Recent Talks

May the Lord bless you as you listen.

In Christ’s Triumphal Procession

What a gem Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is! Although – and perhaps because – he encountered more challenging troubles with this particular group of Christians than with any other, the letter includes his unsurpassed eulogy to love, seminal teaching about spiritual gifts and the Body of Christ, and his deep understanding concerning the glory we will enjoy in our eternal bodies in our heavenly home.

This first epistle soars to such heights, you almost wonder what a second letter could add to it! But it actually contains very rich fare, as we will discover in this talk based on 2 Corinthians 2:12-3:6, which I have called In Christ’s triumphal procession. In it, I touch on five main points:

• Remaining alert to the promptings of the Holy Spirit
• The triumphant return of Christ, accompanied by His saints
• Spreading the fragrance of Christ
• Pondering Paul’s question concerning who is equal to the task we are called to
• The importance and power of our words of recommendation

We finish with a magnificent improvisation and reading from the last track of our Transfiguration album, called Your glorious return – it truly is glorious!

Here are the notes on which I drew for the talk, but I do urge you to listen to it before you turn to them: there is a Spirit-filled vibrancy that comes from a live recording that is not quite captured by the words on a page!

The Principle of Suffer-Reign

Certain things just seem to belong naturally together: Fish and . . .? Bangers and . . .? But what might we pair suffering with? Peter associates it not with ‘peace and well-being’ but, on no fewer than four occasions in his first letter, with glory. Paul clearly thought that it was possible to do more than just survive times of suffering, for he wrote that ‘if we suffer with Jesus, we shall also reign with Him.’ (2 Tim. 2:12 KJ21) For this reason, I coined the phrase ‘suffer-reign.’

All of us have endured many different kinds of suffering, but there is a suffering that comes as the direct result of being faithful to Jesus, and it is an important theme to ponder and pray into. Many of us will have discovered how times pain and misunderstanding have had the effect of making us much more serious and determined about seeking God – rather as strong winds drive the roots of young oak trees deeper into the ground.

We may also have witnessed occasions, however, when, so far from incentivising people’s willingness to follow Jesus, the Man of sorrows, physical suffering and spiritual aridity have succeeded rather in crushing and reducing their trust in Him – and with it their willingness to go the extra mile for Him.

In this far-reaching talk, based on 1 Peter, I have done my best to unpack various important aspects on this whole theme of ‘suffer-reign.’

We are also including the detailed notes I wrote whilst preparing this material. They are not a literal transcript of the talk, nor necessarily a ‘finished’ article, but we hope you will them both stimulating and useful.

The Rock of Eternity and the age that is to come

Drawing on the experiences of Daniel in Babylon, I recorded a talk with Elizabeth Hume, an elder in our church here in Malvern, earlier this summer about how human empires rise and fall and comparing that with the Lord’s eternal kingdom, and how we are to respond strategically to the challenges we His people must deal if we live beneath the aegis of ungodly regimes and empires. These are a very pressing question for millions of believers around the world today.

The message holds true for any time and is nonpolitical. Nevertheless, it feels especially topical and relevant in the light of the recent American election.

May we turn our eyes and hearts heavenwards in faith and worship, for it is the Lord who reigns and He alone is robed in majesty! (Ps. 93:1)

Take advantage of this opportunity to soak in these principles from the word of God; they are deeply refreshing. Enjoy, too, the lovely moment of worship that we have inlaid into the prayers at the end.

Here are the notes that go with the talk.

Strengthening ourselves in the Lord

What an extraordinarily rich account the book of Samuel is! It has all the flow and potency of an epic historical novel, as we are introduced to larger-than-life characters, and to the whole saga that surrounded the founding of the monarchy in Israel. What a wealth of pithy quotes and spiritual truths and treasures we come across, too: phrases that have passed into our common spiritual language rather as so many of Shakespeare’s quotes have become a precious part and parcel of the English language.

As we listen to this talk, which Robert gave in church on the 14th July 2024, and which focuses on the wonderful theme of strengthening ourselves in the Lord as David did at a truly critical time in his life, may the Lord’s power and presence come on us all afresh.

We have a series online that goes into great depth about strengthening ourselves in the Lord based around the Hebrew word Chazaq, which means ‘to be or to grow strong or firm; to take courage, and to be courageous.’ (Strongs 2388) Here are the links to the four part series below.

Chazaq Part One: Strengthening ourselves in the Lord

Chazaq Part Two: Strengthening ourselves in the Lord – Fed up and far away: David in exile in a land of idols

Chazaq Part Three: David strengthened himself in the Lord – and everything began to turn around

Chazaq Part Four: Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit, says the Lord

Ephesians

Well aware of how easy it is to fall prey to one or more of the satanic strategies that powerful spirit-beings design to catch believers out, Paul concludes his magnificent epistle to the Ephesians with a briefing on spiritual warfare and a call to don the armour of God.

Given the sheer weight of issues that we all have to deal with internally as well as externally, the familiar passage in Ephesians 6 is a timely word for us to take time to ponder afresh. It is His armour, His weaponry and His Kingdom that we are called to share in, and to fight for.

We hope you will be really blessed by this talk that Robert shared on this subject at church recently.

Here is the transcript

Philippians two

God is always at work in our lives! He gives us both the desire and the power to do what pleases Him, and to fulfil His purposes. What incomparable wisdom Paul shares with us in his letters. They reveal so much about the man himself, not least his deep love for the people and the churches he was writing to, as well as his unreserved commitment to Christ. We can readily imagine him striding to and fro in his place of confinement, dictating his letters to his willing friends and fellow-workers – and how amazed they would have been to know how immensely significant these words and his wisdom would prove to be for believers in every generation!

Full of jewels and gems, Paul’s letter to the Philippians sparkles with joy even as he reminds us to rejoice at all times in the Lord, no matter what we are going through outwardly. May the Spirit of the living Lord nourish and encourage you as you listen to this message that I gave at our church recently, based around the second part of chapter two.