August News

This has been a time where I have been so aware yet again of the urgency of
our mandate and commission. What a joy to be alive in a time such as this
and to participate in a knowledge that represents every man’s total well-being!

Our worship weekend in Betty’s Bay was awesome; just the sheer joy of
fellowship in truth and seeing so many of the ‘old’ faces, (sorry most of us
except Margaret did age a bit over the past 20 years!)

I returned this week from Bulawayo where I taught at two annual conferences,
one in Bulawayo with Cleopas Chitapa from Corner Stone International
Ministry, where more than 600 delegates from all over Zimbabwe and a few
from Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique gathered, then in Munkula, about
100km South of Bulawayo in a remote rural area with Pastor Nyathi whom
we’ve met at the EFZ Seminar in June this year. I just love the rural areas! No
motorcars, just donkeycarts, no tv’s or newspapers, just people living simple
lives, embracing the love of God sincerely.

The recordings of the teachings are available in MP3 format and will shortly
be downloadable on our website, www.mirrorreflection.net

The simplicity and power of the truth of the Gospel presents us with such a
large platform to live our lives from. I have witnessed again and again how
this message brings immediate release in people’s understanding of the
success of God’s initiative in reconciling humanity to Himself, having
cancelled every possible hindrance and having restored us to a very tangible
union with our Maker as well as a genuine passionate love for the people of
this world.

He is indeed the greater attraction and source of our total fulfilment.

He did not come to introduce a new set of rules, neither was His mission to
establish the Christian religion or to start a Christian club, called the church.
He exhibits the life of every man, the authentic, original, only life ever meant
for man to live! There exists no competition to its attraction! He redeemed the
image and likeness of God in human form. Remember Jesus did not come as
an example for us but of us!

The ekklesia-church that He builds and heads up continues the same

irresistible attraction and display of His likeness in man. Whatever we do and
accommodate in our concept of church that does not add to the adornment of
the doctrine of Christ, is irrelevant and should be abolished! Titus 2:10. We
have over the years engaged in so many activities and rituals that have only
served to distract from the essence of the Christ-life in us. In so many
churches the format has become a dull predictable duty and guilt driven
routine. Ten happy songs two sad ones, then the offering, a message and
then while the music is softly playing...yes, you guessed it! The alter call!
I often cringe when offerings are taken up; it is so far from New Testament
faith motivated, love inspired spontaneous giving. Whatever is not prompted
by faith is reduced to flesh. Rom.14:23. Let’s measure and match our giving
with the testimony of the churches in Macedonia, 2 Cor.8:1-5.
Hey and there is nothing wrong with loud, happy, joyful singing, as long as we
praise Him with understanding, (Ps.47:7) also our worship and awesome,
intimate moments in His and one another’s presence, are moments prompted
by pondering the richness of the Word God spoke to us in the message of our
co-inclusion in Christ. Col.3:1-3 and 16.
To give people an inspired opportunity to respond in faith is good, but an alter
call is not the regular closure of a meeting. We have adopted many
unscriptural methods to become part of a clumsy routine.
“Holy Communion” was never meant to become what we have reduced it to
be, Jesus meant that every time we eat or drink, we remember Him as the
incarnate Word. The molecules in the bread, meat and wine become digested
and transformed into human cells in the same way the original Word that was
before time was, the Word that is God, became flesh and dwells within us.
Our fellowship with one another is best defined in Paul’s letter to Philemon, v
6, May the communication (fellowship) of your faith promote the knowledge of
every good thing that is in you in Christ.

No wonder Paul was free to declare, “With the unveiled mirror statement of
the truth, we appeal to every man’s conscience...” 2Cor.3:18, 4:2. “From now
on therefore I no longer know any man from a human point of view. 2 Cor
5:16. The living epistle is to be known and read by all men. 2Cor.3:2.

All men are equally saved, healed and declared innocent because of one act
of righteousness. The guilt of humanity caused His death on the cross, their
acquittal realised His resurrection. If mankind was still guilty, Jesus would still
be in the grave. “Our sins resulted in His death; His resurrection is the
consequence of our acquittal.” Rom.4:25. “The conclusion is clear: it took just
one offence to condemn mankind; one act of righteousness declares the
same mankind innocent.” Rom.5:18. “One died for all, therefore all have died.”
2 Cor.5:14, “After two days He revived us, on the third day He raised us up.”
Hos. 6:2. “While we were still dead in our trespasses, He made us alive
together with Him and raised us up together with Him, and made us sit
together with Him in heavenly places.” Eph.2:5,6. “Since then we have been
raised together with Christ set your minds upon the things that are above and
not upon the things that are below; be renewed in knowledge according to the
pattern of the exact image of our Creator.” Col.3:1,2 and 10.

It is clear that even though we are co-raised, a mind still engaged with the
opinions of the sense ruled realm of the flesh will continue to exhibit the works
of the flesh. In the same way that Isaiah saw in chapter 55 that while our
thoughts are not merged with His, we continue to live the thorn tree and brier
life instead of the typical cyprus and myrtle tree life of our original design and
true identity.

The 12 tribes of Israel were all equally delivered from slavery out of Egypt, yet
the whole generation was stuck in the wilderness for forty years and died
there, outside of the inheritance intended for them. They experienced God
supernaturally throughout that time, yet failed to enter His rest because of
unbelief. (The supernatural is not necessarily proof of faith!) Their unbelief
was rooted in a message that their leaders proclaimed in their report of the
giants in the promised land, “we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes
and so we seemed to them.” Numbers 13:33. To enter into God’s rest means
to see the image and likeness of God fully restored in you because of the
finished work of Christ. God’s rest in Genesis is the same rest in the New
Testament. When we for whatever reason forget what manner of men we are,
we deceive ourselves and insult the word of His grace. If we see Canaan as a
type of heaven one day, then we are equally deceived! The majority vote is
not always right! (Ten spies vs. two.)
God desires for His church to wake up to the mandate He has given us, which
is to ask Him for the nations in order to possess the ends of the earth with the
revelation of His glory. In the light of the Gospel we are to arise and shine for
the nations to be attracted to our light and their leaders to be drawn to the
brightness of our rising. Is.60:1,2. Our promised land is to take the nations
with the good news of their true identity and innocence revealed in Christ.

Paul’s secret was not a contentment dependant on his release from prison,
but his knowledge of his being in Christ as the greater reality than his being in
prison! Phil.4:11-13.
Our contentment is our Sabbath Rest, it is our place of strength.

While the farmer’s faith sees the harvest in the seed, but knows that only time
will tell four months from now, Jesus says, “Lift up your eyes and see an
already ripe harvest, one that you did not labour for. If our own labour and
time exchange cannot add to the ripeness of that harvest, where and when
did it ripen?
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up!” John 2:19. The
finished work of the cross is celebrated in the resurrection!
So much ministry activity is still trapped in the “let’s wait four months and see”
principle! It takes a radical seeing to celebrate the perfection that He sees!
The hour has come.
“On the day the temple was built, it was built with stone already cut to
perfection in the quarry, so that not a sound was heard of any hammer or tool
of iron while it was being built.1Kings 6:7. “Like living stones, be yourselves
built into a spiritual house..” 1 Pet,2:5.
“I counsel you to buy without money and without price, wine and milk...” Is 55.

All flesh fades, but they that intertwine with Him mount up with wings just like
eagles do, they run without weariness, they walk and do not faint! Is. 40.
When Paul says that he labours more than all, he is simply giving testimony of
an inner energy that exceeds our best most motivated endeavour under the
law of works.
It reveals both a budget and strength that exceeds any natural calculation; the
five loaves and two fish principle still feed the multitudes, even in the
Zimbabwe economy!