June 23 2011

Hi everyone

Greetings in the name of Christ.

Jesus drew near and said to them, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere

and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey

everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20

The great Commission of Jesus continues to challenge the western church. While we have seen people respond to the gospel in

Africa and Asia, the west has not seen much convert growth. The church is fighting its own internal battles with liberalism and

secularism. It is being overwhelmed by the desired changes to marriage and acceptance of same sex couples.

In our travels in the USA we noted the pro gay push for acceptance, covering the armed forces through to everyday life. In

Australia, especially within the Labour party and Greens, we are seeing a strong push for acceptance of same sex marriage

and a redefinition of marriage that will have implications that will affect our society in ways the framers of this push have little

idea .

The hope of the gospel to transform and change people’s lives is given lip service rather than heartfelt belief and action.

I read from an overseas report:

The 2 million member Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) has become the latest mainline Protestant denomination to implode on sexual standards.   Members have voted to delete the denomination's expectation for ministers and elders of "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." Presbyterians now join the United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in adopting a liberalized policy of permitting clergy to be sexually active outside heterosexual marriage.

Among the larger mainline Protestant denominations, only the United Methodist Church, still officially prohibits clergy sexually active outside traditional marriage. Almost uniquely international in membership, with over 4 million members now in Africa, where Christianity is very conservative and fast growing, United Methodism almost certainly will retain its sexual standard. But the rest of once pre-eminent mainline Protestantism in America is collapsing. The PCUSA was already losing about 60,000 members a year, a figure that surely will increase now, as it did for Episcopalians and Lutherans after their votes to liberalize the sex teachings, in 2003 and 2009 respectively.

Forty-five years ago, one in every five Americans belonged to a mainline Protestant denomination. Today, only one in 15 Americans still do.

Can the gospel really change and transform a person’s life or is it just part of a bygone era? We live in troubling times in Australia where mainline church attendance has flat lined, Pentecostal churches have seen people come into the front door and go out through the back door to try another church.

I am challenged when I read an email from an Indian colleague that he has travelled for a week in villages with no churches and has seen people respond positively to the gospel of Jesus.

The Great Commission challenges with A’s

• Authority: Jesus gives us His authority (the whole arsenal of heaven is ours to use) to speak, heal, deliver and change the world as the disciples did in Acts. The challenge is: Are we prepared to wear the cost as the first  disciples did!
• As you go: It was as they went, that the disciples encountered people and opportunities arose to share the gospel. On our two bus trips, we had talks about forgiveness and salvation in Italian restaurants and Wild West Steak houses with fellow travellers from England. We prayed healing prayer for a lady from NZ. On our visit to Saratoga, Wyoming, we were able to teach/preach/pray for people at Platte Valley Christian Church at both morning and evening services. We may not know some of the outcomes but with the internet who knows! I am coming to realise that I need to be more aware of the Spirit as I go along doing the ordinary and being aware of the small opportunities to share Jesus.
• All the team: You do not go alone but all the team (Father, Son and Spirit) go with you and protect you. We had some scrapes while we were overseas walking and driving with cars on the different side of the road. But THE TEAM was with us and continues to be with us.
• All the words of Jesus: The words of Jesus are still as powerful now as it was then. They are more than a moral code to live by. They are breath and life. We sometimes don’t totally appreciate how powerful are the words and teaching of Jesus until you use them and see the impact upon a person’s life.

We are now back, praying for people and seeking God’s power and direction for the local church.

We have to recover the momentum that has been lost because we have been away with the start of our healing team. We are excited to hear how one of the team continues to be a facilitator for God’s healing presence. Recently he has been praying for a lawn bowling friend with liver cancer and his friend is now in remission through the prayer and chemotherapy. Praise the Lord!

We are planning to go to India for 10 days. We have two invitations from Pastors who are nearby (3 hours away). We will go for nearly a week for a 3 day training conference for 70 village pastors. We will also conduct healing meetings for the locals as well. Then we head off for a 3 day visit to a nearby town to teach and hold meetings.

We are looking for donations to support the local ministry. We want to raise as much money as possible to equip and bless the local ministry. If you are able to give extra to this India venture, please donate through the website via direct debit to the Gift Fund or Paypal and label the donation India. All donations are tax deductible.

There are three of us going: Hal, Liz and myself. It will cost us approx $3000 each for airfares, visas and immunisations. We are looking to God to provide for us as well. God has said that he will provide for Liz and myself through the funerals that I will do. To affirm this, one funeral I received the normal payment plus a $50 donation by someone who attended the funeral in appreciation of what was done!

We are excited about what God will do in India. We are not going to the rich places but to those who are poor and cannot afford much especially the local church. We go to bless the people and the local pastors.

We praise God for Robyn, Jenny, Jamie, Hal and Debbie who have kept the praying up while we were away. They have had 18 ministries and booked in more clients. Liz and I are most thankful for their ongoing love and support as we develop Walking Free.

It is such a joy to pray for people, as we did today, and see the lights go on about the truth that does set them free. We get to pray for people who have experienced much grief and pain and to see God heal their shattered hearts and lives is very rewarding.

We had a great time in USA and Canada seeing new things, visiting family and friends and having a change of scenery. There are many highlights: New York seeing Ground Zero and going to Broadway for a show; Boston and going to the baseball; the shopping malls and outlet shops; Learning about the Amish people; the Smithsonian museums at DC; visiting Liz’s 90 yr old family member in Richmond; Chicago with its famous architecture, cheesecake and pizza; Cody with all things Buffalo Bill; Yellowstone with bison walking in front of your car covered with snow; Eating Rocky Mountain oysters  (bull testicles), moose, deer, elk and being spoilt by our friends at Encampment; Pandas and Ghirandelli Chocolate Sundae at San Diego; Grand Canyon;  Vegas and seeing Lion King and O (Cirque de Soleil) and the beautiful insides of the casinos (pity that they are gambling places!!!);Yosemite Park and Alcatraz and San Francisco. We have been blessed to have the money and opportunity to go.

Prayer Points

• Thank God for His love for you even when you are not travelling well.
• Thank God for His Son who continues to transform people’s lives and for the Holy Spirit who lives in us and encourages us to step out of our comfort zone.
• Thank God for the new clients that are referred to Walking Free.
• Pray for the ministry of Pastor Devadas as he ministers to Hindu people in villages in Andhra Pradesh, India. Pray for Rev Sambabu and his church. Pray for converts and healings. Pray for finances to be released for our visit in November.
• Pray for new people to become prayer team members. Pray for a team to be established at Coolangatta.
• Pray for God’s leading re a Healing Room at Coolangatta. Pray for the shape that it needs to take.
• Pray for Coolangatta church to continue to be open to the healing work of Jesus.
• Pray for our prayer teams: Hal and Debbie, Robyn, Jenny, Liz and myself. Pray for our support people Desley, Jenny, Craig, Rod and Jamie.
• Thank God for the financial provision of this ministry. We are grateful to the many that are obedient and give to our ministry weekly, monthly and one off. We have been blessed with gifts of merchandise and money, computers and printing. We have been blessed with many talented and gifted people who give of their time, talent and treasure each week to help this ministry have a Kingdom impact.