Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘COC’

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?

Read Full Post »

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?

Read Full Post »

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)

Read Full Post »

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.

Read Full Post »

YOU FIT HERE 3

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2013| 1 Comment »

Sunday 17 February 2013 AMhands

The Anointing service

REVIEW

Have you discovered your God given place in God’s incredible plan?

Eph 1:4 Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love.

John spoke about God’s call to Moses to serve the people of Israel. Moses was so reluctant. I can’t speak he said, I’m not equipped; I feel like a failure, I’m only a shepherd, can’t someone else do it?

Sound familiar? We all feel like that at times. We may be reluctant, but God has an important task for us to accomplish for His plan.  This month we are helping as many as possible to find their place in His plan.

Last week we spoke about servanthood. Jesus gave us the most magnificent example of servanthood one could imagine. His Spirit and love now reside within us and we have this same passion to love others and serve them for the Kingdom of God producing fruit that will last for all eternity.

The most important way we serve God.

Essentially the call of God on your life is a call to be with Him. It’s the call to daily take up the cross and live this life of walking day by day with Jesus. It’s a call to love people. It’s a call to lay down our life for others. It’s a call to prayer and it’s a call to share the gospel with as many people as possible. What ever role or task you fulfil in the local church is secondary to your primary role of walking with Jesus and winning lost people.

The story of Acts 6.

In the first few weeks of the early church there was rapid growth and a need to gain the help of new members to assist in the smooth running of important tasks.

Act 6:1  NOW ABOUT this time, when the number of the disciples was greatly increasing, complaint was made by the Hellenists (the Greek-speaking Jews) against the [native] Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked and neglected in the daily ministration (distribution of relief).

Act 6:2  So the Twelve [apostles] convened the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not seemly or desirable or right that we should have to give up or neglect [preaching] the Word of God in order to attend to serving at tables and superintending the distribution of food.

Act 6:3  Therefore select out from among yourselves, brethren, seven men of good and attested character and repute, full of the [Holy] Spirit and wisdom, whom we may assign to look after this business and duty.

Act 6:4  But we will continue to devote ourselves steadfastly to prayer and the ministry of the Word.

Act 6:5  And the suggestion pleased the whole assembly, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith (a strong and welcome belief that Jesus is the Messiah) and full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte (convert) from Antioch.

Act 6:6  These they presented to the apostles, who after prayer laid their hands on them.

Act 6:7  And the message of God kept on spreading, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; and [besides] a large number of the priests were obedient to the faith [in Jesus as the Messiah, through Whom is obtained eternal salvation in the kingdom of God].

This story is exciting for many reasons

  1. The new converts found a place of serving and significance
  2. The Church was empowered to grow more than ever
  3. The apostles were enabled to remain focussed on the task God had called them to which was the prayer and the ministry of the word.

This morning we want to recognise and set apart for the work of the ministry those people in this local church who are volunteering for roles of service in this church.

What happens when we lay hands on you?

1. By the laying on of hands you receive the gift of God.

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].

2Ti_1:6  That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination].

2. By the laying on of hands you are committed to the Lord.

Act_14:23  And when they had appointed and ordained elders for them in each church with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in Whom they had come to believe [being full of joyful trust that He is the Christ, the Messiah].

3. By the laying on of hands you are commissioned and released.

Act_15:22  Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, resolved to select men from among their number and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, [both] leading men among the brethren, and sent them.

The anointing with oil which represents the Holy Spirit was an important part of Gods selection, setting apart and equipping of leadership in the Old Testament times and now in the early church, oil was again used as a vehicle of prayer and power from the Holy Spirit.

Heb 13:20  Now may the God of peace [Who is the Author and the Giver of peace], Who brought again from among the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood [that sealed, ratified] the everlasting agreement (covenant, testament), [Isa. 55:3; 63:11; Ezek. 37:26; Zech. 9:11.]

Heb 13:21  Strengthen (complete, perfect) and make you what you ought to be and equip you with everything good that you may carry out His will; [while He Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ (the Messiah); to Whom be the glory forever and ever (to the ages of the ages). Amen (so be it).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How do you picture the Holy Spirit?

2. How do you talk to the Holy Spirit in Prayer?

3. What are some of the things the Holy Spirit wants to do to help us live for Jesus?

4. Do you wait on the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you power?

5.  How can He help you in your current role of serving God?

Read Full Post »

Deep Love for God’s Word

Posted in Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Deep Love for God’s Wordwilliam_tyndale

Message Sunday 20 January 2013 PM

How powerful and beautiful are God’s words?

Psa 19:7  The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

Psa 19:8  the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;

Psa 19:9  the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

Psa 19:10  More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

Psa 19:11  Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

How much do you love God’s word?

Would you exchange a big lump of Gold for it?

Would you rather have a meal of Honey (Or plate of prawns, or a wagu fillet steak etc) or a serve of God’ word?

God’s word is so important that He says if anyone tries to change it they will be cursed.

Rev 22:18  I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,

Rev 22:19  and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Would you be prepared to die so that other people could read the bible?

Let me tell you about the life of William Tyndale

William Tyndale was the Captain of the Army of Reformers, and was their spiritual leader. Tyndale holds the distinction of being the first man to ever print the New Testament in the English language. Tyndale was a true scholar and a genius, so fluent in eight languages; Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, English, and German that it was said one would think any one of them to be his native tongue. He is frequently referred to as the “Architect of the English Language”, (even more so than William Shakespeare) as so many of the phrases Tyndale coined are still in our language today.

Tyndale’s translation was the first English Bible to draw directly from Hebrew and Greek texts, the first English one to take advantage of the printing press, and first of the new English Bibles of the Reformation, so that the grass-roots spread of Wycliffe’s Bible resulted in a death sentence for any unlicensed possession of Scripture in English

Tyndale said, “If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause the boy that drives the plow to know more of the scriptures than the Roman Catholic Bishop!”

In 1535, Tyndale was arrested and jailed in the castle of Vilvoorde (Filford) outside Brussels for over a year. In 1536 he was convicted of heresy and executed by strangulation, after which his body was burnt at the stake. His dying request that the King of England’s eyes would be opened seemed to find its fulfilment just two years later with Henry’s authorization of The Great Bible for the Church of England—which was largely Tyndale’s own work. Hence, the Tyndale Bible, as it was known, continued to play a key role in spreading Reformation ideas across the English-speaking world and eventually, on the global British Empire. His version also worked prominently into the Geneva Bible which was taken to the New World, to  Jamestown in 1607, and on the Mayflower in 1620. Notably, in 1611, the 54 independent scholars who created the King James Version, drew significantly from Tyndale, as well as translations that descended from his. One estimate suggests the New Testament in the King James Version is 83% Tyndale’s, and the Old Testament 76%.[7]

Other martyrs

In Tyndale’s time the church service throughout England was still conducted in Latin, as was the practice of the Roman church everywhere.  Colet, England’s greatest New  Testament scholar and  professor of  that  date  at  Oxford University, Tyndale’s chief teacher and bishop of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, was denounced for teaching his congregation to  recite  the  Lord’s Prayer in English.  Colet advocated also that the preaching be done in English, but this was not tolerated.  In 1539

five  Scotchmen were burned at  the stake in Edinburgh for studying,  memorizing,  and preaching from the Bible.  One of them was charged with teaching his parishion-

ers to say the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments in English. Taverner  who  published  an  English Bible  in 1539,  was  at  an  earlier time, while  a  student at  Oxford, imprisoned for  reading Tyndale’s New  Testament. Marbeck, who in 1550 published the first concordance to  the  English Bible, narrowly scaped being  put to  death. Thomas Matthew, who published  an English  Bible  in  1537,

the  year  following Tyndale’s martyrdom, was like  him burned at the stake in

1555. (http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/3135994.pdf?acceptTC=true

Read Full Post »

The Word of God Changes Me

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, Preaching messages, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Message Sunday 20 January 2013 AMbible

Have you completed your mini-survey?

The bible is amazing!

Most published book on earth by miles.

It is supernatural in its ability to change you.

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing  and  sifting  and  analyzing  and  judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 AMP)

When you go to sleep – your body goes into maintenance mode.

Your brain is very active when you are asleep. Your body is active in healing, restoring and growing during the sleep period.

What about your spirit, the real you, your heart, when does that restore heal and rejuvenate?

Look at what the word of God promises for your spirit man……

Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You. (Psalm 119:11 AMP)

Psa 119:105    Nun. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

You are cleansed  and  pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].

If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you  and  continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:3, 7 AMP)

The law of the  Lord  is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the  Lord  is  sure, making wise  the simple; (Psalms 19:7 ESV)

Lets look at a prophetic story in the Old Testament.

Ezekiel

Eze 37:1    The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.

Eze 37:2    And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry.

Eze 37:3    And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.”

Eze 37:4    Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.

Eze 37:5    Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.

Dry bones – way past dead. – can they live?

But Israel were still a people alive and going about their daily routines.

But they were spiritually dead, why?

They had stopped their relationship with God They were worshipping idols – there were other things more important than God in their lives.

God asks – “Can these live?”

Ezekiel answers wisely…. ” You know Oh Lord”

Look what the word of The Lord does to these bones.

Eze 37:6    And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Eze 37:7    So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.

Eze 37:8    And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them.

Eze 37:9    Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”

Eze 37:10    So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

 

We will come alive when the word of God comes to us.

How dry are your bones?

How was your time spent in prayer this week? – Did you hear God speak to your heart about something?

Have you spent time this week reading Gods word?- is there an application of His word that you can make after reading it?

Have you been able to share your faith and testimony with people this week?  – if you abide in me and my words abide in you you shall bear much fruit.

During this time of prayer and fasting in this church from 7-27 January we have had prayer times at church every week day morning and every night.

Apart from paid staff the attendance has been between one and three.

Maybe there’s a lot of dry bones in this church.

Thanks to all those who pray and seek God at home and thanks to those who are fasting with us. But corporate prayer is vital.

One can put a thousand to flight and two can put ten thousand to flight.

When you pray on your own – you could be distracted by worries, concerns, negative thoughts. When you pray with others you are supported and you learn how to pray. We will teach you.

I love you church but I am afraid that you have become disheartened.

Some of the most amazing people in this church are solo mums. Some of our solo mums arrive at 6am set their kids up in the play room and come in to the prayer room to seek God. Another woman in our church who has been through a deep tragedy recently came to cry out to God for others in this church.

God’s people have a capacity to change the world but only when they are vitally connected to Him.

Can these bones live? – I believe they can.

I PROPHESY OVER THIS CHURCH —   BREATH OF GOD COME FROM HEAVEN AND BLOW UPON THESE PEOPLE THAT THEY MAY ARISE AND STAND UP N THEIR FEET A MIGHTY ARMY.

Will you let the word of God heal you restore you and change you?

I believe that the bible is the word of God and it is inerrant, reliable and divinely inspired.

Here’s why…

Why not access the 8 messages on our podcast site that explain the authenticity and reliability of the bible.

  1. Evidence –

literary evidence

Prophetic evidence

Archaeological evidence

Go to :  http://pvc.podomatic.com/player/web/2010-04-09T06_14_02-07_00

2. If any part of the bible can be questioned, then how can you put your faith in any other part? How can your salvation, the most important issue in your life, rest upon a fallible text or one attributed to man or suspicious in its veracity?

Do not let popular secular myths and pseudo scientific statements shape how you believe about the word of God.

(It’s full of inconsistencies, or its changed over the centuries because of translation and copying errors.) thousands of scientists who believe in the inspiration of the bible are listed  here http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/bios/

 

Here is a study that was done in Australia and America that looked at a list of 150 things that Christians can do to grow spiritually – and then measured it against 22 sins – to see which of the 150 were the most powerful to overcome sin. They came up with a very interesting conclusion – reading the word of God 4 or more times a week was most powerful.

In our Urban Connect Groups we teach members to read the word of God and come back to the group ready to share what God has spoken to them in that reading and how they will apply that to their lives.

Here’s the best way to read the word of God. We use the YOUVERSION Life Journal Reading plan that helps you read through the bible in a year Old Testament once and New Testament twice.

Here’s how to locate that. Go to PVCOC website. Or use the handout you received today.

Read Full Post »

Fresh Air – a time of seeking God # 1

Posted in Church, Equip the Saints, News Flash, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Fresh AirFresh Air is the proclaimed time for seeking God with prayer and fasting right across the Christian Outreach Centre Movement in Australia and Oceania. It’s a time when we set ourselves apart to meet with God. To seek Him out and to humble ourselves. Part of this experience is repentance.

That comes through clearly from

2Ch 7:14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Turning from our wicked ways is repentance.

It’s not an old fashioned word, it’s not a “revival only” word, it’s not a word for the fanatics, it’s a word from the bible that simply means change your mind. Here are the two main Greek words that are translated as repentance in the new testament:

1. metanoeō (met-an-o-eh’-o)

From G3326 and G3539; to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): – repent.

2. metanoia. met-an’-oy-ah

From G3340; (subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication reversal (of [another’s] decision): – repentance.
When we spend time seeking God, we are opening up our lives, our hearts, our minds to God. We are asking , “What do I need to change God?”  When His people in the Old Testament went astray, as they did so often, He would call them back through His prophets. Return to me says the Lord. As normal human beings living in this fallen world it is so easy to find ourselves gradually changing to be like the world. Inching so surely and so gradually more and more to worldly behaviours and thinking.  For many Christians in our nation, there is little prayer in their lives, little reading of God’s word, their giving is what’s convenient, some even feel it unnecessary to attend church regularly; and fasting…. what’s that? All around us are millions of people who are on a highway to hell. Do we care? Are we heartbroken for the lost – even our own family members who are not saved yet? Do we really believe in a literal hell that every person who has not been born again will go to?

Take a look around – Australia is a very secular nation. so few are born again and many of those who are, are casual about winning the lost. The church has not just become irrelevant but is seen as part of the problem by the main stream media. OK so what do we do about it?  –  2Ch 7:14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. I care about Australia – I want to see God rescue as any as possible from sin and unbelief. So this month I’m fasting and praying AND repenting.

The biggest obstacle to repentance is the attitude  – I’m OK its everyone else that needs to change. This is called self righteousness. The Pharisees were really good at this one.

In Luk 3:8 Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. – Here Jesus rebukes the Pharisees who believed that they were “OK” because they had Abraham as their father. Jesus discounted that by declaring, that is nothing… God can raise up sons of Abraham from these stones!  A little bit later in Luke we see

Luk 18:9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
Luk 18:10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
Luk 18:13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (ESV)

Self righteousness is an obstacle for repentance. The Pharisee did not see any need to change. The tax collector saw a big need to change. The Pharisee is telling God how good he is, the Tax Collector is saying how bad he is. The Pharisee compared himself to others, but the Tax Collector compared himself with God.

When ever we say to ourselves, I’m OK; I’m not as bad as those people. Or we say I’m trying hard, I do this and that for God, we are blinded by self righteousness, we can’t repent and we don’t even realise we are poor, miserable, blind and naked.  (Rev 3:17)  If we say to ourselves I’ve been saved for so many years and I have been to so many prayer meetings and I have fasted for so many times and fail to simply ask the Holy Spirit, “What needs to change in my heart today, Holy Spirit?” Then we are missing the incredible opportunity to open up our lives and our churches and our community for greatness and God’s plan.  Will you join us in seeking God, humbling ourselves, and repenting, turning away from attitudes, ideas, behaviours that the Holy Spirit shows us need to change?

2Ch 7:14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

7-27 JANUARY 2013 – FRESH AIR

Read Full Post »

The Prime Minister congratulates COC

Posted in News Flash, tagged , on October 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

CHRISTIAN OUTREACH CENTRE ELECTS OCEANIA CHAIRMAN

Christian Outreach Centre, one of Australia’s largest Christian movements, has elected a new Chairman for its Oceania region covering 24 nations with a combined population of some 37.7 million people.

He is Ps Ross Abraham, former Queensland State Chairman for COC, and Lead Pastor for the Elevation multi-campus churches in Gold Coast, Tweed Heads and Townsville.

Ross and his wife Kathy both come originally from Townsville, moving to Brisbane in 1986. He joined COC’s Brisbane staff in 1988 as Youth Pastor.

Ross replaces Ps David McDonald, who had held the position of Australian National Chairman for 13 years.

COC’s Oceania region, with some 55,000 members, has 700 churches, four major schools, a State-accredited tertiary college, several child care centres and Bible and ministry schools and Global Care, a disaster relief agency with 4000 registered volunteers.

He said: “I take my new role very seriously indeed, and will dedicate my time and energy not just to building COC numerically and geographically, but even more importantly to develop stronger relationships between our churches and their local communities.

“It seems all we hear about in the news is conflict and trouble – the role of the church should be to bring harmony, and to play a positive role promoting peace and unity in our nations, cities and towns.

“Oceania is a big region, and I do not underestimate the challenges in terms of different cultures and traditions. But for me, it is more about what we are for, than what we are against.

“I believe our churches should be champions for righteousness across our great region, and I have set up core unifying values emphasising faith with stewardship, growing interpersonal relationships, winning souls, influencing communities and helping individuals to learn and be equipped for life.”

Christian Outreach Centre and its disaster recovery arm, Global Care, have been honoured publicly by the Governor-General, Prime Minister, Federal Opposition Leader and several State premiers:

  • I am pleased to send my congratulations to Christian Outreach Centre … As you champion Christian values, your devotion inspires goodwill and provides a source of support to people in times of stress and difficulty. We saw this as your members gave assistance during the Queensland floods as Global Care volunteers … your engagement with the wider community is strengthened through the care and generosity of your congregations. You continue to champion fine values and educate our youth to be respected citizens – Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia
  • Australia’s long Christian heritage stems from our earliest years as a nation … the dedicated charitable work of Christian Outreach Centre is an excellent example of this great Christian contribution to Australian society …This year I particularly commend the volunteers of Global Care, your disaster recovery arm … the Global Care motto “mates helping mates” is a marvellous illustration of the connection between Christian charity and the Australian way. – The Hon Julia Gillard MP, Prime Minister of Australia
  • I am pleased to send my congratulations to Christian Outreach Centre … you have continued your mission to promote good values and engage with all members of our community. I also congratulate you for the work of Global Care …from the aftermath of the floods in Queensland to the Victorian bushfires, Global Care volunteers have been there to provide a helping hand to people and communities – The Hon Tony Abbott MHR, Leader of the Opposition
  • In a world of constant change, it is reassuring to know that faith communities like Christian Outreach Centre are growing strong … your global network of churches administer an antidote for the mounting stresses and complexities of this modern age … I am proud that COC and your disaster relief arm Global Care started in Queensland, but even more proud that your ministry and charitable works now extend way beyond our State lines – The Hon Campbell Newman MP, Premier of Queensland.

For further information:

Conor Murphy email pa@elevationchurch.com.au

phone 07 5597 2955 mob 0402 862 048.

John Gagliardi email jgagliardi@coc.org.au

phone 07 3457 1079 mob 0430 739 112.Right-click here to download pictures. To help protect your privacy, Outlook prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts