WEEK 1 THE MISSIONS MANDATE: BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING

Genesis 12: 1-3  Abraham's call to 'Go'

‘I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.  I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’ 

There is a big division in the bible into two parts. One part is  Genesis 1-11 and the other part is Genesis 12- Revelation 21. Genesis 1-11 is an explanation of man’s problem. God is creator but man has sinned.  Genesis 12- Revelation 21 is God’s response….. and what is God’s response at the  beginning of Genesis 12…. ‘I will’….Our God is a…. ‘willing God’.

This is the creator God of Genesis 1 , who despite man’s sin and wickedness that we read about in Genesis 1-11 is a God who will find a way to redeem the situation. He will keep his promise that he made in Genesis 3:15 ‘he will crush your  head. God will find a way to redeem.  God’s call to Abraham to ‘Go’ is proof that God is faithful even if we are faithless. God will find a way to redeem this situation. God will not abandon us. God has not abandoned us. The blessing in Genesis 11 deals with the curse in Genesis 3 and the result is in Revelation 22:3. No longer will there be any curse . The promise of Genesis 11:1-3, is a promise of blessing. 5 times God says I will bless you. That blessing will spill out and bless the whole earth. God says to Abraham ‘ Go …..(and) ….All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’  We read later in Habbakuk.‘The earth will be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea. 

Our God is a God of covenant and a God of history. He has promised and He will do it . The first words of New Testament are a genealogy. Everyone in the genealogy is a  fulfillment of the  2000 year promise to Abraham. Our faith in the Messiah is deeply rooted in this long list of people. Jesus is the key figure and we are invited to participate in his spiritual lineage. In Hebrews 11we read. ‘It is by faith that we inherit the promise’. Abraham did not see it with his eyes. As he responded to the call to ‘Go,’ he inherited the promise by faith and so do we. Our God is a God of mission. As Abraham’s seed by faith we can step into the promise. God has said  ‘Go.’ God says to you and me ‘Go' Will we respond? 

In Romans 10 we read , ‘How will they hear if someone doesn’t ‘Go’ We need to understand that there is a greater plan in the heart of God . God’s plan for the human race is a for a big family that will fill the earth. Do you and I understand that we are part of that plan?  Going back is not an option. He commands us to ‘Go’. Let’s step into God’s plan. He will accomplish his purposes, There is no going back. What is your response? Will you be part of God’s big plan to bless the whole earth, that’s God’s mission. He has promised and he will do it.  You have a destiny and a purpose and it is all part of this missions mandate: God’s plan is to bless the whole earth. Let’s respond to God’s call and Go! 

LAUNCHING OUT INTO THE DEEP

• ...SO THEY PULLED THEIR BOATS UP ONTO THE SHORE, LEFT EVERYTHING AND FOLLOWED HIM

The late Dallas Willard said in his book 'The Spirit of the Disciplines' that 'Salvation is a life.' He asked the question 'Why is it that we look upon our salvation as a moment when we began our religious life rather than the daily life we receive from God. The church Father Athanasius emphasized the importance of the incarnation over the cross in understanding our salvation, just as he emphasised Christ's person over Christ's work. Dallas Willard encourages us that salvation is a new order of life, not just forgiveness of sins. When Jesus called his disciples to follow him, he called them to a new order of life. Why should we pull up our boats, leave everything and follow Jesus? It is our response to Jesus and his call on our life. He is our life... and our salvation is found in that daily life we receive from Him.

In seeking to grow in Christian discipleship, and to be changed into the image of Christ, I have been inspired recently by the similarity between Eastern Orthodoxy and Classical Pentecostalism. In many ways John Wesley was a bridge from one to the other.In Orthodoxy this transformation is called 'theosis' and for Pentecostals it takes place though baptism in the spirit and prayerful encounter.John Wesley drew inspiration from the Orthodox Christian fathers and he was the spiritual and intellectual father of the modern holiness and Pentecostal movements.

Andrew Walker has written a book this year called 'deep church rising' encouraging retrieval of practices of the Orthodox church including 'Catechesis'. Cambridge House of Prayer seeks to be an Anglican 'new monastic' a fresh expression of church,and stirred by concerns that fresh expressions of church are sometimes quite superficial and in danger of becoming'flights from tradition',we intend to go deeper in discipling believers in a praying evangelistic community. In seeking to follow Christ as his disciples we seek to draw from both ancient and more recent streams of christian spirituality, valuing both old treasure and new.

In Luke 5 Jesus called Peter to launch out into the deep. He said ' Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.' Even though Peter had laboured all night without success he let down his nets, and he caught so many fish that his nets began to break.Will you join us in the Cambridge House of Prayer as we launch out into the deep this autumn? We are beginning to step out into the deep, stepping out of our comfort zones as an evangelistic community sharing the gospel on the streets using gospel bracelets. see link with title 'Gospel bracelets'

Gospel Bracelets

We are also beginning to step out into the deep as a praying community, adopting a bible reading programme that encourages corporate reading of the psalms on a daily basis and personal reading of the New Testament and Old Testament. We are aiming to read and pray the psalms corporately three times over the next 30 weeks and read the New testament twice and the old Testament once in our personal devotions too.This is the type of balance that the early church fathers adopted we understand it, in their bible reading. This will start on Monday 22 September.

Click on 3-2-1 bible reading plan. This is a 12 page document on the following link.

3-2-1 Bible reading plan

We will also be coming together once a week on Thursday nights beginning to meet more frequently at the Round church in the centre of Cambridge, starting this week.See the following link for when and where we are meeting

Regular gatherings

or contact me at

andrew.taylor7@cantab.net

I will aim to post summaries of the weekly devotionals from our Thursday evening meetings over the next 30 weeks, on this website.

Lets launch out into the deep together this autumn!