BORN FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair............"  So commences the book "A tale Of Two Cities," by Charles Dickens.

With every passing day, it seems that the battle lines are being drawn, and increasingly, as Christians, we are being faced with choices which not only affect our own lives, but those of our families, and the wider communities in which we live, and beyond that, the nation - and nations of the world.

If Dickens was writing today, would he not say the same about our world, and society, which brings me to the passage in Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, shine;

For your light has come!

And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,

And deep darkness the people;

But the LORD will arise over you,

And His glory will be seen upon you.

The Gentiles shall come to your light,

And kings to the brightness of your rising.

It is not a time for Christians and the church of the Living God to have a slumber party. We need to take a clear stand for the Lord in our lives, even it goes against popular society attitudes that are clearly in opposition to the non-negotiable teaching of the Word of God in the Bible.

The apostle Paul states in Ephesians 5: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, ( for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord....

Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep,

                                 Arise from the dead,

                                 And Christ will give you light." (verses 8-10, 14)

I have always been challenged by the words of the Keith Green song "Asleep In The Light," where he says in one of the verses:

                                The world is sleeping in the dark,

                                That the church just can't fight    

                                'Cos it's asleep in the light

                                How can you be so dead

                                When you've been so well fed?

                                Jesus rose from the grave,

                                        And you, you can't even get out of bed! OUCH!

Jesus said of Himself in John 8:12............."I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

He also said of His disciples, then and now, in Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."     

We are admonished by the apostle Paul to redeem the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:16

He again pleads with those who claim to be followers of Jesus in Romans 13:11,12: And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Can we also hear the anguished heart cries of Isaiah, Paul the apostle, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to each one of us in the Church to: ARISE AND SHINE THE LIGHT OF GOD'S LOVE AND POWER, TO AWAKE FROM SPIRITUAL SLUMBER......... and in so doing, to help bring an eternal difference to individuals, to communities and to the nations as we glorify Jesus with our lives.

More than probably since wartime, people are living in such fear, anxiety and uncertainty, and confusion and do not know where to turn. The pressure coming on those in the world who are living by the world system, and are being fed by the negative doom and gloom of mainstream media and social media is seeing a rise in mental illness, suicides, marriage tensions, and domestic violence, and a multitude of other destructive societal trends.

THERE IS ONLY ONE ANSWER TO THE WORLD'S WOES! It isn't in a political party or charismatic political leader. 

The LORD God tells us in Isaiah 26:3,4 

                                        You will keep him in perfect peace,

                                        Whose mind is stayed on You.

                                        Trust in the LORD forever,

                                        For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.                          

2024 is set to be a wild ride for many whose trust is not in Jesus, but in the world governments, and whose minds are molded by the secular mainstream news cycles, designed to instill fear and anxiety in the masses. The Bible refers to Satan in Ephesians 2:2 as.......the prince of the power of the air - a fitting title for the unseen evil being controlling the lies and manipulation of the secular news cycles, increasingly biased towards presenting propaganda and untruths.

Jesus, in the Sermon On The Mount in Matthew 7:24-27 speaks about the necessity of building our lives on the firm foundation of God's Word, so that we can STAND up under the storms of life. He said: "Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. And great was its fall."

COMING NEXT: IT'S HARVEST TIME!

As the crowds emerged from the village, Jesus said to His disciples, "Why would you say, 'The harvest is four months away'? Look at all the people coming - now is harvest time! Their hearts are like vast fields of ripened grain - ready for a harvest."

                                         

STILL THE SAME GOD 

All over the world the Spirit is moving,

All over the world, as the prophet said it would be

All over the world, there's a mighty revelation

Of the glory of the Lord

As the waters cover the sea.

This is a Christian chorus that was popularly sung in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches back in the seventies onwards, declaring the truth that the Holy Spirit was indeed moving mightily in many nations around the world, seeing the restoration of the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that characterized the early church - in churches across many different denominations, including the Catholic Church.

After Jesus' triumphant resurrection from the grave three days after His crucifixion, for forty days He appeared to hundreds of people, proving that He had indeed risen from the dead. 

Before ascending back to heaven, He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for "the Promise of the Father," the baptism with the Holy Spirit," as foretold by John the Baptist, that would be a significant part of the ministry of Jesus. In fact, in two of the accounts in Matthew and Luke, John the Baptist said Jesus would baptise His followers with the Holy Spirit and Fire.

The church was birthed on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus' resurrection, when the 120 in the Upper Room in Jerusalem were all baptised in the Holy Spirit, as Luke describes in Acts 2:1-4

And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. KJV

The chapter continues to convey that there were Jews present there from "every nation under heaven," and the miracle was that they all heard them (the 120 Galileans) proclaiming the wonderful works of God in their own languages.

Peter addressed the crowd, explaining that this was the fulfillment of a prophecy by the prophet Joel, probabably around 800 BC.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,

That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 

Your young men shall see visions,

Your old men shall dream dreams.

And on My menservants and on My maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days;

And they shall prophesy.

I will show wonders in heaven above

And signs in the earth beneath;

Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness,

And the moon into blood, 

Before the great and awesome day of the LORD.

And it shall come to pass

That whoever calls on the name of the LORD

Shall be saved.  Acts 2:17-21 NKJV

In verses 38-39, Peter said to them: "Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." Peter categorically, and unambiguously stated that the promise of the Baptism in or with the Holy Spirit to empower believers in Jesus for effective service in the kingdom of God was for ALL TIME until Jesus returned.

In chapter 3, Peter again gives a call to repentance, stating: "Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." verses 19-21

We see in the Book Of Acts that the early church was noted for outstanding miracles - signs and wonders that followed the preaching of the Word of God. As with the earthly ministry of Jesus for three and a half years, the blind received their sight, the lame were made to walk again, dead were raised back to life, and all manner of other healings and miracles took place through the hands and the faith of the apostles.

BUT, the demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit was not intended to be the sole domain of the apostles. In the Great Commission declared by Jesus in Mark 16, He said: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover."

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. Mark 16: 15-20 NKJV

Jesus said the signs of his power and authority would follow those who believe - NOT JUST THE APOSTLES.

It is true when looking at church history that the church went through a period of a thousand years or more, when the five-fold ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher were all but absent - and the church was led by a priestcraft that had little resemblance to the ministries designed by Jesus to lead and equip the people of God for Christian service.

Then beginning with Martin Luther in the 1500's, the ministry office of pastor began to be restored to the church. Some two hundred years later with the Wesleys, the evangelist ministry was restored to the church. With the Charismatic Renewal bringing revelation of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the present day operation of the Gifts of the Spirit to many mainline denominations, the ministry of Teacher was prominent in the 60's and 70's.

Earlier, at the turn of the century, in 1906, the worldwide Pentecostal church movements were born out of the Asuza Street Revival, led by William J. Seymour, the black son of slaves - who oversaw a revival drawing thousands from around the world to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues. Outstanding healings and miracles were also hallmarks of this revival.

The twentieth century was also remembered for hugely significant mass evangelists such as Billy Graham, and Reinhard Bonnke, and a number of powerful healing ministries such as Kathryn Kuhlman, Oral Roberts, Jack Coe and A.A. Allen, and others to this present day who have proven outstanding testimony to their "signs following" giftings from the Holy Spirit, as they boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Over the past roughly thirty years, the Lord has raised up many men and women who function in the ministry gifting of prophet, and increasingly the office of the apostle is being restored to the church - to help fully equip believers in Jesus to be effective in ministry in each one's sphere of influence.

For the church of Jesus Christ to effectively proclaim the gospel, the Holy Spirit indwelling believers equips them with both the Fruit of the Spirit, as well as the Gifts of the Spirit. Paul the apostle admonishes Christians in 1 Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. The preceding chapter is what is known as the Love chapter, highlighting that everything we do and say as ambassadors for Christ must be motivated by God's love for people. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul lists nine "gifts" or manifestations of the Holy Spirit that were in operation in the early church. Their use by and large waned through the Dark Ages, and have seen a wonderful resurgence of demonstration since the Asuza Street Revival, and onto the Charismatic Renewal, and to the present day.

Romans 12 also lists seven gifts from the Holy Spirit to all believers - what have been called Motivational Gifts. Every Christian will be motivated by at least one of these gifts, but they may also operate to a lesser extent in others of these. In other words, most will display one of these giftings in their lives as the dominant Holy-Spirit led motivation in their service in the church, the Body of Christ.

As Paul states in Romans 12:3-8 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, se we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Although there is and has been clear evidence of the mighty demonstrations of the power of the Holy Spirit confirming the Word of God with signs and wonders over the past 120 odd years, and as stated above, there has been a restoration of the five-fold ascension-gift ministries of Jesus stated in Ephesians 4:11-13 of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher - sadly, there are prominent Christian leaders in what is known as the Cessationists, who firmly believe the Bible teaches that the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased with the passing of the original apostles - and that the ministry gifts of apostle and prophet are not for today either.

A new movie called "Cessationist," was released in America in September this year, asking the question: "Are the miraculous gifts of the Spirit for today?" - tongues, prophecy, healing, miracles etc. The conclusion portrayed in the film affirmed by a number of high profile cessationist Reformed Christian leaders is: NO! 

In a trailer for this movie, Stephen J. Lawson, a prominent pastor says boldly:

"No one has the gift of healing today"

"No one has the gift of prophecy today."

"No one is hearing a word from God."

I HAVE TO ASK: REALLY!

Stephen Lawson holds a Master's degree in theology from Dallas Theological Cemetary - oops, I meant Seminary. He also holds a doctorate degree in theology from Reformed Theological Cemetary - oops, I did it again, I mean Seminary, in Jackson, Mississippi.

He has written about thirty books and ministered extensively in the USA and a number of countries outside America.

YET, he says that, basically, the Holy Spirit's "hands are tied today," from using Bible believing Spirit-filled Christians from demonstrating the power of God, motivated by God's love to impact the world for Jesus.

I well remember, while a student at Bible College in New Zealand back in the seventies, the Director of the college saying that the Assemblies in God in America at one point had a conference to discover what had gone wrong with their movement, because the power of God had gone out of their churches. They soon realised that it was because they had put so much emphasis on theological education at the expense of relying on the Holy Spirit, that they were "dying by degrees," so to speak.

As the church age is drawing to a close, as we anticipate the soon return of Jesus for His blood-washed church, more than ever, we are being called to see the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 60: 

Arise, shine;

Four your light has come!

And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.

For behold the darkness shall cover the earth,

And deep darkness the people;

But the LORD will arise over you,

And His glory will be seen upon you.

The Gentiles shall come to your light,

And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

This was a promise to all believers, not just the original apostles, that they would move in the same anointing and power of the Holy Spirit that He had to rely on during His earthly ministry.

DO NOT GIVE HEED TO THE FALSE TEACHING OF CESSATIONIST CALVINIST REFORMED TEACHERS! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still working miracles, healing sick bodies, prophesying hope to a world filled with a sense of hopelessness. Speaking in tongues of men and of angels is still very much a valid provision of the Holy Spirit for all believers baptized in the Holy Spirit. 

All over the world, the Spirit is indeed moving. Revival fires are breaking out in some of the most unexpected places. Repentance from sin, and a new awareness of the fear of God is gripping the church, and God's great love for humanity is being demonstrated in ways that attest to the demonstration of God's healing, miracle-working, saving, restoring, prophesying power and authority - through people, giving glory and honour to Jesus!

Say YES to THE VOICE...........of GOD 

 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

"Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make straight in the desert

A highway for our God;

Every valley shall be exalted

And every mountain and hill brought low;

The crooked places shall be made straight

And the rough places smooth;

The glory of the LORD shall be revealed;

And all flesh shall see it together;

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

The voice said, "Cry out!"

And he said, "What shall I cry?"

"All flesh is grass,

And all its loveliness is like the flower

of the field,

The grass withers, the flower fades,

Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass,

The grass withers, the flower fades, 

but the word of our God stands forever."

O Zion,

You who bring good tidings,

Get up into the high mountain;

O Jerusalem,

You who bring good tidings,

Lift up your voice with strength,

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!" Isaiah 40:3-9 NKJV

The prophet Isaiah spoke these words some 700 years BC, foretelling the ministry of John the Baptist, the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

The ministry of John the Baptist was that of a forerunner preparing the way for the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. His VOICE was lifted up, calling his listeners to repentance from sin and wickedness, and to be baptized by full immersion in water as an act of surrender to the will of God for their lives. In lifting his voice in preparation for the ministry of Jesus, John said of Jesus: "He must increase, but I must decrease."

The Bible tells us John the Baptist had a diet of locusts and wild honey.

To be fair to the Scriptural record, I do not think this food was commercially produced as above! 😊

In a discourse about John the Baptist, Jesus honoured the prophet with these words: " Truly, I tell you, among those born of women, there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." Matthew 11:11

The "greatness" that Jesus refers to concerning John has to do with his unique position in history, not with any special talent, holiness or personal merit. In fact, immediately after stating that John is the greatest "among those born of women," Jesus says, "Yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." John died without seeing the fullness of God's plan in Christ. He never saw the crucifixion of Christ or His glorious resurrection. Yet even the "least in the kingdom of God" knows of these events and understands their meaning.

Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest of those born among women because:

-he held the honour of being chosen by God as the forerunner to the Messiah. His mission was to personally prepare the world for Christ's arrival. Malachi 3:1 says of him: Behold, I will send My Messenger,

And he will prepare the way before Me.

After Jesus came, John introduced Him to the world as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. John 1:35-36

Following His death on the cross and His triumphant resurrection three days later, Jesus appeared to His disciples and told them to wait in Jerusalem "until you be endued with power from on high." On the Day of Pentecost fifty days following Jesus' resurrection, as the 120 were gathered together in the Upper Room, the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and "began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Jesus had told the disciples that: "You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses........." Acts 1:8

The first century church grew exponentially as the apostles and their converts moved from Jerusalem literally to the ends of the then-known world. The apostles came under severe persecution. The apostle Paul, writing to his son in the faith, Timothy, warned that: In the last days, perilous times will come. He went on to list the characteristics of godlessness which would be seen in men (and women) in the last days, when to be a Christian would bring much opposition from wicked men.

 In 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul says to Timothy, and to us today.......all who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Just as the prophets in the Old Testament, and indeed John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus' ministry, called people to turn from sin and wickedness, and from idol worship, to follow the living God - more than ever, today there is a need for Godly men and women to LIFT THEIR VOICES to declare the truth of the Word of God - to take a stand boldly for righteousness and righteous causes.

I read recently where a survey in America showed that ninety percent of church leaders were silent concerning some of the looming social issues of our times, such as sexuality from the Biblical perspective, and associated with that, issues such as same-sex marriage, and homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia. Because of a lack of teaching on these topics, something in the order of forty seven percent of Christian youth and young adults say they support same-sex marriage.

There are many voices vying for our attention, many of whom are speaking lies, deception and untruths. Mainstream media is one of the enemy's main vehicles for the dispersing of lies and "half-truths," with the hope that the gullible masses will swallow these lies hook, line and sinker.

Here in Australia, we are less than a month away from the date when all citizens enrolled to vote will be asked to indicate by way of a referendum whether they want an Indigenous Voice to Parliament enshrined in the nation's Constitution. It seems to be becoming increasingly more apparent as time passes, that the proponents of the YES campaign, led by the Prime Minister, have either lied about the reach of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament and its consequences for all Australians - or have "put their foot in their mouth" so to speak, and have in fact, disclosed some of the dire consequences of this Voice, such as requiring reparations, "paying the rent," and formation of a Treaty.

There has also been much unnecessary and disturbing "name-calling," again particularly from those supporting the "YES" campaign to seek to override the genuine concerns of the leaders for the "NO" campaign. In all fairness, probably neither side of the debate has been totally squeaky clean, but it does seem that a majority of Australians are waking up to the reality that enshrining an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, even at this point in the debate, poses more unknowns than known outcomes if successful.

Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me." 

In  contrast to the voices we are bombarded with every day through media, including social media, radio and television and print media - depending on which side of the left or right of the political and philosophical fence you are on, we can have total and unwavering confidence that the Voice of God, as presented in the Word of God, the Bible is the Truth, the Whole Truth and nothing but the truth.

In the final analysis, this is the one voice we all need to take heed to, and to say a resounding YES to His call to repentance and acknowledging our need of a Saviour, as we open the door of our hearts to Jesus, the sinless Son of God, who took our place on a Roman cross, dying for our sins to save us from the power and penalty of sin. As the Bible says in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

WILL YOU SAY YES TO THE VOICE OF GOD CALLING YOU TODAY?

POSTSCRIPT: In case there is any ambiguity about our intentions concerning the vote for the upcoming referendum in Australia to determine whether there is to be an Indigenous Voice to the Parliament, we will unequivocally be voting NO to the divisive, racist, expensive and deceptive referendum.

THE CROSS HAS THE FINAL WORD

     In my previous blog post, "What Is Happening In Canberra," I sought to sound the alarm concerning the forced takeover of the Catholic-run Calvary Public Hospital by the Labor/Greens government of the Australian Capital Territory to become a totally secular institution. The Clare Holland Hospice, also a Catholic faith-based end-of-life care institution associated with the hospital was also in the government's crosshairs, and it too has been forcibly acquired by this totalitarian-style government. These actions have seen widespread alarm, and condemnation by, not only Christians, but many tens of thousands of citizens across the nation who have signed online petitions and who have written to politicians to voice their shock and disapproval of this unprecedented action in Australia.

    The above graphic photo shows the removal of the iconic blue cross from the front of Calvary Public Hospital in Canberra last Sunday, a day before the official start date for the government's control of these health services. Last week, even before the official takeover date, crosses were being systematically removed from inside the hospital and hospice displays. 

From the Daily Mail Australia article headed: "How this single photo of a crucifix being removed from a hospital by a crane has sparked outrage among Christians," Veteran Christian activist and National Director of the Family First Party, Lyle Shelton likened what he saw to the actions of Communist China. 

"The forced removal of the cross of Christ from a Christian-owned hospital compulsorily acquired by a hostile secularist government," he tweeted on Sunday.

    "These are the actions of a totalitarian regime, the likes of which exist in Beijing, not normally associated with Canberra. Time to wake up!"

Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocese Archbishop Christopher Prowse also described the removal of the hospital's main cross as the actions of a totalitarian authority.

"The very first thing a totalitarian government does, when it seizes Christian assets, the very first thing they all do...... they take down the crucifix," he said.

"And right now today, over at the public hospital - today is Sunday, of all days they picked is the Christian gathering time - they're taking the very big blue cross from outside the public hospital today.

"There was a collective wrenching going on, but there was a sense of hope because they realised you can take down our physical crucifixes (crosses) but you'll never take away the cross, Jesus's cross, inside my heart."

At the heart of this action by a Godless, evil overreaching secular government in Canberra, there is an ideological clash that sees the Catholic Church's caring, life-affirming Christian ethos as "problematic," with particular disregard for the hospital's refusal to carry out abortions on healthy babies in utero, and up to full term, and to consider the possibility of euthanasia, when this becomes a legal reality in the A.C.T., as is expected to be the case later this year.

The Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, a Catholic, at least in name, has smirked his way through a press conference, when asked about the takeover of the Calvary Hospital, saying he does not see this as being a precedent for similar actions in other jurisdictions. Does he have the power to overrule the actions of the A.C.T. Labor/Greens government led by Andrew Barr? Probably, but he is obviously happy to sit back and just let this evil action take place without even a hint of displeasure.

As each day passes in Australia, and in other western nations, it seems that the evil tide of oppression and repression of Christians and all that Bible-believing Christians stand for, is being eroded and spiritual darkness is increasing exponentially.

Is there hope that the light of the Gospel will shine through the darkness, and the evil tide be turned back from our nation, and other nations that seem to be succumbing to evil legislated by Godless leaders and their governments?

The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:34 "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."

Prophetically, Isaiah proclaimed some seven hundred years before Christ:

So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him" Isaiah 59:19

The reality is, that crosses have been removed from many churches also, with the erroneous logic that non-Christians will be more attracted to these churches if the crosses, that they may see as offensive are removed.

The cross of Christ is the central reality, though of God's loving provision for humanity - the means of reconciling sinful man to an all-loving merciful Father God, who longs for individuals and nations to find salvation and hope fulfilled in a world that offers nothing but hopelessness and promises unfulfilled.

The cross of Christ indeed has the final word for humanity. 

Contemporary Christian music group, Newsboys recorded a song several years ago, written by Cody Carnes, called "The Cross Has The Final Word."

Some of the lyrics are:

The cross has the final word

The cross has the final word

Sorrow may come in the darkest night

But the cross has the final word

The cross has the final word

The cross has the final word

Evil may put up its strongest fight

But the cross has the final word

The cross has the final word

The cross has the final word

The saviour has come with the morning light

The cross has the final word

There's nothing stronger, nothing higher

Nothing greater that the Name of Jesus

All the honour, all the power

All the glory to the Name of Jesus

A Senate Inquiry into the forced takeover of Calvary Public Hospital in Canberra is being held later this month. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this parliamentary inquiry, but whatever the outcome, it is clear that this is not a time for Christians to be silent in the face of opposition, but to 

:Arise, shine;

For your light has come!

And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,

And deep darkness the people;

But the LORD will arise over you

And His glory will be seen upon you.

AUSTRALIA! GET READY! REVIVAL IS COMING!

 

 During this last month, I have had 414 hits on my latest blog "WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CANBERRA" from Singapore. I am encouraged by this number, because this is an unusually high number for any of my blogs - from one country.

There has not been one singular comment by anyone, so I am wondering if this STAT is an accurate one. Also, most of the hits are on Android devices only as well.

I would be grateful if someone in Singapore who has seen my blog could confirm by comment that these are real people who have viewed my blog. Again, if these stats are real, I am greatly encouraged and my wife and I will pray for the nation of Singapore. God Bless!

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CANBERRA?

For those readers of this blog who live outside of Australia, you may or may not know that Canberra is the nation's capital, the seat of the Federal government, situated in an area of New South Wales known as the Australian Capital Territory. Canberra is southwest of Sydney, Australia's largest city (hmm! Or is it Melbourne now?) some 247 km. or 153 miles - as the crow flies. Driving distance is around 289.5 km. or 188 miles.

Each of Australia's six states and two territories are governed by democratically elected governments, with the state leaders being called Premiers and the two territories, Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory being led by Chief Ministers. 

As of this year, all six states except Tasmania are governed by the Australian Labor Party, as well as both territories. Tasmania is currently governed by the other major political party in Australia, the Liberal Party.

As a democracy, until now, generally, governments in Australia have respected private ownership laws, and have welcomed private ownership of lands and institutions by individuals and religious and other community organizations - in relation to health facilities, schools, clubs, sporting facilities etc.

Many of these organizations have received some government funding, but by and large, without strings attached, respecting the institution's autonomy.

In recent weeks, a most disturbing development has occurred in the nation's capital, with the revelation that the six-term Labor/Greens government of the A.C.T. have rushed through legislation in the parliament to forceably acquire one of the two major public hospitals in Canberra, the Catholic-owned and operated Calvary Hospital in the northern suburb of Bruce in Canberra. This is taking place without proper consultation with the Catholic Church and the hospital's management. 

Last week, the Catholic Church sought an injunction in the Supreme Court in Canberra to halt the proceedings of the government to continue with the planned takeover of this major hospital in what has been described as a "Communist-style" government intervention, akin to actions that may have been taken by Communist governments in the past in the USSR and China, for example. Sadly, the Supreme Court sided with the territory government, and dismissed the hospital's submission to the court.

This action is totally alien and abhorrent to probably the vast majority of Australian citizens, whether Christian or not. 

There seems to be a consensus amongst those who have serious concerns for this action that, this is an attack against Christian values and beliefs. The government has, in fact, stated that they have seen the hospital's religious framework as problematic. It seems to be generally conceded that this "problematic" concern is in relation to the Christian ethos that forbids the deliberate destruction of human life through abortion - even up to birth, and euthanasia, the planned killing of people because of terminal illness, or other reasons.

Residents of Canberra who have personally experienced treatment and care at both hospitals have overwhelmingly stated that Calvary Hospital outshines its government counterpart, The Canberra Hospital. There are obvious concerns, well-founded that a government takeover of Calvary Hospital will see its standards of care and administration be reduced in quality.

This unprecedented draconian action of the Labor/Greens government in the Australian Capital Territory is, as stated before, most disturbing, not only for the future of Calvary Hospital, but as a precedent that may well see further forced acquisiton of private properties by this government, as well as emboldening other state governments, and local governments, and even the Federal Labor government - of faith-based institutions and other lands and facilities - by acts of parliament or council rubber-stamping.

Jesus said in John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." 

Many, even in secular media, are seeing this action by the government as an act of stealing of faith-based private property.

Increasingly, not only in Australia, but around the world, there is a clear sense that evil is increasing - the darkness is getting darker, governments are enacting legislation that is diabolical in its ramifications, promoting a culture of death, and debauchery. It is not unreasonable or unrealistic to extrapolate what is happening in Canberra to similar actions that will take place in other jurisdictions across the nation.

Back in 2008, the then Victorian Health Minister, Daniel Andrews introduced legislation to the state parliament to radically open the way for abortion on demand to be legally available in that state. Emboldened by this evil action, most other states followed, with the result that, today something in the order of 80,000-100,000 precious Australian babies, otherwise healthy are murdered through abortion, some up to birth, and a number even delivered full-term and left on cold metal trays to die- an action that no veterinary surgeon would allow for a baby animal to suffer.

Over 40.000 people have signed a petition against the ACT government's reprehensible forced takeover of Calvary Hospital, without consultation.

Sadly, the major opposition political parties in Australia, the Liberal Party and the National Party, in recent years, have lurched somewhat to the left of politics, away from their conservative roots, which generally upheld Biblical Christian values. Today, they are very much like their Labor opponents in politics in denying the very values upon which the nation of Australia was built. 

The Bible says in Isaiah 59:19 When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. Not only in Canberra, but across the nation, legislation attacking the right to life, upholding the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman, gender-bending deviant ideology being presented to young impressionable children, and medical intervention, once never even imagined, to seek to transition children of one sex to the other, through such devilish devices as puberty blocking drugs, and radical surgical procedures on genitals and female breasts - surgery which can only be described as butchery - is passing, with seemingly not a twinge of conscience from the members of parliament responsible for such abominable legislation.

As a committed Christian, who is unashamedly determined to stand up uncompromisingly for Biblical truth and values, I am convinced more than ever that the answers we need for the future prosperity in our nation do not lie in putting our trust in government. JESUS IS THE ANSWER! He is the way, the truth and the life.

While it may not be popular today to be a Bible-believing Christian, I truly believe, as the Children's ministry leader in a church we attended for some years stated continually to the children under his care: God's way is the best way!

It is time like never before for the Church of Jesus Christ to: ARISE AND SHINE, FOR YOUR LIGHT HAS COME, AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD HAS RISEN UPON YOU. Isaiah 60:1

JESUS IS LORD!!

CHASING MY "ON-AIR" DREAM 

(Continued)

    During my early years at Radio Rhema in Christchurch, the station staff were blessed by Holy Spirit -inspired letters and cards of encouragement sent to specific staff members as she felt led, by a young Christian teacher, named Tessa Dowers. These always contained Bible verses, which the recipient always was amazed that they spoke to their heart cry to the Lord at that time.

Tessa had been faithfully attending a Church of Christ church for some time, but one Sunday, she sensed the Lord leading her to attend a local Pentecostal church, where I was in fellowship, and involved in the worship team as a drummer and worship leader. 

    The Sunday evening service she attended for the first time saw me playing drums for the worship songs. Tessa came up to me on the drums and introduced herself. The Holy Spirit had led her to come to this church at this time, because He knew that we were both being called to become not just close friends, but after some months to become man and wife. We were married in June,1986. 

    Without going into detail, let me say that the door to ministry as an announcer at Radio Rhema in New Zealand was closing for me, and we prayed and sensed that the Lord was leading us to move back to Australia.

    I applied for announcer positions to three Christian radio stations in Australia, two in Tasmania, and the third in Perth, Western Australia. Both Tasmanian stations replied with offers of fulltime positions, and the station in Perth replied saying that they did not believe I could offer anything they could not find locally - which was fair enough.

    In May, 1988, Tessa and I, together with our baby daughter, moved to Launceston in northern Tasmania where I was on air for three years at Launceston's 7WAY FM, the local Christian radio station.

    We found this time to be quite a difficult time, financially, as we were living by faith, but God was faithful to provide for our needs. We were blessed on several occasions when the station manager, Kevin Hooper knocked on our front door, to give to us an amount of $1,000 anonymously given to several staff members.

    In 1991, we both felt in God that the time for me to leave WAY FM had come. I was personally feeling frustrated, and believed the Lord was leading us on from there.

    Apart from the ten years spent in Christian radio in New Zealand and Tasmania, I have had the opportunity of being on air regularly on community stations in Lismore and Sydney, New South Wales, and since 2000, when we moved to Hobart, Tasmania - on Huon and Kingston FM, based in Geeveston in the Huon Valley, south of Hobart and in more recent years, also at TASMAN FM, in Nubeena, in the Tasman Peninsular, down Port Arthur way. Both these community stations are happy to have Christian programming, for which we are very grateful, as many community radio stations across the nation have zero Christian programming.

    Community radio certainly provides opportunity for programs and presenters who would not be considered worthy of broadcast on most commercial and government-run stations. I read recently that in any given month, approximately seven million Australians listen to community radio.

    Thanks to modern media communication technology, most radio stations stream their programs online on the internet, as well as through traditional AM and FM radio broadcasting, which, of course means that the programming can potentially be heard around the world. I am greatly encouraged to have some regular listeners to my programs in other parts of Australia, and sometimes in New Zealand ( that I know of).

    Under the direction of Richard Berry who pioneered Christian radio in New Zealand, and his protege, Hal Short, Radio Rhema expanded from one AM station in Christchurch in 1978, to three radio networks across the nation today, as well as a television network.

United Christian Broadcasters (UCB), which grew out of Radio Rhema, has now spread across the globe with radio stations in Australia - notably Vision Christian Media, which includes Vision Christian Radio broadcasting to around 800 big cities, towns, and small villages in every state and territory 24/7, with a youth station Vision 180 online - with UCB stations also in Asia, Britain, South Africa, the USA and Canada

Greg Newman, who was Best Man at our wedding in Christchurch in 1986, after spending several decades in commercial radio on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, is now fulltime announcing with the Vision Radio Network based in Brisbane and broadcasting the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ across the nation of Australia.

To listen to Vision Christian Radio online, go to: www.vision.org.au

HAPPY LISTENING! God Bless.

CHASING MY "ON-AIR" DREAM 

    When Greg Newman came to 4GG (pronounced Double G) on the Gold Coast, someone told me that he was a committed Christian. I contacted him and we soon became good friends.

    One day, while working at my father's shop in Surfers Paradise, I received a phone call from the program manager of a commercial radio station at Kempsey on the New South Wales mid-north coast. He had heard from another Christian friend, Don Gillespie, also from the Gold Coast, but at that time working in Christian media in Sydney - that I was seeking to break into radio. This program manager was a Christian and was hoping to hire more Christians for the staff of what was otherwise a secular commercial radio station

    He contacted Greg Newman the same day, encouraging us both to send tapes of our announcing. With Greg's help, I recorded an 'air-check' tape in the production studio of 4GG, and the two of us drove down to Kempsey to 2KM, to meet this man personally.

    I was SO EXCITED! I was sure this was the break I had been waiting (and praying) for. After all, when would a secular commercial radio station normally contact someone unknown to them with the possibility of a job offer? This has to be it, I thought.

    The program manager took us both into one of the studios not being used at that time, and proceeded to thread my tape on the reel to reel tape recorder. He played it through the large studio monitor speakers. After a short time, he stopped it, rewound it and said nothing. After a pause, he asked for Greg's tape. After listening to Greg's tape, he asked him if he would like to take up a position with them. Greg declined, as he really wanted to stay on the Gold Coast.

    About two weeks later, I received a letter from the program manager, bluntly telling me he thought I had a major speech problem. I felt DEFLATED, to say the least.

    Did I ever realise my dream?

   I am happy to say YES! When I applied to join Radio Rhema in New Zealand in 1980, they had been on air for more than two years. Initially, they too rejected my application to be an announcer, stating that they were potentially a network station, and did not consider my announcing to meet their standard. They did, however, offer me a full-time off air position.

    Backtracking a little, between the completion of the "AIR-TV" broadcasting course I had undertaken in Brisbane in 1978 - and July of 1981, I had gained some on air experience at two community FM stations in Lismore, in the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, and also at 2SER-FM, Sydney, where I did a Sunday evening shift while studying at a Bible college in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

    Although I was disappointed at first that Radio Rhema did not offer me an announcer position, after praying for direction, and receiving encouragement from Pastor Alun Davies, one of the lecturers at Commonwealth Bible College in Katoomba, where I undertook a third year of study in 1980 - I accepted their offer and took up my position in Christchurch in July 1981.

    For the first eighteen months at Radio Rhema, I was employed as a "studio operator," my main role being "carting" music. For those unfamiliar with the workings of radio stations of that ere, this meant recording song tracks from vinyl records onto cartridge tapes for airplay using specially designed studio cart machines.

    I also had to load the carts with tape initially, transferring tape from large "pancake reels," to individual cartridge cases facilitate recording of tracks of varying lengths. This work was carried out overnight with me working from around 9pm to 6am the next morning, as the studio was used for program editing during the day. Mostly, I enjoyed this work, as I had the satisfaction of knowing that I was helping the station to transition the use of carts on air, a more practical means of presenting music on air than the tedious task of having to cue every music track on record turntables.

    With some help of a professional speech and drama teacher, and lots of practice, and with God's working, after eighteen months, the station manager made a decision to give me some 'on-air' shifts. Towards the end of the eighteen months, I was getting a little disillusioned, and losing heart that I might ever be allowed on air. Thankfully, the encouragement from other announcers helped me to keep the vision alive of being on air, and with their encouragement, I made another demo tape of my announcing. The station manager, Dudley Scantlebury was impressed enough with the improvement in my speech to offer me some on air music shifts, for which I was extremely grateful. I believe God honoured my faithfulness in working at nights on my own, and seeking to do a good job in the area in which I was employed for those first eighteen months.

    For the next five years at Radio Rhema, I was on air five, and sometimes six shifts per week, with the network starting to grow with the establishment of relay stations at Nelson, and the nation's capital, Wellington. At times, there were also short term broadcasts to Auckland, New Zealand's largest city - in the North Island, and also Invercargill, in the far south of the South Island.

    One of the highlights for me during that time on air was the privilege I had of presenting a weekly song request program on Saturday evenings for prisoners and their families, reaching into a number of prisons in Christchurch and Auckland.

    The program, called "Someone Cares" was initially hosted by a well-loved older lady announcer, Anita Wilkinson, with support from Prison Fellowship Ministry in Christchurch.

    When Anita was unable to continue, I had the opportunity to become the regular host, linking prison inmates and their families on the radio with song requests and greetings received at the station by letter.

    My dream to become a commercial radio announcer was never realised, but I believed that God placed that desire in my heart originally because He knew that one day the door would open to radio in His service.

COMING UP NEXT: THEN and NOW