For the past three months, we have explored the importance of God’s physical creation as His chosen way of expressing Himself (Psalm 19:1; Psalm 50:6; Psalm 97:6; Romans 1:20). God only declares His creation to be “very good” after He has completed and fully furnished the earth. Last month we briefly looked at the resurrection.

We know that we are sinners, for “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12). We also know that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Right from the beginning, God made it clear that Adam’s disobedience would lead to death, “for dust you are and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Everyone dies!

What happens after we die is important. Romans 6:7 clearly says, “He that is dead is freed from sin”. The “wages of sin” have been paid (Romans 6:23).

We understand that the physical resurrection of Jesus was a turning point in the history of our world. Several people have been resurrected through the ages, to demonstrate God’s power over death. Presumably, those who were resurrected in the Old and New Testament eventually died again. Jesus’ resurrection was unique.

Jesus’s resurrection is permanent. Jesus is the “first begotten of the dead” (Revelation 1:5). Jesus now identifies himself as “who was dead and is alive” (Revelation 2:8). Jesus lives forever (Hebrews 7:24). Jesus himself says, “I am he who lives. I was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18). Jesus’ resurrection is what “everlasting life” looks like (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 19:29; John 3:16; John3:36).

The resurrection of the dead is God’s amazing answer to the seemingly impossible problem of “How does God judge sin but save sinners?”. By allowing sinners to die, God has fulfilled His word and judged sin. By raising humans from the dead, God has had compassion on them. Sinners, which we all are, are “buried in corruption; but raised in incorruption. We are buried in dishonour but raised in glory. We are buried in weakness but raised in power” (1 Corinthians 15:42-43).

This is how God saves sinners. The beauty of this is that no-one can earn the resurrection from the dead. Dead people can do nothing. “There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). God alone has the power of life and death. “See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand” (Deuteronomy 32:39). Our salvation is entirely dependent on God, His power to raise the dead, and His good will towards mankind (Luke 2:14). “Salvation belongs unto the LORD” (Psalm 3:8).

Jesus is the “first begotten of the dead” (Revelation 1:5). He will not be the last. Because Jesus lives, we shall live also (John 14:19).

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).

Pastor Graham Brodie

For the past two months, we have explored the importance of God’s physical creation as His chosen way of expressing Himself (Psalm 19:1; Psalm 50:6; Psalm 97:6; Romans 1:20). The Genesis account of creation clearly focuses on the creation of the earth and there is very little detail about Heaven. God only declares His creation to be “very good” after He has completed and fully furnished the earth. There is a clear link between the Garden of Eden and both the Tabernacle and the Temples. Additionally, Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22, 2 Peter 3:13, and Revelation 21:1 clearly declare that there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth. Again, there is a clear declaration that a physical realm is required for God’s purposes, which brings me to this month’s topic: the resurrection.
Resurrections are recorded in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are three plainly declared resurrections in the Old Testament: the widow’s son at Zarephath: Raised by Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-22); the Shunammite’s son: Raised by Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37); and a dead man who comes to life upon touching Elisha’s bones (2 Kings 13:20-21). The New Testament has more examples of resurrection. The most obvious one is the resurrection of Jesus himself. Other resurrections include: the widow’s son at Nain: raised by Jesus (Luke 7:11-17); Jairus’s daughter: raised by Jesus (Mark 5:35-43); Lazarus of Bethany: raised by Jesus after being dead for four days (John 11:1-44); many saints raised at Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 27:5053); Tabitha (Dorcas): raised by Peter (Acts 9:36-41); and Eutychus: raised by Paul after falling from a window (Acts 20:7-12). In both the Old and the New Testaments, these people were raised from the dead in a physical body. God is not a necromancer or a wizard who conjures up dead spirits. These are lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9) which God condemns (Deuteronomy 18:11).
Jesus was raised from the dead by God (Acts 3:15; Acts 4:10; Acts 13:30; 1 Corinthians 15:15; Colossians 2:12; and 1 Peter 1:21). Quite importantly, God raised Jesus in a physical body. In Luke 24:39, when Jesus showed himself to his disciples after his resurrection, he said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.” Although Jesus could appear and disappear from the presence of his disciples, he makes it very clear that he is not a spirit but has a physical body. In doing so, Jesus clearly demonstrates to the disciples that he is alive; that he has a body (“flesh and bones, as you see that I have”); and that his disciples could physically touch, feel, and inspect his body. We must remember, as we read through the Book of Acts, that his disciples eventually did all the works that Jesus did (John 14:12). This also includes the Spirit “catching away” Philip after he led the Ethiopian eunuch to faith in Jesus (Acts 8:39). Philip was found at Azotus (Acts 8:40).
Jesus is not ashamed to call his disciples, brethren (John 20:17). The Spirit testifies to our spirit that we are children of God; heirs of God; joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). “Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be: but we know that, when he appears, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2). Jesus went to great lengths to demonstrate to his disciples that he had a physical body after his resurrection; therefore, everyone who is resurrected will also have a physical body.
God does not create in vain. He formed this earth to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18). There is going to be a New Earth. It will be inhabited. There is going to be a resurrection of all mankind (Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15). Some of those who are resurrected will go on to inhabit the New Earth.
There will therefore be more than enough humans to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28); therefore, there will be no need to procreate in the New Earth. This is why Jesus explained the resurrection by saying, “You are mistaken, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven”. There is no reason for angels to procreate to fill heaven. Neither will there need to be procreation in the resurrection to fill the New Earth, where “the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4). This is our true and sure hope (Acts 23:6; 1 Peter 1:3).

Pastor Graham Brodie

       In the beginning, God seems to have created the earth as a place for Him to dwell with Adam and Eve. God walked in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8); however, now God is in his holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven (Psalm 11:4). God stretched out the heavens like a curtain (Psalm 104:2). He created the heavens and stretched them out (Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 45:12; Jeremiah 10:12; Jeremiah 51:15; Zechariah 12:1). Job 9:8 says that God spread out the heavens. God sits upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants of the earth are as grasshoppers; [He] stretched out the heavens as a curtain and spread them out as a tent to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22).
      These statements describe heaven as being the dwelling place of God; however, they also describe heaven as being thin, stretched out, like a tent. Perhaps heaven is only a temporary dwelling place for God. Heaven may have a use by date. Revelation 6:14 says that the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. Elsewhere it says: All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll (Isaiah 34:4). Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke (Isaiah 51:6).
      We know that ultimately, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God (Revelation 21:3); therefore, God’s ultimate home will be on earth. Then God will not need a heaven to dwell in anymore. The ultimate expression of this is the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven, which seems to be the same thing. We also know that the Church is already a kingdom of priests prepared for when God returns (Revelation 1:6; Revelation 5:10).
      Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies (Leviticus 16:2; Leviticus 16:34; Hebrews 9:7). This corresponds to Jesus entering heaven to bring his atoning blood before God (Hebrews 9:12-24). The remainder of the priests ministered in the courtyard and the holy place of the Tabernacle or Temple, for: “the priests went always into the first chamber, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people (Hebrews 9:6-7). So, Jesus has gone into the presence of God, alone, to present his offering before the Father.
      Meanwhile, all of the priests (not just the High Priest) played an important part in God bringing His people into His promise. For example:
1.   The priests stepped into the Jordan with the Ark of the Lord first and God stopped the flow of the river for the whole nation to cross over into God’s promise (Joshua 3:15-17; Joshua 4:10).
2.   The priests were instrumental in the battle of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-5).
3.   The priests are to teach the people about God (Leviticus 10:11; Deuteronomy 17:8-11; Malachi 2:7; Ezekiel 44:23).
      Like the priests of old, the Church will be instrumental in God’s inauguration of His Kingdom in the Earth. For God to dwell with mankind again, the current state of mankind must be addressed. This includes God’s currently chosen priests, the Church. This is why God must provide the following things for all mankind:
1. Redemption : If God is to dwell with mankind, then God must provide a comprehensive process of redemption for all men and women who have ever lived, no matter who they are, what they have done, whether they are alive or dead, or where they live, or when they have lived;
2. Resurrection of the Dead : Hundreds of generations of men and women in different parts of the earth have died before knowing that there is any prospect of redemption. If God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16), then everyone who has ever lived needs to know this truth so that they can make a conscious choice as to whether they want to believe or not. This can only be possible if they are alive; therefore, God must provide a resurrection of the dead so that they can make this choice;
3. Healing : If men and women are to be accepted into God’s restored earthly temple, there must be healing, because the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, ‘Speak unto Aaron, saying, ‘Whosoever of your descendants in their generations that has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God, for whoever has a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that has a flat nose, or anything superfluous, or that has a blemish in his eye, or has scurvy, or is scabbed, … No man that has a blemish shall come near to offer the bread of his God (Leviticus 21:16-21). No one with a blemish of any kind can perform priestly duties; therefore, God must provide healing to correct these blemishes, if we are a kingdom of priests;
4. Deliverance : If men and women are to be accepted into God’s restored earthly temple, they cannot harbour demons, for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness?(1 Corinthians 6:14); therefore, God must provide deliverance to remove these demons from their human hosts. 

Pastor Graham Brodie

When reading the creation account in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, something is conspicuously missing. Although Heaven is mentioned in verse 1, there are no details about what many Christians would regard as being the most important place in God’s creation. The focus of God’s creation account, recorded for us in the Bible, is the earth. Only after the completion of the earth does God declare His work to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Clearly, God created the earth with intent.

The Garden of Eden is where God walked with man in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8); therefore, the Garden of Eden is the “holy of holies” of creation. There are several parallels between the Garden of Eden and both the tabernacle and the temple.

Firstly, everything faced East. After their disobedience, God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden and placed “at the east of the garden of Eden, Cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24). The Tabernacle faced East (Numbers 3:38) and so did the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:16; Ezekiel 47:1).

The Garden of Eden has a river flowing out of it (Genesis 2:10). Ezekiel’s vision of a new Temple has a river flowing “out from under the threshold of the house eastward” (Ezekiel 47:1). John’s vision of the New Jerusalem has a river of life flowing from it (Revelation 22:1). Jesus also said that “He that believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38); therefore, the Body of Christ is also a temple for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Cherubim and a flaming sword were placed on the east of the garden to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). In the Tabernacle, there was a veil to separate the “holy of holies” from the “holy place”, which was decorated with Cherubim (Exodus 26:31; Exodus 36:35). The Temple that Solomon built also had a veil with Cherubim woven into it (2 Chronicles 3:14). In Ezekiel’s vision of the temple, Cherubim and palm trees decorated the walls and doors of the temple (Ezekiel 41:18-25).

The Garden contained precious stones and gold (Genesis 2:11-12), like the Tabernacle (Exodus chapters 26 – 40), Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings chapter 6), Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 41), and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:18; Revelation 21:21).

Therefore, all the temples and the tabernacle, described throughout scripture, represent the earth. When the high priest enters the holy of holies on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16:2; Leviticus 16:11-12), it portrays both Jesus atoning sacrifice presented to the Father upon his ascension (Hebrews 4:14) and the return of mankind to the Edenic environment of the new earth (Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1).

There are at least fifty-five chapters of the Bible dedicated to the description of the construction of or the services in or the implications of the Tabernacle. Specifically, there are thirteen chapters in Exodus (Chapters 25-31; 35-40), eighteen in Leviticus (Chapters 1-10; 16-17; 21-25; 27), thirteen in Numbers (chs.1-9; 16-19), three in Deuteronomy (Chapters 16-18), and eight in Hebrews (Chapters 3-10). Apart from Jesus, the Tabernacle is possibly the most described object in the Bible. The most important point of the Tabernacle is that God moves into the camp with His people. God commanded Moses to “make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). The Tabernacle is the first expression of “Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Matthew 1:23). God’s desire and intent is to be amid His people. The Tabernacle was in the middle of the Children of Israel’s camp (Numbers 2:17).

We know that ultimately, “the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3); therefore, God’s ultimate home will not be in heaven, but it will be on earth with His people. Heaven may have a “use by” date. Revelation 6:14 says that “the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together”. That is why “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). The arrival of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a foretaste of when God ultimately comes home to live with His people on the earth.

Pastor Graham Brodie

God is confronting! “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The sheer scale of His creation is confronting. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). God confronted the antediluvian world and destroyed it in a flood, so that “the world was overflowed with water and perished” (2 Peter 3:6).

God confronted the power of Egypt. He left the land in ruins. Even the magicians of Egypt recognised that “this is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19). Israel’s encounter with God at Mt. Sinai was confronting. “The mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness” (Deuteronomy 4:11).

God’s voice was confronting. Deuteronomy 4:12 says, “The Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of His words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice”. The people were in such fear that they pleaded with Moses not to ever let God speak to them again (Exodus 20:19).

God’s prophets were confronting. Notable examples include Nathan confronting David, Elijah challenging Ahab, and Jeremiah calling for reform.

Jesus was confronting. After he calmed the storm with a rebuke, his disciples exclaim, “Who is this that commands even the wind and the sea, and they obey him?” (Matthew 8:21; Mark 4:41; Luke 8:25).

The apostles were confronting. In Thessalonica, a riot erupts because the people of the city perceive that “these who have turned the world upside down have come here” (Acts 17:6).

The church is meant to be confronting. In Jerusalem, “many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem” (Acts 5:12-13).

So, when did God stop being confronting? When did Jesus cease being confronting?  Jesus’ very first act of ministry was to be led by the Spirit into the wilderness to confront the devil (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1). When did the church become tame? Has God grown old and feeble (Psalm 102:27)? Is His arm shortened that it cannot save (Isaiah 59:1)?
Where is our faith? “You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savour, how shall it be salted? It is good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot by men.” (Matthew 5:13).
We need bold, confronting faith in our very confronting God.

Pastor Graham Brodie

Some time ago we consciously handed our fellowship over to God for Him to have His way among us. Letting go is hard, especially when we cannot physically see the person we are handing control to. No man has seen God at any time (1 John 4:12), so our human nature compels us to formulate procedures and processes to understand and to some extent tame God. For example, over the years we have possibly been taught that “we are God’s hands and feet in the earth”. This is only partly true. We are called to be obedient; however, God is perfectly capable of bringing honour to Himself, without our help.

As Jesus was coming closer to his appointment with the cross, he became overwhelmed with anguish. As it says in John 12:27-28, Jesus said, “Now my soul is troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name”. This is John’s equivalent of the Gethsemane moment that is recorded in the other three gospels (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 26:42), where Jesus yields his will to that of the Father. God, the Father, responds with a voice from heaven saying, “I have both glorified it (God’s name), and will glorify it again.” (John 12:28).
God continues to glorify His name; however, He does so according to His ways and not ours. As some of you will be aware, God has been very active among us during the past several months; however, His activities are not always what we would expect. Firstly, God is God (Job 42:2). He does not need to comply with our expectations. He does not need our permission to act. He can do what He wants, when He wants. He will do and say things that will confront and confound our understanding. God does not conform to our understanding. “Where are the wise? Where is the scribe? Where are the disputers of this world? Has not God made the wisdom of this world look foolish?” (1 Corinthians 1:20). God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).
In Malachi 3:8-10, God is daring His people to put Him to the test. In this particular instance it is with regard to their tithing; however, there are other instances of God and Jesus “daring” people to put them to the test. Jesus rebuked his disciples and listeners on at least five occasions for lacking faith to do what seemed to be the impossible (Matthew 6:30; Mathew 8:26; Matthew 14:31; Matthew 16:8; and Matthew 17:17). One of these occasions was when Peter walked on the water with Jesus (Matthew 14:25-31) but lapsed back to natural human understanding. I have the impression that Jesus is demonstrating what is possible from a close relationship with his Father, in the expectation that all of his disciples will understand that they can do these things too. In fact, he seems to link the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom with the things that he and his disciples did. He even expected that his disciples will do greater works than his (John 14:12). Jesus was daring his disciples to trust his Father to do greater works through them than those which he did himself. Is Jesus a liar? Can the Father be trusted?
We have handed our fellowship over to God. It will be interesting to see what this will look like in the longer term because His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).

                                                                      Pastor Graham Brodie

New years end what is old and bring new beginnings. Noah’s flood ended on the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year (Genesis 8:13).  Eventually, Noah and those who were with him left the old world behind and stepped out into a new world.

Moses erected the Tabernacle on the first day of the first month in the second year (Exodus 40:17), then a cloud covered the tabernacle, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34).

At the beginning of the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, after years of neglect, the temple in Jerusalem began to be sanctified on the first day of the first month (2 Chronicles 29:17).

Ezra departed from Babylon to return to Jerusalem, after the people of Judah had dwelt in exile, on the first day of the first month (Ezra 7:9).

The Bible is replete with new beginnings. Noah and his family stepped out of the ark into a new beginning.

Abraham’s relationship with God marked a new beginning in God’s plan of redemption for mankind.

God’s redemption of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt marked a new beginning for them as a nation.

Jesus’ resurrection from the dead marked a new beginning for all mankind.

This world will have a new beginning. God has promised that He will create a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22; Revelation 21:1). Everything we know of this present evil world (Galatians 1:4) will “pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10); however, “we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

You can have a new beginning. If you have accepted Jesus as both your Lord and your saviour, you have a new beginning – clean and fresh with no encumbrances from the past and an amazing future in God’s new heaven and new earth. “You have been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever” (1 Peter 1:23). You are a brand-new person, “old things have passed away … behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Pastor Graham Brodie

Reading the book of Revelation brings its own blessing (Revelation 1:3); however, for many it is a confusing book, with images and visions that are hard to understand. It should be remembered that much of the Revelation is a Vision, which implies that it is a “waking dream”. To properly understand all the elements of the Revelation required the gift of “Interpreting of Dreams,” which is a gift of the Spirit.

When king Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream about things to come (Daniel chapter 2), he was desperate to understand his dream and what it meant. Eventually, Daniel is brought before the king, and the king asks Daniel, “Are you able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation of it?” (Daniel 2:26). Daniel’s reply is humble, clear, and right: “The secret which the king has demanded cannot be made known by the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers; but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.” (Daniel 2:27-28). After this, Daniel, who clearly has been given the gift of “Interpreting of Dreams,” expounds to the king about the coming world empires and the kingdom which God will bring into the earth.

Joseph is another example of someone with the gift of “Interpreting of Dreams.” He interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh (Genesis chapter 41). Another example of interpreting dreams is found in the book of Judges. Although he was not the primary interpreter of the dream, Gideon is the beneficiary of someone’s interpretation of a dream (Judges 7:13-15).

Dreams and Visions are clearly important ways that God communicates with His people. There are multiple examples in the scriptures of people having encounters with God during their dreams. There are also many people in our modern times who are encountering God and Jesus during their dreams. Currently, many hundreds of Muslim people are encountering Jesus for the first time through dreams. Their testimonies are consistent: describing seeing a radiant figure in bright white clothing, sometimes holding a stick with a cross on it, or as a man in a white robe. The encounters often lead to feelings of love, peace, grace, and healing. These dreams often include an instruction that the person will meet someone the next day who will explain who Jesus is, leading to a real-life encounter with a Christian that confirms the dream. Individual testimonies are encouraging; however, when multiple hundreds of people have almost the same experience, we need to pay attention. The prophet Joel points out that God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, “and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). There are countless testimonies that are emerging in our time of people who are having visions and dreams of Jesus and coming to faith as a result of these dreams. They are a clear sign that God is still pouring out His Spirit. Revelation is a book of visions. Multiple hundreds of people are encountering God and Jesus in their dreams. Endeavouring to understand these dreams, visions, and encounters, whether in scripture or in people’s lives today, from a human perspective is futile, “for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:19), “but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets” (Daniel 2:28), who clearly is still pouring out His Spirit upon people.

Pastor Graham Brodie

We openly recognise several gifts of God’s Spirit in our fellowships. These include: Pastors  Ephesians 4:11), Wisdom (1 Kings 3:5-12; 1 Corinthians 12:8), Teaching (Romans 12:7; Ephesians 4:11), Exhortation (Romans 12:8) and giving (Romans 12:8) to name a few. Some gifts appear to be available to everyone for the asking. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and does not upbraid; and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” (James 1:5-6). Others seem to be distributed only as the Lord desires (1 Corinthians 12:11). One interesting gift is the “working of miracles” (1 Corinthians 12:10). Immediately people rightly think about Jesus and the early Apostles. These clearly had the faith to work miracles and see miracles in their lives and in the lives of others; however, there have been others over time who have also seen miracles in their service for the Lord. Names which quickly come to mind include George Mueller, who witnessed many miracles as he trusted God to provide for him and the many children in his care. Recently, we had Ronny Heyboer speak at our church. He too has seen multiple miracles as God provided for the Living Waters Village in Borneo.

For many years, our fellowship was blessed to have Alan Belcher and his second wife, June, among us. Alan was also a missionary in Borneo and witnessed a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit as God intervened in the lives of the people of Sarawak and the interior of Sabah. After being a missionary in Borneo for nearly 6 decades Alan understood the practical operations of the gift of faith, the gift of miracles, and the gift of wisdom. Alan often shared words to the effect that “God’s work, done God’s way, would never lack God’s provision”. 

Not everyone will express these gifts; however, some will. Others who witness the faith of these men and women will be blessed, encouraged, and somewhat challenged in their own walk with the Lord. That seems to be the purpose of such gifts from the Holy Spirit. For those who knew Alan, we knew a man of great humility and great faith. For those who did not have the blessing of knowing him and being his friends, there is a short article on the Web that may give a little insight into the life of a man of faith who lived among us:

https://longsemadoh.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/3563/
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8). God in His wisdom, gives gifts to His church according to His purposes, not ours.

Pastor Graham Brodie