BREXIT, or not?!

With the date for the referendum on the UK's continued membership of the European Union now set, I confess that I am a natural "BREXIT"er.  I object, strongly, to unelected eurocrats making decisions that effect my life; to laws being made by people who have been"appointed"; by even the Supreme Court being able to be over-ruled in its decisions by a group of foreigners (who, as has been pointed out elsewhere, are not even judges!).  On June 23rd, therefore, I shall be voting (DV) to LEAVE the EU.

But note those two letters - DV.  As many will know, they stand for the Latin words "Deo volente" which translate as "God willing".  I may not survive until June 23rd; the world, as we know it, may not survive until June 23rd; the EU might collapse before June 23rd!

There is more!  Some years ago, after the signing of the Lisbon Treaty - regarded by many as an EU Constitution, in disguise - I submitted the following to a Christian forum of which I am a member:

"SO, the Lisbon Treaty has now been ratified by each of the European Union’s member states. Well, if we are going to be accurate, in almost every case, it has been ratified by the political elite of the member states. Only the Irish had the luxury of being asked in a national referendum – and when the unelected, unaccountable, EU ‘powers-that-be’ didn’t like the answer that was received, the Irish were instructed to vote again. As far as I could see, there was so much spin exuded during the campaigning for the second referendum, that it is little wonder that the Irish reversed their earlier decision.

I have been opposed to the EU since its inception. Even when former UK Prime Minister Edward Heath – a man who, in my opinion, was a greater traitor to his country than Lord Haw-haw – led us into the EEC (European Economic Community), I voted against. I could not see how the breaking of cherished ties with other Commonwealth countries was going to be of any particular benefit to the United Kingdom.

I'm no anti-European

Of course, as anyone who knows me will understand, I am not some xenophobic anti-European! I have very dear friends in a number of European countries and, while I am only truly fluent in the English language, I can get by very well in French, have a smattering of German, a little bit of Dutch, and a little bit of Italian. And, of course, for many years, our main summer holiday has been spent in the countries of western Europe. I am just one of what I suspect is a rapidly growing number of people who are totally opposed to a European Super-state, in which I, as an ordinary tax-payer, am expected to accept every diktat, even as I fund the blatant corruption of the Brussels-Strasbourg gravy-train.

However, I have recently been wondering about the advice given by the Jewish rabbi, Gamaliel. “…my advice is, leave these men alone. If they are teaching and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God." (Acts 5:38-39)

Am I opposing part of God's bigger plan?

I am having to ask myself: “Is this ever-expanding, ever-devouring, man-made entity a part of the plan and purpose of God? Is the EU a clear sign that we are in the end-times, when time and history, as we experience them, will be no more?” What is certain is that, climate change, space exploration, or whatever, history does have an end. And was it not Albert Einstein who worked out that time has a beginning, and an end, as well?

So, in opposing the EU, might I be opposing the plan and purpose of God? For me, it’s a big question. For anyone, it’s a question worth considering. My only assurance is that, as an adopted son of the Living God, my future is secure. As one of my cousins states at the close of every e-mail: “I don’t do worry, I know the ending!” History, I was often told, is ‘His story’. That story hasn’t ended, but the day is coming, sooner or later, when the heavens will open, the Lord Jesus will return, and Paul’s amazing prophecy will be fulfilled as “…at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil.2:10-11)."

As the referendum date approaches, and as I read all of the conflicting arguments, this question continues to loom large in my mind.  As I look at the changes that have occurred since November 2009 when I wrote the above - the rise of Daesh (aka ISIS); the return of blatant anti-Semitism; the ever-increasing persecution of disciples of Jesus - and their marginalisation even in many countries in which there is not overt persecution; when I read that the Pope is working towards a "one-world religion"; when I learn of the moves of the secular élite to bring about a "one world order"; I am more convinced than ever that we are in the last times, and that much of the Biblical prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled is being fulfilled before our eyes.

I shall still vote for the UK to LEAVE the EU.  However, I shall do so in the certain knowledge that the Creator and Sustainer of all that is; the Sovereign God of the Universe; is in control; and that He will have His way!   Yesterday, in Café Church, I preached on the immutability of God - His "unchangableness".  On that I rest and, regardless of the eventual result of the referendum, I shall seek to serve Him until He calls me home - whether that be by my mortal death, or by the glorious rapture. (see the relevant chapter in my book "Great Words of the Faith" - link above).  

I trust that you will be there with me!

How to preach the Word of God.

Another bus journey, yesterday - to Coatbridge - meant another opportunity to read a couple of chapters of my current reading material on the life and work of George Müller.  This time, the topic that spoke to, and encouraged, me was that of the proclamation of the Word of God.

In my mind, I went back (too!) many years to my time at the Bible Training Institute, in Glasgow.  It was during the summer between the two academic years that I received a very clear call to pastoral ministry.  This meant that, when students gave their testimonies as to what the Lord had done with them during the long break, I had to say that I would be going to University as I was going to be a minister, here in Scotland!

There were those who were not impressed!  They were going to leave all of the comforts of home, and go to foreign countries in which they would have to learn a language that was totally alien to them, and where they would not have running water, electricity, television, and a host of other items and utilities that we took for granted in our home countries.  My response to that particular criticism was that they would also be sharing the Gospel message with those who did not know it at all, and who would be more willing to acknowledge their own sinfulness.  I would be preaching before people who thought that having their name on a congregational roll was sufficient to ensure their eternal future in heaven!  I would have to convince them of their sinfulness, and of their actual need of a Saviour!

The second criticism came from, I confess, just one of my fellow students.   Tony was a Welsh Pentecostal.  He could not understand why I needed all of this university education that I was going to undertake.  All I needed, as far as he was concerned, was a Bible, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  Indeed, I still possess a book that he gave to me in order to help me to 'see the light'!

My response to Tony was simple.  I explained that, if he was going to be preaching in a Mission Hall somewhere in the Welsh valleys, then that might well be all that he would need.  He might not have, under his ministry, many who were wise according to worldly standards, not many who were powerful, not many who were of noble birth. (see I Cor 1:26).  However, if I ended up in a parish ministry, I would not only have many who were unconverted, but unaware of the fact; I would also be more likely to have the local schoolteacher, the doctor, the solicitor, and others of similar educational background.  "Now," I would continue, "if I preach Christ crucified, 'a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles' (I Cor 1:23), such a person may look, with disdain, at my Diploma of the Bible Training Institute, and think 'If you had had the sort of education that I have had, you would not believe such nonsense'.  However, if that person knows that I am standing there with similar qualifications to those possessed by him/her then, at the very least, that particular argument/excuse is removed."

I still believe that.  I know that the Lord used uneducated fishermen to preach the Gospel.  However, I know that He also used Paul who, as Saul of Tarsus, was educated in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).  Paul's intellectual qualifications were, in his day, beyond reproach!  Of course, I have always sought to remember that not everyone has had the privilege of the education that has been granted to me.  So, I have always endeavoured to use words that do not require a double doctorate in divinity and theology to be understood.  Indeed, that was the thinking behind the series of messages that I shared, in the late 1970s, with the congregation of Bellshill: St.Andrew's, and which became the basis for my first book (details at the head of the blog!).

All of this came back to me as I read these words concerning George Müller.  "He had yet to learn how the enticing words of man's wisdom make the cross of Christ of none effect, and how the very simplicity that makes preaching intelligible to the illiterate makes sure that the most cultivated will also understand it, whereas the reverse is not true." (op.cit., p.43).

May such a message be taken to heart by all of us who are privileged to minister the Word; and always, to His glory.