Pass the Salt II

Paul Benger continued our great series ‘Pass the Salt’ this morning in church. This second part was called ‘Love people’.

Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus taught that the law was not the salt and light but that you are!

The following incident shows us how to love people and it particularly looks at this through the eyes of the culture of the day.

Luke 10:25-37

The expert on the law comes and asks a question about the law! He had a hidden agenda, he comes to test Jesus to try and catch him out.

When the law said ‘love your neighbour as yourself’, the Jew believed ‘your neighbour’ referred to someone like himself - another Jew, not a Gentile or a Samaritan.

So Jesus, as always, courted controversy by revealing what loving your neighbour really meant by sharing this well known parable of the Good Samaritan.

Passing by on the other side simply meant ignoring the stripped and beaten man.

Those listening to the Parable would have thought the third person to come along and help the man would have been an ordinary Jew, after the Priest and Levite had passed him by. But he was a Samaritan man. The Jews hated Samaritans.

Jesus was stirring up the emotions of the expert of the law – bringing out all of his prejudice and racism. He asked who had been a neighbour to this man. The expert said it was the one who had shown mercy. He couldn’t even bring himself to say it was the Samaritan!

Think about the people in your world...who will be a neighbour to those people?

4 important truths to share from the teachings of Jesus

We were created to love people

Racism and prejudice entered our world because of the fall. God is love. We are made in his image. It’s in you! God loves people...we love people.

1 John 4:8,16 – (8) Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (16) And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

Love the one you’re with

Bear one another’s burdens. Your husband isn’t perfect, your wife isn’t perfect! Love them.

Love is more than a feeling, it’s a commitment

It can be a challenge to love people...we need to make a commitment to bring heaven into our world.

1 Thessalonians 5:13-15 – (13) Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. (14) And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. (15) Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

Love always involves giving

Don’t rob people of what God wants to give them. Give to those in need. There are those who need something from you – time, food, clothing, money, prayers, encouragement.

What kind of neighbour can you be? Let us bring light and life to those around us. Make a big difference in this world.

Pass the Salt I

Paul Benger began a two-part series this morning in church entitled ‘Pass the Salt’. The first part was called ‘God’s people’. A great message.

Matthew 5:13-16

Apparently there are 14,000 uses for salt!

The religious leaders thought ‘the law’ was the salt and light of the world. Jesus came and turned that concept on its head!

Four elements of Jesus’ teaching...

Your are the people of God
You are the salt of the earth, not the law. It’s not about rules and regulations.

Your get to bring Heaven to Earth
As the people of God, this was the thrust of Jesus’ teaching - you get to bring Heaven NOW!
Matthew 6:9-10 - (9) This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, (10) your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

You are called to this life
...of being the people of God and bringing Heaven to earth.

Your life tells the story
Your life tells the message of Jesus, the message that’s good news.
Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Let your life tell a good story – of God’s grace and mercy.

We receive what we give away...give away heaven and you will receive heaven.

Five things that salt does, that we should do in bringing Heaven to earth.

Salt adds flavour
It makes things taste better. We can make life taste better. Be the kind of person that people like to be around.

Salt preserves
It keeps things fresh and clean. We hold back and prevent decay. As the church engage in the environmental debate. Our purpose here is to prevent decay.
If we take the church out of the world what would happen? Evil would consume the world completely. We preserve life, while ever we are here people can find a way to God through Christ. We are preservative people.

Salt melts coldness
We need to show authentic Christianity to our world. People need to meet you, your warmth, kindness and compassion.

Salt heals
When we are around people we can bring healing and hope to people’s lives. Connecting with the people of God will bring hope and healing. Making the difference.

Salt creates thirst
People want significance and value. It’s not about money and fame.
People are thirsty, we can create thirst – salt of the earth. We can give it away – God’s love.

Be who you are...the people of God. You are salty...you can’t lose that saltiness.
You can make life taste better for those around you. You can make the difference.

Who Are You?

Great time in church this morning. Jeannie Benger spoke on the importance of knowing who we are.

Different things in your life define who you are. Knowing who you are has great value to you and to those around you. Vision is hindered if we don’t know who we are.

In society image is everything. Certain things make us more acceptable. What is important is how God is to us. We live to an audience of ONE.

Proverbs 3:6 - Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take

The things that ‘make’ us...

Be clothed in Christ
Where Him well. We show Christ to those around us.

Galatians 3:26-27 – (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.

The way we wear God effects those around us and helps them to shape their future.

Be confident in who you are
Knowing God, having a relationship with Him gives us great confidence.

2 Corinthians 3:4-5 – (4) We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. (5) It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.

Have a Godly confidence in all areas of life. Don’t compare yourselves with others. Have bold confidence in who you are...a child of God.

1 John 3:21-22 – (21) Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. (22) And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

Be accepted
Very often people don’t feel accepted. You are accepted by God. Even before he created anything, God loved you!

Ephesians 1:4-8 – (4) Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. (5) God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. (6) So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. (7) He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. (8) He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

The cross should always remind us we are accepted.

Know that you are chosen
You are special and you are loved. He takes our lives and turns them into an original masterpiece.

1 Peter 2:9 - But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Get a Grip IV

A great finish to our Series on self-control in church this morning. Paul Benger spoke on the subject of ‘refuelling’.

Living life without the Holy Spirit within us could be likened to trying to drive a car without an engine or without any fuel in the tank.

Growth and change is about submitting your life to God. We’re meant to change, not to get comfortable. We need to be constantly refuelled. Submitted to the work of the Holy Spirit.

John 3:5; 3:8 – Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

You cannot become a Christian without the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The Holy Spirit gives us the power and strength we need for life. As individuals and collectively as the church.

Acts 10:38 - God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Jesus did his work in the power of the Holy Spirit. As New Testament Christians we too can live a life full of the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. To have control of our lives we need to be refuelled!

1 Corinthians 3:16 – Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? The church is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. A community where God puts the life of His Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19 - Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.
We are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We are carriers of God’s Spirit into the world.

4 keys to living by the Holy Spirit...

Choose to live according to the life of the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:16 – So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Honouring, lifting, blessing others. Not living for self, mean spirited. Be students of what is good and godly in life.

Crucify the flesh
Galatians 5:24 – Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Realise there are some places we are not meant to go, things we are not meant to do. Get the right kind of walls or protection in your life.

Know what the life of the Holy Spirit looks like
Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Have the fruits of the spirit in your life.

Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:25 – Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Be refuelled. To help you, give you strength, to do you good!

Addition to the Family

Here is our new addition to the Lloyd family.

Her name is Libby and she is 8 weeks old.

With a family consisting of mainly boys we felt it important (or at least Jane and Amy did) that we went for a girl.

Had it been a boy we would have named him Hurley. Can you guess what we love to watch on TV?

Get a Grip III

I took the third session in our Series on self-control this morning. It was all about building walls, having the right boundaries or weapons of protection in our life.

Proverbs 25:28 – Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control

Only the ‘truly free’ will live within boundaries because they know that those boundaries maintain the freedom they enjoy. Putting the right boundaries in place can ensure that what flows into your world is full of life and not death.

What looks like self-control is actually the result of letting someone else take control. Self-control, biblically speaking, means walking by the Spirit, under the Lordship of Christ. God is saying, ‘take control of you life by letting me be Lord of it!’ Follow me...my word, my teaching. Build your life on me.

In order to understand the fruit of the Spirit of self-control it’s helpful to describe what the absence of self-control looks like.

Proverbs 25:28 explains it clearly of the individual living out of control, ‘Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control’

The person who lacks self-restraint is like a city that has no effective defence. They are not able to resist those things that can destroy their lives and the lives of others.

1 Samuel 13:16-22

It’s all about people living life without the weapons to protect themselves. When we live life without having the right boundaries/weapons to protect ourselves this is like living a life where certain things are allowed to have a foothold in our life.

Look out for the ‘raiding parties’! All of us are subject to some extent to certain kinds of raiding parties - if we don’t have the appropriate weapons and defences when they come we might find ourselves in difficult situations, where instead of bringing life they come to rob and steal us of life. These raiding parties come into our life in order to try to move us to the wrong place.

We need to know how to deal with the raiding parties
We need to have our own blacksmiths – know how to build weapons. So that in conflict we are prepared.

Ephesians 6:10-18

Start to protect yourself from the Raiding Parties. Here it says, “put on” the full armour of God! There’s action involved…something we have to do. Doesn’t just happen because we are Christians.

The Belt of Truth
The truth that Paul is talking about is not from the opinions of our mind or what others might think. The truth that matters more than anything else is truth that comes from God.

The Breastplate of Righteousness
Righteousness is the standing that we are given when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Jesus is the one who makes us right with God the Father. It is Jesus that gives us a right relationship with God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 - God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The Sandals of Peace
Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Go where your salvation leads you. They won’t lead you to places where we’re not to meant go...but where we should go.

The peace that we have in Christ gives us a firm standing in any situation that life can throw at us.

The Shield of Faith
The Devil assaults us with fiery attacks.

Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

The sign of the Christian soldier is that we are to place our complete trust in God. It is our faith that becomes our shield from the fiery attacks of the Devil.

The Helmet of salvation
Thus the mind becomes one of the most vital areas to protect.

Romans 8:6 - The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace
Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The mind is the source for every action and every attitude that is part of our lives.

The Sword of the Spirit
Purpose of the sword - The sword was used for both offence and defence.

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Our sword is the word of God. The scriptures give us the ability to fight back against the schemes and the plans of the enemy, of any raiding party.

And the last verse encourages us to...

Pray in the Spirit
(18) And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Get a Grip II

Paul continued our series this morning on the subject of self-control. This week was all about ‘taking charge’ of our lives.

Galatians 5:16-23

Human nature easily gets out of control. Self-control is knowing when to stop. It is having the strength to reign ones self in, to set a course of action in your life and to stick to it. It is also the ability to make a mistake realise it’s a mistake and not do it again.

Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

We sometimes don’t feel we’ve got the strength to take control, but God helps us…He is our strength.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

We’re not just running for a temporary prize we’re running for an eternal reward. Get the strength needed to run well.

To take charge, to take control we need to…

Be Strong

Proverbs 24:5 - The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.

Being strong is not just about the physical, our will, it’s about increasing our wisdom and gaining knowledge. This strengthens our core...the inner person.

Be Kingdom Minded

Romans 14:17 – For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

The Kingdom of God is not a geographical place – it’s an a attitude, a spiritual place. Where we do the right thing (righteousness). What is the Kingdom thing to do? Where we stay calm not fretful (peace). Where we never underestimate the enemies attempt to stop us being happy (joy) – living with gratitude in our lives.

Be Prayerful

Talk to God, include him in every area of your life. Pray for all things...he loves to answer us.

John 16:4 – Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete
John 4:2 – You do not have, because you do not ask God

Be Faithful

Being full of faith and being consistent. God sees our faithfulness and he blesses and honours those who are faithful.
Proverbs 28:20 – A faithful man will be richly blessed
Faithfully being in God’s house – God blesses those who gather faithfully.

Be Courageous

James 2:20 - But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Being courageous is all about us taking ACTION. And taking control is sometimes going to need COURAGE. To pull back from bad habits is going to take courage.

Get a Grip I

We started our new series in church this morning entitled ‘Get a Grip’ on the subject of having self-control in our lives.

Galatians 5:16-23

Paul Benger kicked off with the first part, which was called ‘Bite the Bullet’ – we need to take charge of our lives, make the right choices. We cannot live our lives on auto-pilot, making excuses for our lack of self-control by saying...’I can’t help it, it’s just the way I am’

Many people live their lives out of control, with addictions etc. God’s intention for your life and my life is that we take charge of our actions – that some offence doesn’t cause us to lose control.

Genesis 1:26 – Then God said, "Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves. They will be masters over all life - the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the livestock, wild animals, and small animals”

You’re meant to rule over life, submitted to God. Your life should not be ruled by your emotions, or opinions or circumstances...but by YOU! Rule in your world the one that God has given you.

Let God’s Kingdom come into your world. His Kingdom has no geographical boundary but an attitude boundary. Your world is your home, your finances etc.

We want our church to be a life-giving church...and we chose to be like that. Not allowing bad/negative attitudes to reign.

The great news today is that the Gospel has restored our position of authority again. Even before the fall God gave man ‘choice’. Adam lost it! He lost our position of authority – Jesus restored it!

Bite the bullet – take control of your life, of your choices.

We need the Holy Spirit in our lives, we cannot do it all on our own. We work in partnership with God – submitted to Him.

We rule our world knowing that God is leading us
We rule our world knowing God’s wisdom
We rule our world knowing God’s purpose
We rule our world knowing the power of the Holy Spirit

The World want’s to make our choices for us…to choose our lifestyle – But we’re in charge.

Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life
Our wellspring is the borders and parameters of our lives. Establish God’s boundaries through praying in the Spirit, by being thankful daily. The Holy Spirit’s power is available to everyone – the promise is for all.

Let us bite the bullet in our lives and take control.

Living with Hope

Simon Wood spoke in church this morning on the importance of living with hope.

He shared how he had recently visited IKEA and that he quickly lost hope when trying to find something even though his wife remained hopeful – how true this is!

Hope enables us to put the highs and lows of life into perspective - rather than living in despair. Hope gives us the stamina and purpose for life.

As a church we need hope. A hopeful church has a hopeful message and the world needs to hear it. We have a great message to share.

Isaiah 40:30-31 – (30) Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; (31) but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

God has made us to be resistant, but without hope we give in quite easily. Hope is the building block of life...the anchor for our lives.

Hebrews 6:19-20 – (19) We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, (20) where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is our Hope, our anchor, guiding us - pulling us through the veil.

There is always a battle raging between hope and despair. How do we win the battle? We need to recognise the areas that give us hope and guard our hearts against the negative influences that only encourages despair.

Proverbs 13:12 - Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life

Avoid the negative. Don’t go to a negative person if you are facing a particular problem. Look out for the “smell of despair”…look for the opposite, the “scent of hope” – the aroma of faith. Be with people of hope those who raise your faith level.

Spend time meditating on God’s word...this gives us hope.
Psalm 119:147-148 – I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.

Trust in God - trust that his ways are best. God will always honour his word. Be patient and wait on God. (eg Abraham) Hebrews 6:15 – And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised

Let us be a church of hope, ready to give life to those around us – giving hope to our world.

The Ashes 2006-07

With just a couple of months to the opening Test, I know it probably seems a little early to be talking about the forthcoming Ashes tour of Australia but I’m sure the Aussies can’t wait to get their chance to put things right following last years demise.

Cricketing authorities in Australia have announced a new zero-tolerance policy towards racism in the stands. They have threatened offenders with lifetime bans from their grounds...but ‘pom bashing’ is ok(???)

Also in a nice little dig PCA chairman Martyn Ball, at the recent Professional Cricketers Association end of season gala, gave thanks for the meal with no reference to the Book of Common Prayer...

God bless the wine and food we eat
To retain the Ashes would be an amazing feat
England’s passion is second to none
So watch out Warnie here we come

Come on England!

Three in a Row

What a great victory! Not as tense as I'd anticipated but quite a comfortable win in the end. This also means for the first time ever three successive wins. Great stuff!

Not sure about those jackets by the way!

Praying for Keeps

Paul Benger spoke in church yesterday on the powerful topic of prayer.

Prayer is an integral part of our lives and the life of our church. Why do we pray?

God wants us to be a friend, to include him in every part of our world everyday. We pray to know his will for our lives, believing that he will guide us. Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done...’
We pray to make a difference.
We pray to change our attitude.
We pray because there is stuff to pray about!
As a church and as individuals we can have an incredible prayer life. It’s about talking to God - dialogue not monologue. We need to include God in building our lives.

7 steps to successful prayer (it’s not a science but an attitude!)

Desire – realising what we want God to do in our lives. Jesus asked ‘what do you want me to do?’ He was trying to find out what was at the heart of us.
Psalm 37:4 - Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. God plants his desires within us.

Decide – James 1:6-8 - But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (7) That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Make your minds up. Turn desire into decision. Sometimes we can fear decision making, because one decision can close all other paths (eg marriage) We sometimes don’t make decisions because we want God to guide us all of the time, when often he wants us to make that decision. We remain motionless – God wants us to get moving!

Ask – A simple thing to do. John 16:24 - Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
Asking is so important - but we often avoid it! Keep on asking...don’t give up.

Receive – Faith is a time rebel. Mark 11:24 - Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Faith lives today in the good of tomorrow. Our circumstances seem like nothing has changed. Faith see things differently. Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Speak – We often have trouble talking about things. Our words are powerful. We frame our world by the words of our mouth. Our faith should match our prayers and our speaking should match our faith. Mark 11:23 - I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

See – Something happens when we pray. We begin to see! As a church when we pray we see things expanding, growth taking place. We see the kind of things we will need. We begin to see things not yet seen! (Hebrews 11:1)

Act – James 2:20 - You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? When we pray the result is ‘action’ that moves us towards our goal.

The Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup kicks off this morning from the K Club in Ireland.

This for me is one of the most nail biting sporting events in the calendar. We will be watching it with eager anticipation this weekend especially the final ‘singles’ day on Sunday, which is always a real rollercoaster.

Europe have dominated in recent years...let's hope that trend continues!

Connecting

Great time in church this morning. Paul Benger brought an encouraging message concerning the new season for our Connect Groups in church and spoke on the purposes of connecting.

Ezekiel 37:1-10

Connect groups are all about...

Connecting people to God
Connecting people to people
Connecting people to church

There is much disconnection in our world. Nation against nation. Breakdown in relationships, marriages etc.

The need to connect is essential in our world. We were created for interaction.
Concerning the ‘valley’ in Ezekiel 37, disconnection causes dryness. Sometimes we go through the valley experience – during these times we need to stay connected.
God’s mandate for us is to be connected. He is bringing us together again at this time. The bones are coming together, becoming strong again. God is shaping us into an army.

Genesis 2:18 – And the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him."
Hebrews 10:25 – And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.
John 17:20-21 – (20) My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, (21) that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Three Purposes of Connection

FELLOWSHIP
It’s about sharing life together. Fellowship is something that is happening all of the time. Fellowship happens around Christ. Fellowship is also with one another. We become one, we become connected.
Romans 15:7 – So accept each other just as Christ has accepted you; then God will be glorified
Ephesians 4:2-3 - (2) Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. (3) Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace.
1 Thessalonians 4:18 - So comfort and encourage each other with these words.
Choose your words wisely!
1 Thessalonians 5:11 - So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Inject courage, don’t suck it out of people i.e. discourage.

FRUITFULNESS
The power of synergy, of coming together - this results in fruitfulness.
Hebrews 10:24-25 – (24) And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, (25) not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

It is important that we are ‘assembled’ and not just gathered. The bones in Ezekiel 37 were first gathered but it was when they were assembled that they became fruitful and an army again! This is our destiny as we do life together.

FAITH
The overriding attitude and spirit within our Connect groups should be one of faith and hope. Not to have a false environment, something that is unreal. But a genuine place of recognising the needs of people, where comfort and strength comes in the form of faith and belief.

Our Connect groups will have that culture of faith and hope. A place where faith is injected into people.

Thankful and Praiseful

Spoke yesterday in church about two things to be ‘full’ of – THANKFUL and PRAISEFUL, the keys to a healthy life.

Psalm 100

Be Thankful

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Complaining seems to come naturally to almost everybody, in fact this can be the strongest addiction to break. Therefore God’s command to be thankful could appear to be unreasonably tough. However, if we read the verse as:
“It is God’s will that you be in Christ; therefore you can be thankful that He will work it out for good”, than it is no longer unreasonable and we can be released from trying to thank God for the difficult things that life can bring.

We don’t have to be thankful for the awful things that happen, BUT we can be constantly thankful that our lives are ‘in Christ’.

You can be imprisoned by your own murmuring, but Paul and Silas were broken out of their prison cell by their thankfulness (Acts 16)

How Can I be Thankful?

Make up your mind to live your best life today
Refuse to walk through life dragging the weight of yesterday. Don’t live in a future fantasy,“One day when…”
Psalm 16:5-6 – (5) LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. (6) The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Love the ones you’re with
Friends are those who have journeyed with you. Love and honor those who are where God has put you. Disattisfied, grumpy, unthankful people often lose sight of the importance of good/loyal friendships.

Let the grace of gratitude be always on your lips

Be Praiseful

‘If I didn’t praise I would feel like I had a fire shut within me!’ (AW Tozer)

Praise is Powerful

Acts 16:23-26

Paul and Silas knew the secret of how to lift their hearts above their troubles and enter into God’s presence and power.

God loves your praise of him; so much so, that He says He inhabits (dwells in) the praises of His people

Praise is a Lifestyle

It’s a devotion of life

“...I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalms 34:1)

Praise is a Sacrifice

...Something that we offer to God sacrificially, not just because we feel like it, but because we believe in Him and wish to please Him.

Hebrews 13:15 - Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Praise Sends the Enemy Running

Since praise manifests God’s presence, we also realise that praise pushes back the enemy, Satan.
2 Chron 20:20-24

Praise is about Music and much more

‘Why should the devil have all the good music?’ (Booth, SA)

2 Samuel 6 when the Bible comments on Michal, King David's wife, when she saw David dancing and rejoicing before the Lord - her heart was filled with contempt for him. And David's reply...Yes, I am willing to look even more foolish than this!

David loved God with a passion and zeal – his heart was for God and his house!

Psalm 40:3 - 'He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.’

David’s hearts desire was to worship God. He was effected in his spirit. It motivated him to song and frequently to dance. (He enjoyed God to the full). David was effected by everything around him as he wrote the psalms. In spite of his human frailties his heart’s desire was to praise.

Are you a price-savvy customer?

Mmmm....I love a great coffee.
But what kind of consumer am I?
How price-savvy are you? Read on.

...except Caleb

Speaking this Sunday in church on the attitude or spirit of Caleb.

In particular one of the points of principle that Caleb spoke of as part of his ‘positive report’ that he brought back from the Promised Land.

Caleb and Joshua, told the people, Numbers 14:8-9 - "If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”

Caleb looked at the challenges confronting Israel and declared: “They will be bread for us!”

If we look at the challenges we face in the right way, those challenges...

Instead of maiming us they can make us
Instead of destroying us they can develop us
Instead of finishing us they can feed us
Instead of limiting us they can lift us up to new levels

If there were ever a Bible character that displayed a right attitude or "different spirit" toward God and His Word, it was Caleb.

Numbers 14:24 – But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it!

Wholeheartedly!

Number 32:11-12 – (11) 'Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - (12) not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.'

A New Day

Great message in church this morning from Paul Benger. He spoke on having a ‘new wineskin spirit’.

Matthew 9:14-17

God is into new things. We may have a fantastic day, an incredible experience...but God moves on. We should move on. Don’t set up camp there...get stuck in the past.
Psalm 33:3 – ‘Sing a new song’.
Behold I do a new thing...God doesn’t do the ‘old’.
He gives us a new life...you must be ‘born again’.
We can look forward to a ‘new heaven’ and a ‘new earth’.
God has made a ‘new covenant’ through Jesus Christ.

He sometime gives people a new name (many examples in the Bible)
Stop giving OLD names to things. Stop seeing yourself as ‘useless’, ‘weak’, ‘rubbish’ – but ‘blessed’, ‘strong’. Let the weak say I am strong; let the poor say I am rich.

You need a new wineskin, need to oil it – to keep it supple. Anointing, the Holy Spirit. Be filled.

A new wineskin - new spirit, new attitude. That believes God, stands on his promises. Have a ‘youthful spirit’ – nothing to do with age. We can be old and have a youthful spirit. We can be young and have an old, senile spirit.
Be youthful – have a good attitude of heart, we can remain supple.

Things that happen when we get old (so he has been told!)
(But remember it’s nothing to do with age – but spirit and attitude)

Deafness – naturally we start to lose our hearing. Spiritually we can stop hearing the call of God, the call of faith. Keep our ears open to what God is saying.
Slowness – we may slow down in the natural but never let it happen in your spirit, in your attitude. Keep your new wineskin spirit.
Blurred Vision – even at a young age we can let our focus for the future become blurred. Keep your vision clear.
Routines – we get into our routines of doing things. Don’t let your spirit get into silly routines. eg - Bitterness, unforgiveness.
Weakness – as we get older naturally. But not in the spirit – grow stronger. Keep alive in your spirit.
Security – we ensure we get all our ‘policies’ up to date. We don’t want to take any risks. In our spirit – never stop taking risks!
Small World – this can be where we live as we get old. Let us not live here spiritually. Determine to stay out of a ‘small world’ mentality.
Brittleness – as we get older we find it easier to get down but much harder to get back up again. Let us never let our spirits, our attitudes become inflexible. Let us lose our brittle, inflexible attitudes.
Memories – we tend to have memories instead of dreams. ‘We liked it back then’. It’s ‘nice’ to have memories...but keep on dreaming!

Great word!

Yorkshire Day

Today is Yorkshire Day, when men and women from across this historic county gather to celebrate their...well, Yorkshireness - leaving outsiders baffled about why they have such a high opinion of themselves....read on

Floundering or Flourishing?

Jeannie Benger spoke in church yesterday on staying out of the ruts and maintaining a life that flourishes and thrives.

God wants more for your life – do you? He only has good things for you.

Psalm 92:12-14 – (12) The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; (13) planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. (14) They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.

Get the revelation, it’s the difference between flourishing or floundering! Our relationships, careers, finances, health will all flourish.

How do we keep ourselves from floundering? How do we flourish? 4 keys:

Key 1 – Stay planted

Be planted in God’s house. Psalm 1:3 - He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
We will prosper! Make sure your roots are secure, that they are planted correctly. We will bear fruit and thrive.

Key 2 – Stay connected to people

Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity
Have and make great connections. When you’re floundering don’t disconnect yourself. True friends help us through tough times.
Also be careful who you connect with. Proverbs 13:20 – He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm
Connect with people who help us fulfil our destiny in God.

Key 3 – Stay focused on the result you want

Stay in faith. God will give you the confidence, even when all around is crumbling.
In the midst of persecution refuse to draw back. Trust in God and in His word. Man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that comes from God.
Faith helps us overcome any floundering.

Key 4 – Stay positive

Keep a right attitude. Don’t get cynical or critical when others are doing well. Rejoice with them. Guard your attitude. A poor attitude will result in us floundering and not flourishing. Change your future by your response to the present situation.

Lost in Translation

Paul Benger spoke yesterday in church on the subject of transformation by the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 – (17) Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom. (18) And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.

God’s word is our mirror. How do we see ourselves? What we see can often get lost in translation.

All of us have the destiny of being transformed into the image of God’s son. It was determined, predestined.

It was always God’s plan to transform us right from the beginning of our lives.
So that through the church, Jesus Christ would rule/reign and influence every area of society. To permeate the world, not to be separated from it.

Jesus said he would build his church, and we are the instrument he has chosen to reach the world – this is something that often gets lost in translation. Some people think the church is just limping out, hanging on until Christ returns.

We are His body and we are to be like him, by being transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Four attitudes that we need to adopt to be transformed by the Holy Spirit:

1) Openness and honesty before God

Be real. Not wanting to be somebody else. He wants you to be you. He calls us the way we are, and yes He transforms us. Think of the potter/clay analogy. God can take a lump of lifeless raw material and make it into something beautiful.

2) Look into the mirror of God’s Word

James 1:22-25 – (22) And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don't obey, you are only fooling yourself. (23) For if you just listen and don't obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. (24) You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. (25) But if you keep looking steadily into God's perfect law--the law that sets you free--and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

Don’t just hear – do! When you look into the mirror and see you need a shave – shave!

When we look into the mirror, human behaviour often results in us either ignoring and pretending everything is ok or beating ourselves up because we don’t like what we see.

What we should see is...
Christ and the image we are growing into and what God is making us like. That we live on the right side of the cross - no longer condemned.
We truly find out what God thinks of us. He sees us after the cross, not as ‘lost’ but as ‘found’.

Look at Ephesians 1 and 2 and right down what God sees us as.

3) Realise that transformation by the Holy Spirit is step by step

Change doesn’t happen in a day. God will change us one step at a time. That’s how God grows us.

4) Realise transformation is a work of the Holy Spirit

Change comes by the Holy Spirit of God. We chose to walk by the Spirit or by the flesh. Set your minds on the things of the Spirit. Flick the switch.

God is the great transformer. He changes everything. Death to life, sickness to health, bitterness to faithfulness and so on!

Even the Dogs...

A great time in church yesterday, Paul Benger shared a message entitled ‘Even the Dogs’ taken from Mark 7:24-30.

Jesus needed a rest - the woman needed a miracle. She was desperate for her daughter to be healed.

Jesus didn’t respond to her desperation but to her faith.
Jesus is interested in the detail of our lives – He is the answer to our needs and desires. The woman knew this – that things could get better. God can make things better. She believed it. The supernatural can happen.

4 important truths about her faith that apply to us today:

Her faith was persistent
She kept asking. She knew what she wanted and stayed with it. Match your faith to your desire. Stay with it! Don’t be vague – know what you want.
Proverbs 16:3 – Commit your work to the Lord, and then your plans will succeed

Her faith was bold
Jesus was not being PC here, about the Jew/Gentile relationship. The woman brushed aside his comments with the phrase, ‘Even the dogs…’ She was bold.
She was passionate and was not going to be knocked back. ‘God will give you the desires of your heart.’ He will even plant them in your heart – desires for the future.
Her desire made her bold; her desperation made her bold.

Her faith had great self-esteem
She had a right view of God and a right view of herself. She believed she deserved it. We deserve it!
She could have got angry, she could have got faithless. “God won’t do it for me”, “He’ll do it for them but not for me”
NO – “I believe God will do it for me!”
Know that God is for us that God is with us.

She Believed!
She wouldn’t pull out of the argument. She believed the Word. Belief is linked to receiving. Faith is about believing something for the future. “It’s going to happen”.
What you believe about your life has a greater impact than what others believe about your life.

The Scandal of Grace

Mark Wilkins spoke in church this morning on the Scandal of Grace. He used a scene from Godfather III where Don Corleone goes to Rome to negotiate a business deal with the Vatican. There in Rome he meets with Cardinal Lamberto, who asks if he would like to make his confession. At first Corleone refuses. He makes a little joke about how it would take too long. However, he wants the cardinal's help, and senses something redemptive in his presence. So Corleone begins his confession.

First he tells of his marital infidelities. Then he admits ordering the murder of his own brother. Overwhelmed by the burden of his guilt, he breaks down and starts to sob. Cardinal Lamberto pronounces the words of absolution, then says, "I know you don't believe this, but you have been redeemed."

Some may find this story scandalous, but, although only a story, this is probably what’s known as the ‘scandal of grace’.

Christ died so that ‘all’ may be redeemed, forgiven, know God’s mercy and grace.

We can know forgiveness from our past no matter who we are or what we’ve done. Some people find that hard to comprehend. In this world we’re hooked on the ‘scandal’ side of life.

As a church we’re going to see the scandalous…but where God’s grace needs to be lavished. We’ve received God’s grace and we need to pass it on...be ministers of grace.

Get ready to show scandalous grace...see people how God sees them.

“To build an outstanding church we need to show outstanding grace”.

God’s grace and forgiveness is for ALL that would ask and receive and a la the Godfather...surely ”it’s an offer we can’t refuse”.

Scolari Quotes

A great coach, who could have been managing England! He utters some wonderful pearls of wisdom from time to time. The latest, concerning Zinedine Zidane...

“Zidane can decide a game. When the ball goes to his feet it doesn't cry - when it goes to my feet, it cries”

You Can Do It!

Spoke in church yesterday. It was a message based on the encouragement given to me by my family in the run-up to the London Marathon – in the form of a little booklet.

Hebrews 10:23-25 – (23) let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. (24) And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds. (25) Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The word “unswervingly” is sometimes translated without wavering - it has the idea of staying true and firm without hesitation.

1) Remember - God is with us ALWAYS

Psalm 23 (NLT)

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever!

There’s no running or hiding from God...His love and goodness is constant, unceasing - relentless.

God is always with you – on your journey, on our journey. We should never forget that. He’s at the beginning...at the end – but we often forget he’s with us along the way!

2) Remember - ALWAYS Be Earthly Good

Beware of the flaky, mushy Christianity. (Flaky, def - eccentric, crazy, or just unreliable)

“So heavenly minded…no earthly good” – BUT be heavenly minded and earthly good. Touching Heaven…changing earth.

Guard against religiosity, super-spirituality, which is unreal and means nothing to anyone.

“Get earthed, but remain Heavened as well!”

3) Remember - ALWAYS Consider one another

Hebrews 10:24 – And let us consider one another how we may spur each other on towards love and good deeds.

‘Consider one another...how we may spur each other on towards love and good deeds’ – not only am I thinking about my life but about your life as well, how I might encourage impetus in your life to do what is right.

4) Remember - ALWAYS Encourage

Inject courage into one another – don’t discourage (i.e. suck it our of them!)

1 Thessalonians 5:11-15

Encouraging words make a difference

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life (Proverbs 10:11)

5) Remember - Determination and discipline is ALWAYS needed

We can’t escape certain things that must be present in our lives...if we’re going to see it through to the end – Determination and discipline.

Determination

Hebrews 10:23 – Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14

Press on, no matter what the cost. Focus on what lies ahead, not behind.

Discipline

Hebrews 10:23 – Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

The word ‘Unswervingly’ gives us a picture of resolute determination and with that must go discipline.

We’re so often put off by that word. Seen as something negative when applied to our own lives.

It’s all about having “good habits” in our lives. We never seem to have a problem with the ‘bad habits’...do we?

Final encouragement - Hebrews 12:1-4

Out of Egypt

On Sunday, Simon Wood brought a message for our church at this time.

See the House full...consider the bigger picture. Don’t look back.

Exodus 1:7 - But the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them

The Children of Israel prospered in Israel but God had something much bigger for them. The Promised Land.

The new king of Egypt was threatened by the Children of Israel – even under affliction they prospered and grew.

Even when we go through tough times...we grow. God inhabits our praises; he inhabits our response - our faith.

God is taking us into the Promised Land, but we may need to experience the wilderness.

During their wilderness experience the Children of Israel kept looking back, longing for Egypt again.

As a church we have moved, we have transitioned – “the wilderness experience will make you look back or even go back, or it makes you move forward”.

Why didn’t the Children of Israel go into the Promised Land straight away?

1) They’d left Egypt but Egypt had not left them

2) They were looking for a god who went before them but had forgotten the promises of God – the Promised Land.

Exodus 32:1 - When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered round Aaron and said, Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him

They needed to lay hold of what God had for them. So do we. See what God sees – the bigger picture.

Own the vision of the House. Everyone of us is a part of it. We’re the master of it – our destiny.

We may face opposition - If God is for is who can be against us!

Be an ‘If only’ church not a ‘What if’ church!

World Cup Photo

I’m sure I used to play on a pitch like this one in my younger days...

Done by the groundsmen of the Olympic Park, Berlin.

Urban World 2050

The world is fast approaching the point where the majority of the human population will be found in urban areas.

The projection is that in 50 years' time, two-thirds of humanity will live in cities. Six experts outline their vision of the urban world in 2050. Read on.

Amazing photo comparison...

Dubai 1991


Dubai 2005

The World Cup

Sadly it's only every 4 years, but I love it! Come on England.

Oh and by the way...

This one's for Steve and Helen (sister-in-law) living in Perth. Well done the Socceroos...a great start.

There's always a Sower and there's always a Seed

Great time in church this morning. Paul Benger spoke on ‘conditioning your heart for fruitfulness’.

Mark 4:10-25

There’s always a sower and there’s always a seed.

The purpose of Jesus teaching is for our fruitfulness, growth in our lives. His purpose is for our benefit. He came to give us life and life in all its fullness.
The Kingdom of God is meant to be the largest plant in the garden.

God knows we have needs so he plants seeds in our lives to grow and meet those needs. He’s looking for a harvest, for fruitfulness in our lives and in the life of the church.

Don’t hide your light under a bushel. Let it shine!

Jesus explains 4 stages of our condition...

Possibility 1: Hard Hearts
There’s nothing wrong with the seed - it just falls on hard ground. We can have hard hearts because of experiences, our past etc. The enemy comes and tries to steal the seed.

Possibility 2: Rocky Ground
People have no root in themselves. Their condition is the problem. Their faith is weak. Low self-esteem, low confidence. We may believe the word, but we lack the backbone, determination – we lose confidence.

Possibility 3: Thorny Ground
When God’s word comes other things spring up in our lives – chokes the word.
When we are believing for answer to prayer other things come and choke us – worry etc.

Possibility 4: Good Soil
Where we need to live. Not having a cynical, hard heart. We accept and receive God’s word…this is for me! The word will produce a harvest, great fruitfulness.

3 Keys for conditioning our hearts for fruitfulness...

1. Recognise by Faith there’s always a Sower
God is speaking to us all the time, many times through other people. God will always get His word to us.

2. Know by Faith that there’s always a Seed
God sends the seed – the Word. God wants us to sow our seed for our lives. There is always something for us to sow, even when we are afraid.
Isaiah 32:8 – But a generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand.

3. Understand by Faith it’s the measure we use that determines the result
The sower isn’t the major issue
The seed isn’t the major issue
It’s our response to His word that is the issue – what is our response?
Receive it – Do it!

Loyalty

Jeannie Benger spoke in church yesterday on the subject of ‘loyalty’.

John 15:13 - the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends

Be careful what words we speak to people, Proverbs 18:21 – Those who love to talk will experience the consequences, for the tongue can kill or nourish life

Thoughtless/careless words can destroy a relationship.

Loyalty and faithfulness is the very essence of God’s character. He is ever loyal, ever faithful, even when we are unfaithful.

Be loyal to God, loyal to the House of God, loyal to family, friends, partners etc.

Our relationships are key to our future purposes in God. They are divine connections and key to our success.

Loyalty is learnt – over time, we’re not born with it. We can learn loyalty, be a ‘living’ example of loyalty and faithfulness.

Loyalty is a stance – it pays the price, it costs something. It confronts, stays firm. It’s not always easy and might sometime lose us friendships. Defend the people we love. Loyalty brings strength, brings longevity, brings success and blessing.

Loyalty defends what is precious. Loyalty is attractive. Proverbs 19:22 - Loyalty makes a person attractive

Loyalty tells a wonderful story – Psalm 145:1-7 – (1) I will praise you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. (2) I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. (3) Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery! (4) Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts. (5) I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendour and your wonderful miracles. (6) Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue; I will proclaim your greatness. (7) Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness; they will sing with joy of your righteousness.

Also...Life's Too Short

...to live on a weak foundation.

Yesterday in church Paul Benger wrapped up a great little series on ‘life’s too short’, this week he touched upon the subject of building our lives on the right foundation.

Matthew 7:24-39

We need stability. A rock bed underneath us. Be safe and feel safe. We need something or someone in our life that gives us stability. Unless there is a foundation in our life that is secure the building comes down.

Live a rock kind of living.

5 rocks to build our lives upon...

1) The Rock called Jesus

Jesus has taken our curse and nailed it to the cross. Paid the price for our lives, so that we can receive everything that God has for us. He is the Rock that our lives are built upon. Who do we trust – what we believe determines what we do in life. Believe that Jesus has done it all. This is the good news of the Gospel. He is the Cornerstone. 1 Peter 2:6 – As the Scriptures express it, "I am placing a stone in Jerusalem, a chosen cornerstone, and anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed."
He is faithful, Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

2) The Rock called God’s Word

Which report will you believe? God’s word is written about you...what does he say about you? His word is precious...without it what have we got?
His word is our weapon – the sword of the Spirit.
His word is our internal GPS, Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.

3) The Rock called Faith

God shows us things before we receive them. Through faith we turn them into reality. Faith ACTS and WAITS, patience and faith. Noah had to BUILD and BELIEVE. Act and Trust.

4) The Rock called Hope

God gives us opportunities to grow, to move forward. His desire is for us to grow, to reach our full potential. The enemy tries to stop this, but we can overcome – stand your ground. Be rock-like.
Philippians 3:12-14 - (12) I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. (13) No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, (14) I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven

5) The Rock called Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

The Christian spirit is to love people. To believe the very best of people – not the negative. The way to LIFE is to LOVE people. Don’t excuse HATE in your life. God has a better way to live.
Mark 12:31 – 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these.

Come on you Reds!

2-2 (4-3 penalties aet)
My team BARNSLEY got promoted to the Championship yesterday after a tense play-off semi-final against Swansea in Cardiff. It wasn’t very pretty to be honest and it went to penalties which was not good for the nerves....but we did it!

Life's Too Short

...to live without vision

Paul spoke in church this morning about vision, in particular having God’s vision for your life.

Proverbs 29:18 – Where there is no revelation (vision) the people cast off restraint

Matthew 4:17 – From that time Jesus began preaching saying ‘Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand’

What is reality? Unless we have vision for our lives we live out of control. Jesus brought reality through the Kingdom of God. He introduced a God culture, a God way of living.

The Kingdom of God is not a piece of land, but the hearts of men and women who have learned to live a God culture where God is involved in the detail of my life.

Designer living is living life according to our ‘Designer’.

Living a God culture is about living...

A life with vision
A life with purpose
A life having a healthy self-image
A life being set free from the past
A life having strength in adversity
A life of generosity and giving
A life of happiness, joy and passion

Don’t get comfortable; don’t settle…keeping pressing on towards your goal. Don’t lose your resolve.

7 Keys to embracing a God culture

Change your vision
Change the image of yourself (get God’s image of you)
Change the thoughts and words that surround your life
Change the impact of the past
Change your response to adversity
Change your attitude to giving
Change your purpose to joy for living

You're Hired

Mark Wilkins spoke in church this morning. It was based on one of my favourite TV programmes at the moment, The Apprentice.

He asked the question, why have the apprentice candidates decided to go on the programme when many of them already have great positions or own their own businesses – because they desire to work alongside Sir Alan Sugar.

“I’d like to be Sir Alan’s apprentice because I like to do the best I can in life and therefore would like to learn from the best [Sir Alan Sugar]” Sharon (one of the candidates)

Jesus should be someone who we aspire to be with, follow, imitate, and learn from, to be a disciple of.

Today, ask yourself 3 questions

Why would you become an apprentice?
Who would you follow?
How do we follow someone?

Why would you become an apprentice?

Realise that you are not the complete article. Have a realisation that a better life is possible.

Luke 5:4-11; Luke 5:27-32

When Jesus called the first disciples, they recognised that Jesus was someone worth following. Peter – he didn’t think he was good enough. Matthew – His friends didn’t think he was good enough.

Realise, none of us are perfect. We don’t know all the answers. Jesus knows - Follow him.

Ephesians 2:1-8 – Realise everything we can have and know in following Christ.

Who to follow?

Jesus - he said in Matthew 7:24 ‘build you life upon me’
Church leaders – 1 Corinthians 4:14-16; 2 Timothy 3:14

How to follow?

Make sure humility is in your life. It’s not a weakness as some people think. It’s having a confidence in who you are in Christ. Realise what God has done in your life – live from that place.

The Apostle Paul recognised, even through hardship, because of his love for Christ that his ‘burden was light’. Keep your focus on Christ and what you have because of Him.

Jesus is saying to ‘all’, “You’re hired” - nobody is excluded. The choice is ours though when it comes to choosing to be His apprentice.

Love is the Greatest

Spoke in church on Sunday...

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Love God...Love People

Jesus said…Matthew 22:37-39 (37)'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' (38) This is the first and greatest commandment. (39) And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'

Earth is our practice run for what we will be doing in eternity, which is spending time loving God and loving others.

In Galatians 5:6 it shows us that God values a faith which expresses itself in love - “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, it makes no difference to God whether we are circumcised or not circumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.”

We should have a kind of faith that compels us to love people.

Love is a command

Said already (Love the Lord your God…love your neighbour)
Love is doing what God has commanded. Love is not just a feeling, it is much more. Feelings cannot be commanded. We should not just led by our emotions.

Love is a choice

1 Corinthians 14:1 – Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy

We should ‘pursue’ love, ‘go after’ it. Sometimes we give people what they deserve, loving someone is about giving what they need - that is called grace.

Love is a conduct

1 John 3:18 – Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth

It is not just words but also in deed.

Love is a commitment

1 John 4:16 – And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him

How do we love people practically?

Get to understand how God loves you.

Memorise scripture about what God says about love.

Start your day with reminder of love. Set the tone of the day. What matters most to God is love.

Practice acting in unselfish ways. Selfishness is the scourge of humankind.

Love is a muscle. Initially it’s hard to love but it gets developed over time. You need to exercise it everyday.

We cannot grow in love on our own. You need to be in the midst of people to grow in love.

From 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 – Six aspects of LOVE.

1. Love is Kind

In 1 Corinthians 13:4 it says love is kind and that kindness is expressed in action.

Four key things we can learn about showing kindness from the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10.

Begins with our Eyes

We need to start seeing the needs of people around us.

In Luke 10:33 is says When he ‘saw’ him. It begins with our eyes, the way you see the world, the way we are sensitive to the needs of our world. We need to expand our vision and be more observant of the needs around us, the hurting and wounded.

Obstacle to kindness is ‘busyness’ - hurry is the death of kindness. The more we slow down in life, the more sensitive we will be. Ask God to give you spiritual radar, to open the eyes of your heart. Kindness can be learnt, not just born with it.

Use our Ears - Listening is a form of kindness.

We need to sympathise with the other person’s pain. To feel the other person’s emotions, we have to care. In verse 33 it says, “he took pity”. We do this by using our ears and listening to the other person’s pain. The secret to genuine sympathy is being there for the other person.

2 Corinthians 1:4 – He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

Every problem we go through is a chance for us to learn to be more sympathetic with others’ pain.

Use what we Have

We need to seize the moment to be kind, don’t delay. In verse 34 it says “he stooped down and kneeled down” he came to the man’s level. He used what he had with him ‘wine & oil’.

a) We must be willing to be interrupted, it happens on their schedule, not ours. Love is often inconvenient.

b) We can’t let excuses get in the way “I’ve got my own problems” “I’ve got important businesses to care for.”

c) We must be willing to take risks. Fear keeps us from being kind. Fear makes us unkind. Perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).

He spent whatever it took

It costs us something to be kind, our privacy, our time, our resources. What did the good Samaritan gain from it? Nothing materialistically, so why should we be kind?

Isaiah 58:10-11 – (10) Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. (11) The LORD will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring

God says, he guarantees he will meet our needs, when we are kind.

3 Ways to show practical kindness:

Proverbs 12:25 - Kind word – An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up

Proverbs 14:21 - Kind deed - He who despises his neighbour sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy

Proverbs 19:17 - Kind gift – He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done

2. Love does not Envy

ENVY is usually the underlying cause of problems in relationships

Envy is a painful awareness of what another possesses and a desire to have it. It is also resenting God’s goodness to others and ignoring what God has done for us.

Five ways to get rid of envy:

Don’t compare yourself with others
Comparing leads to pride or envy. Each person is unique and each path is different according to God’s plan for their life.

Start enjoying God’s grace to others
In Romans 12:15 it says rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

Be grateful for what you have

Philippians 4:11 – Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. (Apostle Paul)

Trust God when life seems unfair

Keep focused on God’s plan for your life

3. Love is Humble

In 1 Corinthians 13:4 it says ‘love does not parade itself, is not puffed up’.

What it is not:

• Humility is not shyness
• Humility is not meekness
• Humility is not low esteem

Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.

Four key things to practise humility:

Give preference to others
Make a pre-determined choice of putting others first. Romans 12:10 - ‘Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honour giving preference to one another.’

We have a choice, to be a person of love is a choice, it’s a decision.

Practise learning from others
Always be open to suggestions and criticisms, heart that is teachable. The day you think you know everything, you stop learning.

Practise admitting when we are wrong
Accept responsibility, take ownership, don’t justify.

Surrender your plans to the Lord
We need to submit to God’s Lordship.

4. Love is being Respectful

1 Corinthians 13:5 “Love does not behave itself rudely”, which means love is being respectful.

Love does not seek its own way, it seeks others. How to show respect:

You stop and you listen
You give your undivided attention to others. This shows that we genuinely care.

Keep your promises
Stay true to what you promised, hold onto what you say, let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no’.

Yield ourselves to serve others willingly

2 Corinthians 12:15 (Paul) – So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?

5. Love is Patient

In Ephesians 4:26 it says ‘In your anger do not sin’. There is an anger that is not sinful - that you can control. It is righteous indignation. It is different from an anger that is out of control.

How to Break Cycle of Anger and Gain Patience?

Break the pattern of anger
If you keep justifying your behaviour you will keep the habit. You need to confront the problem, if you don’t you will not conquer.

Proverbs 14:29 - A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

Proverbs 25:28 – Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control

Guard your relationships
You need to make a heart commitment that no matter what you are angry about – don’t be angry at the person. Make a commitment to value and guard your relationships.

In Proverbs 15:1 it says ‘a soft answer (gentle response), diffuses anger’. What is a gentle response? It is being humble, even when it isn’t your fault.

Release your worries to God
Psalm 37:8 says worries and anxieties cause people to get easily frustrated and angered.
Philippians 4:6 ‘do not be anxious about anything’.

Change your expectations, but don’t lower your standards
Don’t lower your standard but just lower your expectations of people. Philippians 4:8 encourages us to focus on the positive (on strengths) and not the weaknesses.

6. Love Keeps No Record of Wrongs

The ultimate test of love is the test of forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not:

Conditional
It is not based on someone’s response, it is something we do based on faith. If someone hurts us, it’s up to us to take the step to forgive. Forgiveness is unconditional.

Minimising the hurt
It is not minimising the offence and pain. We need to know the difference between being wounded and being wronged. We need to tell the person who has hurt us that we are offended but still offer forgiveness.

Resuming relationship without change
We need to see genuine repentance in the other person and real change of mind and behaviour before we get back to a close relationship again.

Forgetting what happens
God does not forget but chooses not to remember.

My right if it wasn’t me who was hurt

What is Forgiveness?

Relinquish your right to get even
We must surrender the area to the Lord and be able to release – that is real forgiveness. The root of bitterness can very easily spring up. Bitterness poisons you and others. It corrupts the fruit of our lives.

Respond to evil with good
Luke 6:28 “Do good to those who hate you, bless and pray for them.”

You repeat this process as long as necessary
We need to see everything through eyes of grace; following the example of Jesus.

Insect Eyes

An artificial insect eye that could be used in ultra-thin cameras has been developed by scientists in the US. Read on

"Even though insects start with just a single cell, they grow and create this beautiful optical system by themselves. I wanted to understand how nature can create layer upon layer of perfectly ordered structures without expensive, fabrication technology," said Professor Luke Lee. (;-))

London Marathon

This was one of my daily readings today...

Isaiah 40:31 - "Those who wait on the LORD will find new strength"

When you know Jesus, you're continually refreshed. Even when you are most weary, God will come to you. He'll gently carry you when you can't walk on your own.

How appropriate as I look forward to the big day! I may need some assistance towards the end.

Good Friday

I thought about my up and coming London Marathon attempt this morning. The kind of physical and emotional struggles I will no doubt endure....the pain, the agony, the suffering and the sacrifice and of course the passion. Then I thought again....

The Presence of God

Paul Benger spoke an important message this morning in church on the Presence of God.

1 Chronicles 13:7-14

David wanted the Ark of God returned, not to remain at the extremities but back to the centre.

We need that kind of attitude – to want to have the presence of God at the centre of our lives and not at the extremities.

As New Testament believers we don’t have a box, we have the presence of God in our lives. But we can still push God to the extremities.

Let’s look at the attitudes of 3 different individuals towards the presence of God coming back.

Uzzah

Uzzah died because he steadied the Ark of the Covenant, which became unstable on the cart as the oxen stumbled due to a pothole in the road.

We will all face potholes in the road. What is our response to them?
We’re not meant to help God out – we need to trust Him with our lives. Something’s need to be left to God, we can’t force it to happen (e.g. Abraham having children)

Beware of familiarity. Uzzah had probably become familiar with the Ark of God. Never become familiar with what we do in church. Always be in a place of expectation and anticipation.

The Ark should have been carried by people using poles and not on a cart. People carry the presence of God.

Michal

1 Chronicles 15:29 - But as the Ark of the Lord’s covenant entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David dancing and leaping for joy, she was filled with contempt for him

Don’t be like Michal. People who shout from the sidelines have a ‘lot to say’.
Contempt kills fruitfulness. When we take on a cynical or negative attitude it kills our fruitfulness.

Obed-Edom

A blessed man, and not just because the Ark of God was at his home.
He was also a man of great character and integrity. Involved in the things of God.

He was a gatekeeper
He was a musician involved in worship
He was a doorkeeper in the house of God
He was a leader (1 Chronicles 16:38)

Let’s have the right attitude to God’s presence, not cynical or negative, not shouting, “we can do better” from the sidelines.

What will our attitude be as we enter this new phase in the life of our church? Let us shoulder the burden together. Have the Obed-Edom attitude.

'Success' Poem

This blew me away...

You can use most any measure
When you're speaking of success
You can measure it in fancy home
Expensive car or dress
But the measure of your real success
Is one you cannot spend
It's the way your son describes you
When he's talking to a friend

(Martin Buxbaum)

Are You Sleeping?

Great message in church today. Paul Benger completed his series on Faith.

“This message should send you to sleep!”

Psalm 37:1-9

Dreamers need to sleep. If you don’t sleep you won’t dream. God uses us at our best when we are at rest. (Adam, Jacob etc)

Psalm 3:5 - I lay down and slept. I woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me.
Psalm 4:8 - I will lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe.
Psalm 127:2 - It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

God wants us to be at rest...not frantic, stressed, worrying etc. Lie down on your troubles - be at peace, be at rest.

Faith’s first position is rest (sleep) Trusting that God is on our side. Adam’s first day was a day of rest.

What kind of Christian/Church are we? Frantic/fretful? Always thinking ‘we must do more!’….‘If only we did more!’ Or are we a faith-filled Christian/Church? At peace/rest believing in the favour of God for our lives. We come from a position of having already won.

What causes us to be anxious? Look at Psalm 37

1) Refuse to respond to opposition (Vs 1-2)

Don’t worry about the wicked.

Psalm 37:23-26 – (23) The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. (24) Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand. (25) Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly forsaken, nor seen their children begging for bread. (26) The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.

Let our actions flow from a peaceful spirit...trusting God.

2) Refuse to look at what you don’t have (Vs 1-2)

Don’t be envious of others. Don’t measure your life by your possessions...your net worth. Or don’t measure your life by what you don’t have. (Moses – ‘What is in your hand?’ Use what God has given you...no matter how small or insignificant it may appear. When we use what we’ve got, obediently, God steps in! (Parable of the Talents)

3) Refuse to leave the place of rest (Vs 3-4)

Rest is a daily choice. It is categorised by trust and by doing good. Also by being planted in the House of God. Choose faithfulness. Don’t shrug off what you’re asked to do.

4) Refuse to take matters into your own hands (Vs 5-6)

Trust in God. He will cause your righteousness to shine. It’s not what we can do but what God can do! Leave your troubles with God, don’t be lazy, but trust God with the outcome.

5) Refuse to get mad (Vs 7-9)

When the person next to you gets a new car or a bigger house, when others are getting blessed, what is your reaction? It may be a stumbling block. Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. Don’t mourn with those who rejoice or rejoice with those who mourn!

Are you mad? Mad at God, mad with your life, mad at others? Answer = Rest, let God make your righteousness shine.

Faith’s first positive is SLEEP.