Alister Begg - Keswick Year Book 2017: Captivated: Hearing Gods Word

Keswick Ministries is committed to the spiritual renewal of Gods people for his mission in the world.

Gods purpose is to bring his blessing to all the nations of the world. That promise of blessing, which touches every aspect of human life, is ultimately fulfilled through the life, death, resurrection, ascension and future return of Christ. All of the people of God are called to participate in his missionary purposes, wherever he may place them. The central vision of Keswick Ministries is to see the people of God equipped, encouraged and refreshed to fulfil that calling, directed and guided by Gods Word in the power of his Spirit, for the glory of his Son.

Keswick Ministries seeks to serve the local church through:

• Hearing Gods Word : the Scriptures are the foundation for the churchs life, growth and mission, and Keswick Ministries is committed to preach and teach Gods Word in a way that is faithful to Scripture and relevant to Christians of all ages and backgrounds.
• Becoming like Gods Son : from its earliest days the Keswick movement has encouraged Christians to live godly lives in the power of the Spirit, to grow in Christlikeness and to live under his lordship in every area of life. This is Gods will for his people in every culture and generation.
• Serving Gods mission : the authentic response to Gods Word is obedience to his mission, and the inevitable result of Christlikeness is sacrificial service. Keswick Ministries seeks to encourage committed discipleship in family life, work and society, and energetic engagement in the cause of world mission.

Keswick: the event . Every summer the town of Keswick hosts a three-week Convention, which attracts some 15,000 Christians from the UK and around the world. The event provides Bible teaching for all ages, vibrant worship, a sense of unity across generations and denominations, and an inspirational call to serve Christ in the world. It caters for children of all ages and has a strong youth and young adult programme. And it all takes place in the beautiful Lake District a perfect setting for rest, recreation and refreshment.

Keswick: the movement . For 140 years the work of Keswick has impacted churches worldwide, and today the movement is underway throughout the UK, as well as in many parts of Europe, Asia, North America, Australia, Africa and the Caribbean. Keswick Ministries is committed to strengthen the network in the UK and beyond, through prayer, news, pioneering and cooperative activity.

Keswick resources . Keswick Ministries is producing a growing range of books and booklets based on the core foundations of Christian life and mission. It makes Bible teaching available through free access to mp3 downloads, and the sale of DVDs and CDs. It broadcasts online through Clayton TV and annual BBC Radio 4 services. In addition to the summer Convention, Keswick Ministries is hoping to develop other teaching and training events in the coming years.

The Keswick movement worldwide has adopted a key Pauline statement to describe its gospel inclusivity: for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Keswick Ministries works with evangelicals from a wide variety of church backgrounds, on the understanding that they share a commitment to the essential truths of the Christian faith as set out in our statement of belief.

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Mail : Keswick Ministries, Rawnsley Centre, Main Street, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5NP, England

Copyright 2018 Keswick Ministries

The right of Elizabeth McQuoid to be identified as the Editor of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version (Anglicized edition). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. niv is a registered trademark of Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). UK trademark number 1448790.

Scripture quotations in the Bible readings section, and those elsewhere marked esv, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, published by HarperCollins Publishers 2001 Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked av are from the Authorized Version of the Bible (The King James Bible), the rights in which are vested in the Crown, and are reproduced by permission of the Crowns Patentee, Cambridge University Press.

First published 2018

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 9781783597161

eBook ISBN: 9781783597178

Set in Dante 12.5/16pt

Typeset in Great Britain by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

eBook by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Every day, most of us hear thousands of words. Many of them demand our attention. They could be the words of a child who is hungry or in pain; an older relative who relies on our care; a politician who wants our vote; a company that wants our custom; a charity that wants our gift; a pressing email or phone call. But what about Gods words?

Keswick 2017, the 142nd year of the Convention, focused particularly on this question with the theme Captivated: Hearing Gods Word. Since 2017 also saw the 500th anniversary of the onset of the Reformation, the title echoed Martin Luthers famous declaration, My conscience is captive to the Word of God, and a number of the contributions celebrated the rediscovery of great gospel truths.

Hearing Gods word is not an endpoint in itself. As Jesus said, Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24). But our discipleship must begin here. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said in Life Together , Love for God begins with listening to his Word. It is as we listen to Gods word that, by his Spirit, our lives are transformed into Christs likeness and, as that happens, we are caught up in his mission to the world.

The following chapters provide a great sample of the teaching given at the 2017 Convention.

There are five Bible Readings on the Psalms from Alistair Begg. The first four bring a different angle on engaging with Gods word. Psalm 19 celebrates the God who speaks. Psalm 1 spells out the blessings for one who meditates on Gods word; Psalm 119:97104 outlines how obeying Gods word reorders and reshapes our lives; Psalm 130 looks at Gods word as the foundation for hope even for a person in the depths. The final Bible Reading, on Psalm 100, encourages you as readers as it encouraged everyone who heard it to come to your local fellowship in a spirit of praise and thankfulness, in the awareness of Gods steadfast love affirmed in his unerring word.

There are five talks that come from the Evening Celebrations. Three of them pick up on pictures or images for Gods word: seed (Mark 4:120; Tim Chester), anchor (Hebrews 6:120; Andy Prime), mirror (James 1:127; Roger Simpson). The other two explore different reactions to Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh: love (Luke 7:3650; Steve Midgley), hope (Luke 24:1335; Martin Salter).

The other two contributions to this book draw on the Reformation theme. Mike Reeves Keswick Lecture, Why the Reformation Still Matters, feeds the mind and warms the heart. And Dan Strange compellingly explores one of the five great Reformation solas (the Latin for alone or only) with his Captive to Gods Word ( sola scriptura ).