/EDWJja11 by CWR

JUL/AUG 201 1

Turning the World Upside Down ‘... on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’ Matthew 16:18

Selwyn Hughes Revised and updated by Mick Brooks Further Study: Ian Sewter © CWR 2011. Dated text previously published as Every Day with Jesus: The Church at the Crossroads (July/August 1999) by CWR. This edition revised and updated for 2011 by Mick Brooks. CWR, Waverley Abbey House, Waverley Lane, Farnham, Surrey GU9 8EP, UK Tel: 01252 784700 Email: mail@cwr.org.uk Registered Charity No. 294387. Registered Limited Company No. 1990308. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of CWR. Unless otherwise stated all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. © International Bible Society. Cover image: Getty/photodisc/Tsuneo Yamashita Quiet Time image: istockphoto.com/kobra17 Printed in England by Linney Print

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A word of introduction …

recent piece of promotional material for our training courses here at Waverley Abbey House both excited me and stopped me in my tracks. The headline was: ‘Growing People, Building Church’. It reminded me of a photo I saw in a local newspaper some years ago with the accompanying caption: ‘The Church outside the new building.’ Church means many different things to people. When you hear the word ‘church’, what comes to mind? An oppressive, legalistic institution? An elaborate and ornate building? Stained glass windows and the cosy, comforting recollections of times gone by? For some, church has become a treadmill of meetings and programmes to keep going and to keep up with; for others, it’s a brand-new family of loving, kind and supportive friends. The Church has been through many different phases; many and varied denominations, streams, traditions and practices have come and gone. And yet it stands. It has stood the test of time, despite political and cultural opposition. The Church stands and, for the most part, continues to be an influence for good all over the world. What, I wonder, would the apostles and Early Church leaders make of contemporary church life? What are the vital, unchangeable tenets, and what are cultural reflections of the day? In this issue, Selwyn explores some of the characteristics of the early followers of Jesus in Antioch, who were first recognised as ‘Christ ones’ – Christians. And he explores the idea of and calls for a re-formation of church life. It is my prayer that as you read through these devotions, God will challenge, refresh and equip you so that in and through you, the world might be turned upside down. Sincerely yours, in His name Mick Brooks Consulting Editor

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A look back

Fri 1 Jul

For reading & meditation – Acts 2:42–47

‘Everyone was ﬁlled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.’ (v.43)

he theme we are about to explore is one with which we must come to grips if we are to make a difference in our twentyfirst-century world: the re-formation of the Church. I have hyphenated the word to make it clear that I am not calling for a reformation such as we had in the sixteenth century, when the Bible was restored to its rightful place and the Church was to a large extent purified. The call I am making is not for a return to the sixteenth century, but for a return to the first century. Without hesitation I say that if today’s Church of Jesus Christ is to make as great an impact upon the world as Further did the first-century Church, it must return to its roots, Study to those early years after the outpouring of the Spirit Josh. 24:1–18; on the Day of Pentecost when, we are told, the world Luke 9:57–62 was turned ‘upside down’ by the Spirit-filled disciples 1. Why did (Acts 17:6, NKJV). Joshua look No doubt you will have heard how the young Billy back and what Graham held a lengthy evangelistic crusade in the city was the result? of Los Angeles. Thousands were converted to Jesus 2. When should Christ, including a number of Hollywood’s film stars. we not look Later, some of the more liberally minded ministers back? in Los Angeles accused Billy Graham of putting the churches back 100 years. When that information reached him he is said to have remarked: ‘Oh dear, I’m so sorry. I was really trying to set it back 2,000 years.’ That’s how far back we must travel if we are to see the way in which the Church is to be reformed – not a mere 500 years, but 2,000 years.

O God, help Your Church to understand that there are times when we need to look back so that we can move forward. Give each of us in the weeks ahead Your original vision for Your people. Re-form us in Your image. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Sat 2 Jul

What of the future? For reading & meditation – Matthew 16:13–20

‘… on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’ (v.18)

esterday we said that if the Church is to rise to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, it must be re-formed. And to be re-formed it needs to look back, not 500 years to the time of the Reformation, but 2,000 years to the time when the waters of life sprang fresh from the Rock. In my marriage seminars I tell people that in order to understand how marriage should be, we have to look back to the model of marriage given in the Garden of Eden. Only when we see, and see clearly, how God meant marriage to be, are we in a position to spot the deviations when we move Further Study away from His intention. Similarly, the contemporary Christian Church, I believe, urgently needs to look 1 Cor. 3:5–16; Eph. 2:19–22; back to the original model in order to understand how 4:11–16 God designed His Church to operate in the world. Only then will we be able to spot the deviations and see how 1. How does Jesus build His far we have gone astray. During a television debate I watched on the state of Church? the Church, the question was asked: ‘Will a Christian 2. What part do we play? Church still exist at the end of the twenty-first century?’ The general feeling among the group – clearly mostly non-Christians – was that the Church is outdated and irrelevant, and that in less than 100 years it will be defunct. As I listened to the debate I smiled to myself, for there came singing into my consciousness our text for today: ‘I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’ Yet although Jesus has promised that the Church will not be overcome, it does not follow that it is where it should be spiritually. It needs most desperately a spiritual overhaul, a re-formation. Without that there is little hope of the twenty-first century being turned ‘upside down’. Lord Jesus Christ, You who energised Your early followers and enabled them to turn the world ‘upside down’, touch our lives in the same way. Forgive us and restore us. For Your own dear name’s sake. Amen.

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The guardian of values

Sun 3 Jul

For reading & meditation – Matthew 5:1–16

‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?’ (v.13)

here is no doubt that the Christian Church is under ﬁre – perhaps the most severe scrutiny in its long history. At the top of a hill in central India there used to be a fort guarded by soldiers who were dressed in long uniforms and who held pikes. Once the administration of the area had been conducted from within the walls of the fort, but the centre of power had moved and was located many miles away, in a large city. Though the fort no longer served a useful purpose, soldiers still pompously guarded the irrelevance. That, our critics would say, is a picture of the Church today – it stands high Further and dry and irrelevant. They claim it is not positioned Study to the problems of the day. It is pompously guarding Lev. 2:11–13; irrelevant values and issues. Num. 18:19; This, of course, we refute right away. The values Col. 4:1–6 we are living by are not irrelevant. They may, in 1. Why is the some instances, be obscured by archaic language, ‘salt of the but stripped of that they are the values the world covenant’ needs to have modelled for it. Without those values, important? communities are simply hives of industry, with people 2. How can our getting nowhere and stinging themselves to death in conversation be salty? their struggle for survival. What are the values by which the Church lives? This is a short list (there are many more): the need to worship God, honesty, purity, ﬁdelity, service to others, accountability, and the importance of relationships. These values are like leaven in a society, saving it from falling in on itself. At one time society at large upheld these values and emphasised their importance. But not any more. The world, generally speaking, is in a moral free fall. Its only hope is a revived and spiritually rejuvenated Church.

O Father, You have called us to be salt and light. Forgive us that our salt has lost its savour and our light shines but dimly. Pour forth Your Spirit on Your Church, dear Father. Again I pray, restore us and revive us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Mon 4 Jul

‘Receive’ For reading & meditation – 2 Corinthians 6:1–13

‘As God’s fellow-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.’ (v.1)

e continue reﬂecting on the thought we started to consider yesterday, namely that the values which the Church stands for are the values which hold the world together. These values, given to all people through Scripture, are the greatest values humanity has ever received. I say ‘received’ because they could never have been ‘conceived’; they are an outright gracious gift of God. Men and women who reject these values are like modernday Esaus who sell their birthright for some lentil stew. While travelling from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur some time ago, I accidentally left my Bible on the plane. It was well Further Study marked, with lots of notes in it gleaned from many hours of meditation. Within an hour of landing I reported its Prov. 2:1–22; 2 Tim. 3:14–17 loss, but it appears that books and magazines are often discarded by travellers, and the clean-up squad who 1. What may come along throw them into their rubbish sacks. I winced happen to those who reject as I thought of my precious Bible being thrown onto a God’s Word? refuse tip along with old newspapers and magazines. 2. What is the Yet that is what society is doing. People today throw out purpose of the Bible and reduce it to the same level of worth as an Scripture? outdated daily newspaper or magazine. Newspapers are out of date almost before the ink is dry. The Bible, however, provides us with the most precious heritage the human race has ever been given – ageless and deathless. How sad to see our generation searching for meaning and yet ignoring the principles and values our Creator has given us in order to ﬁnd that meaning. Once again I make the point that the Church guards the principles which make life meaningful. If it does not make them known and demonstrate them to the world, there is little hope for the world. My Father and my God, so much is demanded of Your Church, but generally speaking so little is being demonstrated. Forgive us and help us dear Lord. In Christ’s name. Amen.

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