Sandy Millar at Moggerhanger

Sandy Millar came as the guest speaker to the Great Ouse Filling Station. Interesting and engaging, he read Ezekiel 37:1-14 and reminded us of the need to be prayerfully active in reaching people with the good news. Making disciples is an essential part of following Jesus - after all, he told us to do it.

Sandy Millar spoke at the Filling Station at Moggerhanger on Monday.

Let's break that sentence down into its component parts.

Sandy Millar... - Sandy is an interesting man. He is a great speaker, very engaging, relaxed enough to  include plenty of stories and asides, yet focussed on the particular theme he wants to get across.

Retired now, he began his career as a barrister and ended as an Anglican bishop.

At one time he was the vicar of Holy Trinity, Brompton where he was largely responsible for the development of the Alpha Course and, later, the Marriage Course.

...spoke... - Past tense, you missed it. But it was good.

Sandy spoke about Jesus' instructions to 'go and make disciples'. He read one of my all time favourite Bible passages, Ezekiel 37:1-14. Speaking life into dry bones is another way of thinking about disciple making.

Sandy suggested that making disciples should be our main focus, it is our mission. Here are his five main points.

1. Recover a new understanding of the lostness of the world. It will help us see our neighbours in a different light.
2. Develop a new confidence in the gospel. Recognise that Jesus does have the necessary power.
3. Find a new understanding of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. He rose from the dead!
4. We also need a new understanding of the urgency of evangelisation. We need to do good, we need to speak with people and pray for them. Pray over the dry bones.
5. We need a fresh experience of the Holy Spirit.

...at the Filling Station... - Filling Station? What is that? Filling Station is a parachurch organisation that runs local meetings to build and strengthen local church. It involves a time of singing and praise followed by an address by a guest speaker. Most Filling Stations meet once a month.

The idea began in the West Country and has spread across the entire UK. Recently it has moved into Europe too.

...at Moggerhanger... - Weird name! Moggerhanger is a village east of Bedford, on the edge of the village is Moggerhanger Park where our local Filling Station meetings are held. We don't meet in the old house itself, but in the Garden Room, a separate meeting space in the grounds.

...on Monday - Just the day of the week. The meeting was on Monday 20th May.

Questions:

• Are you aware of a Filling Station meeting near you?
• Do you have a sense of urgency about making disciples?
• What are you doing to make disciples amongst the people you know?
• Look at Sandy's five points again. What do they say to you, personally? How will you respond? 

See also:

• Alpha course (W)
• Filling Station
• Holy Trinity, Brompton (W)
• Marriage Course - Relationship central
• Moggerhanger Park (W)
• Sandy Millar - Wikipedia
• Valley of dry bones - Journeys of heart and mind

Moggerhanger (Filling Station) - Prophecy

< 13th September 2011 | Index | 20th September 2011 >

Gerald Coates had been invited to speak this evening and his subject was prophecy. It was interesting to hear his thoughts as he shared some history and truth with us.

As usual with Filling Station meetings we had a time of singing and praise first. At the end of this I had a word from the Lord and felt I should share it. He said, 'Sometimes my voice will be loud, but with you - my children - I will speak very quietly. But along with the words I will also shine a light on the place where you should stand next. Follow the light, always stand in the light, and listen very carefully for my small and quiet voice. I will lead you along the way you should go.'

Gerald Coates began by explaining that back in 1970 it all began with half a dozen people in his front room and this turned out to be the start of what eventually became the Pioneer Trust. He reminded us that back in those days terms like prophet, apostle, tongues and so forth were almost unknown in the wider church.

Out of the early meetings one of the things that was widely discussed was prophecy. Although dispensationalism claims that prophecy is no longer available to us, nevertheless the truth is always true.

At this point (and again several times later) Gerald spoke directly to individuals in the room about their lives. He then continued the flow of his address, pointing out that prophets must speak truth over every situation.

He then touched on something that is very important, something I was glad to hear clearly expressed. Prophets must be very careful not to hurt people in what they say. It's not just a matter of revelation, it's also necessary to show love, patience, gentleness and self control. In other words the fruits of the Spirit must also be active when the prophetic gift is exercised. 1 Corinthians 14 is relevant and useful.

Gerald referred to the interaction between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:4-30); he explained that this is a very good example of prophecy at work. It is intended to edify, encourage and comfort. We should look for positive ways to deal with people and it is often useful to have at least one other person present as a witness to what is said. People respond well when encouraged. Gerald told us  how well one woman had reacted when told she was the 'treasure' they'd been looking for while out treasure hunting.

We also heard about the floating axe head (2 Kings 6:1-7). This illustrates that the manner in which we leave our spiritual fathers determines whether we lose our cutting edge. The prophets hadn't left Elisha in a good way and they lost their 'cutting edge' (the axe head).

And here are a couple of points that stayed with me, 'Grief is the price of love' and 'The prophet sees in part and prophesies in part'.

< 13th September 2011 | Index | 20th September 2011 >

Brampton - Traffic lights

We met at Sean's this evening, talked about a range of topics, and prayed together about the things Father is doing in this corner of England and our involvement in them. I felt that there is a huge move going on just under the surface.

He doesn't necessarily show us the details but he says, 'This is the way, walk in it.' We may not know what's going on, but it's enough that we know we are in the right place at the right time and travelling in the right direction.

The subject of the 'Filling Station' meetings at Moggerhanger came up again. This is intriguing and seems to have begun in and around Bath in North Somerset. The next meeting is planned for 15th November. Apparently Simon Holley (Kings Arms, Bedford) was at the October meeting so the interest is quite wide.

I had a vision of an autumn day, there was an area of grass and I knew that winter was about to begin. It started to snow and I expected that when the thaw came the ground would be muddy and unkempt. But as the snow melted I saw that a carpet of snowdrops and crocuses had grown up. Instead of mud there was a glorious carpet of colour and a wonderful fragrance. And the Spirit said, 'Remember this vision. When everything seems to be falling apart and you expect to see a mess remember this vision and be encouraged.'

Jim thought that God is putting us in positions where we can make a difference. There will be more beauty as we see more of Jesus. Our role is to talk with people and draw alongside them. We can have a positive effect on somebody's day merely by listening. I believe we have an awesome privilege and also a great responsibility to hear and see and share the vision.

We prayed for our friend David for continued blessing and to have the path made straight in his life. We also prayed for his family. Jim had a picture of traffic lights and knew it was for Sean in particular. He senses that Sean sees a stop light but the signals are beginning to turn green. The message was to be prepared for the green light and not to remain at the traffic lights too long.

I had a vision of oil and as I watched I knew that the oil represented the Holy Spirit. Oil acts to prevent sticking, whether we put it an engine or use it cook and egg. Oil releases us, it frees us to move.

Sean had said very little until the end of the meeting when he reminded us of the most important thing of all. He said that God is always the same. He told us of the value of a proper view of the Lord, this is foundational. We need to grasp this vision, this truth. We can only reach others when we have first imbibed the truth.