Sunday Re-Cap 24th January 2010

The Benefits of Knowing Jesus Christ
Ps. Abel Phillips

A). Rev 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,”[a] says the Lord,[b] “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Alpha is the first letter if the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last. So our Lord is the First and Last, He is the Source of all things. He is the source of all truth, of all the promises given in the WOG, of all the prophecies, of all commands and of all penalties. How great is our Lord, who is and who was and who is to come; – The all-inclusive One! Everything is involved in the two words, beginning and ending.
Jesus is the Lord of the Beginning and He is the Lord of the End. He is the end of completeness of our lives.

John 1:1 -In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
Col 1:16 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him
Col 1:17 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

B). Rev 1:18
I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Hades :– is the unseen world we don’t understand. The souls of people who pass away go into; until Jesus’ time… all souls were controlled by the adversary of the souls and were limited
Death (Two aspects)
i. Physiological death – our body weak / limitation of the human body
ii. Second death - our soul being separated from God

Jesus dies and comes back in the glorious resurrection, and ascends to the Father’s Right hand.
We see the unification once again and the healing power and he has the key over everything that separates, ruins, rejects and isolates us. He holds that Key! He is the healer of all relationship, restorer of the fullness of relationship we hope for.

C). Rev 2:12
“…,‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:
Eph 6:17 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Rev 2:16 16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

ü People say I don’t like the correcting of the Lord, well of you don’t like the correcting of the L, then you don’t know how much He loves you; because he loves you way too much to leave you in that limited stage.
ü He wants to take out of your life that which diminishes and corrupts you and bring about the whole completeness. That’s why He uses the sharp two-edged sword.
ü Don’t avoid the correcting of the L, because it ultimately produces fruitfulness, and fruitfulness of righteousness.
ü The sharp two-edged sword is a counseling sword that guides and teaches thru WOG.
ü It has the absolute ability to deal with any situation, job, argument, finances, health, relationship etc… you don’t way but the WOG has power. The Word of God is quick and powerful and it gets the job done!
ü You will know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Rom2:4 -4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

So, let’s reap the benefits of the things in stored for us by knowing and receiving JESUS into our lives!

Sunday Re-Cap 17th December 2010

Experiencing Real Peace
by. Ps. Abel Phillips

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Peace I leave with you… are the legal terms that has to do with an inheritance; that is a will & testament and what’s the moral of that: You have the right to the inheritance of Peace.
What Jesus’ words teach us:
 1. Our Inheritance is God’s Peace
 2. Jesus Christ’s own Peace
 3. The World’s Peace is Limited
 4. Our Peace is a Gift

So how does a person get on the pathway to receiving this REAL PEACE?
 1. Establish a True Relationship with Jesus Christ. (Is 9:6 - Jesus the Prince of Peace)
The real peace only starts by our relationship with Jesus

 2. Obey and Receive the Ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Rom 8:5-6
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (see also Gal 5:22-23)

 3. Depend on the Word of God.
The Word of God is quick, sharp and power to lead us to His transcending peace.

 4. Focus our Attention on God.
Isa 26:3 -3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

 5. Let the Lord Carry our Burdens
1 Pet 5:7 - casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you
Matt 11:28 - Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Phil 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which
surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 6. Care about Others
1 Tim 2:1-2
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men (and women), 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

Sunday Re Cap (10th Jan 2010)

New Covenant Life-a LIFE that is FREE

Jesus did not come to teach evil people to become good (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the LAW could have taken care of that) but to make dead people live (tree of LIFE)!

We need to get it out of our minds that all that God is interested in is SIN. We need a complete change of mindset of God's character and nature.

Eph 2:4-7

How many of us believe that being a child of God is the most favored thing in all of life? Sadly, many of God's people are not living in that environment of favor.

The more we read the word of God and the more we understand His grace, the more we realize that God has specifically 2 agendas over our lives that are intertwined.

Isa 61:1 Jesus quoted it in Luke 4:18-19 as well.

When did the Spirit of the Lord God come upon us?

Joh 16:7; Act 2:33

The Holy Spirit would not be given until Jesus finished His work here on earth and returned to the Father. The work is finished. Sin has been completely dealt with on the cross!

Where is the Holy Spirit now?

Upon us! We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Living breathing walking temple of the Living God! The Church!

What is our mission?

Act 10:38; Is 61.1 gives us a clear picture.

HS anoints us to proclaim LIBERTY and FREEDOM! His main agenda is not to expose SIN as SIN has already been dealt with. His main AGENDA now is LIFE.

Why was the Holy Spirit given to us?

Isa 61:2-3 To proclaim the favourable year of the LORD….So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

When is the Favorable year of the LORD? The more we focus on everything that Christ has already done, the more we are able to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Then FAVOUR HAPPENS! People are set free.

Joh 14:13 Jesus did not only come to heal us, deliver us, cleanse us from our sins. JESUS came to set us FREE! FREEDOM is God's main agenda.

Joh 8:32 Joh 8:36 Rom 8:1-2

Why does God want to set us FREE? Joh 10:10

So that we can LIFE and HAVE IT IN ABUNDANCE!

He wants to set us FREE and He wants us to become more and more ALIVE! Many may say, "it is for us to do missions or pray or give". If we are not FREE and ALIVE, we cannot freely give (freely receive, freely give), do missions or pray effectively!

Samuel Hari © GROW BM

Sunday Re Cap (3rd Jan 2010)

Lessons from the Tower of Babel-Resting and Not Striving

How do we ensure that our plans and God's plans are the same?

Gen 11:1-9

There are some powerful lessons that we can learn from this passage. Even though it seems negative, we believe the Holy Spirit put it in the Bible for very positive reasons. This passage gives us an idea of what happens when we push and strive with our own works and what happens when we rest and follow God's plans for our lives.

When the people attempted to build the tower that speaks of our goals, plan our focus. However, there can only be ONE TOWER in our lives. The NAME OF THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER! Psa_18:2; Psa_61:3; Psa_144:2; Pro_18:10;

Instead of trying to build a tower, let us focus on the TOWER that has already been built! Run to the tower and REST in that tower. The effect will be completely the opposite of what was experienced by the people who tried to build the tower of Babel.

Let's look at this example and see what happens when we REST in the FINISHED TOWER of the NAME of the LORD instead of striving to BUILD THE TOWER with our own works.

When they followed their own plans:

1. Their language was confused. They could not understand each other.
   
   1. When we try to push our plans and strive, we will find confusion.
      
   2. God reversed this in the book of Acts. They were of the same mind, in one accord. Acts 2:1. The spoke the language of heaven, the language of the Father, TONGUES!
      
2. They were scattered. There was no longer any unity.
   
   1. When we are not speaking the same language that happens. In Ps 133 it says that when we are in unity, God commands a blessing. What is it that brings about this unity? In Ps 133:2. It was the precious oil, the Holy Spirit, as was in the book of Acts.
      
   2. The bible also says we are to "Endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace". This means that only the Holy Spirit has already given us unity. We are to NOW endeavour to KEEP IT! Anytime there is strive between us, we reset our relationship to default mode; that is UNITY! This is what the Holy Communion is all about; a reminder that we are united in Christ in His finished work.
      
3. They could not reach their goal.
   
   1. We find ourselves frustrated and unable to achieve our goal. Whether it be healing, finances, salvation for our family members.
      
   2. When we REST in the FINISHED TOWER, the finished work of Jesus on the cross, we are able to receive our inheritance. We need not strive any longer!
      

Conclusion

When we focus on the right tower, which is the NAME of the LORD, which speaks of everything that was accomplished on the CROSS through the Name of Jesus then there no longer be confusion as the Holy Spirit will UNITE our hearts and help us RECEIVE our inheritance through that finished work. Let us not strive to build our own tower but instead rest in the "finished" tower of the CROSS.

Samuel Hari © GROW BM