In order to experience the fire of the Holy Spirit, we need to covenant with God to:

1. stay in the room of expectation. God wants us to position ourselves for change, keeping expectation in our hearts. In Acts 1:4, the disciples were urged to wait for the promise of the Father, and this they did patiently. As William Carey reminds us, we should expect great things from God and attempt great things for Him. So often, we allow ourselves to become disillusioned and lack faith that God will actually move in answer to our prayers. We need to cultivate expectancy as we linger with God.

2. stay in the room of sacrificial prayer. In Acts1:14, we see how the disciples continued in prayer. The acronym PUSH stands for ‘Pray Until Something Happens’! We have to overcome our feelings (which often don’t want to pray – not surprising, since we have an enemy who fears the praying Christian!) and press on in sacrificial prayer. So often, the prayer meeting is the least attended meeting in a church’s life, but we need to continue praying. Do join us for the ‘Churches Together’ Day of Prayer on Friday 16th March (at Furlong Road Methodist Church, or simply pray at home with us!)

3. stay in the room of agreement. Unity is so important, as Acts 2:1 makes clear. The enemy loves to cause division in churches, often through criticism, negativity and discord, but unity brings anointing and blessing (see Ps 133:1-3). Acts 2:42 reminds us that we have to choose to be in unity (‘devoted themselves’ to fellowship). As we stand united in Christ, we pray the fire of the Holy Spirit will fall on us.

Guest speaker Yan Hadley spoke tonight on ‘Combustible Christianity’, how we need the fire of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Is 64:1-2 expresses a yearning for God to meet with us, ‘as when fire sets twigs ablaze’, and certainly, we need the fire of God to bring conviction of sin, reviving the church and drawing unbelievers to conversion. Revivals in the past (eg 1857 in the USA when over a million people were converted, or 1859 in Ulster, when 100,000 were converted, with men falling in the mud outside churches as they repented, or the Welsh Revival of 1904 when in three months, 100,000 people were converted) remind us of the power of God which can sweep through areas: in 1906, the Pentecostal movement began in a ‘tumbleown, dirty, wooden shack’ in Azusa Street, USA: there are now over 600 million Pentecostal/ charismatic Christians in the world. Revivals can occur anywhere (the 1907 North Korean revival lasted for almost 40 years; the Hebridean revival in 1949 saw four services held every night at 7 p.m., 10 p.m., midnight and 3 a.m., such was the hunger of people to meet with God. We pray God will revive His church once again, for we need the passion, enthusiasm, boldness and eagerness which revival brings.

Matt 3:11 reminds us that Jesus will baptise with the Holy Spirit and with fire. As we surrender everything to God, set aside all distractions and seek God with all our hearts (see 2 Chron 7:14), we can be aglow and burning in our service to God (see Rom 12:11, Amplified version).

The ‘fire triangle’ speaks of the three elements necessary for fire to burn: oxygen, fuel and heat.

In the spiritual realm, oxygen is the presence of the Holy Spirit with us (Acts 2:2-3). Fuel is provided by God’s Word (Matt 4:4). Jeremiah described God’s word as a fire burning within him (Jer 20:9), and we need to hunger and thirst for the presence of God if we are to see God move in power (see Ps 42:1, Ps 63:1, Ps 84:1 for descriptions of this yearning.) Heat consists of a consciousness of God’s presence, conviction of sin and a compulsion to share Christ. The disciples on the road to Emmaus knew something of the ‘burning hearts’ which God can bring (Luke 24:32). May our hearts too burn for God.

In both Matt 16:19 and Matt 18:18, Jesus talks of binding and loosing. There has been much debate over the years about the meaning of these verses, and it is important that we understand the difference between the blessing of spiritual authority and the stumbling-block of spiritual arrogance, and we need to approach such subjects with humility and reverence. Jesus is not giving us carte blanche here to do as we please and twist God’s arm to make Him do things He does not want to do. Rather, as we grow in our relationship with Him, we see the natural outworking of doing His will on earth, as it is in heaven.

In Matthew 18, the context of these words about binding and loosing is church discipline. Jesus is talking about what to do if a brother or sister sins. The first step is to talk to them personally about this: ‘go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.’ (Matt 18:15) If the matter can’t be resolved at that level, take two or three others with you to continue the discussion. If this is still not enough, the matter must be brought to the church and if they will still not listen, these are the grounds for excommunication. (Matt 18:16-17) The decision made on earth – whether to welcome the person back to fellowship if repentance is evident or to refuse them this privilege because of their refusal to repent – is ratified, so to speak, in heaven. The Greek is not quite as simple as ‘will be bound’ or ‘will be loosed’, which implies our action has an effect in heaven, that our action actually enforces what happens in heaven; it’s more a case of ‘will have been bound’ or even ‘must have been bound.’ One translator says, ‘whatever you forbid on earth must be already forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth must be already permitted in heaven.’ (Charles Williams)

God does give us spiritual authority; Luke 9:1-2 gives us some idea of the scope of this authority, and John reminds us that ‘the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.’ (1 Jn 4:4) In a more general sense, we can see the idea of binding as something which is restrictive and loosing as something which is liberating. Isaiah talks about loosing the chains of injustice and untying the cords of the yoke to set the oppressed free. (Is 58:6) When Jesus healed a crippled woman, He told her that she was set free (or ‘loosed’ from her infirmity.) (Luke 13:12) The greatest loosing that can happen to anyone is when they are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, but we may well need to be set free in a whole host of other areas – loosed from addictions, set free from anxieties and fears, liberated in praise and worship, delivered from powers that seem too strong for us, but which are no match for Jesus. All these things are possible with God. (Matt 19:26) As we grow closer to Him, He is able to give us the victory in all things and set us free from anything which would restrict us in our walk with Him. Sometimes that requires us to speak out in faith words that can act as keys to set free and to bind up, to unlock and to lock.

One of the many spiritual blessings God has promised His church is the keys of the kingdom of heaven (see Matt 16:13-20). The context for this blessing concerns the identity of Jesus, as He asks His disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ (Matt 16:13) It is interesting that He does not ask what people say He is doing, but who He is – and it’s clear that people regarded Him as special (‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ Matt 16:14) It’s not enough, however, for us to have second-hand knowledge of Jesus, and in Peter’s confession of Him as ‘the Messiah, the Son of the living God’ (Matt 16:16), we see how divine revelation is needed for us to fully appreciate who Jesus is. It will always take divine revelation, the work of the Spirit, to see and understand spiritual truth (see 1 Cor 2:8-13).

Understanding who Jesus is changes us too: Simon (the impulsive, changeable, volatile disciple who would go on to deny he even knew Jesus) is renamed Peter (the rock) by Jesus (Matt 16:18). Jesus sees beyond who we are now to who we can become in Him and reminds us that nothing can stop Him building His church. (Matt 16:18) We do not have to despair, because God provides all that we need to live for Him: ‘His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness’ (2 Pet 1:3) God’s miraculous provision, unceasing grace and desire to bless us provide the context for His words about the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Keys can lock and unlock doors, and for anyone to enter the kingdom of heaven, there must be a new birth (John 3:3, 2 Cor 5:17-21). God has entrusted to us, His church, the message of reconciliation, and as we speak His words, we will find the veil lifted and salvation arriving (see 2 Cor 4:4, 2 Cor 3:16, Rom 1:16) God has given us keys to unlock situations and the words to bring life and freedom to others as we introduce them to the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. God is the God who can both open doors and shut them. ‘What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.’ (Rev 3:7) The key, although powerful, doesn’t boast of its own strength or power; it simply performs the job for which it was created. We have been created to do good works in God (Eph 2:10), created to be of service to our Lord, created to bring His light into every situation and every life we meet. We can give thanks for this blessing and seek to use these keys well, grateful for all the authority and trust God has placed in His people.

The family fun day at Houghton Road Centre on Wednesday, hosted by Thurnscoe Pentecostal Church and organised by Dearne Churches Together, was a great way to spend Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day! Despite the cold outside, which prevented us playing crazy golf, we had 103 people altogether over the day, engaged in a variety of love-themed crafts:

Josh from the Salvation Army had fun decorating a heart-shaped cake with great concentration:

The atmosphere was lovely with lots of great conversations:

Our thanks to all who attended or helped in any way!

I have lived in this area for almost thirty-one years and still I find new places to explore. Looking after my granddaughter has meant discovering a whole host of new playgroups and children’s activities in the area and it’s so good to know there are so many people serving the community.

The family centre in Bolton-on-Dearne offers playgroups on Tuesday and Friday mornings (the Tuesday morning is from birth to twelve months and the Friday morning is for toddlers) as well as help and advice with breastfeeding (first Tuesday of every month) and runs different specialist courses for Mums-to-be and new Mums (baby massage, baby yoga etc. as well as first aid courses.) Such things can be a great way of connecting with other parents and children.

Kiddy Winx on Thurnscoe Business Park (just off Fields End Roundabout) is a play area and cafe for under 5s which offers great food, two safe areas and also hosts a variety of activities, including Barnsley Music Bugs on Thursday mornings, a fantastic group introducing babies and toddlers to music, instruments and sensory learning.

Sensory Planet on the Thurnscoe Industrial Estate (Princess Drive) is a play area with a difference, suitable for babies and toddlers, but specifically geared to children with special needs such as autism who benefit from the tactile environment and range of sensory toys and equipment. This high-quality area gives people a safe place to go and is an invaluable resource in our area.

People often say there is little for people to do in our communities, but I’ve found a wealth of community-based activities. The local libraries at Goldthorpe and Thurnscoe are a great starting point for finding out what groups are available (art classes, sewing classes, woodwork classes, photography club, choirs and so on) and also offer Story & Rhyme sessions for little ones, and Dearneside Leisure Centre offers a range of activities for all ages.There really is an awful lot going on in our communities and it’s good to support the different groups who work tirelessly to make our communities great places to live. Thank you!