gospel – Sons of Issachar

480. The Heart of Evangelism | Meeting People Where They Are

Mike Parsons

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The Importance of Showing Real Interest

God loves people and takes a genuine interest in their lives. If we fail to show any interest ourselves, how will they ever believe that God is truly interested in them? Demonstrating care means asking about their situation and engaging with their story. It is not about forcing a single message upon someone, insisting that they must receive it whether they want to or not.

Instead, it is about recognising that God personally meets each person in their own circumstances. He cares, He desires to help, and He longs for them to discover who they truly are. In doing so, they can understand that God already loves them. This is a very different approach, one that treats each individual as unique rather than as a commodity, project or statistic.

Meeting People Where They Are

In the past, many forms of evangelism tended to focus on strategies and techniques. Courses often emphasised how to deliver a message and how to ensure that people listened. Yet this approach often missed the point. Evangelism should not be about ticking boxes or securing conversions. It ought to begin with real interest in people themselves—the realities of their lives and the struggles they face.

Rather than asking, “How can I insert this message into a conversation?”, we should be asking, “How can I develop a genuine relationship with this person, one that may open the door for them to encounter God for themselves?”

A Personal Approach

People need to meet God in us. They need to see and sense something of Jesus expressed through our lives. This may not always be conscious on their part, and sometimes it may not even be conscious on ours, yet God shines through us all the same. In this way, we carry His presence into every encounter.

As Scripture explains, Jesus was the clear image of the Father, revealing to those around Him what God was really like. Many have no true idea of God’s character until they encounter Christ.

Treating Individuals as Unique

In the same way, we are called to be ambassadors of reconciliation. Our role is to represent God’s heart faithfully and to help others to see that He has already done everything needed to restore their relationship with Him.

Summary: When our lives reflect His presence, others can begin to sense His love and discover for themselves the truth of who they are in Him. By treating people as individuals rather than commodities, we embody the message that God cares deeply for them. Evangelism then becomes not about delivering a formulaic message, but about relationship, love and presence.

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307. God’s Unconditional Love For You

319. Face to Face with God

417. Awakening to Love | Finding Your Place in God’s Heart

412. Beyond the Gospel | The mixture of faith and culture

Mike Parsons –

Mixture

The difficulty with what the Western world exported to Africa and beyond is that it was a mixture. We brought an evangelical gospel that wasn’t truly biblical, along with legalism, Victorian morality, and cultural traditions—things like formal Sunday attire and denominational structures. This mixture meant that alongside introducing people to Jesus, we also imposed religious systems and doctrines that were never part of the gospel.

Having spoken in Africa, I’ve personally apologised for this, recognising how British culture became entangled with the message of Christ, creating a rigid, legalistic system of religion. So I understand why people are challenging it—because I am too. I’ve been deconstructing my own beliefs, reassessing what I was taught, and recognising how much of it was shaped by religious programming rather than the truth.

But I’m not afraid of people questioning, because Jesus is the truth. He is the light, and he reveals himself. He has made himself known to people in places untouched by Western Christianity, even where his name was never spoken. Many missionary stories recount tribes saying, “We know him. He has visited us.” This proves that encountering Jesus is not confined to any one culture’s presentation of the gospel.

Religious baggage

So if people throw off religious baggage, I don’t fear they will lose their way. Truth and light always reveal who God truly is. And it doesn’t matter whether Jesus is seen as Black, White, Middle Eastern, or any other representation. Paul himself said he became all things to all people, and Jesus does the same—meeting people in ways they can relate to. Dr. O, for example, speaks of encountering Jesus as a Black man, which makes perfect sense in his context. Christ identified with all of humanity, taking on every identity to redeem us all.

Ultimately, these are external matters. Our true identity isn’t in race, culture, or background—it’s in being sons of God. When we fully know who we are, those externals no longer define us. It’s not wrong to celebrate them, but they don’t determine our worth. Who we are is the person God created, shaped and formed in his vast thoughts. That identity frees us from comparison, superiority or inferiority—we simply are who God made us to be.

Truth that transcends

God is restoring lost identity. Religion—and any system that tries to shape identity—inevitably distorts it into its own image. We must be shaped in God’s image, not by man-made constructs. Many seek their destiny, wanting to understand God’s plan for their lives. But your destiny scroll is simple: it’s you. Knowing who you are allows you to live out your purpose in any situation. There’s not just one predetermined path—many paths align with God’s heart, as long as they flow from true identity.

People want a detailed list of what they should be doing, because they are afraid of getting it wrong. They think God will be angry or disappointed with them, but he never is. He loves us and wants us to know and walk in the truth, living in daily relationship with him. That’s where our purpose unfolds—simply being who we are as sons, in union with the Father.

So I’m not concerned about cultural shifts or temporary changes. God is shaking man-made systems—religious, political, and otherwise—so that people stop placing their trust in them. The only unshakable thing is his kingdom, his rule, which is a rule of love. Seeing from a spiritual reality—God’s perspective—means embracing truth that transcends human constructs. And that truth will always challenge the perspectives we previously held.

Summary of the remainder of the video

True identity

We often define ourselves by circumstances or achievements, but our true identity is found in him. Transformation isn’t about striving—it’s about being. As we embrace intimacy with the Father, he reshapes us into who we were always meant to be. His thoughts lift us above earthly limitations, aligning us with his truth.

Romans 12 warns against being pressed into the world’s mould—letting external opinions and circumstances shape us. Instead, we are called to transformation (metamorphosis), like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. We are not meant to stay bound in the cocoon; we are meant to fly. We are called to live from our true identity, fully aligned in spirit, soul and body.

Transformation isn’t about striving but embracing the Father’s revelation of who we are. God gently reshapes our thinking, freeing us from past mindsets and religious distortions.

I don’t want to be shaped by a religious mould any more than I want to be shaped by a worldly mould – I want to be shaped by what God says and by what his intention was for me.

As his presence dwells in us, we manifest his love on earth. We were made to bring heaven to Earth, not shaped by the world or religion but by God’s original design. I don’t want to be shaped by a religious mould any more than I want to be shaped by a worldly mould – I want to be shaped by what God says and by what his intention was for me. When we live in intimacy with him, we reflect his heart and purpose in all we do.

No separation

Our identity is key—when we embrace it, we align with God’s original design, living in wholeness, free from sickness and limitation. Instead of striving to believe, we rest in heavenly truth, allowing it to transform our reality. True transformation comes from intimacy with God, from aligning with the Father’s heart, feeling what he feels, and acting from that place. Jesus fully embraced emotion—he laughed, cried, and was moved with compassion. We are called to do the same, not suppressing our feelings or allowing them to control us, but being guided by them as they flow in harmony with God’s love.

Oneness with God means there is no separation between his thoughts and ours. We don’t act independently but in complete union, embodying his love and reflecting his nature. As we embrace this reality, we become true ambassadors of his love, prioritising others above ourselves and living in the fullness of our divine identity.

Unconditional love

Loving unconditionally in this way is difficult for us because we are conditioned by our experience of relationships that come with expectations. God loves us unconditionally, allowing us to make choices, even wrong ones, without control or condemnation. He always seeks to bring good from our failures, never standing over us saying, “I told you so.” In human relationships, our love is tested when mistakes are made. Do we choose grace and understanding, or pride and the need to be right? True love prioritises relationship over being proven correct. The more we experience God’s love, the more we can reflect it—just as Jesus intended.

God seeks relationship

Sin is lost identity, not wrong behaviour. Religion emphasises behaviour, insisting that change is necessary to be accepted by God. As a result, many who don’t conform are excluded from our churches, not because they are unacceptable to God, but because they don’t fit denominational or cultural expectations. God requires nothing—he simply invites us to come as we are, and transformation follows in relationship with him.

Religion focuses on actions, but the deeper issue is separation from God. Adam and Eve chose independence, losing their sense of who they were. Ever since, humanity has struggled with shame and the illusion of separation, though God has never turned away.

God seeks relationship, not behaviour modification

God’s love invites us to return, not by fixing ourselves, but by embracing the identity he has already restored. Religion seeks to control through fear; but God seeks relationship, not behaviour modification. Living in our true identity frees us from sin-consciousness, and transforms how we live.

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348. Challenging Healing Beliefs

Mike Parsons –

Healing is an interesting topic because a lot of people are sick and need healing or something else, and they are praying for it. How do you do it?

God is my healer

My belief in healing and living in health goes back nearly 30 years. I wouldn’t do the things I did then because I was operating out of the revelation I had at the time. I did seek every Bible verse on healing, health, or wholeness, and I did confess it and tried to engage with it. However, the turning point in my journey was realising that God is my healer, Jehovah Rophe. It’s one of His names and part of His identity. Therefore, anything that contradicts that is not God’s desire.

This raises questions about why some people get healed and others don’t, and I can’t answer that unless God tells you something specific. It’s a complicated subject, not as simple as just believing that someone laying hands on you will heal you. While that can happen, people don’t always keep the healing because they haven’t dealt with the root cause. Practically, I wouldn’t do the same things now as I did then. I’ve come to the conclusion that health is my inheritance and that sickness has no part in me because I’m a child of God. I know how to use my authority as a child of God to ensure that I don’t get sick. My whole consciousness is geared towards health.

Beyond health to immortality

Moving beyond health, there’s immortality. If you live in health, there’s no reason to ever die unless you’ve finished your purpose here, in which case you could go directly to heaven like Elijah and Enoch. Jesus said, “Eat my flesh, drink my blood, and you won’t die,” referring to physical death. Although 2,000 years have passed since Jesus said that, and people still die, it’s because our minds need to be renewed to the truth and reality of that promise. The church teaches that death is a promotion to heaven, which is actually a covenant with death and not a good thing.

In terms of health theology, I believe God desires everyone to be in health, including everyone on the planet, not just Christians. Healing people who don’t know Him can be a good way to bring them to Him. Healing is a demonstration of God’s love and power.

Practically, people like Joe Dispenza support the idea that how we think and approach things influences our health. Quantum physics suggests that as a man observes, chooses and pictures reality, that reality will manifest if he’s not double-minded. The issue with healing is often double-mindedness: believing in healing but being preoccupied with symptoms. The faith movement advises not to deny symptoms but to recognise that they are not the ultimate truth. The truth will manifest to change symptoms, but you need to believe the truth, which is more relational with Jesus than merely ‘confessing the word’.

A gift from God

Faith is a gift from God to believe – in salvation; in healing, health and wholeness, which are all part of salvation. We are saved by grace through faith, which is a gift from God, not something we generate ourselves. We need a relationship with God to reveal Him as our healer, which would enable faith to manifest as our trust in God, rather than something we try to generate to get God to heal us.

So when we trust God as being good and wanting to bless us, and health as being part of our relationship with Him, that will enable us to accept that as truth. This will renew our minds, allowing us to believe and act on the truth rather than trying to find a way to do it. That being said, there are many people who are not in that place of being able to choose a reality, who don’t understand quantum physics, or who don’t have a deep relationship with God. They may not be close enough to Him to trust Him as their healer and the one who wants them to be blessed and highly favoured.

How do you work with that? To help people engage with the truth, you need to consider that God may use transitional ways to bring people into health or to receive healing and wholeness. This might include changing your diet, getting more exercise, using essential oils, Rife-generated frequencies, gem therapy, light therapy, or other methods generally based on frequency. Again, Joe Dispenza notes that our frequency influences our health. If our frequency is low, we are susceptible to ill health. If our frequency is high, living in rest, love, joy, and peace, then our body can be healthy. Understanding frequency is part of achieving health and wholeness, and therapies that use frequency can be effective.

Healing comes in different ways

Jesus used the word therapeuo for healing, which means therapy rather than miracle. Not every healing is a miracle that happens instantly; sometimes it is a process. We go through the process of trusting Him and listening to what He wants us to do. I’m not against therapeutic methods using frequency, as I believe that’s a revelation from God to help more people achieve health. There are new technologies, therapies and alternative treatments. I’m not against going to doctors if that’s what God wants you to do. If I were unconscious in a car accident, I’d be happy to be taken to a hospital until I could wake up and deal with it myself, perhaps even while my spirit is still functioning.

God wants everyone to be healthy. Sickness can come from various sources, such as genetic or generational issues. It’s important to seek God’s guidance on what you need to do to receive everything that belongs to you. A friend of mine, diagnosed with stage four cancer, refused to accept the prognosis and sought God’s guidance. She followed His instructions, took specific supplements, and used a BEMER machine (BioElectroMagnetic Energy Regulation) for circulation. Her blood markers, initially over 500, came down month by month to less than 30, until she was perfectly well.

Healing comes in different ways. We need to enter into a relationship with God to know His heart for us and trust Him to bring good into our lives, leading to whole health, wholeness and immortality. It’s okay to use whatever method God shows you. People laying hands on you is a biblical practice where they impart a frequency or energy. You can engage your faith with that frequency and direct it into people’s bodies. I’ve used my faith and choice gates to see people healed. However, I would want to equip people to understand health, not just to receive healing from others.

329. Evangelising Non-Christians: A Fresh Perspective

Mike Parsons –

In the last post, I talked about evangelising Christians. Now I turn to those who do not consider themselves Christians at all.

Challenging Preconceptions for Non-Christians

When it comes to talking to people who are not yet Christians or not yet believing, or have not yet realised what Jesus has done for them, I would start at a different place. I would probably begin by challenging what they think they know about Jesus and God, because it is probably not the truth. I would likely challenge some of the preconceptions they think they know from whatever religious upbringing they have had. I would say, “You may have thought you needed to do this or this or this, but actually God has done it all – you just have to receive it.” I would use illustrations like: “When someone buys a gift for you, they wrap it nicely, present it well, put your name on it, and then hand it to you. You didn’t buy it, you didn’t deserve it – it was a gift they gave you. But it wasn’t yours until you received it, even though your name was on it. Only when you reached out, took it, opened it, and received it as a gift could you say ‘this is now mine.’ Until then, you haven’t received anything, even though the gift is there.”

The Gift of God’s Grace

That is essentially what God has done. Jesus has reconciled everybody. He has taken away ‘the sin’ – the lost identity, their amnesia from who they really are. He has revealed the Father (as Jesus is the express image of the Father). He has shown people that it is all about love: He has called people to love one another, forgive one another. I would challenge them to see what Jesus said in light of our religious thinking – an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, vengeance, God being angry and needing appeasing. To say, “It’s already been done! God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. He’s already made a relationship, already given you the Spirit and made you alive so you can know Him. He’s already done all these amazing things – why don’t you just let Him give you that experience?”

Receiving the Gift

So give them the opportunity of having that experience as well. Probably having knocked down some religious ideas like “you have to go to church, pray, read the Bible” and so on. You can say, “Who said you have to do any of those things?” and open up a whole different vista of who God really is. It’s like the book “The Jesus I Never Knew” by Philip Yancey – he was probably brought up in the Bible Belt but never knew Jesus for who He really was. I would try to present Jesus as someone they may have thought they knew, but there’s more – a truth that probably challenges what they thought they knew.

Then I would stress the need for experience – that it is a relationship, God with us. God is in them already, wanting to reveal Himself to them. Ask them to give Him a chance. Then you can use something like “Behold I stand at the door and knock,” and say, “God is in you, within your spirit. He wants you to let Him into the rest of your life – to bless you, heal you, make you whole, remove all guilt, shame, condemnation, give you your true identity as His son, empower you to succeed and prosper.” Then get them to close their eyes, picture a door, open it, and see what happens.

Conclusion

So ultimately it all comes down to the same point – encouraging both Christians and non-Christians to experience things. But in both groups you may need to remove some preconceived ideas about what they think it is all about and what they think might be the truth. Then help them find The Truth as a person – Jesus – through that experiential encounter with the reality of who God is and what He has already done.

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328. Experiencing God’s Love: A New Approach to Evangelising Christians

Mike Parsons –

If you are starting with people who are already professing to be Christians, you will begin in a different place than if you are engaging those who don’t.
I will get on to evangelising non-Christians in my next post. Ultimately though, both need to know the love of God and experience that love themselves, through a revelation of who He is, to fully come into the knowledge of who they are.

Beyond Religious Conditioning

I would always start in an experiential way. If they are Christians, I will quote scriptures that point to the fact that Jesus and the Father very clearly desire an intimacy that is not religious and not based on works, performance or the old covenant. I would definitely look at the New Covenant wineskin for believers who may be conditioned or programmed by various religious beliefs. What did Jesus say we should expect? We should expect to be where He was, in the “I AM” relationship with the Father. He came and breathed on them to receive the Holy Spirit on the day of resurrection, affirming them as the new representatives of humanity: just as Adam was the first representative through whom all died, now they were the new representatives where all are made alive.

Experiential Encounters

I would emphasise that Jesus wanted them to experience His presence. Even when He told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem, it was so they would be clothed with power from on high – an experiential encounter affirming what they had already experienced in being indwelt by the Holy Spirit and received new life when He breathed on them, just as the Father breathed life into Adam. This challenges the idea of a certain number of people being “born again” at some future point, when the reality is that all were born again at that resurrection moment, affirmed when He breathed on them. As He said in John 14, “On that [resurrection] day you will know I am in you and you are in me, and we are in the Father.”

Challenge the conventional

I think always stressing the experiential side is key – that we have been called to hear His voice, come boldly to the throne of grace, and enter the realms of heaven experientially because they are open. Expressing this in a practical way removes the spiritualisation of the concept and sets the expectation for what our relationship with God should be. We can challenge the conventional vaguely hopeful expectations of ‘going to heaven when we die’ with affirmations of what Jesus said we should expect in this life – being in union with each other, our love relationship allowing the world to see what it means to be in relationship with God.

Summary

In conclusion, I would definitely give people an opportunity to have their own experience of God. Make it simple, easy and accessible – don’t complicate it. Give them the opportunity of encountering God through experience, and from that point, you can open the door for them to understand so much more.

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326. The Power of Confessing Your Beliefs

Mike Parsons

‘Confession’ is not just saying the words. Anyone can say “I am immortal” but that has no value if you do not truly believe it in the depths of your being. Your confessions have to be an overflow of what you already know to be 100% true – not something you are trying to convince yourself of.

When Jesus said that those who eat his flesh and drink his blood will not die, he was speaking of physical, not just spiritual, death (look at John 6:58). But this truth has been largely lost and spiritualised over the past 2,000 years. Religious leaders have instead reinforced the inevitability of physical death, often misinterpreting passages like Hebrews 9:27.

The reality is that Jesus has already conquered death, and we are called to live in the victory of that finished work. But most Christians have bought into the mindset that death is just a “promotion” to heaven – an unavoidable part of life that we have to accept. We need a complete mindset shift to align ourselves with the truth of our immortality. This isn’t just a mental or spiritual concept – it has to manifest in our physical bodies as well. We pursue wholeness and health, believing that God wants us healed and restored; when we live in that reality of health, we no longer need healing, because sickness and disease will have no hold on us. And if we do not get sick, we will not die. Immortality is the truth that has been brought to light through the gospel (see 2 Timothy 1:10), but a truth that most people have lived in darkness about.

The passage of time is no longer a threat, but an opportunity to fully walk out the eternal life that is ours in Christ. We do not have to fear aging or death, but can confidently press forward, knowing that our bodies will be transfigured and empowered to function in ways beyond our current understanding.

Conclusion

The key is aligning our confessions and our mindsets with the reality that Jesus has already accomplished, not trying to make something true that was not true before, but declaring and living out the truth of our immortality. When we do that, we will begin to see the power of the resurrection working in our mortal bodies, bringing them into the fullness of eternal life.

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324. Complete Salvation in Christ

Mike Parsons

The Finished Work of Christ

The finished work of Christ has accomplished everything necessary for our complete salvation. There is nothing else to be done.
All the promises and covenants of God are fully and completely fulfilled in Jesus. There is nothing and no one else who could complete or fulfil them.
We are all included in Jesus and have received life through him, just as all died in Adam.

The Universality of Salvation

As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. All have received life, though not everyone is aware of this reality yet.
The ministry of believers is to help people understand this amazing inclusion and reality that all have been given life in Christ.

The Universality of Sin

The Bible verse “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) is often used to tell people they are not good enough and need God.
The reality is that all have outworked their lost identity, which is short of the glory God intended for us.

Justification by Grace

The ‘all’ who have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (in Romans 3:23) are “justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
This means that all who have sinned (which is everyone) have also been justified, not by their own merit, but as a free gift of God’s grace through Christ’s redemption.

The Universality of Justification

The “all” who have sinned are the same “all” who have been justified. There is a universality to both the problem of sin and the solution of justification.
Romans 5:18 states that just as condemnation came to all through one man’s transgression (Adam), so also justification of life has come to all through one act of righteousness (Christ).
The condemnation referred to here is not eternal punishment, but the state of living in lost identity apart from God, and the consequences that brings.

Jesus’ Authority over All Mankind

According to John 17:2, Jesus is given authority over all mankind, so that he may give eternal life to all whom the Father has given him.

Eternal Life for All Mankind

In John 17:2-3, Jesus states that eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom God has sent.
God has given Jesus authority over all mankind: the same “all” who were condemned in their lost identity and the same “all” who would be made righteous and justified.
Some may try to separate the “all” to whom Jesus has authority over, and the “all” to whom he gives eternal life. That is illogical. The same “all” applies to both – Jesus has authority over all mankind, and he will give eternal life to all whom the Father has given him.

The Supremacy of Christ

Colossians 1:15-20 speaks of the supremacy of Christ, and that all things were created through him and for him.
Note again the inclusive nature of the “all” – nothing is left out, as all things have been created through Christ and hold together in him.
And it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Christ, and through him to reconcile ‘all things’ to himself, whether on earth or in heaven.

The Universality of Reconciliation

Christ has reconciled all things, not just people, but everything that he created.
This reinforces the universal scope of Christ’s work: he has reconciled all of creation to the Father through the blood of his cross.

The Universality of Christ’s Work

John 1:7 – Jesus came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.
John 1:16 – Of Christ’s fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.
John 3:35 – The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands.
John 5:28 – A time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice.

The Reconciliation of All Things

In John 12:32, Jesus says that when he is lifted up on the cross, he will draw all people to himself.
“All” does not leave anyone out, and there are many instances of the word “all” used throughout the teachings of Jesus and the Scriptures.

The Fulfillment of the Law

In Matthew 5:18, Jesus states that not the smallest letter or stroke of the law will pass away until all is accomplished.
The “heaven and earth” referred to in this verse represent the old covenant system, which was fulfilled; and it passed away when the temple was destroyed in AD 70.

Key Takeaway

All has been accomplished through the finished work of Christ; there is nothing left to be done for the full and complete salvation not only of mankind but of all creation.

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318. Not the End of the World

Mike Parsons –

Understanding Realised Eschatology

Realised eschatology, for me, is also heading for an understanding of Christian universalism. The same scriptures Jesus referred to concerning hell (Gehenna) are in the same passage as those that speak of the end of the age – not the end of the world, but the conclusion of their Old Covenant age. People faced being cast into Gehenna if they remained in Jerusalem when the Roman armies invaded. They would be crucified, and a few hundred thousand were thrown into the literal Gehenna.

This is the concept of hell, as commonly understood in English. Of course, Christian Universalists would say hell is a different thing, and some deny its existence altogether. Personally, I see it as a place where those who haven’t come to know Jesus in life still have the opportunity to choose him after death – death is not the end of choice. Rather than a realm of punishment and torment, I see it as the fire of God’s loving presence which purifies and refines.

The scriptures that mention Gehenna portray it as a consequence of staying entrenched in the old covenant ways, not some future judgment scenario. It was a warning of a physical manifestation of death. Jesus warned his followers to flee Jerusalem when they saw certain signs: they understood this and ran to the hills, to find safety in Pella. By heeding his words, they were physically saved from the destruction that befell Jerusalem.

Signs

All that being said, I believe God introduces concepts like this to steer the church back to first principles, into a deeper relationship in which we experience Him intimately, face to face. Once we do, we no longer need the signs which pointed us towards this reality.

Experiential connection

In my preaching of the gospel, I aim to introduce people to Jesus in a way that facilitates a tangible, experiential connection with the Father. It is only through this intimate relationship that someone can truly understand and experience God’s unconditional love, find spiritual healing and wholeness, and embrace their identity and inheritance as a child of God. I believe God is gradually weaning us off an over-reliance on healings and miracles, so we can live in mystical experience with Him. This shift is not about abandoning miraculous manifestations altogether but that we use them for the purpose of outworking what God is doing in the earth.

We have the ability to govern and rule, to establish the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. This process begins first within our own lives, then thorough our lives, and ultimately leads to the creation of places on earth which do not operate under the government of earth but under the government of heaven. There will be no sickness there, no disease, no lack, no poverty: nothing contradictory to the fullness of life as children of God.

Cultivating relationship

In the Mystic movement, there is a shift away from seeking outward manifestations like healings towards cultivating a deeper relationship with God in which health and wholeness naturally flow, and the focus is no longer on individuals performing healing. God is our healer.

Early Christians underwent a profound shift in their understanding of God, moving moved away from viewing Him through the lens of an outdated religious and political system. Instead, Jesus revealed God as love incarnate, challenging their preconceptions and inviting them into a relational encounter with the Father. He came to undo their whole understanding of God from an Old Covenant mentality. This shift from a legalistic mindset to one grounded in relationship and experience to which Jesus is the door, empowered them to operate in sonship, seated in heavenly places, and to manifest the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

The God that we know

When we are introducing the reality of who God is, we do not need to do so through miraculous healing, but through introducing the God that we know. They can experience the God that they will then know, and then they can enter into that life themselves. Now I am not saying there are not amazing things. I have done all sorts of transrelocation, time miracles and other things; but in the purposes of outworking my relationship with God, not to prove who God is or to demonstrate to others how good God is. I can help them experience God themselves, so they are not dependent on me testifying by doing anything like that.

Key takeaway

Preaching the gospel is about leading people to encounter the God we know, so that they can embark on their own journey of discovering His love and life-changing power for themselves.

Want to learn more about ‘happy’ or realised eschatology? Get Mike’s book The Eschatology of the Restoration of All Things from your favourite bookseller, or download the ebook from our website at https://eg.freedomarc.org/course/eschatology-ebook

Thank you!

304. Wrath is not the solution | Penal Substitutionary Atonement [2]

Mike Parsons

Problem two with penal substitutionary atonement theory is that it makes a wrathful violence the solution to everything. PSA claims that God’s justice will not allow Him to just forgive sin; instead, His wrath must be poured out – on an innocent, in this case, Jesus – and His justice be satisfied so He can forgive the guilty (us). And again, that concept presents God as a completely violent and wrathful Being, when He is love. He’s not anger. He’s not wrath. He’s not violence. He’s love.

That is the second real, big, giant problem with the theory of atonement – and the the word ‘atonement’ really just means ‘why Jesus died on the cross’ – ‘what He was doing on the cross’ – it makes wrathful violence the solution to all our problems: in short, violence is actually the answer. Well we know that can’t be true because of Jesus’ teaching, and Jesus’ life, and everything He represented. PSA claims that God must violently punish to satisfy His justice. Now, we can counter that by saying if God had to use violence to solve the problem, we elevate violence as a viable solution for people’s problems. “If God did it, then why can’t I do it?”

That actually is why people can justify the Crusades, and all sorts of persecution of people, and ‘salvation by the sword’, and all that type of thing that happened in the past because they were coming from an Old Testament perspective. And God wasn’t even that God in the Old Testament, because He’s the same, He never changes: He has always been love.

Their view of him was wrong and Jesus came to truly reveal what God was fully like. Even when Peter used a sword to cut off the high priest’s servant’s ear, what did Jesus do? He didn’t commend Peter for violently cutting off his ear, he put his ear back and healed him. Very clearly, the pictures and some of the illustrations that use the terminology of a sword coming to divide were examples of division, nothing to do with violence.

Another claim of PSA is that God punished Jesus on the cross as an expression of His wrath. Again I think we can counter that – the idea of God using violence directly contradicts the ethics taught and lived by Jesus, who is God. There is not one instance where Jesus who is God suggests this in His teaching, especially The Sermon on the Mount. Therefore it contradicts the core of Jesus’ teaching, which is to show mercy, to love our enemies and to never use violence to solve anything.

I think mercy triumphs over man’s desire and need for justice, for sacrifice for offering, and all the other things we have created in our own forms of religion.

Key takeaway

According to PSA, violence is actually the answer. Yet this directly contradicts the ethics lived and taught by Jesus.

This is part of an occasional series taken from ‘The Chariot of Ascension‘: in which Mike began to discuss 7 problems with PSA (as identified by Bryan Finley).

303. The Nature of God’s Love

Mike Parsons

It is not that all religions lead to God, but that we can choose to accept and love people who hold different beliefs. God loves everyone, no matter what they believe. He loves Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs (and everyone else) just as much as He loves Christians. No more, no less – they just do not know that love in the same way. Telling others they are wrong or are leading people astray and that they will go to hell is counter-productive and falsely represents God’s nature.

God can reveal Himself to anyone. Taking a positive approach towards others makes them more likely to think of God as good, so that when they do meet Jesus, they are more likely to consider following Him than if they have experienced hostility from an unfriendly church. Rick Warren is someone who takes flak for engaging with other faith groups, yet all he is doing is reaching out and showing love – which is what the good news is all about. Whatever our doctrinal disagreements might be with him, he is reflecting God’s love in a way that others are not.

God is not looking at whether you have all your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed in doctrine: He is looking at love. He is looking at your heart. If we are loving, that is more a reflection of Him than if our belief system is in line. If you have great doctrine but you do not show love, what is the point of that? You are nothing but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal (see 1 Cor 13:1). If you do not show love, your faith is empty and hollow and it has no power and no effect. It is about what you do with people, not what you say to them.

Key takeaway:

If you have great doctrine but you do not show love, what is the point of that? You are nothing but a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

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