MessageWeek – Page 3 – Godly conversations

China’s Takeover

I bought a computer. It was made in China. I bought a welder. It too was made in China. So is my phone, my dinnerware, and a gift from a Christian bookstore is also made in China. Thankfully my car was made in Australia – but the truth is that its manufacturing plant closed down three years ago in favour of cheap imports.

So what? The computer works well. The welder is an improvement on my old one. My phone is used for secure two-factor transactions all the time. I love the text from the Bible as printed on our dinnerware, and frankly, who cares if a gift I treasure was also made in China.

I care. For one reason alone. Our aging gray hairs reveal an underlying weakness that we refuse to own up to. In our loss and confused identity of post modernism morphed into secularist ideals, we’ve become more dependent on our enemies who cleverly disguise themselves as trading partners.

When I was a boy, Australia was distinctly a “Christian nation”. When my father migrated from post-war Europe and became an Australian citizen, he was given a Bible (which he read). We sang “God Save the Queen” and recited the “Lord’s Prayer” in high school assemblies. But in recent decades, we’ve hastily abandoned our founding principles for more secular ideals – ideals founded not on hard work, faith and honesty, but on gain, mammon and self-interest. That’s the face and enticement of secularism.

A Chinese academic once marveled at how the United States could become the greatest and wealthiest nation on earth. After careful examination, he concluded that their phenomenal success had to do with their religious convictions which manifested in selflessness, love of freedom, liberty, honesty, sacrifice and God. Thus, the US constitution worked when honesty, service and compassion flourished.

Today, however, no longer content with such great achievements and the accompanying wealth and the responsibility that goes with it, our current generation has been indoctrinated to demand their rights, to decry traditional values, and seek power in the name of equality. Marriage has been redefined. Babies are killed right up to birth. Protestors burning buildings and destroying infrastructure are seen as legitimate, non-violent expressions of “the oppressed”. Our scientific endeavours has more recently introduced deadly pathogens (viruses) into our communities.

This change of ethos and momentum, is in fact, history repeating itself all over again. People who abandon their forefathers tried-and-true value system founded in the Judaic-Christian ethos similarly found themselves eventually overcome by other nations, to become vassals and slaves, where once they reigned.

To quote from antiquity:

“The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young. (Deuteronomy 28:49-50 ESV)

The Chinese have bought our cotton plantations, various airports and shipping ports. They have built their skyscrapers in our cities, and invested in our gold mines. Their reconnaissance devices occasionally get caught up in our fishing nets. Their fishing fleets edge ever closer and wantonly towards our shores. They are moving closer, progressively, determined, yet all the while protesting their innocence. Those who subscribed to their “belt and road” initiative ought to look at, for example, how the Chinese have plundered Myanmar’s jade-bearing mountains for decades.

The sad thing is that our politicians and academics seem powerless to take a stand. And our enemies know that.

Within a few short years, the balance of power that we’ve known in the western world for the past seventy or so years is about to change. The freedoms we’ve largely taken for granted will be swept away. Globalism means control. Control of your finances. Control of your time. Control of your speech, and thought, and your life. We’re becoming slaves.

But borne through suffering, slavery and deep regret, redemption is at the heart of the Christian gospel message. At the very time when the globalist-controlled world is groaning beyond despair, when socialism wreaks its iron hammer, and our people’s cry for deliverance betrays their earlier wantonness, that same ancient text quoted earlier tells that a Saviour finally comes.

Then, perhaps we will remember that our computers and welders and phones and dinnerware were omens portending a future we had foolishly mocked. That history does indeed repeat itself.

Are we listening? For the sake of our children and grandchildren, may we awaken to forsake our godlessness secularism, and turn, and change, and challenge the current tide of sin, oppression, slavery and death.

New Covenant Celebration

I recently heard a comment stating that the Feast of Tabernacles can hardly be associated or have any relevance to Christ, because it was originally given to the ancient Israelites under the old covenant. How can such festivals, associated as they are with the ancient’s seasonal agricultural harvests, be of any value to Christians?

It’s a good question. I hope this brief explanation is helpful.

The tabernacle, (and later the temple) were built on a heavenly blueprint. God specified every detail to Moses; details which although were made out of physical elements such as gold, wood and cloth, were based on and portrayed a transcendent divine, heavenly blueprint or reality.

Thus, the ensuing worship centring on the Tabernacle life, while in Israel’s experience was limited to their sojourn from Egypt and their annual agricultural seasons, their ceremonies, also dictated by God, equally originated from and pictured a transcendent heavenly connection.

How might we draw such a conclusion? What might that connection be?

That connection/blueprint or template can only be found in Jesus Christ.

Thus today, we do not and can not celebrate the old covenant feasts as given to ancient Israel. The old covenant and its associated liturgical practices are long gone, superceded by the new covenant written in Jesus’ blood.

So, is there any merit in divinely-given annual Sabbath celebrations? The question we might explore is, if their blueprint also originates from the heavenly, even as the design and details of the tabernacle was, then might we might have greater reason to enquire and explore what might be their heavenly significance?

What do those biblical festivals originally given to the ancient Israelites actually mean? Do they contain an inherit divine blueprint beyond the agricultural harvest seasons as experienced annually?

Jesus often used agricultural parables to tell of divine reality. “A farmer went to sow seed.” Jesus then explained the story in terms of spiritual harvest.

Curiously, Paul also used an interesting agricultural term when he referred to Jesus as “Christ the firstfruits”. It’s a phrase that clearly links ancient understanding of seasonal harvests with a higher, heavenly significance that centres on Jesus Christ.

A quick history lesson. During the annual Passover/Unleavened Bread season, the High Priest would cut the first of the barley harvest just after sunset, and that first wave sheaf was then presented in the tabernacle the next morning. We might ask: what might this ancient “firstfruits” ceremony actually mean?

Briefly, with Jesus crucified on a Wednesday, and then entombed for three days and three nights, the fulfilment of which would have occurred at or just after sunset on the Saturday night. It was then we suggest that Jesus was resurrected at the exactly the same time when the High Priest would have cut the first wave sheaf. At that moment Jesus would have opened his eyes and bodily resurrected. Recall, the tomb was already empty when the women visited early on that Sunday morning.

That first wave sheaf, cut from the early barley harvest, pictures Jesus’ resurrection. In the ceremony that followed the next day, the wave sheaf was presented in the temple, and the typology points to Jesus ascending to heaven to be presented before our Heavenly Father. Recall Jesus’ words to Mary when she saw the resurrected Jesus:

“Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” (John 20:17 ESV)

Between seeing Mary early that morning, and later when he encountered the disciples, Jesus ascended to heaven and was presented to His Heavenly Father as the “firstfruits”, symbolised by that ancient wave sheaf offering!

Thus, accordingly, would it not be meritorious that our celebrations (that find their origins within the biblical narrative) be based entirely on the heavenly reality under the terms of the new covenant for whom our “blueprint” is our Lord, Advocate, Redeemer, King and Judge, Jesus Christ?

Perhaps, if we revisited those ancient harvest festivals as a blueprint narrative for the greater harvest of humanity, then those same celebrations under the lens of the new covenant, such as the Feast of Tabernacles, may provide amazing insight into a salvation narrative that is powerfully relevant and significant to the follower of Jesus!

In fact, Jesus purveys the notion that more of what Moses wrote pointed to Jesus than we might understand at face value. (John 5:46)

On the last great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, as recorded in John chapter seven:

…Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38 ESV)

So, in the spirit and freedom of the new covenant, may we confidently celebrate Jesus as Saviour, Lord, King and Judge!

Remember, that we too are sojourners in this temporal world, just like Jesus was some 2000 years ago.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 ESV)

Finally, we would like to suggest that as these festivals are nothing less than Christ-centred in origin and purpose, they are therefore highly recommended for all Christians!

Sonny the Puppet

I shared a children’s church message on Sabbath with the aid of a yellow hand puppet. It was a message about being thankful. And overall, the feedback we’ve received both verbally and via the internet has been affirming and encouraging. The children loved it, parents applauded the storytelling, and the elderly were equally delighted.

However, not everyone it seems appreciates this kind of creativity, with the lament that children used to just sit and listen to the word preached to them – without any kind of visual aid.

What do you feel about utilising such creativity to help the gospel message stand out above the current noise? Have we gone soft? Or, do we even more-so need to step up to the task, utilising all the resources available to lead our young to Christ?

Today our children and youth are flooded with a wicked, insidious and deceptive narrative in education and in our media. The cacophony of the deceitful “there is no God” resonates at every level of society.

The power of successful storytelling was Jesus’ alone, with simple parables, visual miracles, words written in the sand, and the power of physical touch. It takes all of Jesus’ power and creativity to rise up against the relentless multimedia of today. Not all people are skilled in storytelling; in this case, my Dad was a puppeteer from childhood, and in the spirit of being a “fisher of men” was able to later in life draw the attention of otherwise disinterested souls. We all have our calling and gifting in Christ. The message of Thanksgiving last Sabbath spoke not only to our little ones, but their angels in heaven also celebrated this simple modern-day parable.

Our children need us and Jesus holds us responsible.

PS Would you like to contribute to our local church ministry? Do you have a children’s church lesson, or an item of special worship music, a sermonette, testimony or scripture reading? We’d love to hear from you. Would you consider getting a friend to help film it? Send the video to us by Dropbox or FTP, and we’ll include it in an upcoming livestream https://www.cog7aus.com/live/

Thank you!

You’re celebrating what?

“You’re celebrating what?”

“Isn’t that old covenant stuff?”

“I’m confused. I thought those were ancient Israelite harvest festivals, and therefore bear no relevance to Christians today!”

Here’s the short answer! You’ll love it if you love Jesus.

Last year our family again revelled in the Christ-centred celebration of the “Feast of Tabernacles” with almost 1000 fellow Christians gathered in Florida, USA. The previous year, we were in Caloundra, QLD, with a 100 faithful believers. And, consecutively, for more than five decades, it began for me as a nine year old boy in 1969 worshipping during the feast in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.

Let me explain why I believe that this celebration particularly is relevant under the new covenant, and therefore powerfully resonant with all Christians.

But I digress first and confess a little of my journey.

In those early decades, our family kept the feast with a very much old covenant overlay. I recall frequent readings of:

Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: (Deuteronomy 16:16 KJV)

This was a commanded assembly for males. But, my sisters, mother and grandmother were there as well! And as a boy, of course, I loved the travel, the motel accommodation, carrying my dad’s old camera, and visiting places of interest. I recall the protracted morning and afternoon church services. I also recall on occasion a fiery preacher eliciting our attention from the pulpit.

From today’s vantage and hindsight, all those formative years truly felt like old covenant edict. Many songs and songs related to ancient experiences in Egypt, Israel or Babylon!

I’m thankful, however, that it provided a foundation to fast track to today.

Rather than old covenant or ancient harvest anchorage, these biblical annual Sabbaths/festivals (as detailed in Leviticus chapter 23) are powerfully symbolic of salvation narrative that centres on Jesus Christ. From the Passover Lamb to the Great White Throne Judgment, it’s all about Jesus! As the weekly Sabbath foreshadows rest in Christ, so too the annual Sabbaths reflect a depth of Christo-centric meaning.

These festivals are all about Jesus Christ! Let me say that again. These festivals are all about Jesus!

But not all churches actually get it.

Many think they are old covenant history, with little relevance today. Others celebrate them by command, where sadly the grace and Lordship of Jesus is absent.

So, in exploring this together, let’s ask, when was Jesus born?

No, he wasn’t born at Xmas time.

Although orthodox Christianity celebrates the birth of Jesus in December (historically chosen to align with the pagan sun god Mithras’ birth on December 25), we know that Jesus was born in late September or early October – around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles.

So, why not honour Jesus’ birth then? The particular festival is an ideal framework to turn our attention to the divine miracle of Jesus’ virgin birth and all that it means for everyone.

Of course, John’s testimony compels us further when he wrote:

And the Word became flesh and [tabernacled] among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 ESV)

So Jesus “tented” or sojourned among us for some 33 years.

And, what’s more, He’s coming back again as “KING of Kings and LORD of Lords”, where “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!” Jesus then reigns for a 1000 years. And finally on the Last Great Day, we celebrate the great resurrection of humanity to a time of judgment.

Everything about the Feast of Tabernacles has to do with Jesus, the Son of God and our Advocate with our Father.

So let’s celebrate Christ, in the spirit of the new covenant, compelled by love for our Lord and Saviour.

This year’s festival theme in Western Australia is “Jesus, Saviour, Lord and King”.

We welcome you to join us at the Mary Davis Library and Community Centre in Baldivis, Western Australia, 3-10 October 2020.

Come for one day or come for eight – but do come!

Free registration is now open at https://www.message7.org/festival/

Colour grading and LUTs

We’ve been continually improving our weekly livestreaming over the past 18 or so months. However, this has accelerated since March this year, and we’re appreciative for all who have helped.

We use two BMD cinema cameras as setup in our studio. Filming in BRAW, we’ve been using a progression of modified LUTS for our livestreams, and this week we made the mistake of creating/using a LUT that was too “bluish”.

Our film is recorded to SSD in BRAW 10 bit video format.

However, the LUT (Look Up Table – an applied colour grade) we used on Saturday’s livestream was too bluish – we received several viewers comments on this. Some said that I “looked tired”. Others said it looked “washed out”. It’s amazing how colour can negatively affect mood and feel!

So, back to the editing suite, and thus for the next studio livestream we’ll try this completely new LUT/colour grade (which we’ve already used in post.)

I hope we’re finally reaching a level of maturity in our media streaming work where any future changes are merely incremental. We always appreciate and value viewer feedback.

Our small team has worked extensively on improving, for example, audio quality. You’ll also note the new backdrop that we added last week, together with some subtle lighting changes. The biggest job each week, however, is the preparation of good quality content – a task that only the Holy Spirit can enable.

A big thank you for all who have supported our work with suggestions, contributions, prayers and donations. The glory goes to God alone who is calling many in the great harvest of humanity. May we be faithful as He works through us according to His will.

Standing in the Gap

After more than two months now “standing in the gap” with livestreaming Sabbath worship services from our home studio, and with the greater awareness that the society around us is overtly becoming not “church friendly” in both legislation and practice, we can be comforted and compelled by Jesus’ prophetic words that the church He’s building is and will be in an environment where “the gates hell” are notoriously evident. Thus we stand leaning into the headwinds of the times we live in on the promise and the power of the Holy Spirit, discerning each moment and embracing each challenge with alacrity. We’ll continue improving each week’s livestreaming, in one small way or another, and are patiently and faithfully working behind the scenes to advance His Kingdom and His righteousness. Media we know today plays a significant role in this.

When we started media streaming two decades ago, little did we realise the cacophony of dissonance emanating from tens of millions media sources and their many keyboard warriors. I recall someone twenty years ago saying, “One day, your video work will be swallowed up in ten thousand video channels.” It was hard to imagine back then. The surety of navigating the journey ahead is to simply focus on the calling and then, in the words of Jordan B Peterson recently, “Shield yourself from bad news sources.”

Pandemic Fear or Prolific Faith

After more than a month of quarantine, social distancing and ongoing political and international narrative over the COVID-19 virus, with churches closed, businesses struggling, a major airline collapse amidst a general air of uncertainty, we’ve seen the remarkable response of church communities coming together in the digital universe for livestreaming of weekly church services, Bible studies, devotionals and online fellowship.

When we began livestreaming Sabbath worship services in Mundaring, WA, some 15 months ago in order to cater for our family in Christ living in remote areas, little did we realise that livestreaming would soon become an essential service. Now with three cameras, lights, microphones and other streaming equipment, the back part of our home has been turned into a mini television studio. Take a look!

And so, every Sabbath at 11:00am we “go live”, ministering in the lives of our faith community, not only throughout Australia, but overseas as well. Last week was our most successful and riveting online service, benefiting from the contributions of many more people. This week via Zoom we started a Tuesday night Bible study. And this next Sabbath’s behind-the-scenes work is again almost complete.

We’re grateful to Hannah and Emma, who significantly contribute to our team’s work. Hannah arrived here just before the coronavirus lock-down, and then being unable to return to Sydney, has been an invaluable help in our work here. Emma adeptly manages the livestreaming console. And Rebecca, as vocalist with keyboard as well as facilitating children’s church completes the onsite team.

When Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it,” I think he was also thinking about the difficult times we’re now entering. For when the church is under pressure, it is then that she is at her best! Pandemic fear gives way to prolific faith.

Pandora’s Box of Biological Warfare

“There’s something puzzling about the Chinese COVID-19 virus,” chuffed Peter as he sipped the last of his tea. This old timer had thought he’d seen it all. He went on to explain what he thought about the coronavirus pandemic.

He explained that nothing like the serious travel restrictions has ever occurred before in his memory. He went on the say that the gene complexity of this deadly pathogen defies the possibility of randomly generated mutations. The ongoing media and scientific narrative from a variety of sources don’t seem to collectively make sense. Did a smelly wet animal market in a Chinese province really spawn this kind worldwide pandemic? Or, are there more sinister players involved? Did a deadly lab-generated pathogen specifically designed for biological warfare accidentally escape? What about the Chinese cover-up?

Those lab men in white coats studying the COVID-19 virus around the world are not entirely satisfied that the DNA signatures completely match known animal sources. Were human genes spliced into this now deadly pathogen? Is this virus designed to be targeted at particular groups of people? What other important information is the public being shielded from, as increasingly strict quarantine measures are being put into place? These are some of the unanswered questions Peter wrestled with.

I was surprised by Peter’s conclusions. Of course, conspiracy theories abound at a time like this. Large social media concerns and political pundits are working hard to quash what they term “fake news” and misleading viral messages. President Trump said, “This is war!” What did he mean? Iran accused the US for manufacturing a strain of the virus to attack them. A Chinese leader blamed a US serviceman for bringing the coronavirus to China. And, so the misinformation continues.

Peter conceded that if this virus is indeed a biologically engineered tool of war, then the calamity emerging from Pandora’s Box is the hellish nightmare that will forever alter, if not destroy, the world as we know it.

I asked Peter whether he’d like another cup of tea. He paused, before mumbling, “No thanks. A cup of tea just isn’t the same anymore with all this mayhem happening.”

Say it how it is

In this day and age, it is more important than ever to be able give a honest answer from the depths of our convictions to clearly, intelligently and patiently articulate our unambiguous and uncompromising Biblical position on any given subject.

What do you believe about abortion? Sexuality? The LGBT movement? Marriage? Evolution versus faith?

In our busy and often distracted world, many simply do not have the time or impetus to carefully think through the big issues of life. Who am I? What do I believe and why? Is there any purpose to life? Might my current position be wrong, and why? Do I have a testimony that stands the test of time – and scrutiny? It is much easier to dismiss such questions than genuinely probe them further.

For many, who I suspect are in the majority, it is also increasingly difficult thing to freely speak our convictions in a current politically-correct charged world. Subjects such as marriage, sexuality, divorce and abortion. Freedom of thought and speech are increasingly offset by leftist, anti-faith ideologies. The mainstream media today selectively tells only part of the story. Higher education dismisses faith and traditional values as generally irrelevant. Politicians expediently balance incorporating popular but misguided sentiment against their chances of re-election.

It is our hope and prayer that given the challenges we all face, be it fire, flood, pestilence, or an ongoing distrustful narrative, may we still give voice to the testimony of Jesus Christ in important matters. For example, are you able to clearly articulate what marriage is and what it isn’t? We hope this recent video helps you form a reliable and informed testimony about the subject of marriage, based on the timeless words of wisdom passed down through the ages.

Corona Virus Insurance

Travel the world they said. Seek adventure, the billboard said. If it feels good, do it, they chorused.

However, the natural law of consequence and risk was never mentioned.

Consider, for a monent, that the risk of being infected with the coronavirus over the next few months is generally assessed at the moment as being very high, given its virulence and the little we know about it. So let’s ask: would a comprehensive insurance policy mitigate against all possible outcomes? Of course, not. What about other risks? The mystery of the missing Malaysian aircraft MH370, lost without trace under inexplicable circumstances? What were the chances of survival for those passengers, insured or not?

The dangers and risks associated with everyday life are enormous. One microscopic virus can trigger our entire immune system to fail. One small asteroid, they say, could destroy life on earth. One split-second traffic accident, and too many victims spend the rest of their lives wheel-chair bound.

Is there anything then that might mitigate this sense of foreboding risk – granted that for most of the time we put it out of mind?

This video recounts a recent mid-air emergency, and so explores these questions, directing our certainty not at insurance, or time and chance, or even our best laid plans. Instead, we highlight a certainty and transcendent promise of enormous value.

Let us know what you think in the YouTube comments. And subscribe anyway, whether you agree or take an entirely different view.