calling.

But Calvin interpreted Scripture with Scripture, believing, as he did, that God's revealed will is revealed in ALL the Scriptures, and not in certain verses and passages only.  In the first sermon, Calvin speaks of Christ as "the Saviour of all the world."[2]

How beautiful is his balanced Biblicism!  How refreshing his faithfulness to Scripture!  And how laudable his evangelistic zeal!

---

[1]   Sermon 1:32.

[2]   Sermon 1:39.

Rev. John Jones, Talsarn (1796-1857)

Dr Alan C Clifford gave me permission to post this piece.  It tells of a little known Calvinistic Methodist (Presbyterian) minister/preacher, Rev. John Jones (1796-1857), who ministered in Wales almost 300 years ago, and was mightily used of God in the salvation of souls.  Dr Clifford likens him to the Richard Baxter (1615-1691) in England.  This is the first taste of a man whose usefulness in God's service is not well known, but which ought to be better known than it is.

‘We are disposed to think that he, during those years (from 1821 to1857), made for himself a deeper home in the affections of his fellow countrymen than perhaps any of his mighty predecessors or contemporaries - so deep a home, indeed, that the longing that is still felt for him in the breasts of his hearers is as keen and strong as if he had died yesterday’ (Dr Owen Thomas, The Life of John Jones, Talsarn (1874), cited from Owen Jones, Some of the Great Preachers of Wales (1885), p. 462).

‘He consecrated all the powers of his soul for the Gospel of Christ. Preaching absorbed all the energies of his life... He became the most efficient and most popular preacher of the age in Wales. The epithet is applied to him to this day, “The preacher of the people.” And no one since his time has arrived at anything like his popularity’ (Owen Jones, op. cit., p. 532).

Between his birth at Dolwyddelan to his death at Talysarn, was there any Welshman who brought more blessing to Wales through the preaching of Christ than he? Did any preacher present the Saviour of sinners more gloriously, eloquently and tenderly than he? Was there any minister whose heart throbbed with more love to Jesus and his fellow-men? Is there any better Spirit-anointed model for preachers today than the Christ-exalting John Jones Talsarn?

Let us hear him:

JESUS, MIGHTY SAVIOUR

Extract from a sermon preached on 11 January 1849 at Caersws 

“O mighty Jesus, the Son of God, the Redeemer of mankind, who hast been anointed from eternity to be King over us; we are sorry from our hearts that we have lived for so long a time without giving ourselves to

Thee. But now, we come as we are. Receive us, dear Jesus, and deliver us through Thy blood, and take us to serve Thee and to live for Thy glory for evermore. Mayest Thou live for aye as our King, and may

everlasting crowns be on Thy head. Amen!”

COME TO CHRIST

Extract from a sermon preached at Bala in 1835

“You have, my friends, something yourselves to do, and it is of no use at all to expect the operations of the Spirit of God, while we ourselves neglect our duty...Turn the prow of thy little vessel to the deep; let it sail upon the wide ocean of Christ’s Atonement; spread the sails, and steer it on by the guidance of the Word of God. The winds will blow, the mighty forces of redemption will play upon thy vessel; the tides will carry it, and thou shalt find thy little bark one day in the haven of eternal rest.”

CHRIST OFFERS HIMSELF

Extract from a sermon preached on 18 July 1847 at Carmarthen

[While John Jones preached on the Parable of the Ten Virgins, a solemnity and dread came over the people, till the chapel was full of sobbing, sighing, and weeping. But when the climax of dread had been reached, with beautiful voice he said...]  

“My friends, the hand that was pierced is here tonight, offering unto you the wedding-ring; Christ is willing to be yours in that day if you receive Him now.”

CHRIST’S KEEPING POWER

Extract from a sermon preached on 30 June 1847

at Peniel near Beddgelert

‘... I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day’ (2 Timothy 1: 12).  

“We know not what is to meet us from this to the end of life’s journey, but we know Who is able to save. I know not what troubles and sorrows may come to my lot; I know not what their nature may be; I know not how long they may last, nor what my feelings may be when I suffer them; but I know Who is able to save.”

“I know not where I may die, whether on the lonely mountain when returning from some distant journey, or far away from home amongst strangers, or whether I shall be allowed to die in the bosom of my family, with my wife and children standing round my bed - I do not know. But I know Who will abide with me when all men are leaving me, Who is able ‘to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him’ [Hebrews 7: 25).”

_____________________________________________________________________

There were at Peniel at that time several old men, who had turned to Christ in the revival which commenced at Beddgelert in 1818, and from thence affected the whole area. Their appearance in the seats just around the pulpit was very imposing. They were all strong and stalwart. When Mr Jones was preaching that afternoon, they were deeply moved. Before the end of the sermon they were lifting up their hands until the preacher came to the end of his sentence, bursting out with the words,  “Blessed be God!” “Amen!” “Amen!” (Owen Jones, op. cit., pp. 503-4 (edited).

Compiled and presented by Dr Alan C. Clifford after returning from a visit to North Wales (7-12 September 2011).

Conscientious Christians Who Refuse to Give to Church Funds

What an anomaly it is that God's people are deliberately giving their tithes and offerings, not to their churches, but to where they perceive the true Gospel and its work to be carried on.  They are at a loss to see Gospel work being done in their own congregations.  This is precisely what they want to see being done.

But what do they find?  That their hard-earned money is being spent on themselves - it is being devoted to improving their church infrastructure, thus displaying their worldly affluence; they want to grow bigger and better than their neighbours, thus exhibiting a level of sinful pride; they will give their money to paying exorbitant salaries to their minsters - some of them being paid in the region of £50,000 pa.

Yes, they still give to the missionary outreach of their churches, but only to keep face with the church authorities.  They give their money to help pay the salaries of men and women who neither believe the true Gospel nor preach it to their people.  They have no compunction about allowing the money they give for the Lord's work to supporting theological liberal causes; and they support the cause of promoting unbiblical ecumenism, despite their loud protests to the contrary.

Is it any wonder that conscientious Christians are refusing to support such anti-church, anti-Gospel activity in their midst?  These people are to be applauded and honoured.  They are prepared to think outside the box and not be dominated by some blind adherence to a denomination, however unfaithful it is to the Scriptures. 

What these believers are doing is that they are putting their money where their mouth is.  They say they are Gospel people, so they give their money to support Gospel work.  They are most consistent with their own beliefs and faith.  They are being true to the Scriptures.  They are honouring God with their wealth, thus showing that they love God with all their heart.  had they been the kind of Christians who supported both Gospel and anti-Gospel activities, then they would be living in disobedience to the revealed word of God in the Bible.  But these believers are not being rebellious to the Lord Who ought them, but live their lives in submission to Him - the only proper place for the child of God.

Is there another reason why these good Christian people do not give their money - actually, the Lord's money - to support work that He curses?  Well, yes, there is.  They do not have the confidence that those charged with administering their money will do so exclusively to support His work.  They have seen ulterior motives, but true believers are pure in their motivation.

Do you agree with this?  Is it right for Christians to support the Lord's work, even when that means not giving to their own churches?  How are they to answer the church officials who say that it is their Christian responsibility to support financially and in any other way the church to which they belong?  Well, if the church is to be supported by my little contribution, then so much for the church!  If I have to support my religion, then too bad for that religion.

Surely the church is there to support God's people and to facilitate their service for the Lord, and their service for the Gospel!  It is not the other way round!  And surely, religion is there to support us, not us to support it!  If my religion is something that I have to cart around with me, then it will be of no use when I need it most.

The church, and Christians, need to get their priorities right, and give their support, heart, mind and soul, to promoting the cause of Christ in this lost and needy world, and not to erecting an overly fancy 'rain shelter' thus depriving the real work of the church of the necessary resources. Are you ready to do this?

"Give peace a chance" – who sang that? (Part 1)

A young Christian friend of mine for many years, David Duly, entered this post in his blog, www.wherethereisnovision.wordpress.com on the 30^th anniversary of the shooting dead of former Beatle, John Lennon on 9^th December, 1980.  This material is used with his permission.  He gave information about Lennon that is not widely known, either in the UK or in the USA.
 

“On this day [9^th Dec] thirty years ago, John Lennon was murdered as he left his home by an obsessed fan.  Shot in cold blood, the death of Lennon shook the music industry and his fans alike. Rightfully, people condemned the murder and tributes were sent across the world to Mr Lennon’s family. Thirty years later John Lennon is heralded as a man who cried out to the world that they “Give peace a chance” and pointed to as a man to emulate.

It is quite amazing how that if you are a celebrity, especially in societies that are intoxicated with celebrity status, you can say whatever you like publicly – either in word or in song – and the public will accept it without question.  Lennon’s great mantra, “Give peace a chance,” sounded the right note, but what exactly did he mean by these lovely words?  Let’s see.

“John Lennon was a die hard supporter of the IRA. In discussion with many Lennon fans they often claim that Lennon only supported the IRA after Bloody Sunday (seeing that this somehow justifies the murders and atrocities committed by them) however this is false.”

Did you know that?  The ‘champion for peace’ supported the organisation in Northern Ireland that murdered more people than the loyalists terrorists, British Army, RUC and UDR all put together, accounting for 60% of all deaths in its 40 year reign of terror in Northern Ireland, and elsewhere.  John Lennon, the man who claimed in August 1966 that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus” is the self-same man who gave practical and tangible support to those who murdered our family members, and destroyed many other families. 

"Give peace a chance" – who sang that? (Part 2)

“Terry Hooley had such an experience when meeting John Lennon, however Lennon was doing a lot more than giving opinions he understood little about.

Northern Irish Punk Legend Terri Hooley

Mr Hooley is the founder of Good Vibrations records and if you’re familiar with the Undertones and “Teenage kicks” you have this man to thank.  Active pacifist and peace campaigner Hooley was a great fan of John Lennon and was greatly disappointed when he found out that Lennon was hardly a man to emulate, below is an article that appeared in the Belfast Telegraph.”

The website for those wishing to check the authenticity of the quoted article is www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/ and type in the title of this post.

“Godfather of Ulster punk Terri Hooley has spoken about the time he got into a punch-up with John Lennon over the former Beatle’s support of the IRA. 

The Belfast music impresario, credited with discovering The Undertones, met Lennon in London during the late 1960s when the Troubles hadn’t long started. 

But Hooley, who was an active peace campaigner at the time, was disappointed to discover his hero wasn’t the pacifist he expected him to be.

Hooley was speaking after reports carried in several newspapers this week claimed that the Beatles legend offered financial support to the IRA by agreeing to perform a concert in Belfast.   (Emphasis added by me).

In a new Lennon biography, to be published this week, author Johnny Rogan alleges Lennon was keen to donate money to the Provisionals. (Emphasis added by me).

Hooley said he wasn’t surprised by the claims.

He said: “Me and a few friends had just set up a pirate radio station in the Craigantlet Hills and were in London to get equipment for it when I met Lennon,” he said.

“I can clearly remember that one of Lennon’s friends brought us to a garage and showed us guns and asked us if we wanted to bring them back home.  (Emphasis added by me).

“They obviously thought we were “the lads”. We were “the lads”, just not the ones they thought we were.

“Later that night I met Lennon himself and got in an argument with him, about not being a pacifist. There was some talk of money being sent to the IRA and I chinned him. He hit me back.”  (Emphasis added by me).

Hooley said the fight only ended when his glass eye landed on the floor.

But he said that despite the row with Lennon, he still remained one of his idols.

“It was never about the politics, it was about the music,” he said.

Hooley, who owns Phoenix Records in Belfast city centre and who ran Good Vibrations for many years, said he later met Lennon’s ex-wife Cynthia who was in Belfast to record a show.

“We were doing the Gerry Anderson show and one of the producers told her I’d met John,” he recalled.

“She asked me how that had gone and I told her we hadn’t got on. She wasn’t the least bit surprised to hear that and said he’d been very difficult to live with.

“I always say now it’s better not to meet your heroes.”

Duly comments: “The article really speaks for itself. John Lennon the man who preached and proclaimed “Give peace a chance” spent his time and money not only but funding but equipping a terrorist organization.”

“I don’t believe in killing whatever the reason! ”

“All we are saying is give peace a chance.”
John Lennon