During our Good Friday service, we looked at Col 1:15-23, verses which stress the supremacy of Christ and all He has done for us.  Through Christ’s death on the cross, we have reconciliation with God: ‘For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.’ (Col 1:19-20, see also 2 Cor 5:19) We also have peace with God (Rom 5:12). Death was the penalty God prescribed for sin: ‘the wages of sin is death.’ (Rom 6:23) But through Christ’s death, that penalty has been paid and so we gain access to the free gift of God: ‘eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom 6:23)

Paul gives us more reasons for rejoicing, for he goes on to say that Christ’s ultimate purpose is ‘to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.’ (Col 1:22) God doesn’t just allow us to come crawling into His presence as a disgraced person, head hanging down in shame. He clothes us with the very righteousness of Christ and gives us the same holiness as the sinless One. He’s working in us to make us holy, without blemish, free from accusation. We don’t have to come into His presence wearing moth-eaten cloaks but instead are given robes of righteousness and garments of salvation to wear (Is 61:10). God intends for us to be holy and blameless (Eph 1:4), presented as a ‘radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.’ (Eph 5:26-27) This may seem impossible to us now to believe, but because Jesus was the sinless Lamb of God, because He was ‘a lamb without blemish or defect’ (1 Pet 1:19), He has the power to remove all blemishes and stains from us. We can look better than any blemish-free skin!

Good Friday reminds us that Jesus has finished the work God gave Him to do and because of this, all we have to do is ‘continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.’ (Col 1:23) All we have to do is come to God and accept that Jesus has done everything that was required to reconcile us to God, to give us peace with God, to break the chains of the enemy, to cleanse us and make us holy and blameless. We accept the hope held out in the gospel and we take that hope into ourselves and live by that bond of trust. We are so grateful to Jesus for all He has done for us at Calvary; we look ahead to Easter Sunday knowing that the fact that Jesus is no longer in the Tomb is the reason for the hope we have, because it’s proof that His sacrifice was acceptable once and for all to God. We are blessed people because we have a God who loved us enough to die for us. We are blessed because nothing now can separate us from that love.

Rend Collective sing a song called ‘Celebrate’ reminding us that we are called to praise God in every situation (see 1 Thess 5:17). Over this Easter weekend, there is so much to celebrate, for Jesus has died for us and because of this we are now reconciled to God! No matter what difficulties, troubles or trials we face, we know Jesus is the Victor and that the work of the cross is finished.

We’ll be holding a Communion service tonight (Good Friday) at 6 p.m. It’s good to pause in our busy lives and give thanks for the most significant day in history, when Jesus died to take away our sins.

Tomorrow (Saturday 26th March), the coffee morning will be on at 10 a.m. as usual, but we’ll also be involved with the ‘Churches Together’ March of Hope around Goldthorpe, leaving church at 10.15 a.m. Join with us and Christians from other churches to sing God’s praises in our community and to give out goody bags. We want to be salt and light in our community and it’s good to demonstrate that our God is alive to local residents!

After the march (which won’t be strenuous – we’ll be stopping off regularly to sing and engage in conversations!), we’ll be having lunch at GPCC on Market Street. Come along and have fellowship with Christians from all denominations and celebrate the relationships that we have because of Jesus! The cake decorators from the Salvation Army have been busy making us an Easter cake, and there are other goodies on offer…

On Easter Sunday, services will be at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Although many people are away on holiday, let’s celebrate loudly and exuberantly because Jesus is alive!

Golgotha.

The Place of the Skull.

Hollowed-out rocks.

Scary shadows.

Gloom.

Darkness.

Grimness personified,

So men could be punished.

A skull without flesh and blood,

No longer a living face

Transformed by smiles, eyes reflecting joy,

Sadness, hope, pain,

But bone only:

Concave sockets where once eyes shone brightly.

Hollow space where once a nose wrinkled in fun or distaste.

Sunkenness.

Cavities.

Shape without substance.

Here, in that place of bleakness,

Jesus died for our sins.

Here, in that place of hollowness,

The Son of God breathed His last,

And blood and water gushed forth from His side.

Let none sanitise this forsaken place.

Let none pretend life could flourish here.

But remember: this is not

Journey’s end.

Come instead to the garden

And see flesh known by His scars.

Not bone,

But resurrection skin.

Not death,

But pulsating life.

Vibrancy.

Death-defying vitality.

Walk through Golgotha.

See the empty tomb,

But linger in the garden,

Where the second Adam

Defeated sin and death

And spoke peace to those who mourned.

Allow hope to rise,

Life to blossom,

Faith to stir.

Eden recaptured,

Everything restored.

Life reborn.

Leave the ghoulish gloom of Golgotha with gratitude,

For the skull has been transformed

By the sacrifice of the Saviour

And we will never be the same.

The oral gifts (tongues, interpretation and prophecy) are discussed in much more detail in 1 Cor 14, but it is clear from Acts 2:11 that tongues (the ability to speak in another language that has not been previously learned) acts as a witness to unbelievers and that the content of speaking in tongues will always involve glorifying God. Speaking in tongues is an audible sign of God’s presence: ‘Whenever the Spirit came, this was always manifest by tangible evidence. Not only were the subjects themselves gloriously aware that they had received the Spirit, but in every single instance mentioned in the New Testament, onlookers knew something had happened.’ (George Canty, ‘The Practice of Pentecost’, P 83)  In the context of corporate worship, tongues spoken out publicly are interpreted so that others can understand and be blessed. Interpretation is not the same as translation, but conveys the message given in another language in a language understood by the majority.

Prophecy is a forth-telling from God in the language understood by the hearers. It can come by dreams and visions (Num 6:12) or be spontaneous (2 Chron 20:14) and is for the edification and encouragement of the church (1 Cor 14:3, 31). It does not necessarily speak of future events, though there can be a ‘now’ and a ‘not yet’ aspect to this gift.

The gifts involving knowledge are clearly speaking of a knowledge beyond human intellect. Biblical examples of words of knowledge abound (eg 1 Sam 9:20, 2 Kings 6:8-23, Acts 10:19-20, Acts 16:7) and this is often connected also to words of wisdom (see Joseph’s and Daniel’s interpretation of dreams, for example.) Distinguishing between spirits involves recognising the spirit behind people’s words and actions and then leads to deliverance of those troubled by evil spirits (see Acts 16:17-18, for example.) The rise in occult practices today means that this is not simply something tied to history; it can be a real danger to people today.

The supernatural knowledge given by God often leads people to speak out and then to do things. ‘Signs and wonders’ involve deliverance, healings and miracles which cannot be explained by natural means. Examples are given of Paul doing this (see Acts 19:11-12, Acts 20:9-11 and Acts 28:3-6), as well as Philip (Acts 8:6-7), Peter (Acts 3:6-7) and Stephen (Acts 6:6-8).

The purpose of these gifts is not, however, to feed human egos or to make people feel good about themselves. The gifts are given to build up the church and to testify to God’s power. Peter told the crowds ‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.’ (Acts 2:36) Grace gifts demonstrate to a sceptical and cynical world that Jesus is indeed Lord. Let’s pray we see these gifts manifest in our church and community so that many will come to believe in the King of Kings!Q

The 9 gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Cor 12:1-11 are not the only spiritual gifts Paul talks about. Other lists are given in:

• Eph 4:11-12
• 1 Cor 14
• Mark 16:15-18
• 1 Cor 12:28-29
• Rom 12:6-8

These gifts are from the Holy Spirit (‘pneumatikon’) and all of grace (‘charismata’, hence the label ‘charismatic’ to describe those who believe these gifts are still functioning today.) Nine gifts are listed:

• Message of wisdom
• Message of knowledge
• Faith
• Gifts of healings
• Miraculous powers
• Prophecy
• Distinguishing between spirits
• Speaking in different kinds of tongues/ languages
• Interpretation of tongues

These are connected with the power of speech (tongues, interpretation and prophecy), the power to know (messages of wisdom, knowledge and the ability to distinguish or discern between spirits) and the power to do miraculous, supernatural things (faith, healings, ‘workings of power.’) All gifts are given ‘for the common good’ (1 Cor 12:7), not to make us feel superior: ‘Spiritual gifts are given to edify the whole church; they are not for individual enjoyment, but for corporate employment. Gifts should not be used to promote ourselves but to prosper the church. When we accept our gifts with humility, then we use them to promote harmony, and this helps the whole church.’ (Warren Wiersbe, ‘Be Wise’, P 137)

By their very nature, spiritual gifts are more than human knowledge, wisdom or power. There are numerous examples of these gifts in action in the Bible (see, for example, 1 Kings 17 and Acts 20:9-11 as examples of the dead being raised, healings in 2 Kings 5 and Acts 3, or words of knowledge in 2 Sam 12:7-13 or Acts 5).

We are called to be ambassadors for Christ, urging people to be reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:20). Ambassadors are to be clothed with God’s power and character (Luke 24:49, Col 3:12-14), carrying a message from the King (hence the emphasis on oral gifts such as tongues, interpretation and prophecy) and doing the same things that Jesus did on earth. Mark Tanner, in his book ‘The Introvert Charismatic’, says “Charismatics are those who take Jesus’ instructions on seeing the works of the kingdom seriously and get on and make space for them”, reminding us “We are all different, but we have a common call to do as Jesus did, and this goes beyond any of us.” (P79) The good news is that we’re not required to fulfil God’s commission in our own strength, but can receive His grace gifts to help us demonstrate the truth of the kingdom of God so that faith rests not on human wisdom but on God’s power. (1 Cor 2:5)

Ignorance is bliss, according to the world, but Paul would not agree, telling the Corinthians he did not want them to be uninformed or ignorant about spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:1). This subject has proved contentious over the years, and even today there are branches of Christianity which believe that the gifts of the Spirit were only needed to ‘start’ the church and are not needed today. Obviously, as a Pentecostal church, we don’t agree with that! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8) and He promised His disciples they would do even greater works than He had (see John 14:12). The coming of the Holy Spirit in fresh power and anointing on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) saw the real start of the global mission Jesus had commanded (Matt 28:18-20) and that mission continues today, with the gifts of the Spirit needed just as much today as ever if we are to fulfil the mandate to go and make disciples of all the world!

Paul makes it clear in 1 Cor 12:1-11 that there are different gifts but one Spirit and it is up to Him how these gifts are distributed (1 Cor 12:4-5, 11). God’s generosity and loving kindness are key themes in the Bible, but sometimes it is hard for us to grasp this, for we are so used to the idea of reward and punishment. (Parents do great harm when they make Christmas presents a ‘reward’ for good behaviour; rewards are not the same as gifts at all.) The whole concept of a gift is that it is unearned; it simply has to be received in gratitude from one who loves us and wants to bless us. Paul reminds the Galatians (Gal 3:2-6) that grace and faith are the key concepts in the Christian life; living with fear of punishment is not for God’s children (see 1 John 4:16-18).

To demonstrate something of ‘grace gifts’, we opened presents ‘tailored’ to suit us:

We don’t have to be afraid that God will give us something that will harm us (see Matt 7:9-11, Luke 11:11-13) or that His gifts will disappoint, as some human presents do! Instead, because God knows us inside out (Ps 139:1-5) and loves us eternally, He simply loves to pour out ‘grace gifts’ (‘charismata’) on His children. George Canty says, “Exactly as eternal life is gained without trying to curry favour with God, so the charismata come to us, unrelated to any good impression we can make on God. They are not achievements, but ‘all of grace’; not induced, but freely given.” (The Practice of Pentecost, P96) All we have to do is believe and receive!