Part 3 of our Grace and Favour series this morning in church. Paul Benger spoke a great message on “Finding Grace”.
2 Timothy 2:1 – “…be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus”
Grace = Supernatural enabling
His grace is sufficient for you. He delivers us out of or through difficult times but whatever way he does it his grace is sufficient.
Hebrews 4:14-16 – Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 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.
This is the great news...Christ has won the victory. He’s been through it all…triumphed for you and me so that we could find grace today.
Three things taken from these verses that help us to live...
1) Keep Your Confession
...let us hold firmly to the faith we profess
What we say is more important than what we think it is. Our words are very powerful. Yes be truthful, be real, but good confession is vital for our lives.
We’re prophesying about our lives, we’re writing the script of our future.
Hebrews 10:23 – Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful
We believe in a faithful God. He’s faithful to his word. He’s faithful to his people.
Psalm 45:1 – My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer
What is the theme of our heart? Whatever the theme is it will come out. Is our theme confidence in God?
We might say we can’t see a way out of our difficult situation...but with God you can – he will bring you through!
Hold fast to you confession of God’s word...what he says about you. You are shaped by God, a people of destiny.
Our confession - so often it is the first thing that goes when trouble hits us.
2) Let Us Draw Near
...Let us then approach the throne of grace (draw near)
Our natural reaction is to draw back when trouble comes. We pull away. Put yourself on the front foot - don’t draw back but draw near.
It is a throne of grace not a throne of judgement. There is enough grace in Jesus for you.
Also, draw near to the people of God. Don’t go into isolation. When challenge comes don’t draw back from the people of God. How many would be fulfilling their destiny today had they not drawn back when the challenges came?
3) Let Us Have Confidence
...Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence
We can be confident as we approach God today. He is for us, he wants the best for us. Loved by God, liked by God!
He is the answer. He is smarter/wiser than me! He has a plan for my life.
We have an enemy that wants to steal our confidence. To sabotage our confidence.
Hebrews 10:35 - So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded
He may undermine our confidence, but we are the ones who throw it away.
Our confidence is not in ourselves but in God. in Jesus Christ, his will, his power – he who began a good work in me will complete it!
Habakkuk 3:17-19 – Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Grace and Favour Part II
Another great time in church today. Paul Benger continued this excellent series called Grave and Favour.
John 1:17 – For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Grace is all about Jesus and what He has done. We can reign in life, live an abundant life through the person of Jesus Christ.
Grace = God has smiled on you and you did not deserve it! Even when we understand this truth we can still find ourselves trying to earn his favour.
Grace is the power that helps us to overcome sin.
Romans 6:14 – For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
‘Sin’ is missing the mark of God’s best. When we live under grace sin is no longer the master.
The Purpose of the Law
The Law reveals our ‘inability’ to know God and leads us to live for God based on our ‘ability’. It shows us that we need Christ. The Law is good but it does not have the power to make us good.
The Children of Israel rebelled against God even though they had seen God’s amazing grace following the exodus from Egypt. Delivery from the Egyptians, crossing the Red Sea, Manna from Heaven. Yet they became reliable on their own self-righteousness.
Grace doesn’t rely on my righteousness but on His righteousness.
When we try and live in our righteousness we will see lack. Living in him and his righteousness we will see no lack.
Galatians 2:21 – I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
Romans 3:24 – and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
When we preach the law, come on...‘get good’, ‘try harder’, ‘pray more’...we will fail.
1 Corinthians 15:56 – and the law gives sin its power. Tell a child, ‘Don’t touch that!’…What do they do? When we preach that we’re accepted in Christ, He loves us unconditionally…we live for him…we offer back to him our lives.
Four ways...How to reign in life through Jesus Christ
1) Focus on God’s love for you
God loves You...the Gospel of grace. “He loved a people undeserving!”
John 14:23 – Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them
Romans 8:35 – Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
2) Let God set you free from the Law
From striving...trying to receive the favour of God. God likes you! Don’t live with the ‘daisy mentality’, ‘he loves me, he loves me not...’
Galatians 5:4 - For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace
The Christian life became hard when we forget the grace of God. Live out of his grace, it will turn our world around.
The church is at its best when it shows the love and grace of God. Not speaking a negative message of what we are against but a positive message of God’s love for the world.
3) Know who you are in Christ
1 John 4:17 – Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we in this world
He takes our sin and gives us his freedom and acceptance. If Jesus is pleasing to God, so are we. If he is right with God, so are we. Reigning?...so are we.
Let him invade your world. Through him you can become more than a conqueror and reign in life.
4) Refuse to be in bondage
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 can enjoy freedom living in the grace of God.
John 1:17 – For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Grace is all about Jesus and what He has done. We can reign in life, live an abundant life through the person of Jesus Christ.
Grace = God has smiled on you and you did not deserve it! Even when we understand this truth we can still find ourselves trying to earn his favour.
Grace is the power that helps us to overcome sin.
Romans 6:14 – For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
‘Sin’ is missing the mark of God’s best. When we live under grace sin is no longer the master.
The Purpose of the Law
The Law reveals our ‘inability’ to know God and leads us to live for God based on our ‘ability’. It shows us that we need Christ. The Law is good but it does not have the power to make us good.
The Children of Israel rebelled against God even though they had seen God’s amazing grace following the exodus from Egypt. Delivery from the Egyptians, crossing the Red Sea, Manna from Heaven. Yet they became reliable on their own self-righteousness.
Grace doesn’t rely on my righteousness but on His righteousness.
When we try and live in our righteousness we will see lack. Living in him and his righteousness we will see no lack.
Galatians 2:21 – I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
Romans 3:24 – and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
When we preach the law, come on...‘get good’, ‘try harder’, ‘pray more’...we will fail.
1 Corinthians 15:56 – and the law gives sin its power. Tell a child, ‘Don’t touch that!’…What do they do? When we preach that we’re accepted in Christ, He loves us unconditionally…we live for him…we offer back to him our lives.
Four ways...How to reign in life through Jesus Christ
1) Focus on God’s love for you
God loves You...the Gospel of grace. “He loved a people undeserving!”
John 14:23 – Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them
Romans 8:35 – Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
2) Let God set you free from the Law
From striving...trying to receive the favour of God. God likes you! Don’t live with the ‘daisy mentality’, ‘he loves me, he loves me not...’
Galatians 5:4 - For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace
The Christian life became hard when we forget the grace of God. Live out of his grace, it will turn our world around.
The church is at its best when it shows the love and grace of God. Not speaking a negative message of what we are against but a positive message of God’s love for the world.
3) Know who you are in Christ
1 John 4:17 – Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we in this world
He takes our sin and gives us his freedom and acceptance. If Jesus is pleasing to God, so are we. If he is right with God, so are we. Reigning?...so are we.
Let him invade your world. Through him you can become more than a conqueror and reign in life.
4) Refuse to be in bondage
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 can enjoy freedom living in the grace of God.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Grace and Favour Part I
An incredible time in church this morning. Paul Benger began our new three part series called Grave and Favour.
So often we focus on what we can do for him when in fact our focus should be on what he has done for us.
Ephesians 2:8 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
2 Corinthians 8:9 - For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich
Focus on the love of God because his focus is on us. That good news is open to all.
The Old Testament law is not enough, it’s not about rules or religion – it is all about relationship. Relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17 - For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Grace is the foundation of the Christian life.
So often we revert to trying to please God, working hard for his favour. His favour is already with us! He reveals his grace through Jesus and all that he has done. We could never be worthy by what we do. And God doesn’t change. He doesn’t love us one day and not the next.
Grace = 1) favour undeserved 2) A gift given 3) Supernatural enabling or position.
The law says...Do good get good, do bad get beat! (eg – the woman caught in adultery)
Boast – on what he has done for us not what we do for him
When sea sick, focus on the horizon and not the waves! Focus on a fixed point. So we also must focus on Christ’s love that never changes, immutable, when our lives are in rough seas.
Looking at the disciples John and Peter we can learn so much from the kind of relationship we can have Jesus, helps us to understand our position in with Christ through grace, his love for us.
Peter would focus so much on what he could do for God. “I’ll wash your feet Jesus, not you wash mine!” John’s contrast to Peter was that he was aware of how much he meant to God, what God had done for him.
Boast – In Christ’s love for us
Five occasions is John’s Gospel where John says of himself, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. On these five occasions we learn what we can have/experience as a result of the revelation of who we are because of what he has done for us.
1) Intimacy
John 13:22-28
When you boast in Christ’s work for you draw closer to his person. Whereas Peter sensed a distancing between him and Jesus, John had the revelation of the love of Christ for him and that position of strength for him.
2) Minister to the needs of the Lord
John 19:26-27
We minister the needs of the Lord. We get entrusted, given the responsibility to minister to others.
3) You make spiritual progress
John 20:2-4
Spiritual progress when you’re focused on Christ’s love for you. We make big strides, we grow. When we’re focused on the ‘done’ rather than on the ‘do’.
4) You’ll have quick and clear perception
John 21:6-8
You’ll know when it is God, when he is speaking to you. You’ll also know when it is the enemy. “I know you love me”.
5) You will be following Jesus
John 21:19-20
The disciple whom Jesus loved was already following him! Peter had to be told to follow him. When we’re focused on Christ’s love for us we will follow him. We won’t have to keep being told. It won’t be a struggle, a tug or a challenge.
Grace is a rich reservoir...everything we need for our lives. All that we ever do should be from that position.
So often we focus on what we can do for him when in fact our focus should be on what he has done for us.
Ephesians 2:8 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
2 Corinthians 8:9 - For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich
Focus on the love of God because his focus is on us. That good news is open to all.
The Old Testament law is not enough, it’s not about rules or religion – it is all about relationship. Relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17 - For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Grace is the foundation of the Christian life.
So often we revert to trying to please God, working hard for his favour. His favour is already with us! He reveals his grace through Jesus and all that he has done. We could never be worthy by what we do. And God doesn’t change. He doesn’t love us one day and not the next.
Grace = 1) favour undeserved 2) A gift given 3) Supernatural enabling or position.
The law says...Do good get good, do bad get beat! (eg – the woman caught in adultery)
Boast – on what he has done for us not what we do for him
When sea sick, focus on the horizon and not the waves! Focus on a fixed point. So we also must focus on Christ’s love that never changes, immutable, when our lives are in rough seas.
Looking at the disciples John and Peter we can learn so much from the kind of relationship we can have Jesus, helps us to understand our position in with Christ through grace, his love for us.
Peter would focus so much on what he could do for God. “I’ll wash your feet Jesus, not you wash mine!” John’s contrast to Peter was that he was aware of how much he meant to God, what God had done for him.
Boast – In Christ’s love for us
Five occasions is John’s Gospel where John says of himself, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. On these five occasions we learn what we can have/experience as a result of the revelation of who we are because of what he has done for us.
1) Intimacy
John 13:22-28
When you boast in Christ’s work for you draw closer to his person. Whereas Peter sensed a distancing between him and Jesus, John had the revelation of the love of Christ for him and that position of strength for him.
2) Minister to the needs of the Lord
John 19:26-27
We minister the needs of the Lord. We get entrusted, given the responsibility to minister to others.
3) You make spiritual progress
John 20:2-4
Spiritual progress when you’re focused on Christ’s love for you. We make big strides, we grow. When we’re focused on the ‘done’ rather than on the ‘do’.
4) You’ll have quick and clear perception
John 21:6-8
You’ll know when it is God, when he is speaking to you. You’ll also know when it is the enemy. “I know you love me”.
5) You will be following Jesus
John 21:19-20
The disciple whom Jesus loved was already following him! Peter had to be told to follow him. When we’re focused on Christ’s love for us we will follow him. We won’t have to keep being told. It won’t be a struggle, a tug or a challenge.
Grace is a rich reservoir...everything we need for our lives. All that we ever do should be from that position.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Passionate People
We're back...Happy New Year!
2008 got off to a great start in church this morning. Jeannie Benger shared about us being Passionate People.
God’s desire is for us to live lives with passion! A passion for him. Living for him and giving him our very best.
4 areas we should be passionate about.
1) A Passion for Life
John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full
God’s desire is that we live life to the full. To enjoy life. God’s word has all the wisdom we need to live our lives well. Everything we need for life is in His book.
We need to see life with God as the most fulfilling, the most satisfying.
Be passionate people, passionate for life. People want to be around those kinds of people. Magnetic…drawing others to God through the lives we live for him.
1 Timothy 6:17 – Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment
2) A Passion for His Church
When we are planted in God’s house we flourish. It changes our whole lives forever.
Psalm 92:13 - planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God
When people are planted they expand, they grow. Being planted also means having a passion for his house.
We are wanting to build a big church that reflects his glory. A house that has a passion for people to come to him.
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.
3) A Passion for God
Knowing and serving God is the most important thing in our lives. With God you never know what is going to happen next! Our desire...to know him more and more each day.
Let us live a life of thankfulness...of praise! We have so much to thank him for. As we live thankful and praiseful lives it changes the atmosphere around us. It lifts the lives of others.
Praising God also changes the outcome.
4) A Passion for People
God has blessed us...to be a blessing to others. We want to see people lives lifted up.
He loves people and we want to be like him. To love others, to have a passion for people.
You make a difference in people’s lives. Like Christ, love unconditionally in a world that loves conditionally.
2008 got off to a great start in church this morning. Jeannie Benger shared about us being Passionate People.
God’s desire is for us to live lives with passion! A passion for him. Living for him and giving him our very best.
4 areas we should be passionate about.
1) A Passion for Life
John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full
God’s desire is that we live life to the full. To enjoy life. God’s word has all the wisdom we need to live our lives well. Everything we need for life is in His book.
We need to see life with God as the most fulfilling, the most satisfying.
Be passionate people, passionate for life. People want to be around those kinds of people. Magnetic…drawing others to God through the lives we live for him.
1 Timothy 6:17 – Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment
2) A Passion for His Church
When we are planted in God’s house we flourish. It changes our whole lives forever.
Psalm 92:13 - planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God
When people are planted they expand, they grow. Being planted also means having a passion for his house.
We are wanting to build a big church that reflects his glory. A house that has a passion for people to come to him.
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.
3) A Passion for God
Knowing and serving God is the most important thing in our lives. With God you never know what is going to happen next! Our desire...to know him more and more each day.
Let us live a life of thankfulness...of praise! We have so much to thank him for. As we live thankful and praiseful lives it changes the atmosphere around us. It lifts the lives of others.
Praising God also changes the outcome.
4) A Passion for People
God has blessed us...to be a blessing to others. We want to see people lives lifted up.
He loves people and we want to be like him. To love others, to have a passion for people.
You make a difference in people’s lives. Like Christ, love unconditionally in a world that loves conditionally.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
The Secret
Great time in church today. I spoke on 'the Secret...of Contentment'.
We see a society striving for contentment; happiness; fulfilment. Looking for the next relationship...next holiday etc. ‘What have we got to look forward to next?’
The world strives for ‘the secret’ to happiness...to contentment.
There is a secret to contentment and it is something that I believe the Apostle Paul shares very clearly with us in the book of Philippians.
Philippians 4:11-13 (Amplified)
Contentment is something that can be a tremendous blessing when attained. The flipside - the lack of contentment can be a powerful negative force upon the life of anyone.
Like love, faithfulness, hope, joy and peace, ‘Contentment’ continues to grow when it is used and shared. It is not something when obtained we keep to ourselves. If we do...we lose it! Selfish living.
Proverbs 19:23 - The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble
1 Timothy 6:6 - But Godliness with contentment is great gain
Hebrews 13:5 - Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you
Here’s the secret...
(13) I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency!]
Three ways to help us attain contentment and three battles we face to maintain contentment.
1) We need to attend Class
Paul states that contentment can be learned. He himself can and did learn it.
Vs 11 states that he has learned to be content in all circumstances, and in Vs 12, Paul says he learned the secret of being content.
He has learned contentment in all circumstances because he has been in all circumstances.
What has Paul learned? He has learned that God will provide.
Philippians 4:19 – And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Paul has also learned to rely on the strength that God provides. When Paul says that he can do all things, he means that in all the circumstances he finds himself in, God’s strength is full and sufficient!
Paul once describes a “thorn in the flesh,” a physical experience he wants removed. However, God’s answer to Paul is “my grace is sufficient for you.”
Paul’s thorn taught him to rely on God’s provision, whether for material or physical needs.
2) We must have a Cause
Philippians 1:20-25 - (20) I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (22) If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! (23) I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far
I believe to have contentment we must have a Cause.
Paul had a mission, to take the Gospel anywhere he could. To complete his mission, he would do whatever was needed, endure whatever circumstances came his way.
Jesus was born for a cause, that CAUSE was to restore this world back to God. You and I also were born for a cause, and our connection to the world is that same cause, and it’s the cause of the King and of the Kingdom.
The “cause” is always about someone else...not about ME. Living for Him and to lift the lives of others!
3) We must have something to Cherish
We were ‘made’ to worship. If we don’t worship God, we will end up worshipping something/someone else. Why? The human heart is made to worship, but it is made to worship God. Nothing else fits!
Once we cherish God, all the other things that would try to grab our attention fall into their proper perspective. We see things as they really are.
Only true contentment comes when we cherish, worship the one true God.
Many challenges await us on our journey to contentment. Three significant challenges to overcome are:
1) We must not fall prey to Comparison
We must avoid making Comparisons. Comparing my situation and/or problems with others’ situations will never help, and almost always hurt.
How can we overcome comparisons? Comparisons are defeated through thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:6 – Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
Thankfulness will remind you and me that we truly are rich and, thus, will help us fight off comparisons.
2) We must remember we are in a Conflict
Spiritual Conflict is real. Satan is the god of this world, and he will use whatever this world has to offer to try to wound, defeat or discourage us.
A discontented Christian is no threat to him. Satan cannot defeat you, but he can make you ineffective. Discontentment is a powerful method for immobilising us.
2 Corinthians 10: 4-5 - The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
3) Quit Complaining!
Grumbling is...to complain in a surly manner, to mutter discontentedly
Do we ever mutter discontentedly? We all have! But for most of us we don’t allow this spirit to characterise our lives.
We have all had our grumbling moments – but there is a difference in having an occasional moan and being a grumbler – the consequences differ as well from having an occasional whinge and actually being a person who grumbles as a course of nature, habit and attitude.
The concern isn’t having a grumble the concern is when you stay there and make it your lifestyle and grumbling is always the first port of call in your life.
Philippians 2:14 (Amplified Bible) says; “Do all things without grumbling and fault-finding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves]
There is nothing about grumbling that is good – there are no redeeming features of grumbling and complaining - it is a destructive spirit with no positives to it.
Paul could have grumbled and complained because of his hardships – instead he learned the secret of contentment – of being content in any and every situation – what a challenge for us today!
Don’t let a lifestyle of grumbling...discontentment rob us of a life time of blessing - learn the secret of being content no matter what the circumstance – and remember...
You have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers you [Ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; You are self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency!]
We see a society striving for contentment; happiness; fulfilment. Looking for the next relationship...next holiday etc. ‘What have we got to look forward to next?’
The world strives for ‘the secret’ to happiness...to contentment.
There is a secret to contentment and it is something that I believe the Apostle Paul shares very clearly with us in the book of Philippians.
Philippians 4:11-13 (Amplified)
Contentment is something that can be a tremendous blessing when attained. The flipside - the lack of contentment can be a powerful negative force upon the life of anyone.
Like love, faithfulness, hope, joy and peace, ‘Contentment’ continues to grow when it is used and shared. It is not something when obtained we keep to ourselves. If we do...we lose it! Selfish living.
Proverbs 19:23 - The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble
1 Timothy 6:6 - But Godliness with contentment is great gain
Hebrews 13:5 - Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you
Here’s the secret...
(13) I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency!]
Three ways to help us attain contentment and three battles we face to maintain contentment.
1) We need to attend Class
Paul states that contentment can be learned. He himself can and did learn it.
Vs 11 states that he has learned to be content in all circumstances, and in Vs 12, Paul says he learned the secret of being content.
He has learned contentment in all circumstances because he has been in all circumstances.
What has Paul learned? He has learned that God will provide.
Philippians 4:19 – And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Paul has also learned to rely on the strength that God provides. When Paul says that he can do all things, he means that in all the circumstances he finds himself in, God’s strength is full and sufficient!
Paul once describes a “thorn in the flesh,” a physical experience he wants removed. However, God’s answer to Paul is “my grace is sufficient for you.”
Paul’s thorn taught him to rely on God’s provision, whether for material or physical needs.
2) We must have a Cause
Philippians 1:20-25 - (20) I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (22) If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! (23) I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far
I believe to have contentment we must have a Cause.
Paul had a mission, to take the Gospel anywhere he could. To complete his mission, he would do whatever was needed, endure whatever circumstances came his way.
Jesus was born for a cause, that CAUSE was to restore this world back to God. You and I also were born for a cause, and our connection to the world is that same cause, and it’s the cause of the King and of the Kingdom.
The “cause” is always about someone else...not about ME. Living for Him and to lift the lives of others!
3) We must have something to Cherish
We were ‘made’ to worship. If we don’t worship God, we will end up worshipping something/someone else. Why? The human heart is made to worship, but it is made to worship God. Nothing else fits!
Once we cherish God, all the other things that would try to grab our attention fall into their proper perspective. We see things as they really are.
Only true contentment comes when we cherish, worship the one true God.
Many challenges await us on our journey to contentment. Three significant challenges to overcome are:
1) We must not fall prey to Comparison
We must avoid making Comparisons. Comparing my situation and/or problems with others’ situations will never help, and almost always hurt.
How can we overcome comparisons? Comparisons are defeated through thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:6 – Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
Thankfulness will remind you and me that we truly are rich and, thus, will help us fight off comparisons.
2) We must remember we are in a Conflict
Spiritual Conflict is real. Satan is the god of this world, and he will use whatever this world has to offer to try to wound, defeat or discourage us.
A discontented Christian is no threat to him. Satan cannot defeat you, but he can make you ineffective. Discontentment is a powerful method for immobilising us.
2 Corinthians 10: 4-5 - The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
3) Quit Complaining!
Grumbling is...to complain in a surly manner, to mutter discontentedly
Do we ever mutter discontentedly? We all have! But for most of us we don’t allow this spirit to characterise our lives.
We have all had our grumbling moments – but there is a difference in having an occasional moan and being a grumbler – the consequences differ as well from having an occasional whinge and actually being a person who grumbles as a course of nature, habit and attitude.
The concern isn’t having a grumble the concern is when you stay there and make it your lifestyle and grumbling is always the first port of call in your life.
Philippians 2:14 (Amplified Bible) says; “Do all things without grumbling and fault-finding and complaining [against God] and questioning and doubting [among yourselves]
There is nothing about grumbling that is good – there are no redeeming features of grumbling and complaining - it is a destructive spirit with no positives to it.
Paul could have grumbled and complained because of his hardships – instead he learned the secret of contentment – of being content in any and every situation – what a challenge for us today!
Don’t let a lifestyle of grumbling...discontentment rob us of a life time of blessing - learn the secret of being content no matter what the circumstance – and remember...
You have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers you [Ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; You are self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency!]
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Attachment
Simon Wood spoke an encouraging message this morning in church on the laws of attachment.
The church is to reflect God’s heart, his life and hope. The message of good news to the world through the church. We want to see lives changed, turned around for good.
John 15:1-5 – (1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. (2) He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (3) You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. (4) Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (5) I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
We have a great future as we remain attached to the Vine, Jesus, and as we remain attached to one another...the church.
We remain fruitful as we remain attached to God and also attached to our world.
Psalm 1:1-3 – (1) Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (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.
As a church we don’t just remain attached to God but also to our world…our heart’s desire is to see them become attached to God.
For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son...God’s heart is for the world and as a church we seek to bless the world.
Connection and attachment comes though knowing God’s word...His truth sets us free.
Wisdom comes to us not just for church but also for where we go into our world, work, school, streets etc.
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
Still need to remain connected to God’s wisdom and not the world’s wisdom. We’re called to be in the world but not to live by its wisdom.
God wants us to connect with people; we make a difference in people’s lives. Church is also a place to connect with people, where we grow and flourish.
John 17:10-12 – (10) All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. (11) I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one. (12) While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
We’re meant to be as one so the world will see God and know the truth.
The church is to reflect God’s heart, his life and hope. The message of good news to the world through the church. We want to see lives changed, turned around for good.
John 15:1-5 – (1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. (2) He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (3) You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. (4) Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (5) I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
We have a great future as we remain attached to the Vine, Jesus, and as we remain attached to one another...the church.
We remain fruitful as we remain attached to God and also attached to our world.
Psalm 1:1-3 – (1) Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (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.
As a church we don’t just remain attached to God but also to our world…our heart’s desire is to see them become attached to God.
For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son...God’s heart is for the world and as a church we seek to bless the world.
Connection and attachment comes though knowing God’s word...His truth sets us free.
Wisdom comes to us not just for church but also for where we go into our world, work, school, streets etc.
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
Still need to remain connected to God’s wisdom and not the world’s wisdom. We’re called to be in the world but not to live by its wisdom.
God wants us to connect with people; we make a difference in people’s lives. Church is also a place to connect with people, where we grow and flourish.
John 17:10-12 – (10) All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. (11) I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me - so that they may be one as we are one. (12) While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
We’re meant to be as one so the world will see God and know the truth.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Where does God go...? Part III
Paul Benger finished our latest series this morning. He spoke a great message entitled ‘Where does God go...on Saturday...when we rest?
When it comes to our worship everyday is special. But ‘rest’ is an important principle in our lives. The Jews celebrate the Sabbath, and for us everyday is holy and separate for God.
When we ‘rest’ we are living with trust and attitude of faith for God. Rest in our lives is important for our spiritual, physical and emotional being.
Psalm 23
‘Stuff’ can get to us in life. Our souls can become contaminated so we need to take time-out so our souls can be restored. God wants us to have a restored soul.
In Psalm 23 we are called sheep because of our relationship with the Shepherd. We need a Shepherd.
Jeremiah 17:22 – And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy
Don’t get bogged down, find freedom! Our faith offers us a place of rest.
Exodus 20:8-11- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
We cannot get right with God simply by obeying the commandments. The commandments show us that life works best like this. We get right with God through our relationship with Jesus.
The Sabbath is about Creation
When God had finished creating the heavens and the earth on the seventh day he rested. He was announcing that Creation was complete. That it was ‘very good’. He had no intention to work on it anymore. Just like Adam and Eve, we work in that environment of ‘rest. As they did on the seventh day.
When they fell the burden of work became apparent to them. Unrest is the result of the fall. Not as God intended it. He wanted to share perfect creation with them.
The Sabbath is reminding us of God’s intention. ‘Remember the way I made you’.
We were made to enjoy rest. We remember we are trusting God with our lives. Just like the ‘tithe’ we are trusting God with our finances...trusting God with our ‘time’ as we give it to him.
The Sabbath is about Redemption
Hebrews 4:1 - Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
God wants us to live unloaded, unburdened lives. Cast your cares upon him. He wants to carry our burdens.
Hebrews 4:9-10 – There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.
God wants us to know burdenless living. To be right with him through our relationship with Jesus Christ.
John 19:30 - When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished”. With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit
When God had finished creating the earth His rest declared ‘it is finished’ - creation is complete.
When Jesus was on the cross he declared ‘it is finished’ - redemption is complete.
The work of redemption was complete.
Acts 3:19-21 – Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you— even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
He had paid the price for sin, for guilt.
A period of rest is so important in our lives. We are made that way. It restores us, re-energises us, re-envisions us. Religion is a poor shadow of the life God wants for you...and rest is a part of that life.
When it comes to our worship everyday is special. But ‘rest’ is an important principle in our lives. The Jews celebrate the Sabbath, and for us everyday is holy and separate for God.
When we ‘rest’ we are living with trust and attitude of faith for God. Rest in our lives is important for our spiritual, physical and emotional being.
Psalm 23
‘Stuff’ can get to us in life. Our souls can become contaminated so we need to take time-out so our souls can be restored. God wants us to have a restored soul.
In Psalm 23 we are called sheep because of our relationship with the Shepherd. We need a Shepherd.
Jeremiah 17:22 – And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy
Don’t get bogged down, find freedom! Our faith offers us a place of rest.
Exodus 20:8-11- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
We cannot get right with God simply by obeying the commandments. The commandments show us that life works best like this. We get right with God through our relationship with Jesus.
The Sabbath is about Creation
When God had finished creating the heavens and the earth on the seventh day he rested. He was announcing that Creation was complete. That it was ‘very good’. He had no intention to work on it anymore. Just like Adam and Eve, we work in that environment of ‘rest. As they did on the seventh day.
When they fell the burden of work became apparent to them. Unrest is the result of the fall. Not as God intended it. He wanted to share perfect creation with them.
The Sabbath is reminding us of God’s intention. ‘Remember the way I made you’.
We were made to enjoy rest. We remember we are trusting God with our lives. Just like the ‘tithe’ we are trusting God with our finances...trusting God with our ‘time’ as we give it to him.
The Sabbath is about Redemption
Hebrews 4:1 - Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
God wants us to live unloaded, unburdened lives. Cast your cares upon him. He wants to carry our burdens.
Hebrews 4:9-10 – There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.
God wants us to know burdenless living. To be right with him through our relationship with Jesus Christ.
John 19:30 - When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished”. With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit
When God had finished creating the earth His rest declared ‘it is finished’ - creation is complete.
When Jesus was on the cross he declared ‘it is finished’ - redemption is complete.
The work of redemption was complete.
Acts 3:19-21 – Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you— even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
He had paid the price for sin, for guilt.
A period of rest is so important in our lives. We are made that way. It restores us, re-energises us, re-envisions us. Religion is a poor shadow of the life God wants for you...and rest is a part of that life.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Where does God go...? Part II
Paul Benger continued this excellent series this morning. He spoke on ‘Where does God go...on Monday...when we go to work?
We can find ourselves living our lives in boxes. Our Christian lives can also become one of those boxes...the one and half-hours on Sunday morning for example. When in fact it should influence the whole of our lives.
Work is a good example of this. We spend 40 to 60% of our lives at work.
What is our view of work? Some people have a negative view. That work only came after ‘the fall’. God had not intended us to work. We work just to pay the bills.
Some people have a much more positive view of work. That work not only supports me but also releases me. Some see at as a ‘calling’, vocational…it’s what I’m meant to be doing.
The Bible tells us that work is an important part of our faith.
James 2:17 – Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead
God provides the food for the birds but they still have to go out and get it.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 – Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Strong Christians have a positive view of work.
(The Boss) Colossians 4:1 – Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven
(The Employees) Ephesians 6:5 – Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ
We don’t go to work to receive joy...we bring joy to the job with our attitude. Our attitude to our work is so important.
"The maid who sweeps the floor worships God while she does it. Not because she might sing a hymn while she swept, but because God loves clean floors" Martin Luther
God uses busy people. Luke 10:2 – He told them, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field
This was Jesus’ vision of how to change the world. He is looking for people. Let us work smarter as a church to reach our world.
The Disciples were busy when Jesus came to them and called them.
People sometimes think that others ‘have’ because they are luckier than they are. What is true though...
“The harder I work the luckier I become” Thomas Jefferson
5 truths about work...
1) Work is the call of God on our lives
Genesis 2:5 – The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it
It is wrong to think that ‘work’ only came about because of the fall of man. God gave work to Adam before he fell.
We’re here to take care of our world...and what I am doing is my bit. Our work is our worship to God.
Colossians 3:22-24 – Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving
2) Work provides me with resources so that I can give
Ephesians 4:28 – He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Making a profit is not evil. It allows us to give...to be generous in all that we do.
3) Influence comes through our work
We can bring God’s will through the influence that we have. Our prayer is to see Christians having influence across all spheres within our society. We want to see God’s Kingdom, his will coming into our lives and in the lives of those around us. Prayer is so important, praying for the will of God to come, as Jesus showed us how to pray.
Proverbs 11:10 - When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices. Chesterfield will be a better place.
4) Work produces diligence
Be a good finisher as well as a good starter. As we work we learn to become finishers, that we are in control. We are not ‘reactive’ people in our work but we get the job done because we are in charge of our lives.
Psalm 8:4-6 – What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet
We take charge. Not someone else...but YOU.
5) Our future comes from our work
Proverbs 13:23 – A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away
There’s a lot in the ground of your world. We will see so much in our future as we work faithfully for God having the right heart and attitude.
We can find ourselves living our lives in boxes. Our Christian lives can also become one of those boxes...the one and half-hours on Sunday morning for example. When in fact it should influence the whole of our lives.
Work is a good example of this. We spend 40 to 60% of our lives at work.
What is our view of work? Some people have a negative view. That work only came after ‘the fall’. God had not intended us to work. We work just to pay the bills.
Some people have a much more positive view of work. That work not only supports me but also releases me. Some see at as a ‘calling’, vocational…it’s what I’m meant to be doing.
The Bible tells us that work is an important part of our faith.
James 2:17 – Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead
God provides the food for the birds but they still have to go out and get it.
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 – Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
Strong Christians have a positive view of work.
(The Boss) Colossians 4:1 – Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven
(The Employees) Ephesians 6:5 – Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ
We don’t go to work to receive joy...we bring joy to the job with our attitude. Our attitude to our work is so important.
"The maid who sweeps the floor worships God while she does it. Not because she might sing a hymn while she swept, but because God loves clean floors" Martin Luther
God uses busy people. Luke 10:2 – He told them, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field
This was Jesus’ vision of how to change the world. He is looking for people. Let us work smarter as a church to reach our world.
The Disciples were busy when Jesus came to them and called them.
People sometimes think that others ‘have’ because they are luckier than they are. What is true though...
“The harder I work the luckier I become” Thomas Jefferson
5 truths about work...
1) Work is the call of God on our lives
Genesis 2:5 – The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it
It is wrong to think that ‘work’ only came about because of the fall of man. God gave work to Adam before he fell.
We’re here to take care of our world...and what I am doing is my bit. Our work is our worship to God.
Colossians 3:22-24 – Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favour, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving
2) Work provides me with resources so that I can give
Ephesians 4:28 – He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Making a profit is not evil. It allows us to give...to be generous in all that we do.
3) Influence comes through our work
We can bring God’s will through the influence that we have. Our prayer is to see Christians having influence across all spheres within our society. We want to see God’s Kingdom, his will coming into our lives and in the lives of those around us. Prayer is so important, praying for the will of God to come, as Jesus showed us how to pray.
Proverbs 11:10 - When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices. Chesterfield will be a better place.
4) Work produces diligence
Be a good finisher as well as a good starter. As we work we learn to become finishers, that we are in control. We are not ‘reactive’ people in our work but we get the job done because we are in charge of our lives.
Psalm 8:4-6 – What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet
We take charge. Not someone else...but YOU.
5) Our future comes from our work
Proverbs 13:23 – A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away
There’s a lot in the ground of your world. We will see so much in our future as we work faithfully for God having the right heart and attitude.
Monday, November 12, 2007
When Storms Come
Great time in church yesterday. I spoke on the subject of navigating life’s storms.
Acts 27:13-44
Matthew 7:24-27
Storms know now boundaries and have no favourites. Notice the similarities in what happened to both men…the rains came, the streams rose, the winds blew. The reality is, life is full of storms. And storms are no respecter of persons. No matter what kind of life we’re living the storms will still come.
So often people want to debate the cause of the storm but all Jesus wants us to see is the kind of foundation on which to build our lives upon. The right question is not whether they will come, or when, but how we will respond to them.
In Acts 27 they were in a storm that seemed to be overwhelming. In an effort to save the ship and their lives, they cast four anchors into the sea. These anchors proved ineffective against the storm and the ship was ultimately lost. However I believe the Apostle Paul had four anchors as well. These anchors steadied him during the storm. Even though that ship was shaken and battered, Paul was able to make it because he had these anchors in his life.
Hebrews 6:18-19: We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain and into the most holy place. Jesus has gone there ahead of us, and he is our high priest forever.
The same anchors that kept Paul steady in his storm are available to you and me when our storms come.
1) The Presence of God
Vs 23 - Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me
Paul found that even in the midst of the raging storm he was not alone. The Lord came to him to minister peace to his heart.
Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me
2) The Promises of God
Vs 23-25 – (23) Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me (24) and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' (25) So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
For Paul, just having a word from God was enough to anchor him and give him that assurance. He knew God was a promise keeping God.
Romans 4:21 – “What he promises He is able to perform.”
Promises from God’s Word make a strong anchor in the stormy seas of life.
3) The Purposes of God
Vs 24 - “…Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for hope and a future.”
God has a plan for you – He has a plan to give you hope, to prosper you not to harm you – he has a future for you!
Paul had a purpose. Even though he was in the storm of his life he knew he was living for Christ. He was a prisoner yet he had purpose. Like Paul, you will not only survive the storm, but you will also accomplish your mission.
4) The Power of God
Vs 44 - “…everyone reached land in safety”
If I am in a storm I want to be anchored to the strong power of the one who can calm the winds and the waves. God is able to work it all out! He will get you through your storm and land you safely beyond it!
Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
Jeremiah 32:17 “…for you have made the heavens by your great power…nothing is too hard for you.”
When our lives are in a time of storm we need to: “Do the natural everyday things”
Acts 27:34 - Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head."
Though it tries, we cannot allow the storm to take over our whole life. We need to do our part so God can do His part
When our lives are in a time of storm we need to: “Give thanks and worship God”
Acts 27:35-36 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
When the waves are crashing against us, we find out where our trust is. When we are in a storm God can do two things: Calm the storm or calm me!
When our lives are in a time of storm: “Don’t forget there is a shore”
Acts 27:44 – 28:1 …In this way everyone reached land in safety. (28:1) Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta
The storm will end. There is still a destination at the end of the storm. God’s assignment for Paul did not change because of the storm and neither does a storm change yours.
There are people on your shore who need the God that brought you through the storms of your life.
Acts 27:13-44
Matthew 7:24-27
Storms know now boundaries and have no favourites. Notice the similarities in what happened to both men…the rains came, the streams rose, the winds blew. The reality is, life is full of storms. And storms are no respecter of persons. No matter what kind of life we’re living the storms will still come.
So often people want to debate the cause of the storm but all Jesus wants us to see is the kind of foundation on which to build our lives upon. The right question is not whether they will come, or when, but how we will respond to them.
In Acts 27 they were in a storm that seemed to be overwhelming. In an effort to save the ship and their lives, they cast four anchors into the sea. These anchors proved ineffective against the storm and the ship was ultimately lost. However I believe the Apostle Paul had four anchors as well. These anchors steadied him during the storm. Even though that ship was shaken and battered, Paul was able to make it because he had these anchors in his life.
Hebrews 6:18-19: We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain and into the most holy place. Jesus has gone there ahead of us, and he is our high priest forever.
The same anchors that kept Paul steady in his storm are available to you and me when our storms come.
1) The Presence of God
Vs 23 - Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me
Paul found that even in the midst of the raging storm he was not alone. The Lord came to him to minister peace to his heart.
Hebrews 13:5 – I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me
2) The Promises of God
Vs 23-25 – (23) Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me (24) and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' (25) So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.
For Paul, just having a word from God was enough to anchor him and give him that assurance. He knew God was a promise keeping God.
Romans 4:21 – “What he promises He is able to perform.”
Promises from God’s Word make a strong anchor in the stormy seas of life.
3) The Purposes of God
Vs 24 - “…Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for hope and a future.”
God has a plan for you – He has a plan to give you hope, to prosper you not to harm you – he has a future for you!
Paul had a purpose. Even though he was in the storm of his life he knew he was living for Christ. He was a prisoner yet he had purpose. Like Paul, you will not only survive the storm, but you will also accomplish your mission.
4) The Power of God
Vs 44 - “…everyone reached land in safety”
If I am in a storm I want to be anchored to the strong power of the one who can calm the winds and the waves. God is able to work it all out! He will get you through your storm and land you safely beyond it!
Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
Jeremiah 32:17 “…for you have made the heavens by your great power…nothing is too hard for you.”
When our lives are in a time of storm we need to: “Do the natural everyday things”
Acts 27:34 - Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head."
Though it tries, we cannot allow the storm to take over our whole life. We need to do our part so God can do His part
When our lives are in a time of storm we need to: “Give thanks and worship God”
Acts 27:35-36 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
When the waves are crashing against us, we find out where our trust is. When we are in a storm God can do two things: Calm the storm or calm me!
When our lives are in a time of storm: “Don’t forget there is a shore”
Acts 27:44 – 28:1 …In this way everyone reached land in safety. (28:1) Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta
The storm will end. There is still a destination at the end of the storm. God’s assignment for Paul did not change because of the storm and neither does a storm change yours.
There are people on your shore who need the God that brought you through the storms of your life.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Where does God go…? Part I
Paul Benger began our new series this morning in church. He spoke an excellent message on ‘Where does God go...on Sunday?’
God is in everything. We cannot keep God in a separate box from everything else (i.e. a ‘church’ box). What is God doing on a Sunday morning?
There are so many Christians who no longer go to church…saying they can meet God on the golf course, or that they can get all they need from Christian TV. Why do we even bother going to church at all? It is so important that we get church right.
We need all of the following spaces. We meet God in all of them. Where Jesus connects with us.
We meet and connect in public spaces – having shared experiences.
We meet and connect in social spaces – this is the kind of space that churches often have the least of. They are very important, where coffee and small talk happens.
We meet and connect in personal spaces – Groups of six to twelve people, we call our ‘connect groups’. Where people bond.
We meet and connect in intimate spaces – where we share everythinng with just a few people. Our spouse, best friend etc.
Our times together on a Sunday, the church corporate, are so important...our shared experience. But this is not the only space that we need...we need all of the others too.
On Sundays we worship together. Sometimes we worship with people we don’t know but we are still ‘one’ in Christ.
Colossians 1:18 - And he is the head of the body, the church
1 Peter 2:5 - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ
1 Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light
We are the people of God doing life together. God has a plan for us; he gets his will and purposes done through us, the church. God made us for this purpose to be together as the church living healthy lives.
Sunday mornings have to be good! We meet God through each other.
Matthew 18:20 - For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them
Why do we meet together?
I need to praise God
Does God need our worship? He made us so that when we see something greater than ‘us’ we have the need to praise it. When we get the revelation of who God is, when we truly see Him, we have to praise and worship Him.
I need to see a big God
Without church my vision of God becomes small. My troubles are magnified and hope fades. When we’re together lifting God, lifting one another, something happens...we begin to see a big God. ‘O magnify the Lord with me!’ – not on my own but together. God becomes bigger in our eyes, our perspective changes.
I need to see the reason for my faith
To see why we are here, together within His body. That God wants to do something through us as we come together. There is an impartation in our lives that we’ve been called to something great. The vision becomes clearer.
How do we make Sundays great?
Consider people – making people feel that they belong.
Consider the atmosphere – the presence of God comes as we gather together. Let us bring our passionate praise for God into our times together.
Let us make church a place where people can interact, participate, have fun, know fullness of life, be cared for and grow.
God is in everything. We cannot keep God in a separate box from everything else (i.e. a ‘church’ box). What is God doing on a Sunday morning?
There are so many Christians who no longer go to church…saying they can meet God on the golf course, or that they can get all they need from Christian TV. Why do we even bother going to church at all? It is so important that we get church right.
We need all of the following spaces. We meet God in all of them. Where Jesus connects with us.
We meet and connect in public spaces – having shared experiences.
We meet and connect in social spaces – this is the kind of space that churches often have the least of. They are very important, where coffee and small talk happens.
We meet and connect in personal spaces – Groups of six to twelve people, we call our ‘connect groups’. Where people bond.
We meet and connect in intimate spaces – where we share everythinng with just a few people. Our spouse, best friend etc.
Our times together on a Sunday, the church corporate, are so important...our shared experience. But this is not the only space that we need...we need all of the others too.
On Sundays we worship together. Sometimes we worship with people we don’t know but we are still ‘one’ in Christ.
Colossians 1:18 - And he is the head of the body, the church
1 Peter 2:5 - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ
1 Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light
We are the people of God doing life together. God has a plan for us; he gets his will and purposes done through us, the church. God made us for this purpose to be together as the church living healthy lives.
Sunday mornings have to be good! We meet God through each other.
Matthew 18:20 - For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them
Why do we meet together?
I need to praise God
Does God need our worship? He made us so that when we see something greater than ‘us’ we have the need to praise it. When we get the revelation of who God is, when we truly see Him, we have to praise and worship Him.
I need to see a big God
Without church my vision of God becomes small. My troubles are magnified and hope fades. When we’re together lifting God, lifting one another, something happens...we begin to see a big God. ‘O magnify the Lord with me!’ – not on my own but together. God becomes bigger in our eyes, our perspective changes.
I need to see the reason for my faith
To see why we are here, together within His body. That God wants to do something through us as we come together. There is an impartation in our lives that we’ve been called to something great. The vision becomes clearer.
How do we make Sundays great?
Consider people – making people feel that they belong.
Consider the atmosphere – the presence of God comes as we gather together. Let us bring our passionate praise for God into our times together.
Let us make church a place where people can interact, participate, have fun, know fullness of life, be cared for and grow.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Blessed
Fantastic time in church this morning, Mark Wilkins brought a great message entitled ‘Blessed’.
Genesis 12:2-3 – I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.
We are blessed by God. Blessed meaning...in receipt of divine favour, He has showered us with good gifts. God wants to bless all the people in the earth, He does this through the church.
Psalm 67:1-2 – May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favour on us. May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere.
God’s favour is with us. Let us make this known in all the earth. This is our great calling to be a blessing to others...the church is good news.
Luke 22:27 – Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
Jesus came to serve to be a blessing. Blessing is all about serving others. Our streets become a better place because we are there. Let us be good news where we live, to be light in dark places. Bringing out the God colours in our world...
Matthew 5:13-16
What does this look like? It doesn’t mean going around telling the world how dark it is. It’s about showing them the opposite.
Jesus was good news wherever he went. He didn’t condemn people, he drew along side and lifted there lives to a better place. The Samaritan woman, the woman caught in adultery.
Darkness only exists where light has receded. We don’t have to battle with the darkness we just need to be there! What kind of light should we be? A torch, showing the way little by little or maybe a lighthouse giving warning against oncoming danger.
The best light is more wholeness, bringing God colours, his goodness. Being good news wherever we go.
How do we become like that?
1) Be authentic about our faith
We come to faith in Jesus at the cross, but that’s just the beginning of our journey. We continue to learn and grow. We don’t have all the answers. Romans 12 talks about us being transformed. This is a process as we put our trust in God and his word. Let his word enhance our lives and let us enhance the lives of others. Be transformed to be more like him. Not miserable Christians or those who think they have all the answers. Authentic, real faith. Embrace the journey we are on...enjoy it!
2) Build authentic relationships
Love people. People will come to Christ as we desire the very best for people. Let us build real friendships. Encourage one another.
3) Bring Hope
‘Hope’ is the best gift we can give. Not a blind hope...but hope that understands that ‘stuff’ happens...but that this is not the end! Life is good and God wants us to enjoy life. As the church we can say that ‘Jesus is here’, the giver of life. Let us be ‘life giving’ in all that we do. Take time to show acts of kindness.
God is Good - let us affirm this in our lives and in our communities.
Genesis 12:2-3 – I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.
We are blessed by God. Blessed meaning...in receipt of divine favour, He has showered us with good gifts. God wants to bless all the people in the earth, He does this through the church.
Psalm 67:1-2 – May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favour on us. May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere.
God’s favour is with us. Let us make this known in all the earth. This is our great calling to be a blessing to others...the church is good news.
Luke 22:27 – Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
Jesus came to serve to be a blessing. Blessing is all about serving others. Our streets become a better place because we are there. Let us be good news where we live, to be light in dark places. Bringing out the God colours in our world...
Matthew 5:13-16
What does this look like? It doesn’t mean going around telling the world how dark it is. It’s about showing them the opposite.
Jesus was good news wherever he went. He didn’t condemn people, he drew along side and lifted there lives to a better place. The Samaritan woman, the woman caught in adultery.
Darkness only exists where light has receded. We don’t have to battle with the darkness we just need to be there! What kind of light should we be? A torch, showing the way little by little or maybe a lighthouse giving warning against oncoming danger.
The best light is more wholeness, bringing God colours, his goodness. Being good news wherever we go.
How do we become like that?
1) Be authentic about our faith
We come to faith in Jesus at the cross, but that’s just the beginning of our journey. We continue to learn and grow. We don’t have all the answers. Romans 12 talks about us being transformed. This is a process as we put our trust in God and his word. Let his word enhance our lives and let us enhance the lives of others. Be transformed to be more like him. Not miserable Christians or those who think they have all the answers. Authentic, real faith. Embrace the journey we are on...enjoy it!
2) Build authentic relationships
Love people. People will come to Christ as we desire the very best for people. Let us build real friendships. Encourage one another.
3) Bring Hope
‘Hope’ is the best gift we can give. Not a blind hope...but hope that understands that ‘stuff’ happens...but that this is not the end! Life is good and God wants us to enjoy life. As the church we can say that ‘Jesus is here’, the giver of life. Let us be ‘life giving’ in all that we do. Take time to show acts of kindness.
God is Good - let us affirm this in our lives and in our communities.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Rise and Build II
Paul Benger completed our Rise and Build fortnight with a great message continuing on from last week’s which was based on Nehemiah Chapter 2.
Nehemiah 2:17-18 - Then I said to them, You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rise and build the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, Let us rise and build. So they began this good work.
As we rise and build, just as in Nehemiah’s day, we need leadership and vision.
The church is all about people. People who will become all that God has called them to be. As we read these verses from Nehemiah let as consider the people and how they approached the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
1) They increased their vision
Vision is so important. When you’re in a desperate place, even down-trodden as the people of God were, it is easy to get locked into that desperate position. Nehemiah lifted their vision for their city and for their own lives.
Let us not forget the promises of God for our lives. Don’t forget the passion he has put inside of us…rediscover the passion! We can easily focus on the WHAT IS and forget the WHAT CAN BE!
The people had become slaves to their situation. When they were people of purpose, of prosperity, with hope and a great future!
Ephesians 2:19-21 – Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
God wants us to be family. A welcoming home...where we’re meant to be. A place where people ‘belong’.
Ephesians 1:22-23 – 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.
Be faithful with what we have now. So that God can trust us with so much more.
2) They overcame opposition
They caught the vision. When they faced setback and opposition they had to learn how to stay focused. We need to do this...to stay the course. Believe God. They received ridicule and even threats and the people became afraid. We may face the power of intimidation, the power of rumour...this can cause us to say ‘it’s all over’, to lose heart and give in.
Nehemiah 4:17 - Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other
Materials and weapons! We need to be ready...to overcome opposition, ready to fight! Refuse to be intimidated. To take a stand...this is true spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6 speaks of standing firm. Even when things aren’t working out too well believe that God is with you...take a stand.
3) They restored their worship
The people renewed the wall, the temple and their worship. They brought their offerings into the storehouse of God’s house. They needed to remove the stuff that had taken the place of their offerings/worship. We need to get rid certain things in our lives that may have replaced our worship. Let giving be an expression of our worship to God.
Malachi 3:10-12 – Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit, says the LORD Almighty. Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, says the LORD Almighty
4) They lived in rest
They restored the Sabbath. We need time in our lives for rest, for worship, to honour God. Rest = living our lives based on what Christ has done for us not on what we can do for him. He has blessed us with all that we need. Realise that and line up with it! The grace and favour of God in my life.
If you are facing a battle today realise that Jesus has already won the victory! This is the Gospel...nothing that I can work at ‘really hard’...a gift of God through Jesus Christ.
Matthew 11:28-29 – Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Nehemiah 2:17-18 - Then I said to them, You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rise and build the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace. I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, Let us rise and build. So they began this good work.
As we rise and build, just as in Nehemiah’s day, we need leadership and vision.
The church is all about people. People who will become all that God has called them to be. As we read these verses from Nehemiah let as consider the people and how they approached the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
1) They increased their vision
Vision is so important. When you’re in a desperate place, even down-trodden as the people of God were, it is easy to get locked into that desperate position. Nehemiah lifted their vision for their city and for their own lives.
Let us not forget the promises of God for our lives. Don’t forget the passion he has put inside of us…rediscover the passion! We can easily focus on the WHAT IS and forget the WHAT CAN BE!
The people had become slaves to their situation. When they were people of purpose, of prosperity, with hope and a great future!
Ephesians 2:19-21 – Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow-citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
God wants us to be family. A welcoming home...where we’re meant to be. A place where people ‘belong’.
Ephesians 1:22-23 – 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.
Be faithful with what we have now. So that God can trust us with so much more.
2) They overcame opposition
They caught the vision. When they faced setback and opposition they had to learn how to stay focused. We need to do this...to stay the course. Believe God. They received ridicule and even threats and the people became afraid. We may face the power of intimidation, the power of rumour...this can cause us to say ‘it’s all over’, to lose heart and give in.
Nehemiah 4:17 - Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other
Materials and weapons! We need to be ready...to overcome opposition, ready to fight! Refuse to be intimidated. To take a stand...this is true spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6 speaks of standing firm. Even when things aren’t working out too well believe that God is with you...take a stand.
3) They restored their worship
The people renewed the wall, the temple and their worship. They brought their offerings into the storehouse of God’s house. They needed to remove the stuff that had taken the place of their offerings/worship. We need to get rid certain things in our lives that may have replaced our worship. Let giving be an expression of our worship to God.
Malachi 3:10-12 – Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit, says the LORD Almighty. Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, says the LORD Almighty
4) They lived in rest
They restored the Sabbath. We need time in our lives for rest, for worship, to honour God. Rest = living our lives based on what Christ has done for us not on what we can do for him. He has blessed us with all that we need. Realise that and line up with it! The grace and favour of God in my life.
If you are facing a battle today realise that Jesus has already won the victory! This is the Gospel...nothing that I can work at ‘really hard’...a gift of God through Jesus Christ.
Matthew 11:28-29 – Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Rise and Build Part I
We began our Rise and Build series this morning in church. This will run for two weeks as we look to push forward as a church to eventually owning our own building. Paul Benger brought an excellent message from Nehemiah Chapter 2.
Nehemiah 2:11-20
Let us rise and build! Nehemiah’s call to the officials and the people of Jerusalem. We build for the glory of God. The church is to be the ‘chief of the mountains’ (Isaiah 2:2) – the House of God, not insignificant as some people would say of the church.
Why should we rise and build?...because of what God has done for us. Salvation is for all. He’s not just done it for me but my neighbour also. Our world needs us to rise and build!
God is saying build my church so that the world will see his glory, his grace, and his forgiveness.
Rise and Build is a call to Unity
Psalm 133 - How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity…For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life for evermore
Psalm 86:11 - Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name
Give us undivided hearts as we build together. The power of ‘focus’, called together for purpose.
Rise and Build is a call to Partnership
Synergy accomplishes much. ‘Two can put ten thousand to flight’ – Deuteronomy 32:30
As we rise and build together something supernatural will happen. When we do it together as a team. Let us speak the same language. This is a call to partnership, to join the family of God…to be focused as a family. Verse 18 – Let US rise and build!
Rise and Build is a call to Involvement
Each family did their bit...as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Let us be inclusive...get every one involved. Use inclusive language. God wants us to be confident in who we are.
Let us rise up. Two important points of increase to note from Nehemiah 2 concerning Rise and Build...
An Increase in Vision
God wants us to lift our eyes and see a vision of what or who we can be. See our future through God’s eyes. ‘Open up our eyes to the things unseen’. Personally see your vision increase.
An Increase in Skill
The families in Nehemiah had to learn to build the walls. We will see an increase in our skills and abilities...in the resources that come into the church. As we build God’s House together.
Remember it is not our effort that accomplishes God’s will, but God gives us his grace and favour.
Zechariah 4:6-7 - ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it”
When we complete the building with the final ‘capstone’ – it is ‘Grace’ we will declare. We won’t accomplish God’s will because of our power and might but through His Spirit and Grace!
Nehemiah 2:11-20
Let us rise and build! Nehemiah’s call to the officials and the people of Jerusalem. We build for the glory of God. The church is to be the ‘chief of the mountains’ (Isaiah 2:2) – the House of God, not insignificant as some people would say of the church.
Why should we rise and build?...because of what God has done for us. Salvation is for all. He’s not just done it for me but my neighbour also. Our world needs us to rise and build!
God is saying build my church so that the world will see his glory, his grace, and his forgiveness.
Rise and Build is a call to Unity
Psalm 133 - How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity…For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life for evermore
Psalm 86:11 - Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name
Give us undivided hearts as we build together. The power of ‘focus’, called together for purpose.
Rise and Build is a call to Partnership
Synergy accomplishes much. ‘Two can put ten thousand to flight’ – Deuteronomy 32:30
As we rise and build together something supernatural will happen. When we do it together as a team. Let us speak the same language. This is a call to partnership, to join the family of God…to be focused as a family. Verse 18 – Let US rise and build!
Rise and Build is a call to Involvement
Each family did their bit...as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Let us be inclusive...get every one involved. Use inclusive language. God wants us to be confident in who we are.
Let us rise up. Two important points of increase to note from Nehemiah 2 concerning Rise and Build...
An Increase in Vision
God wants us to lift our eyes and see a vision of what or who we can be. See our future through God’s eyes. ‘Open up our eyes to the things unseen’. Personally see your vision increase.
An Increase in Skill
The families in Nehemiah had to learn to build the walls. We will see an increase in our skills and abilities...in the resources that come into the church. As we build God’s House together.
Remember it is not our effort that accomplishes God’s will, but God gives us his grace and favour.
Zechariah 4:6-7 - ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it”
When we complete the building with the final ‘capstone’ – it is ‘Grace’ we will declare. We won’t accomplish God’s will because of our power and might but through His Spirit and Grace!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
God's Heroes
Great time in church this morning. Jane Lloyd shared an excellent message about us being Heroes for God.
We are God’s heroes – there is a hero in you and God doesn’t want it to stay hidden away. He has called us to do amazing things for him – to be his heroes on the earth...
- to be his heroes where we live
- to be his heroes where we work
Some words associated with Heroes, courage, strength, sacrifice, achievement. It is so important in our own lives that we follow Christ’s example. When God saved us he also called us to do his works here on the earth.
Hebrews chapter 11 tells of the great heroes of faith – ordinary men and women who served an extraordinary God and did not waver in their faith but gave their lives for the kingdom’s cause.
The truth is that God can take any of us and use us to make his name famous.
The bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:7 that we are jars of clay that contain great treasure. In other words it is God’s power in us that gives us the strength and ability to do what he has called us to do.
I believe this church is full of ordinary men and women who are going to do extraordinary things for their God.
What has God called us to?
1. To Live lives of worship/devotion
Devotion - devoting; consecration, eager inclination; strong attachment love or affection; zeal; especially, feelings toward God appropriately expressed by acts of worship; devoutness.
When we first come to Christ there is that youthful passion. God loves that stage which is a very childlike stage. Matthew 18:2-4 He said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven
Though we go through the process of growing up, but we should never lose that sense of devotion. In fact it should get stronger. As our love for him grows stronger, our devotion should become very evident. Our devotion will enable us to fulfil what he has called us to do. Acts 2:42-47
2. To Make disciples/be salt and light
Matthew 5:13-16 – "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world.
Our own lives should attract others to God. If we give out negative vibes people will stay away from us!
Jesus brought life to people, not criticism. Let us always aim to be a people who have a life-giving spirit. It will revolutionise the way you approach things.
As Christians we should be fun to be around – Jesus was always the centre of attention. People clamoured to be around him and the words he spoke always lifted people to a higher level.
3. To do good works
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
James 2:14-26
Going back to that original verse in Ephesians, God has prepared good works for you and I to do. Look for those opportunities to bless others. Acts of kindness.
Isaiah 32:8 - But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity
How do we fulfil our potential to become a hero for God?
Hebrews 12:1-2 – …let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith
We follow Christ’s example. Become like him – taking on his character:
(Philippians 2 - Humble, displayed God’s love, Life of sacrifice, generous, lifted people up)
I believe God wants to add our lives to his list of heroes so that when we stand before him we can receive his medal of honour.
That kind of devotion will mean...giving certain things up, making sacrifices, pushing through fears, making the decision to trust him completely.
We are God’s heroes – there is a hero in you and God doesn’t want it to stay hidden away. He has called us to do amazing things for him – to be his heroes on the earth...
- to be his heroes where we live
- to be his heroes where we work
Some words associated with Heroes, courage, strength, sacrifice, achievement. It is so important in our own lives that we follow Christ’s example. When God saved us he also called us to do his works here on the earth.
Hebrews chapter 11 tells of the great heroes of faith – ordinary men and women who served an extraordinary God and did not waver in their faith but gave their lives for the kingdom’s cause.
The truth is that God can take any of us and use us to make his name famous.
The bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:7 that we are jars of clay that contain great treasure. In other words it is God’s power in us that gives us the strength and ability to do what he has called us to do.
I believe this church is full of ordinary men and women who are going to do extraordinary things for their God.
What has God called us to?
1. To Live lives of worship/devotion
Devotion - devoting; consecration, eager inclination; strong attachment love or affection; zeal; especially, feelings toward God appropriately expressed by acts of worship; devoutness.
When we first come to Christ there is that youthful passion. God loves that stage which is a very childlike stage. Matthew 18:2-4 He said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven
Though we go through the process of growing up, but we should never lose that sense of devotion. In fact it should get stronger. As our love for him grows stronger, our devotion should become very evident. Our devotion will enable us to fulfil what he has called us to do. Acts 2:42-47
2. To Make disciples/be salt and light
Matthew 5:13-16 – "Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world.
Our own lives should attract others to God. If we give out negative vibes people will stay away from us!
Jesus brought life to people, not criticism. Let us always aim to be a people who have a life-giving spirit. It will revolutionise the way you approach things.
As Christians we should be fun to be around – Jesus was always the centre of attention. People clamoured to be around him and the words he spoke always lifted people to a higher level.
3. To do good works
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
James 2:14-26
Going back to that original verse in Ephesians, God has prepared good works for you and I to do. Look for those opportunities to bless others. Acts of kindness.
Isaiah 32:8 - But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity
How do we fulfil our potential to become a hero for God?
Hebrews 12:1-2 – …let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith
We follow Christ’s example. Become like him – taking on his character:
(Philippians 2 - Humble, displayed God’s love, Life of sacrifice, generous, lifted people up)
I believe God wants to add our lives to his list of heroes so that when we stand before him we can receive his medal of honour.
That kind of devotion will mean...giving certain things up, making sacrifices, pushing through fears, making the decision to trust him completely.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Love Affair III
Excellent time in church this morning…Paul Benger brought the concluding part to our Love Affair series with a great message called ‘Indecent Proposal’. (Podcast)
Romans 8:35-37
There is one thing that never changes...God’s love for us.
Matthew 22:37-39 – Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'
Love your neighbour as yourself...that’s the indecent proposal. Jesus takes this further, Matthew 5:43-44 – You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Three facts about loving your neighbour…
1) We will love our neighbour when we are confident that God loves us
Despite who we are, what we have done, God still loves us. And he loved us first, 1 John 4:19 - We love because he first loved us
Our love is a reflection of God’s love for mankind. Colossians 3:12 - Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Being chosen by God must be the best category of people to be in (not the rich or famous category!)
God wants to bring you out of your desolate places. Isaiah 62:4 – No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate...for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.
2) We will love our neighbour when we appreciate the fact that God loves our neighbour
Understand that God is redeeming his world. He is not willing that any should perish…to bring the world back to himself. 2 Corinthians 5:19 - ...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. We too have been given the job of bringing the world back to God.
It is important that we have intimacy with God and involvement with our world. Not one without the other, otherwise we become lopsided!
3) We will love our neighbour when we learn to love ourselves
‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. Many of us carry a low opinion of ourselves. Maybe because of bad experiences in the past, we have felt devalued in some way.
Some of us have carried criticism that has bee very specific and hurtful. It is important that we praise and encourage one another...and be specific in our praise. Give specific words of encouragement into people’s lives.
Be careful who we listen to...receive encouragement in your life. God loves you and thinks you are amazing! Let us keep our focus on who we are in Christ.
Romans 8:35-37
There is one thing that never changes...God’s love for us.
Matthew 22:37-39 – Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'
Love your neighbour as yourself...that’s the indecent proposal. Jesus takes this further, Matthew 5:43-44 – You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Three facts about loving your neighbour…
1) We will love our neighbour when we are confident that God loves us
Despite who we are, what we have done, God still loves us. And he loved us first, 1 John 4:19 - We love because he first loved us
Our love is a reflection of God’s love for mankind. Colossians 3:12 - Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Being chosen by God must be the best category of people to be in (not the rich or famous category!)
God wants to bring you out of your desolate places. Isaiah 62:4 – No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate...for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married.
2) We will love our neighbour when we appreciate the fact that God loves our neighbour
Understand that God is redeeming his world. He is not willing that any should perish…to bring the world back to himself. 2 Corinthians 5:19 - ...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. We too have been given the job of bringing the world back to God.
It is important that we have intimacy with God and involvement with our world. Not one without the other, otherwise we become lopsided!
3) We will love our neighbour when we learn to love ourselves
‘Love your neighbour as yourself’. Many of us carry a low opinion of ourselves. Maybe because of bad experiences in the past, we have felt devalued in some way.
Some of us have carried criticism that has bee very specific and hurtful. It is important that we praise and encourage one another...and be specific in our praise. Give specific words of encouragement into people’s lives.
Be careful who we listen to...receive encouragement in your life. God loves you and thinks you are amazing! Let us keep our focus on who we are in Christ.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Love Affair II
Paul Benger continued our Love Affair series this morning with a great message entitled ‘Love Letter’.
Romans 8:35-37
We need that revelation of God’s love for us. God’s word is his love letter to us...telling us what he thinks about us. We need to read and reread his letter! God loves us, we need to see it and believe it.
Approaches to God’s word...
People deny it – they just don’t believe it…even Christians!
People distort it – twist it to mean something that suits their belief. Take verses out of context and build a whole theology around it.
People dissect it – use it like a science book. Chop it up and delve deeply making it more scientific when faith is needed.
People disregard it – it gathers dust on the shelf. Or they read it but don’t follow its teaching.
The Bible is the Word of God to us. Truths about His word...
1) The Word of God is a “Love Letter” to us
Jeremiah 31:3 - I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself
The Bible tells us of our condition before we come to Christ. That we are rescued from darkness to light, from unforgiveness to forgiveness, from one Kingdom to another. In whatever state we find ourselves His word tells us how much he loves us.
Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
2) The Word of God is “Light”
A lamp to my feet. Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path
We need God to illuminate our lives...to light our path. Not just show us where to go but ‘how’ to go. Out attitudes and actions...how we interact with others.
3) The Word of God is “Lunch”
Jeremiah 15:16 - When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty
Christianity is a diet and exercise thing...it’s not just about digesting his word from the table set before us. It’s about putting his word into practice. Having the revelation but also bringing the revelation to others.
Ephesians 4:11-12 - It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
We are all ministers...we don’t just need a bible study - we need a place to work.
4) The Word of God is “Life”
His word is alive and it comes alive in us! It helps us see the way through in times of trouble. ‘We are more than conquerors’.
Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart
John 10:10 - I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
Romans 8:35-37
We need that revelation of God’s love for us. God’s word is his love letter to us...telling us what he thinks about us. We need to read and reread his letter! God loves us, we need to see it and believe it.
Approaches to God’s word...
People deny it – they just don’t believe it…even Christians!
People distort it – twist it to mean something that suits their belief. Take verses out of context and build a whole theology around it.
People dissect it – use it like a science book. Chop it up and delve deeply making it more scientific when faith is needed.
People disregard it – it gathers dust on the shelf. Or they read it but don’t follow its teaching.
The Bible is the Word of God to us. Truths about His word...
1) The Word of God is a “Love Letter” to us
Jeremiah 31:3 - I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself
The Bible tells us of our condition before we come to Christ. That we are rescued from darkness to light, from unforgiveness to forgiveness, from one Kingdom to another. In whatever state we find ourselves His word tells us how much he loves us.
Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
2) The Word of God is “Light”
A lamp to my feet. Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path
We need God to illuminate our lives...to light our path. Not just show us where to go but ‘how’ to go. Out attitudes and actions...how we interact with others.
3) The Word of God is “Lunch”
Jeremiah 15:16 - When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty
Christianity is a diet and exercise thing...it’s not just about digesting his word from the table set before us. It’s about putting his word into practice. Having the revelation but also bringing the revelation to others.
Ephesians 4:11-12 - It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
We are all ministers...we don’t just need a bible study - we need a place to work.
4) The Word of God is “Life”
His word is alive and it comes alive in us! It helps us see the way through in times of trouble. ‘We are more than conquerors’.
Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart
John 10:10 - I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
Sunday, September 16, 2007
The Touch of Heaven
Great time in church this morning. I spoke on the 'Touch of Heaven'.
Jesus is the Light of the world and that light of life is 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 that ‘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 the gateway to heaven. A place where when people arrive they get that taste, that glimpse of what heaven is going to be like.
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 positivitey, 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 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away
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...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 is 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 that ‘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 the gateway to heaven. A place where when people arrive they get that taste, that glimpse of what heaven is going to be like.
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 positivitey, 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 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away
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...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, September 09, 2007
Love Affair I
Paul Benger began what promises to be an excellent series called ‘love affair’ this morning in church. This first part was entitled ‘first love’ or ‘fatal attraction’.
Ever been attracted to something or someone you fell for, but it was a ‘fatal attraction’?
Romans 8:35-37
Sometimes we may feel like we are separated from his love. But the Bible is very clear that God loves us. His love is unfailing, unending, consistent and constant. We should never doubt it.
Only when we fully appreciate the love of God for us can we fully love other people and correctly represent his love.
Jesus was secure in the love the Father had for him. Jesus wants us to remain in that love. John 15:9 – As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
Whatever state we find ourselves in God loves us. He wants to change the life of people.
Why do we doubt the love of God? 5 reasons why...
1) Stuff happens in life
This often makes us question the love of god, as we experience failures, upsets, sickness etc. We feel let down as ‘stuff happens’. When the trivial stuff happens as well as the serious, we ask does God really love me?
2) We believe the lies told about us
There is too much disbelief around us, it can cling to us like tar. Jesus wants to wash that away, he believes the very best for us and wants to do so much in our lives. As a church we believe in the best of people and we want to see lives lifted up and God to set people free and to become all that He wants them to be.
3) We have an enemy who wants to keep us from what God wants for us
We have an ‘accuser’ saying that we’re not good enough. We need to make a decision today...to believe what God says about us.
4) We don’t feel it
Live by faith not by our feelings.
5) Sometimes it is because of what we’ve been taught
We may have been taught in the past that ‘God is looking for anyway he can to get out of blessing us’ – the opposite is true. He wants to get you to a place where you can receive blessing.
Reasons why we should never doubt...
He loved us first
Right at creation, he set in motion his plan for bringing us back to him.
1 John 4:19 – We love because he first loved us
God is love
It’s his nature, his character. He isn’t ‘hate’, he isn’t ‘begrudging’ – He is LOVE.
1 John 4:8 – Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love
Jesus
Jesus is the demonstration of his love for us. 1 John 4:10 -This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins
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
Scripture shouts it!
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love (John 15:9)
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you (John 15:12)
No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God (John 16:27)
Reasons we can be sure of the love of God...
We can know total forgiveness
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12) Not partial – Total
We can overcome fear
God’s perfect love casts out all fear.
1 John 4:18 - There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love
We know that God will use for our good every situation and circumstance
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)
We live every day under God’s grace and favour
Everyday! Ephesians 2:4-5 – 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.
We can rebuild God’s image in our lives
Leave today believing what God says about you!
We can overcome the enemy’s accusations in life.
Ever been attracted to something or someone you fell for, but it was a ‘fatal attraction’?
Romans 8:35-37
Sometimes we may feel like we are separated from his love. But the Bible is very clear that God loves us. His love is unfailing, unending, consistent and constant. We should never doubt it.
Only when we fully appreciate the love of God for us can we fully love other people and correctly represent his love.
Jesus was secure in the love the Father had for him. Jesus wants us to remain in that love. John 15:9 – As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.
Whatever state we find ourselves in God loves us. He wants to change the life of people.
Why do we doubt the love of God? 5 reasons why...
1) Stuff happens in life
This often makes us question the love of god, as we experience failures, upsets, sickness etc. We feel let down as ‘stuff happens’. When the trivial stuff happens as well as the serious, we ask does God really love me?
2) We believe the lies told about us
There is too much disbelief around us, it can cling to us like tar. Jesus wants to wash that away, he believes the very best for us and wants to do so much in our lives. As a church we believe in the best of people and we want to see lives lifted up and God to set people free and to become all that He wants them to be.
3) We have an enemy who wants to keep us from what God wants for us
We have an ‘accuser’ saying that we’re not good enough. We need to make a decision today...to believe what God says about us.
4) We don’t feel it
Live by faith not by our feelings.
5) Sometimes it is because of what we’ve been taught
We may have been taught in the past that ‘God is looking for anyway he can to get out of blessing us’ – the opposite is true. He wants to get you to a place where you can receive blessing.
Reasons why we should never doubt...
He loved us first
Right at creation, he set in motion his plan for bringing us back to him.
1 John 4:19 – We love because he first loved us
God is love
It’s his nature, his character. He isn’t ‘hate’, he isn’t ‘begrudging’ – He is LOVE.
1 John 4:8 – Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love
Jesus
Jesus is the demonstration of his love for us. 1 John 4:10 -This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins
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
Scripture shouts it!
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love (John 15:9)
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you (John 15:12)
No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God (John 16:27)
Reasons we can be sure of the love of God...
We can know total forgiveness
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12) Not partial – Total
We can overcome fear
God’s perfect love casts out all fear.
1 John 4:18 - There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love
We know that God will use for our good every situation and circumstance
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)
We live every day under God’s grace and favour
Everyday! Ephesians 2:4-5 – 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.
We can rebuild God’s image in our lives
Leave today believing what God says about you!
We can overcome the enemy’s accusations in life.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Be Real
Great to be back in church this morning after our summer holiday. Jeannie Benger brought an excellent message on ‘being real’.
The world is looking for reality. Look at all the reality TV shows around at the moment. People also looking to see reality in the church as well. They want to see us being real and normal. Throughout our whole lives and not just something we switch-on on a Sunday. A people of integrity...something different about us.
The most exciting, fun kind of people because of what Christ has done in our lives.
Ephesians 4:22-24 – Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
New creations with a new abundant life. John 10:10 - I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Not a ‘plodding along kind of life’ but life to its full capacity.
A life lived out that impacts the area where we live and are reaching out to as a church.
Here are some keys to living a ‘real life’, an abundant life that impacts the world around us.
God wants us to be ‘Whole’
Only God can make our lives whole, make us complete. When we allow him into our lives. John 5:6 – Do you want to be whole?
Are we ready for what comes with wholeness? Where attitudes need to be changed.
One small unresolved issue can hinder us from reaching our full potential. As we become whole we can help others and lift them to their full potential.
God wants us to be ‘Loyal’
He wants us to show loyalty. To be faithful and committed people in every area of our lives. Live life with family. John 15:13 - Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times
The strength of a good friend is unconditional love. Where we defend and honour one another. Where we believe in one another. We believe the atmosphere in our church is like that.
God wants us to have a ‘Merry Heart’
We need to have a hearty sense of humour. We can often take life far too seriously. Humour is one of life’s greatest medicines.
Proverbs 17:22 – A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones
A house filled with laughter will be a healthy home, a healthy church. Church should be enjoyed and not endured. Christians should be the happiest people on the earth and probably the funniest!
Psalm 100:2 – Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs
Psalm 144:15 – Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
The world is looking for reality. Look at all the reality TV shows around at the moment. People also looking to see reality in the church as well. They want to see us being real and normal. Throughout our whole lives and not just something we switch-on on a Sunday. A people of integrity...something different about us.
The most exciting, fun kind of people because of what Christ has done in our lives.
Ephesians 4:22-24 – Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
New creations with a new abundant life. John 10:10 - I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Not a ‘plodding along kind of life’ but life to its full capacity.
A life lived out that impacts the area where we live and are reaching out to as a church.
Here are some keys to living a ‘real life’, an abundant life that impacts the world around us.
God wants us to be ‘Whole’
Only God can make our lives whole, make us complete. When we allow him into our lives. John 5:6 – Do you want to be whole?
Are we ready for what comes with wholeness? Where attitudes need to be changed.
One small unresolved issue can hinder us from reaching our full potential. As we become whole we can help others and lift them to their full potential.
God wants us to be ‘Loyal’
He wants us to show loyalty. To be faithful and committed people in every area of our lives. Live life with family. John 15:13 - Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times
The strength of a good friend is unconditional love. Where we defend and honour one another. Where we believe in one another. We believe the atmosphere in our church is like that.
God wants us to have a ‘Merry Heart’
We need to have a hearty sense of humour. We can often take life far too seriously. Humour is one of life’s greatest medicines.
Proverbs 17:22 – A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones
A house filled with laughter will be a healthy home, a healthy church. Church should be enjoyed and not endured. Christians should be the happiest people on the earth and probably the funniest!
Psalm 100:2 – Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs
Psalm 144:15 – Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.
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