Psalm 97: 6 (Message) The heavens announce that he’ll set everything right, And everyone will see it happen—glorious!
Announcing heavens
Set right
Non-restricted seeing
All to do with my heavenly Father, he is glorious.I can see clearly now

The NASB translations says it like this “…The heavens declare His righteousness and all the people’s have seen His glory…”

A heavens that speak to us is our wonderful gift, a declaring, an announcing heavens, lets listen to what it declares, the coming of “…Let your kingdom come…” the arrival of a King arriving to “…set everything right…” The order, and rule, the right way up, as it is in heaven, is being declared through and by the heavens, lets listen! Letting the eternal sound catch our inner person grooming us drawing us to look beyond the moment to see what is still to arriving in God’s economy.

“Setting everything right” is this not the same as your kingdom come, you and I have been brought into asking, praying, for what the heavens and Christ are declaring, the work of a unified voice of all creation people and heavens. The Fathers order coming, the house of God arriving in all creation, the Kings way a highway through all of cosmos which includes my ‘little’ world. At the school gate, in the office during classroom time, at home with the toddlers, on the road as I drive, you see it around you as you live it. Making the far country where my abode is to be that my life is, the far country of the Kingdom of God that has arrived and is still arriving this order everything set right that is the Fathers house.

This setting in order that the Psalmist speaks of is not to be a hidden thing or in a removed place secluded small with drawn place but a place where the seeing is non-restrictive a place that “…everyone will see it happen…”

“And every one will see it happen-glorious” or “And all the people’s, have seen His glory” can this be the glory that is Christ given that is in the process of being reveled, the same that Paul writes to the Ephesus church about in the book of Ephesians that the church is to be “…the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places…” (Eph 3:10) followed by “…to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen…” (Eph 3:21). The reveling of the church, the called out ones that are the carriers of Gods glory that will fill the earth “…as the waters cover the sea…”?

The called out people of God are the display of His Glory, we are introduced and believe in Christ that is a gift giver to the church, in John 17 we note that he gives to the church two things, one being His Word and the other, wait for it this is mind bending, see now he has given, past tense, to the church……His glory. Not something to be hunted for or chased after but lived in light of, now read these two scriptures before you stamp all over me:

John 17: 5 “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was…”

V 22 “…The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;”

The glory to make an open display of in the whole fabric of creation – every one will see it happen-glorious.

One of our Western challenges, or where ever there is the hold of consumerism in the culture we live in, that has subtle impact upon all of us in relation to our desire for God our chase of the Holy Spirit which I believe we need to be careful and wise with. If we do not we will find our journey towards maturity and desire for the Father being put off course.

Firstly let me say, of course the people of God are to deepen their intimacy with the Father realizing that he has made the way possible and it is not us that creates the possibility or means but its his grace that has done it all. Every blockage has been removed, every meandering pathway has been straightened, every chasm has been crossed by the Father. In essence there is no reason but for our own self that we cannot be deeply intimate with the Father. The work has been “…finished…” it is open to us to first enjoy and be one with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The onward chase or search for God must not come from our way of society, from our cultural paradigm. The society we live in places demands on us daily see it or not its there. A demand from leadership at the top of every organization, we are expected to increase our results against our expanding changing forms of evaluation, just look at our schooling system let alone the business world. It’s the promise of unlimited progress with the need of continuous improvement (Japanese concept – kaizen). Most of our world is competitive, we like to win and beat the competition. We must not bring this into the world of the Father.

Our world holds up individual liberties as a high goal along with the pursuit of happiness and consumer mentality but this way of life has produced a cycle that has been so below our radar. In the retail world we see first “customer satisfaction” as being a high goal and so it should, but here is the subtlety, in order to bring satisfaction we have first have to produce dissatisfaction with where we are, what we are, along with what we have gained. Paul tells us that had learned to be content with little/nothing and much, I would suggest that contentment was not based on what was still to come but on what has been given and what is available now.

We see our commitments at point of purchase only lasting until the next unit is developed and made available, when the next model or style or fashion comes on the market dissatisfaction moves in. This has a way of pushing its way into our relationship and pursuit of God which me must become fully aware of, other wise we are wanting more due to societies ability to subtly produce discontentment’s and we want more.

Of course we are to be intimate and enjoy God, for he has made a way. It’s an overflow and growing of our love that manifests in our desire to be continuously conscious of the Christ and the Father as there is never a moment where he is not present in his fullness. Which should have an effect on how we live NOW. Not because I need more as what I have is not enough due to consumer dissatisfaction

Be careful that my cry for more flows from my love and not from this invasion of the society we live in that has a subtle way of producing discontent with a promise of contentment “when I”, “if I”

The psalmist here brings an encouragement to join the declaration throughout the fabric of creation “set things right” we are to declare “Your Kingdom Come” make this place the setting of your environment o Lord as we bring your Kingdom in daily life we declare we show the heavens the glory of the Lord.

The heavens and the called out people of God announce he will set all things right, a unified voice, purpose and work come about in setting things right with an invading Kingdom that is arriving at every hand

Announcing heavens

Set right

Non-restricted seeing

Outside of God, man is locked up, trapped, a prisoner of emptiness: in his frustrations. Ever reaching, but finding nothing within his grasp. Mankind lives with forever promises being made & forever failure of deliver. “But God” is the old turning point of all human lives, the “but” that breaks through and takes the imprisoned soul, the barren and empty life transforming them:

Noah who one day found his sweating brow cooled by a soft breeze became unwound.

Adam & Eve who left the paradise of God without holding hands.

Abraham who saw what to others was not visible. Who lived by faith in the unseen God. Who pilgrimaged in faith for an unseen city.

Sarah who trusted

Moses who brought people out, Moses who climbed where no man had.

Joshua who rose up & moved the people of God forward.

Daniel whose covenant kept him.

Elijah whose prophetic character watched his prophetic word.

“But God” brings us to a realisation that:

God: spirit: word: all else has it’s Genesis here.

God: dwelling in the fullness of solitude.

God: enjoying fellowship in the fullness of fellowship with the society of the Godhead.

Determining the expression of Gods pleasure, the demonstration of Gods power, fulfilling Gods desires.

God Surrounding with majestic splendor befitting all creation and nature, extending God by “Let there be” and God surround with colour, form and creations. With the turn of fingers another galaxy spun into space. The considered mind of the council of God in the precision of divine purpose hung every star in it’s place. Everything is held together by the power of Gods words that now filled the space between all that had come into existence.

God poured & called into being other beings to show Father Spirit and Sons delights & continued creating as those sons of God, the moving stars leapt for joy & brought forth in praise day & night, morning & evening, day running into night as onward he went like some exuberant reveller. Wild with delight – your all was to plan. Nothing too soon. Nothing too late. Rivers & mountains & streams & valleys, deserts & waters. Animals, fish, birds until the whole earth teamed with life.

Exuberantly called out praise to the creator by the created who in heart desire to express Gods pleasure. Then a paused and a command issued God said let us make man and to the breathless wonder of all the rest of the created order, he added ‘in our own image & likeness’

Scooping up a handful of earth, red clay a restored dignity came to the planet, by shaping the soil to express likeness and image, with breathed is own breath of life into the crown of creation. heaven council watched as man bearing image stood up, eyes open, ears attuned to all else around and saw that which was created with mankind in view, universe, stars, sun, moon world, water, mountains. Yet it was good, that is it functions as it was created for, then it becomes “it’s not good”, following 5 statements of “its is good”, more accurately stated it is functional, then we have it is not good, what is not good ? The Image and likeness was not fulfilled. As God is never alone, God is nerve singular so mankind had to be more than one, putting him to sleep the God of perfection completed the detail of necessary companionship, friendship, fellowship and love, making covenant seen, setting an order to destiny a corporate people is the image and likeness. Together Adam & Eve hand in hand worked through the garden of pleasure surrounded by fullness of provision and everything worshipped the invisible God whose image was now visible in mankind in man and women of heavens council in making. From council “let us” rather than “let be” did Gods council create mankind to be from council and to continue in council for this is destiny not aloneness of self-made but a corporate son and multitude of people, man and women image capturing and bearing.

Everything stood quietly, treading softy, as day after day in the cool of the evening God & mankind walked together in the sweet fellowship of oneness, & perfect compatibility.

This is the Restoration and the centre of our salvation to walk again in the garden which is God to walk in God and through God.

It’s easy to say, ‘We are to be like Christ’, it is RADICAL and yet it a common statement, we may also hear folk say we are to be incarnational, what does that really mean? Someone once said that ‘Jesus put a face on God’ by coming amongst people and touching, lifting, embracing and caring for them in their hurts and needs. I find the scripture in John 1:18 very important for the day in which we live, it states that Jesus “came to explain the father”. He put a face on God for all humanity and this is continuing in the family way, explaining and making people aware of God, being the image and likeness of God to our homes, streets, work and educational establishments. We embrace Christ’s radical mission, recognising that the Father sends us even as he sent Jesus, [John 20:21] then we too can wear the face of God in…

God’s intention today is to step into the cities, towns and rural areas of the nations to touch and lift the fallen, broken, hurting and dying in humanity. We must refuse to fossilize if we’re to avoid becoming a church, a called out people ‘having form without power’.[ 2 Timothy 3:5]

In reality Christ, the supreme restorer, was the most RADICAL man that ever walked the earth. Jesus’ radical actions were not moments of human weakness or intolerance, but expressions of God’s heart. The radical Christ is at all times the perfect image of God the Father. Radical Christianity will always be passionate, jealous as well as zealous, and white-hot for the divine interests involved. Being radically committed to the restoration of the church to God’s full intention brings us into inevitable conflict with custom and tradition.

Before we move on “Radical” a much used term that has often been taken to mean the way out, those who extremely different on the edge kind of people, those that don’t easily belong to cultural or norms. But RADICAL actually means “foundational”, Jesus is radical as he has always dealt with humanities foundational issues. We are radical as we carry a foundational message, life and implication.

I mentioned being radical is being committed to radical restoration, restoration challenges any misplaced sense of loyalty to religious heritage, or sentimental attachment to a religious past. Radical commitment to the restoration of God’s church keeps us moving forward in the direction of the Spirit in our day, and prevents us from falling by the wayside with the religiously comfortable. Its only by being given to a radical restoration will the progress of the church be achieved. Standing radically to break through the restraining religious walls and forces of our time, this is the radical ministry of the people of God.

Our world today and tomorrow will be affected by radical men and women who live as saints from bygone years in the light of God’s purpose.

RADICAL CHANGES

Changes are occurring at a fast pace, the world we live in is getting unrecognizable, shifts are happening, things are changing in this generation; we are growingly aware that what we have now is no longer sufficient for what presently is, or for what is coming. We cannot settle for the average, accepting conventional wisdom. We must do more than merely think of changing; we must change our thinking. We cannot just uphold the same. We cannot just drift by but the need to be foundation-ally radical is there. The kingdom of God is the reality of God’s ways, God’s order, God’s government and pattern in our “time/space” world. The kingdom of God is a very radical experience.

We are being radical when:

· We embrace the gospel that joins us to others and their need, and cuts us free from the destructive influence of our independent self-will.

· We embrace the consequences of following his direction and Spirit regardless of possible consequences, which frees us from self-preservation.

· We maintain an attitude of pioneering, journeying onward rather than settling in self-comfort zones; we are pilgrims, not settlers.

· Living free of any domination of consumer world and the passing unimportant things that try and make themselves important via group pressures. Money can enslave; decisions, actions, directions, relationships, even ministry can be controlled by the desire for the temporal or money.

· Confidently confront the powers of darkness that oppose us rather than allowing them to paralyse us in fear.

· Making things happen is our way of living It is not for others to cause something to happen but for you to make it happen.images

· We refuse to compromise the truth to accommodate religion, or cultural norms.

· We remain committed to Christ as head of the church refusing to get stuck.

Crisis is defined as a time of difficulty or danger, our worlds seem to move form crisis to crisis in peoples lives, in political environments Crisis seems to frame our lives.
When crisis comes near we need to be a people who understand what we require to face and address the situation. Gaining an understanding in times of crises is particularly required by influence or leaders. Whether you have been appointed in the good times or appointed and handed a crisis not of your making, given a task with all its challenges, we will have to learn what it is to make difficult decisions, to decide on direction of action, the biggest challenge to every one is to see the decisions through.

I would suggest  that the responses we require to be able to negotiate the terrain that lies before us will really challenge you and see and asking us to be very flexible in thought and action. Asking us to be flexible in maker and leadership avoiding running the real of an old fashioned not willing to adjust of move autocracy. Asking of us to be empowering to all and flexible.

I remember Charles Simpson once outlining that the church should be flexible fluid and digital. I would say that in any circumstance in dealing with young children, teenagers, in our working environment, relationships, and leadership it is the person who can keep principal yet be fluid to negotiate the ups and downs, in and outs of constant change, those who can hold onto the purpose of God while being flexible to the seasons and the winds of change. Realising that God puts everything within us that we require, yet it does not find its fullness until we are connected to others, that the digit finds itself connected into the motherboard. That makes it all possible.

Let me offer some thoughts in the midst of our crisis

Be visible, be calm, be available
do not run into a corner, be seen across the environment you are responsible for,  be the one that inspires hope acknowledging the tough terrain of the road ahead.

Give continual input
find and tap into new resources of information, re-assess who you are and the gifts you have, discover the shape God has made you and be it rather than think you have the answer to everything. Show flexibility that you can move from plan A to B or C knowing that the end goal of what God is after is most important

Be decisive
communicate a sense of urgency however never make decisions in panic, commit to your way forward once you clear. Remember we’ve discovered that without action words mean nothing. Always be ready to develop a change.

Be focused
identify what is the goal of God, what is God after in the light of this what is the call of God on your own life after, what will your contribution be? Asks yourself then given yourself fully to it. Never forget what you’re good at, be ready to establish your priorities

Be a relational builder
we are meant to be in the together, the corporate people of God. Be one that sets their goal to build relationships remember that individuals never win wars. Find new connections while being faithful to those that God has related you to.

Be a motivator
communicate constantly and positively, meet face-to-face with people, explain, gather feedback. Remember a manager tells people what to do, a leader motivates and encourages the best, be the ambassador, live up to the mission, be the example

be empathetic
share in all things with people around you, share in the world God has placed you, the pain, understand the fears. We all may have to work longer and harder for little reward. Work to inspire and produce a people that will say we are all in this and together in this. Remember it starts with you first.

Celebrate every little advance it will build people up as they see their advance. Unfortunately for most it is quite difficult to see any advance and any gain be the Gain Storyteller

just remember crisis is a time of gain, it’s the ‘kairos’ moment of opportunity in danger, it’s the turning point, it brings about change, a crisis will always bring a new wave of people to the forefront.

Kairos (καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment (the ‘supreme moment’).

We have Finally secured our new site in Western Cape.     Its been several years in the preparing and planning stages, and TODAY we excitedly announce we have finally competed on the transfer of this 4 hector site in Gordons Bay to our ownership.    It will be a place to firstly restore the property in order to bring about a place of transform of people as well as places of our world.  A place of training where Covenant College South Africa will be established – an apostolic training base on the southern tip of Africa.

A place where community uplift can be inspired from, where people can fully realise their destiny in Gods will while bring the Kingdom of God to our world.    A place where Apostolic RoundTables will gather, apostles and prophets flowing from a community together being an expression of God in covenant relationship.

A place where Restoration – the purpose of God can be celebrated; the Kingdom – the order of God established; Covenant – the necessary environment for God to bring about the Restoration of ALL things will be seen and declared.

Rejoice with us a see celebrate God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.