May
20

Lloyd Denny’s blog Number 228 – 18th May 2013

Lloyd on May 20th, 2013

“THE LAMB IS KING OF KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”

John the Baptist was born to elderly parents who throughout their marriage had prayed for a child but seemingly to no avail. I write seemingly because the prayers the children of God pray are never to no avail. Some prayers are answered openly, some prayers we will never see answered. Some prayers are immediately answered and some prayers are answered years later and some even after our death. Right across the world every time a sinner is forgiven by God and is saved, the prayer that Jesus prayed in his dying moments is answered.

 John was described by Jesus as the greatest of the prophets. He was filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born. He was born a prophet, trained by God and released into the office of the prophet by God himself. For four hundred years from Malachi there had not been a notable prophet. In fact Malachi was told that the Messiah would suddenly come to the temple and also that a forerunner to the Messiah would be born.
 
John’s ministry created a stir in the land such that some thought he was the Messiah. All Israel went into the wilderness to hear John for they perceived that God was with him, indeed he had the prophet’s trademark phrase, “thus saith the Lord”.
 
Let me digress for a moment. Despite the four hundred years of silence, in that no notable prophet was sent by God, religion prospered. The nation of Israel and the Roman Empire were full of philosophies, religions and deities.
 
The message of John was very attractive despite John  not dressing the part nor looking the part. He was not a graduate from a seminary, college or university. He did not belong to any religious system or tradition and when he spoke it was to all sections of society: political and religious leaders; the military and business as well as the ordinary men and women in society.
 
Because John had thus saith the Lord, the people wanted to hear him. Today, and certainly in the UK, people are not impressed with noise or empty religious slogans but need to hear thus saith the Lord. There has never been a time when the bible has been more available and there have been more preachers. We have books, cd’s and dvd’s all carrying words yet there is a “famine for the  hearing of the word”, that is, a famine for thus saith the Lord.
 
The greatest single message John preached was, “behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world”. In this message, John announced to the world that the long awaited seed of the woman; the seed of Abraham, the son of David, and Immanuel, was in their midst. Later on John would confirm Messiah’s presence amongst the people as he baptised Jesus in the river Jordan. During the baptism the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus as a dove and it sat upon him, then heaven spoke to confirm him as Messiah.
 
For the next three and a half years, Jesus would demonstrate that he was indeed the Messiah. The final demonstration before his death was the death itself for it was through his death that the sin of the world would be taken away. He was the spotless lamb that opened not his mouth; he was the helpless lamb of God that did not resist his accusers and he was the gentle lamb of God that asked that the people be forgiven the monstrous act they had participated in. He was innocent and declared thus, yet he was still convicted. The people were given the opportunity to release him after his conviction but they chose a guilty murderer instead.
 
The apostle John in the Spirit sees Jesus, the lamb of God, being worshipped and exalted for the work of redemption he had secured through his death.
 
The four living creatures and the twenty four elders are seen falling down before the Lamb of God but then John begins to weep for the sealed book, the significance of which John seems to understand, must be unsealed and its content read but no one anywhere is worthy to do so.
 
“Weep not”, said one of the elders to John, “behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has prevailed, to open the book and loose the seven seals”.
 
Then John sees the Lamb of God take the book from Him that sat upon the throne and proceeds to open the seven seals. Each opened seal would reveal the things that would happen thereafter.
 
The first opened seal revealed a rider upon a white horse who had a crown upon his head and a bow in his hands and he went forth to conquer.This rider is the false Messiah or anti Christ who would seek to usurp Jesus Christ.
 
This rider is not to be confused with the white horse rider seen in Chapter 19. The first rider is given a crown and a bow and would proceed to conquer all and  sundry: first the church and later the institutions of secular power. The second rider in Chapter 19 is the Lord of glory. Please note the difference in language used for the two of them.
 
Where is the God who parted the read sea, that sent fire down from heaven? The world may ask.
 
Where is the God of Elijah, and of David? Or where is the God that came to earth in the person of Jesus? The answer is, he is the Lamb of God whose blood still has power to forgive.
 
A lion’s roar can be heard up to five miles away. As the Lamb of God, however, he is gentle, meek and mild.
 
As the Lamb of God he is still seeking and saving the lost through the church. But this Lamb of God is King of kings and Lord of lords. (Revelation 17: 14). One day he will cease to be the Lamb of God and instead become the Judge of the nations.
 
God save the UK. Our platform is the world and our congregation the people.
 
The Lord’s servant
 
Apostle Lloyd Denny
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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May
18

Lloyd Denny’s blog Number 227 – 13th May 2013

Lloyd on May 18th, 2013

“AND TIME SHALL BE NO MORE”

 “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 
 
“And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. 
 
“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer”. (Revelation 10: 1 -6).
 
Time is a dimension in which events can be ordered from the past through the present into the future, and also the measure of durations of events and the intervals between them. Some simple, relatively uncontroversial definitions of time include “time is what clocks measure”and “time is what keeps everything from happening at once”. Based on my reading of the bible, time is linear.
 
Time can be wasted; time can be redeemed (bought back or made up). An example of redeeming time occurred when I and my wife recently flew to the USA to visit our daughter. The flight was delayed by nearly two hours but the time lost was made up or redeemed by the pilot through a combination of going faster and an adjustment in altitude and flight path.
 
In business, time is seen as money. In the world of competitive sport time is success,the quicker one is able to run gives one an advantage.
 
Everything we do here on earth is done in time. Time can be measured and time is finite. For in the words of the author of Ecclesiastes: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”. (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
 
Time as a concept is an opening in eternity. God created time and primarily uses the sun to regulate it. The sun effectively determines our seasons, the hours of day and night and even the number of years we live. Time is also relative in that its measurement is in relation to eternity, so to God a thousand earth years is as a day.
 
Because time had a beginning it can also have an end. Ecclesiastes makes it clear that on earth things have a season and time has a purpose.
 
Everything we do here on earth is only for a season. Moses chose the way of Christ according to the author of Hebrews, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. To put it another way, Moses knew that his life as an Egyptian Prince was only for a season, that is, to the length of his natural life; whereas in choosing to follow Christ the benefit would be eternal life.
 
Abraham at the end of his life was wealthy yet he remained a pilgrim and sojourner in the earth for he looked for the eternal city. Jesus said that a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of things he possess. And again he said, we must not store up our treasures here on earth where it gets rusty and can be stolen for true riches are spiritual and if stored in heaven it can neither rust or be stolen.
 
Ancient wealthy Egyptians would be buried with their treasures but it did them no good for it either rusted away or got stolen.
 
A warning to the rich of this world, your wealth shall be a witness against you on the day of judgment. For every child or poor person that died or suffered due to having nothing to eat or having clean water to drink or a place to live will be a testimony against you. It was in your power to help yet you died with your wealth intact and had no feelings for others even though you could not take your riches with you. In the words of Job, “naked came I out of my mother’s womb and naked shall I return.”
 
Time has a purpose. What we do with time is key to a successful, happy and fulfilled life. Its not the number of days we live that matters its what we did with our lives while we were alive. When we know what is our purpose in life then we will know the value of time. People without a purpose tend to waste time, get bored, and are lazy. People without a purpose also tend to use it for fun and frolic as if life is all about giving pleasure to our flesh.
 
Moses lived to 120 years for his purpose had come to an end. Our Lord lived only to 33 years for he had fulfilled his purpose. In the case of Moses longevity of life was necessary to fulfil his purpose whereas with our Lord it was not length of days but what he accomplished.
 
The series of visions John receives beginning with a door opening in heaven culminating with the declaration that time shall be no longer is a narrative of events upon the earth. The open door in heaven represents the access mankind has to heaven through the redemptive work of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The subsequent visions is a timeline from that point to the end of time.
 
One day, God shall call time on the earth. God called time on Noah’s world when he shut the door into the ark. He called time on the pride and immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah. He called time on the Jewish ceremonial religious system when the veil of the temple in Jerusalem was torn from top to bottom precipitated by the death of Messiah. Ever since, all manner of sin men commit can be forgiven, a quick work in righteousness shall the Lord perform, irrespective of your nation, gender, age and social status.
 
Let me end this blog with an extract from Revelation chapter 22, in which John in a final vision receives a message from heaven.
 
“And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still”.
 
God save the UK. Our platform is the world and our congregation the people.
 
The Lord’s servant
 
Apostle Lloyd Denny
 
 
 
 
 
 
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May
15

Lloyd Denny’s blog Number 226 – 9th May 2013

Lloyd on May 15th, 2013

“SEAL NOT THE BOOK, FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND”

Its been a couple of weeks since I wrote my last blog even though the title for this blog came to me while I was completing it.

 The title of this blog is taken from Revelation 22, verse: 10: “And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand”.
 
The prophet Daniel is now very old and having served both the kingdoms of Babylon and Medo Persia, once again seeks to know what the future holds not for himself or his family, for he never had a wife and children having been forced to live as a Eunuch, but for his people the Jews.
 
Daniel truly was a great prophet for he had the nation on his heart. God’s prophets are never for themselves but for the people a lesson Jonah had to learn as well as Ezekiel. In the case of Jonah,  he refused to go to Nineveh to warn the people that unless they repented disaster would result; however, Jonah  wanted them punished. God through using the life cycle of a wild gourd plant would teach Jonah, mercy and compassion.
 
Ezekiel on the other hand was from a priestly background and himself trained as a priest. He receives the call to be a prophet and begins to see visions and have revelations and the famous, prelude to a word from God: “thus saith The Lord”, that all of God’s prophets must have in their mouth. This introduction is what separates the words of men from the words of God. God’s prophets earn their credibility by the utterance, “thus saith The Lord”; woe betide the man or woman who uses this utterance falsely.
 
Ezekiel is caught up in the Spirit and sees visions concerning Israel: their predicament, rebellious ways and their restoration. In vision the prophet is given a roll or scroll to eat and is told that it will be sweet in his mouth but bitter in his belly. Ezekiel eats the roll and after coming out of the vision heads for the people to let them have the force of the word without mercy. As a priest’s son he would have been sheltered from  many things, he was sanctified by his parents.
 
“Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying , Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place.  I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing.  So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me”.
 
Noticed how Ezekiel is described as going in bitterness and in the heat of his spirit, he is angry. But then when he gets to Tel-abib, and sat where the people sat he was unable to speak but was reduced to silence for seven days.
A preacher must always seek, metaphorically, to “sit where the people sit,” for in so doing we temper our words with love.
 
 Notice also, that God describes the prophet as a watchman who on seeing danger must give warning and not condemnation. Ezekiel would learn from this experience and over time was able to be touched with the feelings of the people. (Ezekiel 3).
 
Returning to the book of  Daniel;  in chapter 12 he receives a series of messages which startles him but he is told to “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased”.
 
We are living in such a time of world wide travel and an explosion in knowledge. Humans traverse the world in their tens of millions each year. In the last fifty years the world has grown more in knowledge than in all the years previously. The creation of the World Wide Web has meant that knowledge is only a few clicks on a smart phone or computer away.
 
Whereas Daniel was told to shut up the words and to seal the book until the time of the end, the Revelation makes it clear that the book must not be sealed. The mysteries of the book must be opened for they are pertinent. John then sees the Lamb of God taking the book, sealed with seven seals; for the lamb is qualified having redeemed the church with his precious blood.
 
The seals are then opened one after the other until all seven are opened and their secrets made known.
 
The book of Revelation is the final written revelation of Jesus Christ. The book sealed with seven seals is a narrative of the church within world history: from the birth of the church to its rapture and to the end of time.
 
The door that John sees opened in heaven, in chapter 4, was a depiction of the gospel age, in that, as long as the door remains open there is hope for mankind. But as the door to Noah’s ark was one day slammed shut, one day the door to heaven will be closed. Until then we preach the gospel for “he that believes and is baptised shall be saved.”
 
God save the UK. Our platform is the world and our congregation the people. 
 
The Lord’s servant
 
Apostle Lloyd Denny
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Apr
30

Lloyd Denny’s blog Number 225 – 26th April 2013

Lloyd on April 30th, 2013
“CORONATION”
 
Today I listened to the actual maids of honour to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11 at her coronation sixty years ago.
 
On Wednesday, 6 February 1952, Princess Elizabeth received the news of her father’s death and her own accession to the throne, while staying in a remote part of Kenya. Incidentally, Kenya celebrates her Golden Jubilee as an independent country on 12th December this year. Praise God the Jubilee Elections so fiercely contested in March and whose outcome was settled weeks later was mainly peaceful.
 
The Biblical formulation of the jubilee principle denotes: “and thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee nine and forty years. Then shalt thou cause the horn of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the horn sound throughout your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all its inhabitants; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family” (Leviticus 25: 8-10).
 
I am intending to be in Kenya later this year to be part of the Jubilee celebrations by having a number of church services and also to have a special church service here in the UK in December. I am not a Kenyan by birth or residency but as a citizen of the world anywhere I am is home and the people my family.
 
I say well done to Raila Odinga the defeated presidential candidate for his statesman like conduct in accepting the decision of the courts. He may not be president but he certainly has risen in my estimation and may God bless him and may a way be found for him to serve Kenya in a position befitting his character.
 
The tour had to be abandoned, and the young Princess flew back to Britain as Queen. She was greeted by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and other officials at the airport.
 
The young Princess Elizabeth acceded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth 11 on 6th February 1952 and was crowned on 2nd June 1953.
 
The Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953. It was a solemn ceremony conducted by Dr Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury. Over 8000 specially chosen guests packed the Abbey with tens of thousands on the outside and hundreds of thousands at home watching the ceremony on television.
 
Representatives of the peers, the Commons and all the great public interests in Britain, the Prime Ministers and leading citizens of the other Commonwealth countries, and representatives of foreign states were present.
 
Crowds of people viewed the procession all along the route, despite heavy rain. The ceremony was also broadcast on radio around the world and, at The Queen’s request, on television for the first time.
 
Television brought home to hundreds of thousands of people around the Commonwealth the splendour and significance of the Coronation in a way never before possible.
 
The Coronation was followed by drives through every part of London, a review of the fleet at Spithead, and visits to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
 
The maids of honour now all in their late seventies spoke glowingly of the day. Six maids of honour were chosen without their prior knowledge, they were in effect summoned to the position. As one of them recalled, “the very first time one knew about being chosen was when one opened the envelope in which the invitation was sent”. In response to a question from the interviewer one of the maids of honour who were all members of the British aristocracy answered that nothing in her life since compares to the day of the coronation, this included her own marriage and having children. The others all agreed with her and it was after hearing that and reflecting on the Great Coronation of Christ as depicted in the book of Revelation I decided to write this blog.
 
Jesus is still the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. He is no longer the bleeding lamb for he died once and for all upon the cross. As the Lamb of God he opened not his mouth at the curses of men. As the Lamb of God he pleads, “Father, forgive them, for they no not what they do”. As the Lamb of God he is meek and mild. And as the lamb of God we can come to him and be saved.
 
People some times wonder if there’s a God why doesn’t he speak from the heavens; or why doesn’t the God of the Bible do the dramatic things once more as recorded in Old Testament. The answer is simply as the Lamb of God he works in simplicity, meekness and humility.
 
Unlike the roar of the lion that has been measured to travel up to five miles away and cause great terror  to other creatures in the wilds, the lamb is very quiet, barely making a sound and is perhaps the most innocuous of all living creatures. But as the lion of the tribe of Judah, he will one day roar, for he has prevailed.
 
One day this same Jesus shall be crowned, as it is written: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful”. (Revelation 17:14).
 
The ascension of Christ took place over two thousands years ago and whilst he is seated at the Right a Hand of God it was as lamb he would open the seven seals.  As lamb we preach Christ to the world for the time will come and we are in the last days, that is the final dispensation, that the door of salvation will be shut for time shall be no more.
 
As I conclude this blog, I already have the title for my next blog which is titled: “Seal not the book, for the time is at hand”.
 
God save the UK. Our platform is the world and our congregation the people.
 
The Lord’s servant
 
Apostle Lloyd Denny
 
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Apr
27

Prayer Walk 27.4.2013

Lloyd on April 27th, 2013

RRF Luton THE CHURCH IN ENGLAND prayer walk 27.4.2013

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Apr
26

Lloyd Denny’s blog Number 224 – 25th April 2013

Lloyd on April 26th, 2013

“CHRIST THE WAY MAKER OR NO MAKER”

Apologies for the indelicate wording in the title of this blog, but please believe me it came whilst praying for the church. Whilst in prayer I was thanking God for being the great Way maker but then from my mouth came, God is also the No maker in that He sometimes says no but we humans don’t like to hear no. We don’t mind saying no ourselves to our children, friend, family and definitely to a stranger and someone we don’t care much for, but we don’t like to hear it being said to us in response to a request.

As this series is about the book of Revelation and came whilst in prayer for the church I will restrict my thoughts to the church throughout the ages.

Reading through once again the book of Revelation especially the seven churches, it is clear that Christ was not always pleased with the church. Our Lord finds fault with every church age and from Ephesus to Laodicea things went from bad to worst such that in Laodicea, Christ is seen outside the church asking to be let in.

Why then are things so bad that Christ is seen outside the church? The short answer is our unwillingness to accept that God does sometimes say no.

Christ said no to the practise of the Nicolaitans, which by interpretation means to conquer the laity. Christ taught the disciples to serve one another and not to “lord it over each other”. There was no ministerial hierarchy for their respective gifts made room for them. Then came a false structure that eventually had an hierarchy with the Pope at to top. Because some in Ephesus would not hear what the Spirit was saying to the churches what began as a practise became a doctrine in Pergamos.

Christ also said no to the corruption of the woman Jezebel (the corrupt church system of Roman Catholicism), yet she would still continue and refused to repent. The corrupt teachings and practices of the woman Jezebel, who styled herself a prophetess, that is one who speaks for God, would continue unabated that soon she waged war against anyone who did not agree with her, thus the 68 millions killed in the martyrology of Rome.

Christ also said no to the regression into formalism and nominalism that began to be manifested after the Reformation in Sardis. The Reformation came about because souls were hungry for truth and the reality of God. But instead of continuing in the Spirit to get more truth and the power of God and thereby returning to the early church style and substance of Christianity, many settled for the part and went no further into all truth. For example, justification by faith liberated millions from the confession booth into the glorious liberty of Christ. Yet many did not continue into water baptism by immersion and receipt of the fulness of the Holy Spirit and many more truths.

The Spirit of God pleaded with many in Sardis who were content with simply having a name that they were living but were in fact dead.

Furthermore, it was the Sardis church age that began the practise of thinking the name they gave to a church or ministry is what mattered. As a consequence, this has led to divisions within the body of Christ on every level that today some of the names that are given to the church range from the hyperbolic to the ridiculous. For example, Healing has begun ministry. Power house ministry. Omega ministry. God’s own ministry. The true assemblies of God church (which means the other assemblies of God are fake).

Then there is Fist of Fury ministry (its a good thing Bruce Lee is dead, for he might sue them for copyright infringement). Then there is David killed Goliath ministry and run for your life ministry. And more recently calling the ministry after the name of the founder and even when the name of the so called founder is not used the church operates as if it belonged to him or her to do as he or she wish without any accountability or much transparency.

Christians today should reject this type of church structure for its an offence to the good name of Christ. But let us, like the church at Ephesus, ‘try them’ for they are presenting a false model for the church and they should be resisted.

Christ also said no to the false claims to the apostleship that began in Ephesus and has continued throughout the church ages. The ambition of men seems to know no boundary. The pattern for ministerial ordination established in the Bible and made very clear in the New Testament has been thrown out by the ambitious and those insecure in their calling.

The worst example is the Pope who has almost every title that’s available. The reformers resisted titles as a reaction to the excesses of Roman Catholicism but not so today. What we call the five fold ministries are legitimate and do apply to the church of old and today, the issue for me is how one become an apostle or prophet.

To the church I write, please find out how the person who has a ministerial title got it. Ask them, it should not be secret, also the seal of the apostleship must be evident.

One cannot make oneself an apostle, prophet or pastor; the calling must be validated by the witness of others but even more so, be consecrated by one of similar or senior rank. The early church was not disorderly nor dictatorial, the Spirit of Christ brought proper balance between order and liberty; and between the clear directives of God and the wisdom of men.

Christ also said no to many practices in Laodicea which glory in natural riches than spiritual riches. God has from the beginning hated pride but in Laodicea the church is boastful of its riches, its fine clothes and unaware of its nakedness, blindness and wretched state.

However, in each church age their is a general call to repentance and they that repent were promised many things by Christ. It is because in every church age there are those who are willing to listen and obey the voice of the Spirit that the church of Jesus Christ is still alive and well.

The problem is the bad examples are in the limelight and have the silver and gold but I pray that those with the power, the character and truth of Christ come out from the margins; we are still in the age of the ‘open door’ which means we are free to preach Christ and him crucified in a way never experienced in the past two thousand years. Our problem today is we believe our own scary stories that are very much the exception than the rule. It is true that some places are dangerous for Christians but nothing compared to the past.

What I believe is the danger is our slothfulness, lack of purpose and the easy life. Now is the time to send missionaries into the nations but instead we build mega churches with cafeteria, gymnasium and more and open the church buildings for a couple of times per week whilst our young people loiter the streets having nothing to do.

Let us, as the church today, hear the voice of the Spirit and repent for repentance, the theme that runs through each church is the prelude to walking in God’s blessings and power.

In conclusion, I have mainly written about Christ the No maker than the Way maker for I believe we already know that He is the Way maker for this is what we like to listen to and read about, so preachers tend to dwell on this.

God save the UK. Our platform is the world and our congregation the people.

The Lord’s servant

Apostle Lloyd Denny

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Apr
24

Lloyd Denny’s blog Number 223 – 23rd April 2013

Lloyd on April 24th, 2013

“MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS”?

At school a philosophy teacher told us that an oft asked question in the study of philosophy was, “what is a question”? The answers that would be written by students up and down the country and even across the world would be long and complex as students explored the premise of the question.

One year a student at university sitting his finals in response to the question, simply wrote, “if this is an answer”. So unusual and novel was the response to the question that top marks were awarded the student.

The title of the blog is presented as a question and not a statement because of the argument I will be presenting to the reader.

Are there more questions than answers?The usual and perhaps predictable answer is yes, for it has become both a catchphrase and a cliche. However, I believe the answer is no; and the correct answer is, to every question there is an answer. I also believe that answers were before questions.

Some of the greatest and most profound questions have been answered in our world because men and women went in search for answers. The answer was always here but they had to be found.

The premise upon which I present this blog is that God is omniscient, that is, all knowing. In Revelation chapter 1,  it introduces a number of I AM’s in relation to our Lord. I am: the Alpha and Omega; I am the first and the last; I am he that liveth and was dead; and I am alive for evermore.

In the gospel of John, Jesus describes himself as the I am on many occasions: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; I am the Resurrection and the Life; I am the Bread of Life; I am the Good Shepherd and much more.

In the book of Exodus, God appears to Moses and commissions him to go to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go free. Moses before going to Egypt, asked perhaps the most important question any human being can ask, God! Who are you? The answer he received was I AM.

Having this answer is key to our understanding of everything we will ever want to know. The God of the Bible is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient because He is the I AM.

The book of Genesis begins with the answer to the question human beings were asking from the very beginning.  For unlike humans who learn through asking questions, God provides answers even before questions were framed.

Humans have found answers to some of life’s greatest questions for example:
Concerning gravity, Isaac Newton, an English mathematician and physicist, is considered one of the greatest scientist of all time. Among his many discoveries, the most important is probably his law of universal gravitation. In 1664, Newton figured out that gravity is the force that draws objects toward each other. It explained why things fall down and why the planets orbit around the Sun. Incidentally, Newton was a Christian and is said only to take up science because he wanted to convince his friends about God.

Concerning the uniqueness of humans, the discovery that fingerprints are unique to each individual, are left behind on objects a person touches and can be lifted off those items is nothing short of miraculous. This discovery completely changed the way that law enforcement conducted investigations. In today’s modern age, Jack the Ripper would eventually be caught. Even though it was 1823 when Jan Evangelista Purkinje noticed how unique our fingerprints are, it took some time for law enforcement to figure out ways to use this knowledge. Today, this discovery is used in everyday police work.

Concerning the invisible power called electricity. Michael Faraday made two big discoveries that changed our lives. In 1821, he discovered that when a wire carrying an electric current is placed next to a single magnetic pole, the wire will rotate. This led to the development of the electric motor. Ten years later, he became the first person to produce an electric current by moving a wire through a magnetic field. Faraday’s experiment created the first generator, the forerunner of the huge generators that produce our electricity.

Concerning planet earth, the earth isn’t flat but round and everything humans need to survive is already here on earth. It is however, not the centre of the universe and neither does the sun revolve around it but quite the opposite.

Other answers have been provided by God in the Bible but sadly some humans especially in modern times, believe the hype that we don’t need God for after all we are homo sapiens (wise man or knowing man).

To quote Zophar, a friend of Job who got many things wrong in his exchange with Job, but in this he was correct, “canst thou (man) by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?”. Yet if we seek God we will find him, if we seek him with the whole heart. And again, He that comes to God must believe, that God is. Notice the present continuous tense and not past or future tense. Both past and future tense relates to the concept of time. God dwells in eternity and not subject to time or space.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream that had a profound effect upon him. He summons his magicians, soothsayers and people of science for them to interpret his dream. On arriving before the king and expecting to be told the dream they are instead told that the king had forgotten the dream and their first task was to recall the forgotten dream and then give its meaning. They protested that this was impossible but the king was unwilling to accept their protestation, he  instead sentenced them to death.

This sentence also affected Daniel and three Hebrew colleagues. Daniel asked the king for some time to seek God for the answer. During the night God came to Daniel and showed him the dream the king had forgotten and the wisdom to give the correct interpretation.

In conclusion, the bible provides answers to life’s greatest questions: the origin of the universe, the fall of man, his redemption; who is God, His nature and His plan for humanity; is there life after death and heaven and hell to name but a few. The book of Revelation also gives us answers about the end of the world and the demise of Satan.

Do you have a question that is troubling you? Then search the scriptures for in them can be found the answer. If you need help, then ask a preacher.

God save the UK. Our platform is the world and our congregation the people. 

The Lord’s servant

Apostle Lloyd

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Apr
23

Lloyd Denny’s blog Number 222 – 19th April 2013

Lloyd on April 23rd, 2013

“THE SEVEN CHURCHES”

We are now back in the UK after arriving yesterday morning. This was a night flight. The captain introduces himself, his co-pilot and the Director of Cabin Services. He also gave information about the flight: the flight path, the flight time and expected arrival time in the UK. Before ending his welcome he told us the flight should be a nice one and that he hoped we get the chance to sleep so we must sit back and enjoy the flight.

Why do we pray? Before leaving home, taking a journey, taking a decision and for many other reasons;  and pray during a crisis, during times of fear and trouble; and pray after the storm is passed, after the crisis has ended  and that we do so as a daily practice even if our prayers are short?

Well this is why it’s good to pray. For within 30 minutes of the  Captain’s message the plane would go through turbulence for the next couple of hours. It would then settle for a while then more turbulence. I doubt whether we were in any danger for I am told that modern aircrafts are designed and built to fly through very strong winds in almost hurricane like conditions, but for me that is not the point. The point is, humans do not know what will happen in the next few moments and even if we do know, we seldom can stop it happening. But God does know and can.

Our history as a species is replete with examples of humans thinking they have it all worked out and nothing can or should go wrong and then something very simple goes wrong and there is disaster. The sinking of the Titanic ocean liner is one such example of many in recent history in that it was dubbed the unsinkable ship. Manned space flight has also not been without their own problems for occasionally and tragically when we think its all okay, in the words of Apostle Paul, when we shall say: “peace and safety, then sudden destruction”. 

This reminds me of the story in Greek mythology of Icarus who flew too close to the sun. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father a brilliant Craftsman constructed from feathers and wax. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall into the sea where he drowned.

Humans are not made to fly but through our creativity, a gift of God, we have made a craft that makes tens of thousands of flights everyday and because of very stringent safety regulations covering: design, construction, maintenance, training and flight air control laws, is the safest mode of transport. Every near miss, every accident are investigated. Our flight to the USA on 8th April was held up on the runway for almost two hours because, in the words of the captain, of a technical fault. The technical fault was a faulty cabin light holder. The captain went on to say that even though the problem did not pose any danger to the craft safety regulations forbade take off until the problem had been rectified.

Imagine if we were as fastidious about other aspects of life, especially in the area of morality what a difference this would make to our marriages, family, community and society.

The holy bible is our manual, our guidebook and much more besides; its the only book which contains the very thoughts of God yet we ignore it, neglect it and blatantly disobey it and we are then surprised things go wrong as often as they do.

To believers the world over, do pray and keep praying: before eating your meal, before you travel and every day and without ceasing,  for there is danger just a person away; just a street away; just a town or city away. But the Lord is the omnipresent Spirit who fills the universe.

I have titled this blog from a clause taken from Revelation chapter 1 and verse 11. Apostle John is in the Spirit and hears the voice of the Lord speaking to him. He is told to write the things which he sees in a book and to send it to the seven churches in Asia. Then the seven churches are named. Their nomenclature also reveals the character of the church age.

In the bible certain numbers are significant to God who uses them to help us understand what He is saying and doing in the earth. Care must, however, be taken not to over spiritualise the meaning and significance of numbers a mistake cults are inclined to make.

The numbers: one, three, four, seven, twelve and forty are regularly in use throughout the bible. I do not intend going into the significance of each of the above numbers but instead will write only about the number seven.

The seven churches listed were not the total number of churches in Asia Minor at the time. These seven were chosen to represent the seven church ages of the church from the birth of the church to the rapture of the church.

The number seven is the number of completion or perfection: seven days making a week, the book sealed with seven seals, the seven trumpets, seven plagues, the seven Spirits of God, the seven golden candlesticks, and the seven angels of the seven churches.

If we read the entire counsels of God and wait upon God we will find the bible interprets itself and therefore we need not try and come up with our own private interpretation.

In chapter one the seven stars and the seven golden candlesticks are clearly interpreted as the seven angels of the seven churches. Jesus is then seen standing in the midst of the seven candlesticks, the place He wants to be. A horrible thing is later seen, in Laodicea, Jesus is outside of the church knocking to be let in.

There were more than seven churches in Asia Minor but seven were chosen by the Lord to depict or represent the seven ages or periods that the church would  go through. If the reader would like to read more about the seven churches then you may do so in a book I wrote about the seven churches. To get a copy of the book simply contact me through the church website.

The seven churches reveals the triumphs and defeats of the church throughout the ages. It describes the terrible persecution of the church, the corruption of its teachings and practices. The message that runs through all the churches is the call to repentance as a warning against ‘falling away’ from apostolic truth and as a prelude to restoration and revival.

The seven churches messages also show that taking heed to warnings and a willingness to repent can bring tremendous blessings in the midst of: spiritual corruption, slumber and even death. The prophetic word features prominently throughout the church messages and are for: warning, counselling and exhortations. They are not predictions of what will happen but if the messages go unheeded then they will come to past. A study of church history bears this out.

The woman Jezebel is introduced  in the seven churches message who features throughout the rest of the book.

Finally, each message to the seven churches begins with: “to the angel of the church” and ends with “he that hath an ear hear let him hear what the Spirit is saying unto the churches”. Each message is to the church age and is to every church, assembly of Christians, church organisations, and denominations; in short, everyone that goes by the name Christian and is called a church.

God save the UK. Our platform is the world and our congregation the people.

The Lord’s servant

Apostle Lloyd Denny

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Apr
18

Lloyd Denny’s blog Number 221- 17th April 2013

Lloyd on April 18th, 2013

“APOCALYPSE NOW”

As promised in blog number 220, titled Revelation, this is the beginning of a number of blogs from the book of Revelation. I am still in the USA and its very early in the morning. I leave for the UK later today, to arrive home tomorrow morning through the Sure Mercy of God.

In the opening chapter of the book of Revelation the Spirit of the Lord promises the reader a blessing for reading, hearing it being read and doing the things which are written in this final book of the Holy Bible.

As I read on, the title for this blog, Apocalypse Now, comes to me which, as bible students will know, is the Greek name for Revelation. As the book makes very clear it was written by Apostle John one of the original 12 disciples of our Lord Jesus.

The book was written in the Greek language and based on the subject matter, Jesus Christ; it’s title in Greek is the Apocalypse which means the unveiling.

Therefore, the book that we call in English,  Revelation simply means the unveiling of Jesus Christ.

I believe the book is very important today and should be more widely read, preached and taught in our churches, hence the title, Apocalypse Now.

It has been said and written about that its a very difficult book to understand, that is true, but it should not stop us exploring it for it is the final written book in the bible and how it came to the Chuches is a miracle. Whilst it may be a difficult book to understand the Lord promised a three fold blessing to the reader, hearer and he that lives by its content.

In this first blog, I will bring out some of the blessings that God promises in the hope that it encourages the church to pay closer attention to it by way of: reading it, having it read, seeking to understand it and obeying its messages.

Firstly, the Lord introduces an all encompassing title for himself as the Alpha and Omega or the English equivalent, A to Z. There are, respectively, 24 and 26 letters in the Greek and English alphabet; the Lord is saying to the church that as every word is composed of letters from the alphabet so He is the fulness of all that is God. This is indeed another way of saying He is the I Am that I Am. The blessing therefore is in knowing that Jesus is quintessentially God. Polytheism is based on the notion that no one god can meet all our needs or has all the attributes needed to be omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.

However, the God of the bible is One: the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, King of kings and Lord of lords and much more besides. Apostle Paul, writes that in Jesus is to be found “all the fulness of the godhead (deity) bodily and we are complete in him”. And again he wrote, “great is the mystery of godliness for God was manifest in the flesh”. This Jesus is the Emanuel that was incarnated and born of the Virgin Mary.

There are also a number of blessings to be found in the messages to the seven churches: restored access to the tree of life in the paradise of God. This is important on two counts. Firstly, it shows that the story in Genesis is true and secondly, that its spiritual and not natural. The garden of Eden is not a physical place in which was planted apples, pears and other fruit trees. Neither was the serpent a snake or the two principal trees natural. The bible says that God planted the garden and later he drove them from the garden. Yet now through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, paradise is restored to man.

A crown of life, hidden manna, a white stone engraved with a new name and power over the nations are all promised to overcomers. As one continues to read on, one finds references to the Spirit of Christ raising up a standard in each age to combat the worst of Satan. There are also descriptions of worship in heaven, of glorified saints and finally the defeat of Satan.

Satan is exposed to be that old serpent of Genesis, the devil and the dragon. In the book of the Apocalypse, we also can read about his rebellion and expulsion from heaven.

Whereas, the book of Genesis describes creation and the fall of man precipitated by Satan, the Apocalypse describes his defeat, and incarceration in the bottomless pit.

Because the Apocalypse describes the past the present and the future, what is
especially noteworthy, which should make every believer shout hallelujah, is the fact that it provides a clear narrative of the end.

For example,  in chapter 7 the following can be read: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 

“And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen”.

The Apocalypse ends with the following warning: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.

“And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly.  Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen”.

God save the UK. Our platform is the world and our congregation the people.

The Lord’s servant

Apostle Lloyd Denny

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Apr
15

Lloyd Denny’s blog Number 220 – 14th April 2013

Lloyd on April 15th, 2013

“REVELATION”

I woke from sleep early Sunday morning, before day break and tried to do some reading but found it difficult. I am in America with my wife, Merline visiting our daughter Christine and her husband Anthony as they celebrate the birth of their second child, Abigail.

I am enjoying my family here in Fayetteville, Georgia: Anthony junior soon to be four years old is fun to be with. His heart and mind are so innocent and pure; again I understand why Jesus said that to enter His Kingdom one had to be converted and become like a child.

Baby Abigail is a delight, she is only four weeks old but the miracle of life is manifested in this bundle of joy as one holds her. Whatever she does, and at this age is only a few things, is alright with me for it all speaks of life.

She is so wholly dependant on her parents and other carers that she would not last 24 hours without them. This level of care will remain for years and reduce over time but never entirely end it will only change.

Again I write, humans must never be proud for all that we might become and achieve would never have been possible without our parents, family and other members of society. I may never live to see Abigail grow up to be married and have her own family but I do pray that she will bring great joy and happiness to her parents, family and humanity. Moreover, that she walks with God and live to the full extent of her natural life and in the world to come eternal life.

I go back to bed and surprisingly fall off to sleep again waking some hours later this time it is day break. I meditate on the words of the Lord and in my spirit I hear the words “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. I dwell in meditation on these words and there came a stirring within, a signal that something important was about to be communicated to me for this is the way I usually get messages to preach and since I started writing regularly: books, articles and blogs.

After yielding to the flood of thoughts whirling in my spirit and mind I pick up the bible and read in Revelation chapter 19 the text: “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. Blogs number 217 and 218 are the subjects of this extract. As I continued to read from the book of Revelation, blog number 219 came into my, by now, quickened spirit and ready mind. Then finally, blog number 220 which is the subject of this blog.

I intend to write on some of the major bible themes in the book of Revelation. At this point I don’t know which ones I will write about, I will leave this to the Holy Spirit. The surprise to me is I left the UK with every intention to do much writing for I have the time to do so yet until this morning I have hardly written anything apart from an e bulletin. I completed blog number 216 whist here in the USA but it came to me on 4th April while still in the UK.

I make the above point because I never sit down and say I will write a blog, it always come whilst in prayer or meditation and always via my spirit.

The book of Revelation, as the opening chapter makes clear, is the further and final revelation of Jesus Christ. The opening chapter also makes clear that the apostle John received it whilst banished on the Isle of Patmos.

The facts about John and what happened to him should be undeniable. His experiences on the Island should also be undeniable. The issue for some is the difficulty in understanding it so its dismissed or ignored.

John sees visions, has visitations and receives revelations of the past, present and future. Angels are sent by God to help John to understand the many things he hears and sees whilst on the Island. The ministry of angels is neglected today but they still have a part to play in the affairs of our world and in the ministry of God’s servants here on earth. Indeed in every major event on the earth, you will find the involvement of angels but they are not called to preach the gospel of salvation but are instead sent to help God’s servants to accomplish our mission in the propagation of the gospel of Christ and the salvation of men.

Let me end this introduction to the series of blogs on the book of revelation with a quotation from the opening chapter.

“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand”.

God save the UK. Our platform is the world and our congregation the people.

The Lord’s servant

Apostle Lloyd Denny

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