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THE MYSTERY I’m reading the first two verses from our discussion group Scripture reading last week. Ephesians 1:9-10 making known to us the mystery (Mysterion – not just hidden but unuttered [mu??] or not spoken until its prepared or set time) of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10. A plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (also expounded in Colossians 1.15-21) Some scholars think Paul wrote Ephesians and not Colossians and some think he wrote Colossians and not Ephesians. However, Paul’s account of the ‘mystery’ and the Plan in both epistles is identical. 3 questions  1. What is the mystery? The ‘Mystery made known’ is the life of Jesus living and speaking God’s will in us and through us.  2. What is the Plan to unite all things in Christ? The plan of uniting every created thing in Christ is God joining himself to his own creation through Jesus. Jesus entered into to our humanity and we enter into his divinity. Heaven a

TRANSCRIPT What I'm calling today's word is predestination and grace and faith. I'Il read from Ephesians chapter one, verses five to eight, which is the passage we read in our discussion groups a couple of weeks ago. Starting from verse five, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure or good purpose, Eudokia, of his will, according to the riches of his grace, which is made abundant toward us in all wisdom and understanding. So recently in our group discussions, we began to discuss and explore the extravagance of God's love, and his powerful promises to us of what I've just read. Predestination and grace, and being adopted to belong to his family, partakers of his life through Jesus, partakers of the nature of God. The first chapter of Ephesians is a mighty trumpet blast of what God has done through Jesus Christ, and through the work of his unlimited atonement for humanity, never limit the atonement work of God, for everybody. If one died, all were dea

  I CANNOT DO ALL THINGS Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through (en – in) Christ who strengthens me.  That is a wonderful Scripture but what does ‘all things’ mean and what does ‘through’ mean? To get the full meaning of all this I need to mention something a little irregular in the English interpretation of that text. The correct English word for ‘through’ in that Scripture is ‘in’. The Bible uses the English word ‘through’ 119 times in Paul’s epistles, and the Greek word for through is always dia except in that one text here where the word en is used, and en means in, not through, so my reading of this would  be ‘I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. This brings home the point that Christ is the one doing the ‘all things’ that he wants to happen and I’m being strengthened in doing it with him. Am I being too pedantic, isn’t me doing it through Christ okay? think it through, because with Paul this is all about being IN Christ – IN Christ is relational, being part of God’s life, but doing th

WRITTEN IN THE STARS FOR SIGNS AND TIMES PART 2 Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years. Last week we spoke about the witness in the stars for signs, and today we are looking at the witness of the stars for times. When God proclaimed, "Let there be light," He initiated not only the existence of matter but also the unfolding of space and time itself. He had created an energy outside of his spiritual energy, the energy of light, the closest natural energy that can be compared and contrasted to his all-powerful Spiritual energy Created light preceded the matter that was created to become the universe of galaxies of stars, and what lies between us and the stars is not just time and space, but an immense delay of emptiness and silence that stretches across time because sound cannot travel where there are no particles to transmit it. Time is limited by the speed of light, and s

WRITTEN IN THE STARS FOR SIGNS AND TIMES Genesis 1:14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years. Ancient Egypt and Babylon were the first civilizations to study the stars, and in Babylon around the time of the birth of Jesus, some wise men called Magi, who were scholars and astronomers noticed something extraordinary in the heavens. For centuries the Magi (where our word magic comes from) had studied the Jewish prophecies passed down during Israel’s captivity in Babylon, and those prophesies included the foretelling of a Messiah. When an unusually bright convergence of planets began to shine as an apparent brilliant star in the eastern sky, they interpreted it as the sign of a great ruler’s birth.  The Bible says that the stars speak forth the knowledge of God, and we see that that includes the birth of Jesus.  Psalm 19:1-4 The heavens declare the glory of God and his splendour is writt

PRELUDE TO THE INN CROWD I spoke a couple of weeks ago about how God always steps in at critical times when God’s people are ready to come into a greater fullness of what God has prepared for them from the beginning. Just as he did with setting Israel free from their 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Before Jesus ascended to Heaven he prophesied that in the last days before his second coming that Israel would be hated by all nations.                                                                                                                                                                                                               Matthew 24:5 … you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake (happening now). And then many will be offended and will betray one another, and will hate one another (happening now). Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many (happening now). And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold (happening now). But he who endures to the end shall be

A PREGNANT SILENCE Many times, God has spoken after long periods of silence. There were 400 years of silence after the prophet Malachi spoke in the last book of the Old Testament, and then John the Baptist and Jesus were supernaturally born into the earth. there were also 400 years of silence during the time of Israel’s slavery in Egypt under Pharoah until God spoke to Moses to set his people free and prepare to journey into the promised land. The number 400 in the Bible speaks of these seasons of Pregnant Silence, which can be described as a time of silence when all communication is suspended and that time feels both empty and yet strangely full, filled with anticipation that something important is about to be spoken or revealed. For about four thousand years after Adam when Jesus was born the earth had suffered under the weight of its brokenness. Humanity was lost, unable to heal itself. Suspicion and hostility toward Father God, sown by Lucifer, had led to a distorted view of God in the earth, and many saw

THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS BUT GOD'S The Bible gives the account of God speaking to King Jehoshaphat, who was a faithful king – the fourth king of Judah, and he was about to go into battle against the enemy, which was an ungodly alliance (I’m using that term from time to time today) of the armies of Ammon and Moab and Mt.Seir. 2Chronicles 20:17. You will not need to fight in this battle for the battle is not yours, but God's. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Do not be afraid nor be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you.” In that battle of Jehoshaphat’s, that army was about to attack Israel to prevent them from entering into their inheritance of the promised Land. Earlier on, Israel were told not to attack these three nations when they first came out of Egypt. However God always steps in at critical times when God’s people are ready to come into the fullness of what God has prepared for them from the beginning. The people of Israel were in fear and terror and Jehoshaphat c

PRESENCE PRAYER AND MINDFULNESS Mindfulness can be described as the practice of paying attention, with an intention, and in the present moment. So mindfulness is a key aspect of Presence Prayer. God Is mindful towards us and that is where the original concept of mindfulness came from.  Hebrews 2:6 What is man, that you are mindful of him (mnaomai), or the son of man, that you care for him? This Scripture is quoting David in Psalm 8:4-6 and is speaking of the Father being mindful of Jesus but it is ultimately speaking of God being mindful of all of humanity.  People in our Western culture use mindfulness as a practice for sharpening their focus of attention in the present moment for doing productive things or for engaging in leisure or creative skills, and also as a form of emotional therapy for staying calm in times of stress. It has generally become a psychological discipline that is useful for finding some order in a busy and agitated world. That is well and good and helpful, but it does not reach the highe

    SCOTT KARDASH AT NBCC Working with Paul over the last few years has been a real privilege for me, a real pleasure. And as you know, a lot of you have been with Paul for many, many years. And it's very rare to find somebody with a depth of wisdom and understanding of the Scriptures that Paul has. He has a real detailed recall and is able to connect dots across Scriptures in a way that I've never seen anyone else do it. Paul approached me and said, you know, we were talking about just other things. And he said, "Oh, well, you'd really like to get something going with some podcasts to get some of these messaging out." I said, "Oh, yeah, I'd love to help you." And so we've put out two series to date, hopefully many more to come: Our Ten Commandments and The Healing of the Soul and the Life-Giving Spirit. And so today I wanted to put some of that in context. Actually, they are related. It's all on a very similar theme. And the theme is all around the Spirit who heals us and reshapes us. But before I do, I migh

LOVE – THE BIG PICTURE In this passage of Scripture from 1 Corinthians 13 Peter Carblis speaks about the absolute concrete reality of God’s sacrificial love, agape, that reflects the very nature of God, as the Bible clearly says ‘God is love’ (1John 4:16). Peter takes each facet of this diamond of love and explains the various aspects of the nature of God’s love as they relate to our relationships with Him and with one another.

THE FORMER AND THE LATER RAIN Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel (also called Ephraim) during the 8th century B.C.  God commands Hosea to marry Gomer, a harlot, to symbolize Israel’s unfaithfulness to Him. Hosea is the same Hebrew word as Joshua and Jesus. Hosea was the Old Testament prophet with the message for God’s People to inherit the land of promise, and Joshua succeeded Moses as the deliverer of Israel and took them across the Jordan into the land of promise. And Jesus takes humanity into a spiritual land of promise, not earthly territory but the soil of the heart. God refers to Israel as his bride (Isaiah 62:5, Isaiah 54) and he also calls her unfaithful, as a harlot (Jeremiah 3:1). In Ephesians 5 Paul calls the Church the bride of Christ and he fears for the church going astray by being beguiled from the simplicity that is in Christ.  For I have divine jealousy for you. Betrothing you to one husband, that I may present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest as the serpent

PRESENCE PRAYER - PRAYER CHANGES US  Paul teaches us the lifechanging prayer of the transformation of our mind and heart. Philippians 4:6-7 which says ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’   The wonderful promise of this Prayer of Change is that God will guard and protect our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ in everything that is happening in our lives. That is what overcomes the anxiety of a busy mind and a fretful heart that burdens our souls, and that is what allows us to pray the prayer of faith with thanksgiving in any situation. The Greek word for anxious is merimna?? which means to be overly troubled by too many concerns and needs at the one time (or all the time), whether these concerns are our own or for others we care for. This Scripture is a gracious appeal from God’s Spirit to our spirit – a

PRESENCE PRAYER THE VEIL   What is the veil?  The veil represents the mindset of separation from God in the soul. Before Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent to disobey God they lived in the presence of God and were not conscious of any separation between themselves and God within their souls. But after they disobeyed God and listened to darkness, their souls were plunged into a mindset of separation from Him.    Their once innocent and blameless souls became self-serving and willful, hiding in the shadows of shame and guilt from God. Devising strategies to cover up and blame others for their disobedience. This became the separated soul life of humanity from that time on. The veil The first time this veil is spoken of in the Bible is when Moses went into the presence of the Lord when he received the commandments on Mt Sinai. The Israelites were afraid to look at him or come near him because being in God’s presence caused his face to shine so brightly that he had to cover it with a veil.   Exodus 34:29 Whe

PRESENCE PRAYER SOUL AND SPIRIT     The journey of our lives as human beings with a spirit and a soul involves the reordering of the psychikos or soulish self of separation back into alignment with our true spiritual self in Christ through the Spirit of God. We can become transformed from psychikos or soulish to pneumatikos or spiritual. Paul wrote about this to the church in Corinth.   And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural (psychikos – soulish) person does not accept the things of the Spirit because they are `spiritually (pneumatikos) discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:13)   Adam and Eve started that journey by creating a limited human soul.   The first man Adam became (ginomai) a living soul (psychikos) the last Adam (Jesus) became a life-giving spirit (pneumatikos). But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural psychikos), and then the spiritual.  (1Corinthians 15:45)   God had created Adam

  PRESENCE PRAYER AT HOME WITH GOD  We discussed last week that Jesus said in my Father’s house there are many mansions (mone – at home with God). I go to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2). There is a unique individual mone for every person ever born – no two people build the same house for God. And remember the mansions were not only prepared for Heaven but for here on earth as we become the dwelling (mone) for God here. Jesus said My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home (mansion – mone) with him. (John 14:23). The more we dwell with the Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit – at home with God here on earth the more they unveil who they are to us, whether we are here on earth or in Heaven, because faith and hope and love are eternal and will remain from age to age for people to come to know and love God more and more. How do we travel that journey of living a life at home with God in all the difficulties and problems? Paul tells us that staying connected to God is the key. He sai

  AT HOME WITH GOD   I’ve had a lot of questions over the years of what I think Heaven would be like. I would like to have the answers, especially in the last little while. And I’m content to wait for God to show us in his time. But what I’m going to talk about today is something that has been on my heart for some time and I’ve felt a deeper understanding of what Jesus was teaching us about his hope and faith and love for our lives here on earth that will continue on in Heaven.  We know we will get a new supernatural body at the time of the Final Resurrection when Jesus comes back. But there is still a time in between - being with the Lord in Heaven before that Final Resurrection that I’m going to look at here, and it is clear that we will have a recognisable resurrected body just as Jesus had when he walked the earth for forty days after his resurrection. But other than that, we cannot be specific It has not yet been revealed what we shall be (1 John 3:2). I’m speaking today about being at home with God in o

FAITH AND HOPE AND TINEKE Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance (hypostasis – the abiding basic reality) of things (pragma – work and business of God) hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.  Faith is abiding in the supernatural work of God doing his will for us in the world of the unseen in the things we hope for - and the assurance of his perfect will coming to pass. In that faith we surrender our will for us to his will for us. Faith is completed in observing the event that comes to pass in God’s sovereign will. When we observe the event we give thanks, and we receive more understanding of who God is. But what we pray to happen may not happen in the way we had first hoped it would. Jesus said ‘If there be any other way, take this cup of suffering from me nevertheless not my will but thine be done’ Hope is the ongoing trust in the eventuality of God’s per

GOD’S GRACE IN US   1Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am  When Paul made that statement, he knew that what he had become through God’s grace was God’s doing, and not his doing. He also said it was not him doing the work of God, but it was the grace of Jesus working with him. That grace was God’s activity upon his soul that empowered him to respond to God in love and the surrender of his will and to know that Jesus was working through him every moment of his life. Generally Grace can be seen working in someone’s life when they are doing some good thing that they love to do and they make it look easy even if it is very difficult. In sporting terms if a tennis player saw Roger Federer playing tennis and compared themselves to Federer they would see tennis grace in action and wish they had that grace in their game. Jesus lived a Divine life full of grace and truth within his limited humanity and people saw God at work in him and through him. As a Pharisee Paul thought he was a top-class man o