Mark Wilkins continued this excellent series this morning in church. Taken from Ephesians 2, ‘God Quickens’.
Ephesians 2:1-10
The first 3 verses that Paul writes are quite difficult for us, stark and right to the point. We can refuse to accept that we’re heading in the wrong direction!
Romans 1:18 – The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness
We hide away from our sin…try to suppress it. We all believe there is something wrong with our world…that it’s not perfect. Why is it not right?
We like to blame the ‘bad’ people! ‘Put them all away!’ But who are the ‘bad’ people? Everyone has a different view on this. But it is not about US and THEM…we are all in the same camp. This is what Paul is saying to us here.
The Pharisees used to spout this belief…that they were good and everyone else was bad.
‘Dead’ in your transgressions and sins means that the connection between us and God through Christ is not there…we are rebels and failures, this is what Paul is saying. Why are we in that position? Three reasons:
- We have an enemy (devil)
- The world is against us (the systems and the values)
- ‘Us’ (Human nature, propensity to sin…addiction)
We can find easy to see why God would be angry with the devil and the world…harder for us to accept that God would be angry with us. Paul is saying that God is right and justified to be angry with us. We need to understand all of this (these first 3 verses) before we can fully accept and receive the next incredible truths.
Verses 4-6 – But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus
BUT! Paul changes the whole emphasis of this passage. Verse 4 turns this whole passage around! We now become alive in Christ…God sees us through Jesus.
‘God quickens’ – made alive, brought into a relationship with God through Christ.
Verse 7 – in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus
God lifts us up as great examples of his love and grace.
Luke 7:36-50
Here in this story Jesus brings to life what Paul is saying…it’s all about PEOPLE! This is an incredible picture of God’s love and grace…and the anger that is displayed in the hearts of the religious and judgmental.
We need to fully appreciate where we have come from and where we stand today. We have been forgiven so much…and we are ALL in the same boat.
Ephesians 2:8-10 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do
Just like the woman in Luke7 there is a response from us…a heart of worship, a grateful people. We also begin to see people how God sees them…there is not good people and bad people.
Bad people don’t exist…just people that need Jesus.
We also must ourselves how God sees us…his workmanship, masterpieces! Made alive in Christ…God quickened people! Valuable and precious in God’s eyes.
Our response is ‘Good Works’…and this is not to keep God happy with us, but it is good works that flow out of our relationship with Him. We always ‘remain in Christ’…honouring him in everything that we do. And our desire is to go out and see other lives transformed by this great truth that we have heard today!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Ephesians 1
We started our new series in church today based on the book of Ephesians. Paul Benger shared an excellent message from the first chapter of Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:1-14
God’s ultimate purpose is to reconnect everything back to himself. This purpose is made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus but outworked by the Church.
Paul in Ephesians does not give us a small view of church but he has a high regard for the church. What kind of church do we see in Ephesians? What kind of Christian are we called to be?
We are no small and insignificant church…not a bedraggled bunch! We are the army of God…the people of God who are going to make a difference. Paul is excited by these truths as he shares this with the Ephesian church and with us!
In these opening verses of Ephesians 1 we see that God has blessed us…that he speaks good thinks over our lives.
What God has said…
Ephesians 1:3 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ
‘I will speak well of God who has spoken well of me’
‘Words’ are very powerful. What God has said over our lives is so important.
Joshua 14:8 – but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.
To be a church that partners with God we’ve got to believe his words about us…not what other people say about us.
Whose report will you believe? Will you accept what God has said about you?
Ephesians 1:4 - For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight
God has looked down through eternity and chosen you and I. He has declared that he will have a people for himself.
(Vs13) And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit
All of God’s choices are accessed by us…through faith (the currency of Heaven). Let’s not hold back…by faith walk into all the things God has for us. He’s given us the green light! Go!
(Vs4-5) For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will
We’re adopted. We’re not here by accident. A child of God…his choosing! Our choice is to be a rebelious child or an obedient child.
(Vs7) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
We are totally forgiven…completely redeemed! Brought back into relationship with God
(Vs9-10) And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Our ultimate purpose…laying the runway, declaring that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’!
(Vs13-14) And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory.
Live awake not asleep to the purposes of God.
You are chosen. You are his son. You are forgiven. he will fulfil his purpose to bring all things under one head, Jesus Christ. We, the church, are to live for the praise of his glory.
What God sees…
Ephesians 1:15-23
God’s desire is to save people. To connect people to himself.
Paul prays…
So that they may know Him better (relationship with God)
Glorious inheritance (His inheritance in the church)
He sees God powerfully at work through the church
Jesus having all authority and power
What God sees… a relationship with you. His inheritance in the church. His power at Work. Jesus has authority. Church is the fulness of Christ…bringing out the God colours in our world!
Matthew 5:13-16 (MSG) – “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Ephesians 1:1-14
God’s ultimate purpose is to reconnect everything back to himself. This purpose is made possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus but outworked by the Church.
Paul in Ephesians does not give us a small view of church but he has a high regard for the church. What kind of church do we see in Ephesians? What kind of Christian are we called to be?
We are no small and insignificant church…not a bedraggled bunch! We are the army of God…the people of God who are going to make a difference. Paul is excited by these truths as he shares this with the Ephesian church and with us!
In these opening verses of Ephesians 1 we see that God has blessed us…that he speaks good thinks over our lives.
What God has said…
Ephesians 1:3 - Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ
‘I will speak well of God who has spoken well of me’
‘Words’ are very powerful. What God has said over our lives is so important.
Joshua 14:8 – but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.
To be a church that partners with God we’ve got to believe his words about us…not what other people say about us.
Whose report will you believe? Will you accept what God has said about you?
Ephesians 1:4 - For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight
God has looked down through eternity and chosen you and I. He has declared that he will have a people for himself.
(Vs13) And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit
All of God’s choices are accessed by us…through faith (the currency of Heaven). Let’s not hold back…by faith walk into all the things God has for us. He’s given us the green light! Go!
(Vs4-5) For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will
We’re adopted. We’re not here by accident. A child of God…his choosing! Our choice is to be a rebelious child or an obedient child.
(Vs7) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace
We are totally forgiven…completely redeemed! Brought back into relationship with God
(Vs9-10) And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
Our ultimate purpose…laying the runway, declaring that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’!
(Vs13-14) And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory.
Live awake not asleep to the purposes of God.
You are chosen. You are his son. You are forgiven. he will fulfil his purpose to bring all things under one head, Jesus Christ. We, the church, are to live for the praise of his glory.
What God sees…
Ephesians 1:15-23
God’s desire is to save people. To connect people to himself.
Paul prays…
So that they may know Him better (relationship with God)
Glorious inheritance (His inheritance in the church)
He sees God powerfully at work through the church
Jesus having all authority and power
What God sees… a relationship with you. His inheritance in the church. His power at Work. Jesus has authority. Church is the fulness of Christ…bringing out the God colours in our world!
Matthew 5:13-16 (MSG) – “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
On Earth as it is Heaven
Fantastic day at CLC last Sunday. I spoke a message on us, the church, being the reflection of Heaven.
Jesus is the Light of the world and that light of life within us and it is our mission to light the world wherever we go.
The Message: Matthew 5:13-16, “Let me tell you why you are here…. Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world.”
We are praying for the touch of Heaven, His will to be done. The touch of Heaven in us…in our church…that the light of Heaven can shine through us, our church, and so that in turn we become the reflection of Heaven.
Genesis 28:10-17
Heaven is where God is - ‘surely the Lord is in this place’.
The church…to be a gateway to heaven. A place where when people arrive they get that taste, that glimpse of what heaven is going to be.
Let us think about what Heaven will be like, helping us cement our desire to see God’s Heavenly will being done in our lives and in our church, and help us bring that ‘touch of heaven’.
Heaven…
It is ‘the place’ to be!
When we walk into heaven I am sure it will take our breath away. I believe that church should have the same impact. There should be a sense that when people come in they’ve stepped out of one place into another.
It is a place that is ‘irresistible’
I imagine heaven to be a place that is irresistible. In Psalms there are many references to wanting to be in the presence of God, it talks of thirsting, longing, desiring, yearning.
Psalm 84:2 - ‘My soul longs, yes, even faints, for the courts of the Lord…One day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere’.
Church needs to be more than just part of our weekly routine, and we need to challenge that thought in our lives. It’s the people of God, joining together in worship and adoration of God, bringing and experiencing a touch of heaven on earth.
Psalm 27:4 ‘One thing I ask Lord, that I will seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever’
It is a place of unity
In heaven there is a perfect unity. Trinity - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in perfect unity.
All of heaven is united in their worship and adoration of God.
Unity is such a crucial feature of a relevant church and something that we must pursue and guard jealously.
John 17:23 May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
It is a place of excellence
I believe that heaven is a place of excellence and precision.
In everything we do we need to strive for excellence, in how we fulfil our roles being fully committed in whatever we do…excellence in our attitudes and speech, full of positivity, hope and love, excellence in the presentation there should be no excuse for shabbiness or untidiness.
‘Anything will do’ - that attitude should be out of the window.
‘Excellence is never accidental’ - It will take work and effort but it’s worth it. Isaiah 66:1 - "Heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool. What sort of house could you build for me?”
It is a place of life and passion
I think heaven is full of passion. In your presence is fullness of joy Psalm 16:11
Revelation 8:1 - When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour!
It is a safe place
Revelation 21:3-4
But while we’re here on earth there are tears and there are sorrows. But when people come into this place, they need to experience the safety and security of heaven. We need to ensure that this house is a place where people can draw strength and find protection.
God wants to heal the hurting in people’s lives. As a church we are not here to judge people, we’re not here to condemn them, but our job is to cherish them - to lift the lives of people.
It is a place populated by a people with a Heavenly perspective
Philippians 3:20 - But our citizenship is in heaven.
We are strangers in this world…but already citizens of another.
BUT More than just citizens… ambassadors of that country… representatives.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 – (17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (18) All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: (19) that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (20) We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Jesus is the Light of the world and that light of life within us and it is our mission to light the world wherever we go.
The Message: Matthew 5:13-16, “Let me tell you why you are here…. Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world.”
We are praying for the touch of Heaven, His will to be done. The touch of Heaven in us…in our church…that the light of Heaven can shine through us, our church, and so that in turn we become the reflection of Heaven.
Genesis 28:10-17
Heaven is where God is - ‘surely the Lord is in this place’.
The church…to be a gateway to heaven. A place where when people arrive they get that taste, that glimpse of what heaven is going to be.
Let us think about what Heaven will be like, helping us cement our desire to see God’s Heavenly will being done in our lives and in our church, and help us bring that ‘touch of heaven’.
Heaven…
It is ‘the place’ to be!
When we walk into heaven I am sure it will take our breath away. I believe that church should have the same impact. There should be a sense that when people come in they’ve stepped out of one place into another.
It is a place that is ‘irresistible’
I imagine heaven to be a place that is irresistible. In Psalms there are many references to wanting to be in the presence of God, it talks of thirsting, longing, desiring, yearning.
Psalm 84:2 - ‘My soul longs, yes, even faints, for the courts of the Lord…One day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere’.
Church needs to be more than just part of our weekly routine, and we need to challenge that thought in our lives. It’s the people of God, joining together in worship and adoration of God, bringing and experiencing a touch of heaven on earth.
Psalm 27:4 ‘One thing I ask Lord, that I will seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever’
It is a place of unity
In heaven there is a perfect unity. Trinity - the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in perfect unity.
All of heaven is united in their worship and adoration of God.
Unity is such a crucial feature of a relevant church and something that we must pursue and guard jealously.
John 17:23 May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
It is a place of excellence
I believe that heaven is a place of excellence and precision.
In everything we do we need to strive for excellence, in how we fulfil our roles being fully committed in whatever we do…excellence in our attitudes and speech, full of positivity, hope and love, excellence in the presentation there should be no excuse for shabbiness or untidiness.
‘Anything will do’ - that attitude should be out of the window.
‘Excellence is never accidental’ - It will take work and effort but it’s worth it. Isaiah 66:1 - "Heaven is my throne, earth is my footstool. What sort of house could you build for me?”
It is a place of life and passion
I think heaven is full of passion. In your presence is fullness of joy Psalm 16:11
Revelation 8:1 - When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour!
It is a safe place
Revelation 21:3-4
But while we’re here on earth there are tears and there are sorrows. But when people come into this place, they need to experience the safety and security of heaven. We need to ensure that this house is a place where people can draw strength and find protection.
God wants to heal the hurting in people’s lives. As a church we are not here to judge people, we’re not here to condemn them, but our job is to cherish them - to lift the lives of people.
It is a place populated by a people with a Heavenly perspective
Philippians 3:20 - But our citizenship is in heaven.
We are strangers in this world…but already citizens of another.
BUT More than just citizens… ambassadors of that country… representatives.
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 – (17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (18) All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: (19) that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (20) We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
The Cross – Jesus Died to Forgive Us
Great morning at CLC! Paul Benger completed the series ‘The Cross’, an excellent finale about the fact that Jesus died to forgive us.
The Pharisee & The Tax Collector - In Luke 18 Jesus tells a story about 2 men that go to pray, we think it's a simple story about prayer but it's not. It's a story about how to be right with God. The first man is trusting his own efforts the second says, "Please provide atonement for me." It's the second man that gets justified.
We need forgiveness. We all fall short of God’s righteous standard.
Romans 3:23-24 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
People try to get right with God by what they DO... it's law keeping, if I’m good enough then...but it doesn't work!
If you were asked the question does God love you, like most people you would probably answer yes. But what about the question "Does God like you?" How would you answer that?
God takes no pleasure in holding our sins against us. He wants to forgive us.
Acts 13:38 – Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you
God loves you and God likes you! He has removed our sin from us completely. We can live in that place of joy and thankfulness. The Gospel is more than forgiveness…there is an exchange that takes place, our sins are placed on Jesus and his righteousness is given to us. We are made right with God!
The Nature of Forgiveness
It’s Total - It’s not 10% forgiveness…it’s complete! Hebrews 8:12 – For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Hebrews 10:18 – And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.
It’s a Gift – you can’t earn it. We can’t boast about it. Even as Christians we can still fall into the trap of trying to please God…to earn his righteousness. We need to accept the gift and live in the power of that righteousness. Don’t walk around with your heads down…lift up your heads and believe that the gift belongs to you…it’s yours!
It’s by Grace – It’s God’s favour shown to us. Titus 3:7 – so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
It’s through Faith – Acts 13:39 – Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
Romans 5:1 – Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith is the only currency of Heaven. We can’t do it in our own strength…we rely on Him.
It’s by His Death – It all comes back to the cross and his resurrection. Romans 5:9 – Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
Results of Forgiveness
- We have peace with God
- We escape God’s wrath and condemnation
- We have freedom from the law
- We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live for Jesus
- We forgive others
Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
The Pharisee & The Tax Collector - In Luke 18 Jesus tells a story about 2 men that go to pray, we think it's a simple story about prayer but it's not. It's a story about how to be right with God. The first man is trusting his own efforts the second says, "Please provide atonement for me." It's the second man that gets justified.
We need forgiveness. We all fall short of God’s righteous standard.
Romans 3:23-24 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
People try to get right with God by what they DO... it's law keeping, if I’m good enough then...but it doesn't work!
If you were asked the question does God love you, like most people you would probably answer yes. But what about the question "Does God like you?" How would you answer that?
God takes no pleasure in holding our sins against us. He wants to forgive us.
Acts 13:38 – Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you
God loves you and God likes you! He has removed our sin from us completely. We can live in that place of joy and thankfulness. The Gospel is more than forgiveness…there is an exchange that takes place, our sins are placed on Jesus and his righteousness is given to us. We are made right with God!
The Nature of Forgiveness
It’s Total - It’s not 10% forgiveness…it’s complete! Hebrews 8:12 – For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Hebrews 10:18 – And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.
It’s a Gift – you can’t earn it. We can’t boast about it. Even as Christians we can still fall into the trap of trying to please God…to earn his righteousness. We need to accept the gift and live in the power of that righteousness. Don’t walk around with your heads down…lift up your heads and believe that the gift belongs to you…it’s yours!
It’s by Grace – It’s God’s favour shown to us. Titus 3:7 – so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
It’s through Faith – Acts 13:39 – Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
Romans 5:1 – Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith is the only currency of Heaven. We can’t do it in our own strength…we rely on Him.
It’s by His Death – It all comes back to the cross and his resurrection. Romans 5:9 – Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
Results of Forgiveness
- We have peace with God
- We escape God’s wrath and condemnation
- We have freedom from the law
- We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live for Jesus
- We forgive others
Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Cross – Jesus Died to Reveal God
Another amazing morning in church today. As part of our current series on the Cross, Paul Benger shared a great message on the fact that Jesus died to reveal God.
The New Testament emphasises death Jesus - Matthew devotes 33% of book to final week of Jesus' life, Mark 37%, Luke 25% & John 42%. It's the death of Jesus therefore that reveals God to us. Jesus is the visible appearance of the invisible God. His death shows us what God is like more than anything else.
John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Unless God shows us what he is like we can make it up! He couldn’t allow that so he came to earth through his Son.
Look at four things about Jesus on the cross that reveals to us what God is like so that we don’t get a distorted view.
God is JUST
God could have left us…he could have let sin have its way. However, he chose to save us and in doing so in order to be just had to punish sin.
Romans 3:25-26 - God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Somebody, Jesus, took the punishment for us. Some believe this was unfair…that Jesus would go through this for us. They feel that we should pay in someway for our sin. That we get away with it cheaply!
It wasn’t cheap – it cost God his only Son. No-one can say that God is unjust. He has to deal with sin. He chose to save us when he could have just left us alone.
God is LOVE
The cross is barbaric but the good new is God loves People.
John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 4:9-10 - This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
God is love…that is the reason that he didn’t leave us. His passion is for people…it’s what drove him. He could do no other. He loves people…the unlovely! The cross reveals his passion for people.
God is our REDEEMER
God redeems us. Puts us back in the place we should be in. Puts us in the position where we can live by the life of the Spirit!
Galatians 3:13-14 - Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Got to see things from God’s perspective now. Don’t let things become blurred…line oursleves up with him. Get on his wavelength.
God has a HEART for RECONCILIATION
God is our Friend. God has taken the initiative to reconcile us to himself and call us friends.
We see miracles today…every time God finds someone and rescues them.
As we see the amazing images on our screens from Haiti of the search and rescue missions…God is seeking and searching for the lost. No one is off his radar. He is clambering through the rubble of a sin soaked world to bring life to all who will trust him for salvation. We are now engaged in that mission with him!
He doesn’t give up after so many days either! He keeps on seeking and saving the lost.
Romans 5:10-11 - For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 - And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Let’s join with his mission…in the search and rescue!
Mark 16:15 - And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.
The New Testament emphasises death Jesus - Matthew devotes 33% of book to final week of Jesus' life, Mark 37%, Luke 25% & John 42%. It's the death of Jesus therefore that reveals God to us. Jesus is the visible appearance of the invisible God. His death shows us what God is like more than anything else.
John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Unless God shows us what he is like we can make it up! He couldn’t allow that so he came to earth through his Son.
Look at four things about Jesus on the cross that reveals to us what God is like so that we don’t get a distorted view.
God is JUST
God could have left us…he could have let sin have its way. However, he chose to save us and in doing so in order to be just had to punish sin.
Romans 3:25-26 - God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Somebody, Jesus, took the punishment for us. Some believe this was unfair…that Jesus would go through this for us. They feel that we should pay in someway for our sin. That we get away with it cheaply!
It wasn’t cheap – it cost God his only Son. No-one can say that God is unjust. He has to deal with sin. He chose to save us when he could have just left us alone.
God is LOVE
The cross is barbaric but the good new is God loves People.
John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 4:9-10 - This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
God is love…that is the reason that he didn’t leave us. His passion is for people…it’s what drove him. He could do no other. He loves people…the unlovely! The cross reveals his passion for people.
God is our REDEEMER
God redeems us. Puts us back in the place we should be in. Puts us in the position where we can live by the life of the Spirit!
Galatians 3:13-14 - Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Got to see things from God’s perspective now. Don’t let things become blurred…line oursleves up with him. Get on his wavelength.
God has a HEART for RECONCILIATION
God is our Friend. God has taken the initiative to reconcile us to himself and call us friends.
We see miracles today…every time God finds someone and rescues them.
As we see the amazing images on our screens from Haiti of the search and rescue missions…God is seeking and searching for the lost. No one is off his radar. He is clambering through the rubble of a sin soaked world to bring life to all who will trust him for salvation. We are now engaged in that mission with him!
He doesn’t give up after so many days either! He keeps on seeking and saving the lost.
Romans 5:10-11 - For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 - And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
Let’s join with his mission…in the search and rescue!
Mark 16:15 - And then he told them, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The Cross - Jesus Died for our Freedom
A great time at CLC today, Mark Wilkins spoke this morning on the fact that Jesus died for our freedom. An excellent message, part of our current series on the Cross.
Freedom…it is something we will fight for, even die for. Independence…wars fought for freedom.
It comes from that basic human desire…to be free. We’re born to be free.
What is freedom? One definition – ‘A capacity to determine your choices, the absence of constraint or servitude’
‘Freedom’ at the opposite end to ‘Tyranny’. Tyranny is the ‘illegitimate ruler’…freedom is the absence of that illegitimate ruler, choosing to be free of that tyrant. Through Jesus’ death we can cast off those illegitimate rulers.
Titus 2:13-14 - while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good
Redemption is synonymous with freedom. We can have the wrong grasp of what redemption means today…of what Jesus accomplished at the cross.
What does redeem mean? The penalty was paid by Jesus, but how do we understand what this meant? It helps to think of what happened to the children of Israel in Egypt.
Exodus 6:6 – "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgement.
Deuteronomy 15:15 – Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today
God dealt with Pharaoh…he removed the tyranny that was over the children of Israel. To redeem means to crush or destroy that thing that has a hold over us. When Jesus died the debt was wiped out…destroyed.
2 Samuel 7:23 - And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?
Who is our Redeemer?
Romans 3:24 – and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
1 Corinthians 1:30 – It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption
Jesus is our Redeemer. What has been redeemed? What has been crushed…destroyed?
Galatians 3:13 – Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree”
Free from the Law – Jesus rescued us from the curse of the law. As we come to him we are accepted and forgiven. His grace is sufficient. We can have a relationship with God and not religion. God erases our past.
Free from Satan – the cross completely crushed the power of the enemy. Removed the tyrannical hold that Satan has over us. Jesus won the battle and we are able to walk free.
Romans 6:6-7 – For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin
Free from Sin – sin, the illegitimate ruler. Jesus breaks the addiction, that rule over our lives. We can be victorious over all of that!
Galatians 6:14 – May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world
He has overcome the world. Jesus completely destroyed the those things over us that seek to bind us and keep us enslaved. How did Jesus do it?
Romans 3:22-23 – This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Jesus rescued us…we now need to accept who is. His death on the cross is what freed us.
His love has saved us
His blood has claimed us
We can walk in the life that God intended for us. Only through Christ can we live a free life…a full life.
Romans 8:1 – Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
Galatians 5:1 – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery
We are truly free through him. We can stay free as we keep our eyes on him and what he has done for us.
Freedom…it is something we will fight for, even die for. Independence…wars fought for freedom.
It comes from that basic human desire…to be free. We’re born to be free.
What is freedom? One definition – ‘A capacity to determine your choices, the absence of constraint or servitude’
‘Freedom’ at the opposite end to ‘Tyranny’. Tyranny is the ‘illegitimate ruler’…freedom is the absence of that illegitimate ruler, choosing to be free of that tyrant. Through Jesus’ death we can cast off those illegitimate rulers.
Titus 2:13-14 - while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good
Redemption is synonymous with freedom. We can have the wrong grasp of what redemption means today…of what Jesus accomplished at the cross.
What does redeem mean? The penalty was paid by Jesus, but how do we understand what this meant? It helps to think of what happened to the children of Israel in Egypt.
Exodus 6:6 – "Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgement.
Deuteronomy 15:15 – Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today
God dealt with Pharaoh…he removed the tyranny that was over the children of Israel. To redeem means to crush or destroy that thing that has a hold over us. When Jesus died the debt was wiped out…destroyed.
2 Samuel 7:23 - And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?
Who is our Redeemer?
Romans 3:24 – and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
1 Corinthians 1:30 – It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption
Jesus is our Redeemer. What has been redeemed? What has been crushed…destroyed?
Galatians 3:13 – Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree”
Free from the Law – Jesus rescued us from the curse of the law. As we come to him we are accepted and forgiven. His grace is sufficient. We can have a relationship with God and not religion. God erases our past.
Free from Satan – the cross completely crushed the power of the enemy. Removed the tyrannical hold that Satan has over us. Jesus won the battle and we are able to walk free.
Romans 6:6-7 – For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin
Free from Sin – sin, the illegitimate ruler. Jesus breaks the addiction, that rule over our lives. We can be victorious over all of that!
Galatians 6:14 – May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world
He has overcome the world. Jesus completely destroyed the those things over us that seek to bind us and keep us enslaved. How did Jesus do it?
Romans 3:22-23 – This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Jesus rescued us…we now need to accept who is. His death on the cross is what freed us.
His love has saved us
His blood has claimed us
We can walk in the life that God intended for us. Only through Christ can we live a free life…a full life.
Romans 8:1 – Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
Galatians 5:1 – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery
We are truly free through him. We can stay free as we keep our eyes on him and what he has done for us.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Cross – Jesus Died to Crush our Enemies
Another amazing morning in church today. Paul Benger continued our series on ‘the Cross’, a great message about the fact that Jesus died to crush our enemies.
The truth sets us free. We see this starkly when we consider our theme today. Jesus was victorious at the cross…not defeated by sin, death or the devil. He triumphed over them!
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” C.S. Lewis
Colossians 2:13-15 - When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
The battlefield exists…we need to enforce the victory that Jesus has already won!
There are three public enemies (or Christian enemies) for us…
Enemy Number 1 – Sin
Sin always separates us or disconnects us from God. Jesus conquered sin at the cross.
Jesus defeats sin in our lives by making us alive to God. He has defeated sin at the cross he now causes us to be alive to God's peace, wisdom, grace, power, people, Spirit, mission.
Sin always disconnects. It disconnects us from others, from God even from our true self. When we become alive to God we reconnect and make new connections into which God puts his life!
As we become alive to God and his purposes people can see this in us…and when can then see other people coming alive to him.
CLC is unashamed to say that church is all about God and people. Seeing people connecting with God and his mission.
“When people have an experience that’s very powerful in the movie theatre, they want to share it. They want to grab their friend and bring them, so that they can enjoy it. They want to be the person to bring the “news” - that this is something worth having in their life.” James Cameron, Director of Avatar.
When we are alive to God we want to be that way too!
Enemy Number 2 – The Law
Jesus took away the Law by being the sinless sacrifice for sins. The law tries to keep us in RELIGION & not RELATIONSHIP. Any stuff added to the gospel takes away its power to transform us!
Hebrews 4:15-16 - For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
The law wants to make us religious. Our relationship with God is not all about rules and regulations…Jesus is enough!
Religion says ‘can't do’ Jesus says ‘can do’!
Enemy No 3 – Satan
Jesus has crushed Satan at the cross we now enforce that victory in our lives and bring his kingdom to others.
Colossians 1:13 - For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves
He triumphed over Satan and has placed you and I in that same place of victory…and our enemy is under our feet.
Ephesians 1:20-23 Ephesians 2:4-6
Which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
So how will we live? The issue of SIN is will we live DEAD or ALIVE. The issue of LAW is will we live in RELIGION or RELATIONSHIP. The issue of SATAN is will we live BOUND or FREE.
The truth sets us free. We see this starkly when we consider our theme today. Jesus was victorious at the cross…not defeated by sin, death or the devil. He triumphed over them!
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” C.S. Lewis
Colossians 2:13-15 - When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
The battlefield exists…we need to enforce the victory that Jesus has already won!
There are three public enemies (or Christian enemies) for us…
Enemy Number 1 – Sin
Sin always separates us or disconnects us from God. Jesus conquered sin at the cross.
Jesus defeats sin in our lives by making us alive to God. He has defeated sin at the cross he now causes us to be alive to God's peace, wisdom, grace, power, people, Spirit, mission.
Sin always disconnects. It disconnects us from others, from God even from our true self. When we become alive to God we reconnect and make new connections into which God puts his life!
As we become alive to God and his purposes people can see this in us…and when can then see other people coming alive to him.
CLC is unashamed to say that church is all about God and people. Seeing people connecting with God and his mission.
“When people have an experience that’s very powerful in the movie theatre, they want to share it. They want to grab their friend and bring them, so that they can enjoy it. They want to be the person to bring the “news” - that this is something worth having in their life.” James Cameron, Director of Avatar.
When we are alive to God we want to be that way too!
Enemy Number 2 – The Law
Jesus took away the Law by being the sinless sacrifice for sins. The law tries to keep us in RELIGION & not RELATIONSHIP. Any stuff added to the gospel takes away its power to transform us!
Hebrews 4:15-16 - For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
The law wants to make us religious. Our relationship with God is not all about rules and regulations…Jesus is enough!
Religion says ‘can't do’ Jesus says ‘can do’!
Enemy No 3 – Satan
Jesus has crushed Satan at the cross we now enforce that victory in our lives and bring his kingdom to others.
Colossians 1:13 - For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves
He triumphed over Satan and has placed you and I in that same place of victory…and our enemy is under our feet.
Ephesians 1:20-23 Ephesians 2:4-6
Which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
So how will we live? The issue of SIN is will we live DEAD or ALIVE. The issue of LAW is will we live in RELIGION or RELATIONSHIP. The issue of SATAN is will we live BOUND or FREE.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
The Cross - Jesus Died in our Place
New Year and a great new series started in church this morning, called the Cross. Paul Benger spoke an excellent message called Jesus died in our place.
It’s amazing how many people wear crosses…they’re everywhere! The cross is the most popular symbol and icon for the Christian faith.
Jesus and the what he accomplished at the cross still changes lives today.
Crucifixion was a brutal way to die. Cicero said, "Roman citizens should not think of it" and the first Christian emperor banned it. The word excruciating which means from the cross was born from the act of crucifixion and the pain that a crucified person would go through.
It’s sometimes hard for us to comprehend the enormity of what was happening at the cross of Jesus Christ.
All of the charges brought against him were false…it was an unfair death, because he did not die for himself – he died for us.
John 15:13 – Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 4:9-10 – This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
These verses reveal 2 amazing truths…
1) The cross shows the love of God
2) Jesus died in our place for our sins. This is known as substitution.
God is love…but he’s not just love, he is righteous, he is fair, he is judge. But love is the key. He is lovingly just, he is lovingly righteous…he is a loving judge.
The ultimate expression of God’s love is through the Cross.
The great truth for us today is that God has done all the work. He sent his Son to save. He realised that we couldn’t save ourselves. He does it all.
Isaiah 53 (The Message)
The fact that Jesus died in our place needs to be applied to our lives. Five applications of this great truth…
1) Know that your sin and the sin of the world has been by Jesus
Isaiah 53:6 – We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
ALL sin and for ALL the peoples of the world! Wow the Lord laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. Rapists, murderers, liars, thieves, deceivers etc. Let this truth free us. He has bore our sin so that it would not weigh us down. O what grace!
2) Trust him with your life
The cross is not just about Heaven. He died to redeem us…to bring us back to the place where we were meant to be. Jesus has paid the price for your life now! Live in freedom, with hope & knowing there's a great future ahead. The love of God expressed through the cross is powerful. It redeems, delivers and sets free.
Let us leap into his arms with total trust…total abandonment!
3) Receive peace and healing
Isaiah 53:5 – The punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed.
Jesus heals the human condition!
Don’t let the enemy steal your peace, your rest. We can know breakthrough this year…because of all he has done. Jesus died for you peace, your rest.
4) Live free from guilt and condemnation
Don't let anything hold you back! Believe God. Exercise faith in the work of Christ.
The best is yet to come!
5) Know God
Jesus died for us as the sacrifice for our sins but to bring us to God. Relationship, it's all about relationship not religion!
1 Peter 3:18 – For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit
It’s amazing how many people wear crosses…they’re everywhere! The cross is the most popular symbol and icon for the Christian faith.
Jesus and the what he accomplished at the cross still changes lives today.
Crucifixion was a brutal way to die. Cicero said, "Roman citizens should not think of it" and the first Christian emperor banned it. The word excruciating which means from the cross was born from the act of crucifixion and the pain that a crucified person would go through.
It’s sometimes hard for us to comprehend the enormity of what was happening at the cross of Jesus Christ.
All of the charges brought against him were false…it was an unfair death, because he did not die for himself – he died for us.
John 15:13 – Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 4:9-10 – This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
These verses reveal 2 amazing truths…
1) The cross shows the love of God
2) Jesus died in our place for our sins. This is known as substitution.
God is love…but he’s not just love, he is righteous, he is fair, he is judge. But love is the key. He is lovingly just, he is lovingly righteous…he is a loving judge.
The ultimate expression of God’s love is through the Cross.
The great truth for us today is that God has done all the work. He sent his Son to save. He realised that we couldn’t save ourselves. He does it all.
Isaiah 53 (The Message)
The fact that Jesus died in our place needs to be applied to our lives. Five applications of this great truth…
1) Know that your sin and the sin of the world has been by Jesus
Isaiah 53:6 – We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
ALL sin and for ALL the peoples of the world! Wow the Lord laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. Rapists, murderers, liars, thieves, deceivers etc. Let this truth free us. He has bore our sin so that it would not weigh us down. O what grace!
2) Trust him with your life
The cross is not just about Heaven. He died to redeem us…to bring us back to the place where we were meant to be. Jesus has paid the price for your life now! Live in freedom, with hope & knowing there's a great future ahead. The love of God expressed through the cross is powerful. It redeems, delivers and sets free.
Let us leap into his arms with total trust…total abandonment!
3) Receive peace and healing
Isaiah 53:5 – The punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed.
Jesus heals the human condition!
Don’t let the enemy steal your peace, your rest. We can know breakthrough this year…because of all he has done. Jesus died for you peace, your rest.
4) Live free from guilt and condemnation
Don't let anything hold you back! Believe God. Exercise faith in the work of Christ.
The best is yet to come!
5) Know God
Jesus died for us as the sacrifice for our sins but to bring us to God. Relationship, it's all about relationship not religion!
1 Peter 3:18 – For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Flourishing!
Great church this morning! Jeannie Benger spoke an excellent message about maintaining a life that flourishes and thrives.
God wants more for your life – do you? He only has good things for you.
Don’t let us get in a rut doing the same things over and over again. Let us not miss God opportunities!
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.
God wants us to be planted in his house. 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. Iron sharpens iron.
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.
God wants more for your life – do you? He only has good things for you.
Don’t let us get in a rut doing the same things over and over again. Let us not miss God opportunities!
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.
God wants us to be planted in his house. 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. Iron sharpens iron.
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.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
To the Crib
Great message from Paul Benger at CLC this morning. As our Christmas production ‘There is a Light’ approaches we were given an introduction to the Crib…as the wise men made there way to the place of the birth of Jesus.
Matthew 2:1-23
The wise men were going to ‘the crib’ of the King of the Jews. What were they expecting to see…what were they looking for?
They first arrived at Herodium, to King Herod’s palace…his crib! This was an incredible crib, luxurious it had everything. The wise men were probably bemused that the star had not settled over this place, over Herodium. This was surely the place for a King to be born!
Herod was disturbed by their news that they were on their way to see a newborn King. The thought of another King would have troubled him greatly. He was a power obsessed King…who would murder to maintain that power.
Herod’s advisers told him of the prophetic scriptures that indeed the Christ would be born and in the town of Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 – But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
Because Herod was a control freak he lied to the wise men and told them to tell them where this King was so that he too could go an worship him.
This story is a tale of two kings. One king sought to destroy, one King came to give life.
Only one King rose from the grave and only one King is the Saviour of the world! His works still lives on today. Herod’s life is over.
Four important truths that we can learn from this story today…
1) God Guides – Follow Him
He loves us and guides our lives. He knows best…we should follow him.
2) God Protects – Trust Him
God’s purposes are always challenged. God makes provision for us…He protects us. He places things in our heart, dreams…gives us destiny! He will keep us safe.
3) God Knows – Hear Him
So often we are tempted to do the things God says don’t do. Let us listen to his word, his wisdom and follow his ways.
4) God Rules – Worship Him
Here is where the real power is…not in stuff, not in Herod’s crib ‘Herodium’. But being able to be born in a lowly crib in a stable…and even when being dead in a tomb…after 3 days walking out alive! Real power is God’s!
He rules…worship Him! Let our focus be on Him today.
Matthew 2:1-23
The wise men were going to ‘the crib’ of the King of the Jews. What were they expecting to see…what were they looking for?
They first arrived at Herodium, to King Herod’s palace…his crib! This was an incredible crib, luxurious it had everything. The wise men were probably bemused that the star had not settled over this place, over Herodium. This was surely the place for a King to be born!
Herod was disturbed by their news that they were on their way to see a newborn King. The thought of another King would have troubled him greatly. He was a power obsessed King…who would murder to maintain that power.
Herod’s advisers told him of the prophetic scriptures that indeed the Christ would be born and in the town of Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 – But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
Because Herod was a control freak he lied to the wise men and told them to tell them where this King was so that he too could go an worship him.
This story is a tale of two kings. One king sought to destroy, one King came to give life.
Only one King rose from the grave and only one King is the Saviour of the world! His works still lives on today. Herod’s life is over.
Four important truths that we can learn from this story today…
1) God Guides – Follow Him
He loves us and guides our lives. He knows best…we should follow him.
2) God Protects – Trust Him
God’s purposes are always challenged. God makes provision for us…He protects us. He places things in our heart, dreams…gives us destiny! He will keep us safe.
3) God Knows – Hear Him
So often we are tempted to do the things God says don’t do. Let us listen to his word, his wisdom and follow his ways.
4) God Rules – Worship Him
Here is where the real power is…not in stuff, not in Herod’s crib ‘Herodium’. But being able to be born in a lowly crib in a stable…and even when being dead in a tomb…after 3 days walking out alive! Real power is God’s!
He rules…worship Him! Let our focus be on Him today.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Road and Crossroads
Great morning in church today. Simon Wood spoke an encouraging message concerning our journey with God and about the roads and crossroads we face.
We keep moving forward, the vision doesn’t change although the way we do things will change.
Crossroads…we will face them from time to time. We should still never lose sight of the promises of God and the dreams that he has given us.
New seasons will ask us to look at things in a different way. The destination of our journey still remains the same.
Isaiah 46:9-11 – Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfil my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.
God’s will and purposes remain the same. We might make mistakes along the way but his purposes will still be made known. He is always there for us…he lifts us…his plans don’t change for our lives.
He will bring us back on track when we veer off course…like a Father encouraging his children.
Sometimes we doubt which way to turn or to go. Whatever we face God will give us the wisdom for it…His word for our lives applied.
Proverbs 8:1-3 – Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud
All along the way God guides us as we choose our paths.
Proverbs 4:4-7 – He taught me and said, "Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding
We need wisdom and courage to take that step forward.
Don’t make monuments out of our mistakes. We need to move on…God’s got something more for us!
Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go
Courage keeps us on the journey moving forward….whatever is thrown at us!
When we come to a junction….God gives us the ‘right of way’.
God wants to shape our lives. ‘Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand’
Let us be faithful even in the small things, the detail of our lives, as we travel along the way.
We also need support from those around us…to take us through. Friendship that strengthens us when we are feeling weak.
“Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be”
Proverbs 27:17 – As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another
We’re on this journey together…building lives together!
Ephesians 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us
We keep moving forward, the vision doesn’t change although the way we do things will change.
Crossroads…we will face them from time to time. We should still never lose sight of the promises of God and the dreams that he has given us.
New seasons will ask us to look at things in a different way. The destination of our journey still remains the same.
Isaiah 46:9-11 – Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfil my purpose. What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.
God’s will and purposes remain the same. We might make mistakes along the way but his purposes will still be made known. He is always there for us…he lifts us…his plans don’t change for our lives.
He will bring us back on track when we veer off course…like a Father encouraging his children.
Sometimes we doubt which way to turn or to go. Whatever we face God will give us the wisdom for it…His word for our lives applied.
Proverbs 8:1-3 – Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud
All along the way God guides us as we choose our paths.
Proverbs 4:4-7 – He taught me and said, "Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding
We need wisdom and courage to take that step forward.
Don’t make monuments out of our mistakes. We need to move on…God’s got something more for us!
Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go
Courage keeps us on the journey moving forward….whatever is thrown at us!
When we come to a junction….God gives us the ‘right of way’.
God wants to shape our lives. ‘Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand’
Let us be faithful even in the small things, the detail of our lives, as we travel along the way.
We also need support from those around us…to take us through. Friendship that strengthens us when we are feeling weak.
“Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse. But treat a man as if he were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be”
Proverbs 27:17 – As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another
We’re on this journey together…building lives together!
Ephesians 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us
Sunday, November 29, 2009
New Seasons
Great morning at CLC. Paul Benger shared an excellent message, the second part to the series all about Seasons…’New Seasons’.
There are new seasons for us to enter into…they are just around the corner for you and for us as a church.
New seasons can mean going to the next level. A new culture can create a new season.
Sometimes the ‘old me’ is not ready for a new season.
New Seasons challenge us because we can be unaware of their existence, we can be resistant to things changing and we can be ill prepared. There are new seasons ahead of us…the next 5 years will not look like the last 5. Prayers old and new will find fulfilment in the next 5 years, that alone means things will change!
Remember, new seasons are in God’s hand. Ecclesiastes 3:1 – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
And God prepares new seasons. Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Are you expecting a new season in your life? If so what does it look like? How do we rate change…a new season? Do we say ‘bring it on!’ or are we afraid of change…worried about what that means for us.
Sometimes a new season can be our second choice world…not necessarily the world we had dreamed about.
Genesis 12:1-9
Abraham followed the promises of God. From theses verses we see four keys to entering a new season:
Awaken – He had to wake up to new possibilities
(Vs 1-3)
As a church we need to awaken to the new possibilities of what God wants to do…the adventures and even challenges that lay ahead for us.
A new season is a new day – with brand new opportunities and potential it requires an awakening from the semi-comatose state many people live their life in – drifting from day to day. God has huge things in his heart. What are the New Possibilities before you?
Arise – He had to get up – new positioning
(Vs 4)
We need to reposition ourselves…Don’t roll over and go back to sleep! Don’t hit SNOOZE on your new season!
New seasons require a commitment to learn new things and new ways of doing them.
Don't say I've all this stuff to deal with before I move on…healing happens along the way!
At the Gate beautiful in Acts 3…as Peter raised him up strength came to his ankles. And he went walking leaping, praising God. New Season requires a refusal to stay at the same level.
Attach – Join up – new personnel
(Vs 4-5) Abraham gathers the people before he moves on.
A new season requires connecting…joining up with new people.
God prepares people for us and prepares us for people…and uses those opportunities for his glory.
Advance – Go up – new pursuits
(Vs 6-9)
You’ve woken up, you’ve arisen, even joined up – now it’s time to actually do something! Abraham’s pursuit included: - Promise – To your descendants I will give this land (God can speak a new word…a new season feels like home)
Connect everything we do to Kingdom Purposes! Abraham died in faith…still expecting things to happen.
Let God inspire us to dream BIG and do great things in his name!
Keep going…90% of success is just showing up. Keep moving! It's time for action!
There are new seasons for us to enter into…they are just around the corner for you and for us as a church.
New seasons can mean going to the next level. A new culture can create a new season.
Sometimes the ‘old me’ is not ready for a new season.
New Seasons challenge us because we can be unaware of their existence, we can be resistant to things changing and we can be ill prepared. There are new seasons ahead of us…the next 5 years will not look like the last 5. Prayers old and new will find fulfilment in the next 5 years, that alone means things will change!
Remember, new seasons are in God’s hand. Ecclesiastes 3:1 – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
And God prepares new seasons. Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Are you expecting a new season in your life? If so what does it look like? How do we rate change…a new season? Do we say ‘bring it on!’ or are we afraid of change…worried about what that means for us.
Sometimes a new season can be our second choice world…not necessarily the world we had dreamed about.
Genesis 12:1-9
Abraham followed the promises of God. From theses verses we see four keys to entering a new season:
Awaken – He had to wake up to new possibilities
(Vs 1-3)
As a church we need to awaken to the new possibilities of what God wants to do…the adventures and even challenges that lay ahead for us.
A new season is a new day – with brand new opportunities and potential it requires an awakening from the semi-comatose state many people live their life in – drifting from day to day. God has huge things in his heart. What are the New Possibilities before you?
Arise – He had to get up – new positioning
(Vs 4)
We need to reposition ourselves…Don’t roll over and go back to sleep! Don’t hit SNOOZE on your new season!
New seasons require a commitment to learn new things and new ways of doing them.
Don't say I've all this stuff to deal with before I move on…healing happens along the way!
At the Gate beautiful in Acts 3…as Peter raised him up strength came to his ankles. And he went walking leaping, praising God. New Season requires a refusal to stay at the same level.
Attach – Join up – new personnel
(Vs 4-5) Abraham gathers the people before he moves on.
A new season requires connecting…joining up with new people.
God prepares people for us and prepares us for people…and uses those opportunities for his glory.
Advance – Go up – new pursuits
(Vs 6-9)
You’ve woken up, you’ve arisen, even joined up – now it’s time to actually do something! Abraham’s pursuit included: - Promise – To your descendants I will give this land (God can speak a new word…a new season feels like home)
Connect everything we do to Kingdom Purposes! Abraham died in faith…still expecting things to happen.
Let God inspire us to dream BIG and do great things in his name!
Keep going…90% of success is just showing up. Keep moving! It's time for action!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Navigating Seasons
'Church was sizzling this morning'. Paul Benger spoke a great message on Seasons...'Navigating Seasons'
Everyone faces seasons and seasons change. This can be due to a variety of things...Job, economy, relationships, leaders, children, grandchildren, breakthroughs, blessings, challenges, opposition.
“I love the winter…it’s my fourth favourite season!”
Doing Seasons Well?
Some people don’t do seasons well this is because they are:
Too connected to a season past – ‘It’s not like it used to be’.
Too connected to a season present - We can fall in love with the way they are…but people change, things change. Let love become a choice as well as a feeling.
Too connected to a season future – ‘One day’ it will happen. Let the life we live today become the ‘main stage’.
Enjoy the current season…whatever you are doing. ‘Don’t let a past season of memories create a new season of memories’.
Seasons are in God's Hands
Ecclesiastes 3:1 – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
He is Lord over every season, even if he didn’t send it. He has given us power over it! Our God is not small, not puny…he is our ever present help in time of need, our shield and defender.
God will use the season for our benefit a season may exist for you but primarily it exists for God. Paul wrote this letter from Prison! He knew what he was talking about.
How to Navigate Seasons Well
Philippians 4:4-9 – Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Seasons require rejoicing
Many people fail to enjoy the season they are in because fail to rejoice. Remember: This is the Day the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it
Seasons require Faith & Prayer
‘And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’. God wants you in Peace NOT IN PIECES
Seasons require Right Thinking
(The Message) Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Seasons require Good Practice
Good practice comes from watching others and hearing God’s word. Put into practice, this is the goal of perfecting…we don’t get it right first time, we don’t get it right every time…so practice. Keep working at it! Our habits are very important - they are like seeds that we are sowing into the ground.
Everyone faces seasons and seasons change. This can be due to a variety of things...Job, economy, relationships, leaders, children, grandchildren, breakthroughs, blessings, challenges, opposition.
“I love the winter…it’s my fourth favourite season!”
Doing Seasons Well?
Some people don’t do seasons well this is because they are:
Too connected to a season past – ‘It’s not like it used to be’.
Too connected to a season present - We can fall in love with the way they are…but people change, things change. Let love become a choice as well as a feeling.
Too connected to a season future – ‘One day’ it will happen. Let the life we live today become the ‘main stage’.
Enjoy the current season…whatever you are doing. ‘Don’t let a past season of memories create a new season of memories’.
Seasons are in God's Hands
Ecclesiastes 3:1 – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven
He is Lord over every season, even if he didn’t send it. He has given us power over it! Our God is not small, not puny…he is our ever present help in time of need, our shield and defender.
God will use the season for our benefit a season may exist for you but primarily it exists for God. Paul wrote this letter from Prison! He knew what he was talking about.
How to Navigate Seasons Well
Philippians 4:4-9 – Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Seasons require rejoicing
Many people fail to enjoy the season they are in because fail to rejoice. Remember: This is the Day the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it
Seasons require Faith & Prayer
‘And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’. God wants you in Peace NOT IN PIECES
Seasons require Right Thinking
(The Message) Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Seasons require Good Practice
Good practice comes from watching others and hearing God’s word. Put into practice, this is the goal of perfecting…we don’t get it right first time, we don’t get it right every time…so practice. Keep working at it! Our habits are very important - they are like seeds that we are sowing into the ground.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Haggai - Timeless Prophet
So loved church this morning and what a great message from Mark Wilkins all about the prophet Haggai.
We don’t find very much written about Haggai in the Bible, just a handful of prophecies from him and a few words about him in the book of Ezra. Yet he was a significant prophet at the time of the Children of Israel’s return from exile in Babylon back to Jerusalem.
They returned to rebuild Jerusalem and in particular the temple, to return it to its former glory.
Haggai brought a number of significant messages to them at that time which also helps us today as we see the church being built.
29 August 520 BC
Haggai 1
Haggai first word from God to the people was that now was the time to rebuild the House of God. To put God first was the clear message. This was not a new message to them but an old message that they had forgotten.
“Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Jesus)
The people had been side-tracked. They had been sorting out their own homes first. But Haggai’s word was ‘the time was now’. To bring glory to Jerusalem and the temple. Glory = what we put first (our greatest treasure)
They had become indifferent to the glory of God. As the church today we are here to bring the glory of God…to demonstrate his glory. The people had become comfortable…putting their houses above God.
Never forget God in all that we do.
17 October 520 BC
Haggai 2:1-9
One month after the work had started the people began to slow down. They began to doubt what they were doing that they could never restore the temple to its former glory. They became discouraged…choosing to just remember the former glory rather than try and rebuild it.
We can often think that what we are doing is small and insignificant, far away from what we would love to achieve…we get discouraged.
Haggai’s message was to ‘take courage and work because God is with you’. We are working alongside God; we’re not doing anything that is menial or insignificant.
God has put incredible value on what we do! Don’t let enthusiasm wane. Remain passionate for the things of God and his calling upon our lives.
Haggai 2:6-9 - "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
The people were building more that they could see. “It will be greater”. They could only see small and paltry. God can do more than we can see!
Start doing something, it may seem small…and yet God’s glory will come and it will be great and significant!
12 March 515 BC
Ezra 6
Throughout Haggai’s messages to the people was this, ‘take courage – God is with you…see what God can see!’
The temple was finished!
Even though the people often became down and deflated…they were able to build and finish the temple. They put God first and that is the simple yet profound message for us today. Honour God first.
Seek first…
He is with you…
Take courage and work…
We don’t find very much written about Haggai in the Bible, just a handful of prophecies from him and a few words about him in the book of Ezra. Yet he was a significant prophet at the time of the Children of Israel’s return from exile in Babylon back to Jerusalem.
They returned to rebuild Jerusalem and in particular the temple, to return it to its former glory.
Haggai brought a number of significant messages to them at that time which also helps us today as we see the church being built.
29 August 520 BC
Haggai 1
Haggai first word from God to the people was that now was the time to rebuild the House of God. To put God first was the clear message. This was not a new message to them but an old message that they had forgotten.
“Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Jesus)
The people had been side-tracked. They had been sorting out their own homes first. But Haggai’s word was ‘the time was now’. To bring glory to Jerusalem and the temple. Glory = what we put first (our greatest treasure)
They had become indifferent to the glory of God. As the church today we are here to bring the glory of God…to demonstrate his glory. The people had become comfortable…putting their houses above God.
Never forget God in all that we do.
17 October 520 BC
Haggai 2:1-9
One month after the work had started the people began to slow down. They began to doubt what they were doing that they could never restore the temple to its former glory. They became discouraged…choosing to just remember the former glory rather than try and rebuild it.
We can often think that what we are doing is small and insignificant, far away from what we would love to achieve…we get discouraged.
Haggai’s message was to ‘take courage and work because God is with you’. We are working alongside God; we’re not doing anything that is menial or insignificant.
God has put incredible value on what we do! Don’t let enthusiasm wane. Remain passionate for the things of God and his calling upon our lives.
Haggai 2:6-9 - "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD Almighty. 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."
The people were building more that they could see. “It will be greater”. They could only see small and paltry. God can do more than we can see!
Start doing something, it may seem small…and yet God’s glory will come and it will be great and significant!
12 March 515 BC
Ezra 6
Throughout Haggai’s messages to the people was this, ‘take courage – God is with you…see what God can see!’
The temple was finished!
Even though the people often became down and deflated…they were able to build and finish the temple. They put God first and that is the simple yet profound message for us today. Honour God first.
Seek first…
He is with you…
Take courage and work…
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Unshakeable
Great morning in church today. Jane Lloyd spoke an excellent message on having an Unshakeable faith.
God’s kingdom is an unshakeable kingdom.
Hebrews 12:28 - Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakeable, let us be thankful and please God by worshipping him with holy fear and awe.
Jesus was unshakeable in his mission to save and redeem his people.
Hebrews 12:1-3
We are encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Christ, to run with endurance, to not give up. How can we achieve this? How did Jesus remain unshakeable when he faced so much hardship during his time on this earth – temptation, persecution, even death?
1) We need to understand our position in Christ
Ephesians 2:4-6 - But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
Here is a paradox – we learn to move forward in our faith when we first learn to sit down. We sit or find rest when we allow ourselves, our whole being, our future dreams, our joys, our sorrows to be given over to God. To allow him to take control.
Jesus was secure in who he was and in the love of the Father, and if we are to have an unshakeable faith we too need to be secure in God’s love and in the grace that’s been given to us.
The truth is that we are forgiven – we can walk with our heads held high, we have received God’s mercy – nothing I DO can make me earn it, it is a free gift from God, I just need to SIT and receive it.
There were times when Jesus needed to sit at the feet of his Father to receive the grace to carry on.
Luke 22:41-43 - He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.
2) We need to walk in the purposes of God
Ephesians 4:1-2 - Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
‘To Walk’ – Greek word ‘peripateo’ = to go here and there/to tread all around. Meaning as used here and in much of NT refers more to the daily conduct of a person’s life – that a person developed good habits, lived with purpose and had goals to work towards, and that they had the determination to reach those goals.
We need good habits, praying/reading word, renewing your mind, being thankful, showing mercy/kindness, being generous etc.
God gives us great purpose & we need to walk in his purposes.
Jesus walked in the purposes of his Father, secure in who he was and so clear about what he had to accomplish.
Ephesians 4:17-5:2
Ways in which we should walk:
- Walk in newness of life
- Walk according to the spirit
‘Be being filled’ – don’t run on fumes, run on fuel. Again it’s those sitting down times that we need to fill us up again. God needs us to be filled ready to be used.
- Walk in humility and with patience
- Walk in forgiveness
- Walk in love
- Walk as children of the Light
- Walk as wise men redeeming the time (5:15)
3) We need to stand firm in a place of victory
Ephesians 6:10-11 - A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil.
Sitting at the Father’s feet, receiving from him, having security in who we are and what Christ has done, walking in his light and love with purpose and perseverance, should bring us to this place of standing where we become unshakeable in our faith.
Stand = ‘hold your ground’. This implies that the territory is already ours – it’s already been won. Jesus won the victory at the cross.
Jesus waged offensive warfare against Satan to gain the victory at the cross, but we wage defensive warfare to consolidate that victory. We are already conquerors, in fact Romans 8 says that we are more than conquerors.
Romans 8:31-37
This is what makes us unshakeable – that we are able to stand before God in the light of Christ’s victory at the cross, and nothing can take that position away from us.
When we hit a low point there is a place that we can run to where we can receive mercy, strength, where hope can rise again. The temptation is to run away from God, to withdraw from being in God’s house because we feel vulnerable or that we’ve failed in some way.
Phil 4:6-7 - Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
When Jesus overcame the enemy at the cross, God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name. It is only in that name that a person can be saved. When we call upon that name we can be confident that heaven will hear us because of the authority that’s been given to it.
John 14:12-14 - I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
God’s kingdom is an unshakeable kingdom.
Hebrews 12:28 - Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakeable, let us be thankful and please God by worshipping him with holy fear and awe.
Jesus was unshakeable in his mission to save and redeem his people.
Hebrews 12:1-3
We are encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Christ, to run with endurance, to not give up. How can we achieve this? How did Jesus remain unshakeable when he faced so much hardship during his time on this earth – temptation, persecution, even death?
1) We need to understand our position in Christ
Ephesians 2:4-6 - But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
Here is a paradox – we learn to move forward in our faith when we first learn to sit down. We sit or find rest when we allow ourselves, our whole being, our future dreams, our joys, our sorrows to be given over to God. To allow him to take control.
Jesus was secure in who he was and in the love of the Father, and if we are to have an unshakeable faith we too need to be secure in God’s love and in the grace that’s been given to us.
The truth is that we are forgiven – we can walk with our heads held high, we have received God’s mercy – nothing I DO can make me earn it, it is a free gift from God, I just need to SIT and receive it.
There were times when Jesus needed to sit at the feet of his Father to receive the grace to carry on.
Luke 22:41-43 - He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.
2) We need to walk in the purposes of God
Ephesians 4:1-2 - Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
‘To Walk’ – Greek word ‘peripateo’ = to go here and there/to tread all around. Meaning as used here and in much of NT refers more to the daily conduct of a person’s life – that a person developed good habits, lived with purpose and had goals to work towards, and that they had the determination to reach those goals.
We need good habits, praying/reading word, renewing your mind, being thankful, showing mercy/kindness, being generous etc.
God gives us great purpose & we need to walk in his purposes.
Jesus walked in the purposes of his Father, secure in who he was and so clear about what he had to accomplish.
Ephesians 4:17-5:2
Ways in which we should walk:
- Walk in newness of life
- Walk according to the spirit
‘Be being filled’ – don’t run on fumes, run on fuel. Again it’s those sitting down times that we need to fill us up again. God needs us to be filled ready to be used.
- Walk in humility and with patience
- Walk in forgiveness
- Walk in love
- Walk as children of the Light
- Walk as wise men redeeming the time (5:15)
3) We need to stand firm in a place of victory
Ephesians 6:10-11 - A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil.
Sitting at the Father’s feet, receiving from him, having security in who we are and what Christ has done, walking in his light and love with purpose and perseverance, should bring us to this place of standing where we become unshakeable in our faith.
Stand = ‘hold your ground’. This implies that the territory is already ours – it’s already been won. Jesus won the victory at the cross.
Jesus waged offensive warfare against Satan to gain the victory at the cross, but we wage defensive warfare to consolidate that victory. We are already conquerors, in fact Romans 8 says that we are more than conquerors.
Romans 8:31-37
This is what makes us unshakeable – that we are able to stand before God in the light of Christ’s victory at the cross, and nothing can take that position away from us.
When we hit a low point there is a place that we can run to where we can receive mercy, strength, where hope can rise again. The temptation is to run away from God, to withdraw from being in God’s house because we feel vulnerable or that we’ve failed in some way.
Phil 4:6-7 - Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
When Jesus overcame the enemy at the cross, God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name. It is only in that name that a person can be saved. When we call upon that name we can be confident that heaven will hear us because of the authority that’s been given to it.
John 14:12-14 - I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Building a City within the City II
We continued our Rise & Build 2009 series this morning in church. Paul Benger shared a great message from Nehemiah all about us taking up the sword and the trowel.
The church is the city within a city. We are here for the good of that city…to be a blessing.
Matthew 5:14 – "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden”
Proverbs 11:10 – When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices
Let your light shine…let it become visible. It has to be seen!
Nehemiah 4:11-23
Enemies like Sanballat and Tobiah came and ridiculed Nehemiah the people as they set about rebuilding the walls. They came to try and make them think ‘small’. We also have an enemy that wants to do that…to come and cause us to think about smallness. Wanting the church to just fade away…fade into irrelevance. For us not to shine and be that City of Hope.
Like them, God wants us to take up our sword and trowel. God has called us to build this way, to work and defend all that God has called us do. We’re building with God and building for God in this generation.
Opposition comes to us because what we are doing ’matters’. Challenge comes. We have an enemy that wants us to focus on smallness…to have a small vision. When the church is building the house of God nothing sends a shiver down the devil’s spine more than this.
Our vision is much more than a building…it’s a net of light across this area winning souls for Christ.
Throughout the rebuilding of the walls and later the temple opposition kept on rising against them.
Haggai 1:2-4 – This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the Lord’s house to be built.' " Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
The prophets had to stir the people up. They’d assumed the time had not yet come for the building…it’s for the next generation. Sense of lethargy. Lost their focus.
What is our focus? What are our priorities?
When we get involved with building God’s house he gets involved in building ours.
Now is the time to build it! Take up our sword and trowel. We need to build and protect and defend what God is building.
What has God called us to build in our lives? What do we need to defend?
Defend Your Spiritual Life
- Against apathy – the biggest killer (I can’t be bothered)
- False teaching – the weird and the wacky!
- Religion – hate religion, love God
- Isolation – even amongst Christian friends
- Attacks from the enemy
Defend Your Marriage
- From folly with wisdom
- Against bitterness
- From isolation and wrong relationships with friendship and intimacy
Defend Your Children
- From some people they’re not meant to hang out with…take responsibility
- Dangers - build some walls that protect them
Defend Your Business
- With Integrity
- With Accountability and honesty
Defend Your Ministry
- Against sin with humility and repentance
- False teaching/teachers
- Insufficient funds with tithing/generosity
- Against competing
We ‘defend’ because we are ‘building’!
The church is the city within a city. We are here for the good of that city…to be a blessing.
Matthew 5:14 – "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden”
Proverbs 11:10 – When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices
Let your light shine…let it become visible. It has to be seen!
Nehemiah 4:11-23
Enemies like Sanballat and Tobiah came and ridiculed Nehemiah the people as they set about rebuilding the walls. They came to try and make them think ‘small’. We also have an enemy that wants to do that…to come and cause us to think about smallness. Wanting the church to just fade away…fade into irrelevance. For us not to shine and be that City of Hope.
Like them, God wants us to take up our sword and trowel. God has called us to build this way, to work and defend all that God has called us do. We’re building with God and building for God in this generation.
Opposition comes to us because what we are doing ’matters’. Challenge comes. We have an enemy that wants us to focus on smallness…to have a small vision. When the church is building the house of God nothing sends a shiver down the devil’s spine more than this.
Our vision is much more than a building…it’s a net of light across this area winning souls for Christ.
Throughout the rebuilding of the walls and later the temple opposition kept on rising against them.
Haggai 1:2-4 – This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the Lord’s house to be built.' " Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"
The prophets had to stir the people up. They’d assumed the time had not yet come for the building…it’s for the next generation. Sense of lethargy. Lost their focus.
What is our focus? What are our priorities?
When we get involved with building God’s house he gets involved in building ours.
Now is the time to build it! Take up our sword and trowel. We need to build and protect and defend what God is building.
What has God called us to build in our lives? What do we need to defend?
Defend Your Spiritual Life
- Against apathy – the biggest killer (I can’t be bothered)
- False teaching – the weird and the wacky!
- Religion – hate religion, love God
- Isolation – even amongst Christian friends
- Attacks from the enemy
Defend Your Marriage
- From folly with wisdom
- Against bitterness
- From isolation and wrong relationships with friendship and intimacy
Defend Your Children
- From some people they’re not meant to hang out with…take responsibility
- Dangers - build some walls that protect them
Defend Your Business
- With Integrity
- With Accountability and honesty
Defend Your Ministry
- Against sin with humility and repentance
- False teaching/teachers
- Insufficient funds with tithing/generosity
- Against competing
We ‘defend’ because we are ‘building’!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Building a City within the City
We began our Rise & Build 2009 series this morning in church, which will run for the next two weeks. Paul Benger started us off with an excellent message on Nehemiah entitled ‘Building a City within the City’.
The vision for our Rise and Build is more important than the actual giving of money.
Matthew 5:14 – "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden”
Often churches and Christians have been associated with the ‘rural’. The Bible has the view of the church as a City. Where the culture and tone for life is set…where much is happening. The community of God’s people who are here for the good of others.
‘We are the City within our City’ – here for the good of our area. Today we are rising and building something that will last, something of permanence...here for generations to come.
The church…we are here to establish the culture of our city.
We are looking at Nehemiah this morning. He was one of the greatest leaders in the Bible…someone who set the tone and culture of the city.
Nehemiah 1:1-11
Nehemiah had received ‘old news’ about the city of Jerusalem and yet he began to view this with a ‘new perspective’.
God wants to give us a new perspective on ‘who we are’ for our city. We have a destiny unfulfilled.
On some of the things we know already our prayer is that we get a new perspective. The city of Jerusalem was meant to be a model city for the name of God…a place of blessing for the people. For us also, CLC is meant to be that place for our city.
We have to care about our church…because our well-being is important to the people of our city. They are looking to us.
Let us get this into our hearts, Jesus is building His church. We are here for the call to build with Him…to make it happen, to get things started!
It’s the heart of human beings…to make progress. God’s call for us is to be a people of progress.
Three things that happened to Nehemiah that is important for us today as we rise and build…
1) Nehemiah is clear about God’s will
(Verses 5-10) – God is a covenant keeping God, Nehemiah knew about this. God’s word to us, “I will build my church”. “You the light of the world…a City in a Hill” – don’t ever hide this! We want to set the tone in our city…set the culture.
2) Nehemiah contracts God’s Heart
(Verse 4) – God is saying ‘give me your heart for the lost…for your city, region and the world’.
3) Nehemiah calls on God’s help
(Verse 11) – God’s hand is upon us. He wants us to be people who are here for the city. Building a centre within the city…a place of hope, faith, restoration and healing.
The vision for our Rise and Build is more important than the actual giving of money.
Matthew 5:14 – "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden”
Often churches and Christians have been associated with the ‘rural’. The Bible has the view of the church as a City. Where the culture and tone for life is set…where much is happening. The community of God’s people who are here for the good of others.
‘We are the City within our City’ – here for the good of our area. Today we are rising and building something that will last, something of permanence...here for generations to come.
The church…we are here to establish the culture of our city.
We are looking at Nehemiah this morning. He was one of the greatest leaders in the Bible…someone who set the tone and culture of the city.
Nehemiah 1:1-11
Nehemiah had received ‘old news’ about the city of Jerusalem and yet he began to view this with a ‘new perspective’.
God wants to give us a new perspective on ‘who we are’ for our city. We have a destiny unfulfilled.
On some of the things we know already our prayer is that we get a new perspective. The city of Jerusalem was meant to be a model city for the name of God…a place of blessing for the people. For us also, CLC is meant to be that place for our city.
We have to care about our church…because our well-being is important to the people of our city. They are looking to us.
Let us get this into our hearts, Jesus is building His church. We are here for the call to build with Him…to make it happen, to get things started!
It’s the heart of human beings…to make progress. God’s call for us is to be a people of progress.
Three things that happened to Nehemiah that is important for us today as we rise and build…
1) Nehemiah is clear about God’s will
(Verses 5-10) – God is a covenant keeping God, Nehemiah knew about this. God’s word to us, “I will build my church”. “You the light of the world…a City in a Hill” – don’t ever hide this! We want to set the tone in our city…set the culture.
2) Nehemiah contracts God’s Heart
(Verse 4) – God is saying ‘give me your heart for the lost…for your city, region and the world’.
3) Nehemiah calls on God’s help
(Verse 11) – God’s hand is upon us. He wants us to be people who are here for the city. Building a centre within the city…a place of hope, faith, restoration and healing.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Give me this Mountain
Great time at CLC yesterday both morning and evening. In the morning I spoke about Caleb..."Give me this Mountain".
Joshua 14:6-15
If there were ever a Bible character that displayed a right attitude or "different spirit" toward God and His Word, it was Caleb.
I believe for us today the time has come to declare, “Give us this Mountain, whatever your Mountain might be today.
By faith Caleb and Joshua stood on the promises of God. Their faith was bigger than the giants. And God was bigger than their faith. It's not the size of your faith that makes the difference, but the size of the God that we put our faith in”
Like the Israelites…we too are on a journey, we are not at the end of our destination. We've seen the faithfulness of God. His faithfulness has proved sufficient beyond measure. The test of our faith is to press on…keep going…to remain that “Unstoppable” force.
Today as we look at the life of Caleb I want us to look at three tests of our faith:
1) Faith focuses on Possibilities, the Potential, not the Problems
The task of the spies was not to spy out the problems. They were to first examine the potential, the possibilities, the abundance that the land had to offer.
God wanted these leaders to come back and ignite the hearts of the 12 tribes.
God wanted to use these leaders to encourage the people to take possession of the promised land.
Numbers 13:27-29
They forgot their mission. Their mission was to report on the possibilities, the potential - not the problems. Their report started out great but then they lost their focus. When it comes to matters of faith, too often we can shift our focus and lose sight of God.
"We can't attack these people; they are stronger than we are.' …"We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
God's chosen people saw themselves as Grasshoppers.
Those with faith challenge and motivate and point to the possibilities, but those who have no faith criticize and focus on the problems
Our actions are not to be determined by the problems, but by faith that God will provide! Numbers 13:2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites." God had promised the land to them.
2) Faith relies on God's Abilities not our own abilities
Not only does FAITH focus on the possibilities instead of the problems, but FAITH focuses on God's abilities and not our own!
Ten of the spies measured the giants against themselves: we can't do it, they said. They are stronger than we are. We're like grasshoppers compared to them.
Caleb measured the giants, not against themselves, but against God.
PERSPECTIVE – View life from a different place (see things from Above and not from the ground up (grasshoppers)…BUT from the Mountain!)
The way we look at life determines everything we do in life. Where you look from…changes everything you see. If you look from a lowly and downcast position everything looks huge and hard to overcome.
Even average challenges appear like giants when we look from a grasshopper perspective.
How to see yourself…
- See yourself as complete in Christ.
- See yourself in heavenly places with Christ
Ephesians 2:4-6 – But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus
You’re sat in heavenly places! When we’re seated in heavenly realms it changes our view on things. Maybe it’s a view about you or your circumstances; a view about your ability or skill; your future. But when you’re sat in the right place, heavenly perspective, you see things differently…you change you view!
- See yourself helping others to lift their lives
Caleb and Joshua saw things from God’s perspective - To a great God those giants were small!
3) Faith Asks for the Mountain
Look what God says about Caleb in Numbers 14:24 "But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it"
That's what I like about Caleb: he looks at life with the attitude “All things are possible” - one who sees himself walking into the future, not alone but leaning on the strong arm of his God.
Here is a man who had learned to trust in the promises of God and stake his whole future on them. "Give Me This Mountain" (14:12)
Let this be our cry today!
Joshua 14:6-15
If there were ever a Bible character that displayed a right attitude or "different spirit" toward God and His Word, it was Caleb.
I believe for us today the time has come to declare, “Give us this Mountain, whatever your Mountain might be today.
By faith Caleb and Joshua stood on the promises of God. Their faith was bigger than the giants. And God was bigger than their faith. It's not the size of your faith that makes the difference, but the size of the God that we put our faith in”
Like the Israelites…we too are on a journey, we are not at the end of our destination. We've seen the faithfulness of God. His faithfulness has proved sufficient beyond measure. The test of our faith is to press on…keep going…to remain that “Unstoppable” force.
Today as we look at the life of Caleb I want us to look at three tests of our faith:
1) Faith focuses on Possibilities, the Potential, not the Problems
The task of the spies was not to spy out the problems. They were to first examine the potential, the possibilities, the abundance that the land had to offer.
God wanted these leaders to come back and ignite the hearts of the 12 tribes.
God wanted to use these leaders to encourage the people to take possession of the promised land.
Numbers 13:27-29
They forgot their mission. Their mission was to report on the possibilities, the potential - not the problems. Their report started out great but then they lost their focus. When it comes to matters of faith, too often we can shift our focus and lose sight of God.
"We can't attack these people; they are stronger than we are.' …"We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
God's chosen people saw themselves as Grasshoppers.
Those with faith challenge and motivate and point to the possibilities, but those who have no faith criticize and focus on the problems
Our actions are not to be determined by the problems, but by faith that God will provide! Numbers 13:2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites." God had promised the land to them.
2) Faith relies on God's Abilities not our own abilities
Not only does FAITH focus on the possibilities instead of the problems, but FAITH focuses on God's abilities and not our own!
Ten of the spies measured the giants against themselves: we can't do it, they said. They are stronger than we are. We're like grasshoppers compared to them.
Caleb measured the giants, not against themselves, but against God.
PERSPECTIVE – View life from a different place (see things from Above and not from the ground up (grasshoppers)…BUT from the Mountain!)
The way we look at life determines everything we do in life. Where you look from…changes everything you see. If you look from a lowly and downcast position everything looks huge and hard to overcome.
Even average challenges appear like giants when we look from a grasshopper perspective.
How to see yourself…
- See yourself as complete in Christ.
- See yourself in heavenly places with Christ
Ephesians 2:4-6 – But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus
You’re sat in heavenly places! When we’re seated in heavenly realms it changes our view on things. Maybe it’s a view about you or your circumstances; a view about your ability or skill; your future. But when you’re sat in the right place, heavenly perspective, you see things differently…you change you view!
- See yourself helping others to lift their lives
Caleb and Joshua saw things from God’s perspective - To a great God those giants were small!
3) Faith Asks for the Mountain
Look what God says about Caleb in Numbers 14:24 "But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it"
That's what I like about Caleb: he looks at life with the attitude “All things are possible” - one who sees himself walking into the future, not alone but leaning on the strong arm of his God.
Here is a man who had learned to trust in the promises of God and stake his whole future on them. "Give Me This Mountain" (14:12)
Let this be our cry today!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Miracles
Another great day at CLC today…Andy Marsh shared about ‘Miracles’ and the importance of ensuring that we don’t see the miracle and miss the Maker.
Luke 5:1-12
Why did Jesus stand on the boat when he spoke when he could have stood on the water!?
We need to make sure we see Jesus and not just the miracle. Everything about our faith on what we believe is based on miracles…creation, salvation. All miracles are based on God’s word.
A word of caution when it comes to miracles…
1) Some of us can look to a miracle to be the cure for all
We’re not going to avoid difficult times and discouragement but God will see us through. His timing for answers to our prayers is perfect. The miracles happen to glorify God.
2) Something to covet
3) Deceptive
Some miracles can be deceptive…the work of satan, 2 Thessalonians 2:9
4) Distraction
Let us not get so focused on the miracle that we are distracted from what is really important…the miracle maker.
The Purpose of the Miracle…
1) To glorify God
2) To restore – heal
3) To show who He is
4) To bless…he loves to bless his children (with the unexpected!)
5) To attract new believers
6) To confirm the Apostle’s teaching
7) To increase faith
Jesus didn’t stand on the water to speak his message…it would have been a distraction to the people listening.
He wants us to keep our focus on him and not the miracle. Peter began to sink as he walked on the water when his focus went away from Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 – Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God
Keep our eyes on him and not on the problem.
Don’t go to God for a miracle…go for relationship and you can walk in His miraculous every day.
Psalm 91:1 – He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
You can’t have a relationship with the miracle. Ephesians 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us
Don’t let our vision be too small. Don’t commute…stay connected. Don’t keep coming and going to God. Never be surprised with what God can do and what he does!
Luke 5:1-12
Why did Jesus stand on the boat when he spoke when he could have stood on the water!?
We need to make sure we see Jesus and not just the miracle. Everything about our faith on what we believe is based on miracles…creation, salvation. All miracles are based on God’s word.
A word of caution when it comes to miracles…
1) Some of us can look to a miracle to be the cure for all
We’re not going to avoid difficult times and discouragement but God will see us through. His timing for answers to our prayers is perfect. The miracles happen to glorify God.
2) Something to covet
3) Deceptive
Some miracles can be deceptive…the work of satan, 2 Thessalonians 2:9
4) Distraction
Let us not get so focused on the miracle that we are distracted from what is really important…the miracle maker.
The Purpose of the Miracle…
1) To glorify God
2) To restore – heal
3) To show who He is
4) To bless…he loves to bless his children (with the unexpected!)
5) To attract new believers
6) To confirm the Apostle’s teaching
7) To increase faith
Jesus didn’t stand on the water to speak his message…it would have been a distraction to the people listening.
He wants us to keep our focus on him and not the miracle. Peter began to sink as he walked on the water when his focus went away from Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 – Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God
Keep our eyes on him and not on the problem.
Don’t go to God for a miracle…go for relationship and you can walk in His miraculous every day.
Psalm 91:1 – He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
You can’t have a relationship with the miracle. Ephesians 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us
Don’t let our vision be too small. Don’t commute…stay connected. Don’t keep coming and going to God. Never be surprised with what God can do and what he does!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Power of a Word
Great message from Paul Benger this morning in church. He spoke on the ‘Power of a Word’.
Isaiah 50:4 – The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught
Proverbs 10:21 – The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgement
Proverbs 18:21 – The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit
Life takes us through seasons…but there is always a word from God in whatever season we find ourselves. God is always encouraging us.
Right words and wrong words can be spoken at appropriate and inappropriate times. Speak the right words, words that sustain the weary, words that bring hope and life.
As well as speaking the right words…hear the right words also. Jesus encourages those that have an ear let them hear!
Eat the fruit of good words. Fruit is seasonal…words at the right time is like choice fruit, feeding and nourishing. Wrong words at the wrong times are like bad fruits…out of season!
1) God’s Word
Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever
God’s word stands forever. Every generation that has ever lived His word has impacted their lives. God’s word never changes.
Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God. God’s word speaks to us about Jesus and His Kingdom. The culture and nature of Heaven…trusting, never fearful, whatever the season bringing hope and life.
When we read God’s word see it through the eyes of Jesus. The Bible only comes to life through the eyes of Jesus.
Don’t build our lives on the life of the cynical…the negative. Have God’s word frame world. What is the Kingdom thing to do?
2) Your Words
Listen to your words…speak to yourself. James 1:16 – If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless
Religious activity makes us more judgmental. Let our words and thoughts be life giving and gracious. Encouraging words…uplifting…positive people bringing a Biblical perspective.
Don’t speak negative words over your life. Whatever season you are in right speak God’s word over your life.
1 Samuel 30:6 – David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God
Get the fruit of good words in bad times.
3) Words of the Righteous
Proverbs 10:21 – The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgement
Hear the words of righteous people in your life. Not the words of the perfect, not the words of the ‘holy’ – the words of righteous people, testimonies…people who have been where you are right now.
Your words can feed many. Who can we feed this week…with the words of the righteous?
We want to hear the stories of people who’ve got up when they’ve been down and put their lives back in order. We don’t want to hear the cynical, negative person. We want to hear those who put faith into people’s hearts.
4) Words spoken by the Holy Spirit
The Bible is God’s word spoken to us through the Holy Spirit. Our words can also be inspired by the Holy Spirit. The words of the righteous can also be inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 10:17 – Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ
God speaks by the Holy Spirit. Prophesying, specific words (Rhema )…the words of Christ.
The Holy Spirit delivers God’s word into our lives.
John 16:13 – But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come
Isaiah 50:4 – The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught
Proverbs 10:21 – The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgement
Proverbs 18:21 – The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit
Life takes us through seasons…but there is always a word from God in whatever season we find ourselves. God is always encouraging us.
Right words and wrong words can be spoken at appropriate and inappropriate times. Speak the right words, words that sustain the weary, words that bring hope and life.
As well as speaking the right words…hear the right words also. Jesus encourages those that have an ear let them hear!
Eat the fruit of good words. Fruit is seasonal…words at the right time is like choice fruit, feeding and nourishing. Wrong words at the wrong times are like bad fruits…out of season!
1) God’s Word
Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever
God’s word stands forever. Every generation that has ever lived His word has impacted their lives. God’s word never changes.
Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God. God’s word speaks to us about Jesus and His Kingdom. The culture and nature of Heaven…trusting, never fearful, whatever the season bringing hope and life.
When we read God’s word see it through the eyes of Jesus. The Bible only comes to life through the eyes of Jesus.
Don’t build our lives on the life of the cynical…the negative. Have God’s word frame world. What is the Kingdom thing to do?
2) Your Words
Listen to your words…speak to yourself. James 1:16 – If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless
Religious activity makes us more judgmental. Let our words and thoughts be life giving and gracious. Encouraging words…uplifting…positive people bringing a Biblical perspective.
Don’t speak negative words over your life. Whatever season you are in right speak God’s word over your life.
1 Samuel 30:6 – David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God
Get the fruit of good words in bad times.
3) Words of the Righteous
Proverbs 10:21 – The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgement
Hear the words of righteous people in your life. Not the words of the perfect, not the words of the ‘holy’ – the words of righteous people, testimonies…people who have been where you are right now.
Your words can feed many. Who can we feed this week…with the words of the righteous?
We want to hear the stories of people who’ve got up when they’ve been down and put their lives back in order. We don’t want to hear the cynical, negative person. We want to hear those who put faith into people’s hearts.
4) Words spoken by the Holy Spirit
The Bible is God’s word spoken to us through the Holy Spirit. Our words can also be inspired by the Holy Spirit. The words of the righteous can also be inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 10:17 – Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ
God speaks by the Holy Spirit. Prophesying, specific words (Rhema )…the words of Christ.
The Holy Spirit delivers God’s word into our lives.
John 16:13 – But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come
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