Camp Farthest Out- Somewhere to go while Isolated

Years ago when I became a Christian both of my Ministers at times talked about attending Christian Camps conducted by an organisation called Camp Farthest Out.
Below is a statement of their faith.

Excerpted from
Our Bond of Faith
Given by Glenn Clark to the Camps Farthest Out
We take as our Source and Center the leadership of Jesus Christ.
We accept as our law of conduct and the source of
our energy the two Great Commandments that
He gave us upon which rest all the law and the prophets.
Our Constitution of Conduct shall be woven out of The Sermon on the Mount.
We recognize that this Way of Life can be learned
as a Science and practiced as an Art, but not until it is experienced in the form of Spiritual Rebirth can its full Power be released upon earth.
EVERYTHING about our union together and our basis for working together shall be as fluid as the
sea and as free as the air. Christ and all He represents is central; everything else is marginal.
With this bond of faith to unite us, one in impact but not in compact, with union in Christ and freedom in action, moving as an organism and not as an organization, we hope to unify and strengthen the deeper spiritual forces of the nation and the world that are working to save mankind in this age of crisis. 

Note that Glenn Clarke mentions "this age of crisis"

The world is always in crisis in my opinion but seemingly more so at present with the Pandemic in full swing.

I believe the organisation is till operating in Australia.
I have some tapes in my cassette collection by some of their well known speakers.
You can actually listen to many of their speakers at their Classic Library website.
See the link below.

https://www.cfoclassicslibrary.org/

There maybe recorded messages here that although many recorded  long ago can help you through and strengthen your faith.

The speakers involved were from many different Christian denominations.

I am currently listening to one of my tapes by Norman Renshaw, recorded at Nunyara Belair in January 1977.
He was a British Baptist minister.
It is my intention to digitise it and put it on my youtube channel.

Don't be deceived by the title. It is a great practical message about loving those you find difficult.

This post is also on my Going Deeper with God Blog.

"Facts that strengthen our Faith"

I shared these thoughts with the Parkrose Nursing Home Church congregation recently and both Renmark Uniting Churches.
This version was presented at Parkrose. It was slightly different at Renmark.
Below the sermon is the order of service and the Bible Reading.

SERMON

How are you going in the Faith department?

If you’re anything like me I often don’t have much.

I wish I could be more believing more often,

more effective as a Christian.

For some of us,

when we started our Christian life,

it was all very exciting and new.

It was for me.

God’s Holy Spirit had spoken to me about my need for salvation and need of our Saviour Jesus.

I was under conviction for 3 years before I became a Christian at 28.

 but at the time I could see how He was reaching out to me much earlier than that.

Some of us may have had a subsequent period in our lives,after we became a Christian, when we were “on fire for the Lord” as some would say.

Very involved,

attending this service and that,

this convention and that,

listening to prominent speakers,

attending Bible Studies,

sharing our faith with all who would listen,

Sometimes whether they wanted to hear us or not.

Singing in the choir,

taking up leadership roles in our Church.

And then some things might have come along to cause us to stumble a bit.

Relationship break ups,

the onset of chronic illness,

tragedies all around.

You might have worked out previously in your thinking,

like me,

 how God was going to give you a perfect life.

But like me your faith may have started to wain when challenges came.

Maybe we were  starting to become a bit sceptical and beginning to think our non Christian friends might be right.

They didn’t believe and maybe thought we were a bit delusional even though they still liked us.

They came up with questions that you didn’t always have answers for.

You were quite confident there were answers but found it hard to find them when needed.

They couldn’t see how Christians could have any fun and maybe you were starting to believe them.

Some of course who are here today have come from all sorts of Christian backgrounds.

For some our Faith is something that quietly started somewhere and then just grew over the years.

It may have been a slow and steady experience and you really just enjoyed and still do, being a Christian.

For some as we get older and come into places like this we know we are not that far off from passing to the next life.

We might ,even though we are advanced in years, still be searching for answers and assurance about what happens next.

We might be wanting a faith that works that will carry us through.

Well if what I have been describing resonates with you,

or is something you have experienced,

or even still are,

then I think today's passage can bring us some comfort.

A boost to our faith if you like.

We should always hope to leave a Church service feeling better than when we came in.

That can be if we allow God to touch us. 

My prayer is that will be our experience today,

Here are 4 things I think today's reading can help get us back on track.

1. The Fact of Jesus rising from the dead.

^1.8 Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead.

This passage is reminding us of the foundation of our faith which is a fact.

 A fact born about by History and Literature and the Word of God and God’s Holy Spirit.

And the testimony of those who knew Him when He physically walked this earth.

People will dispute this.

But the evidence is outstanding to those who are not prejudiced about becoming Christians.

You see many people, who are never likely to believe, are wanting to protect their right to be who they want to be.

That really means to sin without being accountable to God.

This blinds them from ever wanting to examine the evidence with an open mind.

Their minds are largely closed.

Some such people however may still be touched by God’s Holy Spirit even though it is against their wills.

After all such were some of us.

2.  We will be living in Heaven with Jesus. In a sense we are already.

¹¹ I am comforted by this truth, that when we suffer and die for Christ it only means that we will begin living with him in heaven. ¹² And if we think that our present service for him is hard, just remember that some day we are going to sit with him and rule with him.

This passage is a reminder that the best is yet to come.

That God has a purpose right now for everyone of us.

Suffering is something we are much more able to endure when we have all the promises God has for us and that He will keep.

And this following passage is a great encouragement when our faith is failing and weak.

3.God is faithful to us.

¹³ Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us.
God is aware of our human frailty.
He will and has already imparted His faith to us.
My mum used to love that little poem called footprints.
That is a very good scriptural example of what God, Jesus, is doing for us when we are that weak that our Faith is almost gone.
He will safely and faithfully escort us on through these tough times and over the hurdles we face.

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

And this last bit from today’s passage is encouraging those of us who can, to encourage one another.

4.

¹⁴ Remind your people of these great facts, and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over unimportant things. Such arguments are confusing and useless and even harmful. ¹⁵ Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means.

 We need to keep working on our Faith,

reading the Bible when we can,

attending Church here and other activities such as the hymn singing and communion services during the week.

Talk to each other about your faith.

How you’re feeling maybe exactly how someone else is and you can work together to lighten the burden.

We are told also to avoid arguing.

It’s sad but there was for sometime, an argument going on as to who actually was the author of the poem footprints.

The simple fact is that God actually wrote it not word for word, but in truth, in His Bible

Conclusion.

So is our Faith weak?

Does our faith need to be stronger?

In simple truth it doesn’t really matter.

If you are a Christian you are God’s Child.

We have a sign on our mantelpiece.

“GOD,  I am in your Hands.

I know you won’t drop me.”

He won’t.

That’s a fact.

We will now sing our last Hymn.

Can you guess what that might be?

Parkrose service13/10/19

Welcome

Call to worship: 

Hymn: “This is my Father’s World”  4v 

Announcements:

Bible Reading: 2 Tim 2:8-15                      

Hymn: “Great is thy Faithfulness”  3v 

Communion: 

Offering: 

Church Prayer:

Hymn:  “Now I belong to Jesus”  3v

Message:  “Facts that strengthen our Faith”

Hymn: “He’s got the whole world in His hands” 5v 

Benediction and Vesper: Now unto Him 

2 Timothy 2:8-15 Living Bible (TLB)

⁸ Don’t ever forget the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ was a man, born into King David’s family; and that he was God, as shown by the fact that he rose again from the dead. ⁹ It is because I have preached these great truths that I am in trouble here and have been put in jail like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained, even though I am. ¹⁰ I am more than willing to suffer if that will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.
¹¹ I am comforted by this truth, that when we suffer and die for Christ it only means that we will begin living with him in heaven. ¹² And if we think that our present service for him is hard, just remember that some day we are going to sit with him and rule with him. But if we give up when we suffer, and turn against Christ, then he must turn against us. ¹³ Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us.
¹⁴ Remind your people of these great facts, and command them in the name of the Lord not to argue over unimportant things. Such arguments are confusing and useless and even harmful. ¹⁵ Work hard so God can say to you, “Well done.” Be a good workman, one who does not need to be ashamed when God examines your work. Know what his Word says and means.

Living Bible (TLB)

Christian Tape Ministries- A reference of links.

In my formative Christian years, from 1974 onwards,I was fortunate to be in a Church where the weekly sermons were faithfully recorded on Cassettes by a member of the congregation.
These were a great blessing to me.
Often during services I would be behind a double thickness glass window in the "crying room" or creche.
There was a loudspeaker in there which was giving the sermon live but I really benefited by later listening to the tape of the message.
I used to listen often in the morning while preparing for work.
I did begin to make my own tapes also while in the soundproof  room.
I still have most of the recordings I made and a lot of the collection recorded by another member.
I try to put up some of the messages on my blogs and youtube channel.
Over time I collected many tapes of other Christian messages of the era.
I still use all of these resources as I continue with God.
I thought I would progressively put links here to other online tape ministries of those who I think have important Christian teaching and have been part of my Christian life.
I will start of with a link to Ray Stedman's archives.
An American Preacher and Pastor who visited our Church in the 1970's when he was doing his "Body Life" seminars. His best selling book had the same title.
Here is the link to his ongoing ministry that is helping many years after his death.

https://www.raystedman.org/thematic-studies

The late Dr Helen Roseveare was a wonderful Christian Missionary Doctor who has an amazing story to tell.
She wrote several books and we have a tape collection recorded in Adelaide in the 1970's at a Christian Women's Conference International.
I have not digitised then for a link here but below is a link to her on youtube.
There are many interviews and her speaking engagements on youtube.
This one is about the problem of suffering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4QdQ0lpRyI

J Oswald Sanders is another whose tapes I have in my collection.
He was an incredibly gifter teacher and author.
Here is a link to him on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocLPYc7b7Z8

John Stott is another favourite author and teacher.
Here is a link to his many sermons recorded on tape.
I was privileged to hear him in Adelaide on one occasion and I have a collection of his tapes.

https://www.allsouls.org/Media/AllMedia.aspx?speaker=John%20Stott

If you spend much time on this blog you will find that the late Frank Hunting was a huge influence on my life.
Below ids a link to one of his sermons in my tape collection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7AblWkux6Y




There will be more links following.

"Spiritual Death" by Frank Hunting

I was listening to this sermon while out walking the other day.
I have previously posted it on my "Going Deeper with God" blog some time ago.
I decided I should post it here.
Please note it was recorded in the 1970's in Adelaide at the Church of Christ in Grote Street, long before we had the internet and social media where ideas are propagated and "tweeted" every minute.
Where you have a supermarket of spiritual beliefs and ideas saturating the world.
This takes us back to the Word of God.
Perhaps the Spirit of God can speak to you and to me through this message.

"This sermon by Frank Hunting is a challenge to us all. Particularly if you are not yet born again you may find this something you will dismiss.The Bible teaches that all people are either in the process off perishing or being saved.
At our peril we turn away from God.
My prayer is that if you listen to this and are not yet a Christian,that if the Holy Spirit speaks to you, don't delay.
I sat in Church for 3 years as a believer in God in a vague way but one who could not swallow the "Born Again" stuff.
(Please note when I use the Biblical term of being born again I am not talking about miraculous signs and wonders  and speaking in tongues which some people associate with the term).
After to listening to preaching by Harold Long in that 3 years I ran out of arguments and took the steps to receive Christ as my Saviour.
I used to sit in the very back row of the Church in the corner thinking I was safer there for most of that 3 years.
My wife was already a Christian and I had agreed to attend Church with her.
I was not going to become some sort of "fanatic"
On the night I made my "decision" I was sitting 2 rows from the front.
"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God" the Bible teaches.
That was 45 years ago.
There have been ups and downs and strong challenges along the way.
We were fortunate that Harold Long's preaching was used by God to convict me of my need.
Frank Hunting arrived at our Church  after I had been a Christian for about a year.
Not long after he arrived I was facing a personal crisis.
His personal counselling set me free from things that had me tied up in knots.
Listen with an open mind to what Frank has to say.
Don't delay taking those  steps to Jesus.
You will not be disappointed."

Click on the arrow to activate the audio podcast.

"Emptying the Cross of it's Power"

This was the message I shared with both Renmark Uniting Churches on 17/3/19

Renmark West

Renmark Town Church

1 Corinthians 1:17-25 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom
¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”^[a]

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

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Sermon: Emptying the Cross of it’s Power

When I first started speaking in Churches it was at the Church of Christ in Grote Street in Adelaide.

Lay people in Churches of Christ are authorised to speak and conduct the communion service and do most things a minister would do provided the eldership thinks you are ready for such things.

I can tell you the first time I conducted a communion service my legs were  really shaking and trembling.

The congregation couldn’t tell because my legs were hidden behind the communion table.

I have since discovered I was in good company.

Paul tells us this in 1 corinthians 2.

“When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.^{[a] 2} For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.”

Todays sermon title and message comes from verses we had read out to us in the Bible reading.

 “For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the Gospel.”

And not with eloquent wisdom “Lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power”.

“Lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power”.

And when you look at some of the other things that were said in these 2 chapters, you begin to see what this means and why it is so important to consider.

For the message of the cross he says in the very next word,

¹⁸ For the ^[g]message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

¹⁸ For the ^[g]message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Please note what this subject is dealing with is eternal life or eternal death.

Some believe that it doesn’t matter what we believe that we will all go to heaven regardless.

That is an idea called Universalism but this is clearly not right when we read our Bibles.

We have to make a choice while we are alive.

It is too late afterwards.

The message of the cross is the very power of God.

So what was Paul saying to us?

How can we,

 how could he have emptied the cross of it’s power?.

He was the amazing Apostle Paul,

Saint Paul who in all accounts was a very eloquent speaker and debater.

A man with much knowledge of the things of men and the things of God.

So what did he mean and why was he so emphatic about this?

One of the first things he is telling us is that we,

whether we be speaking from a pulpit,

or just sharing with friends and living normal lives in the community,

can empty the cross of it’s power.

It is the cross of Christ that is the key for us all and to all humanity.

The key to our salvation.

So how can a minister a preacher,

 like Paul

or even like me,

empty the cross of it’s power.

We can do so if we are trying to win you over as a friend,

Create a good impression,

Trying to gain brownie points by our clever dialogue,

 and even just being an all round entertaining person,

 who makes you feel good.

If that is all a preacher achieves,

 then they are making it all about them and not the cross.

They are emptying the cross of it’s power.

A famous book is “how to win friends and influence people”.

The principles of that book, no matter how helpful, will not bring someone to Jesus,

to the cross.

A preacher can’t save anyone no matter how much you enjoy having them at your church. 

It is the confrontation with the message of the cross that is absolutely essential.

An opportunity through the cross to meet Jesus.

One of the great preachers of old was George Whitfield.

He spoke to large crowds in a booming voice, long before the days of microphones and loud speakers.

Many responded to his Gospel messages.

I read once how someone came up to him as he was coming down from his speakers platform and said to him.

“That was a fine sermon Mr Whitfield”

He said “I know, The devil already told me that”

He knew the danger of him seeming more important than the message of the cross.

He knew the danger of emptying the cross of it’s power.

He knew the real power of the cross.

He knew the devil attacks us through pride.

Particularly ministers of the Gospel.

So what are some of the ways we have to guard against this emptying the cross of its power?

As Christians we can be doing this without realising it.

When people know we  are Christians we are being watched.

They are looking for us to slip up so they can say to themselves, I don’t need to be a Christian, those people don’t live up to what they are professing.

I am as good as them.

They say they are going to heaven so I will surely go there also.

They don’t realise of course that going to heaven is nothing to do with our good behaviour.

It’s about accepting Jesus and receiving Him as our saviour.

Our language can catch us out at times.

If we are in the habit of saying “Oh my God!” we are really indicating we don’t have a grasp of the cross of Christ,

 or our salvation.

That is pretty much the same as blasphemy where people use the word Jesus as an exclamation mark.

Emptying the cross of it’s power.

Christian bumper stickers were all the go once.

There was one that was popular amongst Christians.

“Christians are not perfect, just forgiven”

A true statement but not a reason or excuse for us to do what we like and then ask for forgiveness.

Emptying the cross of it’s power.

Sometimes people  wear a cross on their lapel or on a necklace around their neck.

The place to wear a cross is really in our hearts.

To some people it is just a piece of jewelry and means nothing to them or maybe something that makes them feel secure.

That they have some belief in God.

Emptying the cross of it’s power.

Another way we can be emptying the cross of it’s power is arguing about Christian things with each other and also people we hope to win to Christ.

Paul hints on this when he says he is glad he wasn’t known as one who did many Baptisms.

¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. ¹² What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas^[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

While the doctrine of Baptisms can be an important thing to grasp on our Christian journey debating it with Christians with different ideas can be emptying the cross of it’s power.

 Arguing about issues is a waste of time.

Not when someone’s eternal life is at stake

It is not wrong for  a preacher to preach about such things but we need to let the Holy Spirit convict us of which way to go on some of these things.

Emptying the Cross of it’s power.

Some more wisdom from Paul.

Phillipians 3

15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained."

We can be emptying the cross of it’s power when we look to education and politicians and activists to make the world right.

Politicians will never get it right unless they apply directly the power of the cross of Christ in their policies.

That is not likely to happen as they want to remain in power and don’t want to appear foolish to non believers.

¹⁸ For the ^[g]message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Education is great but education will not solve the worlds ills.

We should not be pinning our hopes on education.

I once heard a quote that said if you educate a crook all you will get is an educated crook.

There is no calling to repentance in Education.

You see education in itself will not change the hearts of men and women.

I could go on with many more examples how we can unwittingly be emptying the cross of it’s power but I want to finish on a very positive note demonstrating the power of the cross.

We have a neighbour,(just down the road) Rob, who at one stage was our Pastor at the Edwardstown Church of Christ.

He left that ministry some years ago as he felt God was calling him to minister in some way overseas.

He eventually settled on Africa and started up a ministry called Tree of Life.

This was more than 15 years ago now.

Pretty much Rob acting by himself but with some supporters back here in Adelaide.

He has made several visits to Africa.

Burundi, Kenya and Tazania are some of the countries he has been active in.

He has driven taxis and buses to help pay his bills.

His method has to been to identify young men with a heart for the Gospel and to equip them and train them with resources to simply share the message of the cross.

His trainees have largely been lay people with no formal training other than what he has delivered himself.

Many have been active in spreading the Gospel amongst the various African countries.

They have often been in danger from terrorist groups and some have been attacked and threatened.

They are not necessarily part of any organised church and don’t have the backing of some large missionary organisation.

Here is a recent email and photographs I received from Rob.

He says;

“Friends, have a look at this picture.

The man with the hat , Venance , is a recently converted witchdoctor. Word quickly got around that he had changed, and those who had previously

fled the village in fear of him came back to see for themselves.  In fact  Venance welcomed them

into his home and told them what the Lord had done for him. Jonas and Frederick then shared

the Gospel with them and they too believed. People in the village are wondering what power 

it is that is at work in  Venance and Paschal

 a man previously known for his bad behaviour

and drunkenness. Well we know the answer and we thank God.”

“The following group of people are Pygmies from a nearby area. Paschal and Frederick have been telling them how the Lord had changed them and they were very open to the Gospel.

Meschack met with 46 of these people and fifteen called on the Lord to be saved.

There was much joy.

There is now the responsibility to care these new believers and strengthen them in the faith. 

Please pray that God will give wisdom to  Meschack

 and his co-workers and that the Gospel will continue to spread.”

What is clearly demonstrated here is the power of the cross of Christ, the Gospel.

These guys are not using eloquent words of wisdom just the simple message of the Gospel.

Shouldn’t we all be doing the same?

A final challenge for us.

Have we made the move from those who are perishing to those who are being saved?

We do need to respond to the Gospel.

Respond to Jesus.

We are now going to sing our concluding Hymn.

ORDER OF SERVICE RENMARK 17/3/19 

Welcome : Geoff

Call to worship: Worship leader. Psalm 27:4

Hymn: “Morning has broken”

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 (NIV) val t at rw,Elaine Ledham in town

Hymn: Hymn 261 AHB  “Were you there when they crucified my Lord”

Offering:

Prayers of Invocation,confession and intercession various

Hymn: 258 AHB  “When I survey the wondrous cross”

Sermon: “Lest the Cross be emptied of it’s power”

Hymn:  “How great thou art”

Benediction

Vesper: “May our Lord,God of Peace.” Edelweiss tune

 

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