Articles
Introduction
I write because I receive revelation at the end of a pen. Often my articles may result from preaching – thus the further development of a message or sermon. Some articles result from the private reading of Scripture and others from teaching Scripture in churches and Bible Schools.
Occasionally articles may have association for me with places or locations. The article on Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John Ch.17; entitled “The Indwelling God” was written in a missionary home in Albania where I was teaching on the doctrine of God. The article on “Emmanuel” resulted from a sermon in the Seminary chapel at Allahabad, India. This essay demonstrates my personal love for the doctrine of the incarnation. My article entitled “A Lead Mine, 2 Herons, an Old Man, a Garden Party and a Derelict House" is certainly focused on locations – the places associated in my mind with my grandfather and my early childhood. My article entitled “The Bible and the Child” is also autobiographical - demonstrating my love for Scripture from early childhood.
I am an artist! I write as an artist, preach like one, see things and think things because of who I am. Some people who are blessed with a scientific mind often find me frustrating. I am one minute pursuing a path and suddenly my attention is diverted elsewhere and I change tack – hopefully to return later to the subject in hand. In another article entitled “Ruth and Boaz - The Redeemed and the Redeemer” I have used quite a number of paintings to accompany my pamphlet.
None of my articles are finished, and I find myself returning to them again and again
All of my writing has been prompted by Scripture and I trust is a channel of devotion to Jesus.
The Indwelling God
John 14:10, 20, 23; 17:21-23, 26.
The above references all refer to “indwelling” – the mutual indwelling of Father and Son and the prayer of Jesus that we also enter into a similar experience of oneness
together as Jesus enjoys with Father (Ch.17:11, 21). Indwelling is also envisaged by Jesus as taking place between the “men You have given Me,” and “Us” referring to Father
and Son. The mutual indwelling of the first and second Persons of the trinity is envisioned by Jesus as extending to us! ... (Continue reading the full article below)
Emmanuel
update 02/12/2020
On December 12th 2011, I preached an expository sermon entitled “Emmanuel” in the chapel at Allahabad Bible Seminary, in north India. From the first day of December the festival of Christ’s advent begins with Chapel Prayers devoted to sermons and carols with one theme – the Advent of the Christ Child. This comes to a climax a few days before the end of term when hundreds of people gather for a Carol Service in which students from every state in India take part to commemorate Christ’s birth ... (Continue reading the full article below). I have subsequently updated this article in December 2017 while spending time with my family in the USA , in December 2019 and December 2020 for my talks on New Life Radio on Emmanuel
A Lead Mine, 2 Herons, an Old Man, a Garden Party, and a Derelict House
Can you remember seeing as a child those Wild West films when your favourite cowboy rode into a ghost town and that weird feeling that you had of emptiness and desolation? I remember as a young teenager going to a LEAD MINE on the Pennines in Cumberland where my grandfather worked as a miner. It had ceased to operate several years before. We visited the huge sheds where the rock had been ground, washed and processed to extract the lead.
At the entrance to the mine from the road just to the right runs a beck called the Blackburn, and alongside it, near the bridge over the river was “Mill Cottage” my grandfather’s home. My mother Marion grew up here in the tiny hamlet of Leadgate.
We saw the entrance to the mine with the train lines disappearing into the darkness of the mountain. The heavy old pit doors had been closed - the mine was unsafe. The tunnel into the mine had been carved out of the rock of the hillside and was dripping ... (continue by reading the document below)
The Bible and the Child
The Bible was written for children, for their nourishment, their spiritual and intellectual development and for their enjoyment. Looking at it from a child’s perspective the Bible takes on a new look altogether. Imagine looking out on the big world from the viewpoint of a little mouse like Stuart Little - how different things would look and what fun and what terrors! The Bible requires a vivid imagination to make it live and a child has one. Of course, there are whole tracts of rough terrain and perilous pitfalls in the Bible that are impossible for a child to cross without some help, but a whole lot of adults also struggle with certain books in the Bible and with some doctrines which need some simple explanation. You can’t expect anyone else to explain to your children about the hard questions which arise when we read the Bible with our children. We do have teachers in the church to explain things to us, we have excellent books to help us, and most important of all, each one have the illumination and insight from the Holy Spirit to help us as we read - and we have our own stories. The author of Scripture and the One who inspired holy men of God to write is the same Holy Spirit who illuminates Scripture as we read it, “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2Pet.1:21; NKJV). However, it is our joyous responsibility to make the stories and texts of the Bible to live for our children – for this we will need drama, integrity and imagination! (Continue reading the full article below)
Ruth and Boaz - The Redeemed and the Redeemer
Who has not heard of the thousands of refugees fleeing from war torn Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq? Or seen the urgent migration of a mixed multitude of people arriving on our doorstep – families with their little children trekking thousands of miles, cherishing the hope of a settled place of rest in Europe? These immigrant people embark on their journey with the hope of a new beginning, a possible livelihood that can provide for sustaining life. Are we not familiar with this tragic picture shown repeatedly on our T.V. screens? Thus we see at the outset of the story of Naomi’s family that the issues they faced as a family seeking to survive famine are contemporary to the situation many families are facing today – a world that has arrived at our doorstep. In other ways this little book it is totally distant from our contemporary world in so many ways - its ancient Jewish culture, social life, education and its fundamental belief in God at the foundation of their personal and national life. The book of Ruth espouses godly values for life which are timeless ... (Continue reading the full article below).
Lockdown in the Bible
Lockdown is by no means rare in the lives of God’s giants, who we encounter in the Bible, and so I want you to see it as God’s method of doing something unique in your life.
In this most unusual time when so many people are dying and we are locked up in our houses several Bible characters came to mind who found themselves isolated from other people. As we delve into this matter of “lockdown” we discover that the Lord schedules isolation into the lives of his servants quite purposefully at times. When you encounter lock-down you will find yourself in the company of some of God’s giants.
In the light of all our disorientation and unfamiliar circumstances let’s turn to the Bible, can we make sense of its apparently random events and prolific array of characters? Can we make sense of it all? Is there one unifying purpose? (To read more please open my article called Isolation)
Caught on camera - Life Changing Moments
Reading again my pamphlet: "Follow me as I Follow Christ" which is based on Paul’s admonition to his disciples to follow him, I began to reflect on the impact of other men and women whose lives, besides that of the apostle Paul, impacted others. I preached at Emmaus Church, Albania in May, 2018 on one such key person, the youth David whose life impacted a generation of young men and one eventful and iconic moment in his life, when he killed Goliath, the giant of Gath. Just a couple of weeks later I preached at the Longcroft Church on the Wirral and subsequently developed the idea of identifying strategic and significant moments in the lives of key people in the Bible.
Caught on Camera - Life Changing Moments
Elijah
I have come to an appreciation of the spiritual stature of Elijah, the man of God, due to the manifestation of the LORD’S immeasurable power manifested at Mount Carmel. I have repeatedly returned to Carmel because of my interest in the subject of revival and I have viewed this unique manifestation of the LORD’S power in the light of other occasions when God’s power has been poured out in revival. I am also interested in other occasions of God’s outpourings in the context of the O.T. and those more familiar outpourings in the N.T. I have also studied revival in the context of Christian history. I have been inspired to take a further look at the events associated with Carmel after listening again to Mendelson’s oratorio entitled “Elijah.” (Down load the article to read more)
[1] See my teaching manual entitled: “Revival in Scripture and Christian History.”
Excerpts from the Journal of George Fox
I wrote this over 25 years ago! - but I keep returning to it again and again. It is one of my favourite articles. George Fox was a rare original man of God who brought the Holy Spirit into our nation. He suffered imprisonment, persecution but encountered miracles, judgments and emphasized that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of revelation and prophecy. I promise you that reading excerpts from his Journal will introduce you to a new dimension of spirituality and challenge you regarding many of your ideas about church and impact your life!
Excerpts from the Journal of George Fox
Follow me as I follow Christ
Paul calls for his spiritual children to follow him. You may have some questions about the wisdom of following a man, even when we are talking about the apostle Paul, but the fact is that Paul urged all Christians to follow him! Now if he had said this about following Jesus Christ we would have had no problems with the instruction. Jesus called men and women to follow Him. Over and over again we hear Him calling men to Himself; even the rich young ruler was called by Jesus to follow Him. It is the greatest privilege of my life to be personally called by Jesus Christ. When you follow Him you are following the One who is truly a man in His humanity but He is the Son of God in His divine nature, so that there are certain ways in which He is not a model for us when it comes to following. We cannot follow Him in His deity. In contrast Paul was a human person like us and that is why we probably have some reserves about following him. My proposal is that we carefully examine each Scripture where Paul instructs his converts to follow him so that we can come to a correct understanding of what He means, and see where we can properly follow the apostle ... (Continue reading the full article below)
Prayer in Isaiah
I preached on the subject of Prayer in Isaiah at Leominster Fellowship on Sunday 5th Feb. 2012 following a series of messages at RRCC. These notes began the following day from my expository notes on Isa.Ch.62 and they have developed over subsequent days.
God is amazed when He saw that there was no intercessor in Israel, “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him” (Isa.59:16). This verse is paralleled in a later chapter, “And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me” (63:5). Man’s lethargy in prayer spurs God to independent action.
The Doctrine of the Church
Why make accessible a document about "church" when we are not able to meet together as a church?
I am passionate about the church of Jesus Christ - I was dedicated in the Salvation Army but grew up in a Brethren Assembly, I went to an inter-denomination Bible College, joined a "Holiness" missionary society and then became part of a network of house-churches which was part of the wider Charismatic renewal movement. For the last 17 years I have encountered churches in other nations, all of which has contributed to this document.
I am not asking you to read such a long document but I suggest you read my introductory comments and then look at my CONTENTS page - and there you can choose what to read for yourself.
This document did not come together in my study but was compiled on the road. I taught the subject to students and churches in different parts of the world and it is a document in process of being written.
It is complimented by biblical material related to leadership, doctrine, the nature of the body of Christ and the core-values of the early church. Historical moments locate the church in the context of Christian history. (I give you lots of pointers for further reading and research).
The Prayer Life of the Early Church
The disciples gathered together and engaged in 24/7 prayer, with the assuring words of Jesus in their hearts that they would shortly receive power following the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus reminds them of His words concerning the promise of the Father: “but wait for the promise of the Father, which says He, ye have heard of me” (Acts 1:4; Lk.24:49); and in the following verse, “but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence” (v5).
And so they depart from the mount of Ascension and ascend now to the upper room. Ten days later they spill out from this room to descend to the crowds of pilgrims assembled in the temple precinct, who had been irresistibly drawn to that location by the sound of the wind of God from heaven. It was the same mighty wind that hard parted the Red Sea for the Israelites as they fled from Pharaoh’s army.
This article describes the resulting prayer life of the early church as narrated by Luke
The Presence of God
When we speak of the presence of God it is simply a way of talking about God being present. Francis Schaeffer entitled one of his books “The God who is there.” The Bible talks about the God who is here. A H Strong in his “Systematic theology” tells of an atheist professor who wrote on the blackboard “God is nowhere,” his small daughter took his chalk and altered the letters to read “God is now here” resulting in his immediate conversion.
The presence of God has become the focus of intense Bible study and has begun to occupy the churches attention. The empowering presence of God is at last being recognised for what it is; God present in the world of humankind. When He is present anything can happen! Just look at what happened when Jesus was present among men and women.
Father's House
Through the turns and twists of my life I have been associated with ideas and influences which have impacted my thinking regarding the nature of the church and determined the course of my life as to my personal involvement with a particular model of church. For the first 30 years of my ministry I have been engaged with Father’s House but it also true that throughout that time I have also engaged with the work of the Lord beyond the local church. Releasing myself from the local church at the age of 60 I was able to devote most of my energies to teaching internationally – which I am still doing by the grace of the Lord.
Here is what I have learnt about Fathers House
Excerpts from the Journal of George Fox
I wrote this over 25 years ago! - but I keep returning to it again and again. It is one of my favourite articles. George Fox was a rare original man of God who brought the Holy Spirit into our nation. He suffered imprisonment, persecution but encountered miracles, judgments and emphasized that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of revelation and prophecy. I promise you that reading excerpts from his Journal will introduce you to a new dimension of spirituality and challenge you regarding many of your ideas about church and impact your life!
The Book of Hebrews: the Offeror and the Offering
My particular interest in the book of Hebrews relates to its emphasis on salvation and the way in which the Writer of the letter compares the Old Testament ministry of the Aaronic High Priest to the superior High Priestly ministry of Jesus (Melchizedeck).
To be true to apostolic teaching and preaching these salvation truths must engage our attention and they must also be the focus of our teaching and preaching. Salvation must be at the very heart of our message. What a contrast to the atonement that was achieved each year on the Day of Atonement! Jesus provided a redemption that is eternally efficacious, a redemption that absolves us from condemnation and guilt.
Revival and Renewal Movements
I believe that church history has particular relevance to the time in which we live and has many lessons to teach us. This course is a survey of renewal movements from the Reformation to the present day. These include the Moravian, Wesley and Whitefield revivals of the eighteenth century, the 1859 Prayer revival, the 1904 Welsh revival, the 1949 Hebrides revival as well as the 1904 Azusa Street revival and the 1960’-70’s Charismatic renewal. Revival will be examined from a Biblical perspective, noting the specific characteristics of each revival, tracing their outcomes with regard to mission and viewing them in the light of the contemporary church. The course will also seek to formulate a theology of Revival based on Scripture and revival phenomena.
Revival and Renewal Movements in the Context of Church History
Seeing God Who is Invisible
This document is the outcome of preaching in several churches on this subject and writing what the Lord has been showing me on the theology of God’s invisibility!
I was captivated by the actuality of God’s eternal invisibility (invisibility is a characteristic or attribute of a Spirit) and how He has handled that in terms of communicating with us.
To put this in its proper context, we should first consider God Himself. The teaching of Scripture regarding God must be the foundation of all Bible teaching – not first the cross but the conception of Jesus, but we must go to the foundation of all things, all truth, - which is GOD. This is why teaching/preaching must be founded on the biblical teaching about the unity of God – there is one God who is triune. There are three persons in God – Father Son and Holy Spirit. Father and Holy Spirit are eternally invisible but there was a crucial time in the eternal counsels of God when He took to Himself our humanity and became fully human and thus, He became visible. We proclaim the truth of the eternal Son’s human nature and body. Thus, Jesus revealed to us the nature and the will of our invisible Father.
Three examples which relate to invisible actions of the Holy Spirit,
I was also captivated by how God overcame the problem of invisibility in the OT and then I looked at 3 specific occasions in the NT where invisible actions, which cannot be seen with the eye are shown to take place by means of sound (wind, breath), vision and physical movement.
· the baptism of Jesus when the movement of the invisible Spirit is made known to John the Baptist by the dove descending on Jesus.
· when Jesus breathed out the Spirit on His disciples, just before Jesus returned to heaven when He breathed out (exhaled) the Holy Spirit on His breath and asked them to receive (inhale). These were physical actions which showed t them clearly the invisible movement of the Holy Spirit.
· the third occasion took place at Pentecost, where we identify the sound of the wind and where it originates, the tongues of fire on each of the heads of the disciples and the different languages the disciples spoke by the action of the Holy Spirit in using their tongues.
These three occasions show to us in a powerful way the movements and actions of the invisible Holy Spirit.
Job: a man of suffering, judged by his friends and justified by God
I have just completed 6 talks on New Life Radio on the book of Job which means that I got to read and study Job for at least 6 weeks and the impact of the book means that I see it with newly opened eyes. I’ll let you into a secret – I have found Job a book I naturally put to the top shelf of my bookcase. I think I know why and that is that this book demands my full attention as I seek to grasp its meaning, whereas the narrative books of the Bible give me opportunity to run instead of crawl.
There is no other book like Job in the Bible – it is a unique genre - a form of literature/poetry different to anything inside or outside the Bible.
The book may be the earliest written book in the Bible and contains Hebrew words found nowhere else in Scripture.
Job may have been around at the time of Abraham or earlier. He certainly knows nothing of Moses or the Mosaic institutions of sacrifice and priesthood.
The knowledge of God shown in this book is its outstanding feature – His omnipotence and omniscience in the context of His created world – the natural world which includes the animals, birds, fish, humankind, time and space. But also, the rich understanding of God’s character qualities – God is present, listening to every syllable and word spoken and then He speaks.
Job contains the longest speech by God in the Bible and during His talking to Job we geta unique insight into God’s thinking about the animals, birds and fish He has created but what is fascinating is His conversation with job about it all. God has humour and invites Job to laugh with Him (Just what Job needed!).
There are 6 talks on New Life Radio on the book of Job which concludes on the 3rd. August at 4.00pm.
The series of talks on the Bible are entitled – “Back to Basics” and the objective is to go through every book in the Bible, each book accompanied by notes which can be accessed from NLR website or my own website
Job, a man of suffering, judged by friends and justified by God
Blessings,
Derrick Harrison.
Ezra the high-priest, Nehemiah the king’s governor and the community of Jews
A few weeks ago, I finished several radio talks on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
I always found that I was confused over the several returns of the Jews to Palestine. I am happy to tell you that I have got it all sorted!
There are three returns – under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah and after the first return under Zerubbabel the altar is erected and the foundations of the second temple are laid and during this period the prophets Haggai and Zechariah encourage the people to build
I have been interested in the returned community of Jews to Palestine due to my interest in the moving’s of the Holy Spirit in both the OT and the NT. Several godly kings brought reformation and renewal to Judah during their reigns, but I always knew this was different. When we consider what is happening among the Jews everything takes place in the context of a genuine renewal of the Holy Spirit.
The glory of God (shekinah glory) does not return to the rebuilt temple (cf. the tabernacle and the temple) but the glory of the LORD has come among the renewed community of Jews.
Ezra is the high-priest and a spiritual leader in contrast to Nehemiah who is a secular leader (he is governor) but equally spiritual and influential.
The renewed community of Jews request the reading of Scripture led by Ezra and his priests, but others are also engaged in, including Nehemiah.
The personal journals of both Ezra and Nehemiah can be easily identified by the personal pronoun “I” which is used continually.
The Scriptures are read to families, with clear pronunciation and they are explained sentence by sentence to the people for about 6 hours each day.
The first reference to a pulpit in the Bible – simply a raised platform so that Ezra can be seen by the vast crowds.
There are several talks on New Life Radio on the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The series of talks on the Bible are entitled – “Back to Basics” and the objective is to go through every book in the Bible, each talk is accompanied by notes which can be accessed from NLR website or my own website
Ezra the high-priest, Nehemiah the king’s governor and the community of Jews
Blessings,
Derrick Harrison.