Subscription Lists
Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
At the beginning, and for a good number of years, there was one holy catholic Church and it was powerful and influential, as Peter and John, and Paul and Silas and Timothy, travelled and preached and taught. So it will be again one day. How that will happen I do not know, but the Word of God makes it plain and clear.
Verse 21 of John Chapter 17 has been called the Divine mix-up. But that is what it will be like. And with a mighty goal or aim in view – that the world may believe that You have sent ME.
It does not say that all the world is going to be converted, but one day everyone will recognise that God the Father sent Jesus Christ into the world, and for some, as they recognise their lostness, there will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This is why it is so reassuring to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, and to let everyone know that we serve Jesus Christ the Lord, and we let the world know that we are disciples by our obedience to Christ and by the way we love one another with a holy love.
Verse 22 – The glory which You gave Me, I have given to them. When you experience the glory of God, a spirit of unity appears, and the barriers vanish. Divisions disappear and walls that have separated disciples crumble. Now, these are signs of the Kingdom of God. These are all signs that the Living God is working to correct what has been wrong among His people. These are signs that the Loving God is moving among His people, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Only God can do these things. It is supernatural.
We had come a long way – a number of years ago – but I sense we have lost some of the ground that was taken. We have still a long long way to go.
When there was a lot of activity among the denominations I remember Cardinal Suenens saying to us in Belgium, “The problems are not there to remain problems. Problems are there to be solved. When the situation looks impossible, like Mary in Luke Chapter 1, expect the Holy Spirit to overshadow you. Expect to be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, and a miracle of God will take place. The Holy Spirit will do it. The Holy Spirit gave birth to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit gave birth to the Church of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will do it. We must rely on the Holy Spirit.”
But he died not seeing what he was expecting to see, but this we do know – when the glory of the risen living ascended Christ falls upon His people the barriers will disappear.
When I recall what was happening back in the 1970’s and 1980’s it was remarkable. Following that global and universal outpouring of the Holy Spirit, there was inter-communion, at these ‘Charismatic Conferences’ and occasions, as each served and received the bread and the wine. Even in Scotland, we thought we were going to take Scotland for Christ, and then something went wrong.
Protestants, Roman Catholics and Jews each had a taste, or experience of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I know it was real. I was present at the various Conferences and with the ‘Messianic Jews’ on the banks of the Lake of Galilee.
It was real – so very real. Will there be another outpouring of the Holy Spirit before Jesus Christ returns?
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "Word from Scotland" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.