No one ever benefited much from arriving at their destination. Nobody learns anything on graduation day but in the 4 years it took to get there.  The Bible declares “Blessed is the man whose… heart is set on pilgrimage.  As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring…  They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God." Psalm 84:5-7 

Whatever your destination is in life, it’s the journey that God uses to grow you.  Like you, I have had difficult days.  Friends have left town, and staff have quit. Parents have passed on, and children have been in car accidents. I have been through burnout and had children away from God.  It wasn’t a desperate search for sermons that have helped me know Him and grow stronger but the weeks I walked the streets, with a desperate cry for answers to heart-breaking challenges.

It is not going through valleys that grow us, but it is making our “Valley of Baca” into a spring, as we dig deep into the Holy Spirit’s life and power. Strength doesn’t come in a manual but in the midst of mystery (sometimes misery) as we draw from His grace and the assurance of His love.  The Psalm says as we do this, we appear before God. You may not see Him yet. You might still feel lost in a crowd of troubles; at a loss to understand how things have worked out the way they have.  But when a child is lost in a crowd, it doesn't matter if the child can’t see the father, for they are safe the moment the father sees the child.

Friends, our Father sees you, and He will strengthen and comfort you. Set your heart on a pilgrimage toward Him and keep digging for springs. Who we look for/at determines who we look like. Our journey is the blessing that enables us to arrive at our most important destination: Being like Him when we see Him.

 Samson had been fighting the Philistines and winning.  In one day of powerful victory and strength, he even took the gates of a city to the top of the hill but the Scriptures say “afterwards he loved a woman.” Judges 16:4

No matter how many successes we have there is always an afterward.  A leader might take a great meeting or preach an awesome message but afterwards, there may come temptation or even a secret struggle with anger, lust or insecurity.  The greatest test of integrity is not when you have revival every night but often when nothing is going on; when it’s prayer night and you know only a handful will be there. The test is not when your marriage is in full bloom and exciting but when you come home to a tired and grumpy wife.  The test is not when you’re at home surrounded by loving parents who fill up your emotional tank but when you’re living away from home and your emotional tank still cries out for love.

Sadly it is not our successes that define us but it is our “afterward.” It is always in the "afterwards" that our integrity is tested and when our true character is revealed.  Behold, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. (Isa 48:10 ). In a firey time of testing God sees and chooses people who will not give up their birthright for a bowl of stew.

Friend, let’s watch out for the “afterwards.” Samson found out that the afterwards of sin took him further than he planned to go and cost him more than he wanted to pay. Jesus was tested in the wilderness. The Bible says “Afterwards He was hungry”. Satan tempted Him with bread but gladly for us, Jesus knew that after a hard spiritual victory, never to pamper yourself with an easy pleasure.

As Lot looked down upon the lush plains near Sodom, it seemed to him that the rivers were like beads of diamonds laid upon green velvet.   To him, it seemed like the “garden of the LORD and like the land of Egypt”. (Genesis 13:10). The garden of the Lord and the land of Egypt looked the same to Lot.  Egypt and the garden of the Lord were both green and lush, but God dwelt in only one.  His heart immediately went there, followed by his feet. Soon Lot moved his tent as far as Sodom.

Lot was a believer.  He could be us!  Lot enjoyed great privilege as the nephew of Abraham, the friend of God. He lived with grace and faith, but he remained greedy and short-sited.  Lot’s relationship with God was enough for him to change countries but not enough to change his heart.  Abraham’s home was in the “unseen city” but Lot was more at home in things he could see.  Lot was distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked but not distressed enough to leave with his family. (2 Peter 2:7).  He was vexed but still hooked, still powerless with insufficient relationship with God, to be able to discern the difference between darkness and light, Egypt and Eden.

Lot, needed the crowd to tell him he was doing fine.  “You enjoy the same life as us; you are one of us.”  Lot knew he belonged there. Lead him out into the desert and he wouldn’t know who he was.  Yet Abraham in the wilderness would face the wind and look into the face of his Father and friend.

Every believer sees heaven to some degree, but some don't see it enough to change their love or tolerance for the world.   The world seems like home. He was more familiar with “King of the hill,” than the King of Kings.  The life of Beyoncé was more compelling than the life beyond. What defines a man is not his shoes, his haircut or the size of his TV but the size of his vision.  What can he see?  Does he look at his bank account, his 10-year plan, his FB likes, or is he gazing into heaven?  Can he see what can’t be seen? Lot, had no vision for the invisible.

Friend, have we seen enough of God to free us from the world or are we moving closer to Sodom?

One day Saul, who hated David and was pursuing him all over the hills of southern Israel, stopped to refresh himself in the very cave where David was hiding.  David's men insisted that this was God's opportunity for David to kill Saul, and so become King.

After all, David had received a prophecy, that he’d be king, and he had been anointed by the prophet of God.  Not only that, but Saul was abusing God’s people and was deaf to the prophetic word from God. Saul had built no altars to God, only a monument to himself and he had even sought to murder David numerous times.  On top of that, everybody loved David and it was obvious to the nation that Saul was losing God’s favour.

But David had character and refused the “good idea”.  In one psalm, David said, “my heart is fixed” (Psalms 57.7) To fix our heart means to keep it steadfast, immovable and stable. This came from believing that his times and his life were in God’s hands. He would not move against Saul, choosing to maintain a Godly and honouring attitude.  He was convinced that God would vindicate and promote him at the right time.

Friend, character is often revealed as a fixed attitude of faith in God and His Word in a trying time.  Character does not prove itself in our first or second test but after many times of testing.  You may not be able to fix your circumstances, but you can fix your heart. Fix it upon Him and His faithful goodness.

Modern democracies are so messy. Ancient kingdoms were simple and wonderful so long as the king was a good king. Most kings in Bible times had absolute power over all and everyone, in their kingdom. The king decided how and where the people lived and when they went to war. But he also was responsible for his subjects -he was the minister of defence, health, education, social welfare and justice.

 God was the King of Israel, so when He led them out of Egypt, He fed them, watered them, protected them and healed them.  He was a good and responsible King, but the people still complained.

When Jesus came as King, the Jewish people like Israel previously, loved the King’s provision of health, education, deliverance and freedom, but they did not like His provisos. Everyone wanted to receive from the King but very few wanted to be subject to the King. They wanted Jesus to be sovereign over their needs but not their will - to be King over their problems but not king over their hearts.  Jesus said “Good news! You can be part of my kingdom. Turn around and you can get in line with the King and His kingdom”

Friend, It still takes two to make a kingdom. The King and subjects. who enjoy and accept His will. If we choose to be His subjects, He will be King over us and take responsibility for us. After all the King's manifesto is, "Seek first the Kingdom and all these things (material and welfare needs) shall be added unto you." In the natural, we don’t live in a kingdom but in a democracy. How do we participate? What should guide us to vote? Is it looking for the one who says they can add to our life, all the things we need? They can’t. Only God has what our nation and families need, so look for the ones who are seeking the kingdom of God first.

Abraham looked for an unseen city in the heavens, yet each day he picked up his tent and cooking pots and walked on.  He kept looking for the eternal and the invisible but what he saw every day was the temporal and the visible.  We live our lives a lot like that too. The fight of faith is to believe in that which is promised but not yet seen. Yet God has a purpose in the world. In the book of Job, God said we can know who He is, from the things he has made.   “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this” (Job 12:7-9)

 Solomon the wise, said in Ecclesiastes “I have seen” many times as he sought to explain how he arrived at his philosophy of life.  There are spiritual things and natural things going on in our lives and God expects us to deal with both and learn from both. Much of Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastics are natural wisdom because some problems need practical answers.  If your toaster is broken, fasting isn’t going to fix it.  If your wife hasn’t seen you all week, more praying in tongues won’t fix it. Neither can we fight spiritual enemies with carnal weapons. If you are oppressed, watching another comedy on TV, won’t deliver you. Coffee at the mall can’t fix what only time with the King can.

Friend, we don’t ask God to do what He has given to us us to do and by seeking Him that is above, we can still receive heavenly solutions to our natural problems.

 50 years at Manukau New Life Church!! Well actually for me and Anneke only 44 years but what a great journey. Tonight we have our celebration dinner, and the McCrackens are coming. It will be fabulous to see so many people who have been part of our lives. I'm incredulous when I hear a Christian say they don't need a local church. We can become a Christian alone but you can’t live as a Christian without being a part of a local church. That is like saying I can be a rugby player without a team.

I love the local church! It is the genius of God and the dwelling place of God. To believe you can worship the Trinity and reject relationships in a local church, is to misunderstand the nature and the heart of God. He dwells within the corporate gathering of His people. The Church is the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Our brothers and sisters carry the “Transcendent One” within. Apostle John said that we love God as much as we love His people.

Jesus invited me to “His banqueting table” when I encountered Christ all alone in a pup tent at Orere Point beach but from that moment it was God’s people who prayed for me, helped me, encouraged me and visited me. His church discipled me, befriended me, fellowshipped with me, taught me and led me.  They then believed in me, trained me, prophesied over me and released me into ministry.  Eventually, they listened to me, honoured me followed me, supported me and my family and enabled me to my destiny. Yet all they were doing was being Christ’s mouth, heart and hands.

Friend, I love Jesus and I love the Church. I’m so glad He invited me to sit at His table and to “feast” on Him but do I want Church with that?  Yes, please!

In an old comic strip Charlie Brown and Linus are disagreeing about their beliefs in Santa Claus and the Pumpkin man. Linus walks off saying: “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.”  Linus’ line which was comic absurdity forty years ago has become reality in the modern age, that if people are sincere, their ideas and values must be valid and therefore should be tolerated. 

But while tolerance is always good, ideas are not. Jesus was tolerant of all. He never shouted anyone down but when they were deceived or misguided, He let them know. That is just the right thing to do.

In the old days tolerance simply meant “To allow without prohibiting or to permit”?  For most of civilised history people allowed others to think and say whatever they believed to be true.  Of course, people could still disagree.  Tolerant people in days gone by were free to inform or even seek to persuade the other person to their viewpoint.

 Then it changed.  Tolerance came to mean that people had no right to try to persuade another to their belief, because that suggested that they deemed their belief to be superior.  The “postmodern” believes that there is no truth, only opinions, and because no opinion can be better than another, we must all “tolerate” each other without disagreement. But let’s face it, some beliefs are superior. “I believe the tooth fairy will come for all”, verses “I believe that death will come for all” are not equally true or equally important.

 But the world has moved on even further since then. In the last few years, the word tolerance has been redefined by those who seemingly have been educated beyond common sense.  Today when the vocal mob demand tolerance, they are not asking us to tolerate their point of view but are asking people to compromise, change or deny our own beliefs. They are not just asking us to concede that their beliefs are as true as ours, but that their view is “truer” than ours and that we must not hold any view contrary to theirs!   They are not asking people to tolerate the views of the “disordered Alphabet”, but to change our beliefs to agree with theirs.

 Rather than being tolerant, they are in effect demanding that all people convert to their own position. This is something that Muslims, Christians and most thinking Kiwis will never do, nor ever agree with. And should be free to say so.

It seems lost on the protesters that if Posie Parker can't stand up and state her opinion that it is good to be a woman, they have no right to promote their opinion either. If she can’t say what is true for her, then nothing they say can be true either. When they say that Christians are "intolerant" for accepting divinely revealed Truth, they show profound intolerance as they demand acceptance of their mental and moral fabrications.  Human arrogance can lead people to the conclusion that we can decide for ourselves what is truth and that no one can ever be wrong about what they believe.

But Linus was wrong.  Some people may think that they can fly, or that politicians always act in the best interest of the people, or that they were born in the wrong body. They all may be sincere in their belief but are all sincerely wrong.  I am not saying that they don't feel pain in their lives or that they don't really feel as they do, but to demand or expect that everybody else uncritically accept their belief, ideology, and sex and gender theories as true, would have only been asked in a comic strip a few years ago.

The people emerged from their tents all across the camp and stretched themselves in the early morning sun. The kids ran around, and mothers were poking the fire to life as the men returned from their early morning walk. To collect manna, they had to go outside, away from the hustle and bustle of the camp. The manna that fell in the wilderness was fresh every morning. It never lasted overnight so every day they had to go out to collect it. We have all found that yesterday’s “bread” is never sufficient for today. Every day has its own troubles and God has daily bread that is sufficient for the day, but we do have to collect it!

Daily Bread is the spiritual food we get from abiding for a while with Jesus. Just being with Him strengthens our souls and fills us with life. If we eat His Word and are not strengthened, it is just information. We are to eat until we are satisfied. “Now Boaz said to her (Ruth) at mealtime, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar. So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied” (Ruth 2:14).  Ruth was satisfied. Many people don’t stay and eat long enough to receive what they need. Unfortunately, when we are not satisfied by His bread, we look for satisfaction in other things.  Whenever we get weak, we have not collected enough manna. When we are tempted by things we are not usually tempted by, or when we get angry and lose our temper,  we’re running on empty.

Friend, our problem is not the size of our enemies or the length of our journey, but the smallness of our time at the table. But it is still not too late today to get out of your “tent” and go and collect some manna!