With God all things are possible
What joy as we live in the wonder, awe and joy of the Resurrected Christ!
What worship, what marvel!
Who could have ever imagined Resurrection Life? A corpse cooking a BBQ for his mates returning from a night’s fishing! The vision of the Resurrection was beyond all imagining, or dreaming, or wishing and hoping; and yet in Christ, it was true. Christ is Risen. Alleluia!
Following the Resurrection, who of the disciples could have imagined the ascension of Christ? The ascension to Heaven of this Resurrected back-from-the dead One! Yet God had a further reality in store for the disciples. The reality of an event which was as yet unimagined. The Glory of the Ascended Christ: Lord of Lords, King of Kings, the Lamb on the throne.
And as if this was not sufficient to sharpen our vision of new possibilities, do you recall what event follows the Ascension of Christ? Yes, Pentecost: the coming of the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit. Who could have imagined such wonder as 3,000 people were baptised in Jerusalem that first Pentecost?
What of our dreams?
What of our visions?
Let me share my vision. I envision Christian communities living and growing as they should: in Christ’s life, light and love. Christian communities are not perfect, they have their share of problems but they are living and growing as they should because they are focused and captivated by the right vision.
What is this right vision that brings life and growth to the Body of Christ?
Surely, it is the character and likeness and image of Jesus Christ, the Son of God in all His Glory! My vision is of Christian communities for whom this is the primary vision and focus.
In my mind, I envision and describe a healthy and transformational church but I do not limit God to the capacities of my mind.
110 years ago in Wales, God used a young coalminer’s burden for revival, a burden he had carried since childhood, to transform an entire region. Owen Robert’s compassionate love for people led to his calling Christians to listen to God, to be changed by His power and to live a public faith.
As more and more Welsh believers lived the call, God seized upon the submissive spirit of the church in Wales, and Robert’s burden and love for those outside of the faith inspired an evangelistic and missional fervour unlike any they had ever seen. It has been described in this way:
As God answered this burden, even the newspapers published the results. In two months, 70,000 were converted, 85,000 in five months, and more than 100,000 in six months. Judges were presented with white gloves signifying no cases to be tried. Alcoholism was halved. At times hundreds would stand to declare their surrender of Christ as Lord. Restitution was made; gamblers and others normally untouched by the ministry of the church came to Christ.*
With God all things are possible. May the Holy Spirit give us the vision and empower us to make this vision real. May the Holy Spirit change us by His power to submit to God and practise a public faith. May the Holy Spirit burden us with a love for those outside the faith. Inspired by an evangelistic and missional fervour, let us be the vision’s hands and feet.
In the name of Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Other articles, including this one, can be found in the Tasmanian Anglican Magazine here
