It's all about the relationship.

Over the past few weeks our church has been on a journey as we have been sharing on Henry Blackaby's book Experiencing God.  This is actually the third time I have had the joy of studying this most challenging work.  Experiencing God for those who have never done it is not something to enter into lightly.  It WILL challenge every aspect of your faith in ways that you could never imagine.  As I have spent time not only in the study with our leaders but also in sharing the concepts on Sunday's I have become more and more challenged in my own faith.

 

I have been to many churches over the years and I have certainly served under many different types of leadership styles.  I have been to Pentecostal churches, contemporary Salvation Army Churches and even Traditional Army and liturgical churches.  I hear all the time that music style is the key or that the latest leadership books are the key in growing healthy churches.  I agree that this stuff is great and in many cases the ideas can certainly help in developing good strong healthy churches.  The frustrating thing for me is however, I don't know if I want a HUGE church.  I would rather a small church of on-fire Christians in a deep and growing relationship with Jesus rather than a church of hundreds with people who don't care less.  The more I spend time with Jesus and the more I read the word of God, the more I realize that we have the best leadership guide on the planet and yet for some reason we continue to buy the books of 'man' in order to learn how to be a good leader or develop a deeper relationship with God.

 

The problem with our churches today has nothing to do with the music we play, it has nothing to do with how quick we can groom new leaders and it has nothing to do with how many miracles are performed on a Sunday.  The problem quite simply lies at the heart of the people.  Until our people understand the importance of a deep personal relationship with a loving and graceful God we will never experience growth in our churches.  I know I may cop some flack for saying some of these things but this is how I see it and what I feel God is saying to His church.  Leadership books, training and programs DO NOT bring people to church or to faith.  At the end of the day it all comes back to a person's priority in life and the desire to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus.

This is such a frustration for me and it certainly brings pain to my heart when I see Christians (and I use this term loosely) who choose other things over God.  It breaks my heart when I see Christians choosing not to experience the fullness of Christ in their lives because they would rather involve themselves in the things of the flesh.

 

I don't know about you but the best leader on the planet is Jesus himself.  While studying over the past few weeks I have been challenged by a question that was asked.  What is more important:  Leadership? or Shepherdship?  I don't believe Jesus ever called Leaders per se, rather he called normal every day people to come and enter into a deep and loving relationship with Him and through that to become shepherds to lead more people into the same relationship. In fact unlike leadership a shepherd does not stand at the front and call people to follow, they stand behind the sheep gently encouraging and ushering them in the right direction.  Very different style.  Jesus certainly had awesome leadership qualities that we should all follow but I think in todays church our focus is so much on leadership and growing churches, that we have forgotten how to shepherd and how to gently encourage people to develop a God relationship that is real and personal.  Only when people discover this free gift will leaders rise, our churches will be filled and transformation will begin.

The most important thing in any life is the relationship with Jesus and that will take faith, adjustment and obedience.  Until we get that right nothing else matters.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."

Luke 14:25-27

Judge lest you be judged

Over the past few weeks I have been quite disturbed by what I have been reading on facebook from many Christians regarding Muslims and the Islamic faith.  As the Middle East struggles to control IS and their soldiers from committing what can only be described as horrific crimes, the response from some Christians has left me in disbelief.

It is true that those committing these crimes are from an Islamic background and it is also true that what they do is certainly not reflective of the entire Muslim population or their faith (Even some Christians have misinterpreted scripture.)  What frightens me is that some of those who are responding in aggressive and disrespectful ways are of the Christian faith.  Do I believe that what is happening in Iraq and Syria is wrong?  Absolutely!! Do I believe that the God of the Christian faith is the one true God? Absolutely!!  Do I believe that responding the way that some have chosen to is right?  No I don't.

In John 3:17 Jesus tells us that He came to save the world and not condemn it.  As I have reflected on this in recent days and think about how some have responded to those of the Islamic faith I am reminded that Jesus never ever judged anyone based on what they did or on what they believed.  He challenged them absolutely, but he was never aggressive in response to anothers actions.  As Christians we are called to love our neighbour as ourselves (LEV 19:18, Matt 22:36-40) and we do not have the right to repay evil with evil (Romans 12:17)  It is hard in these times to remain true to the teaching of Christ and Jesus tells us that in the last days the hearts of many will grow cold (Matt 24:4-14.)

God reminds us that it is OK to be angry however, in our anger we are called not to sin.  There are things in this world that are certainly not of God and present much hate and injustice and anger is normal in these circumstances.  However, we do need to be careful that our response to such things does not cause us to step outside of what God calls to do and be.  Our response to these issues in our world should be in love and grace.  As Christians we should be challenging these issues as they are certainly not Kingdom values but we need to be mindful that the world is watching.  How we respond to those of other faiths and beliefs will either glorify God or simply turn people from Him.  If we respond in a way that is aggressive and failing to act in love and grace then we are no different to those committing these atrocities in the first place.

Jesus loves all people, even those who commit what we consider the worst sins of all and He calls us to also love our neighbour.  Remember it is the human race that categorises sin not God.  As far as God is concerned sin is sin, there is no difference.  We should be praying for the enemies of God and praying for those affected by their choices rather than getting aggressive toward them.  We are in the last days and Jesus is coming soon.  As such we need to remain strong and stand firm blessing those who persecute us and not responding with hate (Rom 12:14).  I pray that as God's people we would choose to respond the way that He would want us to and not how our flesh calls us to respond.

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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:16-17

God is always at work around us

Below is an extract from a sermon preached at Port Augusta on Sunday September 28th.  Excerpts of it have been taken from the book and study "Experiencing God" by Henry and Richard Blackaby.

Several years ago when I was working as a coach driver I remember sitting out on the veranda having a meal break when I found myself engaging in a conversation with some workmates. I can’t remember how it happened but I do remember us getting into a discussion about God. One of my workmates said to me that he didn’t believe in God because he simply could not see him and he asked me to prove that God existed. This is one of those questions that you really don’t want to be asked let me tell you. I thought for a moment and responded with the following question. Does the wind exist? His answer was yes. I said how do you know it exists because you can’t see it? His response to me basically answered his question about God. He said that he knew the wind existed because he could see the effects of it.” This is how I responded to his question. We know God exists because we can see the effects of Him within the creation. Friends I want to say to you today that God is certainly at work all around us. The effects of God working are evident everywhere, if we are looking for it.

When God created the world he didn’t leave his interaction with the creation at that point. God has been actively involved with world history ever since. When Adam and Eve were disobedient to the commands of God sin entered the world. Ever since then God has been actively working through people to reconcile them to himself. Even today God is working to bring about redemption to those who are alienated from Him and who are destined to judgment and eternal separation. God the Father is working through His Son Jesus to reconcile the world to Himself, and He has chosen to accomplish His will and purpose by using His people; that is us. As God continues to move in His mission he seeks to move people into the area of His activity and so God wants us to be a part of what He is already doing. 

In John 5 Jesus said that He only ever did what He saw the Father already doing. Friends if we are going to be able to successfully reach out to people with the gospel we need to be working where God is already at work. We need to be doing what God wants us to do and not what we think is the best thing to do. So how do we work out where God is already at work? How do we know what God is already doing and how do we engage with the work He is doing? Well there are a number of ways but I just want to look at three that will help us discover where and how God is working.

Scripture

God never changes. His character, His mission and how He works has always remained constant. The scriptures are a great place to start as we try to determine where God is at work because as we read through the stories (especially within the Old Testament) we see God in action. God always has a purpose and He always involves people in that purpose even if He doesn’t disclose all the details at once. If we use Moses and the captivity of Israel as an example we see that God had heard the cries of His people in Egypt and over many years God began to position Moses into the right place in order to carry out his purposes for Israel (we see this story in the book of Exodus.) God eventually showed Moses where He was working, how He was going to use Moses, and then finally He invited Moses to join Him in what He was about to do. Throughout scripture we see God constantly interacting in the lives of people as He attempts to redeem a lost world.

As we read the scriptures of the Old Testament we see a pattern of how God works that helps us understand the New Testament. As we read the Old Testament we see that the Holy Spirit worked very different to how He does today. The Spirit of God did not continually stay with a believer. Rather the Spirit of God would empower an individual at certain times in order to accomplish a task. And so when we look at Moses we see this in action. God positioned Moses and the people, God gave the assignment, God empowered Moses to do the work and then finally the work was done.  In the New Testament the Spirit works slightly different in that when a person receives Christ as their Saviour the Holy Spirit comes and joins with that person who then empowers them to do the will and purposes of God. In either case God still works through people to accomplish His will and purpose.

Develop our love relationship with God

One of the things I hear regularly is that people want God to use them to do something for Him. They ask the question “What has God called me to do?” or “Why isn’t God using me?” The simple answer is that God does want to use us and His purpose for each of us is to share the gospel and to tell others about Him. The problem is not that God doesn’t want to use people, the problem is that for some people they long for God to do a significant work in their lives without first developing the love relationship that He calls us to.  If we attempt to do things for God without first developing our relationship with God; we will fail to hear what it is that God is calling us to do and we will fail to see where it is that God is at work because our spiritual eyes will not be open. Our relationship with God is the very thing we were created for.  Our relationship with God is far more important to Him than what we do for Him. This is a huge trap for churches as we run programs and wonder why people don’t come. Our programs should come out of our relationship with God and where He shows us where He is at work and not the other way around. The church is very good at starting programs for programs sake rather than asking God what He wants us to do. When our relationship with God is as it should be only then will God begin to give us assignments for us to do. God is the one that initiates the assignment and not us. Whenever it appears that God is not doing anything new in your life, focus on the love relationship you have with Him and stay there until God gives you a new assignment. If God has not given us anything new to do then it is highly likely that we have not completed the last thing that He called us to.

Following the leading of The Holy Spirit

In Acts 8 we see a perfect example of this with the apostle Phillip. Phillip was called by the Holy Spirit to head south from Jerusalem toward Gaza. On the way he came across an Ethiopian Eunich who was reading a scripture from Isaiah while in his chariot. The Holy Spirit prompted Phillip to go over and talk with the man who then proceeded to ask questions about what he was reading. God had opened up an opportunity for Phillip to share the good news of Jesus.

Friends God is at work everywhere and he often works in the most unexpected places and at the most inconvenient times. Phillip was prompted by the Spirit to speak with the Eunich and explain the scriptures. We will never know what affect this event caused for Ethiopia as this man was a royal servant. Through Phillips obedience the whole royal court and maybe even an entire nation could have been saved simply because Phillip followed a prompting of the Spirit. Friends God gives us opportunities to witness and often He does it at times which may appear inconvenient to us. He may ask us to run programs or do things that seem totally strange to us but God knows what He is doing. 

We have already discovered that God is constantly at work, positioning people and events into perfect alignment in order to accomplish his purposes. Have there been times in your life when you have felt God prompting you to speak to a person for no reason at all? Has there been a time when you have felt led to speak with someone about spiritual things? Has there ever been a time when you felt someone had a real need and God was calling you to act? Opportunity to involve yourself in God’s work can happen at any time. Like the workmate that I shared about earlier, God led us to a spiritual conversation through a simple question being asked. Friends God opens up opportunities for us and we need to be looking out for these opportunities. Sometimes they are extremely subtle but other opportunities may present themselves very clearly. If our understanding of how God works is clear and if our love relationship with God is right and we know God’s voice, then we will be able to identify when God is calling us to work with Him. 

Right now, God is at work around us: in our church, in our families, in our schools and local communities and one of the biggest tragedies Christians face is that even though they want to experience Him, they do not know how to recognize Him at work around them. If this is true of your experience in Christ then I pray that you will learn to clearly recognize where God is at work. And once we know where He is at work we can then adjust our lives to join Him in His divine purposes. God calls us to see where He is at work and to join Him in sharing the gospel. We don’t have to be gifted in any specific area in order to do this. All we have to do is find out where He is working; say yes, and step out in obedience to join Him. 

Friends God is always at work in His world. His mission is nothing more than to bring others into a personal relationship with Himself through Jesus Christ. In John 5 Jesus shared how He knew and did the will of God the Father. It was because the Father loved the Son, He showed the Son what He was doing and then Jesus watched to see where the Father was working and joined Him. We can use this same pattern in our own lives. 

· Watch to see where God is at work around us

· When God shows you then join Him in His work.

· Keep your attention on God’s call to an assignment rather than on your abilities to complete the         task.

· And finally step out in obedience and join Him in what He is doing.

Friends when we join God in what He is already doing He will be able to work through us to accomplish His divine and eternal purposes.  The fruits produced will be unlimited.

“...Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself;he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these,

 so that you will be amazed."

John 5:19-20

Breaking Down the Walls

Below is an extract from Sunday's sermon.  God is really challenging us in how we think not only about ourselves but about God.  There are so many things in our world, and so many experiences that we have had in our lives that hinder who we are in Christ.  These experiences and false belief systems have a huge impact on how we live our lives.  This week we looked at the issue of walls and how the walls that we build in our lives can actually hinder not only our relationship with others but more importantly our relationship with God.

Walls are important for many reasons but regardless of the wall and its type there are a couple of things that every wall has in common. Their purpose is to either keep hidden the things that are behind the wall, to keep things from getting in or to prevent things from getting out. Walls that people construct usually have a purpose and they can either be of benefit or they can be a hindrance. 

In Joshua 6 we read about one of the most famous walls in history, the wall that protected Jericho. It is thought that Jericho is the oldest city in the world. The city was inhabited by the Canaanite people, a people who enjoyed the pleasures of life. One can only imagine what was being hidden by those city walls. Jericho was also a strategic stronghold that needed to be defeated if Israel was to possess the Promised Land that Joshua was leading the people into. Jericho was also a large city surrounded by two enormous walls which were lined with soldiers and watchmen that stood at every gate. And so the walls very purpose was to keep invading armies out and to protect what was going on within the walls. Jericho was quite literally a fortress. This was the obstacle that stood in the way of the children of Israel and they had several options that they could have attempted in order to invade the city.

But God had a plan and we see that in the early verses of chapter six God speaks to Joshua and promises him that Israel will have the victory over Jericho if they follow Gods instruction perfectly. God will deliver the city into their hands. We see as the story goes on that this is exactly what happened. The people did as God had said and in an awesome shout of victory after seven days of marching around the city, the walls collapsed and Israel was able to enter safely through its walls and conquer the city. 

This event has been called by many as the battle of Jericho but it is interesting to note that at no point prior to the collapse of the walls were the armies of Israel used. No weapons or military tactics were used in bringing down the walls that defended the city. Rather, Joshua relayed God’s words to the priests of Israel and it was the priests that led the march around the walls. You see this was a spiritual battle and not a military one. God was the one that was going to win this war and not the efforts or wisdom of the people. 

Friends the war of the Christian is similar in that the battle we fight is not a military one; it is not a war that we can win by using human methods or human understanding but it is a war that requires faith and obedience. In Ephesians 6 the apostle Paul reminds us that our war is against the things of the spiritual realm but even within the spiritual realm there are walls that need to be conquered.

We have already heard how walls were used by cities to keep out the invading armies of the enemy. We have heard that often cities used walls to protect what was inside them, but I want to suggest to you today that as Christians we too can build emotional and spiritual walls within our minds and hearts to protect us from things like emotional hurt or to even hide the sin in our lives from those around us. In fact sometimes the walls that we build protect us so well that they can even hinder us from reaching our promised land.

Sometimes the walls in our own lives have been there for so long that we don’t even realize that we have built them. I wonder; have some of us here today erected walls of protection in our lives? Are there some of us here today that have been so hurt emotionally or spiritually that we vow never to be hurt again. Have we built walls in to our lives to keep people out? Or worse, have we built walls to keep God out? The problem with walls is that over time they can actually become more of a prison than an act of self-preservation. Sometimes the walls that we build into our lives and into our minds are so strong that they prevent us from experiencing all that God has to offer, and they can cause us to become entrapped in our own anger, our own bitterness, in un-forgiveness, and even in a state of low confidence and fear. If not removed these walls that we erect in order to protect ourselves will over time, actually destroy us.

In John 10 verse 10 Jesus tells us that the “thief comes to steal and destroy and that he came to give us life, and life to the full.” Sadly there are often times when the walls that we build prevent us from experiencing life to the full as well as spiritual fullness. What are the walls in your life? Are there things that you have put in place to protect you? Is there sin in your life that has caused you to build walls to hide it from those around you? Friends, walls limit movement. They trap us and project a false belief that everything is ok and that this is all there is. Are these walls preventing you from living a life of fullness? Are the walls you have built preventing you from moving forward and growing spiritually in God?

In order for Israel to be victorious over Jericho the walls protecting the city had to be brought down. Friends the only way Israel would claim freedom and were able to move forward toward the land of milk and honey was by defeating the walls that were preventing them from moving forward.

We see that in the Jericho story there were three key factors that determined the victory of Israel and they are also the three key factors that will help us break down the walls and strongholds that prevent us from moving forward in God.

The first is quite simply the promise of the Lord.

God said to Joshua that he would deliver Jericho into the hands of Israel. The victory for Israel had already been won. All the people had to do was claim the promise of victory and obey God.

Friends victorious Christians are the people who know the promises of God, because they spend time meditating on the word of God. They believe the promises of God because the Word of God generates faith in their hearts.

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you about what it means to be conquerors in Christ. The message today from Joshua is similar in that God promises us victory over the walls in our lives, we are more than conquerors over these blockages because in Jesus we already have the victory; we just have to claim it.

The second key is faith.

Hebrews 11:30 tells us that “it was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell down after the army had marched about the city for seven days.” In 1 John 5:4 we are told that “this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”

Charles Spurgeon once said that “A little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but a great faith will bring heaven to your soul”

Martin Luther once said that “Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible, and receives the impossible. Then to accept the impossible, do without the indispensable, and bear the intolerant.”

Friends, faith was essential to victory for Israel. They had to believe more than anything else, that the promise God had given, to give them the city, was going to happen. If we are going to overcome the walls of hindrance in our lives then we must believe and receive in faith that God can handle our circumstance. Sometimes the walls we put up are too hard for us to break down on our own, but God promises that through Jesus we are able to break down the walls and strongholds in our lives. Our enemy would want us to be imprisoned behind our walls but Christ gives us hope and He wants us to overcome the things that hold us back. God is bigger than our walls and if we allow Him he will help us break free.

Finally, breaking down the walls is a process.

Walls take time to come down. It took Israel 7 days before God delivered the city into their hands. The activities of the week were a test of the Jewish people’s faith and patience. No doubt there would have been some who were anxious to get the walls down so that they could move forward and take the city. I am sure some would have even thought that the way God told them to do it was futile and a waste of time. God was teaching them patience and obedience. Friends as God helps us deal with the walls we have erected in our lives it can take time. Sometimes we just want to get rid of the blockages so that we can move forward spiritually in Christ; sometimes we don’t want to deal with the walls because we feel that we would be vulnerable without them. This all takes time especially if we have hid behind our walls for a long time. Often our prison can become the norm for us and we need to learn how to trust God as he takes us outside of our comfort zone in order to be free. Friends if you are feeling your walls are just not coming down then I want to encourage you today to hang in there. God has already given you the victory but He may be trying to teach something through the process.

Breakthrough also takes more than just time, it also takes effort. God won’t just move in and break down our walls. If we want to be free; if we want to move forward then we need to want, and work towards breaking free. As Israel marched around the city they blew their trumpets and carried the ark of God before them. So too if we are to see our walls come down then we need to keep God in front of us. We need to remain completely focused on Him and we need to be praying and praising God throughout our experience. When we do this we will at some point see breakthrough and success. Friends if we are to be truly free and if our spiritual and emotional walls are to truly come down then we cannot remain the same. We cannot keep doing the same things that we have always done and expect a different result. Freedom comes at a cost and it come by pushing into God even when we don’t feel like it.

Friends, is there a Jericho sized wall before you today that is preventing you from growing spiritually with God? Are there walls of fear, bitterness, un-forgiveness and anxiety in your life? I want to encourage you this morning by saying that God wants to set you free. There is hope in Jesus. He came that we may live life to the full and to not be imprisoned by our walls. Are you willing this morning to take a step of faith and allow God to bring down your Jericho? Is there un-forgiveness in your life that you want to be free from? Is there fear in your life that you want God to tear down? Is there un-repented sin that is preventing you from fully immersing yourself in the presence of God? If there is then you need to trust that God is able to set you free. It may take some time and it will certainly require you to act in faith. If we are going to break free from the prison walls then we will need to change what we have always done.

"Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands..."

Joshua 6:2

We are trapped by what we believe

The following is an excerpt from a message a preached a few weeks ago.

In Proverbs 23:7 we are told:

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”(NKJV)

It has only been in recent years that this verse, Proverbs 23:7 has made sense to me. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”


I wonder, has there ever been a time in your life when you knew that God was calling you to do something? But because of fear and self doubt you chose not to do it? Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt led to do something by the Spirit and you did it, and then a little later doubt creeps into your mind as to whether you have done the right thing or not? For years I had run away from my calling but when I said to God that I would enter into full time ministry the peace I experienced was amazing and I felt great; but then after a few days the enemy showed up and I started thinking about everything that had happened in my past and how great my job was and I started doubting what God had called me to do. I started telling myself that there was no way I could do what He wanted me to do. Why would God want to use me? He must have made a mistake; I am not smart enough or talented enough. I want to say to you that as soon as I started thinking like that, I had opened the door for Satan to start causing problems for me. You see for me the battle of the mind has been, and still is an issue. It has prevented me in the past from doing the things I have wanted to do and if I am not careful it will prevent me from doing what God has planned for my life and what He has called me to do. It will hinder me from growing in God and experiencing Him to the fullest in my life. Satan knows this is a vulnerable area in my life and I am sure for many of you also. He constantly attacks my mind trying to bring me down, trying to inject doubt and fear into my thought patterns and trying to distract me out of the will of God. I want to say to you this morning that the Devil will always tear down, he will always condemn and he will always sow seeds of negativity and doubt into your mind.

You see God uses our past experiences and our current ones to mold us, to strengthen us and to teach us. Satan uses those same experiences, especially the tough ones and the ones where we may have failed in the past to destroy us. He tries to discredit us before God by accusing us and he tries to remind us of our past failures in the hope of causing us to doubt and to step out of the will of God. Sometimes he even works through other people to sow these seeds of doubt.

Have you ever told someone an idea that you knew God had told you only to find yourself being told by another that it can’t be done, it will never happen? Or we don’t have the resources or the talent to do it? Or we have tried that before and it didn’t work. Friends I want to tell you today that when we hear stuff like this I want to say to you that this is not from God. If God has called you to it then He will make it come to pass. The devil constantly lives in the past whereas God looks to the future; encouraging us to be what He has created us to be and encouraging us to strive for a better future filled with hope, peace and possibility.

In Romans 8:31 we are reminded of an amazing promise of reassurance that “if God is for us who can be against us?” And that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Satan comes to steal our joy, our hope, our peace and our faith that we have in Christ. He plants seeds of doubt and fear in our minds in the hope that we will just give up and walk away from our God given purpose. You know whenever we make a choice to live for Christ these attacks will inevitably come. Satan does not want us to do what God has called us to.

This is why we should always give thanks to God in every circumstance and to sing praises to our father in heaven. We need to keep our mind focused on God and the things of Heaven. Satan cannot get a foothold in our hearts and minds when we are praising God. I don’t know about you but for me the battle in my mind is a constant thing and often I can feel very negative about myself and my ability. But when you feel negative you start to speak negative and then you start to act negative and if you’re not careful the atmosphere you can create will affect everyone around you. If God is going to be able to move us forward then we have to guard our thoughts and our words.

This last year has been especially hard for me as the enemy has tried to make me give up. He has told me that it is just too hard and he has tried to make me doubt that I could ever be effective as a minister. Our enemy would have us believe that we are useless, that we are not talented enough or have the skills that God needs for us to do what God has called us to do and I would say to you this morning that when we get thoughts like that it is just a lie of the enemy.

When God called me to ministry this is exactly what happened. You see in the past, when things got hard, my response was always to run. To give up and throw in the towel before I had even given it a go. Why? Because it was easier to do that. The enemy regularly tries to get me out of the will of God by telling me that I am no good and that the ministry is not the place for me. He tries to remind me of my childhood and my past experiences. He tries to convince me that what I have to say is not important and because I failed at school, how could I ever expect to do well at studying the word of God. He tries to convince me that I can’t pray because people will judge me or I won’t have the right words to say. But greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. Friends, when God calls us He will never ask us to do something that we are not capable of doing and that He is not willing to resource us in. In Jeremiah 29 verse 11 God says: “For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”” What a great promise.

I love what Paul reminds us of in 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31(NIV) when he says:

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Satan is right about one thing, I can’t do it!, on my own. But when Jesus enables me to do it and it is His will for my life, I can do all things. If God had said to me seven years ago that He wanted me to enter the ministry I would have run. He knew that it was not the right time for me then.

You know God does not care how smart we are, how many degrees we have. How much money or talent we have. All He asks is that when He calls us to do something that we are obedient and trust Him and to allow Him to do what He needs to do in us. Then all things are possible through Him who gives us strength and He will give us what we need to do His will. When Jesus selected His disciples who did He pick? Twelve ordinary men. And look what He was able to do through them. They changed the world. Why was that? Because they were willing to be used by Him.

You know the verses in Romans 8 are probably the most reassuring of all the verses in the bible. My favourite verse is probably verse 37 when Paul says: That we are" more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Did you hear that? We are more than conquerors because we are children of God. Friends our relationship with God and the Holy Spirit allows us to take authority over the stuff that has tried for so long to control us. When we receive Christ as our Lord and saviour we are able to overcome everything that the enemy can throw at us through the power of the Holy Spirit. If God is for us then it doesn’t matter who is against us because scripture says that we are loved by God and we will be victorious in Jesus name. God’s love will protect us from anything that has taken place in our past and we no longer have to be bound by past experiences. You know the devil will try and limit our ability by reminding us of our past. If people pleasing and fear has been an issue for us before then that is what the enemy will use to hinder us. Maybe we are bound by addiction, self doubt, a lack of confidence, negative talk or self-sabotage. Whatever it is we can be free from it through the power of the Holy Spirit. You know there are times when the battle rages and I want to encourage you that when that time comes (and it will come), push into God. Spend time in prayer, read and reflect on those scripture within the bible that remind you of the victory that you have in Christ and of the strength and the peace that He brings. Paul reminds us in Philippians four to think of the good things, the heavenly things. When the difficulties come call on a friend to pray with you. Play your favourite praise and worship songs and seek out God. The devil cannot infiltrate our minds when we are completely focused on Jesus.

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Romans 8:31

I've got the joy joy joy joy....

Below is an extract from this mornings sermon.

 

The Psalms are a wonderful place to go for praise, prayer and reflection. They illustrate wonderfully the prayers of God’s people. Some are prayers of praise, some of frustration and lament and others are prayers of worship and thanksgiving. Psalm 100 is one of those that is certainly “A Psalm of Thanksgiving”. It is an invitation for us to join together and to acknowledge the great things that God has done. Not only does Psalm 100 call us to praise the Lord with thankfulness – but it also describes to us the nature of thanksgiving. 

 

Joy

“Shout for Joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with Gladness.” Last week I touched on this one briefly when I shared from Colossians 3. “Do all things as if doing them for the Lord.” Friends I don’t know if you are aware but the God we worship is the creator of all things! God created us, He created the world in which we live and He gave us these things to enjoy. More than all of this the God we worship is the very God that came to this earth as a human child; who lived within the creation, and because He loves us and wants to restore us into a perfect relationship with Him He willingly gave His life on a cross so that three days later He would overcome death and rise again. Friends it is through this resurrection of our God that we have an opportunity to be set free from the sin in our lives and be joyful. We have the most amazing story to share with the people around us. I don’t know about you but this brings great joy in my life and certainly causes me to worship our God with a spirit of thanksgiving. Are you experiencing joy in your life as a result of your faith this morning? Friends in our scripture today the Psalmist calls for all nations to worship our God with joy and with singing and shouting and praise. But our shouting should lead to more than a happy noise it should lead us to serving Him because He is the one true God. Worship leads to service, and true service is worship. It is interesting that Church is not a place where we generally shout with Joy. I wonder, how many of you are involved with a sport or love to watch sport or go to live games? I would say most of us enjoy it. When you go to a game do the people just sit there or do they cheer on their favourite teams? You know it’s fascinating how we can go to a sporting event and get extremely vocal for our team but we don’t get loud and vocal when we worship our God, the creator of all things. Our lives are meant to be a joyful call to God. God wants us to get excited about who He is.

Some time ago I was watching a show on SBS about the end of WW2. I saw a film clip of the victory celebration in Melbourne when World War II ended. Friends that celebration was a shout of praise, people were dancing in the street. The war was over – the victory had been won. We need to shout praises to our God – We know who wins the spiritual war in our world – we know who has the victory – Praise be to God. We need to shout joyfully because Jesus has won the victory. We need to be filled with joy and shout about it. That is something to be thankful for don’t you think?

 

Gladness

“Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” Psalms 100:2 (NKJV)

You know there is a huge difference between gladness and sadness. When we come before the Lord – we are to do it with gladness not sadness. We are to come before our God with a willing heart, coming before Him because we want to not because we have to.

I don’t know if you have ever noticed it when you visit other churches but there are times when people come to church on Sunday morning to worship almost like they are coming to a funeral service. Friends we are entering God’s house. we need to come in here on Sunday morning like we are coming into a resurrection service and rightly so because we serve a living God not a dead one. Our Lord has risen from the dead. That is a joyful celebration.


Thankfulness

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” This is the focus of the message this morning. God calls us to enter His gates with thanksgiving in our hearts. That is, when we enter into the presence of God whether through prayer, worship or even in our everyday walk with God, then we are called to come before Him with an attitude of thanksgiving. 

You know when we come before God in this way our focus shifts from a self-centered one to a God-centered one. When we are a thankful people it prevents things like jealousy and envy from entering our lives. A spirit of thanksgiving creates a sense of peace, harmony, unity of mind and a sense of community. Thanksgiving creates an environment where we are all unified in spirit and working together for the common good. When we come before God with a spirit of thanksgiving we appreciate what God has given us. We never need to worry about what we need or want because not only do we understand that God gives us everything that we have, but also that He will always provide the things that we need. If we are a thankful people who are controlled by the Spirit and by the word of God, then we will reveal it in our worship to God and in the way we live. Instead of imitating the world we will be led by the Word and the Spirit to be joyful in the Lord, submissive to the Lord, and thankful to the Lord. Friends a spirit of thanksgiving helps us to overcome some of the sins that can so easily invade our lives. Idolatry, pride, greed, selfishness and ingratitude. 

It was when our first parents Adam and Eve became “unthankful” that our world began to spiral into sin and judgement. Instead of being thankful for what they had, Adam and Eve believed the lie of Satan that God was holding out on them and it was this jealousy and desire for more that led to their sin. A thankful spirit is a triumphant spirit. Friends we need to be thankful for what God has done for us.

 

God calls us to have a thankful attitude. You know a spirit of thanksgiving is an inviting one. It creates a positive atmosphere rather than a negative one. Just like a negative attitude is contagious; so too is a spirit of joy and thanksgiving. When we are joyful and thankful, people want to be around us and they are lifted up and encouraged.

Are we a joyful people?

Do we live a life in a spirit of thankfulness to one true God who loves us and provides for us?

Can we like the Psalmist truly say “I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter His courts with praise?”

 

When we read Psalm 100 is it a true prayer from our hearts or is it just lip service before God? 

 

I pray that we will be a thankful people.  A people who are not only thankful for what God gives to us but also for the people who tirelessly work to serve our God. 

 

"For from him and through him and for him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen."

Romans 11:36

Advertising is great if it matches what is going on inside.

This week has been great as I have been able to spend a week on holidays with my family.  Holidays are important and they should be used to recharge, refocus and spend time with those we love.  This past week has been a great week although I must admit that after 3600km of travel I am feeling a little weary.  As is our tradition, when we are on holidays we always try to attend a non salvation army church.  This is not because we do not like the army, far from it, but we do enjoy taking these opportunities to attend different worship settings.  This week was no different and so we decided to leave town and attend a different denomination.  For us, because we live in regional South Australia our nearest town is an hour away regardless of the direction.  This being the case we scoured the internet to find a church to attend in Whyalla.  On finding one that took our fancy we checked the time which said that their worship celebration commenced at 11am.  After travelling a whole hour to get there we discovered on arrival that their meeting commenced at 10am.  Needless to say this would have been embarrassing had we chosen to still go into the building.  As I reflected on this on the way home, disappointed and quite upset that we had been unable to attend worship, I began thinking about the similarities between the failure to advertise the correct information and our walk with Jesus.

Over the past few months I have been thinking a lot about my soldiership and officer covenants.  While attending officer councils a month ago our new Territorial Leader Commissioner Tidd made an interesting comment which has really challenged my thinking about what it means to be a soldier in The Salvation Army.  He said that "soldiership is not membership, it is more than that."  He is right. Soldiership is much more than simply a level of membership in our churches.  For many soldiers (and I am sure I am certainly guilty of this) this is what it can often appear to be.  We advertise on our physica/spiritual websites that we are Christians, that we are different, that we love God etc etc.  On the inside however and often in the way we act as well as our priorities, we reflect something completely different.

For the soldier we are called to be more.  We are called to be responsive to the Holy Spirit's leading.  We are called to grow in grace through worship, prayer, service and reading of the bible.  We are called to uphold Christian integrity in every aspect of our lives and to be faithful to the purposes for which God raises up The Salvation Army; sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, endeavouring to win others to Him, and in His name caring for the needy and disadvantaged.  Often we fall far short of the covenant that we have made to our God because lets face it, there are other things we would rather be doing right?  Our priorities say more about us and our walk with Jesus than what we claim to stand for.  We turn up late for church, we don't pray, we don't read our bibles and we fail to look after those that need us and God so much.  Friends as I have reread my covenant in recent days I am challenged to step up in my spiritual life. Sometimes we get the service part right and neglect everything else.

You know when we turn up late for church, when we choose not to worship because we don't like the music, when we don't pray because we are worried about what others think it is not the minister we are dishonouring.  When we fail to act out our covenant as soldiers we are actually disrespecting God.  Friends there is a failure to fear our God in our churches.  We have removed the awe and reverence for God and turned our christian walk (and dare I say our officership and soldiership) into something that is very different to the commitment we made so long ago.  Very often we can be like a church that advertises the wrong information on their website.  We can appear to be saying one thing but what is actually going on inside and spiritually is very different.  Before we can win others for Christ, before we can lead others spiritually forward we have to be investing in ourselves and getting ourselves right before God.  If we want to see people come to our churches and be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit then we need to be doing this ourselves.  We need to be coming to church, praying, reading our bibles daily and allowing God to change us.  If we are claiming to be a soldier for Christ, if we are claiming to have found the answers to the problems in our world, if we are calling for a reform in society then we need to be living it.  Sometimes we can be so focused on getting the outside of the cup looking right that we forget to clean the inside.

2014/15 is looking to be a huge year in the prophetic.  As you look around the world you can see the signs of heaven that are spoken of in the gospels.  You can see the prophecies of the Old Testament beginning to take place.  Big things are going to happen in the world over the next 12mths and the question I think we all need to ask ourselves is are we ready?  Are we spiritually ready to receive our king?  We are running out of time and it is important that we get it right.  When the day comes and Jesus returns to claim his bride I pray that we will each hear well done good and faithful servant.  I guess the only way we will be hearing this is by getting ourselves right with God spiritually and by walking true to the covenant that we have made with Him.  When we are spiritually right and spiritually growing then we will be in tune with God and on His path and not ours.  Soldiership is more than membership, it is a commitment to grow and change.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Matthew 23:25-28

Quit Kidding Yourself!

While out in the garage several weeks ago I noticed my wife's bike sitting there collecting dust. I remember when we bought it two years ago and in that time it has only traveled around 10km. As I reflected on this I noticed that a bike has all the right parts. Handle bars, a good seat, pedals, wheels, the whole bang lot. A bike is designed to be ridden. It is built not only for leisure purposes but also for fitness but if the bike isn't used then we receive no benefit from it at all. Like the illustration of the bike the bible is very much the same. The bible is the blueprint for our lives and contains everything we need to live a blessed, fruitful life which generates true spiritual growth. The problem is if we don't use it; if we don't allow the words to transform us then it is simply just another book. The words without action is totally useless. The book of James tells us alot about the 'How Too' of Christianity and he addresses many of the issues we face today as Christians. Below is part of a sermon I shared with my own church on Sunday in regards to James 1.

Practice the word

For James and for the Christian this is where the rubber meets the road and so my main focus will be on what it means to practice the word of God as we continue on our spiritual journey. James reminds us that it is simply not enough to hear the Word; we actually have to put it into practice. Like the illustration of the bike, if we do not actually get on and ride it the bike is of no benefit to us at all. Many in the church today have mistakenly believed the lie that if they simply hear a good sermon or attend a good bible study then they will naturally grow and receive the blessings of God. Did you know that Australia is the highest consumers of Christian materials (per capita) in the world. We love to buy CDs, the latest books and videos on how to grow in our faith. James however, reminds us that it’s not listening or hearing how to do something that brings the blessings but rather we actually have to put it into practice. How many people here this morning like to highlight their bible and write in notes? I do this all the time which is great. Marking our bibles is important but what is more important is whether our bibles leave a mark on us. Does what we read transform us and leave us different to how we started? James uses the analogy of a mirror to illustrate his point and so I am going to focus on three ministry ideas that stem from this. 

Examination

Why do people own a mirror? What is its purpose? Mirrors allow us to see ourselves and to make ourselves look good. They allow us to fix up the flaws in our appearance. God’s word is like a mirror. The scriptures allow us to see ourselves as we really are. As we meditate on God’s word however there are several mistakes that are often made.

1. We don’t study ourselves as we read through the word of God. For some, the reading of scripture is a religious exercise because we feel obligated to do it. If the bible is going to seriously impact us then we need to look at ourselves in relation to the word.

2. We forget what we see. Often as we read the scriptures they may challenge us at the moment we read, but as we enter our day we forget what God has said to us and as a result there is no transformation.

3. The final mistake we can make is that we fail to obey what the bible tells us to do. Many Christians think that hearing is as good as doing and that is not true. As mentioned before Australia is the highest consumer of Christian material. We seem to love substituting doing, for reading or talking. We hold endless meetings and conferences about evangelism and church growth but then we don’t actually do anything about it. These things are great but they need to be followed by action. If God’s mirror is to make a difference in our lives then we need to look into it carefully and seriously. We need to examine our hearts and live in the light and victory of God’s word. This is tough because it takes time and devotion. Five minutes a day in the word of God is simply not enough to accomplish a deep spiritual examination.

Restoration

The second ministry is that of restoration. The mirror of the word does not only examine our hearts and expose our sin; it also helps us to be cleansed from our sin. I don’t know if you have ever noticed but our world fills our minds and hearts with so much junk. But as we meditate on God’s word, it begins to cleanse our minds and hearts from the worldly influences and free us from spiritual defilement. It is the blood of Christ that cleanses our guilt but it is the water of the word of God that helps wash away the defilement. But we cannot stop at examination and restoration otherwise we will miss the full benefit of God’s mirror and so that leads us to the final ministry element.

Transformation

After we have been restored by the Lords grace He wants to take us further by bringing about transformation. He wants to change us so that we will continue to grow in grace and not commit our past sins again. Many Christians confess their sin and claim forgiveness but for some reason they never grow spiritually. Psalm 139:23-24 says “search me oh God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Friends the word of God when studied, meditated upon and then allowed to transform us, is a powerful tool to walk in the victory and freedom of our faith. We cannot simply read it and then not put it into practice. If we do, then the bible is no different to any other book and it’s message is worthless. Our faith is a living faith and the word of God is the Rhema word of God. That is that it is alive. God never meant his teachings to remain in a book; He meant that we would live it out and share it with those around us. If we are to have complete victory and freedom in Christ then we need to be hearing and doing the word of God. James encourages us to raise the bar in our spiritual walk. He challenges us to understand and to not be deceived into thinking that reading and hearing will bring about spiritual growth. If we are to grow and receive the spiritual blessings of the gospel then we must practice what it commands us to do. If we are to be all that God tells us that we are then we need to read it, meditate on it, claim it and then live it.

Are we being transformed by the word of God? If we are claiming to have faith in Jesus; if we are claiming that the bible is our blueprint for living; if we are claiming that the bible is the absolute and living truth of God then we need to be stepping out in faith and living it. True victory and freedom comes from living out God’s word and walking in the blessings.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2

Caught in the darkness

These past few months has been a challenge especially on the lead up to Christmas.  Busyness and stress seem to be the norm.  In November I was able to take some leave for the month and to be honest it was much needed.  One would think that a month away would allow you to become refreshed and ready to take on the world.  For me however, the opposite has been true.  These past two months have probably been the darkest I have experienced for a while.  This year has been extremely full on and as I look back over the year I have to wonder what I have been able to accomplish.  It feels as though nothing has been done.  To top it all off I am now in a spiritual and physical place I really don't want to be.

For over ten years now I have been battling with many personal issues; one of which is anxiety.  Throughout my college experience this anxiety began to reveal itself in many ways to the point where I didn't think I would survive.  Spiritually I went backwards.  In recent months this anxiety has raised it's head again and in recent weeks I have been diagnosed with depression.  I have been fighting for a long time to avoid the need for medication however this time it has been a necessity.  Is this simply a physical issue or is it a spiritual one?  Well for me I think it is definitely both.  I have done the counseling and now I am on the medication. You may have noticed that my facebook account is now inactive.  This has been done intentionally as I simply cannot handle social interaction at the moment.  In hindsight this has been beneficial for me and I don't really miss facebook at all.  One day I may reactivate my account but for now I am enjoying being away from it.

In recent days I have been reflecting on solomon's words in ecclesiastes 1:1-11.

 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

² “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
    says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
    Everything is meaningless.”

³ What do people gain from all their labors
    at which they toil under the sun?
⁴ Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.
⁵ The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.
⁶ The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
⁷ All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.
⁸ All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
⁹ What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;
    there is nothing new under the sun.
¹⁰ Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.
¹¹ No one remembers the former generations,
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.

Solomon's words reflect my thoughts over recent months.  What is the point? why even bother when all will be forgotten.  Everything is meaningless.  This is how you think when you are in that place of darkness.  Being told to cheer up or to get over it simply escalates the problem.  This darkness is a horrible and sometimes terrifying place to be.  It is safe to assume that when Solomon the wisest man who has ever lived wrote these words he was in a bad place.  Life must have been pretty tough.  You know it can be so easy to dwell on this stuff; so easy to get caught up in the negative thoughts; so easy to make decisions based on how we are feeling rather than what God is calling us to do.  In the middle of all of this and as I began to relate to Solomon, God reminded me of a scripture which I believe is the best of His promises.  This scripture is very dear to me and I love how God reminds us of His absolute truth in times of great need.  God knows our every need and He speaks at just the right time.  Here is what He has reminded me of in recent days.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:31-39

You know our enemy the devil tries many ways to destroy us.  1 Peter 5:8 warns us that our "enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  Anxiety and Depression is a horrible illness that is certainly not from God.  For many it is a physical issue where the chemical inbalance needs to be restored and medication certainly helps that.  For others the issue is of the spiritual nature.  Either way it is an illness of the enemy and he tries in many ways to bring us down by polluting our minds.  God however, reminds us in His word that He is bigger and more powerful than anything the enemy can throw at us.  It is hard when you are in this place to think of anything positive but as we reflect on words like those found in Romans 8 we are filling our minds with the things of heaven.  The very things that will assist us in fighting back against our enemy.  I love the reminder that no matter what we are going through, no matter how hard it appears to be or how useless we feel God is right there with us.  Nothing can separate us from the love and saving power of Jesus. As I continue my physical and spiritual battle I praise God that He is with me; that He will never abandon or give up on me. I praise Him for a wonderful wife and for those who are upholding my family in prayer.  In the middle of the darkness is the brightest light; His name is Jesus.

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

 Isaiah 41:10, 43:18-19