Month: July 2011

Why…

/ 'face2face' - Gareth Duffty / Leave a comment

Why...Why...Why

We all have many friends in our lives, some pass through for a season others stay around for longer.   I begin this blog, not with friendship in mind directly but more to ask, out of all those friends or acquaintances how many have helped us on our journey though life?   Who has impacted me and to what extent?    It always amazes me that we have friends that don’t help as well as those who do.     Who has walked through my life and is still doing so? Bringing the imprint of wisdom through their words and actions.   Who has become the finger of God working in my life?  is this not “every joint supplying”.   I opened up a meeting on Sunday with this thought “…to join my self to any one, even to be joined to a people group, a church, cannot simply mean just  attending…” Unfortunately for far to many this is so, the Christ like life degenerates to attending rather than becoming a relational joining, a felt joining, even our language can be ever so relational but do we truly feel one another?    “You are not joined with me until I feel you, we have not joined until we feel one another”.

I would suggest that Jesus showed this in his own life, constantly painting pictures of this, glimpses of joining and being felt so many times.   One story comes to mind of the woman who had bled for 12 years, she came not just to be in the crowd, but to join herself to him.   When she did so Jesus felt it, it was not just a healing we are told Jesus felt something leave him.   She was joined he felt it and I am sure she did, a story of order and government (number 12 is always seen as government, 12 tribes, 12 apostles of the lamb, 12 disciples etc.) her life came back into order after 12 years of disorder.    This was a relational touch in story form “she touched him”, actually her healing came not as she just brushed passed his prayer blanket, in her action she joined her self to him and Jesus announced “…who touched me…” I felt it flow from me.   Is this not “every joint supplying”?

Back to where I began some people touch our lives and help us to put lenses on that enable us to see a bigger picture, enabling us to get a balance back in life, others help us to see the detail of all around, others put give us lenses that assist us to appreciate people and circumstances, and there are those that even help us to see with future lenses, making sense of the past and future along with present.   Few come along and probe strategic questions on how we see, so that we can priorities and respond correctly.  Questions that may even shake us but ones that will ultimately secure our journey and the way we live that journey.

Here is my point, reading today the Psalmist viewpoint on life lived around him, through the Message translation, I read a simple yet  a powerful word,  its consequence, if dealt with incorrectly could shipwreck a life, but if dealt with correctly will enhanced and make authentic our faith journey and intimate relationship with the Christ of God.

Psalm 106:1-3 says “…Hallelujah! Thank God! And why?   Because he’s good, because his love lasts.   But who on earth can do it — declaim God’s mighty acts, broadcast all his praises?   You’re one happy man when you do what’s right, one happy woman when you form the habit of justice.

My simple word is WHY

What a great opening and a wonderful habit to get into asking WHY?   Its not any WHY being asked here, its WHY are you being God focused, WHY are you thankful focused and WHY are you both together thanking God?      Don’t just do it because of the pressure of the crowd or the church you belong to, who expect you to conform in what we call “worship” just do it.   I think God likes this question as it cuts through the dross of performance and brings us to the real essence of you, and his relationship felt with us.

The Psalm commences with Hallelujah where does that go to, what is its meaning here.     Praise starts within the heart and action, but then we read an abrupt stop, WHY?

One sure thing that this WHY exposes is, don’t just give you self to form,  or praise that is simply emotional, soul driven, gaining ego or position, the things of life that change and that are insecure, rather find the unchanging stuff.   Find a WHY that is worthwhile and a WHY that is compelling, a WHY that brings a reason and momentum an advance, that creates a sure foundation.

Praise, thanks, WHY these three may be a good combination for life’s journey a threesome, that brings a way forward.

Praise

Thanks

WHY

Three legs of an expressive disciple, a disciple that turns his /her heart to the Lord becomes one of these who God looks for!

We have a WHY to encourage us to engage further, to become personally authentic, rather than simply being a part of a group, I have to do it.    So I need to understand WHY there is even a way to ask my WHY’s.   How can I ask an empowering WHY, not just a child’s frustrated WHY, or even a rebellious WHY, but a WHY that enables me to know myself and my motivations.

This WHY is to bring an understanding of

Self

My environment

The overcoming power of testimony

An encounter of God

Why I do what I do, that enables the expression to come from an inner well.

That no religion distracts or engrosses

That no unreality destroys authenticity

That we are always aware of the inner man discovering in the wilderness the inner challenges of motive.

WHY ASK WHY?

Should I never ask, is it productive, should it be part of my life’s cycle, am I able to manage asking the question?

WHY are you doing what your doing? find the answer,  the Father will bring it.

WHY is a powerful a belonging word, it really will cause you to feel your relationships, when WHY’s are asked we will feel one another, as we bring form to our WHY’s of life and faith.

Kingdom, its only getting started…

/ 'face2face' - Gareth Duffty / Leave a comment
Changes that have occurred through the decades due to a Kingdom proclamation and Life style
The following statements are in no way conclusive; they are just meant to be short statements of changes I have noted that have been brought about through considering the Kingdom, of God in instruction and practice.   Each statement has a weight of scripture and instruction behind it.   I have not attempted to fill this  out in any way, I simply wanted to make a statement and let it sit there and provoke thought in you.   We could debate for many long nights over them, I also know that as I am a frustrated dyslexic you will need time to pull out and understand what I mean for a number of the statements….. but see how you get on and feed back as we continue to develop a Kingdom understanding
  • Kingdom will place the King at the centre of all.   It establish a Christ-Centred gospel, not a doctrine, not a denomination or stream but in practice a relationship based life working together for this to be seen in revelation, established instruction and practice therefore through a lifestyle
  • We do not plant a church we go and EMBODY the Kingdom
  • We have a head – no other head is required Christ is our head.  There  is   not a hierarchical structure but servant hood to the Christ
  • Ministry and Life are the same,  It’s not about filling a post but about being yourself in the ministry and in the market place of life
  • What the Kingdom looks like in its fullness is still to be answered, it’s certainly not gathering around a church structure
It is a People movement (Eph 4:11) – a people who are Eph 4:11 in character for our world and in our world, being the Apostolic, prophetic people of God in their corporate nature.
The restoration of ministries (Eph 4) is more about the Restoration of Christ to the body and not just a restoration of ministries otherwise we will become hierarchical once again
  • A Corporate ONE people – how to live in diverse harmony!
 What keeps us apart/separated, is there any thing legitimate? – a relationship based on the diversity of Christ in expression, a true Holy Spirit people are a diverse people by nature of what the Holy Spirit is producing and therefore there is a great need of a Holy Spirit lifestyle to be able to live diversely.
  • The question is asked What are we to be to one another?  The implications and practice of this is a due to a Kingdom understanding.
  •  Finance & Kingdom, the Father wants to develop a world financial system not just a tithe, the establishment of a tithing people with a social responsibility/creational responsibility to see the tithe in regard to the Kingdom being larger than church money only, discovering a world economy system to bring justice and a stewardship
  • Property – a fatigue regarding owning church buildings etc has effected many
  • Forgiveness and Servanthood are central  while we work to produce communities that are forgiving and serving to our world
  • The message of the Kingdom is a DECONSTRUCTION message, deconstructing anything that is not Kingdom in function and action
  • Relevant question being asked – how far does Kingdom extend?  –  And to what end?
THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS BECOME OUR REFERENCE POINT 
The church is an emerging church – constantly emerging and changing, being the nature of God  it is still arriving, it represents an age to come not just a history
The Kingdom has brought hope and seeks to realise the promises of God with in communities, as we do this we become a blessing, blessed to bless,  a servant people with signs of the Kingdom following, as we live God’s future NOW!
  • Churches for so long moved in Kingdom teaching, the teaching  was often taken on board as a way to get to where they wanted to be, rather than it becoming a way of life, it’s a challenge when no one wanted to change to be transformers
  • We stopped only reading apostle Paul’s view and refocused on Jesus – the humanity of Jesus and love has become the characteristics of the church – we will get the gospel wrong if we do not refocus on Jesus (writers and commentators such as NT Wright, Jonathan Yoder, David Bosa, Leslie Newbigan influencers)
  • The church is a Sign and a Servant of the coming Kingdom, a servant that points beyond to a reign that will fill all
  • The church is a ‘pilgrim’, on a ‘becoming’ church journey
  • The kingdom gives rise to a community and not vice versa, church is a product of mission before being an agent of mission
  • Family is the correct form of Government it should be seen as the correct practice of church government, then the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, children will then be gifted as elders, apostles etc
  • Kingdom demands an INCLUSIVE PRACTICE V EXCLUSIVE Practice which is displayed in action and attitude
  • We do not chase God out of a place neither do we call spiritual and secular divides into being any longer, but see him, the Christ, in every place.
  • Kingdom is not about gathering, collecting many, but the essence of the Kingdom is seen in generosity – giving away what we have – people, money, time etc., sending and releasing
  • Kingdom is about being a fathering people, an apostolic prophetic people… in our world and not about having a few of these people resident in a local church, it is about bringing the atmosphere of Christ to our society and cosmos.
  • The Gospel of the Kingdom makes possible full participation with God in the redemption of the  world – cosmos
  • To let the church exist without the Kingdom is to be without Jesus (NO King/rule) and thus with no proper identity as a people of God
  • Who you are as a people of God is tied into the Kingdom, to bring identity – image and likeness which cannot come outside of the Kingdom otherwise people become a commodity and church will produce  a consuming commodity rather than a Governing Family
  • The Kingdom is about identifying with Jesus, it’s about Jesus not a methodology, it’s about his glory (John 17 church given glory)and his life (not I that live).   Not an event, ritual, creed or religion – A JOURNEY OF TRUST AND ADVENTURE.
  • The GOOD NEWS is not about being saved and seeing sins gone, but about THE KINGDOM COMING
  • We have come to abolish the ‘Secular Space’ it is ‘modernist’ thinking, note the Kingdom is everywhere Kingdom means there is no realm without God, how can then can we create one space, not a dual space (secular – spiritual)?
  • We are a community and because we are a community we are DIVERSE
  • Incarnation means the combination of sacred and secular
  • A people of God who are becoming and have become CONTRIBUTORS
  • The Kingdom brings about a Church that is about being SENT and about being PRIESTS to their space
  • To teach on prayer is to ask for the Kingdom to come!  Your Will be done, not my needs – God supply me; my stuff – this is my identity; and my rights – this is why I was saved  for me? –  the ‘new trinity’ my needs,wants and desires, the Kingdom of God asks for the Father’s will to come and be done
  • A necessary question due to Kingdom ‘if Jesus was here what would he be doing?’
Leadership
  • There is a Leadership move from hierarchical to non-hierarchical   Why – priesthood of all believers and  Servant leadership
  • leadership by Persuasion/appeal rather than control, issues of power are exposed and challenged by the Kingdom of God
  • Servanthood replaces dominion; forgiveness absorbs hostility
  • Leadership to equip for the world, not just equipping a church paradigm
  • Keeping the community in the story – this is Kingdom leadership focused on the Kingdom of God
  • The Kingdom challenges leadership behaviour that is based on power, control, submission and authority – Leadership is to produce a peaceable community, non-hierarchical priesthood of all believers, with a relationship to its head – Christ
  • To move from the Vision of a leader, to a Vision held by ALL, and the will of God
  • To teach on prayer is to ask for the Kingdom to come!  Your Will be done
Culture/World 
  • Engagement not removal – GO not come to us – commission for missional life
  • Responsibility not Judgment (Levitical priesthood V Melchizedek priesthood)
  • Mission – goes into, not drags out of – demands people maturity – consumer mentality with everything performed at the at the front undermines this maturity, as only a few do for all, rather than all do for a world
  • Service not conformity
  • Missional not Missionary
General
  • Character focused – not gift
  • Sanctification – the bride making her self ready
  • Gift is you, be yourself do not perform
  • Waking up to the fact that we have been told we need to die but now waking up to how we need to live (eschatology had an escapism view, creation being burned up view, this is  not any longer the predominant view, it’s now redemptive and restorative) – it’s not just trying to believe in Jesus to get to heaven.   It’s about being increasingly alive to Jesus and God in our world – bringing heaven to earth –  INCARNATION LIFE STYLE AND WALK.
  • God wants US to solve the problem by redeeming acts not us waiting for him do it
Socially 
  • Hands and Feet of Jesus
  • Justice view – partnership, removal of poverty not charity provision
  • A new world system if we are to posses a generation
  • How to be a manifestation of Christ and an explanation of the Father through love and Justice (John 1:18 “explain the Father” NASB)
  • If we are not bringing justice and transformation to the world we should ask, “do we have the right to exist?”
  • Mission defines us more than worship – Putting my whole family into the chaos (Genesis 1, Incarnation etc) in order to see what it means for the Kingdom of God in operation!
Theology
  • It has exposed an eschatology of truth with a responsibility for creation and challenges, changes an escapism view and teaching it is much more about redemption, transformation, restoration of our world
  • Kingdom removes all ideas of escapism and brings transformation forcefully
  • This changes our worship, church structures and societal contact – Works of Service
  • The Earth is the Lords not only the church
  • “God loves” – he sent his Son for the creation “cosmos”
  • The Gospel is PARTICIPATING IN GODS REDEEMING ACTS
  • Kingdom – reign of God is about life in the Garden (Creation, Cosmos)
Our attitudes and lifestyle can be summed up in being:
Authentic, real, relational, organic, simple
To be and maintain a Family
Paradigm culture change in  the way we have been and will educate
Acknowledging we are in a reformation on all these levels
A foundational lesson for us all is that our ‘View of God determines how well you live’  – necessary that our world view is constructed through an ever arriving God.   He is still disclosing himself to us that we might live free and well according to what we see according to the Christ filling all in all this heavenly Father creator God filling our view
Hey I am only getting started

Declaring the Kingdom of God

/ 'face2face' - Gareth Duffty / 1 Comment

We have over the years been schooled into an understating of Kingdom, which has brought its own challenges.   Each of us comes from a reality into which we have been educated, instructed and worked, all of these paradigms  groom our thinking.   Many of us are still coming to terms with what we call “KINGDOM” the scriptures and the revelation of God regarding what we call the central message and only message of Jesus, The Kingdom of God is still unfolding.   It would be dangerous to state I know it all, have it all, and be the fount of all knowledge,  as there is the breath of God which is ready to unpack yet more.

Kingdom in itself is different to every  other kind of teaching, it has a life in itself, it has within it, the voice and the message of the King.  Teaching can be taught and returned to within a teaching cycle but this Kingdom message once introduced will allow the rule of the Father to flow into every area of function and practice.   In essence once introduced it has a way of touching into areas not previously considered.    We can talk about the rule of God and the implications of that manifesting in my finances but before we know it Kingdom is working and marriages come under scrutiny, parenting, relationships, etc…..  The Kingdom of God seems to have a life of its own, the rule of God invades our lives at every level.

I would even go as far as to say that the Kingdom of God ‘deconstructs’ everything, practices, theology and functions to bring the rule of God to bear.   Everything we do is deconstructed, but not in the way commonly accepted, deconstruction has had a negative connotation attached to it in some circles,  but what we see is the Kingdom deconstructing in such a  way that anything that is not  representative of the Kingdom of God is challenged.   The Spirit then works to bring about  change to enable the Kingdom to flow.  Therefore we should expect that how we live on Sundays, or Mondays to Fridays will  all  have to come in line with this Kingdom.

Jesus, John the Baptist, and the apostles went about proclaiming the kingdom–not the church (Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 10:7; Acts 28:30-31). The influence of the Kingdom is through out all creation, the rule of God holds all things together, within this rule we have the Church, Church and the Kingdom being one yet one word describes a called out people under the rule of God – Church and the term the rule of God over all and in all creation – Kingdom.   So we then say ‘although the church is in the kingdom, it is not the entire kingdom”.     When my children were very young there was a British children’s program called ‘Playschool‘ in the middle of the 30 min program they would be asked a question regarding the topic under focus “Which window shall we look through children?” was the question, a round open window, a square one, and a third shape were then all displayed.    Through one of three windows a view of the world would be seen.    Life surrounds it self with similar views, we choose to look at life’s issues and practices through our own reality windows, this is so plain to see regarding the understating we live by in regards to the Kingdom of God.    That is,  if you and I see through a Kingdom of God shaped window/reality we see the Kingdom and the Church as one, they are synonymous, one movement of God which cannot and must not be separated, are seeing through the Kingdom or the Church shaped window is the foundation of our world view, our perceive paradigms.

I have come across some folk who use the excuse, “well I am given to the kingdom” – meaning they want the liberty to be independent rather than live and understand the structures of the church,  yet a Kingdom understanding makes the Church and Kingdom one in such  a way that it cannot be separated, one being the product and the other continuing the proclamation etc.   Then you have those who look  only through a church window, a local church window  and see a conflict between the two, the church and the Kingdom.    Watchman Nee had an impact on some of the separation of Church and Kingdom, I would suggest that was unhelpful, as they are one and the same,  the Church is in the Kingdom, but the Kingdom and the rule of God is greater.    We must not see separation but see only one message, one Kingdom, one people of the Kingdom and one message proclaimed by the people.

So be careful and ask yourself the question,  “what window am I looking through?”

“Kingdom” denotes the rule of God over the whole cosmos, not just one  single entity here on the earth, like the church.  In spite of this, most preaching today has as its goal, to get people to make a weekly two-hour commitment to come to a building on Sundays and give tithes to support that building! This is because a spirit of religion has captivated the church and blinded the minds, so that we now have a very limited church mindset, instead of a kingdom perspective. This has had a negative result and the Spirit is again addressing a change so that the Kingdom message can have its full and ultimate effect.

While considering this let me suggest the following contrasts between these two mindsets:

A kingdom mindset will release all saints/all people of God, the called out ecclesia, as ministers in the marketplace, empowering them to make a radical, foundational transformation in that community. A church mindset trains people to serve in its church structure, especially on a Sunday, Sundays are solely an implication of the chosen expression decided upon, in this format  we work on getting worship teams, stewards, children’s and crèche workers, catchers, etc, etc, these may be necessary due to the choice of shape we have decided upon rather than being the true  ‘works of service’ to our world and communities.

A Kingdom mindset will work and believe to create wealth, to transform a community and ultimately a nation. A church mindset motivates giving to build our own church programs.

A Kingdom mindset is a holistic approach that integrates the gospel with politics, economics, and public policy. A church mindset insulates the gospel from politics and public policy.

A Kingdom mindset will see the Bible as a blueprint, as a guide to structure every aspect of society that brings us to realize that everything in  life is spiritual.  A church mindset views the Bible merely as a book that enables us to escape the world, enter heaven, and be spiritual.

A Kingdom mindset enables the church to embrace and love their surroundings the  un-churched communities. With a church mindset churches only embrace converted individuals within their faith communities, and see a big separation between the church and world,  staying with a siege mentality and retaining their separation.

A Kingdom mindset will train people and prepare them for all of life. A church mindset trains people for church life and activity.

A Kingdom mindset nurtures leaders who are world changers and “culturally creative” who articulate truth to society. A church mindset nurtures leaders who speak religious language relevant only to church people.

A Kingdom mindset speaks of the rule of God over the entire created order.    Church mindset speaks of the rule of God through church offices and gifts, deacons and elders over those in a church congregation.

A Kingdom mindset Ministries of God will release people to their vocational callings in the marketplace. A church mindset controls people by marginalizing their marketplace callings and emphasizing only their Sunday ministries, ministries within their structure.

A Kingdom immerses people into their world, that they become influencers at every level to their world, enabled to be effective in society and every walk of life.  A church mindset involves a spirituality that separates from the natural world, it keeps us thinking of escape from a fallen world rather than be partakers of the Restoration of the Cosmos that God so loves.

A Kingdom mindset is a working toward a Restoration of a world where Christ fills all walks, all ways and the whole of creation.  Those with a church mindset merely strive for a particular expression, stream, denomination, and structure of Christianity to be filled.

A Kingdom mindset churches equip 100% of the saints to fill up all things in every realm of life (Ephesians 4:10-12). Those with a church mindset have as their primary goal to equip the 2-3% of the congregation called to be full-time church pastors, ministers, and missionaries.

YOU have a Kingdom message, a Christ rule, to bring the ultimate intentions of God to bear on the whole of the cosmos “God so loves the cosmos (world) he gave” Kingdom is the giving, taking root and affecting the whole of  life.   I have written these to provoke further discussion, enable us to discover what God is still bringing to us in our understanding of the Kingdom, these thoughts are not conclusive stances necessarily they are listed to provoke debate so come and talk.   Neither must I say are they statements made between any particular shape or model of church function (mega, simple, home, celebration, cell, the list is endless) it is an attempt to grapple and consider a biblical grasp of Kingdom and Church of our century.

Giveaway God

/ 'face2face' - Gareth Duffty / Leave a comment

Focus on Free

Consider the Fathers challenge it is his Great Story this is his Great Challenge, Gods Great Challenge is how to give away God.  God has great difficulty doing this, you would think everybody wants God but the response goes something like this “Lord I am not worthy I would rather have religion and morality which gives me the impression I can do it on my own”.    The response often is to out line with various reasons why I am not up to being “spiritual” or to say “I have to get more spiritual” or chase after God to show I am worthy before I am able to get you.     It seems that is better if God gives me the structured, institutional church rather than me being the church the Ecclesia of God, a people who are an outcome of the given-ness of Gods life to humanity, it’s better that I control than to give myself to your given gift, your free gift, no strings attached gift.   Let us learn to receive what you give away freely your kind-of-life!

Mary’s response shows how we should respond to this great grace and gift, it indicates she had an egoless response.  It was not a cry of “I am unworthy” but a “How”, she simply asked for clarification and has become Gods and therefore our picture of how to be receptive and that we should follow.
She shows us how to be a person who can respond with a resounding YES, an unquestioning YES to a free gift.
Catch this worthiness has never been the question put to us, of course we are not but God is giving himself to you no strings attached free, for freedom we were set free to say “be it unto me”.