Making Points With God

Making Points With God
by Jon Walker

“For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it. But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago.” (Romans 3:20-21 NLT)

Brett Favre, the lion-hearted quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, is one of my favorite players in the National Football League. He’s courageous and tough-minded, showing a rare grace under pressure, yet his boyish enthusiasm for the game is infectious as he celebrates each Packer success. A couple of Sundays ago (Sept. 30), Brett threw a pass that set a new record: the most touchdown passes by an NFL quarterback – 421.
Although the Pack was playing in Minnesota , the officials temporarily stopped the game in order to honor Brett’s achievement. And Brett, in his customary humility, later said he was more interested in a team win than an individual record.
In surprising contrast, the very next week (Oct. 8) Brett tied another record: the most interceptions thrown by an NFL quarterback – 277. This game also was stopped after this record was achieved, but only because the interception ended the Packer’s last-second attempt to win the game.
The most touchdown passes and the most interceptions! It reminds me that there was a time when Babe Ruth, the baseball player who was one of the greatest hitters in the game, owned two records simultaneously: the most home runs hit in a career as well as the most strike-outs in a career.

Here’s the thing: We tend to think of life as a balance sheet that we’ll eventually present to God. As long as the number of our touchdown passes exceed the number of our interceptions, then we’re cool with God, right? To echo the Apostle Paul, God forbid this to be true!

“For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it.” (Romans 3:20 NLT)

In other words, we can never be made right by throwing touchdown passes – because the more we learn about the Law, the more obvious it is we can never throw enough touchdown passes to make things right with God.

“But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago.” (Romans 3:21 NLT)

In his own geek-Greek way, Paul is saying we should forget the balance sheet – ignore the scoreboard, give up on tracking good and bad statistics. Listen, there is good news! There’s another way to get right in God’s sight, and it has nothing to do with your own achievements. It’s based on a promise made by God long ago – a promise is fulfilled through Jesus Christ.

Can I get an amen?

We are saved by grace through faith. It is a gift from God, not by our own works, so that none of us can boast of the ability to tip the balance sheet in our own favor. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
No doubt you’ve heard this over and over again, including many times in these devotionals. Yet many of us still live as if we get right in God’s sight by what we do – by our works, our achievements, the records we set.
We do this because it is, as Paul says, an offense to think of the Gospel as so simple and, therefore, it becomes a stumbling block to our pride. Getting right in God’s sight by what we do appeals to our human pride, or as the poet-king James would say, it appeals to our “flesh.”
It makes us feel good, as if we’re doing something to earn our way into heaven. If we cling to the idea that we can, even in some small way, contribute toward our salvation, then we also can cling to the idea that maybe we’re not that bad – maybe we aren’t included in the “all” of “all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.”
Put that behind you and get on with the truth: You, my friend, can never be made right in God's sight by doing what is right – because the closer you get to God, the more you’ll realize you’re not even close to getting it right (see Isaiah 6 and Romans 3:20).
The one thing you can do is to move in loving obedience to your gracious heavenly Father, doing and saying whatever he tells you to do and say; allowing your life to be energized by God’s Spirit within you.
What now?
· “Balance sheet” fear – Good news! You are free to follow the Father instead of living in “balance sheet” fear. You can be who you were meant to be and you can live how you were meant to live. You don’t have to be good enough – you just have to trust in the redemptive power of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. And you don’t have to fear if you hold both the record for most touchdown passes and the record for most interceptions – love God and live accordingly!
· Record of faith – A record of your faith in Jesus is more important than any record of your wrongs or resume of your achievements. If you haven’t already done this, set a spiritual marker as a reminder that you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Write it down – or establish some other kind of tangible memorial for this event – and every time the devil tells you you’ll never be good enough for God, or that you’re so good you can remain independent of God, take him to that marker and remind him that you are right in God’s sight because of Jesus.
· Big play – Next time you’re watching a sporting event and one of the players makes the big play, turn to the person next to you and say, “That was a great play, but it won’t make him right in God’s sight.”
· Huge error – Likewise, next time you’re watching a sporting event and one of the players makes a huge erro, turn to the person next to you and say, “That was a huge error, but the good news is it won’t keep him from getting right in God’s sight.”
· Pray for others – Ask God to show you who to pray for, related to getting right in God’s sight. It may be a non-believer or someone who believes but struggles in this area. Pray that this person will know God’s “different way of being right in his sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago (Romans 3:21 NLT) And pray that Brett Favre and his family will come to know this truth, so that when he retires from football he can spend the rest of his life preaching how to be right in God’s sight.

© 2007 Jon Walker . All rights reserved.

SPM-Bible Knowledge

Please help to circulate to all Christian parents to share with their children.

Indranee Liew wrote:

Dear friends

Pls promote Bible Knowledge as an SPM subject....Ministry of Education will abolish it unless a minimum of 3000 students take it as a subject for the 2008 SPM exam. Malaysia is the only Muslim country with Bible Knowledge as an official subject in a public exam so let's work towards getting churches to promote it. The Bible Knowledge syllabus is very easy....students are examined on

· the life and ministry of Jesus - Gospel of Luke
· the early church - Acts of the Apostles

Form 5 students can cover the materials in one year, i.e. start in December/January and complete the syllabus by September. Please contact me at meiranee@yahoo.com for details of the exam and teachers who teach this subject.

Indranee Liew
Island Glades Gospel CentrePenang

Sunday Re Cap (30th Sept 2007)

The Essence Of Love

Text: 1 Cor 13

Paraphrased version

1. Though I can speak with 5 languages and talk intelligently on dozens of subjects, if I don’t have enough love to keep from gossiping or putting down others, I’m not just making so much useless noise, I’m being downright destructive.
2. And though I read the Bible regularly and even know parts of it by heart, and though I pray daily and have a lot of faith and other spiritual gifts, if I don’t have enough love to sometimes sacrifice some of my personal desires for others’ sake, then all my spirituality amounts to nothing.
3. And though I work two jobs to provide for my family, and though I give to charity and volunteer for every community project that comes up, if I don’t show love and kindness to those I live and work with, all my hard work and self sacrifice are worthless.
4. Love has a long hard frustrating day at the office, yet doesn’t get snappy and short tempered. Love is happy for the other guy when he gets all the breaks. Love doesn’t have to drive the flashiest car, live in the biggest house, or have all the latest gadgets. Love doesn’t always have to be the boss or have the last word.
5. Love isn’t rude or crude, isn’t selfish, and doesn’t gripe, guilt trip, or pressure others to get what it wants. Love is too busy being concerned about the needs of others to spend much time worrying about its own. Love doesn’t freak out when things don’t go its way. Love is quick to believe the best about people and slow to believe the rest.
6. Love hates to hear gossip and instead wants to only talk about others’ good qualities and the good that they’ve done. Love knows that what it listens to, watches, or reads will affect its attitudes and actions and thereby have an effect on others, so it’s careful about how it spends its time.
7. Love is flexible, takes everything in stride, and can handle whatever comes its way. Love is always ready to give others the benefit of doubt and looks for the best in them. Love wants to see others reach their full potential and does all it can to make that happen. Love never runs out of patience, even with those who are slow to get with the program nor do their share. Love does not keep looking at the watch when others are.
8. Love never fails. I fail others and others can fail me. We all can be mistaken, misguided, or confused at times. Our words and deeds often fall short, and our bright ideas don’t always play out the way we want or expect them to.
9. We’re frail fallible, and often foolish, and our understanding of the world we live in, not to mention the world to come, is only partial at best.
10. But when God’s spirit of love lives in us; that changes everything.
11. We’re really just children when it comes to practicing real love, but God can help us outgrow our childish ways.
12. Without Him we are clueless when it comes to love and the other things that matter most in life, but when we live in His Kingdom-the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus said is now within us-we can see things as He does, get our priorities straight, pull out the stops, and live and love to the full.
13. There are a lot of nice things in life and lots of good things, but none are as good of as important as love!

Let's live to love!

Pray for Emmanuel

Please keep Emmanuel, 20 years old, in your prayers today. He met with an accident (hit and run) in Kulim and is now lying unconcious in the Kulim GH ICU. He needs O+blood type. Please highlght to your friends. He was on the way home from college.
Emmanuel is the son of Bro Elijah who is serving God in the Gideons ministry.
For more information your can email or skype or call us!

You can also forward this blog's link to your friends and loved ones.

The LORD bless you!

Sunday Re Cap (23rd Sept 2007)

Enjoying God; He Enjoys Us!
By Michael Lee

Psa 149:4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

Pleasure (Strong’s)-râtsâh
A primitive root; to be pleased with; specifically to satisfy a debt: - (be) accept (-able), accomplish, set affection, approve, consent with, delight (self), enjoy, (be, have a) favor (-able), like, observe, pardon, (be, have, take) please (-ure), reconcile self.

Oxford Dictionary
Joy, delight, enjoyment, to get pleasure from,

As the LORD takes pleasure in us, we must take pleasure in God. He beautifies us with salvation of not just our souls but in every area that needs His salvation i.e. home, business, ministry, finances.

Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation,

When we greatly rejoice in the LORD, we WILL be clothed with the garments of salvation. We cannot hide it nor can we make it up. The garments come upon us!

When we enjoy God:

1. We have God’s favor. Ps 91, Ps 100
2. We have God’s providence. Abraham enjoyed God enough to give up Isaac and saw the providence of God in providing the sacrifice and in every area of his life. Gen 22:2-14.
3. We have God’s Restoration. Joe 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, God’s restoration of mindsets, a new identity 2 Cor 5:17
4. Our focus will change. 2 Cor 9:7; Mt 6:22; Ps 16:11
5. Restoration of Relationships. When our relationship with God is restored, our relationships with others is restored
   

So let us truly begin to enjoy God as He takes pleasure in us!

Special Meeting

Pastor William Kyagulanyi, Senior Pastor of Miracle Reach Life Church, Nansana, near Kampala, Uganda is an associate of Association of Evangelicals in Africa. He is a man of divine vision with unreserved despair and passion to see communities changed and people set free. Known to be an evangelist, he has a credible reputation in Uganda and other countries.

Sunday Re Cap (16th Sept 2007)

RIGHT BELIEVE RIGHT BEHAVIOR Pt II
by Ps Chris K.

My Dream
Revelation 7:9 (NKJV
Has Revelation 7:9 become your dream?

My Desire
John 14:12 (NKJV)

• He who believes in Jesus.
• He will do the works that Jesus did.
• He will do great works because Holy Spirit living inside of believers.
• Greater in quantity.
  
  

What works did Jesus do?
Matthew 9:35-37 (NKJV)

Leaders go where they want their followers to go. We cannot have our people go to a place where we have not gone. Leaders set the example.

• Cities and Villages
• Teaching and Preaching
• Healing and Driving out demons
• Healing every sickness and every disease among the people
• Compassion for people
• Seeing the people as “Harvest”.
  · Harvest is important. People are important.
  · Harvest is urgent. There is an urgency to bring the people into the Kingdom of God.
  

Jesus gave the same authority and power to the 12 disciples to do the same ministry Jesus did.

Luke 9:1-2 (NKJV); Matthew 10:1 (NKJV)
Jesus gave the same authority and power to the 70 disciples to do the same ministry Jesus did and the 12 did.

Luke 10:1 (NKJV) Luke 10:9 (NKJV) Luke 10:17 (NKJV)
Jesus gave the same authority and power to all disciples, all time, every where to do the same ministry Jesus, the 12 did and the 70 did.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)

• Do we teach the word or experience?
• Do we teach it with words alone or words and action?
• Do we teach everything or something only?

GO

• Make Disciples [Before that you be a disciple first]
• Teaching them to do everything.
  
  

What is the connection between My Dream and My Desire? These nations need to be healed and delivered from demonic oppression. It is we who have been given authority and power and are to go out and do it.

Sunday Re Cap (2nd Sept 2007)

RIGHT BELIEVING LEADS TO RIGHT LIVING
by Ps Samuel Hari

Text: Jer 29:11

God has designed an internal feedback system that we can know moment-by moment if our belief system is aligned to God’s truth; this feedback system is known as our emotions or feelings. These emotional signposts are signals that we may be cherishing a faulty goal based on a wrong belief.

Let me illustrate:

1. Anger signals a blocked goal.

2. Anxiety signals an uncertain goal.

3. Depression signals an impossible goal.

Sometimes depression resulting from impossible goals is related to the wrong concept of God. (Ps 13:1,2). David had a wrong concept of God, feeling that he had been abandoned to the enemy. This wrong concept led him to an impossible goal; overcoming his enemy by his own strength and no wonder, he was depressed! But David did not stay there. He began to focus on what he knew about God v5. The he made a positive expression of his will v6. He willfully moved away from his wrong concept and its accompanying depression and returned to the source of his hope. Also see Ps 43:5

WRONG RESPONSES TO THOSE WHO FRUSTRATE GOALS.
It’s not hard to see why people try to control others. They believe that their self worth is dependent on other people or circumstances. The most insecure people are manipulators and controllers of others. When they cannot control, they become bitter, angry, or resentful.

SO HOW CAN WE TURN BAD GOALS INTO GOOD GOALS?
The only requirement for your success is your response as we say with Mary, “Be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

GOALS VS DESIRES
The secret to achieving God’s goals is learning to distinguish between godly desires from a godly goal. This is critical as it can distinguish between success and failure and inner peace or inner pain.

A GODLY GOAL: a result reflecting God’s purpose that does not depend on people or circumstances. The only one who can block it is you. If we adopt an attitude of cooperation with God, our goals can be reached and we can succeed.

A GODLY DESIRE: a specific result that depends on people or circumstances that you cannot control. You can’t base your self worth and success on it, no matter how godly they are. They can be blocked, uncertain or impossible.

Anger, anxiety and depression comes is and is an indication that a godly desire has been elevated to a godly goal. If a desire is not met, all you face are disappointments and life is full of disappointments! Dealing with disappointments of unmet desires is much easier that dealing with anger, anxiety or depression.

When we align ourselves with God’s goals and our desires as God’s desires, we will rid our lives of anger, anxiety and depression

Problems aren’t a deterrent to our goals. If anything, it ought to strengthen our resolve to press on towards God’s goals! Family problems a great opportunities for us to shine for Christ and be what God wants us to be.

Combine Churches Merdeka Prayer Gathering 2007

Dear GROW Family members

Please take note that there will be no prayer meeting this Wednesday at GROW as we will be attending the Combine Churches prayer meeting at Kulim. Details as follows:

Re: Combine Churches Merdeka Prayer Gathering 2007

Greetings in the matchless Name of Jesus!

On behalf of the Kulim Pastors' Fellowship, we would like to invite you and your church family for a gathering of Christians in conjunction with our 50^th Merdeka Day 2007 (see attached for details).

Date: Wednesday, 29^th August 2007

Time: 8.00 pm

Venue: FGA Centre Kulim

This will purely be a night of prayer, thanksgiving and celebration . As we all know, our nation stands at a very pivotal point in history and how we as Christians respond is going to determine not just our destiny but the destiny of the generations to come. How will they see us and what will they say about us? Were we a people who were so busy building our own kingdom or were we a people who humbled ourselves and prayed and sought the face of our dear Father?

We urge you and encourage you to stand with the whole Body of Christ at this juncture. Let us pray, let us join hands, let us celebrate and see the heavens open and God pour a mighty rain of the Holy Spirit upon our beloved Malaysia!

God bless you and see you there.

Blessed 50^th Merdeka Day!

For His Kingdom,

Ps. Abel Phillips

On behalf of the Kulim Pastors' Fellowship

Re-Cap Sunday (August 26th, 2007)

"How do I get a passion for Jesus?"
Ps. Abel Phillips

Answer: Found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5...to love our God with all of our being. Here is some guidance in how to bring that about from Scripture:

1) Get to know God and what He has done for you. Before the command to love God is given in Deuteronomy 6:5, the statement is made, “Hear O Israel, The LORD our God is one LORD.” One aspect of this statement is that He is unique, and the better we get to know what He is like, the easier it will be for us to love Him with our whole being. This also involves getting to know what He has done for us; again, before the first command is given in Exodus 20:3, God states what He had done for Israel in bringing them out of slavery in Egypt. Likewise, in Romans 12:1-2, the command to offer our lives as living sacrifices is prefaced with the word, “therefore”...a word meant to remind us of all of the mercies of God toward us recorded in the previous chapters.

To grow in love with God, one needs to get to know Him. He has revealed himself in nature (Romans 1) but so much more so through His Word. You need to make daily Bible study a perpetual habit.... Read the Bible as a letter from Him, asking His Holy Spirit to speak to your heart about what He wants you to glean from it that day. Memorize important verses and passages. Think of ways to apply what you learn (Joshua 1:8).

2) Follow Jesus’ example of praying constantly and consistently. When you examine the life of Jesus as well as Daniel and others who had a passion for God, you find that prayer was a vital ingredient in their relationships with God (even a quick reading of the gospels and the Book of Daniel reveals this). As with Bible study, prayer (sincere and open communication with God) is also essential. Prayer is part of the armor against our greatest enemies (Ephesians 6:18). We may have a desire to love God, but we will fail in our walk without this ingredient (Matthew 26:41).

3) Walk closely with Him NOW. Daniel and his three friends chose to obey God and refused to compromise in even the food they ate (Daniel 1). In order to ensure that we will be passionate for God later, we need to walk with Him now and begin to obey Him in the smaller tests! Peter learned this the hard way by following God “at a distance” rather than identifying himself more closely with Christ before his temptation to deny Him (Luke 22:54.). God says that where a man’s treasure is, there his heart will be also. As we invest our life in God through serving Him and being on the receiving end of persecution for Him, our treasure will increasingly lie with Him...and so will our heart (2 Timothy 3:12; Matthew 6:21, 1 Jn 1:5-10, Ps 24:4-6).

4) Eliminate the competition. Jesus said it is impossible to have two masters (Matthew 6:24). We are tempted to love the world (those things which please our eyes, make us feel good about ourselves, and gratify our fleshly desires) (1 John 2:15-17). James says that to seek to embrace the world and its friendship is enmity (hatred) toward God and spiritual adultery (James 4:4). We need to get rid of those things in our lives (friends who would lead us the wrong way, things that take up our time and energy and keep us from the serving God more fully, pursuit of popularity, pursuit of possessions, and the pursuit of physical and emotional wants). God promises that if we pursue after Him, He will not only provide for our needs (Matthew 6:33) but will give us our desires as well (Psalm 37:4-5).

5) If straying, begin to do what helped you grow in love with God in the first place. It is not uncommon to have dips in a relationship. Peter dipped in his (Luke 22:54.). David dipped in his (2 Samuel 11), but they got up and pursued after God once again. John, in Revelation 2:4, states it is not a case of “losing” one’s love but “leaving” one’s love. The cure is to do the “first works,” those things that caused one to grow in love with God in the first place.

May God bless you in your pursuit of a passion for Him and may He glorify His name through you.

Sunday Re-cap 12th August 2007

The True Worshipper
Ps. Abednego / Indonesia

Solomon was a great worshipper and had abundance of the anointing of God. God was pleased with him because he did not ask for riches or wealth but for wisdom to rule the people. (1 Kings 3:7 -30). God made him great and he enjoyed many blessings. But Solomon didn’t continue in the anointing because he put his wives before him instead of God.

2 Chronicles 7:14-18- Solomon was special in God’s eyes and God established his throne upon the generations of Solomon to reign as kings. Solomon begun by walking upright but his walk was not consistent.

1 King 11:1-6 He took many wives. He chose to love his wives more and his heart was not full of God and he disobeyed God.

God wants to raise a new generation who is different from other generations but Solomon failed. God’s plan never failed and no one can stop the plans and visions of God.

Joel 2:1-2 – The present day generation that God wants to raise. This generation will be strong and the last generation that comes out of the present day of darkness.
We cannot be Christians who are only bench warmers but we have to be like a “live fish”- going against the currents (being on guard and walking according the will of God).

Ps. 100:3 – A strong army who love the word of God

Solomon had this opportunity but he failed. Now God wants to pour out His vision upon our lives – the last generation who will be victorious. Not like the Israelites in the wilderness but our journey is from the wilderness to the Promised land, Canaan. Prepare yourself to enter with God’s power and wisdom. The church will show the blessings of God to the world.

Rev 6:5-6 & Ps.37:17-19 – Days of great famine but those covered with the blood of Jesus will not be affected but they shall be satisfied.

We have to understand these are the end times and not miss out on God’s outpouring for there will never be a generation like ours.
So let’s open up our hearts to the will and vision of God and be a true worshipper.

The gospel for everybody

The gospel for everybody
by John Fischer

Heaven is going to be full of little brown birds.

That's according to Bill who wrote me after last week's Catches about sparrows: "I am avid about backyard birds and have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to feed the cardinals and blue jays, without attracting all the house finches and sparrows. One day I realized that I am one of the little brown birds in God’s human flock and that changed my attitude. I now thoroughly enjoy feeding all of the birds that show up in my yard."

This is a great metaphor for what we so often get wrong about the gospel. We say the gospel is for everybody, but we don't necessarily mean it. We like to associate with pretty people, upwardly mobile people -- attractive types who give a good face on what we believe. We also like to associate with people who are like us -- people of the same race, same economic status, same political beliefs, who send their kids to the same schools. We gravitate towards sameness and find comfort in the familiar.

But the gospel of Jesus Christ is big and wide and messy. It is for everyone, even people we don't like. It is for those on both sides of the tracks -- those we admire and those we would rather not associate with.

Most of all it is for sinners like us, and that's what we all have in common.

Remember the parable Jesus told about the kingdom of heaven being like a rich man who threw a wedding banquet, but the invited guests all had excuses why they couldn't come? So the master said to his servants, "The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see." (Matthew 22:8-9)

Everyone you see? There is no discrimination here. That's a pretty daring and dangerous proposition. No telling what kind of vermin such an open-ended invitation might turn up! And I'm sure it has done so, because, lo and behold, it turned up me.

The spreading of the gospel and the growing of the church is very much like Bill's experience with his backyard birds. Put the message out and welcome all who come to feed.

Let's Worship HIM!

Sunday Re Cap (5th August 2007)

Breaking the Power of The Past IV
by Ps Samuel Hari

Key Scriptures:
Exo 20:3-6 ; Mar 3:33-35

Jesus gave us a pattern of breaking away from our old genealogy and connecting ourselves to the new!

Mar 12:30-31 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment. (31) And the second [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

1Jn 3:18 Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity). Amp

1Jn 3:18 Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. 19 It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord,NLT

Now that we understand that one of the key ways we break the power of the past is to identify with our new family, what do we do to maintain and strengthen these covenant bonds? Obviously, we are a new family and it doesn’t happen automatically.

What are the key elements?

1. Fellowship 1 John 1:7

2. Endeavoring

• Eph 4:3 (Make every effort, always keep yourselves). Bearing with one another in love. Love covers a multitude of sins.
• 1Pe 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
• 1 Pet 4:8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 10 God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you.
  

3. Stir up the gifts, provoke the love.

• Heb 10:24 Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.
  

4. Do forsake the gathering together.

• Heb 10:25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.
  

5. Esteeming one another. Phil 2:3

Sunday Re-cap 29 July 2007

Right Belief Produces Right Behaviour
Ps. Christopher K

What is my belief concerning:
1. My Calling
2. My Dream / Vision
3. My Desire

Matt 16: 13 -20 Jesus was a misunderstood man. “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

What is my Calling?
My calling is “I am a son of God”. Whatever belongs to the Father belongs to the sons.
A son has the same vision, passion and work of the Father. Know you are God’s son and live like one, Work where the Father is already working.

Gal 3:26- For we are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. Sons are not passive but active in doing the will of God and His work.

Are you a son or servant?
Pray against the slave mentality and live as a son.
We do proclaim that we are sons but unaccomplished work that we do shows that we
are servants. All your dreams should be focused to glorify God the Father.

Father’s desire - Rev 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands

Make right with the Father first before we can make right with men. Having the right
relationship with God the Father.

Matt 21:28-31 – The parable of the Two Sons – There are those who say they will do the
Father’s work but don’t do. The Father’s desire is to see the son willing, careful and cheerful in doing what the Lord wants him to do – share His love to others.

So church lets have the right belief that we are sons of God and we are greatly loved, highly favoured and wonderfully blessed

Sunday Re cap (22nd July 2007)

Breaking The Power of the Past-Part III
by Ps Samuel Hari

The New Birth into a Spiritual Family

Jesus described becoming a Christian as a new birth (John 3:3-5). 2 Cor 5:17

We become a new creation when we receive the nature of God which recreates a new spirit in us causing us to be a new species among men.

The NT describes becoming a Christian as a spiritual rebirth through which we are adopted into a new family. Rom 8:14-19; Gal 4:1-9; Mark 3:33-35.

In fact, family is the most significant metaphor used to describe the church.

Adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other than the birth parents. Adoption results in the severing of the parental responsibilities and rights of the biological parents and the placing of those responsibilities and rights onto the adoptive parents.

The critical factor that most significantly determines my new identity as a Christian and character is not the blood of my biological family but the blood of Jesus. Mat 10:37

The NT world is unable to imagine a healthy family life apart from a healthy church life!
The question then is, why isn’t this happening? We are different from the world yet, on another level, we are pretty much the same?

The Importance Of Process.
The Word of God is a seed. All truth comes in seed form. What we do with the seed after it is planted will determine whether it will bear fruit for us.

We also need to realize (revelation) that we are no longer under the old genealogy.

We are not recipients of our old family nature, character; we are recipients of our new family.

Our reparenting process includes coming to church every week to learn and practice this new set of values and culture. It’s like migrating to another country.

• Our covenant with our heavenly father is directly related to our covenant with one another. 1 Jn 4:20-21; 1 Jn 1:7
• Our mission in this world is directly related to our covenant with one another. Jn 17:20-23
• Our life, health, prosperity, growth is directly related to our covenant with one another. 3 Jn 2, Eph 4:16
  
  

The Passion Of Christ. Why was The LORD in anguish in the garden of Gethsemane? Christ passion in fellowship with the Father! The pain of separation from the Father was the hardest thing for our LORD. He expects us to have such passion for one another! Heb 10:24-24

When we don’t forgive, we are going back to the old genealogy. When we are offended, we are going back to the old genealogy. The idolatrous genealogy!

Whenever we come together i.e. Cell Group, Prayer Meeting, and hold hands and pray, we are re-affirming our new genealogy. We are being reparented; we are walking through the process. We are declaring that we are no longer under the old family, we are under the new. The most powerful statement is coming to the LORD’S Table together.

We are one family. The family of God, where God is now our Father. We have a new genealogy. We are blessed for a thousand generations! We are healthy, spiritually, emotionally, financially.

Sunday Re Cap (15th July 2007)

Breaking the Power of the Past- Part II
by Samuel Hari

Click here to listen tho this message.

II. Discerning the Major Influences in your life

Events and people have impacted who I am today and will help me understand “what makes me tick.

• David-family influence, Saul, wilderness influence.
• Joseph-family influence, slave, prisoner, prime minister.
• Children of Israel-family, community, wilderness, conquest.
  
  

Q. What are a few events or people that have impacted who I am today, that will help me understand “what makes me tick”?

1. Sickness in the family/personal health/personality.
2. Traumatic Experience in workplace/loss of job/finances
3. Failed marriage/divorce/infidelity/betrayal.
4. Racism/Favoritism/Partiality.
5. Breakdown of trust in church leadership-church splits, character/trust issues.
   

Not all of the above are negative but some can be very positive traits.

Is it really important?
Some have mentioned that “we have been redeemed from the curse”. Jesus has broken every curse. It’s true. However, why do we still behave in the same way? Why is there no change in the way we responds to certain things in exactly the same way as we were when we were born again? We are in the process of growth in our emotions. i.e. when we go through a difficult issue at work, we just bind and curse and hope for the best; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t; when there’s sickness, lack, we pray in tongues and quote scriptures and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Why? Then we either get disillusion or blame God or run after another speaker or church or conference that claims to have the answer!
Yes we have been redeemed! No doubt about that. But what did God redeem us for? 1 Thess 5:23; Acts 20:32. He is far more interested in the building of our character, emotions, maturity in and through the process than simply giving us the answer. Heb 6:12. When we were children in Christ, we got milk. We cannot go on with milk but need other nutrients, exercises for the growth of our character/emotion and faith. 1 Cor 3:2; Heb 5:12-13.
If we don’t learn in the process, we will face it again and again because God is far more interested in us learning and growing than just giving us answers.

“Sometimes instead of giving us answers, He gives us Himself”.

We get a picture of Him, what He did for us; take communion and reflect if you don’t understand. Pray in the spirit to get understanding and to be aware of His presence. Then we actually start valuing the process instead of complaining. Js 1:2-4. God’s desire is that we may be perfect and complete, LACKING NOTHING!

What is the alternative? We are spiritually one mile wide and emotionally one inch deep. And keep coming back to the same mountain and sometimes for generations.


Proverbs 16:32 says - "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

Proverbs 25:28 says - "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls."

Sunday Re Cap (8th July 2007)

Breaking the Power of The Past-Part 1
by Ps Samuel Hari

Click here to listen

Read Ex 20:5-6
God punishes the sin of the Fathers to the third and fourth generations. Are there things in the past that are hindering us from fulfilling God's purposes and destiny for our lives?
Like everyone in the human race, we are descendants of Adam and Eve. Their intent after they disobeyed was to shield and defend themselves from God and one another. This aim of protecting ourselves from God and others manifest in different ways-controlling, fixing (repairing, damage control, destructive maintenance), fear, withdrawing, ignoring, denying, pacifying, or in conflict, loneliness, anxiety, frustration, resentment, blaming and more.

Ex: How did our parents/family resolve conflicts? Anger, denial, withdrawal?
“It is impossible to help people break free from their past apart from understanding the families in which they grew up.”

King David & His Family
Three themes surface from generation to generation in David’s family.
Theme 1: Having a Heart for God.
David compromises his relationship with God by committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband. This decision reverberates through his family and nation of Israel for generations. His son Solomon’s heart is described as not fully devoted to God. He mixes worship of the God of Israel with the worship of gods of the nations around him. By the third generation, this decline in spirituality reaches the bottom. Solomon’s son Rehoboam ignores the God of Israel and engages in idolatry and detestable practices of other nations.
Theme 2: Sexual Sin
David collects wives. Commits adultery with Bathsheba. His oldest son Ammon rapes his half sister Tamar and disgraces her forever. Solomon who carries on further the sexual sins of his father by accumulating 700 wives and three hundred concubines. Solomon’s son Rehoboam has 18 wives and 60 concubines. It was an act of rebellion against God’s commandments. (Deut 17:17).
Theme 3: Family Division and sibling rivalry
David had some tension with His brother (1 Sam 16-17). His son Absalom murders Ammon in revenge for raping his sister. The family is divided as a result. Absalom grows bitter and proclaims himself as king, conquering Jerusalem. Solomon’s son Rehoboam carries this pattern even further as his family disintegrates. Finally the once united 12 tribes of Israel split into a northern kingdom with 10 tribes and a southern kingdom with 2 tribes. The split family is eventually carried into exile.
Sin is passed on from generation to generation.
“Unless we grasp the power of the past on who we are in the present, we will inevitably replicate those patterns in relationships inside and outside the church.”

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Their generational blessings reach even down to us. However, their sins and emotional maturity also passed from generation to generation.
Again three patterns emerge:
Pattern 1: Lying
Evident in all four generations and even increases in intensity with every generation. Fearful, Abraham lies twice about Sarah, denying that she’s his wife. Rebecca and Isaac’s life is also dominated by lies and trickery (Gen 27).
Jacob increases the level of manipulation by lying consistently to almost everyone with whom he is in relationship. In fact his very name means “deceiver”. By the 4th generation, 10 of Jacob’s sons fake the death of their younger brother Joseph. They even go through the motions of a wake, funeral and a time of mourning to maintain such a lie.
Pattern 2: Favorite Child
Abraham favors Ishmael, but Sarah wants him removed from the family.
Isaac favors Esau and wants him to receive to receive the powerful family blessings.
Jacob favors Joseph and later Benjamin.
Pattern 3: Sibling Rivalry and Relational cutoff
Isaac and Ishmael-this division and tension continue till today in the Middle East between the Arabs and the Jews.
Esau and Jacob become open enemies once Jacob steals Esau’s blessings.
Finally, Joseph is cut off from his 10 older brothers for most of his adult life.

Conclusion: The sins of the fathers often intensify and remain for generations even when we are believers. We cannot cover up these areas by being “more spiritual”. There are areas of our lives that need to be confronted and dealt with by the power of the Holy Spirit if we are willing to be honest and open. The result is Emotional Maturity, Unity and Breakthrough Living!

Baptism-1st July 2007

Praise God for the 9 blessed members who were baptised and the family members who were there to welcome them!
To God be the GLORY!

Audio For Daniel J Message

Please take note that Daniel's message is now available on audio.

Please go the following link to listen.

Sunday Re Cap 24th June 2007