Crestwood Church

All the help we can get

2009-04-08T16:03:00.000+01:00

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. Romans 8:26

Pray is one of the essential Christian lifelines and yet it is so often neglected. This may be for a number of reasons but includes, laziness, time management, busy social lives and not knowing what to pray for.
The great thing is that God in his infinite wisdom already perceived this need with the believer and has given us help and instruction through his word. Leaving us with no excuses. This isn’t because God wants to come across as the great disciplinarian, but rather he knows the impact of a regular and powerful prayer time.
Jesus himself always made time to pray, no matter what kind of a day he had had or was going to have. As man incarnate he needed that connection with the Father to bless him, uplift him and empower him.
Here Paul through the inspiration of God reveals that all believers are weak, and clearly one of these weaknesses is in relation to pray.

Isn’t is reassuring that when we don’t know what to pray for the Holy Spirit prays for us so that we have an opportunity to hear the Holy Spirit working through us to teach us and motivate us to pray and overcome the problems we face.
The original word for the Holy Spirit “helps” is to aid or assist. God is not wanting to take over but to share the burden with us. Those of us who have children or grandchildren know that when a child comes for help, it is much better to work with them than to do it all for them, mainly so that they learn and grow up, knowing how. God our father works with us in a similar way.

Often we can pray, but we can pray inappropriately, outside of the will of God. This is why we need his leadings from within us to prompt us of the right kind of prayers to pray. We don’t know what God wants us to pray, but God does. We must be careful to come before the Almighty with prepared hearts full of the truth through the saturation of his word.
When we are weak, or we feel that we are burdened or that our prayers seem unanswered the Spirit of God speaks into our spirit the peace and strength of God, which may not be at that time all that we have prayed for, but gives us strength for another day. It lifts us and keeps us. Don’t try and explain it, you can’t express it, just be thankful that God is there.

Why Baptism?

2009-03-11T09:02:00.000Z

“For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on the character of Christ, like putting on new clothes.” Gal 3:26-27

There are only two set ordinances that the Lord through the bible urges the believer to practice in. Other than reading your bible, prayer, worship etc, communion (or breaking of bread) is one, the other is Baptism.
Baptism comes from the word “baptizo” which means to dye or to cover. It was used in the textile world as a term to change the colour of a garment. A piece of cloth was baptised in a particular colour and it took on a new form from then on.
The symbolism of baptism comes from this point and is probably why this word was used in the church and by Jesus.
It is not a means of salvation, the bible is very clear that a person must first believe and repent, and it is therefore an act only a believer should participate in.
The main reason for baptism is to declare your allegiance to Christ, by being baptised you are identifying yourself with Christ. As it says in this weeks verse, we are united with him.
Baptism is a symbol of the new life that we have in Christ, we once were clothed in self, now we are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. We put on new clothes.
When we participate in baptism we go into the water, we go under the water, and we come back up again.
This symbolises that sin has been dealt with. We have declared that we are sinners by needing washing, we have buried our sin by going under with it and we rise up again clean in Christ having left our sin behind us.

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Romans 6:4

As we share with Christ in his sufferings and death we will also share with him in Glory.

On March 29th we are holding a Baptism for Crestwood Church at Hanbury Hill Baptist Church in Stourbridge. If any one is thinking about Baptism or would like to know more about it, please speak with one of the elders.

God stands for us

2009-03-06T08:46:00.002Z

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. Romans 3:23-24

Bishop Moule wrote

“The harlot, the liar, the murderer, are short of it but so are you. Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine, and you on the crest of the Alps; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they are."

(referring to God’s Glory):

And yet to us, God DECLARES we are righteous.
The word righteous is justifies, which is a term used in court and it is one of the verdict that God will declare over every human being that has walked this world from Adam to the last child born at his appearing.
If justified is to be innocent, then condemnation would be the verdict of those that are guilty.
To be justified means so much more than just pardoned, it is a part of it, just as to be condemned is more than just being guilty. The verdict that God makes also contains the sentence. To be condemned is not just being found out, it is to live a life forever out of the presence of God. On the opposite extreme to be justified means to be pardoned, yes, but also forgiven, restored, and to inherit all that meeting God’s standard entails.

The hymn writer wrote

“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!” Thomas O. Chisholm

This includes heaven the presence of God and all the blessings that go with that.
Justification is also a forensic term, which links this amazing truth to us that not only do we look righteous on the outside, but also on in the inside. Christ was the spotless Lamb, without wrinkle spot or blemish. Through faith we also are accepted and declared by God to be the same.
It is so easy to simplify words so that they become easy to understand but by over simplifying we lose the impact of our inheritance and what Christ has won for us at the cross.
It is because of Christ’s grace that we have received such divine intervention, we could spend a billion years improving and still never meet the lowest aspect of the glory of God. (if he has one)
If God has declared it, we may not look like it, live it or feel it, but there is one thing that remains true, on the day of God’s judgement we will be justified. We will stand with Christ in a life time that never ends

Tell it out

2009-02-19T16:29:00.000Z

This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. Romans 1:1-2

What is your mission in life? What is your purpose? If we know what are purpose is, it makes achieving it much more of a possibility. Here Paul declares his mission, and he goes on to live the rest of his life achieving and fulfilling it. Many people today are not content with life and fill that emptiness with many other pursuits and lifestyle. Sport, shopping etc, but when we know what it is that we are alive for, our lives become consumed with the passion of achieving it. How much more is this true in the work and service of God. If like Paul we are chosen to do something then doing it becomes the most fulfilling and exciting part of our short lives.
We are not all asked to be Apostle Paul’s, in fact Paul and his mission was unique for the foundation of the church and that generation. However there are lessons we can learn from him found in these verses and aspects that should be part of all of the mission that our life is made for.
Paul was sent out, called to do a task, therefore an action is required, and equally so is obedience. If Paul had stayed in Antioch where he was living and ignored the call of God to go, where would the church be today?
By going he achieved the greatest step of faith. Often the biggest step can be the first one. He was the answer to the cry of many hundreds of years before him. God had promised his people years before that the good news that Paul would bring would be given and here is the evidence.
But he had to be sent and he had to do it God’s way, it had to be God’s message, it wasn't Paul’s idea of good news, it was good news from God. It says THIS good news, there has been and will continue to be good news from time to time received by many around the world, but not this news. This news is life changing and available to everyone. This news is the news that should constantly be on our lips no matter what our calling in life is. The Good News is the message of the cross and the person of the Lord Jesus. Like Paul we are encouraged to “go” and preach this gospel (Matthew 28)
How we do it, is a specific thing to us or the church. Paul was sent to preach to the Gentiles across Europe. He was chosen for this task, your chosen task may be in preaching, teaching, helping, encouraging, resourcing and many other ways, but together we are all part of this great plan of God. There are many people in our lives and living on our estate that are waiting to here, see or feel this good news reach into their vicinity, it is up to us to make sure they get an opportunity to receive it. If we had a cure for one of today’s great needs, we would tell the world

Miles Apart

2009-02-10T23:39:00.003Z

This year is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth. Whatever our views of Darwin's theory, it is fair to say that he was a remarkable man. His ideas separate the very beliefs that humanity holds.
Some believe that he has discovered the truth about man’s existence and with it destroyed the idea that there is a God. Others believe that he has deluded the world with a theory that is false and as a result has taken the eyes of the world from the real creator of the universe.

If there is no God? Then humanists and atheists are right in their assumptions, that we should live for today as today is all that we have; with this view there is no future outside of our three score and ten yearsBut they are completely wrong in their idea that no God leads to happiness. In our civilized 21st century world, with all its latest technology, development and embracing of evolutionary theory, we don’t enjoy our lives and we are never satisfied? Suicide, drug abuse, alcoholism, family breakdowns, crime are all on the increase in the UK and have been since we accepted these humanistic teachings. Despair, loneliness, stress, pain and anxiety amongst many other emotions, fill the lives of our nation. The sad truth is, that if there is no God then we should be more concerned and worried because mankind has no hope of rising above the despair that he has got himself into. The other debate about this first view is what actually is enjoyment? Is enjoying life, drunkenness and revelry, spending until debt consumes our life? Is it doing whatever we want as long as it’s alright for me? Sadly this is the way the morality of our country is going.
If there is a God? Then there is another way. Worry, fear, pain and emptiness that eats away at so many of us has an answer. That answer is found in God, the giver of life. Evolution teaches that life is here by chance, without purpose, without reason and without help for our problems. Belief in a Creator God teaches us that there is one that cares, one that made us out of love. Everything he made has a purpose, a reason and a hope.
The answer to most of the whys that we ask ourselves are found in having a relationship with God. It is only when we know God personally that life and the ability to live it, as the Creator intended us to, makes any sense.

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires.” Romans 1

We are what we are, because we have rejected God.
If denying God and living without God has bought about our separation from him, then believing God and worshipping him brings us back into a relationship with him.
This is true but not so simple. Our separation from God made us at enmity with him. There is a barrier that divides man from an eternal, holy God. The bible teaches that God sent Christ (Jesus) as a mediator between us and the Father.

“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.” The Bible

He sent Christ to set you free to be the person he made you to be and through faith has given you freedom to live, the right way. No God means we are on our own, we die, that’s it. With God means life, future, hope, living, it also means judgement if we reject him.
Don’t fall for the lies of this present age, but look to God and see him in creation, his Word and in the lives of millions across the world, know him for yourself, just ask him, call upon him and he will answer.

Imagine

2009-01-26T16:18:00.000Z

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

Isaiah 55:8
In the sixties there were a lot of movements, looking and thinking at life in a better way. This has always gone on since civilisation of the human race began, but in many respects was epitomized in the pop culture of its time. One song Imagine by John Lennon which is today still one of the most popular songs of all time clearly describes man’s idealistic society. Lyrics such as “Imagine there's no Heaven, It's easy if you try, No hell below us, Above us only sky. Imagine there's no countries, It isn't hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the people, Living life in peace”
It all sounds wonderful, but an utopia is unachievable with mankind. You might ask, “where is my foundation for such a negative statement”, you only have to look at the Garden of God, a place where man was given a paradise of perfection, without endless boundaries, and yet in Eden, man still wanted more. Yes it would be great to imagine a world without wars, and political boundaries and with only one religion, that people followed. Isn’t this only achievable with God and not without him. If there is no hell, or heaven and no God, where does man get his help from...He doesn't’!, Without the thoughts and ways of God there is never any sense made of this sinful fallen world that we live in. There is no authority or higher law that tells us we are wrong, what is right and wrong anyway? It is what is right and wrong in our own eyes. We are all so different and struggle to make simple agreements on the most basis of subjects, can we ever expect man to decide what is right and what is not.?
Our greatest imaginations are lost with our inabilities to perceive and understand the life that we have been given. Without God to develop and grow that understanding and make sense of this life, we make up our own ideas which have failed us many times over.
Those that desire to go down the road of believing in the non existence of God, hell, sin etc, are the humanistic thinkers who believe that we will eventually evolve into higher beings. The evidence of the past 6000 years is that whatever developments or advancements of technology we have made, the understanding of life, social, spiritual and moral aspects of the human mind, have not developed in the way that was perceived. Without God, we will have to keep imagining, but sadly we will never find a way that works on our own. The good news is that with him we can reached a true “utopia”

I will build my Church

2009-01-26T16:15:00.000Z

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. NKJV Matt 16:18

This is one of the most famous verses for the church in the bible and yet we often miss its meaning.
The first observation is that Jesus is not saying that Peter himself is the Rock on which he is building his church to elevate Peter, but to simply say that Peter has been proved to be right and trustworthy for the task. The Roman Catholic church have used this verse to elevate Peter above all the apostles and build a doctrine on it, this was never Christ’s intention or thinking.
The next part of the verse gives the reason why, it is Christ himself who will build his church, not Peter, Paul or anyone else.
Peter was certainly the one to be used to lay the first foundation as he preached faithfully in Jerusalem, but everything about the church was from God. Jesus himself, the Holy Spirit, the doctrine and teaching and last but not least salvation can only come through these gifts from heaven.
This leads to the second observation, it is Christ who builds his church and not us. As much as we plan programs, events and services, we have to remember that without prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, true growth will never occur. As we prepare for a season of evangelism, whether is be Crestwood or the work on Lakeside, let us remember what our role is. Ours is to be the workforce, the Lord is the one to make it happen and ultimately to receive the glory. Remember because it is his Church, he loves her with everything he has, and has no intention of damaging or destroying that which he has built.
The last observation is simply to look at the action of the church, here the church is seen not in a defensive mode as often portrayed but in an offensive, attacking formation. The gates of hell will not prevail. In other words, the power of the church will be stronger than the power of hell. The gates are its defence and the church that is built by Christ has the authority and power to break down the gates of hell and rescue those that are been drawn towards it. This is a fresh way of thinking, but it is a biblical way, the church instead of loosing lives to Satan, is storming the gates of hell and dragging people away from the pit of hell. No wonder Paul goes on to say that we are in a spiritual battle. How often are we storming hell, or are we just defending our castle.

God's Pharmacy !!!

2009-01-22T08:03:00.001Z

Something a bit different

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex.
We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium.
If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Eggplant, Avocados and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs.
Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers.
And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit.
There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and balance the glycaemia index of diabetics.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
Grapefruits, Oranges , and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the
breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells.
They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

Whatever our thoughts– God is an amazing creator

YOU and GOD are enough

2009-01-10T09:11:00.000Z

Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” Judges 6:14

There are two things here which I want to reinforce from last Sunday morning.
Crestwood has been independent for two and a half years, we have seen much growth, numerically and we give thanks and all the glory to God. Who has blessed us way beyond our expectations, but hasn’t he promised us, if we trust him and pray he would. (Ephesians 3:14-20) But what about each of us individually?
Are we stronger now than we were a year ago. Have we learnt from the past, are we still totally dependant on others, or are where we are strong in the Lord’s strength with the church to support us.
This is the model that God wants us to have. We can’t do without the church to empower us as we are a vital resource for each other, but more importantly we can’t do without direct strength that comes from waiting and leaning upon the Lord (Isaiah 40:31).
The strength that you need is already within you, just as God was sharing into the life of Gideon, the big question is do we believe it and do we know where to look for it?
The important words in this verse are the last four. “I am sending you” it is not the church on its own sending you, it is not your personal ambition sending you, it is the magnificent king of heaven who is sending you. He believes in you, he knows you and he wants you to be successful.
It is time that we all realise that God is not looking for a single person or persons to lead us, but individuals that make up a mighty army who can take this area by storm. Yes we need leaders, but we also need faithful servants of Christ to carry out the spiritual battles that we face daily.
Can I use this opportunity at the beginning of a New Year to encourage you to remember your quiet times. How much time you spend in the day with Christ has a parallel effect of how much you know him, know who you are and are strengthened to do whatever it is that God sends you to do. If we don’t spend time praying and reading his word, we have less opportunity for God to speak into our lives, strength, power and encouragement, don’t cut off your lifeline.

Do we need training?

2009-01-03T21:47:00.000Z

... to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ Eph 4:12

In our modern western world there is a massive emphasis put on education and training. Developing people through schools and colleges and in the work place so that they each may be better suited to achieve the tasks or opportunity that arise in their chosen profession or general lives.
How much more should we individually and collectively be trained “to do his work and build up the church”. The word equip, comes from a word which is to fit more correctly. When you go to the tailors, he adjusts and measures the suit so that when it is ready to be worn it fits exactly as it can, in the same way as a bride preparing herself for her wedding goes to a bridal shop for fitting.
Are we the best that we can be for works of service for our Lord or can we develop through Christ and the body of the church, so that we can be more effective for carrying out his plans.
The work of the church is three fold, it is reaching out (evangelism), reaching upwards (Worship) and developing from within. (Training).

There are a few barriers to the third stream of church:-
1– The church does not provide the necessary training so that individuals can grow. This can be down to inexperience or lack of willingness to do so.
2– Leaders are focused on other things that they see are more important.
3– Individual believers in the church don’t see that they need training.
4– Individual believers have no desire to grow and develop any further, that they are happy in what they already are.

These are all honest and genuine reasons that I have heard and seen over the years, in churches I have attended or been involved in.
Brothers and sisters, let us as a leadership, not forsake our responsibilities, and as individual children of God not think that we are above development and training. I include the eldership or any other believer. We must become more open to be tailored into the people that God wants us to be, than we want to become ourselves. So that we can measure up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Outside the camp

2008-12-06T22:57:00.001Z

So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. Heb 13:12-13

As we approach Christmas we are reminded of the beautiful scene of angels, shepherds, wise men and innkeepers. All are an important and a major part of the nativity story. However the part of the story which is the most important, the glue as it were, that holds it all together is often ignored. Our materialistic world, don’t want to see a baby in a manger who grew up to...die. It doesn’t fit in with this politically correct world. Now the true story of Christmas is at best watered down but mainly ignored. If we leave Jesus the Saviour out of Christmas what is there left. The rescue plan of God meant that Jesus had to die on a cross outside the city walls. He was made a public spectacle of, for the world to sneer at and deride. He was cursed on a cross, and knew the rejection of man and the awesome hatred of those he created. Because he suffered and died and conquered sin, we live, we have a life both now and in eternity. If Christmas is all about a Saviour who has come into the world and redeemed it through the shedding of his blood what is a Christian in relation to this world?
It is about being one who is connected with Christ at every level. Not just the pleasant parts, but the tough ones also. The world hates Christ it will also hate you. If we are truly living for him, the world will disown us and despise what we do. They will take the bits of our Christianity that they like and reject the rest. In the UK the sad truth is that this is often the same for the believer. We will do what benefits us, but when it means getting our hands dirty, or sticking our necks out, we give in. The writer to the Hebrews, exhorts us to “go out to him, outside the camp” It means leaving this world and what it stands for, what it believers, what it cares about, what makes it tick and get out and represent him...Christ. Carrying the cross of Christ and being associated with him, even if it means the kind of rejection our Lord had. It is easy to serve the Lord in the church, it is easy in our Christian families, but on the other side, outside the protection of the camp, is where our faith is made real. If Jesus had stayed in the camp, we would never have known salvation, the message is the same today, if we stay in our cosy camp those outside will never know salvation.

Only God is good

2008-11-29T21:03:00.002Z

“No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” Romans 3:10-12

In the United and States and some of the large UK cities there has been a major push by the Humanist society. This latest push is a deliberate attack to bring down Christmas and more importantly to destroy the message of the church.

Their main advert is “Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness sake”

Sadly those behind this type of message have not thought it through. It is often claimed that there are many super intelligent who have grasped Christianity, but it is equally true that there are many that also cling to Atheism. This kind of message devalues and undermines their intelligence. If there is no absolute authority, how do we measure good or bad. Isn’t good only a measure of something that is right and pure. And isn’t our understanding of what is bad only comparable with something that is good.

In the book of judges, there is a rejection of authority and constantly the phrase, “they only did what was right in their own eyes” occurs, and the country of Israel was in turmoil. Without laws, rules or authority, anarchy rules. Without God where would we get our authority from, who is to say that anyone is better than anyone else.

When God sat down and looked across his creation, he marvelled and declared this is “very good” man pleased him and brought him delight. Creation was good, but man was set apart as very good. Since man chose to listen to his own desires and the lies of the serpent, man has not only become separated from God, but instead of being very good has become useless...evil, fit for the fire. Useless because they are not able to be the person that they were created to be. If you buy an object for a particular task and it is unable to do the job, it is declared useless.

We have two can openers in our house, the other day the good one broke, that became useless, unusable, it would never in a month of Sunday’s open a can. The other opener when you try to use it mangles a can and you have to almost saw the can apart to open in, it is almost useless, but at least it does...eventually, what it is meant to do. We don’t even mangle our way to achievement, we have all failed our purpose of living out a relationship with God.

We can’t just be good unless God makes us new and rebirths in us the person of the Holy Spirit.

Is God male or female?

2008-11-21T20:36:00.003Z

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

The world has debated for centuries questions such as this and it is not my intension to expand this subject to its limits, but to look at a few things that, is God. God in his very nature is beyond our comprehension and the second we try to understand him, we end up seeing him through the eyes of a human and by doing this down size him into something that he is not. God cannot be measured, he can not be quantified, we will never describe him fully he was not created, he just is and has always been. This verse intrigues me, as it says that we are made in his image, both male and female he created them. We are both like God, man is not more and woman is not less. So what is God? Obviously all the scriptures in the bible refer to him as being male, He did this and He said that.

The early church struggled with the same question and the best answer found is that the Greek language uses the masculine as a default and therefore God is called a "he" since He is a Spirit and is genderless (just as the angels and other spiritual beings). It would have been improper to use the word "it" since God is a person, or "she " since it would have made God a female ( a Goddess). The personal pronoun "he" is the only one that can be used without creating theological problems. God is Lord, the alpha and omega, has always been and will be everlasting. Since God is our creator, creator of man, woman and all earthly creatures great and small, therefore void of being descriptive into being either man or woman. He is neither male nor female, but He is referred to as The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Through the identity of the first 2, He has the reference of a man, but our minds cannot comprehend who He is in His actuality. He is God, we are not. God chose to come into our world as a man and that is how he has been revealed to us. So if God is not limited to being male or female, but having attributes of his nature that include both, that brings us a different understanding of God. Male and female are different not just physically, but emotionally, physiologically and in their general being. The best and perfections of each of these are characteristics of God. He is Father, and a perfect one at that, but he has the tender hearted nature associated with a mother with her baby child at the same time. He can understand as a man in the same way as he can think as a woman may. This means there is no limit to God’s understanding. When we say that God doesn’t understand my situation the opposite is true. He understands far better than we can even imagine. No wonder the Holy Spirit is called counsellor it’s because he understands and has the power if we trust him to help us and deliver us from our limited understanding.

Believers- Do we need to work hard?

2008-11-08T11:26:00.001Z

Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards. Proverbs 12:14

There are two major aspects to our Christian walk which are often belittled or neglected and they are found in this proverb.

The writer Solomon can speak with authority of this subject not just because scripture is inspired by God (which in itself is enough) but also because he has proved it to be true. Solomon chose wisdom over everything else when asked by God, what he wanted (1 Kings 3) as a result he became one of the wealthiest and most powerful of people this planet has ever known, (from a physical perspective). He established a system of work that made Jerusalem and its temple and the other cities to thrive and encouraged hard, but fair work. As a result these years produced a peace that Israel has not known since.

When Solomon turned away from wisdom and became lazy, indulging in parties, banqueting and foreign wives, his kingdom was snatched from him and divided into two, and still has not recovered to this day.

Dear brothers and sisters, there are two sides to our faith, there is the part which God does, which is the only part that brings salvation and heaven, the part that changes us for eternity (justification) and there is our part which builds the relationship with God now while we exist on earth. (Sanctification) This is the part that can be threatened, because it depends on us and not God.

This part is all about our walk, our appreciation, our dependency and our personal holiness with God. This is epitomized by what we say and what we do.

If we say we love Him, but never want to serve him, what does that say about our relationship. If we speak out and gossip about our brothers and sisters in Christ what does that say about the family that we are a part of?

The one single thing that in our society that we cherish most, even more than money, is our time. The past few weeks there has been a mountain of activity and giving of time by so many of the church and as this verse states, it brings its rewards. We had more children at holiday club this year, the toddler groups are flourishing, Crestwood has never seen so many families on one night as we did on Friday (over 200 people came) and our youth and kids works are doing well.

Lets keep working hard, not just for each other, but for our Saviour who gave all for our salvation. Let’s keep finding ways to build each other up with love and strength , speaking wise words over each other and we will see the benefits.

The Plumb Line

2008-11-01T20:02:00.002Z

Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight.And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I answered, “A plumb line.”
And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. I wonder if God were to set a plumb line against your life, what results would he come back with? Amos 7:7-9

In verse 7, the prophet is describing a wall that was built with a plumb line. In other words it was built correctly.
(A plumb line has two purposes, 1– to test its depth and is usually used to measure depths of water, and 2– to test the straightness or trueness of a building or object. It is the latter that the Bible is referring to here. The cord with the bob on the end would be dangled down until it is stationary and the wall would be compared to the string or cord to measure its accuracy. Today we also use lasers or spirit levels, but plumb lines are still used in certain areas of engineering.)

Amos was writing directly about the Nation of Israel, he was commenting on the fact that they had wandered far from being true. The nation of Israel were formed correctly, they became a nation by the hand of God and he gave them a name by which to honour and serve– Jehovah. As time went on they drifted further and further away from their maker. Until the time when this prophecy was written when God was going to judge Israel for their lack of obedience and integrity.
Today we live in a fallen world, with people who were once made with a “plumb line” but as a people we have drifted away from God. If today was the day for God’s judgment where would we stand? The bible tells us that without Jesus in our lives, we are already condemned, because we have not believed in the Lord Jesus, the only man who is true.
Today is a day to recognise that individually we are sinners before the master architect. Compared to him God we are way out. In fact we are so far out of true that no distance imaginable, no matter where heaven is, could deceive God into believing that was are straight. The question is are we going to carry on, being way out of line, or are we going to seek God and ask him for his forgiveness. The wonder of being a Christian is not that we are perfect (far from it) but that God in his mercy, chooses to see us as being true, because we have believed on his Son, Jesus who was, is and will always be true. So when God gets his plumb line out you, does he measure you or does he see the trueness of Jesus.

Your will be done

2008-10-18T13:09:00.000+01:00

Pray like this: “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”.
Matt 6:9-10

We have just faced another week of financial indifference and unprecedented action from our government. This is not exclusive to the UK; most of the Western world is looking long and hard about making massive decisions to strengthen and stabilize their own economies. What is God saying to us? Is he saying anything at all? Are these events just part of what is? Or is there something important to look at from a spiritual angle perspective? It is easy to reject God’s hand in these situations, but what IF God’s hand is in this, in some way.

Our first thought is often, if God is in this, then he is judging us for our godless behaviour, our worldliness as a nation and our immorality and greed.
The one thing that keeps Britain proud today (apart from the Olympians march around London, which will soon be forgotten) is its economy, this has held Britain in good stead and may it into one of the powers of the world. Manufacturing has mainly gone, but our commerce is up there with the big boys. But is it really as simple as that, is it God’s timing to judge us? Have we asked him? We can be so quick to get on our knees and speak out to God asking him to release us from this uncertain time, when we haven’t asked him “is this your will, Almighty God”

What if, God is allowing this to happen not out of judgement, but out of grace. When we discipline our children, we are not judging them, we are chastising them, we are trying to put them back on the right course. Britain has gone majorly off course. Could this be God’s hand allowing people to see that their wealth is not enough to satisfy and fulfil their lives? If God takes away their false securities it exposes the holes and emptiness in our lifestyles that we are so proud of. It seems we have little left if we haven't got our wealth. Is Almighty God trying to bring Britain to its knees so that his grace may be poured into our brokenness.

As a church let’s see times like this as an opportunity for salvation and pray that his kingdom may come into the lives of many who are facing difficulty. That they may find security, hope and peace in that which counts and matters. Pray into his will, not that which seemingly gives us the greater benefits

Be refined

2008-10-11T22:42:00.002+01:00

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Revelation 3:15-18

It saddens me to see the state of the church in the UK as it is. Some local churches are more interested in advertising their Autumn Bazaar than preaching Christ, others are advertising seemingly safe occult practices, others are more content following in worshipping saints who have long gone to the grave. Some just don’t preach God’s word at all. We have to be so careful that we don’t get caught up in religion or methodology or ritual, so that we constantly keep our focus on the one that really counts: our Lord Jesus Christ
But are we individually or collectively much better. I hope so? John writing to the Laodicean church in Turkey uses some very strong language about a church in a very affluent area, who were content with their little world of “church”. They had put their fulfilment in what was in their pocket and bank account rather than in the one who had rescued them out of the pit of hell.

Just as important as the latter is keeping our perspective right with the way we find contentment with material things. Jesus' condemnation of the city's church for Luke warmness rebukes not their lack of fervour but their lack of effectiveness.
John throws back at the Laodicean’s the very thing that that makes them happy, their riches. They had made their wealth a mighty barrier to God, he came second or worse. Their vast wealth that could have been a vast strength to the expanding Church had become a hindrance.

At Crestwood let us keep seeking after God, keep allowing the Holy Spirit and his Holy Word to refine us and remind us the truth about ourselves.
We all live in days of financial uncertainty, we need to be good stewards of the wealth and possession that God has given us, but don’t use how much we have as a measure for your life. The Laodicean's did and God judged them for it, with some of the most detrimental words recorded in the bible to the church.

Some have very little in this world, but have a storehouse in heaven to give as an offering to Christ. Be those who are content in Christ first, if we are, we will be a greater asset for God’s kingdom.

The Potential is here.

2008-10-03T09:31:00.000+01:00

Then Zerubbabel...and Jeshua... the high priest, and the whole remnant of God’s people began to obey the message from the Lord their God. When they heard the words of the prophet Haggai, whom the Lord their God had sent, the people feared the Lord. Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the people this message from the Lord: “I am with you, says the Lord!” Haggai 1:12-13

This morning I was walking through a field of potatoes, waiting for harvesting. The leaves looked dead and rotten and there was no life visible in the leaves. Is this right, has it been a poor year, because of all the rain and little sunshine? No! this is part of the process of farming potatoes to allow the potato tuber to absorb the nutrient from the ground and not the leaves who had done their part.

We can look at the church and see things that aren’t to our liking, which appear unhealthy on the surface, but underneath there is a bumper harvest waiting to occur.

That which is hidden which is unseen is faith in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to leave our rottenness behind so that God’s goodness can speak the loudest. The problem is that so often we want to leave our leaves on show and God’s great harvest is left hidden.

This was the problem in Jerusalem, the people had forgotten about God’s temple and the things of God, they were too busy building their own homes. As a result they believed that God was not with them and that they were unable to carry out the work of God. These verses are the critical point in the book.

It simply says that the people “began to obey the message from the Lord their God and ...feared the Lord” The response from the Lord was, “ I am with you”

Oh that this would be true of Crestwood, that he could say of us, “I am with you”. The reality is, its already true. He is with us and is wanting to reveal a harvest through him. The reality is, we need to believe him, fear him and obey him. Today in church we still take what we want and leave the rest to one side. Often the bit we leave to one side is the best bit, because it is the part that God is seeking to give us. If we saw that field of potatoes, many of us would send in the plough to replant for a new crop next year. We would miss the great harvest. As a church let us see that the Lord is with us, and because of this fact, obey him and fear him, so that we may see a harvest in his church

A Praying Church

2008-09-25T14:55:00.002+01:00

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Phil 6:6

Three quotes on prayer:

Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden. Corrie Ten Boom

Work as if you were to live a hundred years, pray as if you were to die tomorrow. Benjamin Franklin

Nothing tends more to cement the hearts of Christians than praying together. Never do they love one another so well as when they witness the outpouring of each other's hearts in prayer. Charles Finney

How much do you pray a day? An hour, 30 minutes, five minutes, sometimes, never…

Pray is like an artery, it is the vital link to the heart if we remove the link we die.

Paul urges the church in Philippi to pray, not once in a blue moon, but all the time. In another version of the bible it says “pray without ceasing”. It doesn't mean you should never work, eat or watch TV, but be alert to prayer. If we believe that God is a a prayer answering God, how must God feel when we don’t pray. God is interested in everything that we do there is nothing too small or too big that He is not interested in. In fact if we believe what prayer is really about, we would never do anything without praying.

I don’t mean the basics about breathing or what we buy from Asda, but anything that needs guidance, council, direction etc. How often do we pray about our relationships, our work, our gifting, our service. When you are offended do you go to God, or do you react without his blessing. Don’t see prayer as an emergency escape plan, see it as everyday as breathing. It is not just for certain times or days but for every moment of each day. It is always sad to see prayer meetings neglected, or with low attendance, perhaps if we were more conditioned to pray individually that we would be more regular as a wider body. Practically we can’t get out to everything, but don’t let this stop you praying. If the time is not right for you, invite someone to your home so that you can pray together. It is not about where and when, it is about whether we do or don’t.

What Crestwood Church needs is to be a praying church, and not a prayer meeting church. If we prayed, really prayed, then prayer would become so real and so more purposeful that we would want to come and pray together more than anything else.

As Charles Finney quotes above, it’s here we build relationships and love for each other. It is also where kingdoms fall and the impossible is made possible. Be a praying church...

Prioritizing

2008-09-19T09:35:00.000+01:00

The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. Luke 8:14

This week has been seen by many analysts as one of the worst weeks in the money market for decades, even back to 1929 and the Wall Street Crash. Lehman brothers the forth largest investment bank in the world which had been trading for over 150 years suddenly is missing from the lists in the financial times. The buzz words of today are credit crunch, inflation and crisis. God through his word realises the concerns and difficulties we have with money. Did you know2350 verses are on the subject of money, of Jesus’ 45 parables, 38 talk about how to handle our money, wealth and possession. Over 15% of Jesus teaching is on the subject. For Christians who teach that money is not worth mentioning they are delusional and not in touch with the Saviour. However when you take into account all the verses of the bible you are left with two lines of thought.

1– Putting your money first before God will ruin you spiritually and give you a false foundation to your life (see the parable of the rich farmer)

2— God is instructing us to be careful and good stewards with what he gives us.

In this verse Jesus is pointing out that if we let money consume us, they will rule our lives and we never grow in God and actually we will never fully know salvation.

This isn’t to say money and wealth will not be a part of our lives, of course it will be, but it is making sure that it doesn't become our god, our goal, our vision our all. That is where God should be, if we put God second or worse how can he help us through crisis, Matthew teaches, you cannot serve God and money, they are two different masters. One will last and one will ultimately crash.

Place your finances into the hands of the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10) let him guide you and trust him for your security. You choose, your way or God’s way? Don’t be surprised if you choose to ignore him, when life goes into recession and your spiritual life dies, but be surprised with what God can do with how little or much he has put into your hand. God’s interest is better than any Cayman account.

Impossible Question

2008-09-17T09:18:00.001+01:00

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these Mark 12:30-31

As a church we have looked much about love over the past weeks. What really is love? Is it a sentiment, an ideal or is it something else.

The Bible says God is Love, he epitomizes it, without his presence there can be no love. Thank God for His presence on our planet. One question is often asked, “Why did God make man, why did he create our universe?” He didn’t need us, God is perfect in himself. He is complete and everything about Him is awesome all the time. God exists as trinity in absolute harmony. God had no neighbour, he had no one like himself. There was or is no one that can be his equal. The angels are messengers, they have no neighbourly relationship with God.

Perhaps this is why he made man? He made man in his image to be like him enough, that he could be our neighbour, he chose to shower love to us. Jesus writes in the above verses very strongly, “you must love God, you must love your neighbour.” (simple paraphrase) He speaks out of experience, he has done it in a human way and in a “God” way. He asks us to do the same. Love is more than words, love is more than feelings, love is action , love goes beyond any boundary and border. Beyond space, beyond time, beyond and into the spiritual realm. The Godhead have proved that.

The question remains, how could God love us? Mere mortals, lesser creatures to himself the Almighty, All powerful, Creator God. A question we will ask for eternity, and probably struggle for an answer. The fact remains, God loves you. The author of love, the one who is, loves you “I have loved you with an everlasting love” he says about the people of God. Love is in itself supernatural beyond the understanding of this world, beyond comprehension, love is God. In light of these things, let the Spirit of God within each of us, be loves source and let him be the one who acts on our behalf.

Surrender to him so we may love, his way. By ourselves we can’t fully love.

(thoughts from the heart, please don’t treat this all doctrinally)

Unity of the Spirit

2008-08-10T21:32:00.000+01:00

“How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.” Psalm 133

Unity is one of the most precious attributes that God wants his people to inherit. It is something that made Israel victorious and close to God and it is the prayer of the Lord Jesus that the church should be one. (John 17:21) When we are one we are stronger and love flows and the power of God falls.

In governments , sports, empires, at work, at home, when unity reigns, you achieve more, there is a common sense of purpose and the indifferences between us disappear, or become less noticeable.

Last week at Quinta was a great week where a large part of the church (53 in total) were able to come and share a holiday together. It rained, and it rained but it did not dampen out spirit, because unity is bigger than emotion, weather or circumstance.

The great thing about unity is that we can all still be ourselves, we all have different personalities and different ways of doing things, and unity works when this is in unison with each other.

The common factor of the church is the Lord Jesus, he is the glue that binds us, he is our example and our source of delight. His spirit within us is like the oil that is poured on the High Priest in this Psalm, he covers every part of the body ( the church) and he is the one who brings the refreshing. Everyday life often is exempt from unity, but when God’s people come together, unity is evident and it is this attribute that often speaks louder than any other form of evangelism.

Brothers and Sisters, let us be in the place where the refreshing oil of the Spirit of God can continue to bind us and strengthen us and keep us from looking through our own eyes at each other. The joy of unity is that it is here that God commands or pronounces the blessing. Put aside any divisions or disagreements and look to unity that comes from Christ through his Spirit. So that He may be satisfied and delight that his children abound in love and unity.

Why

2008-08-02T21:37:00.000+01:00

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people and particularly of all believers. 1 Timothy 4:9-10

Serving Christ, is no easy walk in the park. That may be one of the greatest under estimations in the 21st century, but today as much as we work for the kingdom and glorification of the Lord Jesus through our mortal lives , we know little of what many have faced since the church started in AD33.

Many of us like to keep fit, some of us think about it, a few actually do it, but many fall well short of the pain threshold in physical exercise that is needed to keep us in perfect condition. This weekend the “Olympics” start in China, many athletes will soon come face to face with those that they have been training to run, swim, jump, row against. Only one will come back with the prize, the Gold medal, in years past the victors laurel.

Paul writes about his life and is encouraging Timothy the younger church leader to keep going with the effort and exercise he is putting in for the kingdom. The word “struggle” in this verse is an athletic term, it means to reach or strain for a prize. In the 100m race it is normally won by the narrowest of margins, it can be down to the one who strains to get his head over the line and wins by that distance. You see it in their facial expressions, the look of agony and commitment to get that prize.

In this verse God is really saying two things, one are you straining, pushing yourself to achieve more for the gospel of Christ, do you work hard for God.

Paul’s reason is simple and yet massive, obvious and yet profound. For our hope is in the “LIVING GOD”. Wow, we do it to please and serve the Living God, the one true God, the Almighty, the Majestic, the Awesome, Indescribable God.

Now that changes everything, do you attend church for you, do you work with kids or youth for you, do you do whatever you do, for you or for the Living God who saves, who saved you. If someone rescued you from the sea, put themselves in danger for you, would you not be eternally grateful. God through Christ rescued you from the pit of hell and has put you in his safe keeping until he comes again.

Brothers and Sisters, please don’t get stuck into living for Jesus for yourself, or for the elders, but get stuck in, because of the One who has done it all for you. When you are at home thinking should I go tonight, say “yes” because my father, the living God would want me to.

God Willing!

2008-07-18T10:33:00.001+01:00

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James 4:13-17

Is your life full of presumptions? When I looked at these verses, I came to the conclusion that my life is. We forget that our lives are in the hands of an Almighty God, “he gives and takes away” ( we sing it often enough). What these verses are telling us, is not that it is wrong to make plans, not wrong to believe that there will be a tomorrow, but to bring God into the centre of those plans, and more importantly let those plans be God’s plans for our lives, not just our own.

When we wake up the next morning, do we thank God for giving us another day, or do we just take it for granted that it is our right to be alive?

This verse was written to business men of the early church who were continuing their lives and businesses without a care and thought about God. Because they had managed to make a profit without God (or so it seemed) before they presumed they could continue with out him afterwards. If we believe that God has our best interests at heart for our salvation, why can’t we believe that God has our best interest at heart for every other aspect of our lives.

The new life we have in Christ is so much greater than before, do we not think that our working lives can not be more beneficial. It isn’t to say that our lives will become easy, but it will become more worth while and if we do what we do to honour God, there is no reason not to believe that he will bless us.

Our lives at best are very short, like a morning fog, (like the falling of a leaf, like a vapour that escapes from a kettle), for most of us, the fog has gone before we awake, and this is partly the significance of these verses. Don’t let life pass you by, and when it is to late, realise the mistake you’ve made. God writes very strongly, It is evil to boast, it’s a sin to live our way and not the way that you know from God. Don’t make presumptions ask God, years ago after every service the letters DV appeared, Latin for “God Willing” Is your life based on God’s will or your will. He knows the future, trust him.

Lifting our Cups

2008-07-18T10:01:00.001+01:00

What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the Lord’s name for saving me. Psalm 116:12-13

What a tremendous question, what can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me? Is there anything that we can offer to someone who has given it all in the first place?

The answer comes in the next phrase,

“I will lift up the Cup of Salvation”.

In Old testament times a priest or a family head would regularly raise a cup with an exaltation of praise to God. In the early church times the cup that was lifted was a bitter cup, a cup that had little to offer but was full of praise and as they lifted the cup in praise , as a symbol to God he would meet their needs and be a symbol of salvation, that God fills the bitterness and restores us with his joy. He brings deliverance and fullness though being united with him.

Phil 1:19 For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.

So how can we lift up our, cup of salvation today? The cup is you, give you lives to God, in all that you do,

Matt Redman's wrote, “ I will offer up my life in spirit and truth. Pouring out the oil of love as my worship to You in surrender I must give my every part Lord receive the sacrifice of a broken heart. Jesus, what can I give. What can I bring. To so faithful a friend. To so loving a king. Saviour, what can be said. What can be sung. As a praise of Your name. For the things You have done. Oh my words could not tell; not even in part of the debt of love that is owed, by this thankful heart.”

The big question is? How much are we prepared to offer up our lives, to admit that the best we have is not enough and the only way to bless God, is to give him our lives, so that he can beautify them. On Sunday’s we can offer to God as we worship, we can sing from our hearts, we can pray from within and we can declare with our mouths. One of the greatest testimony’s we have as believers is to tell others what the Lord has done, we can share our experiences of God on Sundays, during house groups and whenever the opportunity arises, The Psalm goes on to say

“I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord.” v17

When we come together is this your attitude?