THE START OF A NEW SEASON - Began the day that David could no longer kill giants!

 

I’m heading into a new season. Last Sunday marked the beginning of a new season for our church. I always knew this season was coming. I had just thought that it was still a few years off. When we arrived in Legana in 1995 it was love at first sight. We had lived in a high-density part of Melbourne, just ten minutes out of the city centre, where we had been pioneering a church in a very needy part of the city. When the Lord called us to Tasmania we were initially unsure where we were going to be called. Then it became obvious that the Holy Spirit was calling us to Launceston — where we would be based in Legana (ten minutes north of the city of Launceston). Whenever anyone asked, “If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you really want to live?” My answer has always been the same: “Right here.” Yet, Kim and I always knew that the day would come when we would have to transition into a new season. As I was convalescing and physically battling with what appeared to be chronic fatigue, in my daily Bible reading I read the story of the turning-point in King David’s seasons. He had once been the young “giant-killing king of Israel” who was now the sixty-year-old weary king who was about to be killed by a giant named Ishi-benob. This became the moment when four very young men stepped-up and did what their previous generation thought was impossible: they each killed a giant! 

THE DAY THAT DAVID COULD NO LONGER KILL GIANTS

¶ There was war again between the Philistines and Israel,
and David went down together with his servants,
and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary.
Second Samuel 21:15

Years before David’s season changed, the Philistine’s champion, Goliath, challenged the national army of Israel (under the leadership of King Saul) to come out and face him man-to-man in one-on-one combat. But there was not one Hebrew man who dared accept his challenge! When the sixteen-year-old shepherd boy, David of Bethlehem, arrived with supplies from his father for David’s seven brothers, David did what none before him had dared do: he accepted the challenge of the 12-fingered giant to enter into one-on-one combat. And with God’s help, David defeated him.

“AND DAVID GREW WEARY”

Years later, David is now much older – probably close to 60 years of age. He no longer has the youthful vigour that he once had. “And David grew weary” the unnamed prophet writes. And what nearly happened next nearly changed the course of human history!

And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants,
whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze,
and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David.
But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and
attacked the Philistine and killed him.
Then David’s men swore to him,
“You shall no longer go out with us to battle,
lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”
Second Samuel 21:16-17

WHAT DAVID COULD NO LONGER DO
– COULD STILL BE DONE –
EVEN MORE EFFECTIVELY!

After this episode, the unnamed narrator includes a remarkable series of giant-killing tales that actually greatly honoured David (2Sam. 21:22). Four young men, Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Sebbecai the Hushathite, Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, and Jonathan the son of Shimei (David’s brother) each slew giants as big as—if not bigger than—the original Goliath that the young David had slain!

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him.
Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”
¶ After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph,
who was one of the descendants of the giants. And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob,
and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite,
the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. And there was again war at Gath,
where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot,
twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. And when he taunted Israel,
Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. These four were descended from
the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
Second Samuel 21:17-22

David had been fighting battles, that no-one thought could be fought – let alone won, for many years. He was not just weary – he was battle-weary. But in the process of being present, courageous, faithful, and fearless, he inspired a generation of young warriors to step up and enter into the fray with the confidence that they could. What their parents and grand-parents thought could not be done, and what they had never witnessed anyone even brave enough to try, these four young men serving David dared to believe was also possible with God’s help — just as David had once done. While the day came that David could no longer kill giants, it came on the same day that four young men were inspired to believe that they could!

It would be a nice way to conclude the Biblical story of David’s life with this honourable tribute of his inspiration of the next generation, but sadly, this is not where it ends – and even sadder for the memory of King David is the narration that the shepherd-turned-warrior King did not handle his lack of military-identity with the required humility needed for such a high royal office. The Scriptures reveal that there are certain life-changes which require a good deal of humility to be able to enter well, and even though David, the once humble shepherd boy, had been selected by God precisely because of his humility, toward the end of his life he did not maintain it as well as he had when he started. This reveals that there are some great and difficult lessons for those of us who are ageing to learn from this and to recognise and accept when a season changes we must too.

Change is never easy. But it is necessary, even for churches. There is a tragic aspect to church history that reveals those churches that forsook Christ’s mission and refused (or were unable) to change, ended up dying. The challenge before us as a church is to embrace change and recommit ourselves to our God-given mission to know Jesus and make Jesus known. It is my hope that we can all work together and cheer on the next generation of “giant-killers” and that: (i) parents of primary-school aged children will prioritise getting their children to Kids Church each Sunday; (ii) the parents of teens will encourage their teens to commit to our youth group each Friday; and, (iii) each of us will get a fresh revelation from the Spirit about the times we are now living in and why gathering together as a church family each Sunday and in our Home Groups, is now more important than ever before!  As we heard from several people last Sunday who brought prophetic words, we are now heading into a new and greater season of anointing and harvest! 

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

EMPTY JARS, SHOVELS, OIL, HOLES, and MIRACLES

I believe in miracles! Last Sunday night, several people gathered to pray for me and anoint me with oil for healing, including the Bishop of Tasmania Dr. Richard Condie, and Anglican archdeacon Bob McKay. Years ago, when Pastor Phil Hills was preaching, he said something that I wrote down in my Bible and have often repeated it to Kim, “Before God grants a miracle, do everything in the natural to make it possible!” As soon as I had heard this it seemed to have the Spirit’s anointing of truth all over it. As I read through the Scriptures I now see this principle often associated with God’s miracles. A poor widow had to do the possible to receive the impossible. Isaac’s servants had to dig a well in order to ‘miraculously’ find water. Peter had to get out of the boat and put his feet on the water before he could walk to the Lord. The bewildered disciples brought to Jesus the only solution they had to feed 5,000 people. And we must pray for miracles while we roll up our sleeves and do what we can in the meantime.

 

THE MIRACLE OF CANCELLING THE WIDOW’S DEBTS

¶ Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbours, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
Second Kings 4:1-7

Sometimes we pray for a miracle and miss the means by which God often wants to bring it about it. The story of the poor widow (who was the wife of “one of the sons of the prophets”) had been borrowing money since her husband’s death to keep her and her two young sons alive. But she had no means to repay her creditors. Through the prophet Elisha’s instruction, God did an outstanding miracle. I’m sure God could have just ‘magically’ made money appear for this widow to pay her creditor and protect her sons from being forced into indentured servitude. But the means of her miracle involved enterprise. She had to borrow empty jars. She had pour what little oil she had out of her existing jar into these empty jars. She then had to report back to the prophet Elisha. Finally, she had to go and sell the oil in the jars. Opportunities are most often God’s initial answer to our plea for a miracle!

 

THE MIRACLE OF WATER IN A FRESHLY DUG HOLE

That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well
that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.”
Genesis 26:32

 Isaac had inherited wells from his father, Abraham. But these were sabotaged by the neighbouring inhabitants of Canaan. While water is essential anywhere on earth, it is rather prized in dry, arid, parts of the world where Isaac and his companions were. Our lives sometimes ‘get dry’. We too pray for the ‘ground’ to not be so hard and for God to give us some ‘water’. In praying for water though, God often provides a shovel. Isaac’s men used their digging implements to dig. It would be a very odd picture indeed if while holding a shovel someone prayed to God for a hole in the ground without ever using that shovel to start digging!

In times of spiritual drought sometimes we pray for rain instead of digging a well.

¶ “Behold, God is my salvation;I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation.”
¶ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
And you will say in that day:“Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon His name,
make known His deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that His name is exalted.
Isaiah 12:2-4

As a church we are digging ‘a well’ from which parched and thirsty people from around our distract will be attracted and invited to drink deeply. Attracted. We can pray that people will be attracted to the ‘well of salvation’ but we must be prepared to dig. Attracted. Perhaps there’s nothing more attractive than an invitation. Perhaps for some the attraction to the well begins by driving past our facility and noticing the care and love that has been put into our lawns and grounds by Alan Harris and Lydia Braam. For others it might be the attraction of our brightly coloured painted building that Tom Nielsen has so masterfully gifted us with. For others it might be that they see the dozens and dozens of cars in the carpark each Sunday parked in a neat and orderly fashion because someone has painstakingly taken the time each week to gather the scattered white pebbles and carefully place them back in their neat markings. We don’t just pray for revival rain, we also dig “wells of salvation”!

 

THE MIRACLE OF THE GOSPEL’S POWER

The greatest miracle of all (apart from the incarnation and resurrection of the Christ) is when a lost soul is born-again by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit through the agency of the preaching of the Gospel. During my brief absence from being with you, Kim and I have been praying for souls to be saved each Sunday in our worship and teaching service. But it is not just about our church, our postcode, our church roll, or even our city—God’s heart for the lost extends across our State and beyond. So Kim and I pray each Sunday in particular that every church in our valley would see at least one person choose to follow Christ! We digging in prayer! But we are also digging by inviting. (In a couple of weeks when I return I will share with you some of the extraordinary mail that Kim and I have received from non-churched people who have written to us about their experience of being attracted to our church and how it has begun something in them.) This is why we dig each Sunday by sharing a salvation testimony of the Gospel’s power to transform a life. It’s why we dig by putting so much effort into our Livestream. It’s why Lois Kidmas and her team dig each Sunday by discipling the children of our church. We want to see more miracles – especially the miracles of seeing lives won to the Saviour. That’s why we dig because that’s how we get oil, water, provision, and salvations! Let’s dig together!

 

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE HALLMARKS OF A SPIRIT-FILLED, ON-FIRE-FOR-GOD CHURCH

¶ When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

Acts 2:1-3

It is too easy to think of a Spirit-filled, on-fire church as large a congregation with great music, great facilities, great programs, and great preaching. And, to be fair, it could be. But those things would be incidental not causal or resultant. Conversely, it would too easy to think of a small church in a small town with no worship band, no building of their own, no paid pastor, and no programs as “dead”. And, to be fair, it could be. But those indicators may just be incidental to its death, not the cause of it. A Spirit-filled, on-fire church can be either large or small, found in a large city or a small country town. It could have great music or no music at all. It could have a gifted dynamic preacher as its pastor, or it may have no pastor at all. But without exception, all Spirit-filled and on-fire for God church have three essential qualities.

It has not gone unnoticed that nearly on the same day that the head of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rev. Justin Welby, announced the decision to approve the blessing of same-sex unions by Anglican priests (something that many other Archbishops in the Anglican Communion around the world have condemned as unbiblical and ungodly), that in Wilmore Kentucky, at Asbury University, an extraordinary move of God began where hundreds of people have experienced a deep conviction of sin resulting in confession, tears, and repentance. The “Asbury Revival” has now had thousands visit and experience similar. On one side of the Atlantic an Archbishop has blessed sin, while on the other side of the Atlantic God was convicting of sin!

Perhaps what has happened out of Canterbury England compared with what is happening at Asbury Chapel serves as a metaphor for the difference between what most might regard as impressive religion and what is actually genuine spiritual life. This contrast being a church that looked alive but was actually dead was made by Christ to the church at Sardis – 

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write:
‘The words of Him who has the Seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
¶ “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”
Revelation 3:1

The church at Sardis looked like it was alive—it even had a reputation for being alive. But, according to Jesus, it was dead. But why did everyone else think that it was alive? Perhaps it attracted a lot of people? Living, Spirit-filled, on-fire-for-God, churches usually do attract people. Perhaps everyone thought the Sardis church was a Spirit-filled, on-fire, church because they exhibited the gifts of the Spirit and saw miracles of healing? Perhaps they looked alive because they had passionate worship or preaching? Whatever it was that earned them the reputation for being alive, it was still actually dead. Eventually, true Spirit-filled, on-fire, believers no longer want to be a part of a church that is dead. Sadly, this is what has happened to several denominations around the world (including Australia) that have abandoned God and His Word and bowed to cultural pressure to compromise on what the Word of God calls sin and the Father commands repentance for. But Christ offered the church at Sardis the hope of finding life, spiritual renewal, and to get on-fire for God again –

Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die,
for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.
If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief,
and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
Revelation 3:2-3

I hope the pastor and elders of the church at Sardis did heed Christ’s invitation and warning. I hope they repented. I hope that they recommenced and completed the works that God had called them to do. I hope that the congregation returned to a profound respect for the preaching of God’s Word and received it when it was preached so that they didn’t just hear it, they kept it. This was the pathway out of the clutches of church-death that could reinstitute their passion for God, His Word, His Spirit, and for His mission, and become a Spirit-filled, on-fire church.

Two weeks ago I completed my final subject for a degree I had been undertaking. Having finished physics, chemistry, mathematics, and a range of other necessary subjects, my final subject was biology. My Professor, Dr. Daniel Grazier, would periodically make a spiritual parallel from our study of the ten-and-a-half systems of the human body. In our study of the pulmonary-respiratory system, he drew a profound analogy to what makes a healthy church body by citing the author, Thom Rainer-

In his remarkable book Autopsy of a Deceased Church, Thom Rainer notes that in the early days of the church, the disciples devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship and the breaking of bread, and to prayer (Acts 2:42). While they broke bread together, prayer was not an add-on to give them permission to start eating. Prayer was serious business for the early church members. Based on his research and study, Rainer concludes that a church begins to die when it ceases to pray (2014, 67). (Studies in Human Biology 2020, 265)

We want to be a Spirit-filled, on-fire-for-God church. Today there are many pastors and churches trying to look alive rather than truly coming alive. Many have blamed the recent COVID pandemic for their woes. Shane Morris, from Colson Centre and the host the Upstream Podcast, last week (Feb 17 2023) wrote – 

Apparently, large numbers of people who once identified as Christians have decided they no longer need to attend church. While COVID may have been the impetus behind this exodus, the root causes are preexisting and go much deeper. Too many Christians think of church as they would an event, concert, or TED Talk, optional experiences that can just as easily be consumed remotely. When combined with pastors and leaders who view the core purpose of church as evangelism rather than discipleship or worship and are therefore willing to do whatever seems to “work,” success is just as easily measured by logins and views after the pandemic as it was by attendance numbers and growth size before the pandemic. Much is behind these shifting numbers. First and foremost, God continues to prune and winnow His Church, seeking the health of His Beloved. The broader cultural shift away from truth claims and anything that smacks of traditional morality has only intensified in recent years. And, we should at least consider the possibility that the decline in both numbers and influence is, at least in part, a self-inflicted wound.

Like C.S. Lewis’ famous image of making mudpies in the slum when offered a trip to the seashore, we’ve baptized (and watered down) the habits of the world in place of the riches provided in the testimony of Scripture and the God-ordained practices of the Church. Why would our neighbors be drawn to warmed-over versions of the world’s leftovers? To use a pair of homespun metaphors, the kind of bait used determines the kind of fish caught. Or, more prosaically, what you win people with is what you win them to. After decades of appealing first and foremost to whatever people want and editing to whatever they think, we’ve essentially discipled a generation that will only follow a Church that leads where they want to go. In every age, a true and real Christianity finds much to critique as well as to affirm. If we aren’t willing to challenge the sacred cows of our day, if we aren’t up to preaching what Tom Holland called the “weird stuff” of our faith, we will find (and perhaps even now we are finding) that no one is interested in what we have to say because we aren’t saying much worth hearing.

 

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A SPIRIT-FILLED, ON-FIRE CHURCH

It takes being God-seeking, God-hearted, and God-pleasing together.

This involves being informed by the Word of God so that they way we pray together, and the ‘what’ we pray together, is directed toward seeking greater intimacy with God together. There can be no greater example of this than how Christ prayed to His Father. At the time of His greatest anguish as prayed earnestly in the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples and He made the will of God His chief prayer (Matt. 26:39). Some believer spend time in what they call “praying” without ever actually talking to God or seeking His will. Perhaps this is how the congregation of the church at Sardis were praying? The kind of praying that is Spirit-filled and full of the fire of God’s zeal is the kind of prayer longs to know God, be shaped by God, have His will done in the pray-er’s life. These prayers are not  always eloquent – in fact, they are rarely if ever eloquent. Paul describes them in Romans 8 as resembling groans and the sounds of longings. This is the kind of praying that transforms the praying believer’s heart to be even more sensitive what pleases God’s heart. It results in the believers within a Spirit-filled, on-fire-for-God, church seeking to earnestly please God — even if it costs them dearly. But this is joy of holiness that is the delight of every true believer and every church that is truly alive.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken,
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Acts 4:31 

It takes being God-seeking, God-hearted, and God-pleasing together.

God’s heart is for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1Tim. 2:4). A Spirit-filled, on-fire for God church beats with the heartbeat of God for the lost. But it is not the lost who are our focus when our seeking the heart of God. It is God. A Spirit-filled church, on-fire-for-God church has a passion for God’s and His presence. Thus, there is a passion, a zeal, an enthusiasm, and a willing commitment to gather with the church family. At the moment due to my present illness I am unable. But I am more than watching live when I am joining in on our church’s Livestream. I commented with encouragement for those sharing in our service on our YouTube live-feed. When we are being led in prayer. I am closing my eyes, bowing my aching head and praying too. When the Word is being preached, I praying for the preacher and for those listening to have ears to hear and a heart to receive. When the appeal and invitation is given at the end of the service, I am pleading with God to be merciful to sinners and to bring them repentance and to give them the gift of salvation. This Sunday, please pray and invite people to both of our special services as Kate shares in the morning, and Dan Warlow shares in the afternoon (if you could just come along and pray pray pray for Kate and Dan and for all those God might touch through their ministries).

¶ And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.
Acts 2:42-43

It takes being God-seeking, God-hearted, and God-pleasing together.

We are that kind of church and may it ever be so! Amen!

Your convalescing Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE DAY THAT DAVID COULD NO LONGER KILL GIANTS

¶ There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary.
Second Samuel 21:15

Years earlier on the day that the Philistine's champion, Goliath, challenged the army Israel (under the leadership of King Saul) to come out and face him man-to-man in one-on-one combat — not one man dared accept his challenge! When the sixteen-year-old shepherd boy, David of Bethlehem, arrived with supplies from his father for David's seven brothers, David did what none before him had dared do. He accepted the challenge of the 12-fingered giant and with God's help defeated him.

AND DAVID GREW WEARY

Years later, David is now much older - probably close to 60 years of age. He no longer has the youthful vigour that he once had. “And David grew weary” the unnamed prophet writes. And what nearly happened next nearly changed the course of human history!

And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”

  Second Samuel 21:16-17

WHAT DAVID COULD NO LONGER DO, COULD STILL BE DONE - EVEN MORE EFFECTIVELY!

After this episode, the unnamed narrator includes a remarkable series of giant-killing tales that actually greatly honoured David (2Sam. 21:22). Four young men, Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Sebbecai the Hushathite, Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, and Jonathan the son of Shimei (David’s brother) each slew giants as big as—if not bigger than—the original Goliath that the young David had slain!

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”  ¶ After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Second Samuel 21:17-22

David had been fighting battles, that no-one thought could be fought - let alone won, for many years. He was not just weary. He was battle-weary. But in the process of being present, courageous, faithful, and fearless, he inspired a generation of young warriors to step up and enter into the fray. What their parents and grand-parents thought could not be done, and what they had never witnessed anyone even brave enough to try, these four young men dared to believe was also possible with God’s help just as David had once done. While the day came that David could no longer kill giants, it came on the same day that four young men were inspired to believe that they could!

It would be a nice way to conclude the Biblical story of David's life with this honourable tribute of his inspiration of the next generation, but sadly, this is not where it ends - and even sadder for the memory of King David is the narration that the shepherd-turned-warrior King did not handle his lack of military-identity with the required humility needed for such a high royal office. The Scriptures reveal that there are certain life-changes which require a good deal of humility to be able to enter well, and even though David, the once humble shepherd boy, had been selected by God precisely because of his humility, toward the end of his life he did not maintain it as well as he had when he started. There are some great and difficult lessons for us who are ageing to learn from this.

Pastor Andrew Corbett

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