On Tuesday 26 February 2013, a few people from Thurrock’s church attended a New Wine Day at St George’s in New Thundersley, Benfleet.
They were there at the invitation of Rev Anthony Rose to hear Rev Ray Sammé of Hextable in Kent (right).
There were eight delegates from Thurrock, including Andy & Jan Blakey (Thurrock Christian Fellowship, Grays); Andy Higgs (Stifford Parish); John Peters (Thurrock Christian Fellowship, Tilbury); and Rosemary Pritchard (Grays Methodist Church).
After a time of worship led by Anthony, Ray spoke, asking the question, “What defines New Wine?”
Here are brief notes of Ray’s talk:
Introduction
- New Wine is defined by Third Person Ministry – the Holy Spirit
- just as the Son shows the Father, and the Holy Spirit shows the Son, so the church (the body) should show the Holy Spirit
- church should show evidence of the Holy Spirit to demonstrate it has God’s anointing, and to demonstrate God’s anointing to the world
- In much of church, the meaning of salvation – justification by faith – has been divorced from means of salvation i.e. the Holy Spirit
- this must be re-established – God is re-establishing it
Reading: 1 Corinthians 12 – the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
- “Don’t tell me you have the Spirit – show me.” (Dr M Lloyd Jones)
- v7 “the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good“
- therefore, the church should demonstrate it!
1. Invocation
- Let the Holy Spirit control you
- be led and possessed by the Holy Spirit
- give access to the Holy Spirit
- continually surrender to the Holy Spirit
- It’s not about how much we possess the Holy Spirit, but how much Holy Spirit possesses us
- it’s like Israel in the Old Testament taking only bits of the land promised to it, when the whole should be surrendered to it
2. Interaction
- Challenge: “If you don’t see signs and wonders, what kingdom are you expressing?” (quoted from a Belgian Chaplain that Ray met at the New Wine Wales conference)
- Challenge: “If you don’t teach people to worship, you’ll have to entertain them every week”
- Manifestation (from Latin for hand) allows Gods hand to come in through the glove of man – imprints the image of Christ
- purpose: to bring glory to God
- John Wimber used the image of a plumbers bag to descrivbe the gifts of the Holy Spirit
- as you reach in, exactly the right tool comes out for that job
3. Interruption
- Allow God the Holy Spirit to interrupt and move in our meetings
- This is for everyone, because the gifts of the Holy Spirit is for everyone in the Body of Christ
- “We can all play – just be nice to each other” – John Wimber
- Church can’t function (it isn’t church!) unless the Holy Spirit is allowed free rein
- Love, because love gives access to the Holy Spirit
- We don’t need the “book” (i.e. the manual telling us how to ‘do’ church)
- that’s for when we don’t know how to allow the Holy Spirit to interrupt and move in our meetings
- Like Aslan, the Holy Spirit is good but dangerous!
- “When God leaves the building, religion arrives” – Bono
1 Corinthians 12:1-12
Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to dumb idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
Anthony Rose (left) spoke at the launch of the Transformation Thurrock website in July 2008.
He has written a book, Stranger on the Shore: a personal story of struggle with renewal and inner healing.
Synopsis: A Christian church leader describes his own journey of self-discovery and inner healing from the effects of parental marriage breakdown and fatherlessness when young, as well as asking more questions about the many things that make us the people we are. The problem of absent fathers is just one factor among many. How can we understand ourselves better and cooperate with God to bring healing and wholeness in Him?
More on www.anthonyrose.moonfruit.com
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdNHOzxAOzM
