I read a really helpful article on the Gospel Coalition website today outlining a strategy for pursuing sexual purity. Within an increasingly sexualized culture, this is important stuff – important for those wishing to protect themselves, guard their relationships and most importantly, glorify God.

I’ve attempted to summarise the article. To read the entire article go to http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/03/12/f-l-e-e-a-strategy-for-pursuing-sexual-purity/

As Christians, we are to “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Cor 6:18). How are we doing? How are we dealing with it? Here’s a strategy: F.L.E.E.

F – Fill yourself with Christ. He is the bread of life and he satisfies (John 6:35). Believe this and fill yourself with his Word (Matt 8:4) and your life with his people (Col 3:16).

L – Lock out the lies. Don’t run to the sexual lies, run from them. Sexual immorality may look good, but it destroys (Prov 7:13-23).

E – Exchange lies for truth. Seductive lies are all around us and we often exchange the truth about God for these lies. God reverses the exchange. For a Christian, our new self is created after God’s likeness (Eph 4:22-24). When tempted, get out your Bible, read about God’s truth and blast away the lies.

E – Expose yourself to the light. Don’t keep any sexual sin in the darkness. Don’t pretend it didn’t happen. Confess it to God. Walk in his light. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7). Stay in the light. And also, chat about it with a Christian friend or two who you trust well – confess it to them. Let them pray for you (James 5:16).

FLEE sexual immorality.

A long time has passed since my last blog, and a lot of life has passed too! Baby boy number 3 arrived on January 11th – Eli James Hawthorne. He is amazing. I’m well and truly following in my own Dad’s footsteps – he is one of three boys himself and he helped produced three boys. My two brothers have all girls so it’s looking like the family name is going to be carried on through my boys!!

Nobody ever told me (not in much detail anyway) just how testing life could be, as a busy, working man with a family including three young, energetic, lively boys. At times it is chaotic. At times it does seem like life is starting to rip apart at the seams. At times I do just want to run or hide or sleep or whatever…just to get a break! But, and it’s a significant but, we are blessed. I am blessed with an amazing, godly wife and mother to our kids. And we are blessed with the beauty of our boys presence in our lives.

Another crazy week began a day or two ago and right now, as I write, I have another busy day looming. In all of life’s madness, in all of life’s struggles, in all of life’s pursuits, one things stands out above the rest. The beauty of knowing Jesus and being part of Gods Kingdom, an ambassador for the King, is unparalleled. I’m being reminded of this and I’m so thankful. This is the real treasure in life. This treasure causes us to surrender our own lives for the sake of the Kingdom. This treasure changes our lives. This treasure becomes our priority. This treasure is to be shared. It is this treasure that I want my boys to discover in their own lives above anything else. The treasure that is the Kingdom of God should grip us deep within our hearts and then send us out into this world to show everyone the glowing beauty of what is revealed through knowing Jesus.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” ~Matthew 13:44

Recently, my heart is being drawn back to the reality of the Gospel. The Gospel is not just a message to be declared to the unsaved. Every Christian needs to be reminded of the Gospel every day, because we drift away from it. Every day.

We need to discover and relate to Jesus, as we find him in the Bible. We need to live in light of this, not in a whole lot of the ‘false’ religious stuff that’s out there.

Here’s a great prayer I read this morning.

Jesus, show me who you really are. I pray for the true you. I want the real you. I ask for you. Spirit of God, free me in every way to know Jesus as he really is. Open my eyes to see him. Deliver me from everything false about Jesus and bring me what is true. Deliver me from the spirit of falsehood and everything religious.

~John Eldredge in Beautiful Outlaw

Christians today often seem consumed with ‘big’. Big church, big numbers of people, big youth groups, big band, big sound. These big things seem to occupy much of our time and efforts.

In recent months I’m rediscovering God in the small things.

Lately my life has been most blessed by times when things haven’t been so big. Time spent with 3 young lads chatting through life and faith. A car journey spentwith 4 young lads where we actually get to interact and laugh authentically. A few hours spent one-to-one with a young teen who has experienced heartache in his young life.  Coffee and advice from a friend who I trust to speak Godly wisdom over my life. Privilege and blessing…

Yes, large gatherings are good and are a blessing too. But not at the expense of real, authentic relationship-building that happens in the small. I want to invest more in the small. I think all Christians should. The small interactions in our lives are often deeper, more open and more fulfilling. If all Christians were to pay attention to the small, then undoubtedly the ‘body’, the larger gathering of believers would be healthier and we all would be blessed as a result.

Pay attention to the small in your life.

Last Sunday evening we shared some thoughts with our young people about the future. We re-focused our vision on what we believe God wants to do in and through us at Woodlands. Let me briefly share our thoughts as we set about ‘dreaming awake’…

We believe that church should be a place where (young) people are SUBMERGED under the done work of Christ. We believe that it’s so important that our focus and energy must be directed towards presenting Jesus and the life he has already purchased for us. Not primarily a list of ‘to do’s’ for Jesus, but a focus on what he has already done for us.

We dream that as we marinate in this week in and week out, there will develop an environment where young people worship freely, where they love unconditionally and where they serve spontaneously.

From within this environment and with our vision now fixed outward into the world, our dream then becomes this: that we will EMERGE to connect with the lost and connect the lost to Christ. Missionaries into our culture, with the confidence of the done work of Jesus firmly behind, within and in front of us.

I love how my 3 year old, Caleb, tells big dramatic stories…dreams of adventure, danger and rescue that seem to swirl around inside his vibrant little head.  Many children do the same. Yet sadly, too often and all too quickly, the dreams fade and disappear…often accompanied by the words, ‘welcome to the real world, kid’.  Sad, isn’t it? Very sad.

For me, and hopefully for us at Woodlands, it’s time to dream again.

‘In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die, where you invest your love, there you invest your life…’ (Mumford & Sons) Great and appropriate lyrics indeed.

“When the Holy Spirit is poured out in a day of power the result is bound to affect whole communities and even nations.  Conviction of sin, an anxiety to possess the Word of God, and dependence upon those truths which glorify God in man’s salvation, are inevitable consequences.” -Ian Murray

Church history shows us that the Holy Spirit has always been present at times of revival.  Last night we engaged in some stirring discussion regarding this.  What is revival anyway? Stephen Olford emphatically states that revival is that “strange and sovereign work of God in which He visits His own people, restoring, reanimating and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing.”  This can be both personal in nature (the Holy Spirit renewing the hearts/minds of individuals) and corporate (the Holy Spirit bringing renewal to a church or movement).

Think about your own life. Can you recall a time of either personal or corporate revival?  Tell those stories.  Sit down with someone or a group of people and tell those stories.  Tell of what happened.  Speak of what you experienced. Recall how the Holy Spirit moved.  Reflect upon the results of those times.  Read about past times of revival.  Many book have been written on such times.  The internet is full of those old stories.

But do the church of today a favour.  Do our world a favour.

Don’t look in on these past times of renewal like a kid who looks at the pieced together bones of a T-Rex in a museum – eyes full of intrigue and sheer wonder, but a heart and mind that’s pretty sure those prehistoric days will never return.  Let’s be encouraged by stories of past revival but let us never settle there…

In today’s culture, there is a growing number of people who could be called the radically unchurched – those with no clear personal understanding of the gospel message or contact with a church that is Bible-teaching and Christ-honouring.

These people are all around us.

We need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  And it must begin with us, within God’s people.

Are we positioning ourselves before God in such a way that this is likely to happen?   Do we fervently desire this?

Time alone with God, daily revisiting the cross of Christ, continual openness to the Holy Spirit’s power, consistent gathering together for worship, fervency of prayer, eyes looking outwards, courage and expectant hearts, unflinching confidence in God’s promises…

“God, create in me a stronger desire to experience you in my life.  Raise up a new generation of world changers who will do extraordinary things for your kingdom.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.” -Winfield Bevins

Well, last week our cell group met again. After a quick recap on some common opinions held about the gifts of the Holy Spirit we swiftly moved on to get to what I’ve been looking forward to for a while – an exercise to help explore/discover how God may have gifted us, by his Holy Spirit.

An online survey was used…it was one of many available, so by no means the only, the best or even the most accurate help in determining how God may have gifted us.  But, nonetheless very interesting…

Mobile devices in hand, everyone logged in and set off answering the direct, personal questions. By the way – technology is super when harnessed effectively.  5 years ago I’d have had to hand out about 10 sheets of paper per person!

Slowly but surely each person finished up and waited for the ‘results’. After taking time to read and digest what came through people started to share what had been identified as their primary spiritual gifts. Discussion began on what had discovered. Overall I believe there was an atmosphere of affirmation as God was affirming in us how he has gifted us. Yes, there were a couple of pleasant surprises but many discovered things that they perhaps already recognised somewhere deep within.  But certainly there was a sense that God was using this to ‘connect some dots’.  I felt a positive atmosphere in the room.  The Holy Spirit at work…

From here? Well, I hope that this group of already dynamic young adults is able to reflect on what God has revealed, that they grow in confidence in the Holy Spirit and go on to become even more dynamic in him.

My question is this? Is the church all too often operating under power, sometimes even appearing to be ineffective in this world? I believe it is. Could this be, for this particularly group of Jesus followers, an awakening within? In anticipation, I really hope so.

OK.  I turned on my computer this morning to do some work and stumbled across a youth ministry website that provides the names of literally thousands of youth groups.  The following is just  a small sample of those under the letter ‘A’.  Hilarious.

A.C.T.S Anointed Christians Terrorising Satan

A.L.I.E.N. Adolescents Living In Eternal Newness

A.N.T.S. Arise N Triumph Soldier(of Christ)

A.R.M.O.R. APOSTOLICS RADICALLY MAKING OTHER REPENT

A.R.M.Y OF THE L.I.G.H.T. Armed Ready Ministering Youth / Living In Gods Holy Truth

A.R.M.Y. of God Always Recruiting More Youth

A.T.L.Youth Ministries Adolescence Transparent to the Lost

A.T.O.M.I.C youth All Together On Missions In Christ

A.T.T.I.C. Associated Teens Together In Christ

A.W.E.S.O.M.E. Assembly of Wesleyan Eternal Sons Of Methodist Evangelicals (talk about trying to make it fit!)

A.W.E.S.O.M.E. youth Anoited.Warriors.Enjoying.Shareing.Overcoming.Ministerying. Eternity (and again…their spelling, not mine!)

A2J Youth Group Addicted 2 Jesus: coz u cant OD on JC…IT’S A NATURAL HIGH! (what an inspiring strapline!)

ASYLUM C_4_C Crazy for Christ

I reckon Radiant Youth sounds incredibly good now…

Would anyone be keen to hear some of the B’s – Z’s??!

I thought I would be better at keeping up with this!  Anyways…let me update you with where we have got to with our study on the person and work of the Holy Spirit…

We have looked at the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, discussing some of the general works of the Spirit but focussed specifically on how the Spirit makes possible the following:

Justification – ‘Justification is a judicial act, where God remits a person‘s sins and declares them to be in a position of righteousness before God. It is what God does for us… The Spirit is the agent that effects justification in the life of the believer’

Regeneration – ‘The word regeneration literally means – rebirth.  Regeneration is a spiritual transformation where the Holy Spirit takes us from death unto life’

Sanctification – ‘Sanctification is a process of being restored to the image of God, which begins at the new birth and gradually takes place over the lifetime of a believer’

Without the Holy Spirit’s work, these things just are not possible.

We moved on to discuss the outward, visible marks of the Spirit’s work in the life of a believer, with particular focus on the familiar words from Galatians 5:22-23, ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control’

We spent time reflecting on how each of us is doing with each of the fruits. One word: challenging.  Can people really see the Spirit at work in our lives?  However, we also felt it appropriate to celebrate the fruit that we do see in each other’s lives and pray that more fruit is cultivated!

Last week we studied the Gifts of the Spirit.  We only got to page 1 of the study.  God seemed to want us to put the brakes on and do a lot of discussing around this whole area.  Francis Chan says, ‘…maybe the biggest concern with the church today is this apparent lack of the Holy Spirit’s power’. In many, many ways I fully agree.  We spent a lot of time discussing the different viewpoints held regarding Spiritual Gifts…from the cessationist standpoint (that the sign gifts ceased with the time of the Apostles) through to the charismatic end (that all the gifts are in operation today) of what I suppose is a spectrum of opinions…

One group member commented that our discussions seemed to revolve so much around the gift of ‘healing’ at the expense of some of the others that seemed to get overlooked…great point.  We do tend to give a lot of ‘airtime’ to certain things in discussions like that and we miss some of the more understated but equally important things that God has for us.

We are by no means done with discussing the gifts of the Spirit.  I believe God wants us to have a fresh contemplation of this…and I believe he wants us to long for what is missing and long for a greater work of the Spirit’s Power in our own personal lives and the life of our church.  What will that look like? I’m not sure.  But I am excited.

Outside of our cell group two other things are making me convinced that God is wanting our attention with this – firstly, Sunday morning past, our minister preached powerfully on our great need for the Holy Spirit backing up all of what we have been going through and secondly, this Sunday evening we move onto the next session (for the same group of 19-25 year olds) in the Francis Chan BASIC series and the topic is………….the Holy Spirit.

When God is trying to get your attention, yeah…sit up, open your ears, minds and hearts and get ready to let him do what He alone can do with your life.  I for one don’t want to miss out on this.

If you read this blog, any thoughts, opinions or questions would be really appreciated!

Last night we had our second cell group on the Holy Spirit – ‘Meet the Holy Spirit’  was the title of the session.  This morning I’m trying to gather my thoughts about what we discussed…to say I feel challenged, stretched, out of my depth even, would all be fairly accurate.  This is challenging stuff. Something within me also feels that it’s hugely significant for us.  I love the group itself – all late teens/early twenties – those who I believe will be the ‘shapers’ of days to come.  A privilege to be amongst them…

Let me try to pull together and articulate some of the main points:

The Holy Spirit is divine. He is God.  This reality is contested and denied by many, but it has to be foundational to what we believe about the Holy Spirit. ‘…the Trinity….three distinct divine Personalities, each wholly God, yet one essence’. Some verses we looked at where Psalm 139:7-10, Luke 1:35, 1 Cor 2:10-11, Heb 9:14.

The Holy Spirit is personal.  Not a force.  Not far off.  Not just a symbol.  Personal.  Not an  ’it’ but ‘He’.  He is within us. He brings God close.  Often we don’t acknowledge this, perhaps we don’t think enough about the personal nature of the Spirit of God within us.  He can be lied to (Acts 5:3), grieved (Eph 4:30), quenched (1 Thess 5:19), resisted (Acts 7:51), blasphemed (Matt 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-29, Luke 12:10).  We should live in a way that acknowledges the personal nature of the Holy Spirit.

Divine and yet personal. How can that be? Part of that is the beautiful mystery that is God: Father, Son and Spirit. Almighty, eternal God…and yet desiring a close and personal relationship with his children.

One comment was made that perhaps it’s ‘comfortable’ to keep God at a distance.  And yes, it probably is. That would be ‘safe’.  But for God to be so personally interested and involved in our lives by his Spirit adds a whole new dimension to life.  When telling his disciples about the Holy Spirit who would come to be with them, Jesus says that the world will not accept or know Him.  But he says these four words to his followers: ‘but you know him’.

I believe the challenge for us is this:  do we know Him? Do we want to know him?  Do we want to know more of Him and His presence in our lives?

Next time: the Work of the Holy Spirit.  I’m already looking forward to it!

(Maybe you’ve read this and have all sorts of questions…I’ve definitely not got all the answers but I’d love to chat to you about it, so please get in touch)