Worship - How do we worship?

Sing a new song, and give from a pure heart.

The Prison Gate

The final gate was also known as the gate of the guard. At the end of the celebrations following the completion of the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah and the people finished their tour of the walls coming together at this gate, so it is fitting that we finish our study at this same gate.

Nehemiah 12:39-40

39. And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.
40. So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me:

For us the question is, how do you judge what should enter into your life? Are you going to let the world rule, or will God rule? It is vital for us to guard the gates of our lives, but it is pointless if the wrong judges are on the door.
In Psalm 26 we have an excellent example of how God can be the judge of the gates of our lives.

Psalms 26:1-2

1. Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide.
2. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

Before you come to know the Lord you are trapped as a prisoner to sin with no choice but to run by the judgement of the World. As a believer you should now be a prisoner of Christ. Sadly many of us still live lives as believers, but still prisoners to sin. God paid the price and he owns us. Why then do we continue to do the bidding of someone who is no-longer our master!

This is where we need to come to with regard to Jesus, indeed it what we have done in coming to him. I often feel that people take salvation to lightly. It is easy to say, I will accept the free gift of eternal life from God. It is quite another thing to say, I will be your servant Lord, from this day until the day I die and on into eternity!
All the gates come back to one key thing. Are you ready to let God rule every part of your life.

Psalms 37:5-7

5. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

AEM Prayer Update - August 2011

This is a slightly early and slightly different edition of the monthly bulletin for various reasons. I’m sure it won’t curtail your prayers for the matters raised in July if I direct your attention towards two urgent matters and one general but vital issue.

Firstly can I thank all who responded so promptly and warmly to the news of Niko Treska’s illness and subsequent operation? Our thanks to all who felt able to contribute to an, as yet, incomplete hospital bill. Please accept our apology for being unable to respond to and acknowledge each individual gift. The response has been so overwhelming that this would be impossible in the immediate future. If you are unsure as to whether your gift reached us or need a receipt, please email the mission office and we will provide the necessary confirmation. Latest news of Niko is encouraging; he is still in hospital in Thessaloniki, has begun eating and drinking and could be released to go home this weekend. The prognosis is for a complete recovery. We can thank God for the remarkable way in which Niko’s condition was discovered by the Greek doctors as it was reaching a life threatening point. Please keep on praying for Niko and Monda as well as for their work which must now suffer a temporary interruption.

We have to report a second medical crisis and need for prayer amongst our ranks. This week David Young received the diagnosis that he is suffering from an aggressive skin cancer. The doctors could not be precise but were unnervingly direct in their assessment of what the prognosis could be. Most readers of our ‘updates’ will know that David is due to retire as AEM director in December. He now faces further tests and a lot of anxious waiting. Please pray for our brother and his family in their inevitable turmoil.

Finally, can I ask you to focus your prayers on camps and youth activities throughout the month of August? Our immediate concern is for the many things planned and currently happening in Albania and Kosova, but the growth and positive effect of Christian camps in recent years is certainly not confined to the Balkans – indeed we need look no further than our own shoreline on this subject. Without being specific then, pray that God will bless every effort to touch young lives with the gospel and keep participants safe in the process.

Call to the City - Relocation

God has a job for each of us. He is the reason, and his worship in the purpose.

The Gate of Ephraim

The second to last gate was probably part of the walls of the temple courts as it is not mentioned in Nehemiah 3 during the rebuilding work. It is spoken of later in chapter 8.

Nehemiah 8:16

16. So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

Ephraim was the second son of Joseph, though blessed as the firstborn. Generations later Jeroboam led Ephraim, and the other Northern tribes of Israel in revolt against Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. Judah in the south became separate from the rest of Israel.
The problem of backsliding

Time and again Israel fell into sin, as we often do.
The book of Hosea speaks of many of the issues between Ephraim and God. Here are just a few that faced Ephraim, and likewise any who fall into sin and backslide.

1. They had looked to the world for help (Hosea 7:11)
2. They had stopped praying (Hosea 7:7)
3. They had become one with the world (Hosea 7:8)
4. They kept only the form of religion (Hosea 7:14)

God is a God of love, however he is also a God of righteous judgement, and he will pour out his judgement on those that spurn him, just as he did to Ephraim.

1. They will be forsaken by God (Hosea 4:17)
2. They won’t be able to find God when they need help (Hosea 5:6)
3. They will become a figure of ridicule (Hosea 5:9)
4. They will be torn down (Hosea 5:14)

Thankfully Ephraim was restored, giving us this picture of restoration in the Gate of Ephraim.
You may be challenged by some great preaching, or persuaded by a well presented documentary, but until you really read it in the bible I guarantee you will not make any significant long term changes in your life.

James 1:22-25

22. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

True repentance and reconciliation with God is marked by several key indicators in your life.

1. A change to follow God’s ways (Nehemiah 10:9)
2. A return to praying (1 John 1:9)
3. A renewed separation from the World (1 Peter 2:9)
4. A heart of true worship (Nehemiah 9:3)

There are many in need of the restoration of the Gate of Ephraim, and each of us has a need for restoration in some area of our lives. Returning to reading God’s word daily is the first step. God is faithful to fulfil his part in this. What about you?

Call to the City - Commitment

No endeavor will succeed without commitment. Are you prepared to commit?

Gain for Spain - Issue 28

WOULD YOU RUN?

Acts 8:29-30 says, “Then the Spirit said to Philip, go near, and join
yourself to this chariot. Then Philip ran to him.” When was the last
time you literally ran to someone because you felt impressed by the
Spirit to tell that person about Jesus? We run almost daily to catch
the bus, to chase Evy, or maybe to tell someone they dropped
something. Why is it we feel this urgency to run hard after things,
but not after souls? Philip literally ran to the eunuch. What would
the world be like if all believers possessed the faith and obedience
Philip portrayed this day? Today at a bus stop we spoke with Patricia,
an English-speaking Spaniard, who said she did not believe in God or
need God. As the conversation progressed, she had to get on her
bus…before we shared the gospel with her. As the bus drove away,
Justin said, “we’re no Philips”. We could have easily taken her bus,
even though it would have been an inconvenience to us, to continue
telling her about the love of Jesus. Pray God would burden our hearts
and yours so heavily for the lost that we would be willing to run
after someone or take the wrong bus in this case, just for the
opportunity to share the gospel. So what if the person thinks we’re
crazy or if it is out of our own comfort zone, these people need
Jesus!! If hell is a real place, and Jesus is the real Savior, we
shouldn’t hesitate to run.

IMMERSION

People always say the best way to learn a language is to be immersed
in it. We are immersed. Whether we are walking down the streets,
speaking to no one, or sitting in our living room with the balcony door
open, we are taking in Spanish. There is no escaping it…we even
dream about Spanish! We love trying to use the Spanish we know, but
our brains are basically running triathlons every day! This can be very
tiring and can definitely play into culture stress…which we’ve both
begun to experience a bit. We sincerely love the city and the people
we meet, but it is inevitable to go through emotional and mental
challenges when changing cultures. Today we spoke with about 5
people who spoke English in various places, God must have known we
needed that little bit of encouragement. We’ve learned a lot of new
things from our Spanish classes, and we’ve been able to challenge our
teacher a couple times with truths from the Bible. We also mentioned
our realtor, Carlos, in a previous newsletter. Justin has gone out with
him twice, both times discussing the gospel and spiritual things at
some point, and their friendship is continuing to progress. Justin picks
up a lot of Spanish from his time with Carlos as well. Keep Carlos &
Alberto, our teacher, in your prayers for their salvation.

The Miphkad Gate

Here we arrive at the gate of gathering. The appointed meeting place. Again this gate was not in the walls of Jerusalem, but in the walls of the courtyards of the temple.

Nehemiah 3:31

31. After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner.

Looking at the Hebrew word, Miphkad means an appointment, mandate, designated spot, commandment or numbering.
What was the temple the appointed place for? Meeting God, and meeting together as a people. In the same way today, the local church is the place appointed by God for meeting together to worship him, and fellowship together. In that I mean the place and the people. While the local church, is the people, the people cannot meet without a physical location to meet. In this instance the to go together.
For us, as we consider the Miphkad Gate, it reminds us of the fellowship we should have together as a local church, and the role the local church plays in the life of the believer.

Here are three keys to understanding biblical fellowship.

Philippians 2:1-6

1. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
2. Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

1. Fellowship involves sharing everything.
2. Fellowship is maintained by practicing biblical characteristics.
3. Fellowship must be based on a relationship with Christ.

It is only when we are seeking after Christ, and growing in our relationship with him that we gain the mind of Christ, and in doing so automatically drawn closer in fellowship with each other.

In today's world our social life is increasingly more virtual using phones and Internet. Although this is a valid way of staying in touch, it is not possible to have true biblical fellowship in a virtual manner.
Much has been taught in recent years, by pastors encouraging churches to work together as people. Based on Paul’s teaching in Corinthians, and other similar passages the battle is waged against those who see the church as a pile of bricks.
This is true, however as society fragments it is important to remember that that pile of bricks is important also. The church is both the people but also the appointed place (Miphkad) where they meet, otherwise they could not meet at all. We must be careful not to forsake true fellowship in an increasingly virtual world.

Pete & Elisha - I'm Special

Pete and Elisha singing "I'm special", for Malachi's dedication. Play now

Malachi - Messenger of God

Malachi means 'Messenger of God'. What are you going to do with his message