Will Graham To Lead Celebration Tasmania – May 2021 Will Graham is the third generation of Grahams to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ under the banner of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Associa-tion. Will is the grandson of Billy Graham and the oldest son of Franklin Graham. Since 2006, Will has been telling people all over the world about that hope through events called Celebrations. In 2016 Will preached the Gospel in Alice Springs, NT, to over 6,000 people. Two years later he visited Kalgoorlie-Boulder, WA, preaching to thousands of Australians over the three-day Celebration. In May 2021, Will Graham will be bringing a message of hope to Tasmania. BGEA has been faithfully preparing for the upcoming Celebra‐tion, which will be hosted in the cities of Hobart and Launceston and streamed online. ‘This world is a broken place,’ Will said recently. ‘People are hurting, dealing with addictions, family issues, job and financial is-sues, or depression. So many are hopeless. I desperately want people to know that there is hope, and it’s found in Christ.’ Since 1950, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has held Cru‐sades all across the globe for one purpose: to proclaim God’s love to peo-ple who need Jesus Christ. Will Graham Celebrations continue this life-changing mission. A Celebration is not just an evangelistic event; it is a process of prayer, training, outreach, and followup that takes place over a 12-month period – and it begins and ends with the local church. A Celebration usually consists of four services: Friday Night for Adults/Fami-lies; Saturday Morning KidzFest for young children; Saturday Night for Adults/Families; Sunday Afternoon for students. The Launceston Celebration will be held in the Silverdome on Saturday 1 May and Sunday 2 May. The Hobart Celebration will be held at Princes Wharf on Friday 7 May, Saturday 8 May and Sunday 9 May. For further details go to: TasmaniaCelebration.org.au The Lord’s people are asked to continue in prayer for His blessing on these gatherings, on all of those involved in plan-ning, preparation and partici-pation in them; for His blessing on all participating churches; for the gathering in of new be-lievers; and for Will Graham.

Vol 83 No 6 15 September 2020

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TELLING THE GREAT WORKS OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD TODAY

Benefits For YOUR Church: Prayer. Without prayer, we could not survive as Christians nor would we ever hold a Celebration. Every aspect of the Celebration directs believers toward prayer – determined, heartfelt, ceaseless prayer. Evangelism Training. Many committed Christians have never shared their faith because they don’t know how to or they are afraid. The Christian Life And Witness Classes teach Christians how to effectively and confidently present the Gospel. The classes also prepare believers to pray with people who come for-ward at the Celebration. An Action Plan for Witnessing. Christians put their learning into practice through Bring A Friend. After participants identify family and friends who need to know Jesus Christ, they commit to pray for and build relationships with them, leading up to an invitation to bring their friends to the Celebration, where their friends and loved ones will hear the message of salvation. Spiritual Renewal. As Christians prepare for the Celebration, bring friends and family to the meetings, and worship with other believers, the Lord can bring renewal into individual lives and congregations. Christian Unity. The church is never stronger than when it is united with one common goal, to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Lasting relationships and bonds are formed in the development of the Celebration that unite churches in the community. New Christians in Local Churches. The Celebration process is designed to bring new believers into churches where their spiritual growth is encouraged. New Christians add vitality to congregational life and worship.

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page TwoNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Two

VOLUME 83 NUMBER 6

ISSUE DATE: 15 September 2020

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TELLING THE GREAT WORKS OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD TODAY

Credit Where Credit Is Due Christians are always ready to throw brickbats at the secular media, usu-ally for good reason. But we must award a bouquet to the Weekend Australian newspaper of 5-9-20. Full marks to them for their article titled Heart Of The Nation – Front on page 7 of their Weekend Magazine. Written by Ross Bilton, it tells of an up-and-coming young medical re-searcher, Dr Caleb Dawson, who works at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne. We’re told that he is ‘probing the mysteries of cancer and the immune sys-tem using the esoteric techniques of “3D confocal fluorescence microscopy” in which special dyes and lasers are brought to bear on tissue samples, revealing ever-deeper layers of reality ... Dawson’s curious gaze isn’t just detached and scientific. He sees beauty in there too; he sees art. And he sees something even deeper: the hand of God. For as well as being a scientist, Dawson, 28, is also a man of faith, a guitar-strumming Christian who declares his belief in the resur-rection of Jesus. ‘ ... Dr Dawson made the image (illustrating the article) as part of a side project in which he uses the tools and skills of high-tech microscopy to create art. He doesn’t see any walls between the empirical and the aesthetic – or be-tween science and faith, for that matter. “I see all of nature as the work of God,” he says simply, “and science is the study of that. It’s so inspiring to me to see the tiniest workings of God’s creation”.’ Greatly to his credit, Bilton leaves it at that – no commentary, derisive or otherwise, no putting down, no guilt by association – just the facts, simply telling it as it is. And I say to the secular media, ‘That’s all we Christians ask for; just let the facts speak for themselves; “let the chips fall where they may”. Some will deride, some will pity; we will glory in the Lord our God’. Christianity has nothing to fear from taking its stand in the market-place of ideas. Let it simply be compared to all manifestations of secularism; let it be honestly compared to all other religions; let the way of life of its sincere adherents be compared to the ways of life of the adherents of all other belief systems, including those who think they have no belief system (because non-belief is a belief system in itself) – and there is no comparison, only the stark-est and cruelest of contrasts. On the contrary, secularism and other religions appear to be bathed in fear of Christianity simply standing there in the market-place of ideas, judging by the way it distorts, misrepresents, ridicules and persecutes Christianity at every opportunity. This article throws up a wonderful challenge to Christians: never be afraid to stand up for Jesus; give such a good witness that men might mark that we have been with Jesus; bring the Faith to bear on every aspect of human en-deavour; sing the Almighty Power of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Cre-ation, Providence and Redemption; oh – and remember Psalm 92: ‘It is good to praise the LORD and make music to Your Name, O Most High, to proclaim Your love in the morning and Your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre (guitar?) and the melody of the harp. For You make me glad by Your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of Your hands. It is good to praise the LORD and make music to Your Name, O God Most High.’ Let’s pray that the Lord would raise up a whole army of Caleb Dawsons who will take to heart Charles Wesley’s great hymn: (Continued on page three)

Black Panther Star Chadwick Boseman, who died recently, spoke often about his Christian faith. ‘Sometimes, you need to feel the pain and sting of defeat to activate the real passion and purpose God has predestined inside of you. God says in Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future”,’ Chadwick Boseman, said in a Commencement address at Howard University in 2018. The 43‐year‐old actor, who died of colon cancer on 28 August, grew up in a Christian home and was baptized at Welfare Baptist Church in Anderson, South Carolina. As a professing Christian, even at the height of his celebrity, Boseman often spoke out about his beliefs. Boseman's rise to stardom seemed fast, but it took time, effort, and trust in God's faithfulness. He was helped, too, by beloved entertainer Denzel Washington, who paid for the late actor's study abroad tuition at the British American Drama Academy more than 20 years ago.

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF THE DAY MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF THE DAY

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page ThreeNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Three

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Chadwick Boseman – A Confessing Christian

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Continued from page two: Forth in Your Name, O Lord, I go, my daily labour to pursue, You only, Lord, resolved to know in all I think or speak or do. The task Your wisdom has assigned here let me cheerfully fulfill; in all my work Your presence find, and prove Your good and perfect will. You may I set at my right hand, whose eyes my inmost secrets view, and labour on at your command and offer all my work to You. Help me to bear Your easy yoke, in ev'ry moment watch and pray, and still to things eternal look and hasten to that glorious day. Then with delight may I employ all that Your bounteous grace has given, and run my course on Earth with joy, and closely walk with You to Heaven.

– Charles Wesley

In the days since his passing, Washington described Boseman as ‘a gentle soul and a brilliant artist who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short, illustrious career.’ The Black Panther star referenced his Christian faith when he honoured Washington in 2019. Speaking during the AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony, Boseman quoted Ephesians 3.20, telling Washington, ‘May God bless you exceedingly and abundantly more for what's in store than He ever has before’. – Tré Goins‐Phillips

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF THE DAY MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF THE DAY

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page FourNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Four

Milestone In Bible Translation A new milestone has been reached as the Bible has been translated into its 700th language, ac-cording to Wycliffe Bible Translators, who report that the milestone is indicative of the acceleration that is happening in the work of Bible translation. Such is the acceleration of the work that it is im-possible for Wycliffe Bible Translators to say which translation was actually the 700th. There were several dedications of physical Bibles as well as several being made available online and via apps, all at about the same time. The 700th Bible means that 5.7 billion people who speak 700 languages now have the Bible in the language that speaks to them best. BUT: there are still

about 1.5 billion people (roughly 1 in 5) who still do not have the Bible in their language.

– ASSIST News Service Bible Distribution Among Refugees A few years ago the Australian Presbyterian World Mission launched an appeal to buy Bibles for refugees from the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan in the refugee camps in western Ethiopia because of the civil war in South Sudan. We recently received confirmation that 9,000 Bibles and 200 audio Bibles have been placed into the hands of the believers in the camps. APWM has produced a 'thank you' video at: https://vimeo.com/451097255

– Kevin Murray, Director, APWM

MEET DENIZ: Servant Of The Servant King

Deniz, Pastor of a Turkish‐speaking church in London, is finding new ways to serve the Lord, experiencing how faith grows from the smallest of ministries when God is at work. The church that Deniz leads usually has 50 at-tenders, but since the UK went into lockdown be-cause of COVID-19, he's seen up to 1,600 people tuning in for the church's livestream. Most people don't think of the UK as un‐reached with the Gospel, but thousands of Turk-ish immigrants don't know the love of Christ. Many work long hours to support themselves, leaving little time for rest, let alone spiritual ex-ploration and growth. So Deniz sees the pandemic as a season of new possibilities within the Turk-ish community. ‘The hunger people have for Christ at the moment is fascinating,’ Deniz says, noting that many are searching for meaning in a more urgent and genuine way.

Alongside live‐streamed services, Deniz has been running video Bible studies and encourag-ing people to study Scripture so that they can teach others. Multiple Turkish fellowship groups now meet regularly, and five churches and other house groups are starting up. Deniz is amazed to find that he has a constant flow of conversations with people seeking the truth and asking questions. He now has four new believers who want to be baptised. He shares with confidence, ‘I know that God is moving through this challenging situation.’ It could be tempting to see this present chal‐lenging time as lost months for the church, but Deniz is humbled and amazed to see that the church he is a part of is thriving. As life continues with COVID, Deniz maintains his hope-filled, God-centred vision to reach people where they are.

– Operation Mobilisation

TURN BACK THE BATTLE: TURN BACK THE BATTLE: Isaiah Speaks To Christians Today.Isaiah Speaks To Christians Today.

With persecution escalating globally, Elizabeth Kendal calls us to revisit the prophecy of Isaiah, maintaining that Isaiah 1-39 provides an unambiguous treatise on how God's people are to respond to persecution, suffering and existential threat.

For purchasing options, visit: www.ElizabethKendal.com

New Life readers first met Deniz a few issues ago, but thanks to Opera‐tion Mobilisation we now have some more information about Deniz, his ministry and its results ...

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The Baptist International Mission Board last week joined with Barna Group for an online workshop titled The Future of Missions. IMB com-missioned Barna Group for a report on younger Christians’ perspective of missions. Church lead-ers told Baptist Press they are compelled to search for solutions to the challenges of declining mis-sionary candidates in a burgeoning world popula-tion that doesn’t have access to the Gospel. Sarah Farley from IMB’s student team said that

young adults may hesitate to be involved in long-term missions because of financial, educational and lifestyle concerns. But she emphasized the potential of this generation and what they offer to the spread of the Gospel. She encouraged churches to engage with them when it comes to investing in missions, relationships with mission-aries, and equipping them so they can go. Almost 1,000 people from around the world joined the online event. – Baptist Press

And Inspiring Talk www.96three.com.au Phone: 03 5241 6550 Email: listen@96three.com.au

IRAN: Christians Risk Arrest To Help Struggling Neighbours Christians in Muslim‐majority Iran are risking arrest to provide food and humanitarian aid to their struggling neighbours. David Curry, CEO of Open Doors, an organization that monitors Christian perse-cution, says underground churches in Iran have surfaced amid the COVID-19 crisis to answer Jesus’ call to love their neighbours. He says this began with people spending their own time and money to make sure neighbours have the care and support they need because of lost incomes. It is now more or-ganised as local church networks have become involved. The underground church has not done this sort of above-ground relief before. It’s historic, Mr Currry says. The remarkable thing about the Iranian church, he says, is the ability to mobilize online networks into offline outreach in this highly restrictive, risk-laden environment. In recent weeks, Iran has been recording more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases a day. – The Christian Post

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As the effects of COVID‐19 continue to change the landscape of church ministry, some churches are consid-ering permanent changes. One Baptist Church has seen online participation now three times larger than pre-pandemic in-person church attendance. In recognition of the new reality the church pastor, Robby Gallaty, says they have begun the process of creating a permanent online church ministry. This has included hiring an online‐specific pastor, finding ways to facilitate membership remotely, as well as conducting communion, baptisms, small groups, reach-out and pastoral care. Pastor Gallaty says that churches predominantly dependent upon a building are going to have a hard time transitioning into the future. ‘Change is constant’, he says, but as the Body of Christ, there must be a willingness to reach as many people as possible even if it’s uncomfortable and different. If the Church doesn’t have a robust online presence it is going to miss where the people are.

– Baptist Press

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page SixNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Six

FAITH NEWS WORLDWIDE with Stan Hunt FAITH NEWS WORLDWIDE with Stan Hunt

Ongoing Aid For Sudanese Christians An emergency relief appeal for Sudan and South Sudan has raised the equivalent of $A140,000. The initial target of the appeal, launched in the UK by the Bishop of Salisbury, was £150,000 (around $A90,000) for hygiene products and food for the countries. Bishop Nicholas Holtam said, this support is more than money. It is a gift of hope. It is good to care for our Sudanese neigh-bours at this difficult time. It is an amazing achievement to raise this amount in a month’. The funds will prioritise food aid for the population, with the threat of famine being an everyday real-ity. The Salisbury diocese has been working with the Church across the Sudanese region for almost 50 years. IRAN: The Church Is Growing The Iranian church has grown to around one mil-lion members, according to a new survey. GAMAAN, a research group based in the Nether-lands asked 50,000 Iranians about their beliefs. According to the survey, a minimum of 750,000 Iranians are Christians. There are also almost 120,000 Armenian and Assyrian Christians living in the country. Missionaries say the figures are

nor surprising as there has been an explosive growth of Christianity in this Islamic country. The growth is so threating the Islamic regime that it is both illegal to convert to Christianity and to preach the Gospel in Iran. Christianity Today re-ports that Iran is also one of the hottest recruiting and funding countries for Islamic terror. – Christianity Today An Invitation From Celebrate Messiah Celebrate Messiah Family Christian outreach min-istry to Jews in Caulfield, Vic, invites you to attend their upcoming seminar series: Revealing Messiah In The Jewish High Holidays, exploring the mean-ing and significance of the Feasts Of The Lord for believers today as ‘heavenly guideposts’ that point to redemption through faith in Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah). The series will be presented by members of the Celebrate Mes-siah National Team and will be streamed on the following dates: Thursday 17 September, 7.30pm; Thursday 24 September, 7.30pm; Thursday 1 Oc-tober, 7.30pm. This is a free seminar. However, registration is required in order to receive your link to the sessions. To register please go to: https://www.celebratemessiah.com.au

Challenge To The Post-COVID-19 Church: Go Forward To The Future

Please To Remember The First Of November Sunday 1 November Is The International Day Of Prayer

For The Persecuted Church!

Uzbekistan's repressive Religion Law is currently under review. The law, which has its roots in the Soviet era, was adopted in 1998 during the rule of Islam Karimov. A ruthless autocrat, Karimov ruled over the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic from 1989 before being elected as the first President of an independent Uzbekistan in 1991. Karimov administered Uzbekistan as a Soviet-style police state wherein suffocating repression was en-forced by a brutal security apparatus. When Karimov died in September 2016, the Supreme Assembly ap-pointed Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev as Acting President. In December 2016 Mirziyoyev was elected as Uzbekistan's second President. Since then, President Mirziyoyev (63) has been leading Uzbekistan on a path of transformative political and economic reform. His desire to engage and trade with both East and West requires religious liberty to be addressed. On 19 August 2020 a draft new Religion Law was made available for 'public discussion' on the parliamentary website, which also gave notice that the Law had reached the Oliy Majlis (Legislative Assembly). In June 2020 President Mirziyoyev issued a decree outlining a 'Road Map' for human rights, giving 1 October 2020 as the date for a new Religion Law. But as Forum 18 explains, the decree does not say whether 1 October is the deadline for the draft or for parliamentary approval. Sadly, the draft is deeply disappointing. Virtually all the oppressive measures integral to the 1998 law are retained in the 2020 draft. Despite enshrining the principle of separation of religion and state, the draft law perpetuates the state's repressive interference in religion. All religious activ-ity outside state-approved, registered organisations and without permission from the authorities, remains 'ille-gal'. Article 11 bans 'any forms of missionary activity and proselytism capable of destroying inter-religious accord and religious tolerance in society'. Religious education and the importation of religious literature remain enmeshed in crippling regulations and vulnerable to repressive, arbitrary prohibitions and confiscations. Abduvohid Yakubov, an independent rights defender from Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, laments the lack of progress. 'The State must not be afraid of giving full religious freedoms,' he told Forum 18. In saying this, Yakubov has touched on the very thing that makes religious freedom in Uzbekistan so fraught: the state is afraid, very afraid, and not without reason! After Uzbekistan declared independence in 1991, Islam literally flooded into the largely Russified and secular state, filling the spiritual void left by enforced, atheistic commu-

nism. Funded mostly by Saudi Arabia and Turkey, mosques sprang up everywhere, Islamist missionaries poured in and Qurans arrived by the tonne. Before long, Uzbekistan was sim-mering with revolutionary and jihadist, pro-Caliphate, pro-Sharia fundamentalist Islam. Though millions of ethnic Russians, Germans, Koreans and other non-Uzbeks have since left, God has raised-up an authen-tically Uzbek Church, comprised mostly of Muslim background new believers. So yes, the government is afraid. But the govern-ment is not alone! Not all Uzbeks are happy about their na-tion's Islamisation. Despite identifying as Muslims, they enjoy their modern lives and are excited by Uzbekistan's new open-ness and growing prosperity. Currently the Religion Law exists to enable the government to retain control and maintain order: ie if radicalised Muslims are going to riot at the sight of a church, then the church must go! Instead, the law's purpose should be to protect the funda-mental human rights of every human being; in which case reli-gious totalitarianism, intolerance and violence must go! Though Uzbekistan is no longer part of the long-dead Soviet Union, the Soviet spirit remains embedded in Uzbekistan. For many in government and the security sector, violent repression is the default position. Changing this will require a profound transformation in culture by way of visionary leadership.

– Elizabeth Kendal

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page SevenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Seven

MATTERS FOR PRAYER MATTERS FOR PRAYER withwith Elizabeth KendalElizabeth Kendal

UZBEKISTAN: Religion Law Under Review

Elizabeth Kendal is the author of Turn Back The Battle: Isaiah Speaks To Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding The Christian Crisis In The Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). See www.ElizabethKendal.com

Please Pray That The Lord Will: • Intervene in Uzbekistan, to restore the free-dom that once existed before the arrival of Islam, when Uzbekistan's Silk Road cities wel-comed Christian (Assyrian) missionaries, as well as peoples and trade from East and West; may the Lord God be jealous for this land! (Joel 2.18-29) • 'Send out labourers' into Uzbekistan's dan-gerous yet fertile fields, for the sake of Uzbek-istan's persecuted Church and her 'harassed and helpless' masses; may the Spirit of our merciful and gracious God blow through that land. (Jonah 4.10,11) • Use as His instruments President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, Justice Minister Ruslanbek Davletov and Senator Sodiq Safoyev as they navigate the delicate and treacherous path to freedom and openness; may the Lord grant them vi-sion, clarity, conviction, authority and plenty of support. May they be a collective 'Cyrus' (Isaiah 45).

FROM ALL QUARTERS FROM ALL QUARTERS

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page EightNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Eight

CHINA: Communist Officials Prohibiting Reli‐gious‐Themed Funerals. Bitter Winter, a religious watchdog, reports China has gone as far as arresting Christian family mem-bers and stopping funerals mid-service. A Three-Self Church elder told Bitter Winter the funeral of a preacher in the province of Henan was stopped when police stormed in and accused family mem-bers and friends of spreading ‘religious propa-ganda.’ In Wuhan, the daughter of a woman who had died was arrested while the family was ar-ranging the funeral. The lady had been a member of a state-sanctioned Three-Self Church. The daughter was released two days later, but only after the funeral had been held. The family was not allowed to include Christian themes in the ceremony. Churches that are part of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement are legal but face severe restrictions on their freedoms. – Bitter Winter Helping Others Helps Yourself As Well People who help others are helping themselves, according to a new study published by the Psy-chological Association. Researchers led by Dr Bryant Hui, at the University of Hong Kong found that random acts of kindness had a greater im-pact on overall wellbeing than formal behaviour, like scheduled volunteering for a charity. Dr Hui speculated that this may be due to the sponta-neous nature of a random act, allowing more vari-ety and warding off a sense of staleness or monotony. He says that prosocial behaviour – co-

operation, trust and compassion – were consid-ered necessary ingredients of a harmonious and well-functioning society. Younger respondents were more likely to experience feelings of well-being from acts of kindness than older cohorts. And women were more likely than men. The re-searchers analysed 201 independent studies, in-cluding almost 200,000 participants, looking at the link between kindness and wellbeing.

– Christian Today Russia Turns The Screws On Christians In the first half of 2020, more than 40 people have been punished for violating a Russian anti-mis-sionary law. Forum 18, a religious liberty news service based in Norway reports that fines have ranged from $65 for distributing Gospel tracts to $400 for holding a house meeting with ten peo-ple. Russia passed a 2015 law that said all reli-gious meeting places needed to be registered. That regulation was followed in 2016 with an anti-missionary law. The bill was labelled as anti-terrorism legislation, but four years on the appli-cation of the law is clear. One hundred people a year have been fined for practising their faith. Ac-cording to Christianity Today Russia is now con-sidering a law limiting religious liberty to Russian citizens and permanent residents. The law would ban non-residents from practising their faith in the country and preventing Russian religious leaders from receiving theological education abroad. – Christianity Today

African Enterprise – Still Getting The Gospel Out Contra COVID African Enterprise Teams across Africa are working hard adapting to the opportunities and challenges that the COVID‐19 pandemic has brought. Home Based Evangelism uses the tech‐nology that people have available to train and evangelise. Africa as a continent is more digi‐tally connected than ever before. In South Africa alone there are over 100 million mobile phones. To date, 2,590 church leaders, pastors, associates and mission volunteers have been trained in HBE all across Africa. Each one of these men and women are now not only equipped but motivated to reach out in ways they might not have previously imagined. Hundreds have already recorded their own personal testimonies and have shared them on social media. Please pray that these initiatives will reach those who might never come to a public rally, and excite Christians about the importance of witnessing to their neighbours.

READ: READ: The Inspiration And Authority Of ScriptureThe Inspiration And Authority Of Scripture by David Holden at www.defenceofthefaith.org

RReeaadd JJoohhnn 1144..11--33 YYoouu HHaavvee AA MMaannssiioonn

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page NineNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Nine

A Rush Of Hope – Greg Laurie’s Harvest Crusade Reaps A Harvest Thousands of people have committed to Christ for the first time at this year’s Harvest Crusade with evan-gelist Greg Laurie. The event titled A Rush Of Hope was held virtually because of the coronavirus. The Christian Post reports that the Harvest Crusade tracked more than one million views and more than 10,000 people commit-ted their lives to Christ. During the cinematic event Pastor Laurie told viewers they exist to have a relationship with God. ‘There is

noth-ing this world offers that will fill a hole in your heart that was designed to be filled by God Himself’, he said. ‘Being a Christian is not just following a creed or going to church. Being a Christian is having Christ live inside of you’. Featured Christian musicians and bands on A Rush Of Hope included MercyMe, For King & Country and Jeremy Camp. – The Christian Post

FAITH NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ... FAITH NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ... With STAN HUNT With STAN HUNT

‘Faith Comes By Hearing’ The Malila people in Tanzania are coming to faith in Jesus as they hear the Word of God through audio players. Wycliffe Bible Translators will have a Malila New Testament in print this month. But the audio is already bringing transformation even before the books arrive. One pastor in the area says a lot of people have been reached with the Word of God through the device. He says that the audio project has also made teaching the Bible easy as he just needs to switch the device on. Jo Clifford with Wycliffe Bible Translators says not being able to read well, or at all, means that the printed Scripture is available only to the few. ‘Printed Scripture will always be important, even in this oral culture’, he says. ‘But with audio every-one can listen’. The audio Scriptures are relayed via solar-powered audio players made by

MegaVoice. – ASSIST News Service Tim Keller Thankful For Answered Prayer Popular author and pastor Tim Keller has shared an update on his health after announcing his pan-creatic cancer diagnosis in June. Pastor Keller has completed his sixth round of chemotherapy for the disease, noting that the treatment has been effective so far. He says there has been shrinkage of the tumours so his oncologist will continue the chemo to diminish the cancer further. Pastor Keller and his wife, Kathy, are thanking people for the many expressions of support and faithfulness in praying for them. ‘We have been acutely aware of those prayers, and God has heard them’, he says. He adds that the suffering has given them both more of God’s sensed presence and more de-pendence on His Word.

– Premier News

Ark Encounter Teched-Up Visitors to the Ark Encounter in the U.S. can now go back to the time of Noah through a new high-tech $3 mil-lion virtual reality experience. In the first of the VR experi-ences, visitors are taken back 4,500 years to see Noah building the Ark and the animals entering it. They then ex-perience the impact of the flood and sit in the Ark on the water. They also see the Ark come to rest on the moun-tains of Ararat. Known as the Truth Traveller, visitors sit in special-effect motion seats that move and interact with the scenes projected through state-of-the-art VR headsets with studio-quality head-phones. CBN News reports more than a million people a year have visited the Ark Encounter, which features a massive stationary ship built according to Biblical specifications.

– CBN Christian World News

ETHIOPIA: Muslim Youth On Killing Spree At least 500 Christians have been killed in co-or-dinated door-to-door attacks in Ethiopia since June. Thousands of traumatized survivors have fled for their lives. Members of a Muslim youth movement have allegedly gone on a killing spree in some parts of the Oromia regional state, ac-cording to Barnabas Fund. Some of the militants held lists of Christians and were helped by au-thorities to find individuals, particularly those ac-tively involved in supporting the Church. The extremists arrived in cars and armed with guns, machetes, swords and spears. They sought out and slaughtered Christians, and children were forced to witness their parents being brutally murdered. Christians’ businesses and houses were vandalised or burned down. Ethiopia is pri-marily a Christian country, with the Orthodox Church being heavily intertwined with Ethiopian identity. – Barnabas Fund

INDIA: Christian Crisis In Odisha Pastor Ayuba Khora has been leading a house church of around 55-60 Christians from 12 fami-lies in Badaguda village, Koraput district, Odisha State, for the past two years. He says these believ-ers 'have faced opposition almost every day' since they decided to follow Jesus. As animists, the vil-lagers believe their own gods are angered by the prayers of Christians. Brainwashed and incited by Hindu nationalists, a large mob of animists has launched a campaign of violent persecution against the Christians, destroying their homes and meeting place. On 21 June a mob of miscre-ants attacked a home in which all the believers were sheltering together. Eight believers were hospitalised with serious injuries. On 19 August police warned the Christians that if their worship creates disturbances they will be arrested. Please pray.

– Elizabeth Kendal

PERSECUTION WATCH PERSECUTION WATCH

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page TenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Ten

India Bans Six Christian Groups From Accepting Foreign FundsAmid another crackdown on foreign aid, India has canceled six Christian organizations’ licences to receive donations from outside the country in a move some say is little more than a ‘shakedown’ by the Hindu Nationalist Party. According to a report from UCA News, New Life Fellowship Association, Evangelical Churches As-sociation of Manipur, Ecreosoculis North Western Gossner Evangelical, and Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church have all had their licenses can-celed under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Two additional Christian charities, Raj-nandgaon Leprosy Hospital (A member of the Christian Medical Association of India) and the DonBosco Tribal Development Society, also lost their licenses to accept foreign funds. Without these licences, the Christian organiza-

tions will be un-able to legally re-ceive donations from outside India, hindering their ability to carry out their evangelistic min-istries. ‘From time to time, relevant matters concern-ing FCRA norms are reviewed, and government actions are taken,’ an official from the Home Min-istry told UCAN without citing a specific reason why the Christian organizations’ licences were canceled. – The Christian Post

CHAD: Teetering On The Brink Of Survival Christians in Chad are on the brink of survival as they face flood, drought, violence and Covid-related problems, according to Pastor Clément Hlama, director of a Coalition Of Evangelical Churches In Chad On Compassion. He says that Christians in Chad presently are worried about food, health, housing, ed-ucation of children and the survival of their faith. Pastor Hlama told Barnabas Fund, Christians face violent persecution as Islamic extremists seize opportunities created by the COVID-19 situation. Across Chad the poor are poorer, children are malnourished, young people’s education is suffering, agricultural production is down and the churches are greatly affected. Pastor Hlama says the very ex-istence of the Church is at risk. But Christians remain faithful, clinging to the Lord. Barnabas Fund has already fed more than 600,000 Christians suffering from the COVID-19 crisis and the locust plague. Chad is one of the least developed countries in the world and has a life expectancy of 50 years.

– Barnabas Fund

‘THIS IS MY STORY ... PRAISING MY SAVIOUR ALL THE DAY LONG’ ‘THIS IS MY STORY ... PRAISING MY SAVIOUR ALL THE DAY LONG’

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page ElevenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Eleven

In 2016 I took a huge step of faith. I started a jour-ney not knowing how I was going to make it through, not knowing the trials ahead, but confidently knowing that God would never leave me. That was my comfort. When I got accepted into the University of the West Indies I did not know how I was going to finance the journey, there were people who doubted but I was de-termined to extend my faith no matter what. That de-cision was one of the greatest steps of faith in my life. I watched Jehovah Jireh open doors of opportunities, doors that I would not even imagine being open, He sent assistance from numerous individuals and orga-nizations throughout the journey. He sustained me, and He supplied every need I had according to His will. He has truly been a faithful Father. In November of 2019 I graduated from the UWI with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry. This was only possible because I extended my faith in God and depended on Him to take care of me. I can re-late to Lamentations 3.25 ‘The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him.’ God’s timing is peefect. When I think about one ex-tending their faith in God without knowing the out-come, the story of Abraham comes to mind. He was willing to offer up his only son as a burnt offering unto the Lord. Abraham’s faith in God was so strong. His obedience showed the level of trust, reverence and fear he had for God. Abraham passed the test by ex-tending his faith in the Most High God. Although he was prepared to offer his son as a sacrifice, God pro-vided a ram just in time as the alternative. From my childhood, it was my desire to become a doctor one day. In 2016 I applied to two medical schools and was not accepted. As a result, I had to turn to something else (Biochemistry). It was disappoint-ing at first, but then I was encouraged, I told myself, things will work out once it is God's will. I purposed in my heart that with God’s help I would pursue this dream no matter the route I had to take. In our Christian journey it is important to know that God’s timing is not man’s timing. If we do not get an instant answer to a prayer or things do not go as we planned, it does not mean that God is not hearing.

He hears and will work things out according to His will, in His timing. Yes, God answers prayer. On 9 September 2019, God answered a prayer that I have been praying for years. Not only was I accepted into medical school, I also re-ceived an 80% scholarship. At the least expected time God showed up. When I received this great news, I ac-cepted the offer even though I did not know where the remaining 20% was going to come from. I was reminded of Isaiah 41.10: ‘So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand’. All I had to do was to extend my faith in God. I am now in my second year of medical school, and God has been opening doors of opportunities. He has been blessing me beyond measure. This is indeed a journey of faith and I know without a doubt that God will see me through. Be encouraged, God will never leave you alone, when you trust and have faith in Him He will show up at the right time. The three Hebrew boys mentioned in Daniel 3 decided that they would never bow to the king’s idol. As a result of their stance, they were thrown into the fiery furnace, but God delivered them because of their faith in Him. It does not matter what you are faced with in this life. Rest assured that you have someone that deeply cares for you. ‘Cast all your anxiety on Him (Jesus) because He cares for you’, (1 Peter 5.7).

I am Victoria Richards,

a second‐year medical student at the University

of the West Indies, Jamaica. Serving the Lord

brings me great joy. I enjoy sharing the Gospel

through singing, writing poetry

and encouraging others. (Story and pix courtesy of

Press Service International)

Faith is unshakable confidence in God the Creator. It is believing without a doubt that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. God is a promise‐keeping God, He is not a man that He should lie. Jeremiah 29.11 says, ‘For I know the plans I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’. So extend your faith!

Unshakable Faith – Victoria Richards

WITH CHRIST ... Better By Far WITH CHRIST ... Better By Far

NEW ROLE FOR PETER JENSEN NEW ROLE FOR PETER JENSEN

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page TwelveNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Twelve

STUART KING, founder of Mission Aviation Fellow-ship was called Home on 29 August, aged 98. Mr King passed away on the mission's 75th Anniversary. Christian Today reports that as a pioneering Christian missionary, he was one of the first airmen to take light aircraft to Africa in 1948. At great risk to his own life, he flew into remote communities, many of which had never before been reached by air. He was driven to found MAF at the end of World War II out of the belief that flight technology should be used for the good of mankind rather than its destruction. MAF continues to serve isolated communities in more than 26 countries, flying to more destina-tions than any commercial airline. MAF trans-

ports medical emergencies, food and supplies, as well as missionaries and other skilled personnel.

– Christian Today SYBIL SHAW. On Saturday, 5 September, Sybil Shaw went to be with Christ. For the last few years, she had been struggling with dementia. Sybil and her husband Alex served for many years with Global Recordings Network Australia in countries as diverse as the Philippines, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea. Sybil loved being in the field recording people reading the Bible in their mother tongue. Jesus said to her, ‘I AM the resur-rection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ Sybil believed this with all her heart and the Lord used her greatly to share the Gospel with others.

What Peter Did Next: Peter Jensen, retired Archbishop of Sydney, former Principal of Moore Theological College and an archi-tect of the conservative Global Anglican Futures Con-ferences (GAFCON) movement which draws together most of the world’s Anglicans has taken up another key role – as editor of Global Anglican, a newly re-launched quarterly magazine ‘committed to publish-ing international scholarship’ that meets the needs of the international Anglican Church. It has a storied his-tory, previously known as The Churchman, and carried articles by writers like J.I. Packer, John Stott, J.C. Ryle the nineteenth century Bishop of Liverpool, still quoted by evangelical leaders – in fact most of the UK’s academic evangelical Anglican heavyweights. With articles by writers from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Chile, Jensen’s launch edition sends a strong signal that thoughtful articles come from right around the world. ‘The new name and the renewed list of consultants shows that there will be a deliberate effort to share what was so valuable in The Churchman with a much broader audience and to have writers from around the world contributing, Jensen told Eter‐nity. ‘It is hard to think of a journal quite like this one, with the potential of increasing the scope and inter-change of theological ideas in the many countries where the Anglican church has taken root.’ Asked if there were particular problems emerging for Anglicans, Jensen told Eternity ‘There are many. But chief on the list is theological education and in-service refreshment. The exponential growth of the prosperity gospel is also a major issue, and one which in the end can only be addressed theologically.’ Asked if he is optimistic about the future, Jensen

replied, ‘Am I optimistic? Yes, where people take preaching the Biblical Gospel seriously. No, where the Anglican Church has fallen in love with this world. In the end it is a question of how seriously we take the Cross.’ Founded in 1879, The Churchman was relaunched in COVID era style on Facebook with participants from around the world. At the launch, Jensen gave a pitch for the relaunched magazine ‘It will be a bridge be-tween seminary and preacher, refreshing the mind and heart of those who teach and those who learn the Word of God. May the Lord bless this enterprise!’ Anglicans who are evangelical and other Chris‐tians who share ‘a like precious faith’ with them will find much to interest, encourage and help them in grasping ‘how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – and be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God’. The launch edition can be downloaded at: http://churchsociety.org

– Abridged from an article by John Sandeman, Editor of Eternity News

Galatians 1 speaks to Genesis 1. I’m sure many theistic evolutionists in the Church just don’t realise or think about the unwelcome consequences of their compromise on this very serious matter. Theistic evolution forces into position ‘a different gospel which is really no gospel at all’. I don’t deny salvation being to anyone who re-pents and believes. We are saved through our Lord Jesus Christ by grace and through faith, not by what we be-lieve about Genesis chapter 1, even though false belief at this point must have very serious consequences. If the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11.3). What can they do? What can we do? We can speak up for sure, to show that a theistic evolutionary belief system applied to the first 34 verses of our Bible has dire consequences. First, it is an impossible compromise, attempting to bring atheism and Christian belief together. An honest attempt by the Christian to engage Genesis 1 with evolution, doesn’t allow the ‘science’ of evolution to be played with. Thirteen and more billion years is now the dogma for all life forms, including Man, as well as the Universe, to have developed. Those who blend evolution into Genesis 1 have to live with these demands, including the ‘science’ behind the so-called development of Man. Adam from the dust of the Earth on Day Six is not permitted. Evolutionism will not allow the sudden appearance of Adam on Day Six just over 6,000 years ago, according to Luke 3, and backed up by Old Testament genealogies. Under theistic evolutionary ‘interpretation’ of Genesis 1 Adam necessarily becomes a developed hominid, not an immediate miracle of God’s creation. If Adam could have been created as the Bible says, why not the creation of everything else in the Universe on a day by day basis? So for evolutionists to accept the Bible’s position on Adam would destroy the whole ‘science’ of evolution, and theistic evolutionists themselves are caught in the crossfire. Secondly, it is an eisegesis, or a reading into the Scriptures, involving reading into the Bible a meaning that is not there. It’s easy to demonstrate that the Hebrew of Genesis 1 is historical text. It is therefore impossible to give a poetic, figurative, metaphorical, or mystical reading to the text. As historical text the plain sense becomes the true sense. The plain reading is the real meaning. In this instance therefore ‘day’ means a 24 hour day and there is no room for gaps between any or all of the six days, or a long period of time somewhere found in or be-fore the first five verses. Also, the construction of Genesis 1, with the repetition of the words ‘And there was evening and there was morning …’ followed by consecutive naming of the six days of Divine creative activity, re-inforces the concept of six consecutive 24 hour days of creation, climaxed by, and concluding with, the Seventh Day to make one Creation Week. There is also no need for any reason to find a meaning in Genesis 1 other than the one based in the Hebrew historical text of the Word of God. Any long age reading is erroneous, and either in-advertently or deliberately attempts to destroy the foundations. Thirdly, it is an attempt to destroy the foundations, where consequentially the Gospel is deeply affected, and in fact becomes ‘a different gospel, which is not another’ (Galatians 1.6-9). So, The absolute reliability and au-thority of the Word of God is undermined, and this extends into the prophets and the New Testament. I’ve heard Richard Dawkins, a British philosopher, say on video last week, ‘The evangelicals who believe Genesis 1 have got it right; the theistic evolutionists are laughable’. He is an atheistic evolutionist who doesn’t believe the Bible, yet he sees the issue better than many Christian pastors who are theistic evolutionists. This signals the disdain atheistic evolutionists hold for theistic evolutionists before which contempt theistic evolutionism fails, so not only before the Word of God is it discredited. Fourthly, the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, who in Himself is the Gospel, is undermined. In Matthew 19.4 and Mark 10.6 the Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘But from the beginning of the Creation, God made them male and fe-male’. The Lord Jesus Christ taught six consecutive days of Creation. If not so, to call day six ‘the beginning of the Creation’ is a mistake. Only if the time between Day One and Day Six is very short (actually six consecutive 24 hour days) could Jesus declare day 6 to be ‘the beginning of the Creation. To have our Lord Jesus Christ teach an error at one point, makes the whole Gospel truth uncertain, and such is absolutely impossible. (Continued, P.14)

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page ThirteenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Thirteen

‘ ‘ IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?’IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?’

A Different Gospel, Which Is Really No Gospel At All.(Galatians 1.6,7)The atheistic philosopher Richard Dawkins has said, ‘The evangelicals who believe Genesis 1 have got it right, the theistic evolutionists are laughable’. He is an atheistic evolutionist who doesn’t believe the Bible, yet he sees the issue better than many Christian pastors who are theistic evolutionists. This signals the disdain which atheistic evolutionists hold for theistic evolutionists before which contempt theistic evolutionism fails, even before the atheistic evolutionists have discredited the Word of God further.

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page FourteenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Fourteen

‘ ‘ IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?’IF THE FOUNDATIONS BE DESTROYED, WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?’(Continued from P.13) Dr Carl Weiland once asked a theistic evolutionary professor of theology about this decla-ration by the Lord Jesus. The professor immediately realised the relevance of the question because he answered that ‘Jesus was mistaken, and anyway He didn’t have access to all the scientific analysis and observation we have today.’ (!) Was Jesus really, then, the Word ‘through whom all things were made?’ (John 1.1-3) Was Jesus mistaken also in other of His teaching? Are the Old and New Testaments based in real history? Did He really die and rise again? And on and on we could go. Go back to Genesis 1 for the foundation for everything, and history has to be read as history does it not? If history can be read in some mythical or figurative manner, what about the history of the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? Fifthly, the Old Testament teaching of Moses about the Ten Commandments is undermined, especially in regard to the Fourth Commandment. It makes this teaching supposedly invalid and untrue – keeping the Sab-bath Day ‘is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the Heavens and the Earth, and on the Seventh Day He rested and was refreshed’ (Exodus 31.16–17). To command the Israelites to keep a 24 hour day of rest because the Lord created the Universe in six long-age ‘days’ or something similar, just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. It is what we call a non sequitur. To read theistic evolution into Exodus 31.16,17 is to declare Moses mistaken at this point also, and therefore to make other of his teaching potentially unreliable as well. In Luke 21.27 Jesus begins at the authoritative teaching of Moses and expounds in all Old Testament Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Was the Lord Jesus also mistaken about Moses’ teaching? Sixthly, theistic evolutionary belief accepts that God Himself, as recorded in Genesis 1.31, is delivering a mistaken declaration – ‘God saw everything that He had made, and it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the Sixth Day’. How can God, who is good, true and holy, look on the previous Six Days of Creation, where theistic evolutionary belief must include the reality of death throughout billions of years, and call it ‘very good’? Again, this is an undermining of the inspired teaching of Moses, apart from the blasphemy of portraying God as mistaken, or at best displaying a strange moral standard at odds with other revelations of His character. Seventhly, The New Testament teaching about Adam, and His Gospel relevance is falsified. Theistic evolu-tionists as a consequence of their acceptance of evolutionary belief, are forced to see Adam as some kind of de-veloped hominid (a word, incidentally, which is not known to Holy Scripture). This also means the necessity to believe death and suffering (which actually results from Adam’s sin) as having entered the Creation billions of years before Day Six. The whole Gospel truth of Romans 5.12-21 is negated. So too the teaching of 1 Corinthians 15.22 – ‘As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive’, and the wonderful teaching about the Last Adam and the Second Man (1 Corinthians 15.45–49) is also negated. The Gospel is forced to limp, and even collapse in relation to the doctrine of sin and death, and therefore the need for redemption. Death along with sin has sup-posedly been built into the evolutionary development from the beginning, and there is no accountability to a God who in their eyes doesn’t even exist. It is therefore no Gospel under this combined belief system. How can Christian belief partner with such an anti‐God belief system, or even try to do so. See Galatians 1 again. We have seen enough to conclude that theistic evolution unavoidably leads into ‘a different gospel, which is not another’. There can only be one Gospel. There are some who trouble us and want to pervert the Gospel of Christ. I believe many don’t even realise the awful consequences of embracing theistic evolution.

– Len Pearce

Sudan Removes Islam As State Religion The political transition in Sudan, after the fall of Omar al Bashir, continues to develop its program of recover-ring the rights and freedoms that were seized during the dictatorship. In mid-July the government announced the elimination of the death penalty for the crime of apostasy. It has now removed Islam as the state religion. ‘The state shall not establish an official religion. No citizen shall be discriminated against based on their reli-gion’, the new agreement between the government and the rebels says. Among the protocols included in the Juba document, is the creation of a commission for religious freedom that guarantees the rights of Christian communities in the southern regions of Sudan. ‘No citizen shall be discriminated against based on their religion. For Sudan to become a democratic coun-try where the rights of all citizens are enshrined, the constitution should be based on the principle of “separa-tion of religion and state”, in the absence of which the right to self-determination must be respected’, the document states. It adds that ‘freedom of belief and worship and religious practice shall be guaranteed in full to all Sudanese citizens. The state shall not establish an official religion. No citizen shall be discriminated against based on their religion’. Sudanese religious leaders are satisfied with the agreement. ‘People here prefer to be cautious, but the peace agreement covers a large part of Sudan and it is very important that a signature has finally been reached. We are all very happy’, Tombe Trille, Bishop of El Obeid, capital of northern Kordofan, said. – Evangelical Focus

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For more information go to: www.ElizabethKendal.com

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Here are the facts about the resurection of Christ: • An empty tomb (vv.1–9). • An appearance to Mary Magdalene (vv.10–18). • An appearance to the disciples (vv. 19–23). • A second appearance to the disciples, especially Thomas (vv.24–29). • A third appearance to the disciples and a catch of 153 fish (John 21.4–14). Why wasn’t Thomas with the others when Jesus first appeared to them? Perhaps fear of being arrested kept him away. Or perhaps he is like some people who would rather ponder events alone than talk it out with others. When the others told Thomas they had seen the Lord (v.25), he was sceptical. He knew all about wishful thinking and optical illusions. He wanted the proof that only touch and sight could give (v.25), otherwise he would not believe. Jesus appears again and, knowing of Thomas’ statement, deals sympathetically with the doubter by offering His hands and side, and urges

him to ‘stop doubting and believe’ (v.27). Fi-nally convinced, Thomas then declares that Jesus is ‘My Lord and my God!’ He be-lieves (v.28). By good tradition, Thomas took the Gospel to India, where he was martyred. The

doubter came to firm belief via the resurrection

of Christ. True belief has two charac-teristics: a conviction about who Jesus is and a commit-ment to Him in everyday liv-ing. John says he could have written of many more signs (v.30) but has provided enough evidence, through the written record of the signs in his Gospel, to form the basis of belief in Jesus and thus the reality of hav-ing life in His name. Christianity is evidence‐based, leading to faith in Jesus (conviction and commitment), and the re-sult is life lived in relationship with God that is endless (a new quality and quantity of life). John is writing evangelistically, but probably also to en-courage believers to keep on believing. Of all the miraculous signs in John’s Gospel, the last is the most compelling – Jesus dies and is raissed, making no concession to death. John Calvin called the resurrection the most important article of our faith. He wrote: ‘The glory of His resurrection ... caused His death itself to be a splendid triumph.’ John’s Gospel, which begins by affirming the deity of Jesus (John 1.1,14) now draws to a close with this affirmation, ‘Lord and God!’ and the repeated pronoun, ‘My Lord and my God!’ (See: John Calvin, Commentary On The Gospel According To John, Volume. 2 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1949).

The Resurrection Is Real – Read John 20.10-31

To Think Through: Are you convicted of who Jesus is? Have you made a com-mitment to follow Him? How will that look like in your everyday life?

Reprinted from Our Daily Bread Journey Through Series® – Journey Through John by David Cook (Copyright © 2017) published by Discovery House. Used with permission of Discovery House.

All rights reserved. For further enquiries please visit: journeythrough.org or email: australia@odb.org

SEEN ON FACEBOOK:SEEN ON FACEBOOK: WORDS OF WISDOM:WORDS OF WISDOM:

JOURNEYING WITH JOHN with David Cook JOURNEYING WITH JOHN with David Cook

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page SixteenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Sixteen

‘Take It To The Lord In Prayer’ – ALWAYS In the course of time, David enquired of the LORD. ‘Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?’ he asked. The LORD said, ‘Go up.’ David asked, ‘Where shall I go?’ ‘To Hebron,’ the LORD answered. So David went up there. – 2 Samuel 2.1,2

NEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page SeventeenNEW LIFE – 15 September 2020 – Page Seventeen

AND FINALLY ... AND FINALLY ...

Here is an important insight into what identi-fied King David as ‘a man after God’s own heart’. (cf Acts 13.22). Saul and Jonathan had both just been killed in a battle with the Philistines, and David had already been anointed by Samuel as the King-elect, so, regardless of the complex polit-ical machinations and bloodied in-fighting that would mark his path to the throne, David could confidently assume that his ultimate coronation was a foregone conclusion. But here we are given a helpful glimpse of the mind-set that would characterise every aspect of the son of Jesse’s behaviour throughout his future reign. He took nothing for granted, but always ‘enquired of the LORD’, and then acted in unques-tioning obedience to what was re-vealed to him. This was typical of his God-focussed thought-life and behaviour: ‘God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.’ (Psalm 66.19) Could the same be said of OUR prayer life? I was challenged by these verses because I know how easily I can just apply my own ‘wisdom’ and ‘logic’ to circumstances which might arise, and thus pursue a course of action which seems ‘right’, without first ‘enquiring of the Lord’. Do we begin

every day by committing our ways to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to guide our steps and ‘make our paths straight’? Does the wisdom of David’s son, Solomon, characterise our pattern for living: ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways

acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.’ (Proverbs 3.5,6)? Are we guided by the wisdom of the Apostle James: ‘Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that”. As it is, you boast and brag. All

such boasting is evil.’ (James 4.13-16)? The Lord may not answer our requests for guidance as directly as he did for David, but as we read His Word each day we can trust Him to make His ways clear. All that He desires of us is a heart that seeks Him earnestly in prayer, and that is willing to submit humbly to His will in simple trust.

– Bruce Christian

David took noth-ing for granted, but always ‘enquired of the LORD’, and then acted in unques-tioning obedience to what was revealed to him.

How To Cope With COVID: With God’s ‘Exceeding Great And Precious Promise’

‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4.6,7 NIV).