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I wonder, if you have had children or nephew/nieces, or even if you’ve baby sat for some children, what stories you read them? There are so many great stories – stories of adventure, intrigue, excitement and fun. Stories are important – they capture our imagination, focus our interest and direct our thoughts. They lead us to new possibilities, put us into worlds of new potential and enable us to explore different lives.

In his 2017 book ‘A better story’, Glynn Harrison suggested that the current radically individualistic world view has been shaped into storylines which we are seeing played out for us in books, on TV and in films. He argues persuasively that the new world view has made such rapid inroads to the consciousness of modern society precisely because it uses stories which condense complex intellectual arguments into memorable bite-size messages. Evoking empathy with their principal character, they draw out the moral instincts that care about individual needs without concern for longer-term consequences, impact on others or on society as a whole. The story is convincing, but the consequences are terrible.

But we have a better story! And our story is powerful, dramatic and transforming.

Better rescue – The gospel is honest about our deepest problem, and our deepest need. We can do nothing to rescue ourselves. But there is a rescuer! It doesn’t need our power, strength or depth of belief, for He done it all and offers us rescue as a free gift that can never be taken away and will never fail!

Better living – The gospel is not only good news about our past, but for every part of life. He gives “life in all its fullness”. There is a power at work in us (Eph 1:20-22) which enables us to live life which is daily being transformed (Rom 12:2). And this life doesn’t leave a trail of regrets – it enables us to be what we were created to be.

Better identity – When we come to know Jesus we are adopted into His family. We belong as beloved children of the King of kings. He defines who we are; we do not need to create an image, nor maintain a false identity. We are no longer defined by our past, nor any failure nor our problems. Our worth, value and purpose are found in One who will not fail us.

Better ambition – Jesus offers us satisfaction in Him. Finding that, we don’t need to run after fame, promotion or success. If God gives us them, because we have Him we can let them go again. We are therefore no longer slaves (John 8:32), no longer trapped by trying to be what we can’t be.

Better peace – Once we are in relationship with God we know that we are loved and kept by the one who rules over all things. He is sovereign over every moment (Ps 139:16). Really grasping this releases us from fear and anxiety, transforming how we face each day and each trial.

Better love – God created us and made us for relationship, as He Himself is in relationship. His love means we are never alone, always in secure relationship. And His design gives us the pattern for sacrificial, deeply meaningful relationships between Christian friends and within marriage.

Better future – God’s rescue isn’t just for this life, but is eternal. We have a sure and certain hope. We have eternal destiny. No matter what we face, nothing can separate us from all we have in Him, even death itself.

We possess the very best story! It is the gospel – the good news of Jesus – and His work of rebirth in every area of life! In a world which increasingly has not heard this story told, we are in a time when God’s story told often can have real impact. So tell your story with confidence, tell His story with joy – It is “the power of God for the salvation of all who will believe” (Rom 1:16).

Written by Alan Pilbeam

Soon after reaching the ‘oldest-old’ stage of life, Jim Packer wrote a small book to encourage others who are passing the 85 year mark. It was called ‘Finishing Our Course with Joy’ and was published in large print to make reading easier for those of us like those in Eccl 12:5 – whose hair grows white like almond blossom and who drag themselves along like grasshoppers! He makes three helpful suggestions – live each day as if it was our last; avoid nostalgia and live in the present; be ready for the Lord when he calls. We’ll look briefly at each.

1. Live this day as if it is the last

‘Live this day as if thy last’ is how Thomas Ken puts it in his hymn ‘Awake my soul’. A knowledge of God’s will and the wisdom to see where my daily work fits in to it are both required if I am to please Him in every way, Col 1:10. And William Tyndale thought ‘as touching to please God there is no difference between washing dishes and preaching the word of God’. Both can be done for His glory. So to preview each day with this in mind and to review it at the end of the day are important practices and the more so as we are increasingly aware of our final accountability, 2 Cor 5:10.

2. Avoid nostalgia and live in the present

Consciously living in the presence of God was the aim of Brother Lawrence, working in the monastery kitchens in 1666, the same year my school was founded! He said he was “happy to pick up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him alone, purely, and nothing else, not even His gifts’. So to cultivate the awareness of the presence of Jesus, as He promised in Matt 28:20, is another essential for finishing well. Jim Packer was well aware that looking back to the ‘good old days’ was unhelpful, but certainly recognised that the insights of Christian writers of the C16th and C17th can illuminate the present for us!

3. Be ready for the Lord when he calls

Another promise of Jesus is that He will come and receive us into His presence, John 14:3. Apart from the basics of will making and planning, as far as possible, the disposal of our possessions, we will also prepare for this, as for the last lap of a long distance race, by concentrating on the finishing line and making the greatest effort. Retirement is not a biblical word and as Packer says ‘ministry skills to not wither with age, they atrophy with disuse’. And a key to this is Christian hope. Hope is the spring for faith and love, Col 1:5, so we focus on this in our latter years. Another C17th writer, Richard Baxter, set aside the time each day between sunset and lighting the lamps to meditate on heaven. This transformed his ministry, and his book ‘The Saints’ Everlasting Rest’ remains a classic today. This rest was not dozing off in an arm chair, but active life in a resurrection body in the renewed heaven and earth, using all our senses and enjoying to the full God’s amazing grace.

I trust these thoughts from God’s word will cheer us on!

“We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep.”

1 Thessalonians 5 v 13-14

No sorrow is deeper than the sorrow of loss. At such times it is important to consider how Christians grieve, that is, grieving in a distinctly Christian way, ‘good grief’, if you will.

Permission to grieve

The first thing is this: grieve! It’s good and right to grieve. We grieve genuinely and unapologetically. Death is tragic, death is sorrowful; it is good to grieve and this text gives us permission to grieve.
We may find it helpful in grief to express our emotions, to take one day at a time, to focus on present responsibilities, to accept help and to be prepared for grief to affect us in wide and unexpected ways.
Yet through all this, Christians should not grieve ‘like the rest of men, who have no hope’.

If the person who died was a believer, Christians experience grief but without despair, sorrow but without defeat, sadness but without hopelessness.

This is because our grief is temporary – it will come to an end – since Jesus’ death and resurrection in the past anchors our future hope of bodily resurrection. This is the Christian hope!

The Christian hope

Whilst it is true that the moment a believer enters physical death they continue to reside within the sphere of Jesus’ life giving power, which is ‘better by far’ (Philippians 1:23), this is not the hope Paul is talking about in 1 Thessalonians. Rather, the concern here, and indeed the thrust of the New Testament, built on the foundation of Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, is that the whole creation will be made new (‘the new heavens and the new earth’) and for believers this means bodily resurrection.
Bodily resurrection is life after ‘life after death’ and happens, our passage says, when Jesus returns to rule and reign on earth.

Sometimes well-meaning believers speak of the Christian hope as being ‘taken into glory’, implying a bodiless existence sitting on a cloud for eternity, but this is not what the New Testament means by the resurrection of the body.

In other words, our eternal state will not be our ‘souls’ in a place called ‘heaven’, nor will it be our old, dying, sagging, creaking bodies, but rather, our present bodies, transformed, to live with God in a renewed world, where all things are made right.

Jesus’ resurrection and ours

So when believers die, we grieve because death is awful, but we grieve a ‘good grief’ because Jesus’ bodily resurrection in the middle of history has launched the final resurrection of all believers at the end of history. Jesus is both the model and the means of our own resurrection.

When someone falls ill, you may hear people say, ‘they’re a shadow of their former selves’. In fact, every believer, at whatever stage of life we’re at, is a shadow of our future selves – our physical bodies, new creation version.

So as you grieve loved ones who’ve died in the Lord, be filled with hope. Be filled with comfort. Because our future – life after ‘life after death’ – is glorious!

The word ‘Kind’ brings memories rushing back. In particular, its memories of my mother repeatedly telling us kids “be kind”, clearly because we were being the opposite! Because there were 5 of us kids in our family, we heard this repeated often! It’s interesting how Kindness is perhaps the least ‘natural’ trait. And its because of this that it is also the characteristic which we notice perhaps the most deeply – the folk who have had the deepest impression upon me as a child were those who I recall were particularly kind.

Kindness is not a set of things we do – it is part of who we are. It is an attribute of God, and therefore also an attribute which His Spirit should bring out in every believer (Gal 5:22). When Paul was demonstrating the reality of his position in Jesus, one of the Spiritual fruits he pointed to was Kindness (2 Cor 6:1-13). Therefore, it is not a surprise that he writes to us in Eph 4:32 to remind us:

“be kind and compassionate to one another”.

Ephesians 4:32

It seems, from Eph 4:30-5:2, that to see Kindness outworked in us we are directed to:

a) Stop behaving like the old life (v30)

v30 tells us to stop “grieving the Holy Spirit”. How do we grieve the Spirit? The context shows us it is when we let ourselves be conformed to the old life (anger, rage, slander, malice) rather than allowing His Spirit to transform us. Or, to use the imagery of Rom 12:2, when we are moulded into the pattern of this world rather than the pattern of God.

b) Allow deep change in our hearts (v31)

v 31 tells us to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice”. These are deep things – bitterness and malice are what dwell deep in our hearts, producing the responses of rage, anger or slander – all of which seek to control and destroy others rather than their blessing. The contrast in v31 is “compassionate” or, as it might better be translated, “tender hearted”. The idea is hearts which are no longer hardened by hurt, but easily impacted by love. Who can cause such a deep change? The passive verb in v31 suggests a better translation should be: “let all bitterness, rage, anger … be taken from you”. We can’t affect such a change – but God’s Spirit can! And so this leads us to fall on our knees and ask God to do the deep ‘surgery’ that is needed to root out the bitterness and malice and plant a deep love within.

c) Make forgiveness our constant response (v32)

“Be kind … [how?] … forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you”. Kindness requires forgiveness in the same way God forgives. How does God forgive? – He doesn’t ignore sin … he sees it and calls it out. But to make room for mercy, in Christ He “keeps no record of wrong” (1 Cor 13:5), He puts our sins far away from Him “as far as the east is from the west” (Ps 103:12). It’s the opposite of bitterness and malice, which come about because we allow resentments to dwell within. And it’s real – the past wrongs are so forgotten that every present and future response is driven by love that causes us to say and seek the best for others.

d) Be imitators of God, living a life of love (5v1-2)

Forgiveness like we’ve described above is difficult! How do I forgive like this? The answer is that we look to Jesus! We see our perfect example in Him, in His love to us in freely giving Himself for us “while we were yet sinners” (Rom 5:8). But, of course, if God’s Spirit is within us, we are being “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29) and so this is not impossible – it is the fundamental outcome of the Spirit’s work, when we willingly seek God’s work in us.

Those who have been kind to you in the past will stand out clearly in your mind. Genuine kindness is such a deep work, and is so attractive, that it speaks most clearly of Him. That’s why kindness is such a vital part of shining for Jesus, both within our lives and in the church.

With all the preparations for Christmas it’s easy to forget to prepare for the New Year. And no more so than for our ‘Quiet Times’ – our daily times with God in His word and in prayer. Our time with the Lord is vital not only for our spiritual life, but is fundamental in our relationship with the Lord … “Relationship with God without current significance is not a relationship – it is a historic event.” (Don Posterski).

The work of God’s Spirit brings about a hunger and thirst for more of Him – that’s why Paul cried out “I want to know Him!” (Phil 3:10), and the Psalmists cried “My soul thirsts for the Lord, for the living God” (Ps 42:2) and “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land” (Ps 63:1)

Bible reading plans can be a real help to coming to the Lord in His word each day (as long as they are an aid, rather than a stick to beat ourselves with!). Here are a few we recommend for you to consider:

If you have time to spare:

McCheye reading plan – This is the classic One Year Reading Scheme, which I have used to read the Bible through many times. It has two morning and two evening readings.

• https://static.esvmedia.org/assets/pdfs/rp.one.year.tract.pdf – paper list
• https://www.bible.com/en-GB/reading-plans/24-mcheyne-one-year-reading-plan – app based

If you can’t keep up with reading every day

CCV: The Bible in one year – It’s a 5 day per week plan that I’ve used quite a few times:

• http://media.ccvonline.com/docs/1YearBible/online_plan-nodates.pdf – paper list
• https://www.bible.com/en-GB/reading-plans/48-ccv-the-bible-in-one-year – app based

If you would like commentary help as you read

Bible in One Year with Nicki Gumbel

• https://bible.alpha.org/en/classic/365/index.html – web-based guide
• https://bible.alpha.org/en/ – app based

If you like to use notes to guide you

Open up the Bible is a set of different daily Bible notes for different age groups. We used some of these with our children, and they benefited great

• https://www.openupthebible.org/resources – browse the various notes and purchase here.

If you want read the Bible at a slower pace

Walk with the Word is a 3 year course to cover the whole Bible.

• http://walkwiththeword.net/Plans/Plans/Reading_Plan_-_Make_Your_Own.pdf – Three years readings

If you know you need to follow a plan with others

Let’s Read The Bible Together – This scheme uses the YouVersion app to read through the Bible in a year together with others. Team up with friends and start each month together, and encourage one another from what you hear from God.

• https://www.bible.com/en-GB/reading-plans/819-lets-read-the-bible-together-part-one – app based

If you want a range of reading plans

The Bible Project has a range of reading plans designed to either take you through the whole Bible or to explore a theme or book. It has links to the great in-depth resources of the Bible Project in each passage so that you can explore and learn more fully.

• The Bible Project – YouVersion Bible App based
• One Year Whole Bible reading plan – paper based
• Many more 2024 Reading Plans List from Ligonier

Introduction

There is increasing concern and discussion among Christians about what are often referred to as ‘Generational Curses’. For some believers, who have been raised in families of drug or alcohol abuse, family breakdown, or deprivation, the thought of being under a ‘Generational Curse’ can cause real distress and concern, leading to desperation, a feeling of helplessness and to a life of fear. But this is in such contrast to the promises of the Gospel! Jesus reminded us that He had come “ to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18-19). He was quoting from Isaiah 61:1-2, which tells us the purpose of God’s promised saviour – to bring freedom, and Jesus quoting this passage then immediately goes on to say (Luke 4:20) “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour”

Isaiah 61:1-2

So, how is the believer – one who has come to trust in Jesus as their Saviour – to react to the talk of ‘Generational Curses’?

As in all things that disturb our peace in Christ, we need to come to God’s word to find out what the truth is, and then to trust in His word. So let’s find out more from the Bible.

A wrong reading of the Bible

The first thing to note is that there is no such term as ‘Generational Curse’ used in the Bible. It is a term that people have created, but it’s not a Biblical term. We do find the word ‘curse’ in the Bible, but it is used very specifically. It is actually 4 Hebrew words, three of which are similar in emphasis and one which has a different purpose. When it talks about men or women using curses it is usually related to seeking to bring others down by spoken proclamation, though it is also used of swear words used to emphasise speech (as Peter did when he denied knowing Jesus with oaths and curses in Matt 26:74).

When used relating to God it is used in very specific circumstances to do with turning from the living God. It is used to sharply contrast to the blessing we have in walking with Him. This has been conflated with separate instances where the judgment of God is sometimes proclaimed seemingly against generations where the word ‘curse’ is not actually used.

So, we need to examine each of these situations to get to the truth, and when we do so we will see that each time we find in His word wonderful demonstrations of how His mercy breaks through even when hearts have been set against Him.

The Penalty of Sin

The first mention of something that might be considered a ‘Generational Curse’, in the sense that it doesn’t apply to an individual but also to their offspring, is God’s judgment on sin.

When Adam and Eve fell (Gen 3), all creation fell with them. God’s curse in Gen 3:14-19 is descriptive rather than prescriptive – God created all things good, and in His good creation there was blessing (Gen 1:28-31); Sin destroys, bringing death and destruction; And so Gen 3 describes clearly how all creation has moved from a position of God’s blessing to a new situation – under the ‘curse’ of sin, of which the ultimate outcome in this world is death (see also Rom 5:12-18). The signs of the fall of man would remain with man and woman as daily reminders of our fallen state.

But there was purpose – it was to drive us to find rescue and deliverance in God. Immediately after the ‘curse’, in Gen 3:21 there is the first sacrifice … God takes animal skins and makes garments for Adam and Eve and clothes them. Having just proclaimed an offspring of Adam and Eve who would ‘crush the serpent’s head’ (Gen 3:15), we are shown how this curse will one day be reversed, once for all, in Jesus and His death for us.

This is why Jesus says that He came to “proclaim freedom for the prisoners”! Romans 8:1 tells us unequivocally that “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Why? Rom 8:2-3 “through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death … He condemned sin in sinful man.” Therefore, in Jesus, we have an unbreakable position – there is no curse left because of sin. Jesus is our ‘second Adam’ (1 Cor 15:45-49, Rom 5:19) and when we become Christians we move from being in Adam’s family (under the ‘curse’ of sin) to being in God’s family. We are no longer in the line of Adam, and so no longer under the ‘curse’ of sin (see also John 8:34-35). Eternally His, eternally secure.

When we become Christians we move from being in Adam’s family, under the ‘curse’ of sin, to being in God’s family. We are no longer in the line of Adam, and so no longer under the ‘curse’ of sin. We are eternally His, eternally secure.

The Penalty for Idol Worship

In the 10 commandments, we are told that we are not to make for ourselves any idol, and in that passage it says (Ex 20:4) “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me”. This is repeated each time the commands are repeated (Ex 34:7, Num 14:18, Deut 5:9). It would appear to be a kind of ‘curse’, though the term ‘curse’ is never used.

But the point is that idolatry is pernicious … it is something that is easy to start but difficult to eradicate. And we see this in Israel’s history – Jeremiah speaks of Judah who, despite many calls back to the Lord, kept on with the idols they had set out across the countryside and within their homes. They ‘disguised’ their idolatry by attending the Temple and engaging in worship of God, but would not let go of their idols in their homes.

So, why does it then talk about God’s punishment down the generations?

The words in Ex 20:4 tell us the answer “to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me” – it’s not an arbitrary punishment of the innocent in other generations, it’s the reality of just punishment due to those in subsequent generations who, knowing the sin of their parents, continue to do the same things. This is made clear elsewhere in scripture. In Lev 26:40-42 God tells those who heard this command that when people turn in repentance for their idolatry, he will forgive them and treat them as His covenant people. In Jeremiah’s time people complained at the punishment for their sin, saying that God was unfair to bring the sins of the fathers on their children. But God tells them that this is wrong thinking – everyone is punished for their own sin (Jer 31:29-30), and repeats this same reassurance through the prophet Ezekiel (Eze 18:20). But this isn’t a later clarification … even when the law was given this principle of judgment on the individual for an individual’s actions is enshrined (see Deut 24:16).

in the same passages that God talks about the punishment for idolatry there is a greater promise alongside the penalty. In the very next verse God says: “… but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments”

Exodus 20:6

But this could still leave fear of judgment. However, wonderfully, in the same passages that God talks about the punishment for idolatry there is a greater promise alongside the penalty. In the very next verse God says: “… but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Ex 20:6). God’s mercy is many, many times greater than His punishment! As with Adam and Eve at the fall, God holds out His offer of forgiveness and mercy which is abundantly available! This is God’s character – He proclaims Himself to Moses as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Ex 34:6-7) before mentioning the punishment for rebellion through generations.

But there is even more amazing news – Jesus became the curse for us!

Gal 3:13 tells us “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree’ ”. Because He became the curse, in Christ we are able to be freed from any penalty of sin. He took the penalty, and we go free!

So, for those who are in Christ, even past pagan practice or idol worship is covered by Jesus’ death. Sin has no grip on the believer – we are covered by His blood shed for our sin. As we were promised as the Psalmist looked forward to the work of Jesus “He will not always accuse, nor will he harbour his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps 103:9-12).

For those who are in Christ, even past pagan practice or idol worship is covered by Jesus’ death. Sin has no grip on the believer – we are covered by His blood shed for our sin!

The Penalty of Betrayal

A third place that might be pointed to as a ‘Generational Curse’ is the penalty imposed on Amonites and Moabites (Deut 23:3-6) because of their betrayal of God’s people as His people sought to enter the Promised Land. As they approached, the Israelites asked to traverse their land to move towards the Jordan and cross into the Promised Land. The Amonites and the Moabites both refused to let Israel do so, and the Moabites hired Balaam to curse God’s people, though God prevented him from doing so (Num 22-24). God said that no Amonite of Moabite could enter the congregation of His people, even to the 10th Generation.

However, in the book of Ruth, we find in Ruth, who was a Moabitess, marrying Boaz and entering into the congregation of God’s people. More than that, her grandson David became King of Israel. And more than that, Jesus was of David’s line!

What we see in Ruth is the grace of God at work. Ruth abandoned her religious and national upbringing to become a follower of the Lord (Ruth 1:16-18), putting herself willingly under God’s law (Ruth 3:1-18; 4:1-12). God accepted her through His grace, which in Christ cancels the penalty of sin, and brought her into the family of God – and so much so that she was part of the line of the Saviour!

So, even the ‘generational’ proclamation of God concerning the Amonites and Moabites cannot trump the mercy of God through His grace!

Conclusion

We have seen that these potential instances of ‘Generational Curse’ are actually not ‘curses’ as we may understand the term. Furthermore, examples of ‘generational’ judgment are utterly subject to the grace of God, which for us is fully seen in Jesus. There is no situation which is not subject to God’s grace and mercy where there is repentance.

But, we need to add in one more thing.

Rom 8:31-39 tells us that no person, power, authority, angel or demon, not any creature can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. It is explicit in identifying all powers and authorities. We know from Phil 2:9-11 that God exalted Jesus to the highest place, “that at the name of Jesus every knee must bow”. There is no authority, no curse, that is higher, more powerful or more authoritative than Jesus! We have absolute security in His loving care. We need not fear any curse, nor any other thing in all creation because we are His, and nothing can separate us from His love.

There is no authority, no curse, that is higher, more powerful or more authoritative than Jesus! We have absolute security in His loving care.

English is a strange language. You have words which sound the same but mean something entirely different! ‘Wear’ and ‘were’, ‘Hear’ and ‘here’, ‘write’ and ‘right’, ‘whether’ and ‘weather’. It’s a wonder that so many people choose to speak the language!

And it can be the same in Christian life. We hear the word ‘Leader’ and we can think about the Leadership courses we’ve had to undertake in our workplaces, or the leadership shown by a team coach in the Ryder Cup or Rugby World Cup on our TVs so recently. But God’s leaders, Spiritual Leaders, are something quite different. In a way we shouldn’t be surprised – God’s Kingdom isn’t a Kingdom of this world (Jn 18:36), and God’s ways are not our ways (Is 58:8).

Godly Leaders

So what does a Godly Leader look like? Here are some characteristics we find in God’s word:

Shepherd (1 Pet 5:2)

Peter commanded the Elders of the early church to “Shepherd the flock”. It is an apt term – Jesus was the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11), leading the flock through good times and difficult (Ps 23), leading us rather than forcing, looking for the one ‘lost sheep’, protecting the flock, gentle yet strong. Ezekial 34 contrasts God’s good shepherding with bad/careless shepherds (and our right behaviour as ‘sheep’!), calling God’s leaders to be good shepherds of His flock.

Servant (Mk 10:45)

Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. When he stooped to wash his disciples feet they were offended – they thought a great leader shouldn’t behave like that. But we are told that we should have the same mind as Christ, who became a servant for our salvation (Phil 2:4-7).

Selfless (1 Cor 10:33)

Paul said “I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that all may be saved.” Spiritual Leadership is above all about God’s Kingdom, His glory and His purposes. As John the Baptist said “He must increase, I must decrease” (Jn 3:30), and this is the heart of every spiritual leader.

Sacrificial (Jn 10:11)

Paul said “I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well” (2 Cor 12:15), following Jesus’ example: “The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11) Spiritual Leadership will never be about what we gain, but what is given up for His sake, and in doing so Spiritual Leaders point to Jesus who gave up all for us.

Sincere (2 Cor 1:12)

Paul noted that none of his ministry could be pointed out as self-seeking, motivated by anything other than love for God and His people. Sincerity is about being the same no matter where someone looks in your life. Spiritual leaders are to be examples (1 Cor 11:1) and the life of spiritual leaders should shine for Jesus in every part – Jesus as Lord over all.

In a word: Jesus – Spiritual Leadership comes from looking like, leading like Jesus.

In a word: Jesus – Spiritual Leadership comes from looking like, leading like Jesus.

Oh, and one more:

Spirit Led (Num 11:17)

When Moses was told to appoint leaders, God said he would put a portion of the Spirit which Moses had upon the Leaders. In Acts 6, when Deacons were selected the church were asked to look for people “known to be full of the Spirit”. We look at the nature of the Spiritual Leader, given above, and say ‘I can’t do that’. But that’s the thing we need to realise: I can’t do that, but God can … we can only be Spiritual Leaders in His power! And He is able.

Conclusion

So Spiritual Leadership is so different from leadership in the world. The goal is God’s glory (Mt 5:14-16); the result is the growing of God’s Kingdom; the means is the Gospel; the power is God’s Spirit; the way is as God’s servant; the motivation is God-given love and the path is the Cross. Good leaders in the world rarely make Godly leaders in His Kingdom. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the tearing down of strongholds” (2 Cor 10:4). The big Spiritual Leadership lesson is therefore simple – to lay down all we believe we have in terms of leadership skills, and sit at Jesus’ feet so we can learn to be leaders from Him. And He will equip and enable those who seek to serve as His Spiritual Leaders.

It is difficult, sometimes, to put yourself in the place of those you read of in the Bible. But, I guess one of the easier circumstances to do so is when Jesus gathered the 72 to him and gave them instructions to go out into the surrounding towns and villages (see Luke 10:1-24). Because I fear when I go out to reach out for Jesus, I can imagine their fear. Because I feel unable, I can imagine how unable they felt. Because I know some will respond with hostility, I cam imagine their concern about the response they would face. And so, when we hear Jesus say “The harvest is plentiful”, and then follow this up with “I am sending you out like lambs among wolves”, I hear the latter warning probably more than the former promise – I guess just like them.

The thing is, no matter how daunting, the call wasn’t only to the 72 or the 12. As Jesus was about to return to His Father He told us “you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). For many of us, this means shining brightly for Him in the homes, neighbourhoods and workplaces He places us – we are all ‘salt’ and ‘light’ as a natural part of being ‘in Christ’ (Matt 5:13-16) as the character of Jesus is worked out in us (Gal 5:16-25). I was hugely helped by one speaker at CU when I was in University who said ‘we are all signposts – the question is only in which direction we are pointing … do our lives and words point to or away from Jesus?’ It’s a question which has resonated with me through the years.

“we are all signposts – the question is only in which direction we are pointing … do our lives and words point to or away from Jesus?”

Don Posterski

And, what we need to realise, is that faithfully living and wisely “giving a reason for the hope that is within” (1 Pet 3:15) is enough. This is being faithful to His command to ‘go’, as we seek to “make the most of every opportunity” (Eph 5:15-16, Col 4:5-6).

But, we live in an incredibly connected world. This gives us opportunities to ‘go’ and serve Him in ways that could hardly be imagined only a few years ago. When you go abroad on holiday there are opportunities to encourage local believers by seeking out a local church on a Sunday. You have opportunities to live and speak for Jesus with those of many nationalities on the same campsite or in the same hotel. And, in the summer, there are opportunities to undertake short-term mission work, whether it be a week or two on UK or Irish Beach Teams, or a month in Europe with a mission like OM. With more health in retirement, there are opportunities to help mission work across Europe – for example, joining an outreach team in Montreaux during their Jazz Festival. I was so blessed by a retired couple from Bristol who decided to help reach Hungarian peoples scattered through Eastern Europe and founded a mission in their retirement, called 4H, which has reached tens of thousands for the Lord!

And, in our time, there are huge numbers of people coming from other nations to the UK. This means we can reach people who may have never had opportunity to hear the gospel who are right where we are … and, through them, potentially reach families and communities in their home country. Our Internationals ministry is seeking to do just that!

God’s opportunities for us to ‘go’ are far greater that ever before! There are so many ways of reaching the world for Him – more than possibly we realise. Our upcoming Missions Week will illustrate opportunities that maybe you’ve never considered before. We are praying that God will use this to release us all the more into His ‘Harvest Field’.

Having been working in education before coming to Pastoral Ministry, I still tend to think in ‘Academic Years’ (September – September) rather than ‘Calendar Years’. And it’s a model that actually works with life in a church … the Summer time is a natural ‘year end’ and extended break before ministries re-start in the Autumn. And so, we’re just starting a new ‘year’ as we come to this September issue of the Cambray Church Magazine! So, ‘Happy New Year!’.

At any New Year we tend to look back and look forward. Recently I came across an article (see https://www.cambray.org/articles/new-wine-old-wineskins/) written by our previous Senior Pastor in November 2014. He was reflecting on the challenges facing Cambray at that time, and the changes that might be needed. This reflection resulted in various consultations and decisions over the next two years about the future shape of Cambray. But what interested me was how current many of TimWelch’s reflections still are for us. His 5 main considerations are précised here (but do please read the original article too!):

It was interesting to read and reflect on this article, because it is clear that we have responded to each of these areas of challenge. We do see a wider participation in ministries, and it is now well understood that we must be an ‘outward facing’ church. We have sought to adapt to the difficulty of ‘belonging’ with the new transience we see in Cheltenham due to cost of housing and changing population. We have introduced leadership structures and clear leadership ‘responsibilities’, encouraging the growth of teams around each leadership area and more delegated responsibility. We have encouraged a more delegated, continuously consultative approach to decision making, and we have a clearer and well known Vision statement encapsulated briefly in our ‘Know, Grow, Go’ logo.

But it is also true that many of the challenges arising from change that Tim pre-saged have been experienced. No matter how hard one tries to enable people to feel comfortable as change happens, change always has a period of (sometimes considerable) discomfort. And, it is right to acknowledge that this discomfort has been magnified by the impact, isolation and population shifts post-pandemic, and from the changes in ministry teams and friendship groups that have occurred.

As we come towards this ‘New Year’, as a response to so much change over the last few years, we want to make it a priority to consider ‘Where we are’ and ‘Where we are going’. We do hope you will join us as we listen and consider this together through the coming ‘Academic Year’. But in doing so, we want to ‘stand on the shoulders’ of the work that has already been done. Reflecting on the priorities as Tim Welch saw them then is helpful, both in knowing where we are and also in seeing where we still need to travel.

When is a Car not a Car? It is interesting talking with small children who are getting used to the ideas of Lorry / Van / Bus / Minibus / Car / Motorbike. Sometimes it is difficult to help them work out which is which! There are some things which are defined by the sum of many parts, and the removal of one of those parts doesn’t necessarily change what they are.

But, when thinking of Christians, there is one aspect which is absolutely fundamental – the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8 shows us the fundamental nature of the presence of the Spirit in us:

The Spirit is the testimony that we are God’s children (v9, v16)

The presence of His Spirit is part and parcel of our salvation – so much so that we read: “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to Christ.” And this is a part of how we know we are His – the work of the Spirit (which we’ll see below) is the witness of His Spirit in us – that we are, indeed, His children.

The Spirit is the one who sets us free from condemnation (v1-4)

The work of the Spirit is to deliver us from the condemnation of the law into love of God’s law. We read in Heb 8:10 that God writes His laws on our hearts when we come to Christ – and it’s the Spirit that does that! And so we are taken from feeling guilty that we can’t keep it to, instead, having the Spirit write a desire in our heart to gladly walk according to God’s word.

The Spirit is the one who causes our hearts to seek the Father (v15)

And not only do we know the desire to walk in His way, we discover that we love God! We have been brought into relationship with Him, and the Spirit makes our hearts cry out “Abba, Father” – the wonder of All powerful God, Eternal, Mighty, now known intimately as my Father.

The Spirit brings life to our physical body (v11)

But the work of the Spirit is not something that’s merely internal. There is no separation of the physical body and the soul in God’s work. God is about the total transformation of His people. As such, we are reminded that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead “will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit”. The work of transformation that enables us to become more and more like Jesus (Gal 5:22-24) is at the heart of God’s salvation purposes.

The Spirit leads us to put to death the sinful nature (v12-13)

On the one hand, the work of the Spirit is to ‘take the reins’ of our lives – to take control of our mind and desires (v5) , taking our minds off sinful desires, enabling and empowering us to, “put to death” (v13) the sin which entangles and destroys.

The Spirit leads us to submit to God (v5-8)

And, on the other hand, the work of the Spirit is to set our minds on what God desires, so we willingly and proactively choose to walk in His way, in His newness of life.

The Spirit is the one who leads God’s children in His paths (v14)

And, wonderfully, we aren’t at a loss to work out what God’s paths are which we are to walk in! We are “led by the Spirit of God” into His paths of righteousness.

Romans 8 rings out with the fundamental, deep, transformative work of God’s Spirit. There is no spiritual life without God’s Spirit. There is no Christian who is not Spirit indwelt. Indeed, if it were not for the work of the Spirit, we who were ‘”dead in trespasses and sin” could never have heard and responded to the wonderful news of the gospel in the first place!

One reaction in some churches to the particular emphases of the ‘Charismatic Movement’ has been to say very little of the Spirit. We can easily downplay the work of the Spirit, or even fear mention of the Spirit. But, Romans 8, alongside many passages in God’s word, shows us that we must not do so. Rather, we are told to “Keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25) – to recognise and celebrate the Spirit’s work, soften our hearts to the Spirit’s leading, and welcome the work of God in us by His Spirit! It’s amazing that God gives us all we need for life and Godliness through His Spirit! And so we praise God for His Spirit at work in us.

Oh, and if reading this you realise that you haven’t see His Spirit at work in you, God is lovingly calling you to fly to Jesus, seek His forgiveness, and come to know Him as Saviour. He has so much to give you when you receive His Spirit at salvation!