Partakers Christian Podcasts

Glimpses 40

Grace - reasons to be thankful!

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G'day and welcome to Partake Ministries... Today  we welcome Grace! She lives and works in London in the United Kingdom.  She shares with us about reasons she is thankful to God as part of her journey with Jesus Christ being central to her life. If you have found this helpful, please do let us know how it has helped your own journey of faith. Thank you.

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Glimpses 39

Tale of 4 people!

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G'day and welcome to Partake Ministries! We continue in our series, Glimpses Stories, and today I want to introduce you to four friends of mine.  They all would say they are Christian disciples of a sort.  I wonder if you will recognize any of them!

Freddie Fe-elgood

First we have Freddie Fee-elgood or Freddo to his friends! He runs around to every meeting he can find that has some aspect to do with Christianity.  He believes in God and likes to always feel good, regardless of anything else!  When he goes to a Church worship or prayer service, usually twice on Sunday, it's for a good entertaining time!  He has no time for doctrine and thinks sermons and teaching in Church are utterly mundane and pointless, and sees no point in acting out his faith, coz they don't make him feel good.  As you can probably tell, Freddie's prime reason to live is to feel good.  The way to holiness for him is by going to as many religious events as he can, and feeling good because of it. Freddie is holy in the eyes of the world!

Amber Al-laction

And there is Amber.  Amber Al-laction by name and AllAction by nature!!  She runs around like the proverbial headless chicken, doing good to everyone and everything!  Amb believes God exists but thinks the commitment part of Christianity is all a bit too much.  Involved in such diverse groups from Greenpeace to the local homeless shelters, she has no time for Church or doctrine.  She wants to change the world! Amber's prime reason to live is to do good and be active.  The path to holiness for her is being involved in doing good deeds.  The society she lives in think she is a holy person because of it!

Tommy Topheavy

And you have to meet Tom!  Tommy Toph-eavy is also holy in his society but for different reasons!  He has so much knowledge about God in his head; it's amazing his head doesn't explode!  He can quote Augustine, Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, Jurgen Moltmann and John Stott verbatim, complete with page reference and book title!  His passion is for doctrine and doctrine alone, and this helped him to a First at Oxford University.   He isn't concerned with living out his faith; he is only concerned with reading more about God! Tommy's prime reason to live is the accumulation of knowledge!  He believes the path to holiness is by gaining as much head knowledge as he can possible store!

Chloe Christlike

Chloe is foolish in the eyes of the world because she has a firm faith, prays daily and reads the Bible fervently.  She is involved in the Church, attending prayer meetings and homeless tea-runs.  She goes to her local Bible college for evening classes to learn more about the God she wants to serve.  She is getting head knowledge but wants to apply it to her life so it goes from head to heart! Her prime reason to live is Christ and to be Jesus to other people.  Believes that the path to holiness is to be as much like Jesus as she can, growing more and more like Him constantly.  Knowing that she is doing this, makes her feel good, as she can see herself living out her faith in Jesus, who is her joy!

What about you?

Every church has people like these four characters.  Which one of these are you like:  Freddie, Amber, Tommy or Chloe?  Which do you think is the committed disciple from what we have learnt together in this series Glimpses? For more to read and think about, please read Matthew 25:31-46.

Jesus speaking about the kingdom of God and the judgment to come (remember we talked about this in depth in Part 30 of Glimpses!

31 "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' 37 "Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40 "And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' 41 "Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn't give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.' 44 "Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?' 45 "And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.' 46 "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."

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Glimpses 38

Rachel

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Today we have a special guest! Her name is Rachel. She lives in London with her husband and cats! She is sharing with us why she is thankful to God and how He leads her daily life. If you have found this helpful, please do let us know how it has helped your own journey of faith. Thank you.

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Glimpses 37

Yinka

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Today we have a special guest! His name is Yinka. He is originally from Nigeria but now lives and works in that great city of London! He will be sharing with us why he is thankful to God and how Jesus has helped him in his daily life. If you have found this helpful, please do let us know how it has helped your own journey of faith. Thank you.

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Glimpses 36

Jenny from Taiwan

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G’day and welcome to Partake Glimpses Stories! Today I have a special guest from Taiwan giving a glimpse of how she started her Christian walk. She will be speaking in Chinese, so please do let other Chinese speakers know about her testimony. Thank you and over to you, Jenny.

If you have found this helpful, please do leave a comment! Thank you.

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Glimpses 35

God speaks at home and at traffic lights

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G’day and welcome to Partake Glimpses Stories. Where we see together how Jesus is alive today, working in peoples lives in different ways and is relevant to the world today, 2000 years after He walked the earth, died, rose again and ascended to the right hand of God the Father. Today we have an experienced pastor, Jim Allis, talking about a situation where God undoubtedly entered peoples lives and transformed them. So over to you – Jim! Hello there! My name is Jim Allis and I have seen Jesus alive in many situations in my life where God without a shadow of a doubt has entered people’s lives and transformed them. Here is one of those encounters! One morning the Lord revealed to my heart how to help a person to Christ by explaining the Ten Commandments one by one. During this time she would repent and be converted. Her husband would not respond on this occasion but would at a later date. When I arrived at her home, I turned to Exodus 20 and when I came to the fifth commandment regarding the relationship she had with her parents she turned to her husband and blurted out “I haven't kept that one. I have not honoured them. Jim, can I get right with God now?” “If you know God is dealing with you” I replied. She did, and oblivious of others in the room listening, she submitted to God and her life was changed, proving she was wonderfully born again that evening. Many years later she is still going on with the Lord. When her husband saw what was happening to his wife he said “I am not ready for this” I quietly said “ I knew you wouldn't today, but you will one day.” Some months later just like the Lord said would happen, he was converted as he sat at traffic lights waiting for them to change from red to green. God spoke into his heart and in the time it takes for lights to change he entered into knowing the joy of the Lord as he came clean with God. He too is now a mature believer. If you have found this helpful, please do let us know how it has helped your own journey of faith. Thank you.

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Glimpses 34

Jonny Rose

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Glimpses 33 - Dave

Why I am a Christian?

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The Apostle John, writing in 1 John 5:9-12 - "We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

Why Is It So?

A testimony is an assertion offering firsthand authentication of a fact. For the Christian Disciple, classically it is generally expressed as how they became a Christian Disciple. But I think it is more than just how, and should expressly include why you are a Christian Disciple. I wonder what is your testimony about how you became a Christian Disciple? When was the last time you thanked our God for your testimony? Have you even thought about your testimony of how you became a Christian Disciple? I am sure you have all heard kids in the supermarket yelling out "Why?" to their parents. We all have, I am sure, questions we want to know the answer to. Why? The question I am often asked is "You are a Christian. Why is it so?" My father, was and remained throughout his life a convinced agnostic and in the few conversations we had about religion and Christianity, he could never understand why it was, that I could not just admit that I would never know if God existed or not, far less a God who was personally interested in me. I was frequently told that Churches were dangerous places and Christians merely deluded fools... My reply as ever, was that the very question "Why is it so?" needed to be answered, in order for me to be satisfied.

Why I am a Christian?

Now I could say that at the age of 12, we moved to a town on the coast of Australia, and was invited along to a local youth group and several weeks later, gave my life to Christ and became a Christian. Of course that is partly true. I can't even claim to be a Christian because I was raised in a Christian country. Australia was and is probably the second most secular country on this planet. Sure Australia has its moral base grounded in historic Christianity, but for the latter part of its history, Australia has been thoroughly secular and non-religious. Even if I had been raised in a country such as England, with Christian parents, that would also, only be partly true and I could have rejected Christianity as many people do. The reason that I am a Christian is not because I chased God, but rather He chased me. Unknown to me at the time, God was chasing me and following my every path with the urgency of a lover after the beloved, just as described in the Song of Songs (Song of Songs 2:2-14).

God had been pursuing me

This piece of poetic Scripture speaks about the love that God has for his people, and the energy He puts in to calling his people to Himself. He is always reaching out, for all to return to His arms. As for me, it wasn't until I was a 12 year old that I heard that I needed to accept Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Before that I didn't know I had to do anything with this Jesus. Jesus was only a curse word for me at the time. That or was just someone or something that the RE teachers bored me with at school. We are primarily Christians, not because we come to church services or just happened to have been born in a supposedly Christian country. We are primarily Christians, because God first chased and harried us into His arms. We are Christians, if you are one, because God first loved you. And as a tremendous lover, He beckons and calls people all the time to respond to His call, and back to Him. How does He chase us with His love? He chases each person differently, just as each Christian testimony is different. Take for instance the Apostle Paul in Acts 8 & 9. God chased him through Paul's mind and his religious upbringing and education. Paul had known about God from his childhood. Paul was a righteous Pharisee who saw persecuting these ‘Christians' as his religious duty, so that he may somehow find favour with God. As Paul was gloating over the death of the martyr Stephen, God was pursuing Him, probably raising doubts in Paul's mind as to why Stephen would say at the point of death "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit and forgive them for what they do" (Acts 7:54-60). Surely doubts must have been raised in Paul's mind as he approved of this death (Acts 8:1). Paul was also wrestling with his conscience. Externally he was a righteous man, a Pharisee of Pharisees. Yet when he internally examined himself and his heart, he found himself failing regarding covetousness, which is the last of the Ten Commandments. Then finally, Jesus himself makes a sudden and dramatic appearance before Paul and confronts him directly, "Why are you kicking against me? Why are you rejecting my advances?" (Acts 9) Paul's conversion to Christianity is often described as being sudden. But the only thing sudden about his conversion was this climatic appearance of Jesus. Just as that was true of Paul, it is true of me, just as it is true of all those who profess to call themselves a Christian Disciple. I am a Christian Disciple not because of anything I have done, but rather because He first chased me, and because He first loved me. Jesus himself said "I came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). If you are a Christian today, it is not because of anything you have done. It is because of the events at Christmas and Easter that you are a Christian, when God entered this world as a human baby and took all the necessary steps so that all people could have the choice to be His people or not. In my more smug moments I used to congratulate myself for being a Christian. How proud I was that I, was a Christian and that God was a jolly lucky God that I had decided to follow Him. It was during one of my less self-deluded moments, that I examined myself and I found God pricking my conscience and correcting me, and I read the New Testament "For the Son of Man came, not to be served but to give His life as a ransom for many" (Mark10:45).

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