Generous God https://youtu.be/bP17SQKuGrA
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32)
“Our affluence is killing us.” (Young Australian, prior to heading to Yemen as a missionary.)
Introduction
I have spent decades seeking to discern what exactly is holding up the progress of the kingdom of God in Australia. What is our root sin? Many of us, for instance, have had powerful experiences of moving in the Spirit whilst overseas, unmatched by anything we have ever witnessed at home. Prayerlessness and biblical ignorance are more symptoms rather than causes of our spiritual poverty. Materialism is undeniably a huge stumbling block, but that’s hardly a uniquely Australian problem. Why haven’t we clearly heard the voice of the Lord on this issue so strong repentance has flowed through the Church? The gift of prophecy is distorted by the root sin like other spiritual gifts, and has become part of the problem. Nevertheless, God has been encouraging me, because when he embarrasses me during my prayers, I know that I am being spoken to.
The Root of Ingratitude
One of the most potent indictments of the Aussie attitude towards our Creator is found in Paul’s classic treatment of the wrath of God in Romans, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them…. For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him” (1:18-19, 21). The British still sing, “God Save the Queen”, the Americans have made an essentially religious festival, “Thanksgiving”, the highlight of their calendar, but our national anthem only extolls “nature’s gifts”. Underneath our resistance to thanking God lies a deep-rooted rebellion against all authority. Travel to Asia and you will be astounded at their deference to those in authority, whilst we revel in “Scomo/Scotty from marketing”. Aussie culture has a deep vein of “larrikinism” i.e. open disregard for convention. This has a strong foundation. About 200 years ago native-born white Australians were determined to make their own way in the world with an independence and a desire to show they were not inferior to the British. Or any higher power! Let me come to my main point.
The almost universal evidence for the arrogance which is resisting the Holy Spirit is our trumpeting of a superior lifestyle to that of other nations. We are convinced in our hearts that the distinctive Australian combination of affluence, fine weather and laid-back leisure is unbeatable on a global scale. The deepest passion gripping the hearts of Australians is that, whatever it takes, our way of life must survive. This national pride is deeply demonic.
Glory without a Father
In the context of sharing on the powerful fulness of the Holy Spirit I was recently moved to ask a Christian brother, “When I say, “F/father”, do you have a sense of H/his generosity in your heart?” The answer, as I expected, was, “No.” It is what happened when I was out praying early the next morning that really spoke to me about just how deep this denial of the divine indulgence towards us goes. As usual I had begun to write down words I thought I was hearing form the Lord on scraps of paper. Then suddenly godly embarrassment fell on me (2 Cor 7:10), I had a heart cutting revelation that my rationing of scrap paper, and other things, was a sure sign that I didn’t believe in a generous heavenly Father. In the language of people I wouldn’t normally quote, I am an unbelieving son carrying a “spirit of poverty”. The true Son of God, for instance, at the feeding of the 5,000 and at the tomb of Lazarus looked up to his all-provident Father and went on to do amazing miracles (Matt 14:19; John 11:41). When we all take to heart Paul’s words concerning, “the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us” (Eph 1:8), then the Church will be possessed with a sense of the limitless generosity of her heavenly Father. Then filled with a gratitude to God for his redemption in Christ we will have the spiritual authority to bring down the demonic strongholds of ingratitude over our nation. Looking across our spiritual landscape this is unlikely to take place soon.
Lifestyle Christianity
Not only has our culture been powerful demonised by idols of lifestyle but so has the Church. Whilst the old style “name it and claim it” type of prosperity theology has become rare; a more subtle and dangerous form of lifestyle Christianity dominates today. The “Christian lifestyle” paraded by many “successful” churches is upbeat about material prosperity plus successful marriages, happy families and advancing careers. (I’ll never forget a parishioner who quietly said to me that I was the only non-materialistic priest she’d ever had.) I’m not only picking on charismatics and Pentecostals here, our openly right-wing Bible-believing friends in the conservative Evangelical churches are just as much addicted to lifestyle. This is tremendously spiritually incapacitating.
The prophets warn of attachment to “empty things” (1 Sam 12:21 cf. Jer 18:15; Jonah 2:8), which, like the void at the beginning of creation (Gen 1:2), contain in themselves no grounds for spiritual flourishing. Our syncretistic lifestyle churches have an unconscious Edenic vision which obscures the “much more abound” (Rom 5:20) message of the gospel. Jesus didn’t come, die and rise to take us back to the original glories of Eden, but forward to a brand-new creation whose purity is as incorruptible as God himself (2 Pet 1:4). I have become persuaded that Australian Christians, however confident they may be about material provision, do not believe that the Lord is generous in the giving of himself. This is why we are still praying for an outpouring of his Spirit.
Beyond Two Horizons
A consistent Christian “worldview” is a good thing, but when it’s limited to intellectual affirmations it produces spiritual cripples. A Spirit-inspired perception of reality “sees” what is above this world (a vertical eschatology) and what is beyond the time horizon of this universe (horizontal eschatology). It is through being inspired by the wealth of our inheritance above (Col 3:1-4) and the riches of the coming new creation (1 Cor 3:21-23; Rev 21-22) that the believer is moved at the heart level to believe in a Generous Father who liberates us from worldly obsessions. I remember visiting a middle-aged brother who was dying of lung cancer. He showed me various books he was reading, and we talked and prayed about re-discovering heaven. He had become excited for the first time in his life about his final destiny. The principal revelation of the Father’s generosity in Christ is the world to come, which we can now “see” by faith (Heb 11:13, 27). Once someone has insight into this ultimately real world beyond the horizons of space and time they can never be people of limited vision again.
Kingdom Multiplication
In the context of believing in his generosity the Lord has recently been speaking to me about kingdom multiplication. In the master parable of the sower/soils, Jesus prophesies that the good soil will see a harvest of the seed of the Word thirty, sixty or a hundredfold (Mark 4:9). In summarising the early church’s growth, Luke says, “But the word of God increased and multiplied” (Acts 12:24). This dynamic of multiplication can be explained quite simply. When the Word of life enters an “honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15) stripped clean of worldly ambitions and desires it manifests its true creative power. Not only of the order of the first creation, with its teeming masses of plants, fish, birds and animals (Gen 1:20-25), but the proliferating power of the new creation with its “vast multitude (of people) that no one could count” (Rev 7:9). God has blessed Australia and its churches with many wonderful gifts, but until we let go of the things of this world our hearts will be choked up with “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth” (Matt 13:22) and we will never witness true kingdom fruitfulness. What can be done? Jesus himself had to answer this question for the sake of the salvation of the world; “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24).
Count the Cost
There is nothing quite as likely to stir up irrational animosity as cultural betrayal. Following a profound conversion experience an Indigenous friend was called in by his family for a talk. The proposal was simple; you can follow Jesus and go to Church if you like, but you must put our “Law and Culture” first. When he said he couldn’t do that he was ceremonially clubbed without mercy. The Romans hatefully labelled the early Christians, “haters of humanity”, in certain Islamic countries shoes are made with crosses embossed on the sole, so their wearers can mock the “cross-worshippers”. In India today persecution is intense because the ruling political party (BJP) wishes to establish Hinduism as a total way of life (Hindutva) and Christians refuse to conform. When the Lord raises up a remnant who refuse to believe the dominant cultural ideology that this is the best place in the world to live they will be treated as social “traitors”. Then will come to pass Christ’s prophetic word, “You will be hated by all nations.” (Matt 24:9)
Conclusion
Just a few hours ago I received an email from a highly reputable Christian source. Sadly, its lead article is a striking confirmation of the main point in this paper. https://ausprayernet.org.au/gods-own-country-as-viewed-by-an-american/ We obstinately refuse to see in the Spirit that Australia is quite a dreadful place to live. Apart from a miraculous work of God our spiritual poverty will never shift. I am beginning to encounter committed believers who are grieving because the COVID virus has not provoked a turning back to the Lord. Some had hoped over the years that the vitality of our ethnic churches might spark a renewal amongst us. Why hasn’t this happened? The majority of these folk have well and truly fallen in love with the Australian way of life. I will never forget what a Korean Christian immigrant once said to me; “It’s like the Garden of Eden here, no wonder the people don’t believe in God!” The cost of believing in a generous God could be very high indeed; spare bedrooms opened up to homeless people, cancelling cruises and overseas holidays, downsizing houses, compensation to Indigenous Australians for stolen land etc. None of these possibilities should keep us back from crying out for the Lord to deliver us from our root-sin. If Jesus could leave the lifestyle of eternity to come down to the cross so as to elevate humanity to the heavenlies, his Spirit is surely powerful enough to deliver us. PTL