How do we enroll in the classroom

In my last post I asked the question "Who is our teacher?". I wanted to know who do you turn to when you need help as a christian? Who do you turn to when you need to grow as a christian? Which voice do you listen to so that you can grow?

I reminded you that Jesus is no longer here on earth, so we no longer have the privilege of learning directly from Him as did the apostles. I showed how Jesus in His last opportunity before He went to the cross, took the time to carefully instruct his disciples (John 13-17) who was going to be their teacher when he wasn't there. The disciples would not be left as orphans, but he would send them the comforter - the Holy Spirit. And whereas the disciples had learned directly from Jesus up to that point of time before the cross, now after they'd received the Holy Spirit, they were to learn directly from the Holy Spirit.
i.e. Jesus transitioned the disciples from depending on himself, to depending on the Holy Spirit.

But what message was the Holy Spirit going to teach? He wasn't bringing a new message with him - he was authorized to share the exact same message that Jesus shared, and indeed, the Spirit's commission was to lead them and guide them into all truth. So the instructor was going to change, but the message would be the same.

Doesn't that sound fantastic - being led into all truth.The Spirit was going to glorify Jesus (John 16:14) by revealing everything that Jesus had achieved on earth in His victory over the devil, and make it fully known to the disciples.
Jesus was even so bold as to say in John 16:7 that it was better for the disciples that He, Jesus, go away; because if He didn't go, then he couldn't send the Holy Spirit. Not having Jesus in person, but having the Holy Spirit in person would actually be at an advantage
Does that sound pie-in-the-sky to you? Was it just words? A wishful dream? Or, could this actually be a reality?
Yes - I believe it was back then, and it is also today. It seems that God is using this present day time to re-emphasize the truth of the Holy Spirit. In these last days God is making sure that his children have access to the best and the brightest teacher there ever was, ever is, or ever could be. God is introducing us afresh to the Holy Spirit.

So, would you like an introduction? Great - let's get started.

John 20:19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” [20] After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
 [21] Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” [22] And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. [23] If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Notice this first conversation Jesus had with his disciples. He breathed on them (similar to God breathing His spirit into the first man, Adam). And he told them to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift, and Jesus is offering the same gift to you, and all you need to do is receive him.

In the parallel passage in Luke 24:45 it says he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures. Notice, that as soon as Jesus had breathed on them, suddenly their understanding of spiritual things increased. And the same will happen to you when you receive the Holy Spirit. Even though the disciples were still thoroughly amazed that Jesus has risen from the dead, Jesus was treating it as a done deal - all finished - his phase of ministry was over. And now he was commissioning the disciples to spread this message (verse 46-47) everywhere.

But surely, you ask, he needs to do some more preparation? Now that He's risen from the dead he needs to give them a few months of getting adjusted to that fact, and confident in it, doesn't he? NO. Jesus didn't do any of that! And the reason for his confidence is shown in verse 49:

I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus confidence wasn't just in the disciples ability. He didn't place his confidence in his great leadership gift and how he'd meticulously trained and developed the disciples over the last 3+ years. His confidence was in His Father's promise, that His Father was going to send the Holy Spirit to be inside each of the disciples individually. And the presence of the Holy Spirit was going to be so dramatic that they would be clothed with power. And Jesus has the same confidence in you today. The distinguishing factor was not the disciples ability - it was the promised Holy Spirit. And that is the same Holy Spirit available to you today!

Religion has tried to relegate the role of the Holy Spirit to the past, and said, that the Holy Spirit was only in the disciples because they had to establish the doctrine of the new church. The early disciples had to establish the canon of the scripture (all the writings which are gathered into the New Testament portion of our bible). And so they had this great need of the Holy Spirit, and a special dispensation from God, which we don't have.

Hocus pocus! Bull-dust! And any other words you can think of.

We are in just as much need of the Holy Spirit today as those early disciples were back then. Thank God that we have the New Testament in written form now. That sure makes the job of the Holy Spirit a lot easier to do. In the early church the Holy Spirit had to instruct the disciples by taking the writings in the Old Testament and showing how they applied to Jesus, and how they foretold of His death, burial, and resurrection. Thank God that we don't have to look in the Old Testament to try and see this veiled truth. We now have the New Testament, with the same message, not veiled, but as a clear written explanation of exactly what Jesus achieved when he died on the cross on our behalf.

But just because these truths are clearly written down in our bible doesn't mean that we clearly understand them. We have just as much need today for the Holy Spirit to take the truths of what Jesus achieved, and glorify Jesus by explaining those mysteries to us - to YOU! Because if you didn't have the Holy Spirit available to you today, then you would be an ORPHAN. And Jesus specifically promised that he would not leave us as orphans. We have the same promised Holy Spirit for us today as the early disciples had after Jesus resurrection. Believe it! And receive it!

Acts 1:4-5 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. [5] For John baptized with [Or in] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 

This was just before Jesus ascended into heaven (went up in a cloud). Once again he reminded them - you're not complete - you cannot fulfill the task I've given you UNLESS you first receive the promised gift. But once you have him, woo-hoo, you will have power to testify of me. And you will have a teacher on the inside of you to teach you.

You're probably thinking Yeah - you're repeating yourself here - sounds good - but how does it work? Aha! Let's look at the arrival of the Holy Spirit and see what happened.

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. [2] Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. [4] All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[Or languages] as the Spirit enabled them.

In between Acts 1 and Acts 2, they returned to Jerusalem as instructed and waited, and waited, and waited.  (It's a bit like waiting for Christmas isn't it - you know it will come, but you can't make it come any faster). But finally the day came. And what an entrance - the Holy Spirit certainly knew how to make a good first impression. Quite strategic actually, because the huge noise drew the attention of a huge crowd, and suddenly the disciples had their first crowd, ready, waiting and all prepared to hear an explanation for what on earth was going on.

But let's go back briefly to verse 4. Remember the question is How do we enroll in the classroom? How do we receive teaching from the Holy Spirit? Well, you're about to see the answer. Did you notice the new ability the disciples received? Amidst all that noise, and wind and tongues of fire, did you notice what change came across them? What was the very first thing these newly baptized disciples did? Having only just seconds before received the promised Holy Spirit, what is the very next thing they did? Can you see it?

Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[Or languages] as the Spirit enabled them.

All of them were filled. There were about 120 of the disciples together at this point (Acts 1:15), and all of them were filled. It wasn't just the apostles. The Holy Spirit was for everyone then, and he is for everyone now. The Holy Spirit is given for YOU!

All of them began to speak. They all began to speak in other tongues, or languages. The presence of the spirit on the inside of them caused an overflow to happen. They could have kept the Holy Spirit dammed up on the inside of them, but instead they opened their mouths and began to speak. Speaking released the Holy Spirit to flow then. It released the Holy Spirit to do His job. His commission was to lead the disciples (and us) into all truth. The first and foremost way he achieved his job, was by giving them words to say.

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[Or languages] as the Spirit enabled them. Notice that it is the Spirit that enables this. He had a job to do, a commission from the Father. And he hadn't been on earth more than a few seconds before he started. He filled the disciples mouths with new words or languages - words with spiritual meaning - words from heaven - and then He invited them to open their mouths and begin to speak. And the disciples sure did! What a commotion it created then. The huge crowd gathered together and tried to figure out what on earth was going on. Indeed It didn't take long for some to start ridiculing them.

Acts 2:12-13 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”  [13] Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.

Peter stood up and refuted this claim, and launched into a great explanation of what had just happened. He got to his high point and declared:

Acts 2:32-33 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. [33] Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

This new found ability to speak in other languages was a direct result of God the Father doing what he had promised. He sent the Holy Spirit, as the crowd could clearly see and hear. The crowd responded with a great question, which Peter answered:

vv37-39 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
 [38] Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

If you ask the same question today, and follow the same instructions, then you will get the same result. Repent of your sins, be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the same gift that the early disciples did. The promise is the same today as it was back then. It was for them back then. It is for you right now. And it will be for your children as well i.e. for all future generations to come, right until the return of Jesus Christ.

Religion tries vainly to relegate this speaking in tongues to sort sort of  experience which was needed for the special task of birthing the early church. But that wasn't what Jesus said. He clearly promised that once he left, he would send another comforter in his place, the Holy Spirit, who would be our teacher and instructor, with a personal commission from the Father to lead us and guide us into all truth.

How about you? Do you know all truth yet? Have you been led and guided into all truth? Do you fully understand everything that Jesus did on earth? When it's put like that I'm sure you'll be happy to agree that you don't yet know it all. And if you don't yet know it all, then you must need the same teacher today, as the early church needed back then. You need the promised Holy Spirit, and thank God you can have him today!
I know I haven't explained in much detail about his praying in tongues business. I've just simply stated that praying in tongues is the new ability that the early disciples received when they got the Holy Spirit. I will explain more later, but you don't need to fully understand to get started. You just have to receive by faith. If you waited till you fully understood then you would never start. If Jesus had waited until we were worthy of salvation then none of us would ever have got saved. Jesus died for us when we were still his enemies, when we didn't believe on him.

You don't need to understand how tongues works, or what it does, to actually enjoy the benefit it brings. You just need to start. As well as the great promise we've just read from Peter (vv 38-39) you can also read the words of Jesus himself.

Luke 11:11-13 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? [12] Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? [13] If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

So why not you! Why not here! Why not now!

Father, I come to you right now. I repent of my sins. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe he paid the penalty and died in my place. I ask for your forgiveness.Thank you for cleansing me and making me brand new.

Now Father, I ask you, for what you promised. Now that I believe in Jesus as my savior, I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit. I acknowledge that I need your Holy Spirit to come and live on the inside of me, and lead me and guide me into all truth. I thank you that your promise never expires. It was true then, and it is true now. I thank you that you're more ready to give me the Holy Spirit than I am to ask for Him. But I do ask now - Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. I thank you that I can be confident I will not receive a stone, or a snake or a scorpion. You only give good gifts. So thank you that you've heard me. Thank you for filling me right now with your Holy Spirit. I believe I receive Him right now.

Holy Spirit - welcome. Thank you for coming to live inside of me. I'm sorry I haven't acknowledged you much before. But now I know that you've come to live in me, and to teach me. Thank you Holy Spirit that when you come you bring this new ability - the ability to speak in tongues. Please fill me now, and give me this ability. Enable me to speak in tongues, just as you enabled the early disciples. Thank you. I believe I receive that gift now!

And now begin to praise and worship God. This miracle has two parts - God's part and your part. God's part is He gives you the words to say. Your part - is that you speak these words out. You can't give yourself the words - you need God to do his part. And he can't do the speaking for you - you must do this part. And that's all that speaking in tongues is. You're not making the words up. Your natural mind may not understand these words, just like it won't understand a foreign language. But if you will trust God, and begin to repeat and speak out those words that you can hear down on the inside of you, down inside where the Holy Spirit is creating this language, then you will enjoy life like never before. And you will activate the Holy Spirit and allow him to do his job of leading you into all the truth about Jesus.

So begin to worship and praise God, and then every now and again - STOP and listen! When you hear some new words on the inside of you - foreign sounding words - then your part is to speak those words out. Go on, try it. And as soon as you speak out those words, then the Holy Spirit will give you more words to say. And when you do, you have now enrolled in the classroom of the Holy Spirit. And you can start to enjoy the best God-given teacher that you could ever have.

I trust and pray that you will ask God for the precious person of the Holy Spirit, and the precious gift that He brings. And I trust and pray that you will receive the gift, and trust God enough to speak out the new words he creates inside of you. May God bless you as you start allowing yourself to be taught by the Holy Spirit!

Who is our teacher

Imagine if you were given a chance to go back in time for a week, to the time when Jesus physically walked and talked on the earth. How great would that be? If that happened then I know where I would be and what I would do. Wherever Jesus was that's where you would find me - following him around like a bad smell. Wherever he turned, I would be there. Whenever he stopped, I would stop too. I would do whatever was necessary to ensure I was close to him at all times. I would hang on his every word, listening to everything he said.
We know that Jesus was the greatest teacher ever. Even non-christians will usually agree with that. And if I ever did get the chance to go back in time then for that week the greatest teacher on earth, Jesus, would have the greatest student ever. I'm sure you would feel the same way.
But going back in time is not going to happen now is it. Which leaves us with a sticky question.

If Jesus is not here, then who is our teacher?

We know that if Jesus was here then he would be our teacher. He would know exactly what we need before we ask him. He could take the most difficult concepts in Christianity and explain them in a way that we would understand, wouldn't he? If we were having a problem, or needed some correction in our lives then he could sure do that. He might make up one of his famous parables, tell us a story, suck us in, and then deliver the punch line which would leave us speechless in repentance.

So if Jesus was such a great teacher, then what did he do about replacing himself? What alternative did he give us? Did he abandon us and leave us to our own devices? Who do we turn to now?

Please stop and have a think about that for a moment. When you're stuck and need advice who do you turn to? Do you go to your church leaders? I know that Jesus gave us ministers and preachers to teach us, but is that who we're supposed to turn to? Do we have any other options?

I can almost here some say confidently, in a pious voice:

Yes, God gave us preachers (or priests, or pastors). God gave us the "clergy" so that normal christians "laity" would not be burdened with these type of questions. All christians need to do is go to church and listen to the anointed man or woman of God deliver the message of the hour, and they will be taught. They should put their full trust in their leader on earth.

But I do wonder if that what was Jesus had in mind. Did he leave heaven, put aside his divinity, come down to earth as a mere man, live here for 3.5 years, give all this really amazing teaching, start a new movement (the church) and leave it's future to a bunch of men? How could he be confident that the chosen church leaders would stay on track and not corrupt the message? We've all seen many church leaders fall from grace. I doubt that's new to our time only. So why would he have such great faith in the leaders of his day? And even if he could trust the apostles he'd personally hand picked, then what about when each of them died. Would they choose their successors well? Would the message of Christianity eventually dilute so much that there would be no difference between the church and the world?

Maybe, just maybe, Jesus knew something that we don't know. Wouldn't you like to know what it is? Let's look at some statements that Jesus made:

John 17:4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

By this statement Jesus showed that he'd done enough and finished his part. But if he's finished his part, then maybe there's someone else who needs to do their part. Did Jesus pass over responsibility for us to anyone else?

John 13:33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer.  You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

Here Jesus is saying clearly that he's leaving. If I was his disciple, I wouldn't be too happy with that. Peter certainly wasn't. And he was ready with this bold macho response.

John 13:37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

We all know what happened to Peter, denying Jesus 3 times. I'm not sure that I would have done any better. So far we cannot find any evidence of Jesus passing the baton to someone else to teach us. But let's keep looking. (skipping ahead a bit)

John 14.15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—

whoa! What did Jesus just say here? He will give us "another" Counselor. Is this the replacement that we've been looking for. The words "another" Counselor, means there must have been a first counselor. And Jesus would sure fit that picture nicely now wouldn't he. Let's look a little further. Who is this new counselor?

John 14:17 ... the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

This just might be the missing puzzle piece. Jesus clearly said that he wasn't going to leave them as orphans. An orphan is a child without a parent to teach them, feed them, look after them or care for them. An orphan is basically helpless - left to their own devices.

Although I shouldn't feel ever like an orphan, I have to be honest and say that until a few years ago, that was exactly what I felt like; lost, helpless, some good days, lots of bad days. I always thought I can't be tried hard enough, and if only I tried harder, asked more questions, went to church more, then maybe I could grow as a christian and overcome life's problems. Maybe if I knew more, read another book, went to another conference - something - anything - then surely that would make the difference and my problems would be over. I could finally be victorious as a Christian?

And that's when I first found the truth of this promise from Jesus. He boldly said that HE WOULD NOT LEAVE US AS ORPHANS. He would not leave us on our own. Although Jesus was leaving and would no longer be on earth himself, he had planned ahead and was sending a replacement, another counselor - one who could comfort us and counsel us in the same manner that Jesus did when he was here.

The simple truth is that Jesus didn't forget us. He didn't leave the future to chance. He deliberately and specifically passed responsibility for us from one member of the Godhead to another. God the son (Jesus) passed the baton to God the spirit (Holy Spirit). The spirit of truth was commissioned to be our new teacher.
Jesus didn't pass us off onto an angel or a spirit guide. He didn't pass us off onto an apostle, or a preacher. He didn't pass us off onto a bishop, elder or deacon. He passed us over into the care and responsibility of his equal - the divine Holy Spirit.

Did Jesus say any more about this?

John 14:25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

This certainly seems to confirm what Jesus said. He repeats his earlier statements. Later in John 15 he shows the partnership between the God-head, how the Father is the gardener who is training the grape vine and ensuring it is fruitful. To do that he has to cut off all dead wood. It's easy to understand how he removes the problems in our lives, but he also cuts back the good wood so it will be even more fruitful. In verse 3 Jesus reveals the tools that the Father uses to prune us:

John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

First Jesus spoke the word. Then the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us to remind us of everthing that Jesus said (John 14:25). And in both cases it's the Father's word that Jesus is speaking, and the Holy Spirit is reminding us of. As we receive that word it teaches us, cuts off bad wood, prunes back good wood, and brings new growth into our lives.

John 15:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

The Father wants us to bear much fruit, so the Holy Spirit has a busy job to do.

John 16:5 “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
  12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Once again Jesus reminds his disciples that he is sending a replacement. The Spirit will do such a good job, that he will lead them into "all" truth. The Spirit is not bringing a new message to the disciples. He's not speaking on his own. He's hearing the same message that Jesus got from the Father and relaying that to us. How far does this ministry go?

  John 16:14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

Bottom line. There is only one person qualified to replace Jesus as our teacher. And that person is God the Holy Spirit. Only God himself in the person of the Holy Spirit can be trusted to not usurp God the Son. Only He will not be corrupted by the world, get a few degrees off, wander from the path, and build their own little kingdom. Only He will not dilute the truth, not even a little bit. The Holy Spirit will be just as effective as Jesus was because He's not bringing a new message with changes, improvements, modifications. He is simply repeating the original message that Jesus shared. And He will do that faithfully for every new generation of people born on earth until that day when Jesus himself will return in the sky and every eye will see him.

I'm not denying the work of the ministry, or of pastors, teachers and priests. All these are given by God to help us. I'm simply re-emphasising the replacement that Jesus himself authorised. The last message that Jesus gave to his disciples while eating the last supper was to get ready because He's sending the Holy Spirit. He could have chosen to teach about church leadership, or church structure. He could have chosen to talk about spiritual gifts. But in this final hour the message Jesus chose to emphasise was about his replacement; another counselor; from the same place Heaven; of equal power and authority; and with the SAME ORIGINAL message.

Did the disciples catch on? Did they acknowledge the importance of the Holy Spirit, or did they emphasise their own importance and function? Let's check on the apostle John.

1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.

The "anointing" i.e. the HOly Spirit is our teacher. And the apostle Paul also said:

1 Cor 2:9 ... “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”
10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

God reveals truths to us by his "Spirit". Verses 10-16 continue Paul's theme and there's lots to feed on there.

Let me finish with a modern parable about teaching my daughter how to ride her bicycle. When she turned 5 we didn't have any flat ground where we were living so I didn't teach her for a long time. Finally when she was nearly 6 years old I decided no more excuses. For the next couple of months I put her bike in the car boot, drove up to the local primary school, and practised on the nice flat concrete netball courts. Once she was confident riding with the trainer wheels on, then it was time to take them off. That's when it got a little scarey and a little tiring. Scarey - because she could fall and hurt herself badly; tiring - because I was running after her all the time incase I needed to be close enough to catch her when she fell. And then came the time I dreaded - when I had to let go and let her do it on her own. Actually it came sooner than I expected. In that certain way that only a nearly 6 year old can do, my girl stuck her hand on her hip, looked me square in the eye, drilled me with her gaze, stomped her foot and said in a voice so firm you didn't dare question it "Dad. Let go NOW! I do it MYSELF!"

And that's the thought I want to leave you with. Growth will only come when you let go. I had to let go as the father and trust that she would make it. She had to let go of her security and launch out on her own. And yes it's scarey. Church leaders have to let go of their people. And us church members have to let go of the our leaders. We must stop treating them like a security blanket and let go of the fear of getting it wrong when we try ourselves. We need to develop that same attitude that my daughter did. We need to grow up, stomp our feet, and begin to say "I do it myself". As long as we depend first on others to feed us then we are helpless and remain as babies still on the bottle.
Church leaders and ministers will help us grow, but they are not our primary teacher. Jesus never entrusted us to a church leader sucn that we would depend on everything they said. He entrusted us to His Holy Spirit.

So how do we enroll in the class of the Holy Spirit and let Him become our teacher? More on that next time.

Disclaimer (I need to say this so you don't run off with the wrong idea).
Q. Are you saying we don't need church leaders? Aren't you just denying the leaders that God has given us?
A. I'm happy for church leaders to get 2nd place, but they should never usurp 1st place. The gold medal should always go to the Holy Spirit. I'm not anti church leaders. I'm pro Holy Spirit. I'm jealous for you to have a relationship directly with the Holy Spirit yourself. (2 Cor. 11:2)

Q. So that does mean we should stop going to church, as we don't need them?
A. We were born again into a family. And all families should spend time together. But it is a family, not a club, or an organisation that requires a formal structure or chain of command. One member of the family does not have the ultimate say. We all need each other in the family (so keep going to church). But most of all we all need the Holy Spirit.

Q. So how do I start in the classroom?
A. More on this next time. But I suggest you read Acts 2, 1 Corinthians 2 and 1 Corinthians 14.

Heaven is so boring ... Isn't it?

I can't imagine being a Christian, and going to live in heaven forever. Why would I even want to?
I mean after all, Isn't heaven boring? Why would I want eternal life? Why would I want to live forever?
This life is pretty bad. I can't even imagine being stuck in the same old routine forever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ...

That's the sort of comments I hear both from christians and from non-christians. Hopefully by the time you've finished reading you will have a little better idea of what heaven is about, and how it might be the best place ever.

Let me tell you a pretend story about Charlie. Charlie is a 10-year old boy, who grows up in a pretty ordinary family with a mum, and a little sister. His dad left a couple of years ago. He doesn't like his family a whole lot, but hey, they're all he's got. In fact, sometimes home is the last place on earth he wants to be. But there's one bright spot in his week.

A couple of months ago, another boy in the neighborhood, Jared, asked him "Hey, do you play tennis? Do you want to come have a hit around - if you've got nothing better to do?". Well, Charlie didn't play tennis, but he didn't have anything better to do, so he said "Sure, why not!". He ran back to the shed, found an old racket he'd seen there, and went along.

So each Saturday, Jared yells out to Charlie, and off they go to have a hit around. Jared's pretty good at tennis, not like Charlie, but they hit it off, and become good mates; so it doesn't matter so much about the bad tennis he plays; although he's getting better - much better. As Charlie improves, he starts to dream about becoming a famous player, and escaping away from home.

I'm not much of a story writer, but I wanted to set the scene for you. Here's Charlie, and at the moment, tennis is the most important thing in his life. For you it might be quite different. But stop and think:

If you could meet anyone in the world - anyone - who would you want to meet? For Charlie, it's the famous tennis player Rafael Nadal. He's seen him play a couple of times on TV,  watched some of his trick shots on YouTube, and wondered if there was any way he could ever get to meet him in person.

Then one day it happens. Rafael Nadal is doing an exhibition match in his city, and there's an opportunity for 1 local tennis boy to meet him one-on-one after the match. Charlie's name gets put in the draw with everyone else and believe-it-or-not. He wins!

How would you feel if you'd just been given a chance to meet the one person in the whole wide world that you wanted to meet, but thought you would never ever get to?
THAT would be like HEAVEN wouldn't it!

Charlie couldn't believe it at first. How could this ever happen to him? I mean nothing cool or exciting happened to him! Until now. And he was allowed to bring a friend along. WOW! Immediately he raced around to Jared's place. "Guess what? Guess what?". He could hardly contain himself. And without even waiting for Jared to answer he began to tell him all about it. Jared was pretty excited at first, but as he listened to Charlie tell him all about it, his face began to fall - but not for long. Because finally Charlie got to the bit about "... and I'm allowed to bring a friend along. So would you come with me?".
And now there were two excited boys, over the moon, high as kites, grinning from ear to ear.

What about you? If you just got the greatest news ever, about meeting the one person you wanted to meet, who would you immediately tell? And if you were allowed to bring a friend with you, who would you invite? Your mate, your brother, sister, mum, dad? But maybe you don't have a friend like that. Maybe there's no-one you would want to invite. Or maybe you tried, and your friend turned you down.

But imagine if you did have such a friend ... and that friend was always with you ... and you could share anything with them ... and they never got mad at you ... and they never left and moved to a different school, or a different city - but were always there whenever you needed them ... you know, best friends 4ever, always 2gether, closer than facebook ... If you had a friend like that, well ...
THAT would be like HEAVEN wouldn't it!

 OK. Time to ramp it up. The big day finally comes. Charlie and Jared watch the exhibition match. It's great, but really they just want it to be over, so they can meet the man himself. They get the meeting, they drill him with questions, and ask him everything they could possibly think of. It's the best time ever, but pretty soon it's all over. Rafael's manager comes in and taps him on the shoulder, and says it's time to go. As he leaves he turns to them and says,

How would you boys like to join me tomorrow at 6am for a private training session? I'd like see what you two boys can do?
THAT would be like HEAVEN wouldn't it!

But wait there's more. After meeting together, Rafael says he will be back in their city in 3 months time. He's decided that there's more to tennis than just playing, and being the best in the world himself. And so he's committed to start-up a tennis training academy in your city and wants you to join. He's promising to give you weekly training sessions.

That's got to be HEAVEN doesn't it!

There's only one problem with the above story. IT'S ONLY A STORY. And in that story there is only one lucky person which means everyone else misses out. And that is what only makes it like heaven and not actually the same as heaven. That is why it's only a fairy tale and not the truth. Because the truth is far more real than that.

The truth is that Jesus is God, and God is divine which means he has no limits. The limit in our story was that it was only like heaven for one person, Charlie. But when there's no limits, then it can be heaven for everybody - you included. Yes YOU! Here's a few home truths that Jesus shared to help us understand.

John 17:3 This is eternal life, that they may know you Father, and Jesus Christ whom you sent.

Jesus is saying that eternal life is knowing the Father, and Jesus. In plain terms, it's all about relationship. Remember the best friend scenario. Everywhere Jesus went he kept saying I'm here to show you what my Dad is like. i.e. Jesus thought his Dad was the most awesome ever, and he wanted you all to join his family and enjoy hanging out with them forever. Think about a child that's been raised in an orphanage without a family of their own - the best news that could ever get is to hear that a family wants to adopt them. You may not be an orphan, but the God, creator of the universe, number one, the I AM, want's to adopt you into his family forever. That is Heaven!

Eph 2:7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Jesus is coming to spend the coming ages showing us the incomparable riches of his grace. Here's how I like to imagine this. Jesus is our event planner, who plans new and exciting events for us. Jesus, who is so creative that he gave every person unique fingerprints, is in charge of the entertainment for all eternity. There is no way that we'll ever get bored in heaven.

In Rev 4:8 it describes 4 of the creatures that get to live in God's presence around his very throne. Every time they turn around and get another glimpse of God they are absolutely blown away and they can't stop saying "Holy, holy, holy ...". No matter how many times they look at God, His beauty takes their breath away and they fall on their face in amazement and worship Him.
That is what Heaven is like. Can you imagine it? Never ever getting bored, not even once, but constantly wanting to go back just for another look. That is our God and our Father.

And it keeps on getting better. Rev 21:3 describes something so amazing I can hardly believe it. God is moving in with us. He so enjoys and is so looking forward to our company that he is literally moving his throne from heaven to earth to live with us forever. Our God is not distance, far off, stand-offish. He is personally wanting to come to be with us where we are. After Jesus return, it won't satisfy him for us to go to live with Him. He wants to come live with us. That kind of love seems beyond belief. It is Heaven!

Do you get the picture? There is no better place you could ever be. It's all your dreams come true. It is what  you were made for. We all were made to enjoy company with God Almighty, the creator of all things, who loves us so much that he's leaving his own home to move in with us on a new earth (major upgrade on the current one). Jesus the most creative person ever is in charge of entertainment so there's no chance of boredom. We get to enjoy a friendship like none other, and it will only grow deeper and more enjoyable as time goes on. This earth is only the warm-up game, the practice run, the prototype for the real thing - which is spending eternity with the God who is love!

And all we have to do is accept God the Father's invitation to join his family. We do this by honoring the father's eldest son - which is Jesus. You must simply believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that he died on the cross for all the stuff you did wrong, and then when the penalty was paid in full, Jesus rose again to prove he was God's son. If you believe that, and ask Jesus to be your Lord, then you join his family FOREVER!
Go on. Come and join the family - the best family ever. It's a decision you'll be glad you made for the rest of eternity.

The secret ingredient - Part II

Last time I introduced the secret ingredient, the little used habit of praying in tongues, and explained how much it meant to me personally. How've you been getting on? Have you started? Did you set your alarm clock? I hope so.
Now I want to share with you some of what the bible says about this secret ingredient. Paul goes into a lot of detail about this in 1 Corinthians 14.

What is tongues?
Tongues is a supernatural language that you speak that you didn't learn with your natural mind. Normally we learn to speak a language by growing up in an environment where it is spoken. Our language starts very small with baby-talk which are really just sounds and not actual words. And then the day that all parents remember - he just spoke his first word. We excitedly call in our friends and family, and try to get our baby to repeat the noise he just made. But he's decided that he won't. Or maybe our friends and family tease us that it was only our imagination. But sooner or later all babies learn to talk - and they learn to talk the same language that their parents are speaking in front of them.
As babies we don't consciously put in effort to learn the language; all the effort seems to be on the part of the parents coaxing the child. We simply learn by being in our family and hearing the same sounds repeated over and over. Eventually we learn that the sounds are related to real things, and bit by bit our minds connect together and we learn more and more words, and eventually the whole language.

Tongues is the same but different. It's the same in that tongues is a language and it has meaning. And also because we end up speaking the same language as our father - God. Because God is a spirit it's not surprising that he gives us a spirit language to communicate to him with.
The difference is that we don't learn the language with our natural minds. The words come not from our minds but come direct from God's Spirit into our spiritual mind, which we then hear and speak out loud.

Now if you're a smart fella who thinks he/she is pretty clever, then that sounds ridiculous. However, remember that Jesus said in Luke 18:17 "I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”. Tongues is a real humbling experience, because we have to receive the gift like a little child. It doesn't make a lot of sense to our great big intelligent adult minds. How can speaking in a language I don't even understand help me? The answer is quite simple if you remember that you're born again.
The part of you that got born again was not your body, or your mind. It was your spirit. And just like speaking in a known language will help your natural mind grow, in the same way speaking in an unknown  language helps your spirit grow. (It's unknown to your mind but known to your spirit).

Who are we speaking to?

1 Corinthians 14:2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.

This verse is vital to your understanding of the purpose behind tongues. When you speak in tongues you're not speaking to the people around you. You're speaking directly to God. And it's normal that no one understands you. I know that sounds backwards, but God is way more intelligent than us, and if that's the way he designed it then I'm not going to argue with him.

Again, who are we speaking to? We are speaking to God.

What am I saying?
If I don't understand the language with my mind, then it's only natural to ask What am I saying? The last part  of the above verse gives us the answer - he utters mysteries with his spirit. i.e. we're speaking mysteries.
Think of one of those detective whodunit movies. All throughout the movie there are clues pointing to the mystery, and right at the end the hero puts all the clues together to explain the mystery. We watch the movie because we know all will be revealed in the end. We don't give up and say what's the point in these clues - they don't make any sense. We know that eventually all will become clear, because it's supposed to be a mystery.


Guess what - exactly the same here. We speak mysteries. And at the start our natural mind has no idea what we're talking about. But later on, all the clues will come together and we will understand.

1 Corinthians 14:13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret what he says. 

The word interpret there is important. It's not translate. We don't get a word-for-word translation through each clue of the movie. It's only at the end that everything makes sense. And as you pray in tongues, you're speaking lots of clues in this spiritual language. Eventually your mind will understand, but not until later.
In the movie we have to wait for the hero to reveal the answer to the mystery. In tongues our hero is the Holy Spirit. He's sent to guide us into all truth. But in true mystery fashion he waits until we have enough clues so that it will all make sense. It may take several hours, days or even weeks of praying out all the spiritual clues before the Holy Spirit is able to piece the spiritual mystery together and present them to our natural mind in a way we can understand.
But oh boy! When that happens! It's like a bomb going off on the inside of you. Suddenly it all becomes clear. It's like the difference between night and day. You have an aha moment, and it all makes perfect sense. In fact you can't imagine why you didn't know this before. Surely everybody knows this mystery - it just all makes sense. All the pieces fit together - no pieces left out.

I guess you get the idea that I like it when the answer to the mystery comes. It's worth waiting for.

Which mysteries?
So I hope you believe me when I say you're speaking to God not people. And you're speaking mysteries. But what mysteries are you speaking?
Obviously God is all knowing, so it's not a mystery to him. And it's not a mystery to the Holy Spirit. But it is a mystery to us (remember - our minds don't understand what we're saying) and to others. The mysteries are truths of the spirit.

1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays,but my mind is unfruitful. 

 When your spirit prays, it uses spirit words, and it's about spirit matters. The mysteries are about the spirit realm that you've been born again into. Our natural eyes cannot see angels and demons. Our physical eyes cannot see God or satan. But believe me, they're real. And when we're born again we have a knowing deep down on the inside of us, in our spirit, that God is real. We know this because we can see him with our spirit eyes. And know Him with our spirit mind. Our natural mind senses this knowing, and believes, but naturally speaking, our mind sure would like to see physical evidence and not have to rely on invisible spirit evidence.

Too good to be true?
And the most important spirit truth or mystery that we are praying is the truth about Christ.

Colossians 1.27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

My natural mind cannot understand how Jesus Christ could give his life up for me, and die in my place, so that I could be reconciled to God. My natural mind says "If you knew me, you would know I'm not worth that much". It is a complete mystery how God could love us so much that he could allow his Son to be killed on a cross, but it happened. God loves you that much! It's beyond belief.
God knew that it would be hard to understand in our natural mind. So He gave us a special language, with special terminology, that could precisely describe exactly what God did for us - it's called tongues. As we speak in tongues, we're speaking the mystery of all that Christ did for us, and how he is the hope of glory.

To think that one day, Christ will return to this earth for us, and then he will finish the job he started.
When we were born again we got a brand new, top-of-the-line, latest-model spirit. But in case you hadn't noticed, he left you in the same old physical body with it's aches and pains. But when he returns ... we get the whole enchilada. No more sickness, disease, physical weakness or disability. No more tears, emotional stress, anxiety or worry. It will be glorious which is why it's called the hope of glory.

So do you like mysteries?
God knew that it wouldn't always be easy being a christian. It's a whole new culture - a new family - with different goals and values. It's a new realm, or dimension. Although we cannot see the spirit realm, we now belong to it just as much as we belong to the natural or physical realm. You may feel like a fish out of water, but believe me you were born for this.
God gave you a fool-proof method of learning about this new family - the family of God - that you were born into. God didn't discriminate against the young, or the old, or the clever, or the not-so-clever. He gave you a means of finding out all the mysteries, everything there is to know about Jesus Christ, and how to piece the clues together. It truly is the secret ingredient.
As you pray in tongues you speak the spirit truths in a mystery, not to other people, but direct to God. And in time, when you're prayed out enough clues, then the Holy Spirit comes alongside, pieces them all together and explains the mystery to your natural mind.
The more you pray in tongues, the more clues you are giving to your spirit, and the smarter spiritually you will become. (By smarter I mean that you will come to know and enjoy relating to God more).

So what are you waiting for? Start now.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 

 God doesn't have favorites. This is the gift of the Holy Spirit. It cannot be earned. It's freely given, to anyone who repents of their sin, and puts their trust in Jesus Christ. And you too can start to understand the mysteries of all that Jesus Christ has done for you!

The secret ingredient - Part I

Have you ever seen somebody lose their glasses? They wander all round the house, looking and looking. They pick up piles, move them, look under them, come into a room, leave again, come back and then eventually give up. Only to finally realize ... their glasses were on their head the whole time. Funny isn't it.

Or what about the movie where the boy grows up, leaves town, gets a job in the big city, forms lots of relationships all the time looking for the right girl, until finally ... he gets married to the girl from back home who lived next door.

There's something about us as humans that will travel for hours just to save a few minutes. Or spend hundreds to grab a bargain and save a few dollars. We travel over land and sea to find something new that will be the magic key that will unlock our lives and make a difference.

We unconsciously dismiss, put aside, climb over, go around, and ignore the mundane because it's soooooooooooooooooooo boring. Really we're not so much interested in what works, as we are in what's fun, entertaining, titillating, exciting, SPECTACULAR!

I know that I've spent my whole life looking for that secret ingredient which will make the difference, to find out that it's right under my nose. And the most embarrassing for me is that I found it once, and then got bored with it and let it go. Proverbs 6:10-11 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a bandit.

Well I'm glad to say that I found it again. I got a second chance. And now I want to share with you what I believe to be the biggest secret to growing as a Christian: the little used gift of praying in tongues.

Praying in tongues is not spectacular, but it is supernatural. It's not always exciting but it is always effective. It may be boring and uninteresting but it is life-changing.

First encounter
My first encounter was in the spring of '86. I was brought up in an open brethren church, where they sure preached salvation - how I could be born again by believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, and rose again so I could walk as a new creation in Christ. And it worked. I got saved at a young age, and have never seriously doubted my salvation. I heard the word on salvation, faith came from hearing that message, I believed on Christ, and I was born again. But as for being baptized in the Holy Spirit, and speaking in tongues - that was definitely a no-no.

But one holidays, during my second year at University, that all changed. My sister had been attending a Pentecostal church (one that does openly preach about the Holy Spirit and tongues) and I had been impressed with the change in her life. So when I was home for the holiday my sister took me around to one of the pastor's homes, who prayed for me. I didn't feel any different but I believed I had changed. Then several days later after reading several books, and crying out to God, I began to pray in tongues.

It was incredible. I was 19 years old and I knew God was real, but it sure was hard to prove it. And now whenever I wanted to, wherever I wanted to, and for as long as I wanted to - I could simply open my mouth, listen on the inside for the words that the Holy Spirit gave me, and then begin to speak them out - and I had tangible evidence that God was real, that He still cared about me, still loved me, and was alive today.

Awesome, outstanding, fantastic, and yes - even spectacular - for a while. I would pray in tongues for an hour or more most days, and I hardly even noticed the time go by. But once the initial honeymoon of a few months was over it settled down to a more mundane experience. The spectacular had gone. And I was left with the mundane.

Had God changed? NO. Had I been changed by praying in tongues? YES. Did I still enjoy it? Mostly. Was it still exciting? Well ... sometimes. Was I still doing it? Off and on.

Pride before a fall
Looking back now I think that somewhere in the first year I got offended at God. I'd been praying and reading my bible for 1-2 hours or more every day for several months. I was really impressed with myself. But somehow my life hadn't completely changed. For me the changing point was getting a prophetic word which included the phrase "... I believe God wants you to make a fresh commitment. I see that God's really asking you to press in now ...". I did my best to try and not be offended by that statement, but how could God say that? Didn't He see how much I'd changed in the last few months? Didn't He know how many hours I'd been spending praying in tongues and reading my bible? I'd been getting up around 5am every morning. How was I supposed to make a fresh commitment?

I didn't really notice until years later but I eased off the gas pedal then. I still believed in praying in tongues, but I wasn't as impressed as I once was.

Add some works into the mix
One big question I had in those early days was whether I impressed God with how long I spent? Was 2 hours twice as effective as 1 hour? Did he count the number of hours I spent in prayer? Did my works affect how much God loved me? I wasn't really sure. But I was pretty confident I was doing more that most people, so I got a bit prideful at the start.

Then at church one of the prevalent teachings was that you had to pray through, i.e. you had to pray in tongues and shake yourself until you had a feeling in your spirit that you had broken through. Then and only then was your prayer effective. (well - that's the way I understood the message).

And sure I could pray in tongues whenever I wanted to, wherever I wanted to, and for however long I wanted to, but I couldn't always pray through. Some days I might pray in tongues for more than an hour and it not feel any different. So based on the message I had been taught, I thought that I had failed and that hour had been wasted, as I didn't feel any change.

With the combination of my being slightly offended at God (thought I tried hard to not think about that), and then feeling a failure when I didn't manage to pray through it's no real surprise that it soon became a habit that I would talk about doing, but not actually do. I would always remember my first encounter, my honeymoon, with sweet memories, and talk longingly of the days that used to be. And if someone didn't believe in the benefit of praying in tongues then I would jump on their back and try to convince them. But actually practicing what I preached and doing it ... I had fallen by the wayside.

Second Chance
Then in November 2005 I had my second chance. As I've earlier shared, I heard that Jason Hamlin was preaching about being filled with the Spirit and hope began to arise again. I listened to him, was renewed in my commitment and began to practice again. But it took 9 months, and listening to Gary Carpenter's testimony before I actually took up the challenge, and SET MY ALARM and began a regular prayer time once again.

There was no big honeymoon this time, no amazing feelings. But I had grown and matured emotionally (I'd been married, and raised 3 children) a lot in this time. So I did approach tongues with a whole new emphasis. There's a lot I want to say about it, but I'll leave of it most for another time.

The thought I want to leave you with today is the same as I started with. Don't overlook the mundane sometimes boring gift of tongues because it doesn't seem exciting. Praying in tongues is not a get quick rich scheme. It's far more of a long term investment. As you pray in tongues regularly, your life will go from strength to strength. Look back in a years time and you will see definite change. Look back in five years time and you'll be amazed.

Jude [17] But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. [18] They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” [19] These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
[20] But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. [21] Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Verses 17-19 show that in the last days (which we're in) that much opposition will come, especially from those who follow natural instincts. And the solution to prevent us being divided and turning on one another is verses 20-21; pray in the Holy Spirit and keep ourselves in God's love. And how long should we do this for? Verse 21 - until Jesus Christ returns.

The best thing you can do in these last days is to not just follow your mere natural instincts, but to follow your spiritual instincts, those of your born again spirit. And the best way to do that is by regularly spending time with God in reading His word (with the purpose of meeting him), and praying in tongues. As we do these things Jude 24 promises us:

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy

God bless you as you long to know Him more. Spend time with him today. He's longing for your fellowship. And remember, it may not always be spectacular, but it will always be supernatural, and will transform you more and more into his very own image.

Reading the bible is like mountain climbing

Picture this. I'm at the bottom of a mountain. I lift my eyes and look up to the peak. It's a long way up. How will I ever get to the top? But that's where I want to be - at the top of the mountain. I look around and notice another person beside me. Oh, I see. He's all dressed up in mountain climbing gear, and has the obvious look of someone who knows what he's doing. He must be the guide. I stroll on over, and enlist his help for my adventure. He starts by asking me questions.

• Am I hungry, not for food, but for the challenge of getting to the top?
• Am I prepared to roll-up my sleeves and put in some effort?
• Will I listen to his guidance, as he knows the right trails to take?

I take some time before answering. The mountain looks big, and I look small. I don't think I could ever do it by myself. Do I want to go all the way to the top? I lift my eyes again and look at the snowy peak glistening in the sunlight. It beckons to me, calling me up. The longer I look at it, the more desire begins to grow within me. That is where I want to be. I take my eyes off the peak and look at myself again. Have I really got what it takes? I'm not sure, but that mountain sure does look inviting, and scary. Woah, what am I thinking that I could take this on by myself? Oh yeah, I'm not on my own. I look at the guide again. He looks quietly confident, poised and ready, and I know I can trust him. So am I hungry enough, and prepared to put in the effort. Hmmm.

I turn to my guide and say "Let's do it!".

He turns to me and say, all you ever needed about mountain climbing can be learned by your 1-2-3's.

• There is one goal in mountain climbing - getting to the top; not half way there, but all the way
• You need one guide - who knows the way and can lead you there
• you need two things from yourself - hunger and hard-work
• hunger - you must want to get to the top; and every time you look at the goal, your desire will grow
• hard work - it will involve effort; you must roll-up your sleeves and put in the effort

And reading the bible is like climbing that mountain.
One Goal
What is the one purpose in reading the bible? Is it to gain more knowledge? Is it to win arguments? Is it to prove you know more than someone else? No. The one purpose is to meet the author.

Jesus berated the religious leaders in his day because they were forgetting that the whole purpose of reading the bible is to meet the author.
John 5:39-40 You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Jesus is the author of the bible. And he is alive today. Every time you pick up the bible and start reading, remember that he is alive and wants to spend time with you. So whenever you read - STOP - slow down - and prepare to meet the person who wrote it.

When you read the bible just for knowledge, it's like starting up a mountain and stopping half way. The whole purpose is to get to the top.  Go all the way to the peak, and meet with Jesus.
One Guide
The quickest way to learn a subject is to spend time with an expert. And if that expert has written a book, buy it. But even better than buying the book would be actually meeting the author, the one who wrote it, and talking directly with them. Then any time you had a question, you could stop and ask.

Believe it or not - that is what you have. You don't just have the bible to read, you have the Holy Spirit as your guide. He is the author of the book, and he knows exactly what he meant when he wrote it. So he is the most qualified to explain it to you.

In his last supper before being crucified for us, Jesus takes some time and let's his friends (his disciples) know what is coming. Their biggest concern is that they'll be left alone when Jesus is gone. So he tells them:
John 14.16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.

At the moment, Jesus is their personal counsellor, but he is going away. But another counselor, the Holy Spirit,  is coming. And the Spirit is just as good as Jesus. In fact, Jesus even goes so far as to say that the stuff he couldn't explain to them, hard stuff, complicated stuff, the Holy Spirit will be able to explain to them. in fact, He'll be able to explain everything to you.
John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. [13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

This is who you have to teach you. You're not alone. Jesus has given you a guide, a counsellor, a life-coach, a personal trainer, a one-on-one teacher who has a purpose and a mission, to not leave one stone unturned and guide you into all truth.
Two Requirements
It almost sounds too easy. Isn't there something we have to do? Sure - we definitely have a part to play. We must bring hunger and hard work to the table.

Hunger - when we're hungry to know God, it's easy to spend time with him, and easy to read your bible. But just because you're not hungry doesn't mean you stop eating. When you're hungry you still eat, because without eating, there is no energy to live life. Sometimes eating is just ....

Hard work. Yes, that's right - hard work. It's not always exciting, but every step you take, each word you read, takes you one stop closer to reaching the top of the mountain, or in our case, meeting Jesus.

Reading vs Studying
I very deliberately wrote reading the bible and not studying the bible. Because studying is often starting off on mountain trails of our own, ignoring our guide, and trusting on ourselves to get up the mountain i.e. trusting in our ability to understand the bible with our natural mind instead of relying on our coach, the Holy Spirit.

And also studying sounds like hard work, and if you struggled at school,  you may think that studying is something you wouldn't be able to do, and wouldn't want to do. However, I love the way Jesus made it simple. He said, all it takes is the humility of a child.

Matt 18 [1] At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
 [2] He called a little child and had him stand among them. [3] And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [4] Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Reading the bible does require hard work, but not complicated work. It's not easy, but anyone can do it. The hard part is simply the child-like faith to just keep doing it, to simply humble yourself and believe that when you read the bible, you're reading God's thoughts and ideas, and you're spending time with him.

Back in 1994 I attended a youth conference. One of the speakers shared the following thought.
God has never given me personal direction for my life while studying the bible and trying to get a message for other people. Everytime I get personal direction from God, and he talks to me, it comes from reading the bible for myself, just to spend time with him, not to get a message for someone else. Make sure that you're reading the bible for yourself. Put some time into your day just to sit with Jesus, and read his word, because that is when he will speak to you personally and give you direction.

That thought really struck me, and I realized that most of the time when I read the bible it was for the wrong reasons. I didn't have the one goal of meeting Jesus, but usually the other goals of gaining knowledge, or winning arguments, or preparing a message. And I wasn't a Pastor, or a Priest or anything, I was just a normal christian. I'd done exactly what Jesus had berated (told off) the religious leaders for - studying the bible for knowledge about God, instead of relationship with him.

And that is why I emphasize reading rather than studying. Reading implies something done for fun, enjoyment, pleasure. And that's the goal. Read the bible to meet the one who wrote it. The hard work comes in when you keep reading even when it seems boring.

I'm ready to start - what now
You've scheduled your time - whether you've got up early, stayed up late, or grabbed some time during the day. You've got your bible with you. What do you do now?
One goal - Picture the mountain. Look at the peak. Remember the goal - to meet with Jesus. So, talk to him, and tell him you're ready to come and meet him.
One guide - look beside you. You're not alone. You have a guide, who will lead you into all truth. Talk to the Holy Spirit, and thank him for his help as you read today.
Begin to read. I suggest you start in the New Testament - either Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. These are the four eye witness accounts of Jesus' time on earth.
Read out loud if you want - I often do. And talk to Jesus and the Spirit while you read.
Be just like the little child, the one God said was the greatest in the kingdom. Treat Jesus like he's really there, next to you while you're reading about him.
And have fun!

Where do I start?

So, God loves me, and wants to talk to me, and the secret is to spend time with him.
But ... where do I start?

I believe time with God is so important that I can't wait for you to get started yourself. I don't want to rattle on and on and bore you when you could be spending time with God now. Time spent with Him is far more important than time spent reading this blog. So practically, how do you start.

Is there a right or wrong way to spend time with God?
No. Time is time. Just think family. Is there a right way or wrong way to spend time with your best mate? No. It's all time.

How much time?
As much as you like. The more you spend, then the more you will become like him. Again, think family. How often do you say "I really enjoyed that 5 minutes with ...". Usually it takes a while to unwind and relax in someones company, and that won't happen in 5 minutes. I suggest you start with a minimum of 15 minutes, and then if you're still enjoying yourself - go longer. Next time go half an hour. Do that for a few days. If you're finding it's not long enough, then add another 15 minutes. You may find that in a few months you can enjoy 1-2 hours alone with God.
But if the only exercise you've ever done is walk to the letter box, then don't expect to start by running a marathon.
Begin small and let it grow as you enjoy it more. Just treat God like your best friend.

How often?
As often as you like. Think of exercise. My son is fond of telling me, "Dad, if you only exercise once a week, then you're going backwards. If you only exercise twice, then you might just keep your current level of fitness. You need to exercise at least three times a week to improve your fitness and stamina." (Sad to say, I'm still not doing any regular exercise.)

The same advice is good for developing a friendship. But ... you must look at your schedule. I don't know your circumstances, but Jesus does. Ask him. "Jesus, when can I spend time with you. Help give me ideas of when could be the right time". Don't kill yourself by trying to book in time every day if your schedule won't allow it. Don't take time from your spouse or children to spend time with Jesus. But do sacrifice some of your leisure, television or facebook time.

When in the day?
Again, look at your schedule. Are you better in the morning or at night? Do you work shifts or odd hours? What will fit in for you? Whatever your schedule, I suggest that you make it a priority, and spend some time either at the start of your day, or at the start of your leisure time.
e.g. if you work night shift, and then sleep mornings, then your day might start at 1pm in the afternoon - that would be when to hang out with Jesus.
Or maybe the start of your day is so rushed you couldn't possibly see when it could fit in. Then have a look. When does your work day finish and your leisure time start? If you're a mum or dad and haven't seen your children all day, then give them the first half hour or so, but when you're ready to just sit down and relax and watch tv, and not spend time talking to others - then that is when you should hang out with Jesus.

What should I do?
Here's a few things you can do:

• pray in tongues (the language of the spirit).
• read your bible (don't study, but just read, as if you'd received an email from a friend)
• sing to him, praise him, worship him - with or without music - just tell him that he's special and that you love him
• just sit and enjoy being with him - be still and know that Jesus is Lord.

And most importantly - stop stressing about it!

Jesus likes spending time with you. He likes you spending time with him. He does not have a checklist that he uses every day to see if you've meet the grade, and then only love you if you've passed everything. He is our friend, and loves anything we do. If you're trying to perform and meet some unknown standard then you're stressed, and won't enjoy it.

Again think of family. You may spend time with your family every week. Some time is special. Some time is super special. Some is boring. Some is down-right boring. BUT ALL OF IT IS TIME WITH FAMILY.

In the same way, every minute you spend with Jesus is time with him. Don't try and grade yourself on how good your hang-out time with Jesus was. It's not about getting full marks, and doing it all right. It's about family - and family spends time together. It won't be long before you start sounding like Jesus, and acting like Jesus - because you grow like the people you spend time with.

The ball is in your court- Just do it!

God wants to talk to you

Over the last 5 years I've come to believe that God really wants to talk to me. As they say, it didn't happen overnight - but it did happen. Seriously. The more time I've been spending with God, the more I realise he likes me. He enjoys my company, and loves spending time with me.

I gave me life to God at the age of 7. But that didn't make us best friends overnight. In fact, it just added to the list of people (- mum, dad, friends, teachers) I wanted to please  - and wasn't sure that I could please.

Sure I knew that Jesus loved me enough to die for me, but somehow I instantly translated that into meaning that my actions had to please God. i.e. now that I was saved, the least I could do is to be good, and try and prove myself worthy of his love. The fatal flaw in this logic is that, if I were good enough to be saved, then I wouldn't have needed him to save me in the first place. Boy, how easily I fell into that trap.

I guess for me that emotion grew out of good behaviour when I was young. I had heard many comments like - Oh you're so polite and well behaved! I had started to rely on my goodness and the real kicker - What if I stopped being good? Will I still be liked then? Do my mum and dad only like me because I'm good? Will God like me if I don't live up to his expectations?

Well here's the good news.  (click link for the actual bible verse)

• Rom 5.8 God liked me before I was good.
• Rom 5.10 God liked me when I was still his enemy, when I was ignoring him 

The last part of verse 10 above is even better "... how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!". To make it real simple, if God loved me before I was good; if he loved me when I was still his enemy; if I now respond to that love and ask him to be my Lord; then :-

How much easier it is for God to love me now that I am in his family!!!

If God loved me before I was good then now that I'm born again, he loves me even more.
If God loved me when I was his enemy, then he loves me even more now that I'm family.
If God loved me before I even knew him, then he loves me so much more now that I call him Lord.

That is the best news ever. And the more time I spend with God, the more I actually believe it.
One way to illustrate this is to picture the following:
Imagine that a guy is caught cheating on his girl. He apologises and says he'll never do it again. He's genuinely sorry, and wishes he'd never done that. The girl forgives him.
So, it's all right immediately isn't it? As we say in New Zealand - YEAH RIGHT! (which in kiwi lingo means, not likely mate - no way; not a chance; you're dreaming ...)
Sure she may intend to forgive him, but it will take lots of time together before the girl trusts the guy again. It will take time for her to trust him again.
But actually I'm not worried about her at the moment. Let's also look at it from his point of view - how long will it take before HE feels that he's forgiven? before he feels that she trusts him again?

This is our story. We're the cheaters. We were cheating on God and we didn't know it. We find out that Jesus loves us and wants a relationship, so we begin. We ask Jesus into our hearts - we get saved - but we're not really sure .... Does Jesus really love us? Has he forgiven us? Does he actually like us? Or do we really need to prove ourselves to God again and again to try and earn the love that He has already given us?

Just like the girl needed time to develop trust again in the guy that had cheated on her - the guy needs time to come to trust that the girl has forgiven him, so that their relationship can develop and grow. And in exactly the same way in our relationship with Jesus - we are forgiven, but it will take us time to believe that he really does love us, and want to spend time with us. That's not God's fault. He's not holding out on us. It's us that finds that hard to believe.

For me the hard thing to believe was that Jesus loves me even more now that I'm saved! I don't have to act perfect to prove I can keep God's love. I couldn't earn his love before I was saved. I can't earn his love now that I am saved. God's love doesn't depend on my good behaviour. It depends on his mercy, and his mercy is new every morning. I had to stop striving to earn the love that God had already freely given me.

I had to stop saying Please love me, I'll promise I do better, I'll act really good, if i'm really good then won't you please love me. This was really just me slapping God in the face. Because he had clearly said to me in his word that he already loved me. There's no point in me keeping on asking for something that I've already been given.

I didn't believe this overnight. I've been deepening in this belief. But sometime in the last 5 years I did cross a point, such that now I believe it more often than I don't. And I now say God is my friend and he likes me.

So expect the same for yourself. Every day is a new day to believe that God loves you, and wants to talk to you, because HE IS GOOD, and not because you earned his approval. So spend some time with him today, and then tomorrow, and then the next day and the one after that, and ... keep going until he returns!

How do I start hearing from God?

Wow. That sounds like a difficult question, but that's only because of how you're asking it. Let's try a different question.
How do I get to know someone better? How do I develop a friendship? 

That's not so hard to answer now is it? The secret to getting to know anybody is simple.

Spend time with them!!!!! 

The longer you spend with somebody, the more you will know them, and you will start to recognise their voice because you know what they sound like.

But you do have to start! And before you can start you have to know where you are. I don't know where you are, but I know where I was, or at least I thought I did.

I got saved as a child when I was 7 years old and since that time I've believed in Jesus. The church where I got saved was strong on salvation. They preached the good news of Jesus every Sunday night, and after hearing it for several years, I responded. That was the first time I heard God - and how he loved me and had died on the cross for me in my place. He paid the penalty for my sin so that I wouldn't be condemned.

When I was 19, I was filled with the Holy Spirit, and received the gift of speaking in tongues. That's the second time I heard God. In fact every time I pray in tongues I hear God - just not in english, but in the language of the Holy Spirit.

But fast forward a few years, married, three children, moved to Auckland, the big city.  Sure I loved God, but I was stuck in a rut. I had lost confidence in myself. I knew I was saved, and I knew that God loved me. But I wasn't so sure he liked me, and I wasn't so sure I liked myself. I had always prided myself on being able to grow, and make progress. After all:

If I'm not growing, am I really alive?

Except now I wasn't sure I was growing. In fact I was sure I wasn't. And I didn't really have any idea how to grow. I'd tried in the past - tried hard - tried really hard. But disappointment had come in, and I'd lost hope that anything I did would really make a difference.

And then I heard the good news that Jason Hamlin was preaching at church about being filled with the spirit. But hang on - I'd already been filled hadn't I? Well it sure didn't feel like it at the time. Yet, hope began to fill my heart again. So December 2005 I listened to him preach from Dave Roberson's book The Walk of the Spirit - The Walk of Power. And it changed my life - almost .....

Yes, I was once again filled with hope. Yes, I downloaded the PDF, printed it out, and read it. Yes, I started downloading his messages and listening to them too. No, I wasn't yet hearing from God. It wasn't until 9 months later when I was listening to Gary Carpenter's testimony that I realised I was missing one thing.

Right at the end of his testimony (Tape 1 of Houston Kingdom Finance series) he asked:
So what are you going to do differently tomorrow?
When are you going to spend time with God, and being speaking in tongues?
Are you going to set your alarm-clock and actually schedule time with Him?

What a shocker. For 9 months I had listened to the message, and all the time I thought I was doing it. But actually, I was only listening to it. I hadn't set my alarm-clock, and I hadn't started getting up early. But that night I made the decision, and I set the alarm clock and I began.

And that is my encouragement and word of warning to you.
Start. Start today. Start now.
Begin to spend time with God. He want's to be your friend. And the way to develop friendship with the creator of the universe is no secret. It's exactly the same way as any other person.
T-I-M-E.
It's my hope and prayer that you won't wait 9 months to start like I did.

Welcome

Hi. So why am I writing a blog? Well, some advice I got from listening to Gary Carpenter, was that if God speaks to you, then the very least you can do to show him some respect and write down what he says. That advice sounded good to me, so here it is.

My blog is where I can record my thoughts as a Christian and especially to honour God by recording the things he says to me - not the private stuff - that would be too much!

It's an amazing thought that God can speak to us, but ... if he can create a universe, then how hard can it be to speak to one of his creation. And if you read the bible, you'll see God's been doing it for a long time, speaking to people throughout history.

God loves people, and he loves to speak to them. And he'd love to speak to you.
What's special about me? I'm just an ordinary person, living on planet earth, no different from anyone else. But I have joined the family of God, so now I'm part of two families. A family on earth, and a family in heaven. And God wants the same for you too!