Getting Right with the Lord: Part 1

In this next and last, two-part Bible theme discussion, Glenn Duker will be talking about the passages in the Bible that relate to getting right with the lord and how we need to have our papers in order.

The Bible is clear that the Lord requires our repentance (which is not being “sorry” but in the Greek means to turn around or change). Acts 17:30-31 says that God:

30…commandeth all men everywhere to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. If we receive the Holy Spirit, the Bible way as set out above, we are “cease from our own works” and our sins are cleansed.

Strangely, in mainstream denominational Churches, the return of Jesus Christ is not necessarily a big feature, yet it will mark the end of “gospel” age as we know it (not the end of the world).

Jesus will return to the earth. There are many scriptures which support this inevitable event:

Revelation 1:7

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Matthew 24:36

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

16 For the Lord, himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.

17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Revelation 22:12-13

12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

13 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Getting Right with the Lord and check out the other posts from the series.

 

Glenn Duker’s Reflection on Visiting Malawi

I have pondered over the last few days how visiting the Church in Malawi impacted me. And then it dawned on “me” that this is the whole problem with our western world. We think that it is all about “us”. We don’t necessarily see it but our society is self-absorbed – and in our great comfort (which we are born into). As a society we are blinded by the things of this world… not appreciating that it is all vanity, it all passes eventually, is a memory for a while and then forgotten. Cf. The book of Ecclesiastes!

What seems to restrict us is our “clutter” or our “stuff”. We are so busy… mostly about things that don’t ultimately matter. We just convince ourselves that they do. Jesus put it simply (paraphrased) and advised the smart alternative: “Martha, Martha .. you are anxious and troubled about many things. Mary has chosen the good portion (listening to the simple words of the Gospel), which shall not be taken away from her”.

Yes – there is a super-rapid expansion in Malawi of the Church… but for good reason. Even in my life, I recall that once upon a time in Australia people were more open to the gospel, intrigued about the miraculous and the miracle of speaking in tongues. In less naturally comfortable circumstances, these people in Africa REALLY hunger and thirst after righteousness and the power of God. They are yearning for it. Malawi for me has brought into focus with some clarity that we don’t need to search far for the Lord or the miracle… just drop the sophistication, the questioning, put aside the cynicism, forget the disappointment of denominational “religion” and how it has let the world down by not preaching the full gospel (as opposed to God’s spirit-filled Church) and just realise that the Lord is right there waiting to bless; and as Spirit-filled people we should not think that the Lord is far away. He is the same God in Malawi as He is here – and we would be encouraged to learn from the simplicity of the acceptance of the Word of God in Malawi and humbly follow the example of their zeal for the things of God.

I went to Malawi to work, to contribute what I could in some small way for the Lord, and to learn. I praise the Lord that I received exactly what I asked for…to have a new adventure each day of watching and experiencing the Lord’s miraculous hand in action and interacting with our wonderful, faithful, longsuffering fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I am so glad I went… and that I understand more that it’s really not about “self” and the here and now at all… but about our ultimate destination: the kingdom of God and “the more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”.

Thanks again to John, Gilbert and all who made this trip possible.

 

Glenn Duker’s Mission Trip to Malawi

August 4th, 2018

These wonderful people are so rich in the joy of the Holy Ghost. The children received the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, in about a minute or less and were baptised, as were so many adults. We can learn so much from these fellow saints. The Lord is right there, waiting to bless. We would be wise to put our “questioning” mind to one side and follow their example: just believe our wonderful God without hesitation … and the miracles will follow. Jesus Christ is truly the same yesterday, today and forever.

-Glenn Duker

 

August 6th, 2018

Had a great few days here in Malawi with an outreach, then two communion meetings yesterday and a visit to a newer Meeting today, which is growing rapidly in numbers. This is “spiritual immersion” and I am loving it.

Had a great time this morning at the hotel – I spoke to two of the hotel employees and they were happy to seek for the Holy Spirit, which they received, speaking in other tongues, within a few minutes of each other. This is incredibly exciting stuff. All we do is preach the word and, willing to receive what the Lord has for them, they receive it freely!

What is the rest of the world doing!!!

The Bible says that only the fool says in his heart that there is no God.

The time is now to receive the Holy Spirit. Forget trying to work it all out… the Lord is there to fill people right away!

This is real and powerful – the power of God unto salvation and an incredible joy and privilege to be part of.

-Glenn Duker

 

August 8th, 2018

Another amazing day…our day off turned out to be a big day on… and it was worth it. From talking to the gardeners, to the walk to the village to meet the lady chief, to a strong talk from Pastor Nelson to the ladies in the village (the men were at work fishing… I guess we were also fishing!), to praying for the sick in the village and seeking or for the spirit and.. of course, some baptisms, then to the assistant manager of the resort receiving the Holy Spirit. C’est la vie. I just wish all days off could be like this!

-Glenn Duker

 

August 11th, 2018

Great couple of days… 7 more baptisms today and encouragement. Made some wonderful friends: we are united in the Lord, one hope, one faith, one baptism. The Church here continues to grow rapidly and these folks are well grounded in the Lord’s doctrine and passionate about staying on the Word of God. They tell us that they are grateful for our time of fellowship….yet we are so grateful for theirs. We are one in Christ.

The scenery is nice but that’s not what this trip is about. For me, this just reinforces, as Pastor Vic so aptly puts it, that this our “real job”.

-Glenn Duker

 

Speaking in Tongues: Part 2

On the day of Pentecost they all spoke in tongues (when it says tongues like as of fire, this means that the tongues spread like fire amongst the people):

Acts 2:2 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews, and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

When the Holy Spirit was being received elsewhere in the book of Acts, tongues were present:

Acts 10: 44-48 44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Similarly in Acts 19:

And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

I hope this gives you an insight on how amazing speaking in tongues can be and what it really means to be gifted by Him in such a way. If you missed my Introduction to Themes of the Bible or Doing What God Says visit GlennDuker.net.au. Also, keep up with more to come from the Themes of the Bible series!

 

Reasons Why You Should Go On a Mission Trip

Are you having trouble planning this year’s vacation? Instead of using your vacation days to plan a trip to the beach, you can use them to travel to a new country and help people in need on a mission trip.  A mission trip takes a group on a journey to help less fortunate areas and provide them with materials, labor, and faith. The activities on mission trips can vary from building an orphanage to feeding the impoverished to just spending time with a family. This is what you can expect to experience while on your mission trip:

Togetherness

A group on either a short-term or long-term mission trip can experience many different things. Whether it’s building a house, playing games, or traveling, everything is done together. It builds a community within this mission group and bonds them not only to each other but to the community in which they are helping.

Broaden Perspectives

Reading a newspaper every day can keep you updated on what is going on in the world, but a mission trip helps you experience what is really happening. Reading that kids in Central America don’t have anywhere to live doesn’t quite hit you until you visit the poverty-stricken town. You can begin to understand that it isn’t just a newspaper article or a commercial asking to give 50 cents a month. It is a town like your own, struggling in this world, needing help that you can provide.

Challenging Comfort Zones

Mission trips will demand a lot from you, from getting up the courage to leave your home for weeks at a time to build a house for homeless orphans. The extent of the trip can be challenging. You will be experiencing new cultures, new skills, and new people every day of your trip. Your mission trip will certainly push you out of your comfort zone in several ways. It can also bring a new demand to your faith that is practiced outside the walls of your church. Your spirituality can be brought forth by your actions in the real world and not just be confined to sermons every Sunday.

Empowerment

Being able to share God’s faith is an empowering event. You can find many possibilities for the future and develop a passion for the work you have done. Not only can you find these things, but mission trips give you the ability to pursue them. Mission trips show the capabilities of people and the good they can provide in the world by delivering it with the help and the faith it needs.

To learn more about places where you can go on mission trips, read Glenn Duker’s blog, Where Should Your Next Mission Trip Be To.