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YOU’RE FULL OF IT # 1 SUNDAY 7TH APRIL 2013 AM

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

INTRODUCING THE HOLY SPIRIT

STORY ABOUT A HOLY SPIRIT ENCOUNTERgirl-with-hands-raised-high2

In the second year of being a Christian I was asked to take a leadership role in my church over the teenagers group. The change of leadership from the former leader to the new one (me) took place at a youth camp. The former leaders were called up and prayed for, hands were laid on and they commenced a new ministry role somewhere else. Other leaders were prayed for also and set apart for their new roles. Somehow I was overlooked and not prayed for. I could have chosen to be offended about that, but instead I went back to the meeting place (auditorium) after lights out, when everyone else was in bed and asleep and I spent some time waiting on God. As I stood in that place at the altar with hands raised up and saying, “God please equip me for this new ministry role.” I felt the power and life of the Holy Spirit flow down over me and experienced such a tangible touch of the supernatural power of God. I was unable to stand and lay in the presence of God for a couple of hours.

The result was renewed power and boldness to serve God. This boldness took place not only in the ministry to teenagers but also at the university where I was studying; I was emboldened to witness and lead a Christian group there and reach out to lost people at the uni.

Look at this verse with me… Act 1:8  But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.

Following the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, He asked His disciples to wait for the Promise of the Father before they went out to preach the gospel all over the world. His intention was that when He left to go back to heaven after the resurrection that He would leave behind countless thousands of followers all equipped to the same level as He was to go out and preach the gospel all over the world. They would need supernatural power to preach, heal the sick and cast out devils, as well as many other things. Today His church world wide is Holy Spirit filled and empowered. Its effectiveness is in proportion to how full the individual is with the Holy Spirit.

STORY 2 ABOUT WHERE YOU GET YOUR TRUTH FROM

Recently I was prescribed some medication to lower my cholesterol. As you get older the cholesterol levels creep up and if it’s high enough then it could be a present danger by clogging up your arteries.  After the prescription was filled, I was talking to a good friend of mine who warned me of the dangers of this particular medicine including side effects. So what did I do? I googled the drug name, and sure enough I came up with countless articles about how dangerous the drug is. So what did I do? I declined to take the medication.

How many know this decision was self medicating, and pure post–modern thinking? I decided that truth for me was what I could learn for myself from the internet. I decided that I know better than the professional with seven years university training and 15 years clinical experience. What I should be doing is sit down with the professional and ask for some perspective and take his advice, which is what I am doing.

In the same way, in the church, many people decide what they believe according to what they read on line, what their experience has been, and what has happened to other people. In this post modern world very few people take the word of the Man of God, compare it with the bible and act accordingly.

The result is the rise of the individual, countless thousands of Christians all with different opinions, instead of a united army marching to the sound of the one leader. That one leader is the Holy Spirit and He works through Godly appointed leadership people to lead His church.

This month, as we talk about the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit and the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, I wonder if you will be open to listen and be teachable and perhaps change what you believe; or will you be the post modern thinker and decide that truth for you is what you can find for yourself and what you have experienced.

Your pastors and leaders that minister the word of God to you here are trained and competent, and by their fruits you shall know them. They are ministers who know the word, have produced the fruit of souls saved, lives changed; and have the character that exemplifies Christlike values.

SO LET’S BEGIN OUR JOURNEY.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is a person, He is God and He is part of the trinity, an understanding that God is one God and has revealed Himself in three distinct personalities; the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Extra material for the blog:

The Holy Spirit is not a force or an impersonal energy but He has “personal” attributes:

  • a mind – Romans 8:27
  • a will – 1 Corinthians 12:11
  • feeling – Ephesians 4:30;  Romans 15:30 (love)
  • knowledge (including self-knowledge) – 1 Corinthians 2:11

He is able to do things that only a “person” can do:

  • reveal things– 2 Peter 1:21
  • teach – John 14:26; 16:14;  Luke 12:12; 1 Corinthians 2:13
  • bear witness – John 15:26
  • speaks, cries out – Galatians 4:6; Hebrews 10:15
  • intercede – Romans 8:26
  • search – 1 Corinthians 2:10
  • speak – Acts 8:29;  10:19; 13:3; Revelation 2:7,11 (not about Himself – John 16:13)
  • choose – Romans 8:27; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 11
  • inspire – 2 Timothy 3:16
  • lead – Acts 8:29;  Romans 8:14
  • command – Acts 13:2, 4
  • give permission – Acts11:12
  • forbid – Acts16:6-7
  • be jealous – James 4:5
  • be grieved – Ephesians 4:30;  Isaiah 63:10 (or “vexed”)
  • be insulted – Hebrews 10:29
  • be lied to – Acts 5:3, 4
  • be blasphemed – Matthew 12:31, 32
  • give invitations – Revelation 22:17
  • strive with people- Genesis 6:3
  • be resisted – Acts 7:51
  • be tested, tempted – Acts 5:9
  • be described as “He/Him” – John 14:16, 17; 16:7-8, 13-14 (recorded 12 times in John 16 alone).

He is distinct from God the Father & Jesus Christ the Son – Matthew 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2;  Acts 10:38; 15:28.

THE TRINITY EXPLAINED:

Nicene Creed – This creed formed in 381AD by the church fathers explains the relationship of the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. (Catholic here means universal)
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Global Expansion – http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/april/7.30.html

With more than 580 million adherents (growing by 19 million per year and 54,000 per day), the Pentecostal/charismatic movement has become, in just 100 years, the fastest growing and most globally diverse expression of worldwide Christianity. At the current rate of growth, some researchers predict there will be 1 billion Pentecostals by 2025, most located in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

The Role of the Holy Spirit.

The role of the Holy Spirit is simple: He is to empower the church for the task of reaching the whole world with the gospel.

Here is the main verse: Act 1:8  But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. (AMP)

Before the disciples went out to preach the gospel all over the known world they waited in the upper room as Jesus commanded them.

Luk 24:49  And behold, I will send forth upon you what My Father has promised; but remain in the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high. (AMP)

Have you been clothed with power from on high? This is what we need in order to become His witnesses. We need the power of the Holy Spirit living within us to help us preach with power, heal the sick, cast out devils, raise the dead. It’s a big challenge in this rational post modern world to be called to this, but the power of the Holy Spirit is far greater then the power of unbelief.

Didn’t I receive the Holy Spirit when I got saved?

Yes, that was being born of the Spirit, regeneration, but we are talking about the being clothed with power from on high.

The disciples received the Holy Spirit while Jesus was still with them:

Joh 20:19  Then on that same first day of the week, when it was evening, though the disciples were behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace to you!

Joh 20:20  So saying, He showed them His hands and His side. And when the disciples saw the Lord, they were filled with joy (delight, exultation, ecstasy, rapture).

Joh 20:21  Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you.

Joh 20:22  And having said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit! (AMP)

For the disciples this was their born again experience. Up until now they had been believers and followers of Jesus, but now that Jesus has died on the cross and atoned for their sin by the offering of His blood, now they can be born of the Spirit.

Yet He says wait here in Jerusalem for power. Luk 24:49  And behold, I will send forth upon you what My Father has promised; but remain in the city [Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from on high. (AMP) Right after this He ascends up into heaven, so it was the last thing Jesus said on earth.

It was after he ascended into heaven then 10 days later they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

Act 2:1  AND WHEN the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all assembled together in one place,

Act 2:2  When suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting.

Act 2:3  And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated and distributed and which settled on each one of them.

Act 2:4  And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues), as the Spirit kept giving them clear and loud expression [in each tongue in appropriate words]. (AMP)

This experience is so vital and so important for every believer. It is what empowers each one to be a witness for Jesus. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is far more than just the gift of speaking in tongues. It is the power of God. It is to be clothed with power from on high. To be completely filled and flooded with the Power of the Holy Spirit for this great purpose – TO BE A WITNESS!

Testimony from Reinhard BonnkeBonnke quote 1

In one of his earliest evangelistic campaigns he went to a church of 40 members and hired a ten thousand seat stadium. It was God’s doing!

Next week we will speak about what actually happens to a person when he is born again. This experience of regeneration is monumental, life changing and if understood will revolutionise your life. We will speak later about tongues and what it’s for and who can receive it as well as the other gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The only question you must ask yourself every day of your life is “How thirsty am I?”

Joh 7:37  Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, Jesus stood, and He cried in a loud voice, If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink!

Joh 7:38  He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.

Joh 7:39  But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor).

Are you thirsty for God to fill you with His supernatural power?

Are you so glad of your salvation that you want to be of service to Him every day of your life? Are you bored with the passing fantasies of this shallow worldly life and seeking a more eternal and significant encounter with heaven.

Would you stay on for a few minutes and worship God with us this morning and simply ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and equip you.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Can anyone share about a time when they felt the power of the Holy Spirit upon their life?

2. What was Pastor Craig’s point about whether we should decide truth for ourselves by reading the internet, going by experience, or some other way?

3. Where do we get truth from?

4. What is the main reason God fills us with the Holy Spirit? (Acts 1:8)

5. If you are thirsty for the Holy Spirit – what might that look like?

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MANUFACTURER ISSUES PRODUCT RECALL

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, News Flash, Preaching messages, Soul Winning, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The other day I received a letter from Holden saying my car was faulty and it needed to be recalled.product-recall-logo-543

The manufacturer had discovered there was a faulty part that meant the brakes could fail when you least expect it.

This action of recall is common for cars. The manufacturer has high hopes that the car will perform well, but if there is a fault in the car it may not operate as it has been designed. Due to the fault, the car may become dangerous and endanger the life of those people in it.

There has been a recall notice sent out to the human race.

God had high hopes that the human race would live in harmony and love but a fault has developed and great danger awaits anybody who does not respond to the recall.

Here’s what God has said…

This is the problem

Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all.

This is the recall…

Joe_2:13  Rend your hearts and not your garments and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness; and He revokes His sentence of evil [when His conditions are met].

This is God’s response….

Isa_55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have love, pity, and mercy for him, and to our God, for He will multiply to him His abundant pardon.

Let’s be honest – before we get right with God, our lives are far from perfect.

If all your sins, if everything you ever did and were ashamed of were shouted from the housetops – how would you feel? What if nothing in your life was secret anymore? Would you stand clean and perfect before God?

Are there any evil thoughts in you?

Is there any hatred of others?, any telling of lies? Any coveting what others own? Any bitterness or unforgiveness? Is there any lust for someone not your wife or husband?

Where would we all stand if the books were opened right up?

It’s time to get right with God.

There has been a recall. There’s a fault with the product of God’s creation – there’s potentially a life threatening outcome if the fault is not rectified. The end result, if not addressed is death.

Will you respond to the recall?

If you go around ignoring it, it may just come to an end when you least expect it.

Now is the time to act and act fast, don’t put it off a minute longer.

Here’s how you respond. Say this prayer…..

My Lord Jesus, I come to you, please forgive all my sins. I believe that you died for me, I believe that you rose again from the dead. I choose to walk with you for the rest of my life. I ask you right now to come into my heart and lead me in this life. Amen.

Your next step is to go to to a bible believing church. If you reply to me I will send you literature that will help you. God bless you richly.

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GIVE YOUR LIFE TO JESUS THIS EASTER

Posted in News Flash, Soul Winning, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Crosspassion 111

What Jesus did on the cross was truly amazing.

It would be totally amazing if any person died on a cross willingly as a substitute for another person; but it is infinitely more amazing when God became a man and died this cruel death on the cross for people.

Why did He do it?

Because He loved you. God loves you so much. He loved you before you ever heard about His love, He loved you before you ever had a chance to respond to that love.

Jesus met an elderly woman one day – she was burying her adult son. Jesus had great compassion on her and raised her son from the dead. Can you imagine how that changed her life? That’s a demonstration of love!!

Jesus met a blind man by the roadside one day; He cured him of blindness on the spot. That’s an act of love!! I have seen blind eyes come open in church in Australia.

Jesus gave 10 lepers a complete healing one day restoring their diseased flesh with brand new flesh. That’s an act of love!! We have seen Jesus heal people of cancer in this church.

In the bible Jesus showed huge compassion to a woman who had been caught in the very act of adultery, a crime punishable by death in those days. He said to her I do not condemn you, go and sin no more. That’s an act of Love!!

No matter what you have done wrong, known or unknown, Jesus can forgive your sins and wash you clean. In this church there are many people who have a past that they are ashamed of, but now they walk free with their heads held high. How is this possible?

Through Jesus love! He loved you and me so much that he refused to leave us without hope, although that’s what we deserved. He instead took our place in receiving the punishment for each and every sin that all men have committed.

He was punished for your sin. He said these very important words.

Joh 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.

Joh 3:17  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.

Joh 3:18  He who believes on Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.

It’s time to receive God’s love today. It’s time for you to receive the pardon he offers you.

Is your heart broken, He can heal the broken hearted.

Are you sick and facing challenging illness, He can heal you.

Are you depressed and hating yourself, Jesus can restore you and bring life to you.

Are you angry and bitter toward others? He can change your heart and pour new love into you. He is the answer. Jesus is the answer for the world today.

After all that He has done for you. It’s now your turn to respond. He is reaching out to you in love. Will you respond? If someone offered you a thousand dollars wouldn’t you respond? If someone offered to take a bullet for you wouldn’t you respond? If someone said to you I forgive you and I love you, wouldn’t you respond?

So why wouldn’t you respond when God himself says he loves you and died for you?

Here’s how you can respond.

Just say yes, yes Jesus, Pray this simple prayer and choose to have faith in Jesus, He died for you and right now He’s ready to step into your life.

Pray this prayer with me…….

My Lord Jesus, I come to you, please forgive all my sins. I believe that you died for me, I believe that you rose again from the dead. I choose to walk with you for the rest of my life. I ask you right now to come into my heart and lead me in this life. Amen.

Your next step is to go to to a bible believing church. If you reply to me I will send you literature that will help you. God bless you richly.

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PRAYER IS WARFARE

Posted in Equip the Saints, Leaders Training, Preaching messages, Soul Winning, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2013| 1 Comment »

PRAYER THAT MOVES HEAVEN     MENTORING 26/03/13

Do you want to move heaven?

More to the point, do you want to move the heavenlies? (That is the spirit realm)

 

The power of God is available to all believers; but we must understand the necessity of both authority and power

Here’s your verse for Authority…

Joh 1:12  But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name–[Isa. 56:5.]

Here the word “power” is the Greek word Exousia meaning authority, jurisdiction, right or liberty. Just as a policeman has authority to arrest people by virtue of his position or badge – we have the authority – divinely given by God to be called the sons of God.

Here’s the verse for power…

Act 1:8  But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.

This word “power” in the Greek is Dunamis meaning might, strength, violence.

Now using these two concepts together we have this verse.

Luk 10:19  Behold! I have given you authority and power (Exousia) to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power (Dunamis) that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.

When we wan to see Go’s power displayed we must take authority over the works of the enemy and release the dunamis of God

If we want to see lives changed it is a necessity that prayer goes before preaching.

Merely preaching the gospel is actually seed falling on hard ground. There’s nothing wrong with the seed but if the ground is not prepared, little of it can take root.

We are called to make a difference. To Mat 10:8  Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give. That takes spiritual authority. You cant just do that by preaching alone; you must win the battle in the heavenlies.

  • All authority is given us

Mat 28:18  Jesus approached and, breaking the silence, said to them, All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

Mat 28:19  Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

  • Nothing happens unless we first bind the strongman.

Mat 12:29  Or how can a person go into a strong man’s house and carry off his goods (the entire equipment of his house) without first binding the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house.

  • We fight in the spirit with words – with prayer

Eph 6:12  For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.

  • Jesus took authority over spirits

Mar 1:27  And they were all so amazed and almost terrified that they kept questioning and demanding one of another, saying, What is this? What new (fresh) teaching! With authority He gives orders even to the unclean spirits and they obey Him!

  • He did it first in prayer

Joh 5:19  So Jesus answered them by saying, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the Son is able to do nothing of Himself (of His own accord); but He is able to do only what He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does is what the Son does in the same way [in His turn].

  • Now we are called to do the same

Mat 10:1  AND JESUS summoned to Him His twelve disciples and gave them power and authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out, and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of weakness and infirmity.

IF WE WAN TO SE SOULS SAVED BIGTIME THIS WEEKEND WE NEED TO WIN IT IN PRAYER FIRST.

The gospel is powerful but the battle of prayer is necessary to break the hold of darkness off the minds of unbelievers so that they can hear.

HERE’S SOME EXAMPLES OF PREACHERS WHO BELIEVED IN INTERCESSION

Charles G. Finney & His Intercessors – David SmithersCG Finney

http://hopefaithprayer.com/prayernew/charles-g-finney-his-intercessors/

Like the prophet Jeremiah, Charles G. Finney was anointed of God to “root out” and to “plant” in the Lord’s vineyard, (Jer. 1:10). He was a man of intense prayer, purity and passion. “Emptied of self, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. His sermons were chain lightning, flashing conviction into the hearts of the stoutest skeptics. Simple as a child in his utterances, he sometimes startled his hearers by his unique prayers.” He could thunder the judgments of God upon sin with great liberty and power and then offer the mercy of the gospel with tenderness and tears. Without question he was a prophetic voice to 19th century America.

His ministry consistently produced revivals, even in areas considered hardened and unreceptive to the gospel. Finney’s autobiography is filled with accounts of powerful manifestations of the Spirit. On one occasion when Finney was preaching in a school house, “suddenly an awful solemnity fell upon the assembly and the congregation fell from their seats, crying for mercy.” Finney said, “If I had had a sword in each hand I could not have cut them off as fast as they fell. I think the whole congregation was on their knees or prostrated in two minutes.” The crying and weeping of the people was so loud that Finney’s exhortation of Christ’s mercy could not even be heard.

“Finney seemed so anointed with the Holy Spirit that people were often brought under conviction of sin just by looking at him. When holding meetings at Utica, New York, he visited a large factory. At the sight of him one of the workers, and then another, and then another broke down and wept under a sense of their sins, and finally so many were sobbing and weeping that the machinery had to be stopped while Finney pointed them to Christ.”

Finney seems to have had the power of impressing the conscience of men with the necessity of holy living in such a manner as produced lasting results. “Over eighty-five in every hundred persons professing conversion to Christ in Finney’s meetings remained true to God. Whereas seventy percent of those professing Christ in meetings of even so great an evangelist as Moody afterward became backsliders.”

Such results were the fruit of hours and hours of prayer. It was not Finney’s prayers alone that secured such heaven sent revivals. Finney’s was supported by the prayers of two of God’s hidden treasures. It was the hidden, yet powerful intercessions of “Father Nash” and Abel Clary that laid the ground work for these mighty moves of God. “Abel Clary was converted about the same time as Finney, and was licensed to preach also, but he had such a burden of prayer that he could not preach much. His whole time and strength was given to prayer. He would writhe and groan in agony, unable to stand under the weight.” “After Clary’s death Finney discovered Clary’s prayer journal. Finney found in the exact order of the burden laid upon Clary’s heart was the order of blessing poured upon his ministry.”

Father Nash lived a life of almost continual intercession. “He joined himself with Finney, kept a prayer list and was no doubt the secret of much of Finney’s marvelous success. He did not preach and often did not go to the meetings, but remained in his room, or in the woods, wrestling with God in mighty prayer. Often before daybreak people could hear Father Nash for half a mile or more in the woods, or in a church praying, and the sense of God’s presence was overwhelming.”

The Church must do more than esteem the history of men like Charles Finney, Father Nash and Able Clary. If we are going to experience revival we must repent and practice the truths they declared; truths of a holy and pure life; truths of hidden intercession and an uncompromising love for Jesus!

REINHARD BONNKE

EVANGELISM BY FIRE – BOOK – http://www.kingdomvision.co.uk/archives/tag/reinhard-bonnke

Reinhard’s passion for the gospel and reaching the lost comes across very clearly. Reinhard not only demonstrates why every Christian is compelled to share the love of Christ with others in the scriptures, he imparts such fire and yearning that every reader of this book will want to go out and do likewise! He reveals the pitfalls that many stumble over, including fear and wrong motives, and teaches how to overcome them.

Reinhard stresses the importance of prayer in reaching the lost and includes the wonderful illustration: “Evangelism without intercession is an explosive without a detonator. Intercession without evangelism is a detonator without an explosive.” Reinhard includes a number of chapters regarding the power of prayer and the promises made in the Bible regarding prayer and obtaining answers to prayer. Reinhard ascribes his own amazing ministry to those who have supported him in prayer and wonderfully illustrates its importance in this book. “Those who had been so inconspicuous will, all of a sudden, be heroes in the Kingdom of God. Their reward will be great. The Lord will not say, “much done” but “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:21)

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What would you do for love?

Posted in Church, Preaching messages, tagged , , , , , on March 23, 2013| 1 Comment »

CRAZYLOVE 4 24/03/13 PM

What would you do for love?

Would you give up something of immense value?

King Edward VIII abdicated his throne to marry a divorced person Wallis Simpson in 1936.

On the night of 11 December 1936, Edward, now reverted to a prince, made a broadcast to the nation and the Empire, explaining his decision to abdicate. He famously said, “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.”

Would you spend your wealth and work for years?

The Shah Jahan an Indian emperor when his third wife died was so grief stricken that he built the world’s most famous mausoleum.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal )palace 8

In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire‘s period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their 14th child, Gauhara Begum.[11] Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632.[12]The court chronicles of Shah Jahan’s grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal. It took 20,000 workers 12 years to build at a cost of 32 million rupees at the time.

Leave behind all the freedoms of doing what you want with your life?

Woman in Community Kitchen

Give up your peace of mind and enjoyment of life?

A parent looking after a child with Severe Autism.    http://youtu.be/s2lEyno1vwo

Stay there for how ever long it takes, even when there’s no return for your love?

Bill and Gladys Forward are a couple in their 50th year of marriage. Bill is doing fine and he cares for Gladys who has Alzheimer’s disease. Gladys can’t do very much at all anymore, but Bill lovingly cares for her with such devotion because, as he says, I made a promise fifty years ago.

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article/8623153/for-better-or-worse

What did Jesus do for love?

Heb 12:2  looking to Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right of the throne of God.

Rom 5:6  Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful.

Rom 5:7  No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person.

Rom 5:8  But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

He loved us so we must love one another.

1Jn 4:8  God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him.

1Jn 4:9  God showed his love for us when he sent his only Son into the world to give us life.

1Jn 4:10  Real love isn’t our love for God, but his love for us. God sent his Son to be the sacrifice by which our sins are forgiven.

1Jn 4:11  Dear friends, since God loved us this much, we must love each other. (CSV)

 

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CRAZYLOVE # 4

Posted in Church, Preaching messages, Soul Winning, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CRAZYLOVE #4 24/03/13 AMCrazyLove Series Logo

THE BRIDGE IS OUT

So Great is His love.

Eph 2:3 We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.

Eph 2:4 Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love,

Eph 2:5 he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us!

MESS BIBLE

When we get a revelation of how great His love is towards us; it shakes you up!

We realise we have been saved from a Christless eternity. We have been spared an eternal hell that contains only torment and agony; and we didn’t do anything to deserve this reprieve! God loved us – the unlovable! He reached out to us and sent His mighty Holy Spirit to show us the truth; that we are lost and without hope. We were blind and awaiting the swift judgement of a God who is just.

But God intervened and stepped in to take the punishment for sin that we all deserved. Jesus bore our sins and the full wrath of God the Father against that sin. Now we can go free, released just like a pardoned prisoner to be given a new chance at life.

Now what shall we do with this new chance?

A waisted life – the story of Robbie Simpson.

I met young Robbie Simpson on the street in Brisbane. He was a homeless glue sniffing kid whose life was heading for destruction. The youth street team witnessed to him and he gave his life to Christ. After some time we managed to get him away to a rehab farm the church ran far away from town. He was cared for and prayed for and shown the unconditional love that comes from God through Christians; but kept on running away and getting into trouble.

I went to court with him one day. It was Supreme Court and the charge was aggravated assault. This was serious and this little fellow was scared to death. The court was imposing in its appearance. He was terrified as well he should be when sure judgement comes. I gave a reference for him, saying how we as a church will do our best to work with him and help him. He was shown mercy and given a non custodial sentence – a good behaviour bond. Sadly he went back to the glue sniffing and after a short time he was found dead in the streets of a drug overdose.

Sometimes the story has a sad end. This story could be about anyone. You don’t have to be a glue sniffer or homeless to be in a mess. People all around us are in a mess because of brokenness and sin. We are al given at least one chance to make a break, to find life; and sitting here are many great stories of people who found Christ and made a break. Those who took the mercy offered and let God clean up their lives so that now they can do something great with it.

Nicky Cruz – a redeemed life

The story of Nicky Cruz (http://youtu.be/zelqF0mamCw ) is about a life redeemed. This former gang member and killer was made famous in the movie the Cross and the Switchblade. It follows the story of a preacher called David Wilkerson who goes to New York city and witnesses to gangs of violent youths. One gang leader called Nicky Cruz who had murdered many others comes to Christ. He undergoes change and become a preacher himself and now in his later years is still preaching the gospel all over America and round the world. (http://nickycruz.org/ )

Is your life a waisted life or a redeemed life?

What will you do with your life now that you have discovered this great love that was given to you? Does the love of God compel you to go and tell others about this amazing salvation you have. Not everybody has to be a full time preacher; but we are all called to go and reach the lost.

The bridge is out.

One rainy night a pastor and his wife were driving home. It was late and the rain had been very heavy all night. As they turned to go over the bridge and on towards home they saw a figure standing in the road ahead. This man was wearing only trousers and he had no shirt on. He was waving a shirt up over his head swinging it around and around like some crazy person. The pastor had to stop his car because this man was running towards them in the middle of the road. The pastor’s wife was frightened and said to her husband, “Lock the doors”. The pastor decided to get out in the pouring rain and see what the man was about. His wife was not happy. “Be careful,” she said as he left the car trying to shield his face from the driving rain with a coat.

The man was shouting and obviously distressed; and the pastor braced himself for the worst. The man was screaming at him, “The bridge is out. Don’t go there. People are dying.”

Pretty soon the pastor was out in the middle of the road too, waving his arms like a crazy man swinging his coat over his head, around and around to try and get the attention of the cars that were driving onto the bridge and on to certain death.

What would you have done in that situation?

You’re in that very situation every day of your life. The bridge is out. People don’t know, and they are headed for certain death and after that the judgement.

Rom 10:14 How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them? (CEV)

This Easter we have a marvellous opportunity to tell people the bridge is out.

This month our theme is CRAZYLOVE. It’s all about this amazing love the father has given to us. When we see it, when we realise what we have… it’s life changing. Not only do we experience this amazing love for ourselves and receive His life and love and provision, but also we want to share it with others.

What I am asking you to do this week is invite someone to church over Easter.

Use these invitations to invite all your friends, acquaintances, work mates, school friends, relatives etc to come on Good Friday, or Sunday to hear the gospel proclaimed in a clear and powerful way.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Have you got a story about how you gave out an invitation to someone?
  2. Can you remember back before you were a Christian, someone invited you to church or some event? How did you react?
  3. What do you do to get courage to invite or share your faith?
  4. Where would you be today if no one had reached out to you and invited you to church or some kind of opportunity to find Jesus?
  5. What’s your plan to be a great inviter?

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CRAZY LOVE 2

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, Soul Winning, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

SUNDAY 10TH MARCH 2013 AM

HE LOVES THE UNLOVABLE

Mat 5:43  You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy; [Lev. 19:18; Ps. 139:21, 22.]

Mat 5:44  But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [Prov. 25:21, 22.]

Mat 5:45  To show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].

Mat 5:46  For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that?

Mat 5:47  And if you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles (the heathen) do that?

Mat 5:48  You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect. [Lev. 19:2, 18.]

This passage demands that we love the unlovable. If we do we are showing everyone that we are of our Father who is in heaven. We are like Him when we love the unlovable.

Rom 5:5  Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.

Rom 5:6  While we were yet in weakness [powerless to help ourselves], at the fitting time Christ died for (in behalf of) the ungodly.

Rom 5:7  Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die.

Rom 5:8  But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.

Rom 5:9  Therefore, since we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ’s blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God.

Rom 5:10  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more [certain], now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin’s dominion) through His [resurrection] life.

In this passage we see that God’s kind of love is given to us to love others with. He reminds us that Jesus died for us before we made any decision to follow Him, that is, when we were still sinners, the unlovable, in order that we would come into relationship with Him.

GOD’S LOVE FOR EACH AND EVERY PERSON ON EARTH IS COMPLETE. HE LOVES THE UNLOVABLE.

Everyone of us deserves His wrath, but everyone of us has been offered His mercy.

We must rid ourselves of the pride and deception in which we tell ourselves, “I’m a good person really. It’s all those other scum bags that God is talking about.”

Isa 64:6  For we have all become like one who is unclean [ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment; we all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away [far from God’s favor, hurrying us toward destruction]. [Lev. 13:45, 46.]

In spite of all that, God loved us, God reached out toward us, God saved us and gave us His righteousness.

Is there that moment in your life when you sense that overwhelming gratitude for what God has done for you?

Take a look at one of my grandkids…Tessa

What’s not to love? We as human beings find it easy to love when the object of our love seems worthy of it. But God shows His love is beyond that.

As Jesus was dying on the cross, one of the thieves who were crucified beside Him asked for mercy and Jesus gave it freely to him.

The two thieves perfectly illustrate all mankind. Both were guilty as is all mankind for we have all sinned and come short of the perfection of God. One thief was humble and penitent and one thief was proud and insolent towards his only hope. These two reactions are the only two reactions of all mankind towards Jesus offer of forgiveness and life.

God’s love towards us as sinners is remarkable. God’s great passion for relationship with anyone who would come to Him in humility and faith is unending.

Because of His righteousness He must judge all sin. Therefore God executes wrath against sin and punishes every wrong doer, however, so great is His love towards each and every lost person that he gave His only begotten Son to die in their place, to receive the punishment they rightly deserve so that they could be given an opportunity to go free.

Let’s take a look at this Crazy Love of God towards you. Not only did God send His son to die for you, and on your behalf, before you even had a chance to respond to Him; He then came out searching for you and calling you to come to Him.

Joh 6:44  No one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me attracts and draws him and gives him the desire to come to Me, and [then] I will raise him up [from the dead] at the last day.

1Jn_3:1  SEE WHAT [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! The reason that the world does not know (recognize, acknowledge) us is that it does not know (recognize, acknowledge) Him.

The love with which God loved you is huge!

When God loved you; He loved the unlovable. He loved a sinner. He loved someone who had fallen way short of the standard of perfection needed for heaven.

But because of this great love He rescued you and me, and because of this great love you are now a child of His and filled with this same love.

Eph 3:17  May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,

Eph 3:18  That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];

Eph 3:19  [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

Now that you have been saved by this love and filled with this love….

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH IT?

Yes, of course you will love God with it, we are to abide in His love, but also if He loved the unlovable and His love dwells in us then shall we not love the unlovable too?

The power to change a life begins with an invitation.

Our Vision as a church movement is to give every Aussie an opportunity to hear the gospel, and what better time to hear it than at Easter?

Will you invite a crowd to come to Easter?

How to invite someone.

Don’t worry about whether they may or may not be receptive. Invite everyone. You can’t tell who’s ready yet. Just invite saying, “Can I give you this invitation?”

“Hey, take a look at this, my church has special events on this Easter – I would love to invite you to come along.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.  Describe a time when you chose to love an enemy or someone who persecuted you.

2. When we love people who are hard to love, it’s too hard in our own strength so we need God’s love. How do we obtain it?

3. Why do you think God asks us to love the unlovable?

4. If we are full of His love – a love for the unlovable – will that enable us to go out and love the unsaved around us?

5. Who, in your sphere of influence ,can you invite to the Easter concert?

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CRAZY LOVE # 1

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, Soul Winning, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 3, 2013| 2 Comments »

Crazy love # 1 Sunday 3rd March 2013 AMCrazyLove Series Logo

In one of the greatest debates of our time men argue about whether we are created or evolved from chance. Some, who find it hard to swallow that a personal God created all this, are forced to concede to Intelligent Design because of the wonder and complexity of living things. Still others are fully persuaded that God is there and they can know Him.

As atheists account for around 22% of the Australian population and approximately 14-16% world wide, it still leaves many either wondering or confident about God’s existence. What I would like to show them all is how much God loves each and every one of them.

Do you know God loves you?

So often we measure this by how happy we are, or by how well things have gone for us or some other subjective manner.

Just as your child might say to you that you don’t love them because you didn’t give them what they wanted, we, as adult Christians, can be equally as obtuse when it comes assessing whether God loves us or not. Wisdom doesn’t come cheap – it can take a lifetime of living through the highs and lows of our experiences to come to the point of recognising God’s hand on our life.

How do you know God loves you?

If this were an apologetics seminar I would describe the logic behind the argument. But this is teaching from the word. We are fully persuaded about the authenticity and reliability of God’s word. (See the resources on this at http://pvc.podomatic.com/player/web/2010-04-09T06_14_02-07_00  and following 7 messages)

In the beginning God created man. Why?

1. Because He wanted Kids. It is the nature of God that He is a father.

Gen 1:26  God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. [Ps. 104:30; Heb. 1:2; 11:3.]

Gen 1:27  So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. [Col. 3:9, 10; James 3:8, 9.]

Gen 1:28  And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.

In the New Testament Jesus reminds us of the father nature of God as His and our Father.

Mat 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!

2. Because He desires to have fellowship with us.

Joh 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.

Rom_6:11  Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. (AMP)

Joh 14:2  In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places (homes). If it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going away to prepare a place for you.

Joh 14:3  And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.

3. We are made for His Glory.

Isa 43:7  Even everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed, whom I have made.

We bring Glory to Him through our relationship to Him.

Eph 3:10  [The purpose is] that through the church the complicated, many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere.

4. This love is the culmination of His vast plan.

Eph 2:4  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,

Eph 2:5  Even 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 favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).

Just how much does God love you?

Isa 49:13  Sing for joy, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion upon His afflicted.

Isa 49:14  But Zion [Jerusalem, her people as seen in captivity] said, The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.

Isa 49:15  [And the Lord answered] 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.

Isa 49:16  Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.

God is painting a picture for you in this passage.

Is there any mother here today that can remember breast feeding her baby?

At that time, did you ever forget that you had a baby? – NO of course not, but God says in contrast to His love and devotion to you; yes, a breast feeding mother can indeed forget her baby.

Can you see a woman forgetting her baby that is still in the breast feeding stage of life? Is that even possible? God makes a contrast to bring out a point to you. He says compared to His attention level…. Yes, a mother of an unweaned child CAN forget her baby  –  yet I will not forget you.

Tattoos are pretty popular these days, but I notice that very few people receive tattoos on the palms of their hands. It hurts, yes for sure, but the palms face you, they are not for others to see. If you want to hold onto something tight, then you hold it inside your clenched fist inside your palms.  When I want to remind myself of something important I write it on my palm – that’s where I am most likely to see it.

God is painting a picture for you here today. His love and affection and devotion for you is greater than a mother toward her new born. He has a photo of you imprinted on His palm. How can He forget you? Your walls are ever before Him. These walls are the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down by the enemy, by lack of fully functioning Kingdom and lack of the care of God’s people. The broken walls speak of those places of brokenness, loss, dysfunction and failure that surround our lives. God cares and God has answers.

If we truly receive a revelation of how great His love is toward us – what then?

How shall we respond?

  1. Receive His love – be healed saved and restored. Accept His free gift of life and walk with Him in a bond of Love.
  2. Truly desire that others may live.  If His love is so great can we neglect to tell others of it? Shall we be partakers of complete salvation and deny the others in spite of the fact that others brought me to this place of discovery? As Paul cried – “I am a debtor” He had received so much that he considered he owed to others who had not heard.

This Easter will you reach out to others? So that others may live.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. What was your first experience of God’s love?
  2. Has God’s love ever seemed distant from you?
  3. What verse from today’s blog most speaks to you about God’s love to you?
  4. How can we overcome disappointments to see the love of God at work in our lives?
  5. How would you share the love of God with others?

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Raiders of the Lost Ark

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2013| 3 Comments »

God is harsh but merciful.

Does anyone remember this movie scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark?

http://youtu.be/0APF3SO9tqE

It shows the horror of opening up the ark of the Lord or the Ark of the Covenant and the resulting destruction. There is an element of truth to this wild story.

The Ark of the Lord was a real piece of furniture that was kept in the place of worship the Israelites had in ancient times. Moses was the leader and he received from God the ten commandments written on stone.

The Ten Commandments were:

10-God-Man

Exo 20:3-17

When God gave the law to Moses, the penalties for breaking the law were harsh.

Lev 24:16  And he who blasphemes the Name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him; the stranger as well as he who was born in the land shall be put to death when he blasphemes the Name [of the Lord].

Lev_20:9  Everyone who curses his father or mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or mother; his bloodguilt is upon him.

Lev_20:10  The man who commits adultery with another’s wife, even his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. [John 8:4-11.]

Lev 24:17  And he who kills any man shall surely be put to death.

Or what about this one..

Num_1:51  When the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down, and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up. And the excluded [any not of the tribe of Levi] who approach the tabernacle shall be put to death.

One time the Israelites were moving the ark from one place to another when…

2Sa_6:6  And when they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled and shook it.

2Sa_6:7  And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for touching the ark, and he died there by the ark of God.

The laws God gave to his people were to be obeyed and if you didn’t obey then the result was often death. God told Moses, Exo_25:16  And you shall put inside the ark the Testimony [the Ten Commandments] which I will give you.

On the top of the ark was a gold statue of two angels called the mercy seat. Inside the ark God said place the tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments.

ark-of-the-covenant The mercy seat was the lid of the box called the Ark of the Covenant. The lid was made of one piece of pure gold beaten into shape including the two angels.

Every year Blood would be sprinkled on the top of the lid between the angels. The place where the blood was sprinkled was called the mercy seat. When God looked down from heaven he saw the blood covering the law which was inside the box called the Ark of the Covenant. God’s power presence and glory shone out from this place called the mercy seat.

When you take away the lid of the ark, you take away the Mercy Seat, you take away the blood that was on the mercy seat that shielded the harshness of the law. The high priest NEVER opened the Ark of the Covenant after the initial set up.

In the New Testament is says that Jesus has become our mercy seat.

Rom 3:25  Whom God put forward [before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment. (AMP)

God’s law still stands. The penalty for breaking the law is still harsh…

Rom 6:23  For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord.

The only thing standing between you and the Law is the blood of Jesus. It shields and protects you from the harshness and penalty of death that you and I so rightfully deserve. If you believe in Jesus – His blood is a cleansing and atonement for your sins.

Rom_5:9  Therefore, since we are now justified (acquitted, made righteous, and brought into right relationship with God) by Christ’s blood, how much more [certain is it that] we shall be saved by Him from the indignation and wrath of God.

We must never lift the lid on the Ark of the Covenant – we must never take away the blood of Jesus from over the law, we must never stop trusting in the blood of Jesus to save us from the penalty of the law. The only way to have the blood of Jesus shield you from the harshness of the penalty of disobeying the law is to have faith in Christ – faith in His blood.

Rom 3:28  For we conclude that a person is put right with God only through faith, and not by doing what the Law commands. (GNB)

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EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Sunday 17th February 2013 PMchurch

This month we are helping people to find where they fit in the plan God has for their lives. You are a very important part of God’s plan for Melbourne. God has gifted you and called you for a very important task so that His plan can be fulfilled completely.

Maybe you are gifted by God to really impact your own school or your Uni?

Maybe it’s at your workplace that you will make a real difference.

Eph 1:8  He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need,

Eph 1:9  letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ,

Eph 1:10  a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

Eph 1:11  It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living,

Eph 1:12  part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

(MESS)

Do you know what God wants you to do for Him?

The best way to find out is to ask Him!

The Holy Spirit is God at work in you to show you His plan and equip you to do it.

STORY

When I received Jesus as my saviour I began to attend church Sunday nights. Soon we were invited to a new Christian’s dinner. We the staff heard that Chris was a trainee Teacher they were very excited and asked her to come on Sunday mornings and teach kids in Sunday School. They said, “You can come along too Craig.”  Chris and I taught new comers. We would share with them about Jesus from a wordless book.

 

I remember the first time I led about 5 boys to Christ in the class, I just about exploded with joy! Why was that so exciting? I used to get drunk for kicks and organise student parties for the uni students. Something changed in me – the Holy Spirit working in me to touch others lives was exhilarating!

 

In the youth group we were in we used to meet on Friday nights and then go out into the city to witness to people. Sometimes the praise and worship would last an hour or more. There were some occasions when we sang in worship to God for an hour and it seemed like a bout 5 minutes had gone past. The Holy Spirit just captivated our hearts and minds in worship and Jesus seemed so real, so close and so powerful.

 

When I got water baptised. The pastors prayed for me and asked the Holy Spirit to fill me. I didn’t know what to expect, but I really wanted the gift of tongues. Nothing happened, and I went home a bit disappointed. So for three weeks I was praying to God for the gift of tongues. One Wednesday night at church we had teaching and during a time of loud praise and worship I was just so thirsty for God I cried out to Him and said, “Please fill me with the Holy Spirit God, and give me the gift of tongues or I am going to die!” A great rush of life and power hit me and out of my mouth flooded a torrent of language. It was real and powerful and obvious.

 

After we had been serving for about two years I was asked to lead a teens group which we called Youth Alive. The people who were taking on the youth and the people who were leaving the teens program as leaders all got prayed for and hands were laid on them. For what ever reason, I was overlooked. I decided it wasn’t anyone’s fault but God was still available, so after the church service (it was at a youth Camp) I went back to the church meeting room after lights out and just waited on God for a couple of hours. God visited me by His Holy Spirit. I felt an amazing peace flood over me and a real sense of God’s power overshadowing me. I believe God equipped me and empowered me for the new role of leading the teens church.

 

The Holy Spirit wants to fill you and empower you for His work He does through you.

 

I know that when people lay hands on you Gods’ power flows through you.

Many many times I have been prayed for and the power of God is so strong and tangible that I can’t stand up. I end up on the floor and experience peace, joy and a marvellous sense of victory.

um 11:16  And the Lord said to Moses, Gather for Me seventy men of the elders of Israel whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them to the Tent of Meeting and let them stand there with you.

Num 11:17  And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take of the Spirit which is upon you and will put It upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not have to bear it yourself alone.

1Ti_4:14  Do not neglect the gift which is in you, [that special inward endowment] which was directly imparted to you [by the Holy Spirit] by prophetic utterance when the elders laid their hands upon you [at your ordination].

I have had the great honour of receiving prayer form some truly great men of God. One of these was Lester Sumrall who was prayed for and anointed by Smith Wigglesworth in his early ministry.

When we started this church, it was a special time of God’s moving and people were getting drunk in the Holy Spirit, seeing visions and experiencing what is called Holy laughter. Teenagers in this church saw visions of angels, of heaven and even of hell right in the meetings. Some people received prayer and were laid out on the carpet for two hours or more.

The Holy Spirit does things that may seem strange to us when we see it. Like in the book of Acts, when the disciples heard a rushing mighty wind and saw tongues of fire upon their heads.

He is not limited to worldly reason. He works in peoples lives to convict them of sin, to heal and set them free and to equip and empower them for ministry.

The Holy Spirit wants to work in your life and fill you with power and equip you to serve Jesus in ministry. You’re never too young in age or in years of experience.

Act 1:8  But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.

Come and receive all that God has for you.

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