Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. I Corinthians 12: 27

The other day I watched a man very patiently walking his elderly dog who was hobbling along behind him on the lead. Of course that dog was not always elderly and in the past I am sure he would have been racing around, chasing a ball or other dogs. Old age creeps up on us all!

The Body of Christ though is designed for everyone, young, old or middle-aged to participate and find their place in. Unfortunately it is too often true that both the very young and very old get marginalised. 

Jesus said:  “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19: 14. This was not a quick blessing and a patronising pat on the head. This is a release of children into fully functioning members of the Kingdom and to participation in the church. 

Psalm 8: 2 says, ‘from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise to silence the foe and the avenger.’ Children’s praise silences the devil and should be encouraged at all times. It is not enough that the children are quiet reading, colouring or playing on an iPad in church; they should be fully participating in the praise and worship, ready to bring a word or pray. As parents we set such a low bar for our children and unfortunately they rarely jump over it. 

The old can also be ignored and too often all we expect of them is to stay quiet in church!  However I believe it is the detriment of many churches that they do not actively encourage the elderly to still be a participating part of church. They may be hobbling along, their minds may be slower and their short term memories unreliable but if you take the time to sit down, wait and listen you will hear some gems.

Locked up in that elderly body that doesn’t work the way it used to is a pile of treasure, a wealth of wisdom waiting to be mined. It will take time and patience but it may be time well spent. It may save you making mistakes from those who have gone before and have learned the painful way from those self same mistakes. They will almost certainly have been there, done it and got the T shirt. 

A group of 50 - 60 year olds counted up the time they had spent serving the Lord and it came to over 1000 years. That is huge resource to draw on. How much more is there in the very elderly many of whom have been walking with the Lord over 50 years. 

The Body of Christ was never designed to be a group of middle aged people leading the church and actively encouraging the youth to step up and play their part. It is a body that functions at its best with the childlikeness of the little ones mixed with the passion and enthusiasm of the youth, tempered by the experience of the middle aged and guided by the wisdom of the elderly. 

All have a part to play and none are expected to be excluded by the lack or abundance of years. It takes time and effort to include the very young and very old but the result will be a more rounded and better equipped church to fulfil its destiny ‘to go out into all the world and make disciples …’. 

The praying church

Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labour. Jeremiah 22: 13

‘Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?’ declares the Lord.   ‘But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.’ Jeremiah 22: 16 - 17

When we returned to South Africa last month, there was a definite feeling that things had got worse in the nation. I was always quite optimistic about South Africa believing that the relatively smooth transition to black majority rule between 1990 and 1994 was an indicator that South Africa would not go the way of so many African countries.  Now it feels like there is an inexorable slide towards ever increasing violence, strikes such as those in the mining sector, racism and corruption.  The ANC seems to have little regard for the welfare of the people especially the poor.  Social unrest with violence has flared up everywhere, even in the relatively peaceful Western Cape which is not governed by ANC. 

The reason can perhaps be found in the fact that in January to celebrate 100 years of ANC, the party dedicated the nation to their ancestors. Now Christians from all over the country are rising up in prayer and repentance to God. Last Saturday Christians from all denominations were invited to a prayer meeting in the centre of Cape Town to dedicate the Western Cape to the Lord. There are other prayer initiatives all over the country culminating in a national prayer meeting on December 2^nd in Pretoria. As the organisers say, ‘2012 began with the ANC dedicating the nation to its ancestors. May this year end with millions of Christians calling out to God in repentance & prayer to forgive our sins and heal our nation.’

The Bible makes it clear that God is greatly concerned about injustice, oppression, unrighteousness and society’s attitude towards the weak and disadvantaged.  God does not want us taking advantage of others but wants society to look after the poor, needy and those unable to look after themselves. The church is called to lead the way.  All nations have the disadvantaged and there is injustice and unrighteousness in even the most sophisticated democracies. Family breakdown, divorce, abortion, greed, selfishness, corruption and so on are apparent everywhere not just in the less developed nations.

Only God can turn a nation around and the church is the answer to any nation’s needs – not the government and politicians.  Self interest and the need to be re-elected always seems to turn even the best politicians and parties from the path of selfless service to the nation.  The church however is called to serve the nation in which it is placed.  Christians are called to pray for their leaders and bless them unto righteousness.  Prayer is the weapon by which we wage war against unrighteousness, extortion, injustice, corruption, greed and selfishness.

Our nations are facing huge problems at this time and they desperately need a praying church. The people especially the weak and poor need righteous leaders supported in prayer by the church to help them. Our leaders need wisdom, knowledge and insight to solve some of the huge problems they are facing and these will come through a praying church.

 Let us rise up in prayer that God’s Kingdom will come on earth in our nations as it is in heaven. 

 

God reveals mysteries

There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. Daniel 2: 28

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had had a bad dream and demanded that his wise men and magicians not only interpret the dream but tell him what the dream was about. Otherwise they would be put to death. When Daniel heard of this he asked for more time and he and his three friends went and sought God who revealed the dream and its interpretation. Daniel went to the king and was quick to ensure the King knew it was not because he was wise that he knew the dream and interpretation but because God reveals mysteries.

Never has there been a greater need today for the wisdom of God to come and reveal mysteries and God wants to use his people to do this. Individuals and society face intractable problems and the wisdom of God is needed as never before to find Godly solutions to these problems.

God gave me this word last October and I would like to share it with you today:

I rejoice over my children.  I embrace you and breathe my life and identity into you.  As I do this you become like me.  My life and presence will shine from you and you will take it wherever you go.  You will bring my presence into business meetings, schools, governments, media, health care, commerce and homes. You will bring my presence there and if you will yield yourselves to me, you will bring my wisdom into intractable situations. You will bring Godly solutions to ungodly messes.  The breathtaking simplicity of my answers will stun others. 

I am wisdom and as you embrace me and let me saturate you, my wisdom will flow from you.  I have an answer to every situation.  There is nothing I cannot and will not restore to those who love me and seek to serve me.  Let my presence dwell richly and deeply in you.  Take it to the world.  Share my love wherever you go.  Love cannot be force fed, it must be imparted and I will use every one of you who lets me.  Trust me, ask me and I will show you.  Make yourselves available and I will use each one, young or old, clever, rich, poor, disadvantaged, disabled, disaffected, discouraged, every wonderful one of you that is mine I will use because your difficulties are not a problem to me but an opportunity, an opportunity for you to serve me and discover how much I truly love you.

The Bible is quite clear that wisdom is given to anyone who asks (James 1:5). God wants to confide in us (Psalm 25:14).  Let us ask today and make ourselves available to give that Godly wisdom as the Lord opens doors to us.