Sunday Re Cap (25th Feb 09)

Sons Reign Everyday!

God's desire is for every single son in to reign in life.

The power to reign doesn't depend on your family background, experience, educational qualifications. The power to reign is based on Jesus and Jesus alone.

Rom 5:17 ¹⁷ For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

Reign-basileou (Greek): Reign in life as a King, to have kingly rule and to possess a kingly dominion.

The secret to reigning in life lies with receiving everything that Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross.

A life of defeat, condemnation, sickness, financial lack, broken relationships is not intended for us. Based on the authority of God's word, we are designed to reign in every aspect of life!

Receiving versus Achieving

Our reigning in life is based on receiving and not achieving. Achieving involves performance and performance is tiring and wearying.

Stop trying to do, do, do and receive the gift of righteousness and abundance of grace to reign in life! Focus on His finished work and be at rest in every area of our lives.

Heb 10:12-14 ¹² But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

The Bible says we have been perfected forever. Many still don't believe that and still think that they still need to do something to reign as sons. How can we be assured that we have been forgiven all our past present and future sins FOREVER?

Notice that after Jesus offered His life as a sacrifice and payment for all our sins, He "sat down"!

Heb 10:11 ¹¹ And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

The work of the priest is never finished and that is why they can never sit. No article of furniture for them to sit in the tabernacle.

Only Jesus work is finished. Not only did He sit down at the right hand of the Father but we are also seated with HIM!

Eph 2:4-6 ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Stop depending on your self-efforts to earn and qualify for God's blessings in your life. God's grace does not make us lazy. On the contrary we labour more abundantly for the glory of God.

In the New Covenant, God's way is to bless you FIRST, and the knowledge of His blessing gives you the POWER to labour more abundantly! In other words, we do not labour to be blessed but we have the power to labor BECAUSE we HAVE BEEN BLESSED!

1 Cor 15:10 ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Jesus has accomplished a full and completed work on the cross. Our part is simply to trust in His perfect work and RECEIVE with open arms the GIFT of righteousness and the ABUNDANCE of grace and begin to REIGN IN LIFE!

Let's ask the Holy Spirit to begin to teach us how to depend on God's grace rather than our self efforts. This is the key to wholeness, success and victorious living WHICH OUR FATHER INTENDS FOR EVERY SON!

Ps Samuel Hari

Sunday Re Cap (15th Feb 2009)

Turning the Ordinary into the Extraordinary

"The Starbucks Experience", an amazing book written by Joseph Michelli, full of strategies, comments and principles taken from the Bible. If these principles have caused a secular company to be one of the most successful companies in the world, how much more THE CHURCH if it begins to rediscover these principles and begins to apply them TODAY!

5 Principles for Turning the Ordinary into the Extraordinary. (1 Cor 15:46)

The Biblical principles found in this book include BEING rather than DOING. Starbucks wants to BE the place where everyone wants to come because of the coffee.

1. Make it your own.
   
   1. God has no grandchildren.
      
   2. Each of us needs to be responsible to develop our personal relationship with the LORD.
      
2. Everything Matters.
   
   1. Everything we do affects our Christian walk and often the people around us.
      
   2. How we act or RE-act. (2 Pet 3:9)
      
   3. We are all important to God.
      
3. Cause Surprise and Delight.
   
   1. Mat 5:16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
      
   2. Phil 4:5 Rejoice, let your gentleness be known to all men.
      
4. Embrace Resistance.
   
   1. Most people resist resistance, they don't embrace it.
      
   2. Don't be threatened by resistance, embrace it.
      
   3. Work at fulfilling God's plan for your life (Jer 29:11)
      
   4. Write on your walls, "It doesn't matter!" (Rom 12:18,21)
      
5. Leave Your Mark.
   
   1. Desire to leave a mark for the LORD (Phil 3:13-14)
      

So, it's not about the coffee but all about the LORD and how we can all serve Him profitably!

William Carey-"Expect Great Things FROM God, Attempt Great Things FOR God"

Remember Acts 17:6-our goal is to turn the world upside down.

Rev. Don Boots

Grace Revealed-George Thomas

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak...'I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, 'What you got there, son?' 'Just some old birds,' came the reply.
 
 'What are you gonna do with them?' I asked.  
  

'Take 'em home and have fun with 'em,' he answered 'I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time' 'But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do?'  
  

'Oh, I got some cats,' said the little boy. 'They like birds. I'll take 'em to them.'  
  

The pastor was silent for a moment. 'How much do you want for those birds, son?'  
  

'Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!'  
  

'How much?' the pastor asked again.  
  

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, '$10?'  
  

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.  
  

The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.  
 

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story.  
 

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. 'Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!'
 

'What are you going to do with them?' Jesus asked.  
 

Satan replied, 'Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!'
 

'And what will you do when you get done with them?' Jesus asked. 'Oh, I'll kill 'em,' Satan glared proudly. 'How much do you want for them?' Jesus asked  
 

'Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!'  
 

'How much?' He asked again.  

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, 'All your blood, tears and your life.'  
 

Jesus said, 'DONE!'  
 

Then He paid the price.  
 

The pastor picked up the cage he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit.