The highlight was the home grown, written, and performed Sunday School and Youth Group plays. The ministry, items, testimonies, fellowship, and of course food, were also top shelf! Well done Townsville!  See you again a few years down the track!

The night was suitably arranged by Peter and Janet Mitchell, who provide and cooked the very scrumptious meal of roast Lamb and vegetables, with most of the ladies providing the extras.

The hall was suitably decorated for the occasion.

Several terrific items and short movies were provided for the entertainment for all who attended. A great night of fellowship was had by all.

Big crowd of witnesses with a lot of visitors from the mainland and almost every Tasmanian saint. Reception was a “real” breakfast with juice, cereals, bacon and eggs and the works. Enjoyed by all!

And then at 1.11pm (Gerry is very organised!) the helicopter returned to take them on to their honeymoon. (Destination Top Secret — the bride didn’t even know where). A very entertaining and enjoyable day and we know that the Lord will bless this marriage as Gerry and Heather keep looking to Him.

Our mezzannie floor was converted into an Art Gallery with over a hundred folk venturing out in the pouring rain to attend this outreach. Great time of fellowship and laughter.

“Eatable Art – Noah’s Ark”

“Timeless”

“Grace Kelly”
“Garden of Eden made out of Toffee”         Yummy

“Nubsy & Jordan  -  Let the games begin”

 After two games of Strikes, Gutter balls and the occasional Bumper seen, we all headed to Showdown alley (lane 1) for the Team Bowl off. Vision Vs Sorted Vs Eternal.

“Showdown Alley – Team Bowl Off”

For the final Event, only the brave stepped forward, individuals putting reputations on the line for the sake of their team.  Stars were born and heros created, but not even a heroic lone strike from the one they call ‘butcher’ could save Team Vision from going down to Sorted’s might. But will it be enough when the final results are tallied!?!? All will be revealed!

“Let the Good times Roll”

In Acts 17 we find Paul the Apostle alone in Athens. He is waiting for his friends to catch up with him after he had been violently chased out of yet another city.

The section we are looking at, verses 16-33 breaks up into four sections:

1. What Paul saw as he walked around Athens, and how he felt about it.
2. What he did about it.
3. What he said when he got the chance.
4. What happened as a result of what he said.

In the context of what he said Paul tells us five things about God that are well worth remembering.

1. God is the creator of the universe.
2. God provides for us.
3. God arranges our affairs to make it easy to find and approach Him.
4. God is our Father.
5. God is a righteous judge. He will call mankind to account for what they have done about His Son. Judgement day is certain and the time is set. After all, He is God, and He demands repentance.

1. What Paul saw and how he felt about it

Paul must have been very excited to be in Athens. He spoke fluent Greek and was a scholar of Greek literature and culture. For more than 500 years Athens had been the leading centre of culture in the world. Rome was the centre of political and military power, and nobody had the slightest doubt about that. But Athens was the site of the great and ancient university. It was the home of philosophers, mathematicians and artists. It was a centre of architecture, and expertise in engineering and building. The Parthenon was already hundreds of years old when Paul was there.

Paul probably would have been up at first light and out and about to explore for himself the great city about which he knew so much. We read that he was shocked and ‘greatly distressed’ because he saw the city awash with the worship of idols. From the top of the town, where the elegant Parthenon was a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, to the dockyards of Piraeus, the city was a maze of temples to a horde of gods and goddesses. The people were consumed with the services required by the priests and priestesses. The city was given over to idolatry and it pained him to the depths of his heart. But he was not one to let it pass. His heart was full of the love of the Lord and gratitude for his salvation and he longed to tell people how they might be saved and set free.

2. What Paul did

Paul went out and talked about Jesus Christ and salvation to anyone who would listen. He went to the synagogue and spoke to the people there who might reasonably have been expected to know something of the God of Israel and the salvation that was promised. When he ran out of people to talk to there, he went on to the great market place known as the Agora, which was full of pagans who knew nothing of the Lord Jesus.

In the course of this he found himself in a debate with two groups of philosophers. Luke explicitly records that they were the Epicureans and the Stoics. The Epicureans were followers of Epicurus. They were rationalists and materialists. If there were any gods, and they didn’t believe that there were, then those gods had no interest in man at all. What was left was to have a good time because that was all there is. They certainly did not believe in any form of afterlife. When you died you were dead, and that was that. The Stoics on the other hand were followers of a philosopher called Zeno. Like some today, they would have talked of the power of nature and the creation and are happy to talk about some profound life force (‘mother nature’ or earth spirits). They claimed that this life force controlled everything and was indifferent to humans provided they did not disturb the environment. But, and this is important, they believed in life after death.

Paul talked all the time about Jesus and the resurrection. However, some who heard apparently thought that Paul was just introducing another ‘god’ and to preach new ‘gods’ without authority was against the law. You needed a licence. So Paul was taken to the authority that issued such licences which was known as the Council of the Areopagus. The Areopagus was the name of the place where they met — a building on the top of Mars Hill; a hill near the larger hill called the Acropolis, on top of which stands the Parthenon.

There is no modern equivalent of the Council of the Areopagus. A senate of immense prestige and antiquity, it was responsible for matters of morality, education, and religion in Athens. It comprised intellectual leaders such as the heads of the university and the various schools of philosophy. It was the peak body of the foremost intellectual community of that time, and the members would have been equal to the best scholars, politicians, lawyers and philosophers in the world today. Paul was invited to stand before this committee, and was politely asked to explain himself. But note Luke’s little aside indicating that they were more interested in discussing problems and issues than in finding solutions to them (verse 21). So Paul marshals his thoughts in his mind, takes a deep breath, and serves up the phenomenal little speech that Luke has recorded for us, the so-called ‘Areopagus Address’.

3. What Paul said

He starts out politely but boldly. ‘You know nothing about the Lord God or what He has done, but I Paul do, and I will tell you’. With the Parthenon behind him, the home that they had built for the goddess Athena, Paul makes his points.

He tells them ‘God made the universe. He made a home for us. He doesn’t need us to build a house for Him! He runs the universe’.

‘God provides us with everything we need. He has no need of anything from us’. Paul dared to say this in a city where vast resources were consumed in offerings to the legion of idols the people served and the priests that organised this service.

‘God orders all our affairs. He determines where we live and lines up the circumstances of our lives. And why? Because He wants us to reach out to Him and find Him. And frankly, He has made it easy’. In verse 28 Paul quotes a Greek poet named Epimenides who made exactly that point. It should not have been news to his audience.

Paul makes his fourth point on the back of another quotation, this time from a Greek poet named Aratus, and this time the point is that we are God’s children. ‘God created us all. We received life itself from Him. It is silly to think of Him in terms of stone or metal.’

In these four points Paul provides four reasons why idolatry is wrong, and why it is time for the pagans to reconsider their position. To summarise:

• Idolatry seeks to localise God, to confine Him within limits that we set. But the fact is that He has no limits; He is the creator of the universe.
• Idolatry tries to domesticate God, to tame Him, and make Him dependent on us. But He sustains all of life.
• Idolatry seeks to alienate God, to blame Him for His distance and silence. But He is the ruler of the nations and not far from any of us. To find Him and obey Him is not hard.
• Idolatry seeks to dethrone God and demote Him to the status of some image we have made with our hands. But He is our Father, from whom we derive our being.

Idolatry is a perverse expression of mankind’s rebellion against God, and the inexcusable nature of this leads into Paul’s fifth and last point.

This is found in verses 30 and 31, and is that God is the judge of the world. Unless you know the Lord Jesus, this is very bad news, because God is holy, and God wants us to be holy, and without Him we are not. The council that Paul addressed would have vividly understood the implication that you cannot treat with contempt the clear wish of the Lord of all. To ignore the wishes of the Romans was to invite massive retribution. The best they could expect from judgement at the hands of the holy God would be more devastating and far-reaching, but Paul tells them it doesn’t have to be like that.

Paul tells them that the recent resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the pledge that by the agency of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, God will judge the world in righteousness, and that it is time to repent. God had previously in His mercy overlooked mankind’s ignorance of Him, but the time for that was finished, and their ignorance was now culpable and without excuse. Paul tells them that God commands them to repent because judgement day is coming. Furthermore, that judgement will be:

• universal,
• righteous,
• unavoidable.

God has committed this responsibility of righteous judgement to His Son, and has given public proof of this by raising Him from the dead. The Council Paul is addressing (and by implication, all mankind) need, urgently, to find out what God wants them to do, and to do it (i.e. to repent).

There is a certain irony in reading this passage. We tend to ask people if they would like to meet the Lord Jesus. The fact is that they all will come face to face with Him as their Lord and Judge whether they like it or not. And they will have to give to Him an account of what they did in response to the fact that He died for them.

4. What happened as a result of Paul’s remarks

The mention of the resurrection causes the proceedings of the Council, and Paul’s address, to come to an abrupt stop, and the meeting breaks up in uproar. Some sneered (the Epicureans?). Others were more interested (the Stoics?). Paul left. I rather doubt that he got his public speaking permit.

The lovely bit about this passage is that Paul’s speech, in which he witnesses to the Council, was not for nothing. We read that Dionysius (a member of the Council) Damaris and a number of others listened, were saved, and became important in the Church (verse 24). The Lord blessed Paul’s efforts. He will bless our efforts similarly if we will stand up and speak for Him as Paul did.

Paul clearly told the Athenians that to disobey the Lord God was to invite their own destruction. This is still equally true, and applies to us, whether we like it or not. We should be profoundly glad and grateful for the fact that the Lord Jesus himself stands between God and us, and, by virtue of His death, provides for us His righteousness and presents us to God justified. Every day we should thank the Lord Jesus for dying in our place to redeem us and save us from the consequences of sin and for adopting us into His family to be with Him forever. We need to find out what pleases the Lord (Ephesians5:10), and to do it. In the fullness of time, nothing else will be important.

Speaker: Pastor Simon Longfield.

Précis: What will you leave behind? The Apostle Paul spent time under duress, but left behind riches – despite resistance without and within the Church. Be courageous, make a difference. What will they say about you…

Scriptures Used:

2 Timothy 4:1-3

2 Timothy 3:10-11

2 Timothy 4:3-11

Titus 2:11

2 Corinthians 3:1-12

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

Location: Melbourne, Australia.

… or download by right-click >> save target as: Talk: Legacy (mp3, 5.2mb) .

To add to all this,  great news – Chandra and Mina from Kathmandu gave birth to a baby boy on Friday 13th April 2012.

And to bring the weekend to a wonderful conclusion, we had a baptism on the last day. Praise the Lord.

Paul being baptised by Pastor Konrad.

The bonfire night was especially memorable with wonderful testimonies of God’s help in people’s lives, a talk by the fire about fires in Bible times, the moon at full tilt shining through thin clouds, stars blazing the glory of the Creator, and choruses under the vaulted sky.

Good times, good company: speaking of an answering God among people who have experienced Him personally.

Lining up at the sausage sizzle on Sunday afternoon

We heard talks from Moss, Pastor Jason, Pastor Ian, Pastor Vic, Pastor Geoff, Pastor Dirk and a number of youngies.

Pastor Vic showed us video of the girl who has received the remarkable healing in Lilongwe, Malawi just before Christmas. A 16 year-old girl who had been crawling on her elbows for ten years was healed and was walking. Over a thousand people have now been filled with the Holy Spirit as the news of this remarkable miracle spread. She was well known, and all knew of her condition.

Sunday we had the communion meeting, remembering Jesus who died for us.

We had the obligatory sausage sizzle, followed by (unexpectedly) devonshire tea.

Walks on the beach, volleyball, suppers, fellowship and testimony. Freshie we love you.

Included in our Easter program this year is a presentation by Pastor Craig Fox from our Sunshine Coast assembly on The Power of God – Are you connected? Pastor Craig and his family are regular visitors to our Easter camp. He has been involved in the ministry for many years now and can testify/speak about experiencing the Power of God personally and in his own family and assembly as can all members of the Revival Centres International

Pastor Craig

 
You will be made welcome at the main hall Sawtell Beach Caravan Park, Easter Saturday at 11:00 am.

Speaker: Pastor Geoff Beggs.

Précis: God knows the end from the beginning across the broad sweep of nations and peoples. But He made human beings, whom He gave free will. Down through the millennia God has woven an intricate and harmonious story, and we are called to take part in the most momentous plan of the ages. Don’t forget your first love.

Scriptures Used:

Isaiah 46:9-10

Isaiah 45:8

Ephesians 2:4

Location: Melbourne, Australia.

… or download by right-click >> save target as: Talk: The Big Picture (mp3, 6.0mb) .

Pastor Lloyd

Pastor Lloyd Longfield passed away today (March 29, 2012), at the age of 93.

As the founding Pastor of this Church he has been instrumental in inspiring thousands to embrace the Holy Spirit.

His passion was for the need to receive the Holy Spirit, with the Bible evidence of speaking in tongues; His resolve was that Spirit-filled people should live a righteous life, and not return to their sinful ways; His clarity related to the prophecies of the Bible, and that the Lord will return as King of Kings; His determination was that the Revival Centres, like the early Church, should not compromise.

We salute a man, whose zeal for embracing the fundamentals of scripture is legendary.

We respect a man, who really understood that our God of the Bible meant what He said.

This Church is a beneficiary of Pastor Lloyd’s wonderful uncompromising vision.

Let us all play our parts in advancing the legacy of those that have gone before.

God Bless and thank you

Pastor Simon Longfield

Pastor Lloyd preaching:

“give it your best shot”

“you’ve got no right to get your neck in a knot”

“don’t just wipe away the webs; kill the spider”

“whatever He says: do it!”

“they’re not the ten suggestions, you know”

“better get baptised while the going’s good”

on speaking in tongues: “the technical term is ‘glossolalia’ – and with such technicalities they hope to gloss over it”

“you can’t be optimistic if you’ve got a misty optic”

“I’ll do the funnies, if you don’t mind”

“we’ll rule and reign for a thousand years: and that’s just for openers”

“it is a joy and a privilege to make a stand for God”

“that’s it, there isn’t any more”

Pastor Lloyd Longfield was involved in missionary work, and ministered to assemblies all over the world.
Here he is with Pastor Simon Longfield in Papua New Guinea.

Memorial Service

A Memorial Service for Pastor Lloyd will be held at:

The Revival Centre Hall
275 Middleborough Road
Box Hill

on

Wednesday 4 April 2012 at 7:00pm

~ followed by refreshments ~

Click here for map and other details.

Comments and Tributes

Keep going down this page to see comments and tributes.

Speaker: Pastor Bruce Judkins.

Précis: It looks like life is futile. Really, what is the meaning of it all? If we can’t see beyond the grave, there is little point to it. Of ourself, we cannot move beyond this. Trust in God, our only way out of this state.

Scriptures Used:

Ecclesiastes

Location: Melbourne, Australia.

… or download by right-click >> save target as: Talk: Life on Earth (mp3, 7.3mb) .

There was plenty of time for relaxing, swimming, eating, bushwalking, sleeping and even playing with the abundant wildlife. The camp was blessed with excellent weather, beautiful location and a great time was had by all.

A collection of Colour and Style!

Fun Times!

Cooler than Cool

Dancing Queen Emma

Speaker: Pastor Simon Longfield.

Précis: Vain repetition or wonderful communication? Jesus’ prayer covers the things we need to be thinking and communicating about.

Scriptures Used:

Matthew 6:1-13

1 Thessalonians 5:16-23

Jude :17-20

John 4:21-24

Location: Melbourne, Australia.

… or download by right-click >> save target as: Talk: Monotonous Nothingness (mp3, 5.5mb .

Recently Victoria hosted the Australian National Youth Rally at Freshwater Creek Camp near Geelong in Victoria. The theme for the camp was ‘Walk the Walk’, with the team names of Moon, Board, Cake and Power. The event was held over the Labour Day weekend, it started off on the Friday night with visitors from all over the country arriving at the camp. Saturday started off with a morning meeting at the Pavilion, then the State of Origin AFL game was held in Torquay at a new sports complex. Netball was also played during the AFL game with many spectators cheering on their teams. There was a Nordenfine Ice Cream trip after the game, where the tiny shop was overwhelmed by 200+ Youngies wanting delicious Ice Cream! The day finished off with a communal dinner at the gazebo and an evening meeting with a testimony theme.

Sunday started with the Communion Meeting held at the local Freshwater Creek Hall, then the Ironman Day at Bancoora Beach followed. That night was the Concert night at the Freshwater Creek Hall again for a fantastic night of entertainment and afterwards, fellowship. Monday saw the close of the rally where we had one last meeting and packed up camp ready to travel home. A massive thank you to the volunteers who catered the camp and the organisers behind making this great event happen! Get ready for the next National Youth Rally in 2014, which Queensland will be hosting.

A meeting being held in the Pavilion at Freshwater Creek Camp.

The Nordenfine Ice Cream trip after the State of Origin game.

The Victorian AFL State of Origin Team.

The convoy queue for the beach on Main Street at Freshie.

Spectators enjoying a game of cards during the Sports Day.