Featured Archives - Colin Dye

The lost art of spiritual reflection (Part 2)

Colin Dye — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 15:11:29 +0000

God?s love leads us to take a deeper look inside to see the true state of our hearts. The medical world provides a good example to follow. If we suspect something is wrong with us physically, we allow a medically qualified caring person to examine us. We submit to various tests until a diagnosis is forthcoming. Then we receive treatment.
What about our souls? Old time pastors spoke of ?the cure of souls?. This has now been largely replaced in our modern society by psychology. When we feel dysfunctional in some way, we think of going to a counsellor. They are trained to spot problems. But are they really equipped to deal with the deeper issues of the soul?
We are grateful for the fine work psychologists often do, but, as believers, we are concerned to bring God?s solutions to bear on our problems. Clearly this is beyond the scope of the secularists who often dominate the caring professions. Even for us, however, the danger is always superficiality. Christians are often guilty of sticking plasters on deep wounds thinking that a scripture verse here, or a platitude there is sufficient. It usually amounts to: ?Shape up your life, and your problems will go away.? The advice is often: ?Just praise God, get prayed for or cast out that demon?, or simply, ?Change your behaviour!? This form of superficial response is in fact far removed from the true teaching of the Bible and can do more harm than good.
As we saw last month in the first part of this article, the foundation of all true spiritual health is love. The love of God fully experienced and lived is the goal of the Christian faith. So how do we grow in this love? How do we avoid superficiality in the spiritual life? The answer is to allow God to probe your heart and expose what is not helpful or consistent with the life of love. Beginning with the deeply felt love of God, we can learn to trust God to show us where we need to change and to grow spiritually. There are three ways he probes our lives to expose what needs to change and we must give equal emphasis to each of them. These are God?s Spirit, God?s Word and God?s people.

God?s Spirit

If we are moving in the true love of God we are not fearful of his presence but openly invite him to examine our hearts. The Psalmist got it right when he said, ?Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.? (Psalm 139:23-24).
This is an open invitation for the Holy Spirit to probe our hearts. We need his help, because we so easily deceive ourselves, defensively denying what is wrong with us. We can even sincerely think that everything is as it should be, but we can also be sincerely wrong. That is why we need the Holy Spirit to search our hearts. This Psalm addresses the deepest issue of our hearts ? idolatry which is offensive to God. The ?wicked way? is also the ?worthless way?. It points to the empty idols we pursue in the mistaken belief that these substitutes for God will provide for us what only God can provide.
Our behaviour is nearly always motivated by our beliefs. We pursue with passion those things that we believe will most deeply satisfy us. But as the Holy Spirit deals with us, he gently reveals those idols of the heart and encourages us to abandon them and to trust God alone for the satisfaction we crave. He teaches us that his way is best. He leads us to place God?s will above our own and exchange our values for his. This takes faith. Faith that God has our best interests at heart, and that he gives us his best in his own way and in his own time. Trusting God when we feel like going in the opposite direction is a vital sign that we are growing spiritually. Can you point to specific areas of your life where you deliberately chose not to do what you really felt like doing because you followed God?s will rather than your own? If so, you can be sure that your spiritual life is going in the right direction.

God?s Word

God?s Word, the Bible, is more than a collection of ancient sacred writings. It is the living Word of God and it is powerfully active in all who receive it: ?For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.? (Hebrews 4:12-13).
Part of the process of spiritual growth is to submit yourself to the razor edge of the Word, allowing it to cut open and expose the secret thoughts and intentions of the heart. And, out of that experience, you learn to follow God?s direction from the heart, with pure motives. You begin to yearn for the things that bring God glory. You know these will lead to your ultimate good, even if you feel desperately unfulfilled in the meantime. Thinking and acting in this way is a sure sign that you are moving towards spiritual maturity. Please notice that this is not just about superficially quoting scripture to yourself or others. It is about nourishing your soul on the Word of God, deeply and it does not always give you slick answers.
You need to give God time to probe deep into your heart as you open yourself increasingly to the truth of God?s Word.
All this depends on your prior commitment to the authority of the Bible. It does not help if you think the Bible is only one option among many when seeking God?s will for your life. I have found, both in my own life and with others whom I have tried to help, that we can easily talk ourselves out of the clear instructions of scripture. ?It?s too hard?, we object. ?I tried that and it doesn?t work?, we protest. ?Surely God considers my special circumstances and he understands that this doesn?t apply to me?, we argue. But if we really want to walk with God, we must be committed to obeying his Word and accepting it as the sole rule of life. It is after all his love that leads him to reveal his good will and best intentions to us. Follow the Word and you will not go wrong.

God?s People

Another way of probing beneath the surface is genuine Christian fellowship. The writer to the Hebrews expresses it like this: ?Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ?Today,? lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.? (Hebrews 3:12-13).
It is difficult for us today to grasp just how powerfully the Holy Spirit works through one another. We are used to the superficial relationships so prevalent in our individualistic society. Even in the church, fellowship is often no deeper than, ?Hello, How are you?? And then comes the response, ?Fine thanks. See you next Sunday!? In Kensington Temple, London City Church, we encourage everyone to be part of a small group where deep and meaningful relationships can develop. This is what the writer to the Hebrews has in mind. He describes the kind of connection believers have with each other that is both spiritual and practical. It is spiritual because our fellowship is of the Holy Spirit and it is practical because true fellowship encourages movement toward God. It shows us what is lacking and inconsistent in us and also reminds us of who we really are lovers of God.
When we are committed to the spiritual wellbeing of one another we are not content with merely social relationships and small talk. Our conversation is directed toward exploring one another at a level of depth. The conversation is geared towards edifying one another. This involves genuinely getting to know one another, without pretence. It avoids judgmental or super spiritual talk and exposes our passion for Christ. The things that need confronting or changing are revealed as by-products of this process. When our passion for Christ is exposed, then the wisdom to follow him is also released. The wisdom of the Spirit rests in each one of us and the joy of Christian fellowship is the way the Holy Spirit uses us to encourage, exhort and enlighten one another. This is the ministry of the Spirit through the Body of Christ.
If we really want to check out our spiritual progress we will be open to these three ways of probing beneath the surface to get to the gold and remove the dross which clogs up our lives. True spirituality is never stressful. It is never a matter of sheer grit or self-effort. It is always by the Spirit who is always moving in our hearts and in our Christian community.
As we move forward into the years that lie ahead, there can be no doubt that God wants to deepen the spirituality of his people. The only way we will stand in a society that is shifting further and further from God is for us to move ever closer to him. This means we must take stock of our spiritual life and co-operate with the Holy Spirit who is calling us to higher and higher levels of spiritual growth and maturity.

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Repairing the altar of the Lord

Colin Dye — Fri, 15 Jul 2016 10:18:10 +0000

Elijah the prophet lived at a time and in a land when there was no fear of the Lord, a place not so very different from our nation today. It seemed to him that he was alone in declaring never to bow his knee to the foreign gods, but he was mistaken. With church attendance in apparent decline, the UK needs a prophet like that now. But rather than raising up a single man or woman as a figurehead God wants to pour out his Spirit upon all of his people today.
The apostle James encourages us that this is possible when he wrote, ?The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours?? (James 5:16-17), anything is possible when we give our lives to God.
1 Kings 18 tells how Elijah went on the offensive, challenging Ahab and the prophets of Baal to a spiritual contest. When the gospel is under attack we defend it, showing clearly that God is alive and active today and that Jesus was not just a man, he was the son of God raised from the dead; because when you look at the facts it can be plainly seen that Jesus was and is everything he claimed to be. But Elijah was not planning to make a defence as if he were answering the critics, he was turning the tables on the devil.
Today, when we see Jesus under attack we must remember that God always has a remnant, a people who are ready to follow him – and let us be included among them. If that is to be the case, we are going to have to see the altar of the Lord repaired in our generation. Although Israel had two shrines with golden calves where the people worshipped, on Mount Carmel there was an altar that was used to worship God in purity. This was one place where prophets and people could go and commune with him. However, at some point somewhere that altar fell into disuse.
Let me challenge you, is the altar of the Lord in good repair and functioning well in your life? Are you preserving your relationship with God so that it is the most important thing to you to the extent that you know that whatever happens, you will remain surrendered to him? This is what the apostle Paul was talking about when he said, ?I therefore as a prisoner of the Lord beseech you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God? (Romans 12:1).
The altar of the Lord is that place of consecration revealed not in church services on Sunday but on Monday morning when you go out into the rough and tumble of the real world, where no Christian eyes are on you. As we repair the altar of the Lord in our hearts the fire of God is going to hit our lives in a visible way. Recently, I have been speaking to a lot of non-Christians and hearing what they have to say, and I am struck by how totally consistent they are with what they believe. Most of them that believe if there is a God he?s not really interested in how they live. And they really believe that they have the right to live their life on their own terms. All of us must choose, if we believe that Jesus is Lord then we should serve him wholeheartedly, but if anyone has other values that are more important and stronger and require their devotion over and above Jesus then they should say so ? keeping a foot in both camps is not acceptable!
Elijah presented his challenge: both he and the prophets of Baal were to prepare a sacrifice. There were to be no matches to set it alight, and the God who answered by fire would be very clearly demonstrated to be the one true and living God. The prophets of Baal prepared their sacrifice and continued their rituals all through the day until evening but there was no response. Why? Because there was no one there. The gods of the nations are non-existent gods, they cannot speak or act. And Elijah began to mock them.
Then it was Elijah?s turn. Wouldn?t it be amazing if God gave us an ?it?s our turn now? moment it? It seems that for generations it?s been other people?s turn – the pagans, the false religionists, and the people who pollute the minds of our young people. When God says that enough is enough it is time for the church to rise up, we need to be ready to step up to the plate and declare that the Living God answers by fire.
The first thing Elijah did was to call the people to gather around, then he took twelve stones and repaired the altar of the Lord. If we want God to answer by fire we?ve got to repair the altar of the Lord: rebuilding the place of consecration, the place of devotion, the place of pure worship and the place where we say there is no God but Jesus.
How can we repair the altar of the Lord in our life? By restoring pure devotion, that non-religious longing for God. This is not just about doing what you feel like doing, there?s got to be a kind of discipline so there is some structure in your life. But it?s not about screwing up all your own energy to try and attempt something in your own strength that only God can enable you to do. We have to flow with the grace of God and let our lives be taken over by the Holy Spirit, because it is only the Holy Spirit that can move us in the direction of God.
When Elijah prepared the sacrifice he wanted everybody to know that what was about to happen was from God so he asked them to drench the altar with water several times until it was absolutely dripping wet. Then Elijah stepped back and cried out to the Lord, asking him to reveal himself in answering by fire. So fire fell licked up all the water, burnt up the sacrifice and everyone fell on their faces and shouted, ?the Lord he is God?. As the fire fell and everyone present declared that the Lord is the one and the true and the living God. And then the rains came, meaning that God was now ready to bless the land as the hearts of his people had been restored and returned to him.

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Our servant Queen is 90!

Colin Dye — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 08:44:34 +0000

This month we will be celebrating the Queen?s official 90th birthday and her remarkable reign. Queen Elizabeth II is the world?s oldest reigning monarch and in 2015, she became the longest reigning British monarch in history.
During her reign, she has seen relentless change and worked with twelve British Prime Ministers. She has seen major constitutional changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation and the decolonisation of Africa. Through this time she has worked relentlessly, no matter what the cost to her personally. She has worked for more than 50 hours a week for most of her working life, and at 90, she still does a full working week. The Queen has some surprising skills. For example, she is able to rebuild the 6-cylinder, 3462 cc engine of an Austin K2 Ambulance!
She has always been an example on how to behave in public life and as a leader of our nation. The political journalist Andrew Marr said about her: ?There are no reliable recorded incidents of the Queen losing her temper, using bad language, or refusing to carry out a duty expected of her.?

Revival Times cover – June 2016

The Queen is patron of over 600 organisations and charities. Every year, she has more than 50,000 people to lunches, banquets, dinners and garden parties. When an intruder found his way into her Buckingham Palace bedroom, she handled the situation calmly. She said afterwards, ?You seem to forget that I spend most of my time conversing with complete strangers.? Every evening when Parliament is sitting, at around 7.30pm, she gets a report of the day?s parliamentary proceedings, written by a Government Whip. She always reads it that evening.
How does she find the energy to do all that? The Queen attends the church weekly and prays daily. Her faith in Christ has never been a secret. In her first Christmas Broadcast in 1952, before her coronation, she asked the people to pray for her. At 90, she says, ?I have been ? and remain ? very grateful for your prayers and to God for His steadfast love. I have indeed seen His faithfulness.? It is noteworthy that the Queen links her faithful servanthood to God?s faithfulness. Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:13, ?If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.? It is God?s faithfulness to us that makes our faithfulness to him possible. This month, let the Queen?s example of faithful servanthood ? because of her trust in God?s faithfulness ? inspire you also to serve God faithfully!

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How I received the gift of speaking in tongues

Colin Dye — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 14:02:08 +0000

The gift of tongues played a very important part in bringing me to faith in Christ. At the age of 16 I arrived in London, from Australia where I was brought up. I had come to study dance. Although I had been brought up to be a churchgoer and to affirm the Christian faith, I did not know the Lord personally. I was an unbeliever.
As a young student in London I had tried out a few churches but found them boring and irrelevant. Two years later my elder brother, Ray, came to visit me from Africa where he was living. As soon as I saw him, I knew something had happened to him. He had changed completely. He soon told me that he had met Jesus. Never having heard anyone speak like that, I was amazed. Over the next few days, I discovered that Ray?s claim was backed up by a lifestyle of a real Christian. Ray spoke so excitedly about Jesus that I could see he really knew Him.

A supernatural God

Then Ray spoke to me about the Holy Spirit and how He brings you the power to live the Christian life. He also told me about the gift of tongues that he had received. Although he never ?demonstrated? the gift to me, I was thrilled by the understanding that God met with people like that. I could see that God was everything that He claimed to be. He was a supernatural God who did supernatural things in the lives of people today.
It wasn?t long before I too had made a commitment to follow Christ and looked forward to finding out more about the Holy Spirit. Ray had to go back to Africa and I was left alone in London as a new, but enthusiastic believer in Jesus Christ. It was in the beginning of the 1970s and the Charismatic renewal was sweeping through the established churches. I found myself getting more and more desperate to receive the Holy Spirit. I remember praying so hard after one Sunday service at my local church, ?Lord, I am desperate. Please show me how I can receive the Holy Spirit.? I heard that there was ?a time of fellowship? after the service in the church hall, and I went.
What I did not know was that in this church a number of people had been receiving the baptism in the Spirit and had been attending charismatic prayer groups. There was such freshness in their experience of the Spirit. I fell into conversation with a woman, called Denise, who told me that they prayed in a basement flat of a friend in South Kensington. I told her that I wanted to be baptised in the Holy Spirit. She beamed from ear to ear and arranged for me to attend the prayer meeting next week.

Thirsty for the Spirit

I remember hearing tongues for the first time and it was amazing. I knew that I really wanted what these people had. But nothing happened that first meeting. Next week, I was so thirsty for the Spirit I could hardly contain myself. The leader had arranged for us to listen to a tape by the well-known Anglican Charismatic leader, David Watson. It was about the Holy Spirit. I was delighted! When the message had concluded they turned off the tape and sat in a circle to pray.
Some prayed on and on, about all sorts of things and I thought to myself, ?Why don?t they get on with it?? I so wanted someone to pray for me or to somehow help me to receive the Holy Spirit. Just then, Denise began to pray, ?Lord Jesus, we ask for those who are seeking you for the Holy Spirit. Please Lord?? I don?t remember her prayer from this point on because something began to stir from deep within me. It began to well up on the inside until I could feel it bubbling up through my mouth. And I began to speak in tongues. It was the most holy and beautiful experience. It was as if I was given words to say the things I had always longed to say to someone, but I didn?t know what or to whom.
By now, the gift of tongues was flowing strongly from my mouth. It was gentle but powerful. Surprisingly, I did not feel overwhelming emotion and yet the experience of God was very deep.

The exalted Lord

I recall a clear and awesome impression gripping hold of me. It was a visual impression of Christ. He was seated on the throne of heaven and He had just poured out this blessing on my life. I could clearly grasp Christ?s ascended glory. But I was a young believer. I did not yet know how my experience was so like those in the New Testament. I barely understood that Jesus was the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit. I had no idea of the full significance of what I was experiencing?only that the ascended Christ was blessing me. I later came to understand how Peter explained the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
?Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.? (Acts 2:33)
That was the beginning of a relationship with the Holy Spirit that has lasted thirty years. I have never stopped being amazed at the wonderful power and presence of the Holy Spirit. He brings Christ so close to me and makes Him so real. And He has never let me down. He always enables, He always strengthens and He always encourages me to serve Jesus. This Holy Spirit is for you also and for all who will call on the Lord God who answers by fire.
This is am excerpt from my book Hearts on Fire: Walking in Personal Revival.

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Revival or Survival?

Colin Dye — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:00:08 +0000

Let us ignite the fire of Revival

It is time to dedicate our lives afresh to the Lord and experience personal revival. It is my conviction that personal revival preceeds corporate revival.

More than twenty years ago, God showed me that revival is coming to Britain. It is not going to be automatic – something that will come whatever happens. Rather it is the plan and purpose of God to bring us once more into the possibilities of the riches of His grace and power.

God is the living God and He hasn’t lost His power. Neither has He lost His compassion for the lost and those separated from Him in sin.

Jesus Christ has shed His sacrificial blood for London and the nation – in fact for all the nations of the world. He didn’t die in vain. God promises to pour out of His Spirit upon all humankind (See Joel 2:28).

Jesus is coming back for a victorious Church – not a defeated people! But there is a battle taking place for the soul and the destiny of our nation. It is time for us to rise up and take this battle seriously.

There can be no more marginalising of God’s purposes in our lives – no more playing church, no more superficial living and no more neglect of the kingdom of God.

Unless we rise up and live entirely for eternal things we will not see the fullness of God – we will not see the promise fulfilled. It is time for sacrifice; it is time for total commitment.

I do not join those who are prophesying that Britain’s destiny is fixed, that it is going to be handed over to the forces of false religion and antichristian philosophy.

I believe in the Living God who will act to bring us to the place of blessing and restoration.

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