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YOUR ASSIGNMENT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT…

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Soul Winning, tagged call, call of god, choose, chosen, christian, church, Craig Anderson, God's Love, inc, international network of churches, love, passion, passion for the lost, pay the cost, pay the price, plenty valley church, set apart, the call, the call of God on July 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

LOVE REACHES OUT #4PM

YOUR ASSIGNMENT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT…

MY GOD STORY

I was not found in church growing up. I had no knowledge of the gospel. When I was twenty and studying at uni, we had a team of people from the church I am now part of come to the uni and perform some musical items and someone preached. A friend, who was studying in my course, was a Christian and he was connected to this church. When they invited me to come along I considered the invitation and decided to go to the church that coming Sunday night. As I arrived with my friend from uni I was amazed at the size of the church (about 700 people) and the friendliness of the people. I saw other amazing things. People were healed and fell over under the power of the Holy Spirit. Others told their story of how God had set them free from alcoholism, drug addiction and broken marriages. There was something going on here!

At the conclusion of the service an appeal was made for people to respond and give their lives to Christ. Although moved and compelled, I resisted as it seemed too hard for my mind to accept it all so quickly. Later a wise person said to me, “Just pray and ask Jesus to show Himself to you. If He’s real then you will know, if He’s not real nothing will happen and you can get on with the rest of your life.”

Sounded reasonable to me; so I set about asking Jesus to show Himself to me over that next week. Well some things happened. Prayers got answered and as I considered if God was real, I thought that if He was real, then I believed He would be healing people and restoring marriages as I had seen.

The next Sunday I went back to the same church with my girlfriend with me; and I received Jesus as my Lord and saviour! A new life had begun! I was born again. Over the next little while I joined the youth street work team and began to share my faith with others. The training opened my eyes to understand the reality of heaven and hell. It was frightening to consider the horror of hell. I became more passionate about reaching lost people. My girlfriend (who is now my wife) and I served in children’s ministry then teens group, then after about three years I began working on staff as youth leader. For me there was a very deep sense of being saved from a Christless eternity, and a gratitude for being saved. I wanted to give my whole life to Christ and serve Him forever because of what He had done for me.

Has this love of God gripped your life? Are you apprehended by God for something greater? Are you called? Do you say like Paul, “My life is not my own.”

Matt 20:16 So those who [now] are last will be first [then], and those who [now] are first will be last [then]. ^[a]For many are called, but few chosen.(AMP)

John 15:16 You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as ^[b]presenting all that I Am], He may give it to you.(AMP)

There is a call from God, and there is a response from you. How will you respond? In the parable of the marriage feast the servant goes out to ask who will attend the supper but many refuse to attend, finally the host says to the servant, go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be full. (Luke 14:16-24.)

Has the saviour called you? How have you responded? When God has touched your heart with His great love you are marked forever. This world cannot offer the peace and the joy that serving Him can give. All this world has is temporal and will one day pass away, but what is eternal will endure forever.

With His love on board you see the world differently. Ezek 9:4 And the Lord said to him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in the midst of it.(AMP) How do you see your city?

When you’re called, you have a one track mind – God’s purpose, His kingdom comes first at all times. Nothing puts you off the glorious task of serving Jesus and winning lost people to Christ. I love the single mindedness of Paul in this story in Acts 21:10-14. ¹⁰ While we were remaining there for some time, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

¹¹ And coming to [see] us, he took Paul’s belt and with it bound his own feet and hands and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit: The Jews at Jerusalem shall bind like this the man who owns this belt, and they shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles (heathen).

¹² When we heard this, both we and the residents of that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³ Then Paul replied, What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart like this? For I hold myself in readiness not only to be arrested and bound and imprisoned at Jerusalem, but also [even] to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁴ And when he would not yield to [our] persuading, we stopped [urging and imploring him], saying, The Lord’s will be done! (AMP)

Paul knows what he’s called to. The prophet was right, and Paul would indeed be bound in Rome for the gospel, but did not interpret the prophecy to mean don’t go. He had a higher purpose. He intended to take the gospel to the heart of the empire! What are you called to?

Don’t choose Role or title, choose to serve – choose to go for souls. Choose to place yourself under a teacher or mentor or coach who will help you grow. We Australians have a very independent mindset. It’s unhelpful and anti-biblical. It stems from our nations roots in growing out of a penal colony where there was a disrespect for all in authority. You will need to push that aside if you intend to be a disciple.

Consider the call of God for your life. To what are you called? Can you see the plight of the unsaved in your world and ask what can I do about it? Would you lay down your life for God and His great passion – to reach people with the gospel?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How do you know if you are called

2. Can you be called and not be called to a ministry such as pastor teacher etc?

3. Is your life and the result of your years to be more than just family job and pleasure?

4. What do you believe you are called to do for God?

5. What is your next step in your mission?

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WHAT DO I SAY?

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Soul Winning, tagged christian, church, Craig Anderson, gospel, Holy Spirit, inc, international network of churches, jesus, Led by the spirit, love, non churched, passion for the lost, plenty valley church, PRAYER, preach the gospel, reaching out, salvation, soul winning, unsaved, Urban Connect Group, winning the lost, witnessing on July 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »

LOVE REACHES OUT #3AM

What do I say?

Right through this year we have been sharing about God’s love. It’s the biggest subject of all! We have been made aware of His loving kindness, His intense desire to forgive, restore, heal and bless those in covenant with Him. That’s you, if you have bowed you heart and your knee to Jesus Christ. But this great love isn’t just for those who currently know Him. The harvest is ripe Jesus said, and we must go out into the highways and byways and tell them of His love.¹ Listen, what if no one bothered to tell you? Then where would you end up? Yes, just like anyone who has not turned to Jesus with all their heart; you would be lost for all eternity in hell.

Week one we shared about the reality of heaven and hell. The stark cold hard facts about the horror of hell must surely motivate us to do all we can to save others from the fire.² As the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon said “If you care not that others are not saved, then you are not saved, be sure of that.” ³

Week two Rhys shared about the great obsession – a love for Christ so large we can’t help share it. His passion for the lost was very evident. Today I want to answer the question – What do I say? What is it that we are to share with others about Jesus? How must one convey the gospel? – I’m glad you asked….

The first thing is that we must have a heart for the lost. I have been praying much for us that God will pour out His fire upon us and He did to the early church.⁴ Having a heart for the lost is the most sensible thought you will ever have. After all if you have been saved from a burning building, wouldn’t you want to save others if you are able?

Secondly we must be led by the Spirit. Listen to Jesus’ advice the day He departed from the disciples and leave them with the task of filling the whole earth with this message: Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.(NLT) So often in our insecurity we worry about what to say. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I don’t know the answers to tough questions? This insecurity is out of place. If you were about to rescue someone from a burning building, would you worry about what to say? There are no end of methods employed by people. So many tracts, formulas and so called fool proof methods about how to witness; but Jesus said when you receive the Holy Spirit, then you will be my witnesses. So church, be led by the spirit. What does that mean? Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you; then when you are with people, say what comes to your heart. The more you do this the more you will learn what His voice sounds like.

Here is some great wisdom.

Share your God story. We used to call it your testimony, but that word seems old fashioned now. This is your story about what Jesus means to you. It’s the story of how you know Jesus is real and/or what He has done for you. Never be ashamed of your story. It is your eyewitness account and it’s irrefutable! Some people may say they don’t believe the bible but very few people will ever say to you that they don’t believe your story.
Ask questions. Ask people, “What do you think about Jesus?” or “Why don’t people go to church?” Then Listen. Really Listen. You value people when you listen to them. Then they will give you permission to speak to them and they will listen. Listen for the personal stories. When people share their pain, you know you’re on the right track. They are opening up. You care about them and you have the answer! Jesus is always the answer.
What is the Gospel message? In one word – Jesus. In one sentence: Jesus died for you. In one brief explanation it is this: God is Holy. That means He is perfect in every way, without any sin or wrong doing. Also He is just and that means He must make a judgement to punish any and all wrong doing. Imagine if an earthly judge were to let someone off from murder because they had done good things as well. It’s unthinkable, and so we see that God being good and just must punish us also for the wrongs we have committed. Romans 3:23 says we have all sinned and come short of the glory (standard) of God. And further more Romans 6:23 says the wages (or the penalty) of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life. But God so loved mankind that He sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, to die in our place, instead of us so that our penalty would be carried by another. At his point it’s helpful to share a metaphor – a story in modern context to illustrate how this works. – For example. Say you went through a red light and you received a ticket in the mail and your fine was $300. But you don’t have the money, and so you might be forced to go to gaol. Then I come over to your house and I notice the ticket and I take a note of the number. Later I call the Police or Fines Victoria and pay the fine for you without you knowing. Later again, you call the Police and ask is there any way to pay off the fine and you are told, “No, it’s paid! Someone called Craig came and paid the fine for you. You’re free to go. Now you’re happy! You were guilty and you didn’t pay. Craig was innocent of that crime and he did pay. It’s like that with Jesus. Repentance is an old fashioned word that means a change of mind. A person must have a change of mind first before they can believe in Jesus. They must change from saying, “I don’t need God.” to “I am a sinner and I need God’s forgiveness.” There must be a realisation that I can’t make it on my own. Without Jesus I am done for. This realisation is a free gift of God as a revelation and is granted to people in order that they can believe. We must pray for people we are sharing with, that God will touch them with His grace and give them this gift. The message of the gospel must include the advice that only by faith can this free gift of salvation be received. A person must believe that Jesus died for them and that He rose again.⁵ When a person has changed their mind, then encourage them to believe that Jesus died for them, and lead them in a prayer surrendering to Jesus. The words are not as crucial as the intent of their heart to leave the old life and come to Jesus and begin a new life.
In general sharing with others may graduate through these various kinds of communication:
1. Use teasers. For example, drop into a conversation statements like, “My pastor is a tremendous communicator.” Or “Have you ever wondered how some people can be so evil like these ones that shot down the Malaysian plane?” or “No I can’t go to that event on Sunday, I’m going to the most exciting place in town.”
2. Give the gift of prayer. “Can I pray for you?” Whenever a person shares a problem or trouble or pain, then ask this very innocuous question.
3. Use tracts. There’s one we have given out to day and it’s also available on the website and the face book page.
4. Use an invitation card. Be inventive and use those in lots of different ways.
5. Tell your God story. Tell it often, tell it in short and long forms.
6. Share the gospel message as outlined above.

Next month we will be sharing about prayer. It is so very important to pray for your lost friends and loved ones. It is God’s work of the Holy Spirit to draw people to the Father. Yet here must be a preacher to communicate His message. This month is all about communicating this message and next month will be about praying for them.

How are these messages affecting you? You are either moved or unmoved. I am praying for you and for myself that God moves us to reach this community around us because the majority of them are truly lost. Will you join me?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Does the plight of lost people get to you?

2. Have you ever felt like you were not getting through to someone? What can you do about that?

3. How much are you relying on the Holy Spirit to assist you?

4. Still it does take a long time for some; right?

5. How much is God’s work and how much is our work?

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EVERY WORD IS A SEED

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Soul Winning, tagged Answers, Belief, christian, church, Craig Anderson, EVANGELISM, Fire, fire of god, inc, international network of churches, love, LOVE REACHES OUT, love the lost, passion, passion for the lost, plenty valley church, SEED, SEEDS on July 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

LOVE REACHES OUT #2PM

EVERY WORD A SEED

In 1996 Two members of this church and I travelled to China to preach the gospel. It was my second trip to China. That was a tough job as we didn’t speak Chinese. But we had thousands and thousands of gospel tracts. So as we went from city to city doing what was illegal in that country, we placed tracts in letterboxes, on car windshields, on top of walls, in bicycle carry baskets etc. until we got rid of about 5000 every night. Then one night we got caught, the police interrogated us and detained us under house arrest in our shabby motel for two days. Finally they deported us with stern warnings.

Still in spite of being caught we distributed multi thousands of gospel messages in the language of the readers. I wonder how many people read a tract and heard the gospel and found Jesus Christ? In China today, this is what is happening: The Nation has 1.3 billion people living there, The Christian population of this strongly communist nation is approximately 12% or 163 million. There are now more Christians in China than in the United States, and the growth rate is 5% per annum.

EVERY WORD IS A SEED

VIDEO TESTIMONY – JULIE MELLOR

When you leave a bible, a tract, a testimony, a conversation with someone who is not saved; it is a seed and that seed has power to grow.

EVERY WORD, EVERY ACT OF KINDNESS IS A SEED.

Mark 4:26-29

²⁶Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. ²⁸The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. ²⁹And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

One night in Brisbane we were witnessing on the street and we approached an aboriginal man who unleashed a tirade of swear words at us. Just then two plain clothes police came along and arrested him for indecent language and took him away. We could have thought that that was strange and the event was over, nothing was accomplished. However one of our team, Brian, was of aboriginal decent and he happened to come across this man some weeks later and asked, “What was all that about?” The first man explained that his four year old son had just died and he felt anger and pain and blamed God. Brian explained what we were trying to say that Jesus is the answer to this kind of pain and this man received Christ as his Lord and saviour. Sometimes your attempts to share your faith may seem fruitless, but every word is a seed and it may bear fruit later.

Drop seeds into conversations, if people react negatively don’t feel you have to argue the point. Spend time with hungry open people. If people are belligerent and offensive just keep the conversations brief and do acts of kindness.

My neighbour across the street was resistant to the gospel, I began sharing with him 12 years ago. He followed a religion practiced by Native American Indians. I would take him meals my wife had cooked. Sometimes I went over and mowed his lawn. He would get mad and say stop mowing my lawn and try and pay me back with a box of chocolates. So when I knew he was away I would mow his lawn anyway. If he never came to Christ I would still love and serve him – it would not matter if he thought I was just a sucker doing his work for him; to me it was a seed of love. However recently when he became very sick we visited him in hospital and shared the gospel with him. We prayed for his healing and he also prayed to receive Jesus as his saviour. His response was amazing!

EVERY WORD, EVERY ACT OF KINDNESS IS A SEED.

In my very first outreach I organised as a new Christian, I ran a coffee night at uni where I was studying. It was a Friday night and I had about half a dozen Christian friends from church come along and we served free coffee to students and shared our faith with them. At the end of the night I was a bit disappointed as no one seemed to get saved. Being a new Christian I was really into instant results!! Later as I was chatting to one of the friends from Church, Vincent Bonici, He said he had prayed with a guy called Rob and led him to Christ. Get an address? No! How can I find him to help him grow in God? I don’t know God will look after him I guess. I was a bit annoyed. All I knew was Rob was a mechanical Engineering student and he was Malaysian born. I waited outside the Mechanical Engineering building every lunchtime for weeks to try and catch someone who looked like Rob. Guess what? I found him! Later he came to church. Now he’s an INC pastor in Adelaide Hills. But the story doesn’t end there!

Rob led a friend to Christ who is Mark Hands, later Mark became part of our youth ministry in Brisbane (as did Rob) and later again Mark became the principal of one of the INC Christian schools and now has a Christian business and coaching ministry at the Gold Coast. Mark led Andrew to Christ who became a big part of our youth ministry in Brisbane also. These are just the ones we know about….. I wonder who has been saved and touched by God’s love through all these people who have experienced major life change because of the coffee night that I thought wasn’t very successful.

EVERY WORD, EVERY ACT OF KINDNESS IS A SEED.

What are you going to do this week to reach out to people who need Jesus?

Sometimes we have all given up trying to share about Jesus because we got a negative response or we just thought it’s all too hard. One time I when I was new Christian I drove past a man who I knew was a father of my school mate loading up a trailer with furniture at his office. I heard he was going bankrupt. It was midnight and I was tired and I sped off home. God prompted me to go back and tell him Jesus loved him, but I was too tired and it was late. The next day he committed suicide! It took me a long time and many tears to get over that one.

Listen to the Holy Spirit and try real hard to obey Him.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Have you ever felt like giving up when it comes to sharing your faith?
Have you ever thought your sharing about Jesus was a complete waste of time?
After hearing some of these stories and learning about seeds from God’s word do you think any differently now?
Will this change the way you approach sharing your faith?
Did you ever think how many lost opportunities you have missed?

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SLIDING ATTENDANCES

Posted in Church, Culture Watch, tagged christian, church, church attendance, church membership, Craig Anderson, find yourself in church, going to church, inc, international network of churches, jesus, plenty valley church, sliding attendances, sunday church, who's in church? on July 7, 2014| Leave a Comment »

SLIDING ATTENDANCES

Going to church certainly looks different now compared to what it used to be years ago! Here’s the latest outlook for Australian church going at the moment.

From the McCrindle Research team – The proportion of Australians identifying Christianity as their religion has been declining over the last century – from 96% in 1911 to 61.1% in the 2011 Census. Over the last decade, Christianity in Australia has declined from 68% to 61.1%. And while the latest Census (2011) results show that Christianity is the religion with which most Australians identify (61.1%), well above the second most popular religion in Australia, Buddhism (2.5%), less than one in seven of the Australians who ticked “Christianity” on their census form regularly attend a church. Australia has more churches (13,000) than schools (9,500), but only 8% of Australians attend a church service each week. Although Easter is a time of the year when church attendance increases, we see that many who say that they are Christians do not attend church.[4] Therefore for every Australian who nominates Christianity as their religious identity, just 1 in 8 (12.5%) of these participate in attendance activity (that’s monthly or more). The reasons are outlined in this graphic.[5]

The decline in church attendance that has occurred in Australia over the past few decades is explained in the following chart which tracks the religious journeys of Australians. While around 1 in 4 were not raised as religious and still are not, and just over 1 in 4 were raised in a religious household and still are, the largest group of all (29%) are the “not now religious” category who were shaped in a religious household but are themselves not religious.

CHURCH ATTENDANCE DECLINING BUT STILL SIGNIFICANT:

National Church Life Survey (NCLS) data shows that over the last four decades the proportion of Australians attending church at least once per month has more than halved from 36% (1972) to 13% currently. However this is still a significant proportion of the Australian population and indeed twice as many Australians attend church at least once per month (3.495m) as attend all AFL, NRL, A League and Super Rugby games combined per month (1.684m) during the football season.[1]

A survey of 1718 Australians, conducted by the Christian Research Association at the end of 2009, found that 16 per cent attended a religious service at least once a month, compared with 23 per cent in 1993.[2]

In 2014 Roy Morgan Research announced that they had surveyed 4840 Australians between October and December 2013 to poll religious affiliation, and found that 52.6% of Australians were Christian, while 37.6% had no religion.[3]

From NCLS research:

THE OTHER TREND

The other trend in attendances is that regular attenders are coming less regularly. For example the percentage who attend weekly is dropping and the percentage who attend fornightly or once every three or four weeks is rising. This trend has shown up continuously over the lat 15 years. No doubt the busyness of people’s lifestyles and activity has led to “committed Christians” being part of a church but only coming once, twice or three times a month instead of weekly or even twice a week which might have been the norm in the 70’s and 80’s.

FROM MY CHRISTIAN DAILY [7]

Quote. “It’s not that fewer total members attend church. They just don’t attend as often,” explained an associate pastor of a church where attendance has dipped.

This phenomenon reflects a change in what Christians mean when they say they’re “regular” church attenders. Not long ago, that meant attending church three or four times a month, and certainly half the time. Now, it can mean showing up once a month or even once every six weeks. This poses multiple challenges for churches.

The deepest is spiritual growth. That’s not to say a Christians cannot mature spiritually on her own. But as with other disciplines, Christians excel in the company of others. When church members skip small group and worship, they miss out on opportunities to be challenged and inspired – and mutually encouraged.

The writer of Hebrews provides wise counsel:

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another …” (10:23-25).

Other challenges are practical: Many Christians do not give when they do not attend, so budgets suffer when folks skip church. This can have a big impact on how the local church can provide staff and services and cover building costs.

Also, churches run on volunteers, and when members don’t attend, operating vital programs and ministries is difficult, if not impossible. And don’t forget morale. Empty pews are depressing.

Members miss church for myriad reasons. You know them. They range from kids’ sports, to work, to aging parents’ health, to the lure of leisure. But the bottom line is assembling together at church isn’t the priority it once was.

So, what do we do?

Guilting people back into the pews won’t work. In fact, it’s more likely to drive them further away.

Entertaining them isn’t the answer, either. If attendance depends upon entertainment, then it will slide faster. Churches shouldn’t even see themselves as competing with big media presentation or Hollywood or major sporting events, however consumers are used to a high level of impact in the visual sensory media.

Several approaches come to mind:

Help parents to think about the example they set for their own children. Let’s face it, our kids will end up living the life we set by example for them. We communicate values to them, not by what we say, but by what we do. As our children are growing up if we are only in church monthly due to sport, visiting, grandma, doing the yard, a day at the beach etc. etc. then what we are communicating to them is that God’s House and worshipping with God’s people is less important than all those other things that you as a family do on the weekends. Later when they grow to become teenagers they will more than likely make a choice not to attend church at all because they see no value in it. The tragic results of this poor choice of values is that our kids may not make it to heaven because we did not live out the values we once held to. It’s true that following Jesus is more than attending church, however, it’s all about who you associate with. If you hang out at children’s ministry, then church youth group, then young adult’s ministry; you’re probably going to form friendships and alliances with people who have godly values and aspirations. Or would you rather all your kids form strong friendship groups with non-Christian secular and humanistic groups and learn their values?
Make the links for members high value. Coming to a service might be the obvious connection, but so is attending a small group, or being part of a regular business breakfast etc. Whatever connection a person makes, endeavour to facilitate discipleship within that context so that the member keeps growing in their walk with Christ. If giving is not normally a part of that connection then be intentional about helping them to see that value and give either on line or through an app or donation page so that their faith in giving is following a growth pattern also. If families are working Sunday and are time poor then other ways of connecting can be provided and valued.
Feed aspirations. The reason many people say they attend church more often than they actually do is because they want to attend more often. (See the first part of this article) Affirm that aspiration. Call people to a higher spiritual level – not because you want them there, but because God has placed that desire in their hearts. Help them see their longing is God’s way of loving them, drawing them close.
Think outside the (Sunday morning) box. Provide other options for “being” church besides parking in the same lot and converging on the same building for one or two hours every Sunday. Create and bless other times and places and opportunities for church members to assemble to study the Bible, pray, fellowship, worship and minister.
Harness technology. Chances are, practically every member of your church age 13 and older carries a personal connector with them wherever they go. It’s a smart phone, and it can provide bountiful spiritual applications. Brad Russell, senior editor of Baptist Standard Publishing’s FaithVillage.com, has written a fascinating paper “tracing the trends and issues that inform how the church can leverage new technology.”[6] Unquote. (Words in italics are the blog authors writing)

Our heart for this nation of Australia to experience God’s love and His salvation through faith in Christ is always going to lead us to prayer and also to a strong confidence that God has His plan for this nation. My observation is that church leaders are working harder than ever before, and showing a high level of innovation to bring the message of the gospel to this new world that is ever changing. Let there be a renewed vision for prayer, a bigger challenge made to church members to lead in ways that show Australians that we have the answer in Jesus Christ; and also deepen our love for the church and remember it will become His bride without spot or wrinkle. The trend of sliding attendances may be a trend that’s hard to arrest but let’s be innovative about making church relevant to this generation and also renew the call for deeper commitment to the great commission. – Pastor Craig Anderson, a pastor within INC with 34 years of fulltime ministry experience.

[1] http://www.mccrindle.com.au/the-mccrindle-blog/a-demographic-snapshot-of-christianity-and-church-attenders-in-australia

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreligion_in_Australia

[3] “Christians in Australia nearing minority status as religious affiliation declines sharply since 2011”

[4] http://blog.mccrindle.com.au/the-mccrindle-blog/church_attendance_in_australia_infographic

[5] http://mccrindle.com.au/the-mccrindle-blog/calendar/2013/3/

[6] http://abpnews.com/opinion/commentaries/item/28852-how-do-we-respond-to-slumping-church-attendance

[7] http://www.mychristiandaily.com/index.php/feature/10974-how-do-we-respond-to-slumping-church-attendance#sthash.fbEcWjoe.dpuf

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ARE YOU GOIN’ WHERE I’M GOIN’?

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Soul Winning, tagged Answers, Belief, church, Craig Anderson, heaven, hell, inc, international network of churches, jesus, jesus is the only way, lost, lost people, love, passion for the lost, perishing, plenty valley church, preach the gospel, reality of hell, share your faith, tell others, witnessing on July 6, 2014| Leave a Comment »

LOVE REACHES OUT #1AM

In this life, how do you see yourself? As a pilgrim? As a foreigner journeying through to a better and eternal future? ^a Or does this world so fill your vista that you hardly think of eternity? Listen to this amazing verse: Eccles 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Ultimately what matters is people. Everything else is temporary. 2 Cor 4:18 Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting. All your stuff that you worked so hard for, all the possessions, the house, the cars, the clothes etc. will all vanish in a puff of smoke one day; and all you have left is you and your loved ones.

What will you be doing in a million years from now? Seriously! If you say, “I’ll be in heaven.”, then how glad are you about that? You could be in the other place. Eternity is such a long time!! It’s all a bit hard for the human mind to comprehend; right?

What we have been learning in the messages preached all year is that God loves you so much and His magnificent loving kindness has come and rescued you, redeemed you and set you free. It’s a natural step to see that God loves each and every person on the planet and some know that and some don’t know that yet. John 3:16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.(AMP)

All around us are precious people who are perishing. In Australia, we are an especially heathen bunch. Although 61% write on the census that their religion is Christian, only 13% attend any kind of church monthly or more often and of those we can only guess the percentage that is born again. Some estimates of the Born Again population are as low as 5%. Perhaps attending church is a poor measure of whether a person is born again. We should rather choose the measure that one of the greatest preachers in history used: “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that!” ― Charles H. Spurgeon. What’s our percentage now?

As you look around at your loved ones, work mates, neighbours, do you consider their eternal destiny? Does it drive you to prayer and cause you to consider how to share the answer to life with them? If not, then let’s look at the scriptures and see the convincing reality of what lies before us in heaven and hell.

Hell is real

Luke 6:19-31

19 There was a certain rich man who [habitually] clothed himself in purple and fine linen and [m]revelled and feasted and made merry in splendour every day.

20 And at his gate there [n]was [carelessly] dropped down and left a certain [o]utterly destitute man named Lazarus, [reduced to begging alms and] covered with [[p]ulcerated] sores.

21 He [eagerly] desired to be satisfied with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover, the dogs even came and licked his sores.

22 And it occurred that the man [reduced to] begging died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.

23 And in Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have pity and mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.

25 But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime fully received [what is due you in] comforts and delights, and Lazarus in like manner the discomforts and distresses; but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.

26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who want to pass from this [place] to you may not be able, and no one may pass from there to us.

27 And [the man] said, Then, father, I beseech you to send him to my father’s house—

28 For I have five brothers—so that he may give [solemn] testimony and warn them, lest they too come into this place of torment.

29 But Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear and listen to them.

30 But he answered, No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent ([q]change their minds for the better and heartily amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins).

31 He said to him, If they do not hear and listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded and convinced and believe [even] if someone should rise from the dead.

Rev 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars–their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.(NIV)

Matt 13:49-50 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (NIV)

Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no respite (no pause, no intermission, no rest, no peace) day or night—these who pay homage to the beast and to his image and whoever receives the stamp of his name upon him.

All these verses clearly show that eternity without salvation is horrifying and inconceivably worse due to the fact that it goes on for ever and ever without respite.

General William Booth founder of the Salvation Army church movement was quoted as saying as he trained his preachers and Christian workers. “If I could, I would dangle you over hell for 5 minutes to see the cries of the damned.” People without a Knowledge of God and even some Christians find this truth so shocking that they fall into wrong believing saying that God could not be as cruel as to send people there forever, or that God will give people a second chance. Some have believed in a purgatory, where people work off their sins and eventually make it to heaven; but all these ideas are false.

Listen again to William Booth – “Not called!” did you say? “Not heard the call,” I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father’s house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not come there. Then look Christ in the face — whose mercy you have professed to obey — and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world.”

When you hear these pleading words, do you think that’s how they spoke in an era long ago, or do you think that’s outdated language and form that doesn’t work today; or is it just that we have fallen so far from biblical truth in our generation that we fall for soft wishy washy beliefs about God that are not supported by scripture?

Heaven

Heaven on the other hand is awesomely wonderful. Imagine infinite joy! Life with a capital L.

Rev 21:4-5 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

Rev 22:3-4 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

John 14: 2-3 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

Matt 25:20-21 And he who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, Master, you entrusted to me five talents; see, here I have gained five talents more.

21 His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the [c]blessedness) which your master enjoys.

Convinced that people without Christ are going there?

One error I find many Christians fall into is that somehow good people will get into heaven. They believe that most people around them are going to make it somehow because God is loving and merciful. This view is dangerous especially to those around them who are not born again yet. Let me ask you a very simple question. If there was any way at all that a person could make it to heaven on their own, did Jesus need to come and die on the cross?

Jesus Himself stated very clearly: John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.(AMP)

Jesus was moved by the plight of broken people. His heart for lost people will become our heart too if we walk with Him. Look at His reaction in the gospels Matt 9:35-38 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and every weakness and infirmity. 36 When He saw the throngs, He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust laborers into His harvest.

What should be our reaction? Perhaps some may be so deeply concerned that they become a certified bible carrying, tract giving, bible bashing preacher to everyone around them, and it isn’t very fruitful. That’s overboard and that’s not love in action. The sad thing is that many Christians are the opposite, there’s almost no evidence of witness in their lives, it’s like they want to enjoy the benefits of salvation and not care that all manner of people around them are perishing.

So how are we to live?

Recognise the truth that faith in Christ alone saves a person from eternity in hell.
Decide to pray for those people in your world who do not know Jesus yet, that God will have mercy on them and show them the truth.
Love people, serve them and share your heart with them at every opportunity.
Trust that the Holy Spirit will lead you to people and will give you the words to say.
Share your testimony and the God stories that give evidence of God at work among us.
Invite as many people as you can to join you church or UC group or a family picnic or a night at the movies or the church trivia night etc. etc.

This month we are focusing on the “How To” of sharing your faith. We will be equipping you with practical help to know how to share your faith, what to say to people who are far from God and how to begin a great conversation about your testimony and how God loves the person you’re speaking to. In all our Urban Connect groups we will be helping you to learn skills about sharing your testimony, and what the gospel message is that we need to share with people.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Do you think Spurgeon’s measure of whether a person is born again or not is a fair one? (Whether you care that others are lost)

2. How do you see non Christians?

3. What about people of other faiths, are they lost too? (Acts 4:12)

4. If Jesus really is the only way to heaven, why do so many other faiths exist?

5. If Jesus really is the only way to heaven how should we live?

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WHEN EVERYTHING GOES WRONG.

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged beyond blue, christian, church, Craig Anderson, DEPRESSION, down, feeling down, feeling sad, God's Love, Holy Spirit, inc, international network of churches, love, overwhelmed, plenty valley church, PRAYER, sad, the black dog, tragedy, trapped, winning on June 22, 2014| 1 Comment »

LOVE UNCONDITIONAL #4PM

When everything goes wrong…..

They say bad news comes in threes, but for some people it seems to just keep on coming…

Everyone feels overwhelmed at times, so how do you handle that when it comes?

One good friend of mine arrived home to see his house going up in flames. His reaction? God is good!

Ps 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me].

Ps 142:3 When my spirit was overwhelmed and fainted [throwing all its weight] upon me, then You knew my path. In the way where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.

God knows exactly how you feel. Heb 4:¹³And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenceless to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.

¹⁴Inasmuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith in Him].

¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.

¹⁶Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].

David calls out to God in the depth of his despair.

Ps 6:6 I am weary with my groaning; all night I soak my pillow with tears, I drench my couch with my weeping.

Ps 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God.

⁶O my God, my life is cast down upon me [and I find the burden more than I can bear]; therefore will I [earnestly] remember You from the land of the Jordan [River] and the [summits of Mount] Hermon, from the little mountain Mizar.

⁷[Roaring] deep calls to [roaring] deep at the thunder of Your waterspouts; all Your breakers and Your rolling waves have gone over me.

⁸Yet the Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I will say to God my Rock, Why have You forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

Ps 116:1 I love the Lord, because He has heard [and now hears] my voice and my supplications.

²Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.

³The cords and sorrows of death were around me, and the terrors of Sheol (the place of the dead) had laid hold of me; I suffered anguish and grief (trouble and sorrow).

⁴Then called I upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, I beseech You, save my life and deliver me!

⁵Gracious is the Lord, and [rigidly] righteous; yes, our God is merciful.

Does it surprise you that a person who was such a great and accomplished leader went through such a time of deep depression?

My darkest moments

I wasn’t when my I was sick, it wasn’t when others in my family fell ill, it wasn’t when I lost money in a bad investment…. It was when I thought I had failed God.

Jesus knows and cares about your darkest days. He carried the weight and the pain of it all. The cross is the place where Jesus bore all the difficulties and troubles that weigh down your soul.

Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.

⁴Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].

⁵But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.

When you are feeling overwhelmed then it’s time to turn to Jesus and receive His love. When you consciously acknowledge that He carried all that weight for you, then cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you. Meditate on what He has done for you at the cross. Meditate on how much He loves you and how He knows your situation and how you feel. Roll your burden onto Him and enter into His rest. (Read and mediate on Hebrews 4) If you believe you cant handle your feelings go to see your doctor for further advice. Try also this website – http://www.beyondblue.org.au/

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why are feelings so difficult to handle – they are only feelings?

2. Can a person who suffers with depression still achieve great things?

3. Would you say King David suffered with depression?

4. Did Jesus know these down feelings?

5. How can we receive the answer from God when we feel down?

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GOD’S OUT TO GET YOU… WITH LOVE

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, tagged Chesed, covenant love, Craig Anderson, God's Love, inc, international network of churches, jesus, Khesed, Kindness, love, loving kindness, mercy, mercy endures forever, plenty valley church on June 21, 2014| 1 Comment »

LOVE UNCONDITIONAL #3AM

God’s insatiable desire to love you in spite of you can never be quenched.

If I could ask anything of God today it would be that He would reveal to you His mighty loving kindness.

Psalm 69:16

Hear and answer me, O Lord, for Your loving–kindness is sweet and comforting; according to Your plenteous tender mercy and steadfast love turn to me.

Today I want to reveal to you a secret in the word of God – the revelation of God’s Chesed – His loving kindness, and how it is His everlasting passion to do good to those who are in covenant with Him in spite of their faults and failings.

King David knew and understood God’s loving kindness and how it was there for him as part of God’s covenant promise to him.

Ps 18:50 – strong deliverance came to David through God’s loving kindness. Vs50 He gives great ^[a]deliverance to His king, and shows loving kindness to His anointed,
To David and his ^[b]descendants forever.(NASB)

Ps 31:7 – When in great trouble and adversity, David rejoices in God’s loving kindness. Vs7I will rejoice and be glad in Your loving kindness, Because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul (NASB)

Ps 51:1 – After great failure, deal with me according to your loving kindness. Vs 1 Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your loving kindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.(NKJV)

King David deeply understood the loving kindness of God. 127 times loving kindness is mentioned just in Psalms alone. The phrase “Your mercy and loving kindness endures forever is mentioned 43 times.

Chesed is a Hebrew word commonly translated as “loving-kindness,” “kindness” or “love.” Chesed is central to Jewish ethics and Jewish theology. Many Jewish thinkers view chesed as the primary virtue. Chesed is valued by religious Jews of all denominations. It is considered a virtue on its own, and also for its contribution to tikkun olam (repairing the world)

“Loving-kindness” is used as an English translation of chesed, originating with the Coverdale Bible of 1535. Although some consider it to be a somewhat archaic translation,^[1] it remains one of the most common translations.^[2] “Love” is often used as a shorter English translation. Daniel Elazar has suggested the translation of “covenant-love.”^[8] “Grace“^[9] and “compassion“^[10] are also occasionally used as translations of chesed. In Greek Eleos (often understood as mercy or pity) is the word used by the Septuagint to translate “chesed” into Greek. Chesed has also been understood as linked with the Greek word agape and its Latin equivalent, caritas (charity).

Chesed is the core ethical virtue ascribed to God.

A statement by Rabbi Simlai in the Talmud claims that “The Torah (The first 5 books of the bible) begins with chesed and ends with chesed.” This may be understood to mean that “the entire Torah is characterized by chesed, i.e. it sets forth a vision of the ideal life whose goals are behaviour characterized by mercy and compassion.” Alternatively, it may allude to the idea that the giving of the Torah itself is the quintessential act of chesed.^[12] The following are actions undertaken in imitation of the qualities of Chesed:^[13]

love God so completely that one will never forsake His service for any reason
provide a child with all the necessities of his sustenance
leading a child into covenant relationship with God
visiting and healing the sick
giving charity to the poor
offering hospitality to strangers
attending to the dead
bringing a bride to the chuppah marriage ceremony
making peace between a man and his fellow

In the Torah loving kindness is epitomised by Exodus 34:6-7 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord! the Lord! a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth,

⁷Keeping mercy and loving-kindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but Who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.(AMP)

When Miles Coverdale, translated the bible in 1535 it is one of the words he used in the Psalms to translate the Hebrew chesed into loving kindness when it refers to God’s love for his people Israel.

The theological importance of the word chesed is that it stands more than any other word for the attitude which both parties to a covenant ought to maintain towards each other. It combines the twin ideas of love and loyalty, both of which are essential. Yet it must convey the idea of the steadfastness and persistence of God’s sure love for his covenant-people. The etymological core of the word is ‘eagerness, keenness,’ God’s loving-kindness is that sure love which will not let Israel go. Not all Israel’s persistent waywardness could ever destroy it. Though Israel be faithless, yet God remains faithful still. The continual waywardness of Israel has made it inevitable that, if God is never going to let Israel go, then his relation to his people must in the main be one of loving-kindness, mercy, and goodness, all of it entirely undeserved. For this reason the predominant use of the word comes to include mercy and forgiveness as a main constituent in God’s determined faithfulness to his part of the bargain. It is obvious, time and again, from the context that if God is to maintain the covenant he must exercise mercy to an unprecedented degree. The loving-kindness of God towards Israel is therefore wholly undeserved on Israel’s part. If Israel received the proper treatment for her stubborn refusal to walk in God’s way, there would be no prospect for her of anything but destruction, since God’s demand for right action never wavers one whit. Strict, however, as the demands for righteousness are, the prophets were sure that God’s yearnings for the people of his choice are stronger still. Here is the great dilemma of the prophets, and indeed the dilemma of us all to this day. But this much is clear: when we try to estimate the depth and the persistence of God’s loving-kindness and mercy, we must first remember his passion for righteousness. His passion for righteousness is so strong that he could not be more insistent in his demand for it, but God’s persistent love for his people is more insistent still. The story of God’s people throughout the centuries is that their waywardness has been so persistent that, if even a remnant is to be preserved, God has had to show mercy more than anything else. It is important to realize that though the Hebrew chesed can be translated by loving-kindness and mercy without doing violence to the context, yet we must always beware lest we think that God is content with less than righteousness. There is no reference to any sentimental kindness, and no suggestion of mercy apart from repentance, in any case where the Hebrew original is chesed. His demand for righteousness is insistent, and it is always at the maximum intensity. The loving-kindness of God means that his mercy is greater even than that. The word stands for the wonder of his unfailing love for the people of his choice, and the solving of the problem of the relation between his righteousness and his loving-kindness passes beyond human comprehension. One may describe His loving kindness as aggressive kindness, goodness and mercy toward us.

Excerpts from – Bibliography: N.H. Snaith, Distinctive Ideas of the Old Testament, London (1944).

An example of God’s pursuit of Israel is in Hosea.

Psalm 57:10

For Your mercy and loving–kindness are great, reaching to the heavens, and Your truth and faithfulness to the clouds.

Psalm 59:16

But I will sing of Your mighty strength and power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy and loving–kindness in the morning; for You have been to me a defense (a fortress and a high tower) and a refuge in the day of my distress.

Psalm 63:3

Because Your loving–kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.

Psalm 66:20

Blessed be God, Who has not rejected my prayer nor removed His mercy and loving–kindness from being [as it always is] with me.

Psalm 69:13

But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord. At an acceptable and opportune time, O God, in the multitude of Your mercy and the abundance of Your loving–kindness hear me, and in the truth and faithfulness of Your salvation answer me.

Psalm 85:10

Mercy and loving–kindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Psalm 86:5

For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our trespasses, sending them away, letting them go completely and forever]; and You are abundant in mercy and loving–kindness to all those who call upon You.

Psalm 86:15

But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving–kindness and truth.

Psalm 89:2

For I have said, Mercy and loving–kindness shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness will You establish in the very heavens [unchangeable and perpetual].

Psalm 103:4

Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving–kindness and tender mercy;

Psalm 103:11

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving–kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.

Psalm 106:7

Our fathers in Egypt understood not nor appreciated Your miracles; they did not [earnestly] remember the multitude of Your mercies nor imprint Your loving–kindness [on their hearts], but they were rebellious and provoked the Lord at the sea, even at the Red Sea.

Psalm 106:45

And He [earnestly] remembered for their sake His covenant and relented their sentence of evil [comforting and easing Himself] according to the abundance of His mercy and loving–kindness[when they cried out to Him].

Psalm 107:8

Oh, that men would praise [and confess to] the Lord for His goodness and loving–kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men!

God’s loving kindness is everlasting. He is persistent in desiring your ultimate good. He longs for righteousness but as soon as we turn to Him, He abundantly pardons and then goes into overdrive with mercy, protection, provision, deliverance, peace and life. As you read the Psalms from now on; every time you read loving kindness, stop for a moment and recognise God’s intense desire to love you and show you mercy and kindness.

Never again feel lost, abandoned, alone or without hope. Remember God’s loving kindness. Remember His intense desire to bless you with kindness. As you turn your heart to Him he will abundantly provide for you.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Describe in your own words what you think the Hebrew word Chesed means.

2. So often Christians think that God has abandoned them, or doesn’t care about them because trouble has come their way. Why would that be?

3. But nothing could be further from the truth. God longs to show kindness to those He is in covenant with. List all the ways God shows kindness to us.

4. What qualifies us to receive this kindness?

5. Compare Ephesians 2:4 (AMP) with this idea of Chesed or covenant love and it’s persistence.

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BROKEN LIVES MADE WHOLE

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged Answers, broken humanity, broken lives, christian, church, Craig Anderson, DEPRESSION, down and out, God's Love, inc, international network of churches, jesus, loneliness, love, love unconditional, mental health, plenty valley church, unconditional love on June 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

LOVE UNCONDITIONAL #2AM

WHEN YOU TRULY KNOW GOD LOVES YOU TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY, YOU ENTER INTO A LIFE OF STRENGTH AND VICTORY WHERE YOU EXPERIENCE HIS GRACE AND PROVISION AND ABUNDANT LIFE.

Humanity is broken.

We live in the lucky country, but many struggle with low self-esteem, depression, loneliness, rejection, sickness, financial trouble and substance abuse.

Jesus is the answer, He is the hope of every person who puts their trust in Him. Yet we often see God as far away, aloof, non-caring, too busy running His vast universe to ever notice me let alone care for me. Yes, they have heard that Jesus loves them, but does that cliché answer their current pain? Often as I talk to people who have not met Jesus yet they see God as a judge who will punish them for their wrongs. They see God as the rule maker and the fun taker. While 70% of Australians believe there is a God, most have never experienced His powerful healing and rescuing love.

How do you see God? Deep down in your heart where your inner thoughts reside, how do you think God sees you? I once saw God as if He were a person busy at His desk and with piles of papers on the desk and He seemed oblivious to my presence. Or does He seem like a loving Father with arms outstretched waiting for you to jump right up onto His lap?

Mental illness is very common. One in five (20%) Australians aged 16-85 experience a mental illness in any year. The most common mental illnesses are depressive, anxiety and substance use disorder. These three types of mental illnesses often occur in combination. Almost half (45%) Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime [1].

Suicide in Australia

Every day, at least six Australians die from suicide and a further thirty people will attempt to take their own life [5]. While suicide accounts for only a relatively small proportion (1.6%) of all deaths in Australia, it does account for a greater proportion of deaths from all causes within specific age groups. For example, suicide is the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 [6]. Australians are more likely to die by suicide than skin cancer.

Men are at greatest risk of suicide but least likely to seek help. Attempted suicide is also an important issue with estimates that in Australia over 60,000 people a year attempt to take their own lives, the majority being women.

Depression

Depression has a high lifetime prevalence – one in seven Australians will experience depression in their lifetime [1]. Depression has the third highest burden of all diseases in Australia (13.3%) [3] and also third globally [8]. Burden of disease refers to the total impact of a disease measured by financial cost, mortality, morbidity and other indicators. The World Health Organisation estimates that depression will be the number one health concern in both the developed and developing nations by 2030 [8].

Rates of depression are slightly higher in women with depression, affecting one in six (17%) compared to one in 10 (10%) men experiencing depression in their lifetime. http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/Factsandfiguresaboutmentalhealthandmooddisorders.pdf

God loves everyone equally. His love is complete. He is a loving heavenly Father. However you must receive it to experience it.

WHEN YOU TRULY KNOW GOD LOVES YOU TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY, YOU ENTER INTO A LIFE OF STRENGTH AND VICTORY WHERE YOU EXPERIENCE HIS GRACE AND PROVISION AND ABUNDANT LIFE.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (ESV)

1 John 4:9-11 ⁹God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. (NLT)

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect (^[a]free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse]. (AMP)

If He put His Spirit inside us what does that say?

I stood at the altar 35 years ago and said to Chris, I choose to live with you until one of us dies. It’s a big deal to live with someone. You probably couldn’t live with just anyone! However God says, I want to make my home within you!

John 14:23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. (NLT) AGAPE love. The love that gives expecting nothing in return. This love not conditional from God’s point of view, but it is from ours.

1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, (NCV)

See God as the perfect parent.

Matt 7:11 If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!(AMP)

God’s first priority is for us to receive His love. If someone truly knows that they are loved by God then insecurity, fear, unbelief is smashed. God is on your side, He has made provision for your every need through the cross.

As you receive His love you will be set free from insecurity, low self image, fear, low expectation etc by receiving a revelation that God’s love so big and so complete! John 10:10 I have come that they will have life and life abundant. Deut 28:13 I will make you the head and not the tail. Above and not beneath. Ps 17:8 You are the apple of His eye. Rom 8:31 If God be for you who can be against you?

How then can one experience such love and acceptance and favour?

Meditate on these scriptures. (Also read 1 John 3 & 4)
Imagine the cross and see His love poured out for you as He died for you.
Watch the face of the heavenly Father as He turns away from Jesus when He became Sin for us. Jesus complete rejection and judgment that was meant for us.
Thank Him for this love.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Have you ever prayed for a revelation of God’s love? – Why not do it right now?

2. Love means doing the highest good for another. Describe what God did for us through Jesus Christ.

3. There are 5 love languages; Touch, words, gifts, acts of service and time. What’s your love language?

4. Do you feel loved if the love expressed to you is not in your love language?

5. Can you acknowledge God’s love for you even if you may not be feeling loved?

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HE LOVES ME; HE LOVES ME NOT.

Posted in Church, Preaching messages, tagged Answers, Belief, christian, church, Craig Anderson, God's Love, inc, international network of churches, love, plenty valley church, the love of God, unconditional love on May 31, 2014| Leave a Comment »

LOVE UNCONDITIONAL #1AM

FEELING LOVED?

How big is God’s love for you? So high, so wide, so great, so deep is God’s love for you. Ephes 2:4-6 But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us,

⁵Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favour and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (^[a]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).

⁶And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us ^[b]joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

So often we judge God’s love by our own human viewpoint. We feel that God doesn’t love us when we suffer loss or go through tough times. When we take this view that God doesn’t care or doesn’t love us then we lose faith, we cannot believe that God will answer our prayer. We feel lost, alone, separated from hope and we doubt ourselves, sometimes we even go to the place of self-hatred thinking that if God doesn’t care for me, then I must be worthless. Why do you need this message about God’s love for you? Let me tell you it is the biggest key for a full and overcoming life as a Christian.

We need a revelation of God’s unending, unyielding, unconditional, unqualified, unlimited, unbeatable LOVE for you and me. When we get this revelation, we smash unbelief and doubt. We soar in confidence that God works all things together for good to them that love Him and are called according to His purpose. We say goodbye to a low self-esteem and walk around knowing He watches over us. His eye is on the sparrow, so much more is His every thought about you and for your good.

Key verse for the month – Isaiah 49:15-16 Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you. ¹⁶Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands.(AMP)

Ps 103:14 For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust. He gets how hard it is for us in this sin soaked and selfish world, He was in all points tempted like as we are, so He is an high priest who can be touched by the feelings of our weaknesses.(Heb 4:15)

HE CARES – always and at all times. Receive it! Meditate on it!

But, you say, why did I suffer? Why did I go through so much trouble?

Romans 8:31-37

³¹What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? ³²Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? ³³Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. ³⁴Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

³⁵Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?³⁶(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”^[o]) ³⁷No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.(NLT)

STORY

The death of Stephen

⁵⁴Now upon hearing these things, they [the Jews] were cut to the heart and infuriated, and they ground their teeth against [Stephen].

⁵⁵But he, full of the Holy Spirit and controlled by Him, gazed into heaven and saw the glory (the splendor and majesty) of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand;

⁵⁶And he said, Look! I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at God’s right hand!

⁵⁷But they raised a great shout and put their hands over their ears and rushed together upon him.

⁵⁸Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him, and the witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹And while they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, Lord Jesus, receive and accept and welcome my spirit!

⁶⁰And falling on his knees, he cried out loudly, Lord, fix not this sin upon them [lay it not to their charge]! And when he had said this, he fell asleep ^[g][in death].

This story contrasts the cruelty of religion with the love of God. Who would choose to be Stephen? Perhaps the first Christian Martyr. Was there a wife left grieving? Or children left without a father? We will never know, but what we now and what God wants us to see about this tragic event is what Stephen experienced at this time.

Those who stoned Stephen basically committed murder because they did not like what he believed! Religion is cruel and hate filled. Religion says, “You must do this and this to be accepted” Religion says, “You have no right to challenge the status quo.” But in the midst of this hatred and violence the love of God shone through. Stephen experienced all the following:

An opportunity to share the gospel with a large number of people
An overwhelming sense of God’s presence and protection – 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit and controlled by Him, gazed into heaven and saw the glory (the splendour and majesty) of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand; ⁵⁶And he said, Look! I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at God’s right hand!
The act of forgiveness for his assailants
The initiation of Saul’s conversion.

Do you think Stephen felt abandoned by God? No, in no way. When he reached heaven and began his experience of eternity he could see the eternal significance of what took place that day. Saul’s later conversion, millions experiencing the power of the word of God through Paul’s writings. The church scattered by the mounting persecution so that it invaded all the known world. Spreading out far and wide.

When you think back over your life do you look at the tough times and ask God where were you? Perhaps we will never know the whole picture in this life about why things happen, but we know this, All things work tether for Good to them that love God and are called according to his purpose.

How can I convince you about His unending love for you? Do you want life on your terms or God’s terms? Can you say you are smarter than God and know what is best for you and for His plans and purposes? Humility allows us to fully trust God knowing His ways are perfect and all His ways are just. His love for you is unending and fully complete. He that spared not his only son, will he not with Him freely give us all things?

What Now you say?

How can I receive a revelation of this amazing love?

Meditate on these scriptures. (Also read 1 John 3 & 4)
Imagine the cross and see His love poured out for you as He died for you.
Watch the face of the heavenly Father as He turns away from Jesus when He became Sin for us. Jesus complete rejection and judgment that was meant for us.
Thank Him for this love.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Is it necessary to feel God’s love?

2. Can you feel your mother’s love right now? What about if you think about all that she has done for you? Is it getting a bit easier now?

3. If God wants the best for you, how can you cooperate with that?

4. What was the main point in this message concerning the story of Stephen’s death?

5. Can you trust God when things seem to be going the wrong way for your perspective?

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IT’S MY CHURCH

Posted in Church, Giving, Preaching messages, tagged Craig Anderson, inc, international network of churches, passion for the lost, plenty valley church on May 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

LOVE HONOURS #4AM

IT’S MY CHURCH

JOSH 6:1-7

Now Jericho [a fenced town with high walls] was tightly closed because of the Israelites; no one went out or came in.

²And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given Jericho, its king and mighty men of valor, into your hands.

³You shall march around the enclosure, all the men of war going around the city once. This you shall do for six days.

⁴And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns; and on the seventh day you shall march around the enclosure seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.

⁵When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn and you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the enclosure shall fall down in its place and the people shall go up [over it], every man straight before him.

⁶So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.

⁷He said to the people, Go on! March around the enclosure, and let the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.

The people of Israel have been walking around in the wilderness for 40 years! That’s a long time! Now at long last they get to make the second attempt to enter the Promised Land. Imagine their feelings right now. After such a long time waiting and such an uncomfortable passage through the wilderness they didn’t want to fail this time. The Promised Land was still a land flowing with milk and honey – a good land, but there are giants!

So I guess the feeling was determination but not a little trepidation. The worry about whether we can overcome was real; it was palpable. They were excited but they were fearful also. We have a Promised Land to enter into as well! Our promised land is souls saved, lives changed, miracles and community impact – a church that continues to grow and multiply planting other churches. That’s exciting for us as Christians. However there are giants in our promised land also.

Everybody marched and everybody shouted. As this bible reading showed, the people were to take the fortified city of Jericho first. To look at Jericho from the outside was frightening. Very high walls and very thick walls. It looked impossible. But God had a plan. God always has a plan. March around the walls six days then seventh day seven times and on the last time Shout! This story was so important to set up Israel for future victory. God said everybody marches and everybody shouts! This way, in the future every single Israelite has personally witnessed God’s miraculous power to overcome impossibilities.

In this church we have a promised land and we also face a giant. Our giant is financial. Let me share with you our journey so far.

Our church began in 1994, we moved from two rented buildings to our Mill Park Location at the corner of Plenty Rd and Centenary Drive in 1998. We bought the building for a very low price in 2000 and stayed there till we sold in 2010. Moving into this building was a step of faith as our building costs went from $40K to $140K overnight.

Over the four years in which we have been in this building, we have grown. However this has mostly been growth among youth and young adults, which is great but it adds very little to our revenue base. We have secured tenancies to assist us by paying rent.

Thank you for being a giving church. This step we are taking is essential for the continuation of the church into the future but it is not the complete solution! We must, as a church, take the challenge and meet it head on. The answer lies in growing the church, and being faithful in our giving. What motivates us as a finance committee overseeing these decisions is not paying for a building, but reaching lost people. To do that effectively, we must have a home, a place to bring people. A place to service the community.

JERICHO

We are just like the children of Israel facing Jericho as in the story we read today. I believe that God gave me this picture for our church for today.

There is a Promised Land in front of us in terms of souls saved, lives changed, miracles and community impact – a church that continues to grow and multiply planting other churches. But there is a giant. For us the giant is finances. God asked all the men of war to march around the walls of Jericho, God asked all the children of Israel to shout when the time was right. God made the walls fall down flat and gave the people the victory.

The vision in front of us is exciting, what we have seen and achieved in the last four years is remarkable, but our future victory depends on all of us rising up to embrace the challenge. The answer lies in growing the church and in faithful giving. If we choose to walk in faith – it is bread for us, we can overcome, the giants are like grasshoppers in our sight; but if we walk in unbelief we will fail to enter in like the first generation of the children of Israel who walked in the wilderness for 40 years until all those who chose unbelief died out and new generation arose.

I am asking you all to join Me and Chris, John and Marita and the leaders of this church in stepping up. Will you be part of the answer? You may well ask What can I do to help in this situation?

This is what I am asking of each and every one of you.

Decide – This is my Church – I want it to grow and prosper and I am going to do all I can to make that happen.
Pray – Believe with us for God’s provision firstly for souls saved and people added to the church and also for His provision for us all.
Bring others to church. Invite, Invite, Invite. Help grow the church by inviting others. In July we will be training and equipping the congregation on how to share their God story and how to initiate conversations that lead to witnessing opportunities.
Be faithful in your giving. When we play it safe, we limit what God can do. He asks us to see our giving as a seed. It is sown into the good soil of the kingdom and it multiplies for provision and blessings.

Today you have an annual report summary in your hands outlining the main points of the church financial position.

Next week we will have our annual AGM on Sunday right after the morning meeting in the kid town room

If you have any questions about today’s announcement or to do with any financial matters please ask Me or John or any one on our Finance Committee.

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craigmanderson

Christian World View

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YOUR ASSIGNMENT SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT…

WHAT DO I SAY?

EVERY WORD IS A SEED

SLIDING ATTENDANCES

WHEN EVERYTHING GOES WRONG.

GOD’S OUT TO GET YOU… WITH LOVE

BROKEN LIVES MADE WHOLE

HE LOVES ME; HE LOVES ME NOT.

IT’S MY CHURCH

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