Tag: Emmanuel Pentecostal Church

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Daily Devotion June 14th

SUNDAY 14th

Ephesians 2

Two weeks ago, I shared via video these thoughts which I had prepared as a devotion for today, with the hope that we will soon be able to gather again. We are still having to wait patiently, continue to pray that this will soon be able to happen,

In Ephesians verses 19-22 we read ‘So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.’

Isn’t it wonderful to know that because of what God has done for us we are being built together or knitted together as a body of people, in particular in our local church setting as Emmanuel Pentecostal Church but also into the universal body of Christ, the Church which he is building.

As you are aware, we are living temporarily with Nicola and Cameron, while we wait for our house to be completed. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until the lockdown commenced and the building work was suspended. This means that instead of completing in mid-May, it has been moved on to at least late July or into August. Building was supposed to have recommenced sometime mid-May, but we have since discovered it started on site just this week 9th June.

The lockdown has affected life in so many different way, especially for us as Church meaning that we cannot gather together, but the good news is that while the lockdown has been happening and the building of homes has been suspended the Lord Jesus Christ has continued with his building programme, he hasn’t stopped, the heavenly Father hasn’t furloughed him!

The Church is not able to gather, but it does not mean the building of it has to stop. In Matthew 16 when Jesus said he would build his Church he declared that the gates of Hell would not prevail against it, that is, they would not prevent it from happening. The gates of Hell, can mean anything that would seek to obstruct its progress and growth, and the Pandemic is something that the Devil would love to use to seek to disrupt the Church and the building of it. But the good news is that although Church can’t gather, so much is happening through media and technology that is helping to continue the building and growth of the Church and we thank God for all the different methods and means being used. The gates of hell will not prevail.

But the day is coming when the Pandemic will pass, and the restrictions will be lifted, partially lifted at first until eventually we can return to being gathered Church as God intended. What has been happening over the last few months as good as it may seem to be with on-line church etc, must not become the new normal, it must only be seen as a temporary measure while we heed the advice given by those in authority.

I have heard and read statements that folk are saying how wonderful that Church is finally being what it is meant to be, outside of the four walls of a building, actually that is not entirely true, for true Church is a gathered church. It is reflected in the image given in Scripture of a body, joined-together not dislocated. And however good an on-line service might be it is not truly gathered Church. What is happening at this moment is like a stop gap, making the most or the best out of our present situation – and we thank God for the way that he is blessing the efforts of Churches at this time, but Church is supposed to be gathered, together, not isolated in our living rooms watching a screen but being united not just spiritually but physically together in fellowship.

It is essential that as a result of this extended period of time when we have not been coming together that we do not become complacent thinking that we don’t need Church gatherings, or that instead of getting up and going to our local Church we will search for an on-line service which we can just watch at leisure while still even perhaps doing other things at the same time or even switching off if we are not enjoying!

Gathered Church is where we come together to shut ourselves in as it were from everything else that would distract us to draw near to the presence of God in corporate worship and praise.

Gathered Church is essential, as I’ve already mentioned, on-line church must not become in the words of the phrase that is being used so often today ‘the new norm’ for it can never do for us spiritually what gathered Church can do, for that is the place where we see each other, we bless each other, we encourage each-other and we seek to build each other up. There is something about togetherness that isolation cannot do.

Gathered Church is also a place of accountability, it is the place whereby we can measure our spiritual growth, it is the place where we can be seen to be still participating in the life of Christ, it is the place where the shepherd or pastor can more easily look over the flock and seek to minister to the individual or to the collective need.

Gathered Church is the place where we should be seeking to take communion together, where we should be seeking to pray together and where we should be instructed or taught together and is of course the place where we have fellowship together.

I would guess that during this time of restriction and isolation, we would all list at the top the one thing we have missed most is not being able to go to visit family, not being able to see parents, children, grand-children and friends. One of the first things we will want to do is to go and see them if they live local enough! In the same way we should be missing our spiritual family, and we should be eager in our hearts if we truly care for one another to be able to meet again, to gather again as gathered Church as the family of God in Emmanuel Pentecostal Church.

In Scripture we see in Acts 2:42 that the early believers came together for prayer, fellowship, the breaking of bread and for prayer, Acts 3 tells us that Peter and John were going up to the temple for the hour of prayer, in Acts 4 after the authorities had forbidden Peter and John to teach the name of Jesus, they went to the other believers and they prayed together. In Acts 16 Paul went down to the riverside because he heard that there would be a gathered group meeting for prayer. In 1 Corinthians 16 Paul mentions the churches, he doesn’t use Church which represents the whole universal body but uses the word churches indicating that he saw the need for the Church to be gathered in groups as churches, local churches in a set place as a community of believers.

Obviously we see the gatherings in Scripture took place in various places, homes, temple, outside, today, we should value and appreciate that we have the freedom in this country at the moment to be able to have buildings, yes we may call them church buildings, but they are buildings where the church can gather together, a place where we gather for all the reasons I have mentioned above, and from that place whatever we may call it, to be able to reach out into the community with whatever God may have called the local church to do.

We are a sea of voices

We are an ocean of your praise

Gathered under one name

We are a tide that’s rising

And we cannot be contained

Gathered under one name

O for a thousand tongues to sing

The glories of our Lord, God Almighty

O to sing the Saviour’s praise

The triumph of His grace

You are worthy

You are worthy God

We have found our anthem

At the cross where sin was slain

Gathered under one name

Where every chain is broken

Every sorrow swept away

Gathered under one name

O for a thousand tongues to sing

The glories of our Lord, God Almighty

O to sing the Saviour’s praise

The triumph of His grace

You are worthy

You are worthy God

With all heaven sing

And all earth below

One holy King

One highest throne

Vertical Worship CCLI788682

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Daily Devotion June 13th

SATURDAY 13th

Hebrews 11:7. Genesis 6:1-22

Noah – Faith in isolation

By the time we get to Genesis 6 it is easy to think that it’s not many years after creation, as it is only a few chapters on, but the reality is that by the time we get to Noah it is already one thousand six hundred and sixty years since creation and the whole world, that is all of humanity was deemed corrupt except for one man called Noah.

One of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian Church is concerning the utter depravity of human nature, and the need for repentance and the eternal punishment of those who do not believe. The utter depravity of human nature is summed up by Paul in Romans 3:22-23 ‘For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ and in Romans chapter 1:18-32, this means that mankind in the 21st century is still in the same boat, utterly depraved. God has a standard and not one of us stand up to it.  Isaiah 64:6 ‘We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.’  

 And we see this depravity all around us and yet as we see things as being as bad as they are today, and they are, utter depravity was absolutely manifested everywhere when Paul wrote what he wrote in his letter and was also most certainly applicable to Noah’s day. Gen 6:5. In fact, as we saw concerning Cain and Abel mankind was depraved immediately after their parents had sinned. Beside the  words ‘utter depravity’ we use the words ‘the inherent nature of sin’ which means that we are all born sinners, they are both correct, but on its own the phrase ‘the inherent nature of sin’ does not describe how utterly depraved the sin nature is. We need to talk of both the inherent nature of sin, and the utter depravity of human nature because of sin. We are born in sin, and shapen in iniquity and live as vile hopeless sinners outside of the grace of God. Psalm 51:5 ‘Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.’ Romans 3:9-11 ‘What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.’  

Noah was also born in sin, but something must have taken place in his life that changed him, that made him different from everybody else for God to declare what he said about him. Sometime in his life, Noah must have had a personal encounter with God, which to use NT terminology, made him into a ‘new creation’ for v9 says  ‘Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God!

The statement in Genesis 6:5 says ‘The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,’ whatever the population of the world was at that time, Noah was the only one of whom it is said, ‘found favour’ in the eyes of God! (v8) It was Noah’s great, grandfather, Enoch, we considered in our last two devotions and of him it was also said ‘He walked with God.’ I wonder what happened to the two generation in between them.

And because of who Noah was, or more because of what he had become in comparison to the rest of his generation God singled him out to be the key participant in what he was about to do. (6:13-22)

And we know the story of Noah and the ark, we could ask, what about Noah’s wife, his three sons and their wives regarding their relationship with God? I suggest that even if the same could not have been said about them beforehand, that after God had called Noah, he out of his love and compassion for his wife and family would have pleaded with them to also come to a place of faith and while the world watched on and mocked his family would join with Noah in preparation for the flood and in anticipation of deliverance from it.

What can we learn from Noah?

Faith allowed him to believe in the unbelievable

Faith led to Salvation

Faith moved him into action

He learned the lesson of Hebrews 11:6 ‘And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him’.

But something else we see should also encourage us, thus my heading for today’s devotion – FAITH IN ISOLATION. Of all the population just Noah, but God saw him, knew about him and came to him in salvation.

PERHAPS you are the ONLY ONE with a personal faith in God in your family, your school, college, university, workplace, your local community, the street where you live. As a result, it may be tough, difficult, it may mean you get mocked, maybe even persecuted, but remember the ones who are going to receive eternal reward are only those who have trusted God, put their faith in Him and see things through.

Can you picture the scene as Noah began to collect the colossal amount of material he needed to build the ark and then to start and build it, the mocking, ridicule, persecution. And then as the day’s past into weeks, months and years till the ark was ready – still the mocking, still the ridiculing and persecution, not a cloud in the sky, brilliant sunshine, but then he begins to load the ark with food, animal, and essentials, still the mocking, the ridicule and the persecution.

But the moment arrives, Noah and his family then enter the ark, GOD himself shuts the door and on that very day, the sunshine disappears as the thick black clouds appear and then the rain arrived, the floods came and those who laughed, mocked and persecuted were blotted from off the face of the earth. God always fulfils his word!

What mixed emotions Noah must have had, although many had mocked him, he would have seen friends and family, fellow companions being washed into a lost eternity.

In Noah’s day the world was drenched in spiritual darkness and yet in the darkness there was a single flicker of light as Noah shone as a lone light in the darkness. And we have been called to shine as light in the darkness. Matthews: 14-16 ‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house, in the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.’

The building of the ark took 120 years, it was well planned and well built. The 120 years speaks of the patience of God, allowing time for the mockers, scoffers and persecutors to repent and the persevering faith of Noah, imagine the sweat, toil, blisters etc. while all the time being ridiculed and mocked.

What a picture of the day of grace, God is waiting patiently for men and

women to be saved. We toil, faithful in service knowing that one day our redemption will be complete, but it also speaks of opportunity, for we have the opportunity and privilege of telling others about Jesus.

2 Peter 2: ‘He did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, A HERALD of righteousness.’

Noah built an Ark and it was only within the ark that salvation could be found. He had trusted, his faith was demonstrated in works (building the ark) and he was saved- those who disbelieved him must HAVE HAD SECOND thoughts when the rains came – and they would have WORKED HARD battling against the flood water to be saved from drowning- but too late, works could not save them – ONLY FAITH in God, but they had rejected Him.

Jesus became our NOAH, the only one who was truly righteous before God.

For Noah, the timber made an ark. For us, the timber made a cross and the righteous one went and hung on it for us so that as we believe, his righteousness is imputed to us and we are saved. And because we have come to the cross and found refuge in it, when God pours out his wrath and judgment on this utterly depraved, sinful world we will be saved.

Earlier in the devotion I mentioned that we are all born in sin, but thank God there was one who was born sinless, died sinless and took our sin upon himself, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When the rain came and the floods began to rise, Noah was hidden in the ark, and we who have fled into Jesus are hiding in him, he is our Saviour, he is our protection, he will bring us not to Mount Ararat, but he will land us safely in the place which he has prepared for all who love him.

O safe to the Rock that is higher than I,

My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly.

So sinful, so weary, Thine, Thine would I be;

Thou blest Rock of Ages, I’m hiding in Thee. 

Hiding in Thee, Hiding in Thee,

Thou blest Rock of Ages, I’m hiding in Thee.

In the calm of the noontide, in sorrow’s lone hour,

In times when temptation casts o’er me its power,

In the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea,

Thou blest Rock of Ages, I’m hiding in Thee.

How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,

I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe.

How often when trials like sea billows roll

Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul.

W O Cushing CCLI788682

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Daily Devotion June 12th

FRIDAY 12th

The rapture of Enoch – Genesis 4:24 ‘And he was not, for God took him.’

Enoch is the first of only two individuals in Scripture who did not taste death, the other being Elijah where 2 Kings 2 records for us that he was taken up into heaven in a chariot of Fire.

Enoch’s story is a small but beautiful picture of the rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ that is you, me, and all other living believers at his return. The key to Enoch’s rapture was that he walked with God and that he pleased God, and when we enter into the new-born experience, into the life transforming relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ we are called to ‘walk with him’, to ‘walk by faith’ and as a result God is PLEASED with us -not because of anything that we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us. As believers, when God looks at us, he sees us as justified, he sees us as clothed in robes of righteousness, he sees the evidence of the work of redemption, he sees Jesus, therefore he is pleased!

And as Enoch was raptured or taken up so when Jesus comes again all who are alive at the time, and to be found in Christ will be raptured to meet the Lord in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 ‘For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.’

Warren Wiersbe* says of Enoch being taken ‘Enoch had been walking with God for so many years that his transfer to heaven was not even an Interruption.’

Thus, it shall be for us who believe.

The prophecy of Enoch – although there is no account recorded in Genesis, Jude later records in his short epistle that Enoch of old prophesied. Jude 1:14-15 ‘It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’

He was, not only a picture of the rapture but he also prophesied concerning the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The saying or prophecy of Enoch comes from one of the books of the Apocrypha, the book of Enoch. Although the Apocryphal books are not accepted as Scripture, it does not mean that Enoch never said this statement. Within each apocryphal book there is that which is accepted as truth but not accepted as part of the canon of Scripture. For Jude to quote what he has, does not endorse the apocryphal book of Enoch, but does endorse the truthfulness of what is recorded, this must be, for the record of Scripture itself is true! Sources suggest that although Enoch himself never wrote the book, tradition that had been handed down, was recalled, and has recorded what he said. And what he said is affirmed elsewhere in Scripture, Christ will come again.

But to conclude with Enoch, by faith Enoch walked with God, Enoch pleased God, and God took him.

May we ensure that we are walking in a way that is pleasing God in readiness for the arrival of the King of Glory, who will come again to take up to be with himself those who are to be found to be waiting in Christ.

*Preaching the Word Series

When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more

And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair

When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore

And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there

When the roll, is called up yon-der

When the roll, is called up yon-der

When the roll, is called up yon-der

When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there

On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise

And the glory of His resurrection share

When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies

And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there

Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun

Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care

Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done

And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there

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Daily Devotion June 11th

THURSDAY 11th

We continue today with our look at the life of Enoch.

Enoch’s profession of faith – What does the Scripture tell us regarding Enoch’s profession of faith. What is the testimony recorded about him?

Genesis 5:22-24 ‘Enoch walked with God three hundred years . . . Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.’

What a clear profession of faith or personal testimony – ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD!

And the record of his testimony is found in our text: Hebrews 11:5 ‘BY FAITH Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.’

So, his PROFESSION of faith is summed up this way: ‘By faith, he pleased God because he walked with God!

On the 3rd June we saw faith and its availability as a gift from God, on the 5th we saw faith and its approval in our lives, on the 9th we saw faith and acceptance, or faith versus works, in this devotion, we will see faith and amble, we as God’s people are called to WALK by Faith so that we too can please him.

We could turn to much of Paul’s teaching and learn about our walk, and whether we use the phrase walk in the Spirit or walk with the Spirit or even walk by the Spirit, it is a walk of faith. I have used the word amble, it helps because it starts with the letter ‘a’, but the word amble means to walk or move at a slow, relaxed pace. I think that God wants us to walk in this way, he doesn’t want us to be stressed in our Christian walk, he doesn’t want us rushing about here and there, he wants us walking at a pace in which we will constantly be aware of his presence. Over the last ten weeks we have done a lot of walking, and it has nearly always been an amble, a steady relaxed walk and as a result we have discovered and seen so much that we would have missed if we had rushed about. We need to walk at a pace where we see, discover that which God has for us to receive.

Just as Peter had to step out of the boat by faith we continually step into the unknown, into the future, because we trust that the one who has called us already knows that which is unknown and the future is safe and secure in his hand. To walk by faith and to truly PLEASE God we have to fully, confidently trust him.

Remember the well-known song, I mentioned a few days ago, ‘I do not know what lies ahead. But I know who holds the future and he will guide me with his hand, with God things don’t just happen. Everything by him is planned, so as I face tomorrow, with its problems large and small, I’ll trust the God of miracles, give to him my all.’

How is your walk with God? What about mine? If God were to fill out a report card today would it read ‘Haydn (put your name here) is pleasing me with his walk.’

One of the instructions, that God gave to the children of Israel was ‘so shall you keep the commandment of the Lord your God by WALKING IN HIS WAYS and by fearing him.’ (Deuteronomy 8:6)

2 Corinthians 4:17 ‘For we walk by faith and not by sight.’

R Kent Hughes* says about Enoch’s walk with God that ‘he walked so closely with God that they were walking together, to the same place

on the same path, at the same pace.’  What a walk! We need to keep in step with the Spirit, with our eyes fixed upon Jesus so that we get to the finishing line.

*Preaching the Word Series

We walk by faith, and not by sight;

no gracious words we hear

from Him who spoke as none e’er spoke,

but we believe Him near.

We may not touch His hands and side,

nor follow where He trod;

but in His promise we rejoice

and cry, “My Lord and God!”

Help then, O Lord, our unbelief;

and may our faith abound

to call on You when You are near

and seek where You are found.

That, when our life of faith is done,

in realms of clearer light,

may we behold You as You are,

with full and endless sight.

CCLI 788682

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Daily Devotion June 10th

WEDNESDAY 10th

Hebrews 11:5 Faith and our walk with God

ENOCH. We will consider Enoch over two devotions.

Enoch gets little mention in the Scripture, and yet each time he is, we gain some information that brings to us an encouragement so that as we glean from him and the other characters in Hebrews chapter 11 we will also learn to walk by faith.

There is an Enoch mentioned in Scripture in Genesis 4:17-18, this is not the Enoch we are considering today. This Enoch in Genesis 4 is the son of Cain, one of the characters we looked at in the previous devotions.

We will divide Enoch’s life with four points, a portrait of his life, his profession of faith, his rapture, and his prophecy.

A portrait of Enoch – So far while looking at Hebrews 11, we have had the word APPROVED (Friday 5th) and ACCEPTED, (Tuesday 9th) today we have APPOINTED.

The Enoch we are considering is first found in Genesis 5:18-24. He comes from the lineage of Seth, the son born to Adam and Eve following the murder of their son Abel in Genesis 4:25 we read, ‘For God has APPOINTED another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.

In this context APPOINTED speaks of God’s purpose being fulfilled in the earth, through a family, and through an individual, which will become evident through the annals of history. It is through this ‘APPOINTED’ son, Seth we can see God’s pre-planned mission to redeem mankind being fulfilled and Enoch has a part to play in it, for in Genesis 4:25 we have the word SEED, which speak, of reproducing, fruit bearing, or continuation. And the line of Adam through Seth . . .  Enoch . . . etc. eventually brings us to the New Testament.

From Enoch’s first mention in Scripture, we next read of him in 1 Chronicles 1:1-4, showing the appointed seed lineage, ‘Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Muhalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham and Japeth.

From this we discover that Enoch was the great X5 grandson of Adam, And Enoch’s great grandson was Noah, but even ‘more importantly’ when we come to Luke 3:37-38 he is mentioned again, this time more clearly we can see his involvement in the ‘Redemption’ story,‘. . . the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.’ (see all the verses in Luke 2:23-28)

As you go through the generations, from Seth the APPOINTED down through Enoch, etc we come to Joseph the man in the New Testament APPOINTED by God to be the earthly father of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is all so important for the fulfilment of Scripture, which was for Jesus to be born in Bethlehem.

Luke 2:1-7 ‘In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.’

The next portrait of Enoch is in our Scripture text Hebrews 11:5, and then the final portrait is to be found in the book of Jude 1:14. ‘It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied,  saying, Beheld the Lord come, with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgement on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deed) which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinner, have spoken against Him.’

So that is our portrait of Enoch found in the Scriptures – a handful of mentions and yet an important man in the purpose of God, and one from whom we can learn some lessons.

But before we move to the other points tomorrow, for today we will consider the word APPOINTED a little more. It is important for each one of us as the children of God, the redeemed of the Lord to discover what he has ‘APPOINTED’ us to – that is to discover as Romans 12:1-2 say that which is his good, acceptable and perfect will for our lives.

I believe God has ‘appointed’ each one of us into the Church, 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 ‘Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.’

There is an appointment, an appointed place in the purpose of God for each one of us within the body of Christ in which he has placed ALL of us as living stones.

Consider also, John 15:16, ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and APPOINTED you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.’

The challenge for us today is this, are we fulfilling that which God has appointed us to be and to do within his body, the Church and within our own personal walk with him?

I have chosen to include a hymn here which came up in a conversation that I had with John Armstrong on the phone yesterday (June 2nd)

When we walk with the Lord

In the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way;

While we do His good will,

He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey,

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus,

But to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise,

Not a cloud in the skies,

But His smile quickly drives it away;

Not a doubt or a fear,

Not a sigh or a tear,

Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear,

Not a sorrow we share,

But our toil He doth richly repay;

Not a grief or a loss,

Not a frown or a cross,

But is blest if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove

The delights of His love,

Until all on the altar we lay;

For the favor He shows,

And the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet

We will sit at His feet,

Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;

What He says we will do;

Where He sends, we will go,

Never fear, only trust and obey.

J H Sammis CCLI788682

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Daily Devotion June 9th

TUESDAY 9th

Genesis 3:1-21

Continuing from where we left off yesterday, the question could be asked, ‘how could Cain have acted differently, perhaps he didn’t know any different?’

I think it would be fair to say that both his parents, Adam and Eve would have shared with their children something of their history or story. We know what it was, how the fall came about and the banishment from the garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve had learned a hard lesson and any good parent would want to retell their story to save their children from making the same mistakes. I really do not think that in retelling what happened that they would have missed out telling the boys something of the wonder of God’s provision for them, remember after they had sinned, they attempted to cover themselves by taking fig leaves to make an apron, they attempted to deal with the sin problem by their own works, their own effort. (v7) Later we read in Genesis 3:21 ‘And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them.’ This provision would have spoken to them of the shedding of blood in the killing of the animal that provided the covering they needed after they had sinned. Here was God showing what needed to be done, and what would be acceptable before him and although we have a few words in our Scriptures describing this incident I am sure that Adam and Eve knew exactly what God was doing and in what it foreshadowed and would have told the boys all the details. The action of Abel later shows that he had understood something of this and yet Cain had refused the way of faith and obedience by preferring the way of a work-based religion. We learn later in Scripture that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. (Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22)

Abel – I will do it God’s way, Cain – I will do it my way!

Although it is important to stress the importance of salvation by faith alone and in Christ alone it should also be stressed that although works cannot lead to salvation, works should be an evidence that we have come to salvation. This is the whole purpose of why James wrote his epistle. not to contradict Paul and the other apostles on what they taught, that salvation is by faith alone but to show that once saved, works should complement our faith. James 2:18 ‘But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.’

Hebrews 11:4 ‘By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks’

A final thought that really links back to Cain and his fruit. I think we can learn even more from this by taking from verse 4 the word ‘acceptable’, (ESV) and I believe that we should be ensuring that as we live out our life of faith we need to ensure that what we do, what we say, where we go, how we express ourselves is acceptable in the eyes of God. We personally do not need to come before God as Abel did with a blood sacrifice – Christ has offered himself on our behalf and he became the acceptable sacrifice, we in turn in our response need to live in an acceptable way.

Psalm 19:14 ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.’

Proverbs 10:32 ‘The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.’

Paul sums it up for us in Romans 12:1-2 ‘I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.’

May we be approved and acceptable to the Lord our God as we seek to live by faith.

I’ll Walk with God from this day on

His helping hand I’ll lean upon

This is my prayer, my humble plea

May the Lord be ever with me

There is no death, tho’ eyes grow dim

There is no fear when I’m near to Him

I’ll lean on Him forever

And He’ll forsake me never

He will not fail me

As long as my faith is strong

Whatever road I may walk along

I’ll Walk with God, I’ll take His hand

I’ll talk with God, He’ll understand

I’ll pray to Him, each day to Him

And He’ll hear the words that I say

His hand will guide my throne and rod

And I’ll never walk alone

While I walk with God

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Daily Devotion June 8th

MONDAY 8th

Genesis 4:1-16

Today we turn to verse 4 of Hebrews 11, ‘By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.’

Our example today and tomorrow is that of Abel, ‘By faith Abel offered’.

I will call todays devotion ‘Faith Versus Works.’

What we discover about Cain and Abel in this chapter is that they both worship God and they both bring a sacrifice to God, Cain’s sacrifice was from the fruit of the ground and Abel’s sacrifice was through the sacrifice of an animal, Cain’s sacrifice was rejected by God while Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God

The end result was that a jealous Cain on seeing his sacrifice rejected and Abel’s accepted became very angry and his outward expressions became contorted and God gives this verdict in v7, ‘Sin lies at the door of your life and you are allowing it to control you rather than you controlling it.’ Later Cain catches up with Abel and the sin that lay at the door expressed itself in an even greater measure to the point that Cain killed or murdered his brother Abel. V8 shows us how one sin can lead onto another. Cain then lies to God as to the whereabout of his brother to which God in response punished him by saying his future labour would be decreased in what it produces and that he would become a vagabond and a fugitive, never finding a place to rest or settle. V16 is a sad verse, ‘Then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord’.

What can we learn from this account?

Hebrews 11:4 answers the question for us, ‘By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice.’

It could be said that although Cain brought FRUIT as a sacrifice to God it was a sham because the fruit that was expressed through his life and his character was far from anything that it should have been if he had had a genuine relationship with God.

We should challenge ourselves here – as we seek to worship God and bring our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to him, in particular on a Sunday morning worship service would it be acceptable to God if it was contrasted to the kind of fruit we may have been showing during the week? We cannot live one way in the world during the week and then act differently when we come together on a Sunday. The fruit of our lives, the fruit of our lips should be the same 24/7.

The difference in the two sacrifices these brothers made is symbolic as to how mankind will try to seek to come to worship or to reach God throughout history. It will be one of two ways:

The way of Cain which is through works or the way of Abel which is by faith.

Cain’s sacrifice was a result of his works, that is working and toiling with the ground. Abel’s sacrifice came through the shedding of blood, he took from the firstborn of his flock.

Cain represents all the man-made religions of the world that seek to come to ‘God’ through human effort, through works centred religions and isms. Abel represents all that will come by faith to God through the blood sacrifice that Christ has made on their behalf.

The one through works the other through shed blood. And God will only accept the one way, the better way, the way of the cross and not the way of works. Isaiah clearly portrays for us that all our own efforts are like filthy rags, or polluted garments, ‘We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.’ (Isaiah 64:6) This verse clearly portrays that even our very best of efforts cannot redeem us, or as Paul later says in Ephesians 2 that even with the very best we can give in the way of good works this will never be sufficient to save us. ‘For by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast.’ (Ephesians 2:8)

Going back to Cain and Abel, you can imagine Cain picking the very best of the produce, proud to present his very best before God – sounds good doesn’t it, we would think that it seems a good thing to do, yet it was rejected. When Abel took his sacrifice, it would have been bloodied and marred and in all honesty not really a very pretty sight, nothing really to be able to boast about and yet God accepted it. Abel’s sacrifice reminds us of Isaiah 53 ‘He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men would hide their faces . . . Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.’

Psalm 149:4 ‘For the Lord takes pleasure in his people, he adorns the humble with salvation.’

Psalm 138:6 ‘For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows afar off.’

Cain’s murder of Abel comes about because of the rejection by God of his works orientated sacrifice and of his refusal to come the same way as his brother Abel did, the way of faith. This is also symbolic of the struggle, strife, hatred and persecution that faith-based Christianity has faced and still faces from the works-based religions of the world. As Cain persecuted Abel even to death, so the Church throughout its history has been persecuted by all who reject the way of faith.

What we can clearly learn from the lesson of Cain and Abel is that all who base their religion in the  same way as Cain, will go the same way as Cain, they will be cut off from the presence of God for eternity but all who go the way of Abel because of faith in the blood sacrifice that Christ has made on our behalf, even though we will die we will be raised to be with God throughout eternity.

John11:25-26 ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’

Grace! ’tis a charming sound,

Harmonious to the ear;

Heav’n with the echo shall resound,

And all the earth shall hear.

Saved by grace alone!

This is all my plea:

Jesus died for all mankind,

And Jesus died for me.

’Twas grace that wrote my name

In life’s eternal book;

’Twas grace that gave me to the Lamb,

Who all my sorrows took.

Grace taught my wandering feet

To tread the pilgrim road;

And new supplies each hour I meet

While pressing on to God.

Grace taught my heart to pray,

And made my eyes o’erflow;

’Tis grace which kept me to this day,

And will not let me go.

Grace all the work shall crown

Through everlasting days;

It lays in love the topmost stone,

And well deserves the praise.

Oh, let that grace inspire

My heart with strength divine;

May all my powers to Thee aspire,

And all my days be Thine.

P Doddridge CCLI788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion June 7th

SUNDAY 7th

Hebrews 11:3 ‘By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.’

In this chapter, the Hebrew author takes the readers of his letter right back to the very beginning, Genesis Chapter 1 and to the account of creation.

He was writing this Hebrew letter to Jews who had come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ but were mixing their old Judaism religion with the new covenant of grace and some were even possibly being drawn back to the old rituals and rejecting afresh the new covenant because of the fear of impending persecution.

And as he starts to encourage them from the example of their ancestors in chapter 11, he first takes them right to the beginning of their Hebrew Scriptures and the account of creation.

What he is saying to them is, ‘you are holding fast to what you have believed about creation, you stand firm on your confidence in the one true God who made everything. In the same way I want you to grasp a stronger hold on to genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by seeing faith at work in the report of your ancestors lives’ and then as he gets to Hebrews 12 he wants them to see their ancestors as a large crowd standing in the arena of life cheering them on, encouraging them not to give up the new found life of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ but to persevere to the end.

Verse 3 is a good starting point for us as well. If we are going to doubt the first few chapters of the Scriptures, and not believe in the creation account, then what is there to stop us from doubting everything else that follows through the rest of this book? None of us were present at the beginning to witness what took place, but by faith we believe what has been recorded for us.

We believe by faith that ‘In the beginning God . . .’ That is, God was already there. We believe by faith that God spoke and as he spoke whatever it was he spoke came into being, the land, the sea, the creatures in the air and in the sea and upon the dry land, the fruit and the flowers and the trees and the shrubs, the moon and the stars and the sun and the galaxies which are still being discovered billions of miles away in outer space, and we believe by faith the creation of man from out of the dust of the ground. YES, humanly it does seem difficult to fully comprehend, but we believe BY FAITH,  faith enables us to believe that the universe was created by the word of God, and exactly as the Genesis writer says, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. The term used to describe this is ‘ex nihilo’ ‘out of nothing’. David the psalmist records in Psalm 19:1 ‘The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork,’ and Psalm 24:1-2  ‘The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,  for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.’

And I declare today in this devotion that BY FAITH, I believe. I also believe in the work of creation taking 6 literal days of 24 hours as it records for us ‘and there was evening and there was morning, the first day, the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day and then on the seventh day God rested from all his work that he had done.

And it is BY FAITH that if we were to move further into the Scriptures and read the characters, accounts, stories, happenings etc, I believe them to be literal and true. Noah and the flood, the Egyptian plagues and the Israelites exodus, David and Goliath, Jonah and the Whale, Daniel and the den of lion’s, the Hebrew lads and the furnace, and moving into the New Testament, the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, his full and complete atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, and the many more accounts which speak of seeming impossibilities having taken place but by faith I believe because I believe in the God of the impossible and the Hebrew writer makes it very clear that Christian Faith requires this kind of faith. Hebrews 11:6 ‘And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God MUST believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek Him.’

Let us remind ourselves that it is possible to have this kind of faith, though not out of ourselves but as a gift from God to all who would believe. (Ephesians 2:8)

How is your faith to believe today? Remember we only need to have faith as small as a mustard seed to accomplish great things with God (Matthew 17:20) but however we feel our measure of faith is we can call out with the same plea as the disciples, ‘Lord, increase our faith.’ (Luke 17:5)

Incidentally if Jesus said we could remove a mountain with mustard seed sized faith a seed which is about 1 or 2 mm in size, imagine what we could do with faith the size of the world’s largest seed, a coco de mer from a palm tree which is about 12 inches in size (30cms) and weighs about 40 pounds (18kg). Wow, Lord I will be grateful for the mustard seed sized faith, I have not even yet started to move mole hills, let alone mountains!

Today I am repeating the same song as last Wednesday

By faith we see the hand of God

In the light of creation’s grand design

In the lives of those who prove His faithfulness

Who walk by faith and not by sight

By faith our fathers roamed the earth

With the power of His promise in their hearts

Of a holy city built by God’s own hand

A place where peace and justice reign

We will stand as children of the promise

We will fix our eyes on Him our soul’s reward

Till the race is finished and the work is done

We’ll walk by faith and not by sight

By faith the prophets saw a day

When the longed-for Messiah would appear

With the power to break the chains of sin and death

And rise triumphant from the grave

By faith the church was called to go

In the power of the Spirit to the lost

To deliver captives and to preach good news

In every corner of the earth

We will stand…

By faith this mountain shall be moved

And the power of the gospel shall prevail

For we know in Christ all things are possible

For all who call upon His name

Keith and Kystyn Getty  CCLI788682

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Daily Devotion June 6th

SATURDAY 6th

Hebrews 11:39-40

Continuing in Hebrews 11, these heroes of faith have been recorded for our benefit, to learn from their example, so that in turn we can learn to live by faith as well.

Let us remind ourselves of something vital that the writer records in this chapter: ‘And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him’ (v6)

By reason of our choosing to follow the Lord Jesus Christ we should be people who live ‘by faith’ a phrase which appears in this chapter about 17 times.

The phrase living by faith does not mean that we should all be living by faith in that we shouldn’t have gainful employment, and just expect God to prompt someone to drop an envelope through the door with a wad of money to get us by, (although in spiritual  ministry there are times when God does call some to live this way, but it is not the norm’) work is part and parcel of how God expects us to get by, (Genesis 2:15, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12) although there may be times when God does bless with unexpected gifts especially in tough times. It also doesn’t mean that when we are ill we refuse to take any medication or get medical help, living by faith means that we trust God firstly in the realm of salvation, then we trust God in the circumstances of our lives and we finally trust God in his provision for us into eternity.  It is putting our faith, or trust and confidence in an invisible God and in things we cannot see or maybe not even fully understand, and having an assurance in our hearts and a confident conviction and hope in the unravelling of God’s purpose in our loves. Our faith is linked to God’s faithfulness, and he is a faithful God. Lamentations 3:22-23 ‘The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’

In Romans, Paul writes this 1:17 ‘For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.’ This is linked to the previous verse where we read (1:16) ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.’ That is, that within the gospel of which Paul was not ashamed, the righteousness of God is revealed, and the righteous, (that is those who have been justified by faith and transformed by this gospel) shall live by faith.

In John 14:1 just prior to his crucifixion, Jesus speaking to the disciples said this: ‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.’ The NLT uses the word TRUST, we have been called to a life that totally, fully relies on, believes in or trusts in God, that is a life of faith, and at the end of the journey a report will be given, and what will it say?

The Apostle Paul said this in his first epistle to Timothy (6:12) ‘Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.’

In his second epistle to Timothy he says this: ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith’ he continued: ‘Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.’

In these two Scriptures  when Paul talks of having ‘fought the good fight of the faith’ and of ‘keeping the faith’ here the word faith is used to describe his keeping or holding onto the message of the gospel, but at the same time he has held onto it by faith. 

We know what we have believed, that is the ‘Faith’ to which we have been called to by God’s grace, but we continue in it by faith, faith which also is a gift from God.

In Matthew 25:23, Jesus perhaps gives a hint of what we should seek to be attaining for, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

Thinking of the old school reports probably my most frequent comment from the teachers was ‘Could do better’ well spiritually, within the context of this devotion I know I could do better in regard to attaining the final end of life report and by God’s grace I aim to attain a better standard, to be approved rather than ashamed at his appearing. May God help each one of us as we run the race to finish the course and to receive a good commendation at the end.

Over the next week we will look at some of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.

Turn, turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in his wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of his glory and grace

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Daily Devotion June 5th

FRIDAY 5th

Hebrews 11:17-31

Yesterday I left off by suggesting that I would choose the words ‘God’s approval’ from the different translations of Hebrews 11:2. Here is why, the best reason or answer I can give is based on something that is sentimental,  something from my past, a memory, the memory has also been a real challenge to me over the last 40 years. I only have one other possession beside my teddy bear that I can recall that my mother gave to me and it is a Schofield reference Bible that she gave to me at the time when I was studying at the Apostolic Church Bible College back in 1980. (My mum died in 2003)

I valued the Bible of course I did and still do, but it was another one of the few that I already owned, and my Bible collection has also grown significantly since then as well and I hardly ever use that actual Bible now! What was the challenge to me then was the verse that my mum wrote on the inside cover alongside the words: ‘To Haydn from Mum.’ It was a Scripture which has been a constant challenge and reminder to me when preparing and preaching the Word of God. It was 2 Timothy 2:15, as it was a KJV translation, I will quote that translation first and then from the ESV.

KJV ‘Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth’

ESV ‘Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth’

Notice the challenge? DO YOUR BEST or try your hardest as a worker or an individual that handles the word of God to handle it in such a way that you gain God’s approval.

I believe with all my heart that God will call every man or woman who handles the Word of God in a preaching and teaching sphere to account on the way in which we have handled it. Therefore, we need to be careful how we interpret it or how we use it. This is a challenge to me! (James 3:1 ‘Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.’)

The words approved or approval, to be approved by God comes up again in some other scriptures:

Galatians 1:10 ‘For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ’

1 Thessalonians 2:4 ‘but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts’ 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.’

The lesson I want to bring from our look at this word today is this, whose approval are we looking for, or whose approval do we seek, man or Gods?

If we want to win the approval of mankind or society today, then there is no doubt that we would have to mishandle the Word of God! Sadly today, to gain approval, many are watering down the Word of God, instead of preaching the full gospel, the message of the cross, they are as Scripture says twisting the Word of God to please the itching ears of those listening. (2 Timothy 4:1-5) It is a sad reality that the message of the Cross which is considered foolish by the world has also become an offence to many who claim to believe, and to preach the need for us to daily take up our cross to follow him goes against the message preached in so many places. I have had personal experience of this where I was told by someone who attended the Church(not in Gateshead) that I preach too much about the Cross and the resurrection. Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  For, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. (Galatians 6:14, Romans 1:16)

This is only one of many applications, but what about in our morality, integrity, righteousness etc.

Do we act in ways that God’s approval would be upon us as a people who should be living by faith or, do we act in ways in which if we were to stand before God today we would be ashamed? We close today with the words of the Psalmist David, Psalm 139:23-24 ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!’

We will continue tomorrow.

Search me, O God, and know my heart today,

Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray;

See if there be some wicked way in me;

Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.

I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;

Fulfill Thy word and make me pure within;

Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame;

Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.

Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine;

Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine;

Take all my will, my passion, self and pride;

I now surrender, Lord, in me abide.

O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee;

Send a revival, start the work in me;

Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need;

For blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.

Edwin Orr CCLI 788682