Mystery and Wonder

Right Perspective

I am asking the question that every believer in the Lord Jesus should be asking right now!

What is God doing?
If you are not asking this question, it could be because:

• You have lost sight of who God is.
• You have been overwhelmed by other truths, circumstances and the unknown.
• You feel disempowered, ill-equipped.
• You lost hope.

The enemy wants us to believe that God is no longer in charge. He wants us to behave as totally disempowered people, a people without hope. He wants to belong to the “fellowship of isolation” to take you away from the body of Christ. He is wanting us to concentrate on the problem, and he wants us to be overwhelmed by many “what-ifs” and different facts. And be overwhelmed by the fallen condition of the world, with its lack of truth and hope!

• Am I saying that we need to ignore Covid19? No, to ignore it would be sinning of apathy! Which is also a sign of rebellion.
• Am I saying that we should worry and hope for the best! No, that would be not trusting at all in the Sovereignty of God. There is no worry in heaven; in fact, the Scriptures tells us that we shouldn’t worry.
• Am I saying that we need to ignore our reality? No, I am not. Facts should inform us and make us aware of our circumstances. But facts alone cannot determine what we believe, how do we behave and where to belong.

There is a higher reality, or to put in in another way there is a Higher Court where God’s belong and are bound to it: Heaven’s Court – Heaven’s reality. We are people who are called to live by faith, and when we live by Faith, Heaven’s Court releases hope!

We need to have Heaven’s Perspective!

Let me make very clear; there are many voices that believe that Satan has brought COVID 19, that it is his creation, that he is behind it all.

Biblically speaking Satan can’t do anything unless God allows it. Satan is not equal to God; he would like us to believe that he is. There is no “The force be with you in equal measure” – The “Good Force balances the Dark force”. NO!

There is One Lord, One Sovereign God, and his name is I AM! The Holy One, The Judge, The is the Creator, and He is Almighty, and He exists in three Person, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Then in Acts 4, we read that the Church came together to pray, and they prayed:

“And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,” (Acts 4:24 ESV)

The words “Sovereign Lord” is the Greek word for “Despota” which has a negative connotation, tyrant! But in this case, is denoting the possession of supreme authority,

We need to have a Biblical Perspective on the Sovereignty of God

All I know is that He is speaking to us right now, and I am confident that God is doing a new thing. I believe that He is shaking the old, former things, he is shaking the things that we have loved and treasured dearly, and He is preparing us for a new season!

New Structure

When I went to Spain early this year with the Council for Mission Overseas, with the convener of the Church Planting Panel and with the General Secretary of the Council, we were looking at Church Planting in Europe. We thought that the best church planting method was one of a scaffolding model, where we help we set up structures around the Church, so a process of deep structural renovation and change should take place.
To prepare the Church for God’s mission in our time.
In the last day of our meeting very early in the morning, we had our last meeting, and the Spanish Christian leader spoke to us about Scaffolding!! That was the very first time we met, and I as I translated there was a significant pause and the three of us looked at each other, and we all felt that was a word given to us by God.

I believe that we have a great scaffolding, a structure that is supporting the building, and the building is going to be hidden from view.

I believe that a new mindset is to be released from the Lord. This new mindset has to do with old wineskins mindset and new wineskins mindset.

“And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:22 NIV11-)

You see, we had believed that when Jesus said those words, it was only in the context of the Old and New Covenant. It was in the relationship between the religious leaders and the new covenant community of God. It has much to do with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the right and firm structures and foundations.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19–22 NIV11)

Built upon the foundation of the apostles, prophets and Christ is the Word of God so that the Spirit will dwell powerful in the lives of God’s people. I believe that this new mindset will be one of reconciliation between the word and the Spirit. No longer will be a divorce between those who are the only word led, and those who are Spirit-led.

Is this new? No, God has done this throughout history, a change of direction and a mindset transformation:

• He did it in first Church Council in Acts 15
• He did it through the Reformation
• He did it with the Charismatic movement
• He did with missionary movement.

He is doing it now! I believe that this movement of God will be Word and Spirit as its structure, and it will look like a ministry of Mystery and Wonder.

We are very familiar with the phrase “God moves in mysterious ways”, don’t we? Yes, we are and that sometimes explains what cannot be explained by reason or logic. The truth is that no one verse in the Bible describes God moving in mysterious ways!! This phrase is a hymn written by William Cowper, a man who suffered severe depression, “God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform”. How is it that a man who suffered severe depression was able to write such an amazing hymn? I believe that he was tapping into heaven’s reality, mystery and wonder!

Is there a mystery to God? Yes, in the sense that from our side of creation, we cannot fully comprehend what he is like or who he is in his totality. God has revealed himself to us as an act of his will in the Gospel.

The mystery is another word of the Gospel. Which now has been revealed, and wonder is the acts of God performed at the hands of his people.

“Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 3:8–12 NIV11)

The mystery is Christ Jesus! This mystery hasn’t been given to any other organisation but the Church that is entrusted with Gospel and this Gospel is full of wonder and signs. Wonders that open for us the possibility of the supernatural, (of heaven touching earth) and signs to direct us to the One Lord, Jesus. “

“Acts 4:29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Acts 4:30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” (Acts 4:29–31 NIV11)