Ryan Rufus: Recent Episodes
Ryan Rufus
The post A Pre-Trib Rapture is not in the Bible | BIBLE STUDY appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post “To Worship in Spirit and Truth” FULLY EXPLAINED | SERMON appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post BEING SANCTIFIED: The process that changes our current condition (Pt5) appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post REGENERATION: Empowered for Sanctification (Pt3) appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post Salvation’s Effect on Your Spirit, Mind & Body (Pt2) appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post The Woman with the Alabaster Jar | FULLY EXPLAINED appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post How my Mum survived a burst brain aneurysm | #006 PODCAST appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
In this episode we talk about what the simple message of grace is and why it is so powerful and controversial.
The post PT 1: WHY TRUE GRACE NEEDS TO COME BACK TO THE CHURCH | #004 PODCAST appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
In this episode we talk about why the Church desperately needs a Grace Revolution.
The post PT 2: WHY TRUE GRACE NEEDS TO COME BACK TO THE CHURCH | #004 PODCAST appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
This is a Bible Study containing the key scriptures that teach about the Holy Spirit. Use this as an outline for Bible studies and sermons.
Bible Study Outline:
The Person of the Holy Spirit:
God the Holy Spirit.
Deity.
Trinity.
Personhood.
Promise of the Holy Spirit.
Joel, John, Jesus, Peter.
The Ministry of the Holy Spirit:
His ministry to us.
Born of the Spirit.
Baptism of the Spirit.
A new language - tongues.
Helper, advocate.
Spirit of Sonship.
Spirit of revelation and truth.
Spirit of impartation.
Spirit of transformation.
His ministry through us.
Power to be a witness.
Build up the Body of Christ - gifts of the Spirit.
His ministry to the World.
Convicts the world of unbelief in Christ.
His ministry to the Church.
Unity of the Spirit.
Build up the Body.
The post The PERSON and MINISTRY of the HOLY SPIRIT appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
In this podcast we talk about: The deity of the Holy Spirit, the trinity, the personhood of the Holy Spirit, why He's essential in the Church, being led by the Holy Spirit, how to have more Holy Spirit in you church, then finishing with a powerful time of prayer.
The post WHY THE HOLY SPIRIT NEEDS TO COME BACK TO THE CHURCH | #003 PODCAST appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
This anointed teaching is about getting to know the wonderful person and ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
The post Knowing the Holy Spirit appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Matthew 18 explained verse by verse through a clear understanding of the New Covenant Gospel of Grace. All the difficult verses made clear!
The post MATTHEW 18 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post WHY HEALING NEEDS TO COME BACK TO THE CHURCH | #001 PODCAST appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post Why the JOY of GOD needs to come back to the Church appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post Why the FIRE of GOD needs to come back to the Church | #001 PODCAST appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Debunking universalism and unconditional election. Is faith for salvation a gift? What does "faith without works is dead" really mean? How is Christ the end of the Law? Is salvation instant or progressive? How does someone get saved? When does someone get saved? Has Israel missed out on salvation?
The post Romans 10 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Has God's Word failed because Israel are not currently saved? No, because God's children are through faith not natural descent or works. Whoever receives Christ, the Promised One, by faith are Abraham's children whether a Jew or Gentile.
The post Romans 9 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
What does the Bible say about the rapture? Here is a biblical case for a post tribulation rapture at the return of Christ. We must base our eschatology on the Word of God. There are four main Scriptures about the rapture or the gathering of the saints. The keys to unlocking them is to understand the Last trumpet and the first resurrection. This is a disputable doctrine so me must be gracious and create space for others to hold differing view. Whether you're pre-trib, post-trib or other, if you are in Christ then we are brothers and sisters. This is a post-trib view from a brother who is walking in the Gospel of grace.
The post Biblical Evidence for a Post Tribulation Rapture appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
God's GIFT of RIGHTEOUSNESS makes us AS RIGHTEOUS AS GOD!
The post God’s FREE GIFT of Righteousness appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Only true grace can set you free and empower you! This is the pure and powerful message of the Gospel of grace.
The post The Pure and Powerful Message of Grace appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
If you're going through a hard time right now I would love to encourage you and also pray for you. Firstly, I feel God saying that sometimes the best thing to do is to "JUST KEEP GOING!" Don't stop to try and over think everything and figure it out. Just keep going and you will get through this!
ALSO, keep just doing the basics: Get in God's presence, feed on God's Word, AND keep a healthy connection with people.
Can I encourage you to find a local church and let them help you, even if you think they are not perfect. Every church has some people who are willing to help.
Finally, I PRAY that God would surround you right now with His presence and with His supernatural peace. I release the strength of God into your life. May God ARISE over you and your enemies be SCATTERED! I BREAK discouragement off you in Jesus name and I declare the Spirit of VICTORY and JOY to overwhelm you RIGHT NOW! You are BLESSED IN JESUS NAME! God's richest unconditional love and abounding grace be upon you and fill you.
-Ryan.
The post Are you going through a hard time? appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
What we do know is that Jesus went around taking sickness off people and never putting it on anyone. If ever you're uncertain about God's goodness just look to Jesus! One third of His entire ministry was healing the sick. He cured all kinds of diseases, opened blind eyes and deaf ears, raised the crippled, delivered people from demonic oppression, even raised people from the dead. Jesus came to REVEAL the "Will of the Father". This is incontrovertible evidence that God desires to take sickness and oppression OFF people, NOT put it ON them!
Sickness is a spirit of death but Jesus is the Spirit of life. The devil operates through oppression and death but Jesus operates through life and victory. This is made clear in the Scriptures:
ACTS 10:38 "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about DOING GOOD and HEALING ALL who were OPPRESSED BY THE DEVIL, for GOD WAS WITH HIM."
JOHN 10:10 "The THIEF comes only to steal and KILL and destroy. I came that they may have LIFE and have it ABUNDANTLY."
MATTHEW 10:7-8 "And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ HEAL THE SICK, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay."
MARK 16:15-18 "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will LAY THEIR HANDS ON THE SICK, and THEY WILL RECOVER.”
The Body of Christ is here on earth to continue to reveal the will of the Father which is to save people and take sickness off them.
It was the Fathers absolute will to heal the sick. Jesus revealed that will by the mighty works He did in healing the sick. And now it's God's absolute will for us to continue that work by healing the sick. No other scripture better encapsulates this truth more than the following:
JOHN 14:8-14 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my OWN AUTHORITY, but the FATHER who DWELLS in me DOES HIS WORKS. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the WORKS themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will ALSO do the works that I do; and GREATER WORKS than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
When you pray for someone to be healed you are praying the PERFECT WILL OF GOD!
The post How can God be good if He allows sickness? appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Acts 8 through the Gospel of grace.
The post ACTS 8 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Acts 7 through the Gospel of grace.
The post ACTS 7 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Acts 6 through the Gospel of grace.
The post ACTS 6 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Acts 5 through the Gospel of grace.
The post ACTS 5 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Acts 4 through the Gospel of grace.
The post ACTS 4 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Acts 3 through the Gospel of grace.
The post ACTS 3 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Acts 2 through the Gospel of grace.
The post ACTS 2 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Acts 1 through the Gospel of grace.
The post ACTS 1 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
I personally want to THANK and CELEBRATE all the GOSPEL PARTNERS of New Nature Ministries, and anyone who has ever donated to us - THANK YOU for standing with us and helping us do what we do. You are appreciated more than you realise!
THANK YOU for choosing to sow your hard earned financial seed in this ground that is seeing a harvest of freedom and transformation in people's lives all over the world!
Can I ENCOURAGE you to keep standing with us even through challenging times and for others to consider becoming a MONTHLY GOSPEL PARTNER. Monthly partnerships is what will help this ministry grow and become even more effective. Our vision is to see people SAVED, SET FREE and WALKING IN THE SPIRIT and to support and inspire the planting of GRACE BASED SPIRIT FILLED CHURCHES all over the world.
GREAT NEWS! We have made it MUCH EASIER now to set up your monthly partnership on our website with "Donorbox".
You can now partner for any amount you want. And just to say thank you, we will send you a free copy of all of my current six books. (PDF version).
To partner or make a once off donation simply visit this link:
https://www.newnatureministries.org/partner-give-2/
We look forward to having you joining the growing team of GOSPEL PARTNERS at New Nature Ministries and we celebrate you for it!
The post Become a GOSPEL PARTNER with New Nature Ministries! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Stop thinking you have to over qualify everything you say because some people misunderstand you and then start reacting to what they think you are saying but they're actually being triggered by some of their own past bad experiences and confusing it with what you're saying. Their reaction only exposes what still needs to be healed in their own heart. Jesus was very good at this. He often told a parable or made an outrageous statement or an offensive statement and then just left it hanging without feeling the need to chase after people to make sure they never misunderstood him. Peoples' reactions to Christ always revealed the deficiencies of their own hearts and their need for true repentance. Because Jesus loved people he provoked them to think differently, because the way they were thinking was hurting them.
The post Stop trying to appease offended people! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
We shouldn't be surprised when people attack us for preaching the Gospel. They attacked Jesus, they attacked Paul and also persecuted the Early Church. Don't expect things to be fair. Expect things to be dirty. Expect to have your words twisted, to be lied about, intimidated, ganged up on. Expect people to try and cancel you, take you to court, shut you up and shut you down. Don't expect people to play by the rules, to be reasonable, to respond in kind to your decency and civility. If you are preaching what Jesus and Paul and the Early Church preached then don't expect to be treated any different than they were. And that's ok! We're not here to politely advance the Kingdom of God against the kingdom of darkness. We're in a war for the souls of people.
The goal is not to have the world like us and approve of everything we say.
We're not trying to be palatable, relatable, acceptable. We're here to call rebel planet earth to repentance, surrender and to the obedience of faith towards the King of kings.
Yes, we want to be as loving and kind as possible as we reach out to lost humanity. We don't want to be unnecessarily offensive, provocative or indifferent but we also don't want to compromise the truth in order to not offend or provoke or disturb anyone. The Gospel is offensive and the devil hates it because it sets people free!
We just have to accept that persecution comes with the territory. It will come from every angle. It will hurt. We will be tempted to shrink back or water down or just go with the flow. But the flow is taking people to hell. So we need to toughen up, become thicker skinned, accept that we'll be opposed, be ok with people disagreeing and being angry with us, prepared for backlash, attacks, law suits, smear campaigns, death threats and worse.
Jesus, Paul and the apostles were all prepared to die for the Gospel and they literally did!
This life is not a pleasure cruise on its way to heaven, its a battleship stationed at the jaws of hell!
Soldiers are prepared for discomfort and pain because they believe in the cause they fight for - freedom. We believe in the cause of souls being set free and delivered from darkness and coming into the Kingdom.
Athletes are prepared for discomfort and pain to win a great award, we do it for a crown that is eternal - souls.
Farmers are prepared for discomfort, pain, heat, blisters and dirt as they tirelessly work the land and even endure through the mundane seasons when things don't seem fruitful, all because they are compelled by the hope of a great harvest!
You're going to face opposition! Don't be discouraged, disillusioned, disheartened or distracted. Don't be surprised, shocked, caught off guard, offended or intimidated at the bullets flying at you, at the ambushes, set ups, deceptive tactics and unrelenting assaults. It's all part of being a true follower of Christ. Stands your ground! Fight and push forward. We are part of a larger army all across the world that includes mighty waring angels with Christ Jesus Himself as the champion, the chief, the captain and great commander. And no matter what happens, in the end - WE WIN!
The only questions are will you run your race and fulfil your destiny and how many people will you take with you?
Why should believers never be surprised by opposition? Because it’s ALL right here in the Scriptures!
If we knew the scriptures we wouldn’t be surprise. Instead we would be prepared!
Can you see it in these scriptures?
MATTHEW 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
2 TIMOTHY 2:3-10 “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
MATTHEW 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.”
MATTHEW 10:16-40 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me."
1 PETER 4:12-19 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God (persecution/judgment from the world); and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”
2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-16 ”But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
ACTS 9:15-16 ”But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
JOHN 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
The post Don’t be intimidated by opposition! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Ok, I’m just going to say what’s on my heart about husbands and wives in the bedroom because this will save some marriages.
Men, be GENTLEMEN in the bedroom.
Don't put your needs first and don't let animal instincts take over. Don't make your wife do things she is not comfortable with. You COULD put pressure on her to do things she is not comfortable with, BUT, you WILL lose her respect. She will start feeling abused and begin to resent you, even if she doesn’t say anything. This is how you will lose her. Instead, talk about what you both feel comfortable with before hand or later, so that you can move together in agreement towards anything new you want to introduce.
Men, you have to continue to MANAGE your sex-drive, even in marriage. You can't just do whatever you want. The PROBLEM is many men are ADDICTED TO PORNOGRAPHY and then expect their wives to behave like a porn stars!
Well what’s the problem with that?
There are HUGE problems with that and if you can’t see this, your marriage is already in danger. Pornography is not innocent and you know that. It’s a perversion of what God has made sacred and pure between a husband and wife. It wants to replace your intimacy and ultimately destroy your marriage.
The problem with pornography is that you become over stimulated and desensitized and therefore require greater amounts of perversion in order to feel sexually satisfied. This means normal intimacy between you and your wife will no longer satisfy you unless it becomes more and more like the pornography you’re watching. What happens then is that if your wife doesn’t perform like the pornstars you have become accustomed to, then you get frustrated with her unwillingness and put greater amounts of pressure on her. In the end you may be enjoying yourself, BUT your wife is becoming increasingly disturbed and distant. She has every right to be disturbed because this is not what God intended for the marriage bed. Your wife is NOT a pornstar and does not want to be compared with one or treated like one in order to satisfy your increasingly perverted sexual needs, and nor should she have to. If you ALLOW yourself to go down this road you will destroy the intimacy between you and your wife and most likely your marriage.
HEBREWS 13:4 “Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Pornography is watching other people commit sexual immorality and being adulterous. We’re not supposed to be bringing that into our marriage. It defiles the marriage bed. Instead we are to hold marriage and the marriage bed in HONOUR! Marriage is the intimate union between a man and a woman to the EXCLUSION of ALL others! When we bring pornography into our marriage and expect our wife to behave like a pornstar we are defiling our wife and our marriage bed!
If this is happening in your life, my advice to you is you need to stop, turn around and go the other way. Change the way you think. Be honest with yourself, with God and with your wife. Ask God to help you. Apologise to your wife and tlk to her about what she feels comfortable with.
This doesn’t mean you can’t have FUN in the bedroom. You absolutely can! But fun that you both agree on and feel comfortable with. Of course it’s ok to explore and become more creative and adventurous, but do it together and do it without worldly perversion. Hey, God is the one who created sex! We don’t need the devils help to have fun in the marriage bed! There is a kind of fun you can have in the marriage bed that the world knows nothing about because all the world knows is the pattern of this world which is fallen and depraved. But there is a realm of intimacy that God created and intended for a husband and a wife that is exciting and fun, and it’s beyond just physical and emotional, it’s spiritual where two become one!
You may not be able to change everything over night, but if you decide you want to, you can start to change now.
Decide you want honour and purity back in your marriage and your marriage bed.
Ask God for help.
Feast on teaching about overcoming and living in victory. (I’ll post links below).
Communicate with your wife no matter how awkward. Tell her you don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable and ask her if there is anything that does make her feel uncomfortable.
You don’t have to tell her about every struggle you have with pornography, in fact it’s better if you don’t. Sometimes it can be too much for your wife to process. Just give some basics and let her know you are wanting to be pure and to treat her with purity.
Discuss some boundaries for the marriage bed so you both are clear. It will show her how much you respect her and that you’re not wanting to be selfish and make it all about you. The more you do this, things will change and the marriage bed will become less about just your needs and more about an intimate connection between you and your wife.
Commit to working at this. Be patient. Continue to make small investments of generosity, purity, communication and honour as this will all contribute towards a healthy and enjoyable intimacy between you and your wife.
The post Husbands, stop treating your wife like a pornstar! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
God designed our bodies to eat meat. You'll never ever convince me that it's wrong to eat meat. I love meat. It's healthy for my body, my immune system and my state of mind. I have K9's and a digestive system all designed to eat meat. The smell of meat cooking causes a physical and emotional response in me that gets me ready to eat meat. God told Noah and all mankind that meat is given to them to eat. Jesus was a meat eater and all for eating meat. The early church wrote a letter to the Gentiles declaring it was ok to eat meat. Paul the apostle ate meat and said it is not a sin to eat meat. Most of humankind from every country and culture have been eating meat for thousands of years. If you personally don't want to eat meat for any reason that is totally fine and I don't judge you for that. BUT, when you judge and condemn others for eating meat you take on a position that assumes to be higher than God. It's self righteousness dressed up as virtue and it's offensive and cringy. People might be polite to you but on the inside they can't stand you and don't want to be around you. If you don't want to eat meat that's fine, but keep it to yourself so the rest of us can enjoy our steaks! And if this is offensive to you, don't tell me about it, just unfollow me, I don't mind. God bless.
The post My message to those who judge others for eating meat! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Romans 8 through the Gospel of grace.
The post Romans 8 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Romans 7 through the Gospel of grace.
The post Romans 7 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Romans 6 through the Gospel of grace.
The post Romans 6 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Romans 5 through the Gospel of grace.
The post Romans 5 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Romans 4 through the Gospel of grace.
The post Romans 4 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Romans 3 through the Gospel of grace.
The post Romans 3 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Romans 2 through the Gospel of grace.
The post Romans 2 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
If you REALLY wanted to quit sin you would.
Let that hang in the air for a bit.
Here's the reality:
If you live from your flesh you DON'T want to quit sin. If you live from your spirit you DO want to quit sin.
If you are living from your flesh QUIT LYING to yourself that you want to stop sinning. You don't. The only thing you want to stop is the feeling of GUILT and DEFEAT. But that WON'T stop as long as you're giving in to sin.
The only way to make it go away is to get in the Spirit and start resisting sin and begin to walk in victory.
The key is living from the Spirit. And that's not automatic. No one can do that for you except you. You have to get in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. That is to:
Walk in grace (SPIRIT covenant),
From your reborn SPIRIT,
In fellowship with the Holy SPIRIT.
And you need to be doing this daily.
How?
Through spending time with God.
Through worship.
Through prayer and speaking in tongues.
Through soaking in the anointing and glory of God.
Through study and meditation on the Word of God and the Gospel.
Sow to the Spirit!
If you build up momentum in the Spirit the momentum of the flesh WILL diminish!
The post Do you really want to quit sinning? appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A great interview with Ryan Rufus by Vernel Samuel from the Grace Revolution podcast on wisdom to guide people through a grace revolution.
The post The State of the Grace Revolution appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A verse by verse exposition of Romans 1 through the lens of grace.
The post Romans 1 | The Grace Bible Commentary appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
There is a dangerous teaching going around that claims that "the Bible is not the Word of God". It's a dangerous teaching that will cause many to go astray and into deception. They claim that the Word of God is in us and that we have an inward witness and therefore THIS is our final authority, NOT the Bible. Everything in the Bible must then be filtered through our inward witness and if it doesn't line up to the "Word of God in us” then we don't have to accept it and can dismiss it or change it. This is absolutely a recipe for distortion, error, deception, going astray, shipwrecking one's faith and destruction in people’s lives.
The truth is we don't submit the Bible to our inward witness, we submit our inward witness to the Bible. The Bible is our final authority and the Holy Spirit in us helps us to understand it. Doing proper Bible study will help us to rightly divide and handle the Word of God so that we can understand it in its correct context and apply it appropriately to ourselves today. We have absolutely no authorisation from Christ to reject or correct the Bible and force it to line up with our inward witness of what we perceive as the “Word of God in us”. As soon as people feel they don't have to submit to the truth of the Bible they WILL stray further and further into error. This is what 1 and 2 Timothy is all about and what Paul STRESSED with apostolic fervor!
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, RIGHTLY HANDLING THE WORD OF TRUTH. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have SWERVED FROM THE TRUTH, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.”
-2 Timothy 2:15-18 ESV
“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and IMPOSTERS will go on from bad to worse, DECEIVING and being DECEIVED. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the SACRED WRITINGS, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All SCRIPTURE is BREATHED OUT BY GOD and PROFITABLE for TEACHING, for REPROOF, for CORRECTING, and for TRAINING in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
-2 Timothy 3:12-17 ESV
Yes the Scriptures were written by men but Paul calls them “God breathed” and “sacred writings”. They are not someones inner subjective truth, it’s the written God breathed sacred Word of God! It is the objective standard of truth that we align our lives to, that we use to establish sound doctrine, that we use to rebuke, reprove and correct people who are straying into deception and error, and it’s the Word of God that we use to train and equip the Body of Christ.
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the WORD; be ready in season and out of season; REPROVE, REBUKE, and EXHORT, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure SOUND TEACHING, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will TURN AWAY from listening to the TRUTH and WANDER OFF into myths.”
-2 Timothy 4:1-4 ESV
Some questions to consider:
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How do you “swerve from truth” if there is no objective standard of truth?
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How do you determine if someone is following the truth or wandering off into myths if you don’t have an objective standard of truth?
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How do you correct someone back into truth if all truth is subjective to one’s inner witness?
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How do you establish sound doctrine, that all believers should follow and which leads to a unity in the faith, if there is no objective standard of truth? If doctrine is subjective to each believer’s inner witness then there can be no common sound doctrine and no unity of the faith.
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What if my inner witness doesn’t agree with the Bible? What if my inner witness wants to change the Bible? Is it possible that my inner witness could be wrong? Is it possible I think my inner witness is the Holy Spirit but actually it’s a demon?
The reason why there are so many erroneous doctrines is because people are not following the Scriptures but something else.
“As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any DIFFERENT DOCTRINE”
-1 Timothy 1:3 ESV
“Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the PUBLIC READING of SCRIPTURE, to exhortation, to teaching.
16 Keep a CLOSE WATCH on yourself and on the TEACHING. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
-1 Timothy 4:11-13,16 ESV
“23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 CORRECTING his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the TRUTH, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
-2 Timothy 2:23-26 ESV
“But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with GOD’S WORD, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.”
-2 Corinthians 4:2 ESV
Yes the Holy Spirit is our inner witness and this is important but Scripture (in context) must always be our final authority. The Holy Spirit will always lead us to align with Scripture and never against it! We should never feel the need to change Scripture. If we are feeling that way, you can be sure, your inner witness is not the Holy Spirit!
The post The Bible is the Word of God! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
I am fully committed to finishing the GRACE BIBLE COMMENTARY, however it is going to take a lot longer than I first anticipated. So far it has taken me over 600 hours to finish Matthew, Acts and Romans 1-8. Romans 8 alone took me 40 hours to make! You can imagine what it’s going to take to finish all the New Testament, BUT I AM GOING TO! I love this work. I am proud of this work and I want to do it really well. But I need your help. Your financial support frees up my time to devote to the Commentary. Many people don’t know but I still work two days a week in a secular job to help support myself. I love the work but I would much rather be doing the commentary!
The more support I have the more hours I can give to the project.
I would really appreciate you considering this and if you would like to give please go here:
https://www.newnatureministries.org/partner-give/
Any amount helps!
Already some amazing people have given to support the commentary and I have felt so encouraged and spurred on by you. I want to make a special mention of Steve and Amy McKown from the USA who sponsored the first three months of the project and enabled me to get so much work done!
May God honour every dollar given to this project!
I have received so much great feed back already that the commentary is blessing and changing people’s lives as they hear the Bible being explained through clear New Covenant truth.
Get the Grace Bible Commentary for FREE at:
https://www.newnatureministries.org/grace-bible/video/
Thank you and God Bless.
Ryan Rufus.
The post SUPPORT THE GRACE BIBLE COMMENTARY appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
FEAR looks for something to GRAB HOLD of in our lives. It needs something to grab hold of otherwise it can't affect us. The GRAB HOLD it looks for is usually a LIE. A lie that we believe that is contrary to the GOSPEL. Believing that lie gives fear something to grab onto in our life.
Most bad behaviour and thinking is a MANIFESTATION of fear in our life. If we don't deal with the root of fear or the holds of fear we'll always be combating the manifestations.
Insecurity, anxiety, depression, self deprecation, jealousy, manipulation, controlling others, bullying, cowardice, can't take risks, can't trust, can't be confident are all manifestations of fear. That fear is there because it found a lie to grab onto in our life. What is THE LIE you are believing that is causing these things to manifest in your life?
There are TWO ELEMENTS to BREAKING fear off our life:
The first is simply the POWER OF GOD that sets us free.
The second is we have to ALIGN our THINKING and BELIEVING to the TRUTH of CHRIST. In other words we need to RENEW OUR MIND. See God's power can set us free from fear but if we don't renew our minds the fear could keep coming back because it has something to grab onto. REMOVE THE LIE from your life by REPLACING it with the TRUTH of the GOSPEL and that fear will have nothing to hold onto in your life! Consequently all the manifestations of that fear will begin to disappear from our life too!
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
-2 TIMOTHY 1:7 NKJV
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control]."
-2 TIMOTHY 1:7 AMP
"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,"
-2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5 ESV
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
-ROMANS 8:15 ESV
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
-ROMANS 12:2 NIV
"Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes."
-ROMANS 12:2 TPT
The post Breaking fear off your life appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Most Christians don't have a clue who the Holy Spirit actually is, and therefore never get to really know Him as their closest friend. Jesus said that we would KNOW the Holy Spirit because HE would live in us. That He would walk with us not as a prosecutor but as a defender, an advocate, a counsellor, a helper, a comforter - a friend. You can get to know GOD the Holy Spirit simply by spending time with Him, talking to Him and waiting upon Him. Sound weird? Then Jesus must be weird because He did this and told us to do the same. The EARLY Church did this and so did the apostles. It's only weird to those who don't understand the things of the Spirit. To those who do, it's very normal and biblical. The Holy Spirit really wants us to get to know Him as our closest friend.
The Bible says the Holy Spirit is the one who comes along side us to be our comforter, our helper and our counselor (John 14:16-17). He’s our closest friend and our greatest coach. He moves us with an inward witness. He is also called the Spirit of Truth and he reveals to us what is true and what is a lie. He’s always declaring over us our perfect righteousness in Christ and testifying that we are children of God and that the Father believes in us. He warns us when we’re heading down the wrong track and encourages us on the right track. He empowers us with supernatural advantages in life, gives us knowledge, insight, discernment, wisdom and courage. He’s a gentleman and won’t force himself on us, but the more we invite him into our life, the more he will guide and lead us into victory and the perfect will of God.
The post The Holy Spirit, your closest friend appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
There are some people out there that when they preach grace I just get very nervous. I can sense with them that sooner or later they are going to say something that's doctrinally off-the-wall. By all appearances they look and sound legitimate but something in my spirit troubles me about them. I can discern that they are sometimes influenced by a different spirit without even realising it. Do you ever get that?
Why do these people make me nervous? Because for some of them Jesus is not enough. The simplicity of the Word is not enough. They have to always be "EXTRA". They have to be extra impressive. They have to say deeper and more profound things than anyone else. They have to have extra special insight and access into spiritual things that others don't have. What they say can sound so impressive and yet in reality most times it doesn't even make actual sense. This disturbs and troubles me. It has the flavour of Gnosticism as it flirts with another gospel. Be careful when you think you have special revelation. So special that only a few understand it. So special that it's extra biblical.
We need to follow one Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and have a consistent sound doctrine that is firmly grounded in the Bible.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 "If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions..."
Titus 1:7-9 "For an overseer... must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."
Titus 2:1 "But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine."
2 Timothy 4:3-4 "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."
The post Why does your doctrine make me nervous? appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
We hear a lot about financial freedom but do you have financial peace? This can only come from having a deep revelation that God is your ultimate source and being set free from the love of money.
"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
-PHILIPPIANS 4:11-13.
You may not have financial freedom but you can have financial peace now.
The post Do you have financial peace? appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
This is me when I was 13 years old, just before we left South Africa to come to Australia in 1991, where my parents would help lead a church. I remember at the end of six months in Australia just balling my eyes out to my parents saying that I want to go back to South Africa. It was around this time that I received a letter from a youth leader in South Africa who felt to write to me and tell me that God didn't just call my parents to Australia with a purpose, but He had also called me there with a purpose as well. These simple words changed my life. I realised I wasn't being dragged along as some accidental passenger on someone elses journey, but that God had a divine destiny and calling on my life and the journey I was on was exactly where God wanted me to be. From that day I owned the call of God on my life. My daily pursuit now is to fulfill the purpose that God put me on this planet for. Your life too is not a mistake or accident. God has you exactly where He wants you. He knew you before you were even born and you are unique and extremely important to Him. God has a specific purpose and calling for your life and if you would believe that and own it and let Him lead you, He will lead you into all of it! God bless.
OFFICIAL PUBLIC RELEASE will be in early 2021.
DONATE HERE
At this point only MATTHEW and ACTS 1-20 is available.
But we will continue to update the commentary as each new video is ready.
Currently this EXCLUSIVE ACCESS is only available to donors so we ask that you kindly not share the link with anyone.
SUGGESTIONS FOR HOW TO USE THE COMMENTARY:
Look up your favourite scriptures.
Use it to unlock difficult scriptures.
Watch it from start to finish.
Use it as a Bible Study in small groups.
Watch a video with others then discuss it.
Use it as a Bible Course.
Use it to prepare sermons.
Enable captions/subtitles.
Each video covers one chapter of a New Testament book. So for example Matthew has 28 videos.
In every video I read a few verses and then explain it to bring clarity and a clear grace perspective.
Every verse is covered, and in working through the New Testament this way will help you "join all the dots"
and systematically answer most of the questions you have about grace and the New Covenant.
After completing this commentary you will no doubt have a much deeper understanding of the New Testament.
I hope you enjoy it!
Ryan Rufus.
The post There is a divine call on your life appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A very practical guide on how to activate the gift of tongues in your life or someone else's life.
The post How to speak in tongues appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Exclusive early access is now only available to donors and partners of New Nature Ministries. To gain access simply make a donation of ANY amount and we will email you the link and password to THE GRACE BIBLE COMMENTARY. We appreciate your support.
OFFICIAL PUBLIC RELEASE will be in early 2021.
DONATE HERE
At this point only MATTHEW and ACTS 1-20 is available.
But we will continue to update the commentary as each new video is ready.
Currently this EXCLUSIVE ACCESS is only available to donors so we ask that you kindly not share the link with anyone.
SUGGESTIONS FOR HOW TO USE THE COMMENTARY:
Look up your favourite scriptures.
Use it to unlock difficult scriptures.
Watch it from start to finish.
Use it as a Bible Study in small groups.
Watch a video with others then discuss it.
Use it as a Bible Course.
Use it to prepare sermons.
Enable captions/subtitles.
Each video covers one chapter of a New Testament book. So for example Matthew has 28 videos.
In every video I read a few verses and then explain it to bring clarity and a clear grace perspective.
Every verse is covered, and in working through the New Testament this way will help you "join all the dots"
and systematically answer most of the questions you have about grace and the New Covenant.
After completing this commentary you will no doubt have a much deeper understanding of the New Testament.
I hope you enjoy it!
Ryan Rufus.
The post Choose joy! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Exclusive early access is now only available to donors and partners of New Nature Ministries. To gain access simply make a donation of ANY amount and we will email you the link and password to THE GRACE BIBLE COMMENTARY. We appreciate your support.
OFFICIAL PUBLIC RELEASE will be in early 2021.
DONATE HERE
At this point only MATTHEW and ACTS 1-20 is available.
But we will continue to update the commentary as each new video is ready.
Currently this EXCLUSIVE ACCESS is only available to donors so we ask that you kindly not share the link with anyone.
SUGGESTIONS FOR HOW TO USE THE COMMENTARY:
Look up your favourite scriptures.
Use it to unlock difficult scriptures.
Watch it from start to finish.
Use it as a Bible Study in small groups.
Watch a video with others then discuss it.
Use it as a Bible Course.
Use it to prepare sermons.
Enable captions/subtitles.
Each video covers one chapter of a New Testament book. So for example Matthew has 28 videos.
In every video I read a few verses and then explain it to bring clarity and a clear grace perspective.
Every verse is covered, and in working through the New Testament this way will help you "join all the dots"
and systematically answer most of the questions you have about grace and the New Covenant.
After completing this commentary you will no doubt have a much deeper understanding of the New Testament.
I hope you enjoy it!
Ryan Rufus.
The post Get EXCLUSIVE ACCESS NOW! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post GRACE GRENADE #5 There is no means by which you could lose your salvation! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
I believe this VERSE by VERSE GRACE BIBLE COMMENTARY is going to be a GAME CHANGER that will transform lives for generations to come! I am so honoured by all the support I've been receiving so far from all over the world after announcing the project. I would absolutely love you to become part of this Bible Commentary as well. If you share my heart for a commentary like this then please stand with me.
Two ways to support:
1) Financially: DONATE HERE
2) Social media: help me make the commentary go viral by whatever means you have.
Filming starts on 24 July 2020 for 2-3 months
Post production following that.
Release date towards end of 2020.
PHASE 1: Video and Audio version.
PHASE 2: APP development.
PHASE 3: Ebook version.
PHASE 4: Hard Copy version.
PHASE 5: Multilingual.
AVAILABLE FOR FREE: The COMMENTARY (video and audio) will be available for FREE on Youtube and www.NewNatureMinistries.org
The post The GRACE BIBLE COMMENTARY is coming soon! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post GRACE GRENADE #4 Repent means change your mind not confess yours sins appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post GRACE GRENADE #3 Sin cannot separate you from God! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post GRACE GRENADE #2 God is not more righteous than me appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
We've been working through Matthew 5, 6 & 7 at our family Bible study. It's where Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount, which famously contains the Beatitudes. It's so good to be able to teach my children the true context of Christ's whole sermon so that they don't accidentally grow up religious. So many believers are earnestly trying to do all the RED LETTERS of Jesus without rightly dividing the Word, which is to put them in their rightful context and Covenant. If you truly understood what Christ was trying to achieve with the Sermon on the Mount you could sum it all up with this:
Jesus + anything = nothing.
Jesus + nothing = everything!
Jesus wasn't preaching to the Church or New Covenant believer, He was preaching to religious Israel who were under the law and seeking to be righteous by works. He was showing them how impossible it is to enter into heaven by your own works, and until we realise that, we will never reach out to a saviour and receive Christ by faith. Jesus hightened the law to include not just their external behaviour but to expose the internal sin and hypocrisy of their hearts that they thought they were getting away with.
He was showing that UNLESS we come to God bankrupt, empty and spiritually poor with a revelation that we have nothing to offer God in achieving our own righteousness and salvation, THEN we are not yet ready to recieve a saviour.
Christ was TRANSITIONING Isreal out of a WORKS mentality into a FAITH mentality. From Moses as a temporary deliverer to Christ as an eternal saviour. It is crutial to see this if you want to understand the Sermon on the Mount.
Those who truly understand these words of Christ will wisely build their life on the Rock which is Christ. Those who don't will build their life on works and everything they built will be swept away.
I'm glad my children understand these things now. It sets them up for a lifetime of understanding grace and recognising religion.
The post I don’t want to accidentally raise my kids religious! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
If you believe your sin has opened a door to the devil or that you have a generational curse over your life, you will not resist the devil because you believe he has the right to operate in your life. But there is something you can do. You can know the truth and enforce your authority, because you have genuine authority in Christ and the devil only has illegitimate authority.
GALATIANS 3:13 "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”
ROMANS 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."
COLOSSIANS 2:15 "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."
COLOSSIANS 1:13 "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son."
COLOSSIANS 2:10 "So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority."
LUKE 10:19 "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you."
If our authority to resist the devil and enforce the Kingdom was based on our performance then there is not a single Christian who would have authority.
Our authority is based on grace and we take it up by faith! The believer who understands this is a dangerous warrior.
The post Every generational curse was broken at the Cross! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post GRACE GRENADE #1 Asking God for forgiveness as a believer, is a sin! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Don’t just look at what a preacher says and judge their whole ministry on one sound bite or statement. Look at their whole life, their integrity, their authenticity, their track record, the way they treat people, the way other people who know them talk about them. Look at their relationship with their spouse, their children, their colleagues, their church, other believers and even unbelievers. In other words look at the fruit of their life. Put that sound bite in the context of their whole life before we write them off as a heretic or dangerous preacher. We know how easy it is to take someone out of context today and misrepresent them so let’s not be guilty of that. Before reacting to something someone said, spend time studying their life. You may find that the sound bite was just them trying to provoke thought, and so they said it in a provocative way. Imagine if someone told you that there was this guy out there who was telling everyone that if they want to have eternal life they need to eat his flesh and drink his blood? You would possibly think they were a dangerous heretic and someone to warn others about. But those words came from our Lord and saviour, who actually did speak them to people without any qualification or clarification. He wanted to provoke their thinking because they were stuck in religion. He even let the crowds walk away offended after hearing his statement without chasing after them to qualify what he was actually talking about.
Just because I preach total forgiveness of sins, perfect righteousness, open access to God even if we sin, eternal security, please don’t assume I am saying it is ok to run out and sin and live however you want. Don’t assume that my teachings are dangerous and lead people towards sinful lifestyles that are rebellious to God. Look at my life. Look at my family. Look at my wife, my children, my track record. Look at what other people say about me. You’re not going to find any of your negative assumptions about me. What you will find is stability, strength, victory, integrity, purity, empowerment, a healthy marriage, children who love and respect me and who walk with God. You’ll find healthy relationships in my life and testimonies of many people whose lives have been transformed through my teachings. My teachings may not agree with your theological upbringing, or your interpretation of the Word, but I can tell you now they are grounded in the Word of God in context and are producing supernatural transformation and fruitfulness in my life. So don’t be shallow, look into someone’s whole life and doctrine before you attack them or something they said.
The post Before you attack a grace preacher. appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Do you know what the Gospel of grace is? This is a clear teaching on the true and biblical doctrine of the Gospel of grace. It will either make you glad, sad or mad!
The post Understanding the Gospel of Grace appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
This message will stir your spirit to get passionately on fire for Jesus. Not just hype though, these are biblical and practical steps.
The post Burning with Fire appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
We absolutely need the Holy Spirit in our life and in the Church. Catch a fresh impartation and understanding of the Holy Spirit in this latest sermon by Ryan Rufus.
The post Living Full of the Holy Spirit appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
In John 9 there was a blind man seeking healing and the disciples asked Jesus, "“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The disciples assumed that this blindness was a judgment from God because of sin.
Many people today make this same false assumption that people are sick because of either their sin or their parents sin (generational curse). Some actually believe that this Coronavirus is God's judgment on the earth because of the sins of the world.
But what does Jesus say?
“It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:4-5).
Then Jesus healed the man!
We still live in a fallen earth where death has entered because of Adam's sin. Sickness will come and go and be around until Christ returns. God doesn't just whisk us off to heaven when we receive Jesus. No, we are still on earth for a purpose. He leaves us on earth to work the works of God to display His power to this world and see multitudes saved.
It is not because of the worlds sins that Coronavirus has come upon the earth, but rather that the works of God might be displayed to mankind and that they would believe! When the blind man was healed he became a strong believer and in fact went about testifying about Jesus and the crowds marvelled because they knew he was born blind from birth and yet now could see.
God did not cause this Coronavirus but what if He wants to use it now to display His power throughout the earth? The only cure at the moment is Jesus Christ. Jesus showed us God's will, and that was to heal people. Perhaps in this time we need to be full of faith and ready to pray for the sick and see God displaying His power and love to people as they are being healed and saved!
BE READY AND WILLING TO PRAY FOR PEOPLE AND LEAD THEM TO THE LORD!
Get ready for many testimonies of healing and salvation
in the face of Coronavirus! What the enemy intended for harm God will turn around and use for GOOD!
GOD WANTS TO USE YOU!
Don't shrink back in fear, it's time to ARISE AND SHINE!
The post Is Coronavirus from God? appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
This photo is of that winning feeling I have after walking out of the gym after a great work out! The main reason I go to the gym is for HEALTHY STRESS RELIEF. I have found that over the last year of doing this, TEMPTATION in my life has dramatically diminished and its been so much easier to walk in victory. I have discovered that a lot of the temptation in our life is our body looking for an easy way to get rid of stress. In fact I am convinced of this. Yes I know a lot of temptation is demonic in origin, but we give the enemy a lot to work with when we are stressed out. In the absence of healthy stress relief activity we become strongly tempted towards unhealthy things. Stress eating, stress drinking, stress retail therapy, sexual stress relief. What about "I'm so stressed I need a smoke!" If you want to give yourself a massive advantage over temptation then find healthy stress relief activities that you regularly and consistently do. Build up a healthy momentum of positive stress relieving endorphins in your body and you'll be surprised how much you no longer NEED the unhealthy stuff. What sort of activities? Things that are active, exciting, fun and invigorating. There are literally so many things you can do like: gym, swimming, fishing, skydiving, bushwalking, jet skiing, skateboarding, boxing, MMA, cross-fit, sports, motor bike riding, massage, spa, music, climbing, camping - find something you love, that refreshes you, that isn't stressful but stress relieving and do it regularly and consistently. In time you'll find a whole new strength to resist the bad stuff!
The post How I deal with temptation appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Often churches desire to have more of God’s presence in their meetings but don’t always know how to make that happen. Well, get ready to see more of God’s presence showing up in your church with supernatural power that gets people saved, set free and on fire for God! Because here are eight simple ways to help you facilitate an increase of the presence of God in your church.
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Raise expectation. Understanding why we absolutely need God’s presence in the Church will cultivate a desire and expectation in people for it. So build faith and hunger by talking about it and announcing your expectation for it. “We want every person to encounter God’s presence every week in this church!”. “We are a people of the presence of God”. “We want to be known as a church of the presence of God.” “Hey, if you want to experience the presence of God, come to this church.” Everyone should come to church expecting the presence of God to manifest powerfully in every service. Celebrate God’s presence in your meetings!
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Preservice prayer. Before the gathering pray for God’s presence to manifest powerfully in the service. Pray for a hunger in people. Pray against anything that would try to hinder people from encountering God. Things like apathy, condemnation, distraction and unbelief. Announce your expectation of God’s presence so everyone is on the same page and expecting it. The early church did exactly this. Acts 4:29-31 (ESV) And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
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Worship. Choose songs that invite God’s presence to come and especially songs that engage God. Choose songs that sing directly to God rather than always singing about God. Worship leaders must know their goal. Their goal is to lead people into the presence of God so they can encounter Jesus face to face. Encourage people to surrender to Christ, to fix their eyes on Him, to welcome Him, to talk to Him and to sing to Him. So many of Davids worship songs were directly singing to God and expressed his desire for God. Psalms 42:1-2 (NRSV) As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?
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Exhortations. During worship the worship leader and elders and prophetic people should give exhortations that help focus people on Jesus and lead them into a deeper encounter with Him. Get the focus off “the hard week you’ve had” “or how much you’re struggling” and get the focus onto Jesus. God is always wanting to manifest and do something and there are always keys that will unlock deeper levels of God’s presence and ministry in every meeting. Leaders show always be looking for these keys by discerning what God is doing or wanting to do. Facilitating this will open up more of God’s presence in the meeting. It may be a prophetic word, a specific exhortation, a prophetic action, a particular song, a shout, a prayer, a scripture and so on. Don’t settle for low level presence. Find the keys and lead people into God’s presence. Also getting up and just inviting God’s presence to come in the meeting is a very powerful thing. 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 (NLT) But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”
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Preaching. Rely on God’s presence when you preach. Don’t over prepare your sermon but leave room for the Holy Spirit to lead. Soak in God’s presence before you preach. A preacher that is full of God’s presence will release it. Preachers should be carrying an anointed and heaven soaked word! “Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, stood up and proclaimed……and three thousand were saved and added to the church.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Also preaching about the grace of God will help people to feel confident to draw near to God. “There is no condemnation, draw near with boldness, the way is open, seated with Christ, no separation”. The grace of God opens up the atmosphere for Heaven to come! Hebrews 4:14-16 (NRSV) Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
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Ministry. As often as you can, give opportunity to the Holy Spirit to do miracles in people’s lives through times of ministry. Invite the Holy Spirit to confirm the word with signs following and to lead people into a personal encounter with God. Use your words, “Holy Spirit we invite you to come. Would you take us deeper into God’s presence. Jesus we want to see you face to face. We want to hear your voice. Come and have your way. Meet each person where they are at right now.” Step out in the gifts of the Spirit, invite people forward for prayer, try to discern different anointings and what the Holy Spirit is doing or wants to do. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 (NKJV) But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
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After service prayer ministry. Train up a ministry team that knows how to impart the presence of God through the laying on of hands. Less counselling more impartation. Mark 16:17-18 (NKJV) And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; … they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Acts 8:17 (ESV) Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
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Testimonies. Regularly get people to testify about how God touched them. This continually lets people know it’s very normal to encounter God and you don’t need to be afraid of it, that good things come from encountering God’s presence and that everyone can experience this. Often you can pray immediately after testimonies for others to experience a similar thing. So it’s really not complicated to have more of God’s presence in your church. Simply: Talk about it. Pray for it. Lead people in during worship. Teach on it. Give opportunity for it and continue to testify about it. Soon you will have a culture of the presence of God in your church and many lives will be touched and transformed through it! Let me know what you think in the comments below or if you have any questions contact me through info@newnatureministries.org
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The Church is supposed to be a dwelling place for God's presence according to the Bible, and yet where is the presence of God in most churches? Listen to what Ephesians 2:22 says, "In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit." Every local church should be a dwelling place for God. Why? Because the presence of God is every persons greatest need. When last did your church "wait" on the presence of God? When last did you invite His presence to come? When last did you actually engage with God in your service? Isaiah 40:31 "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength."
God is not allowed in most modern churches today because we are trying to be "relevant". The more relevant we try to be the more irrelevant we are becoming! The world doesn't need our lights, coffee and Ted talks they need the presence of God! That is what's going to change them. That is what's going to bring them home! I have no problem with excellence and technology, I'm all for it, but not if its there to replace God.
Believers also need the presence of God. Every person should have a personal encounter with God every week at church. We should expect nothing less. When someone encounters God, doubts disappear, insecurities disappear, joy comes, peace comes, direction comes, inspiration comes, love and wholeness come, healing comes, passion and desire for God comes, purity comes and so many things. Facilitating more of God's presence in our churches would free us up from a lot of unnecessary "work".
I believe every church can find a healthy balance between organisation/technology/excellence/relevance AND Presence.
What are your thoughts about this?
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What is the Gospel of grace? Here is a clear teaching about the incredible grace of God that will set you free and fill you with joy!
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You are not weak. You are powerful. You have God's divine nature inside of you! Find out all about it and how you can activate it and walk in it.
The post #2: YOUR POWERFUL NEW NATURE (Du bist eine mächtige Neue Schöpfung) appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
We have the answer to the worlds sadness. It's called the joy of the Holy Spirit. Yet so many leaders are afraid of it. This is why we shouldn't be afraid.
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God has chosen Germany to shock the world by the redeeming power of His grace in order to display His grace to the world!
There is a deep healing coming to Germany that only the Gospel of grace can do. It's a revelation of total forgiveness of sins and how completely perfect in God's righteousness we become in Christ.
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It is time to deal with those things in your closet that you have been hiding in there and are hoping no one will discover. It’s better to deal with them now yourself instead of them all being discovered and exposed later, in a more destructive way. Just because you’re doing a good job hiding them, don’t think they’re not already destroying your life. They are robbing from you, your family and your destiny. The quickest way to fall in ministry and marriage is sexually. It causes huge damage that is very hard to repair and often times irreparable. Numbers of great people, even recently, have fallen simply due to an out of control sex drive.
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If I sin my new nature feels bad about that sin because God has written His nature on my spirit and my conscience.
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Sometimes we just need the religious traditions that distort grace blown right out of our minds even if it hurts!
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Discover the power of your new nature and how you can learn to live from it.
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The Holy Spirit in your source of God's encouragement, strength, healing, power, guidance, wisdom, discernment, truth, freedom, victory and so much more!
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New Nature Ministries just turned two, so to celebrate I want to bless you with a free copy of my book "Extra Virgin Grace".
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The more the Church tries to relate to the lost the more confused it will become. The lost are not looking for our secular style worship and feel good sermonette's, they want to know if God is real!
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Practical steps on how to develop a strong and healthy mind and live life with that winning feeling.
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Four steps that will change your life! Based on a profound scripture.
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Discover the power of your new nature and find out what you're capable of as a born again person.
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Learn about your authority in Christ, how to resist the enemy and how to protect your life and others by being watchful in prayer.
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- Presence 2. Worship 3. Word 4. Spirit 5. Fellowship 6. Visitors 7. Evangelism 8. Equipping 9. Children 10. Excellence 11. Leadership 12. Prayer.
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The Holy Spirit is a person and you can get to know Him. He is God the Holy Spirit. Find out how you can get to know Him better in this podcast.
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Don't settle for a dull prayer life. Find out how you can have an effective, powerful and life giving time of prayer every time!
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You've got one life. Don't waste it by living a cold dead life. Get on fire for Jesus and make your life count for eternity!
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You cannot do church without the Holy Spirit. This is why.
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Here are 12 things that will transform the way you feel on the inside and give you peace, confidence, joy, well being, rest, freedom and that winning feeling to live life powerfully!
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What is the basis for our authority as a believer? Is it based on our performance or simply by us being in Christ? How do we step into our authority in Christ? Can we give the devil authority over us?
The post Grace Based Authority appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
This 40 minute message could change your life forever. Are you ready to get free from addictions and sinful habits and everything that enslaves you? These are 4 grace empowered steps that God has shown me that are not theory, they work!
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Why are some preachers boring and hard to listen to, while others seem too captivate, excite and inspire you to action? What makes someone a great preacher or what makes someone a terrible preacher? I’ve notices that what most great preachers have in common is that they generally all speak with a strong confidence, an absolute conviction and a deep care for what they are talking about. The effect is that it inspires you to care as well and be compelled to respond. So what separates a great preacher from a bad preacher, and more importantly how can I become a great preacher?
The top 3 secrets of great preachers:
- They preach what is REAL in their hearts.
They’re not trying to copy someone else or say the things others expect them to say. That say what is real to them. They speak out of what they have experienced and what has impacted them. They are not trying to be someone they’re not or talk from a level they're not at. They speak out of who they are and where they’re at and how their message is real to them.
- They preach what is REVELATION in their hearts.
They’re not trying to preach someone else’s message. They preach what God has shown them. What God has revealed to them. They get fresh revelation from God. They preach the things that excite their heart because God has unlocked truth and just opened it right up to them. It’s stirring and percolating in them. It fills their heart and is on fire inside of them! They are not trying to preach the words that are written on a piece of paper, they are preaching from the overflow of revelation in their heart.
- They preach what is RIGHT for them in their hearts.
They’re not trying to “wear Saul’s armour”. They face Goliath the way God has called them to do it. This is about the life message and gifting that God has given you. You have to find what that is and develop it and speak out of it. If your life message is generosity and you get asked to preach on marriage, talk about how marriages are successful when each spouse is generous to the other.
How do you find your life message? Well what are you passionate about? What seems to consistently frustrate you the most in the Church and with believers? What do you think the answer is to the things you are most frustrated about? Guess what, the answers to these could quite possibly be your life message! God has given you a passion for these things and He put you on this planet to speak about them. Find your life message and speak out of that because that will carry weight and authority and have life on it because it’s what you are really passionate about.
When you speak about the things that are real to you, that are revelation to you and that are right for you then you will speak with a confidence and conviction that will cause others to care about what you are saying and be convinced and compelled by it.
Your platform doesn’t just have to be in the pulpit, it can be anywhere - social media, Youtube, podcasts, family, friends, work colleagues, fellow students, strangers - anyone, anywhere, any platform.
When preaching is done well, it has the power to change people’s minds, hearts and their priorities in life towards God and His Kingdom. This is something worth taking very seriously and doing our best to get great at.
If you apply these things and keep sharpening and practising your craft you will grow and get excellent at it.
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If you don’t know what to do with a big capacity person in your church eventually they will feel like a Marlon in a fishbowl!
Sadly, you won’t keep them for long. It’s sad because they have some incredible gifts and expertise that could add great value to your church.
If you do want to keep them, you simply need to understand how they think and what they’re looking for.
Attracting big capacity people.
If you want to attract big capacity people, you need the things they are attracted to.
Big capacity people are attracted to 8 main things:
Vision. Big thinking. Big faith. Real strategies.
Quality. They would rather quality over quantity, but prefer to have both.
Excellence. The difference between professionals and amateurs.
Growth. They are productivity and success minded.
Organisation. Good systems and management in place.
Recognition. Will they be recognised and honoured for who they are and what they do?
Connection. They want to be connected to top level leadership in the church.
Opportunity. Is there opportunity for them to have a say and add their value?
Now you might not have all these things perfect in your church, but if you have a value for them and are making a real effort to move towards them, that’s good enough for big capacity people.
If you think that these eight things are silly then let me ask you, “How many big capacity people are you attracting and keeping?”
Keeping big capacity people.
These are the things you have to do if you want to keep big capacity people:
- Connect with them immediately.
Try to connect with them the first time they visit your church because there might not be a second.
Arrange for a coffee during the week to meet.
- Discern their hearts quickly.
Get to know them.
Are they good or bad people? (Discern that in your spirit).
What church/churches did they come from? How do they speak about them?
Are they hurt, bitter, complicated, proud, chip on their shoulder, or are they humble, respectful and honouring of authority and leadership?
What’s their personal life like? (Marriage, kids, business, finances, friends.)
Does their church ideology clash with yours?
Do they have an agenda?
Could you trust them with people?
Will they be a blessing to the church or most likely cause damage?
If you discern their hearts are good, take a risk on them and follow this meeting up. If you discern their hearts are bad, don’t take a risk on them and don’t give them much of your time.
- Find out what they’re good at.
Identify their gifts and capacities. What are their areas of expertise?
Are they good in ministry, are they good in the workplace, or both?
What are their strengths: preaching, inspiring people, leadership, management, ministering in the Holy Spirit, pastoring, counselling, administration, business, management, systems, finances, media, technology, social media, music, leading worship, youth ministry, kids ministry, entrepreneurial.
Discern if they’re interested in having an opportunity to do something.
- Don’t make them have to prove themselves.
They’ve already proved themselves if they are big capacity.
They don’t have to be fully committed and loyal to the vision, leadership and DNA of the church before you give them an opportunity!
Trust me, if you require them to prove their loyalty at this point, they will probably just leave.
- Understand what they want and don’t want.
What they want:
Big capacity people only want to add their value at first.
They want to do that by:
Giving advice.
Helping to solve problems.
Helping to improve things.
Giving ideas for growth.
I guarantee you this, if big capacity people have been in your church for a little while, they have already spotted most of your weaknesses and what could be done to improve them, and they are willing to help (for free!). All you have to do is ask for their help. The more you let them help you, the more they will feel connected to the church and want to be part of it.
But, if you expect them to just sit around week after week enduring all the obvious weaknesses that no one is addressing, knowing that they could help solve them but are not able to because they haven’t been asked, they will become increasingly frustrated and I guarantee, they will eventually leave.
Also, don’t assume because they are attending and giving that they have joined. Big capacity people take a long time to commit to a church, because they are looking for certain things.
What they don’t want:
They don’t want to take on big commitments and responsibilities for now. They just want to add their value.
Don’t try to commit them to something in the church in order to try and keep them.
Give them opportunity not responsibility! (THIS IS KEY).
Give them influence not authority.
If that all goes well, they may feel more connected to the church and then want to invest themselves more and more.
- Invite them to add their value.
Two ways you can get them to add their value:
Give them an opportunity. (In the area that they are good at).
Ask for their advice. (In the area that they are good at).
Various areas for opportunity and advice:
Preaching - if this is their strength then give them a chance in the pulpit.
Ministering in the Holy Spirit - perhaps they’re not that good at preaching but are great at ministering in the Spirit. Give them a chance to minister in various ministry times or after service ministry. Also ask for their advice and ideas regarding ministry teams and training.
Worship - give them an opportunity in whatever area they are strong in. Ask for their advice, get them to inspire your worship team.
Pastoring and counselling - give them an opportunity to help someone. Ask for their advice, and to inspire teams and leaders.
Multimedia - ask for their advice and help to implement improvements including training/inspiring teams and team leaders.
Technical and technology - ask for their advice and ideas and help to implement.
Social media - ask for their advice and ideas and help to implement.
Administration/management - ask for their advice and help to implement any ideas including training teams and team leaders.
Leadership - ask for their advice and give opportunities to talk to leaders.
Finances - ask for advice and ideas.
Youth work - ask for advice and ideas.
Kids ministry - ask for advice and ideas.
Entrepreneur - do they have any ideas to generate finances, start ministries, solve major problems, promote growth?
Evangelism - ask for their advice, to do a training, preach at an evangelistic meeting.
If you keep giving them opportunities, asking for their advice and getting to know them they will feel increasingly connected to the church and eventually may decide to join officially. When they do they will then be willing to take on more responsibilities, commitment, leadership and authority.
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I recently discovered the most amazing scripture on freedom from sin in the book of 1 Peter. You know those times when a scripture just leaps off the page and you think, “Why have I never seen that before?” Over the past 3 months the Holy Spirit has been opening this verse up to me and shown me that there are 4 steps to total victory over sin. I am so excited to be sharing this scripture and the 4 steps with you. I hope you are ready to live as free as God created you to be!
Here are the 4 steps to victory over sin:
The PROMISE of freedom.
The PERSPECTIVE you need to arm yourself with.
The PLACE you must come to before you can get free.
The PLAN you need to develop if you want to be successful.
(By the way, this all only really comes together by the end of this article so if you feel a bit lost along the way or like it’s not going to work for you, please just keep going to the end! Trust me.)
- PROMISE.
There is an amazing promise to us of victory over sin in 1 Peter 4:1-6.
See if you can spot the verse I’m talking about:
1 Peter 4:1-6 “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.”
Did you see it? It’s verse one. “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin”.
This may be a short scripture but it is pure power!
There are three parts to it we need to understand.
The first part: “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh”. We have to understand what it means that “Christ suffered in the flesh”. It simply means that His flesh suffered death. On the Cross Christ’s flesh died.
The second part tells us that because Christ died in the flesh we should “arm [y]ourselves with the same way of thinking.” What thinking? Realising that our flesh has also suffered death on the Cross with Christ.
And thirdly, anyone who does realise that they have “suffered in the flesh” consequently “has ceased from sin”.
Once you realise that you have dominion over your flesh because your flesh has died together with Christ, and arm your thinking to walk in that dominion, that is when you are done with sin!
So what is the key here?
- PERSPECTIVE.
The right perspective will literally weaponize your thinking and arm you to rule over your flesh and sin.
“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,”
Romans 6:1-13 elaborates on this truth that we need to agree with in order to arm ourselves to walk in dominion over sin. It shows us how Christ suffered death in the flesh, how we suffered death in the flesh with Him and how if we believe this then we can rule over sin.
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (NIV)
Ok Ryan, so I know this and believe it, yet I still sin. What’s it going to take for me to freakin overcome sin?!!!
- PLACE.
You have to come to a certain place in your mind before you will stop sinning. I’m talking about the place where you are sick and tired of being controlled by sin and have finally decided that you are “done with sin”.
You will never overcome sin until you come to that place where YOU ARE DONE with being a slave to sin! I mean absolutely done!
1 Peter 4:3 “For you have already spent enough time doing what unbelievers love to do—living in debauchery, sensuality, partying, drunkenness, wild drinking parties, and the worship of demons.” (TPT).
Romans 7:15-19 “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”
Are you DONE with being a slave to your flesh?
Are you done with wanting to live for God but always getting pulled back into sinful habits that you can’t seem to break?
Are you done with being enslaved, imprisoned, bound and controlled by sin?
Are you done with doing the things you don’t want to do and not being able to do the things you want to do because the things you don’t want to do have more control over you?
Are you done with being a slave to:
Pornography, masturbation, adultery, sexual immorality, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, nicotine, partying, gambling, excessive eating, excessive spending, excessive laziness, steeling, lying, swearing, jealousy, fear, anger, rage, insecurity, unforgiveness, gossiping, selfishness, doubt, guilt, shame, condemnation, legalism, works, pride and whatever else is your struggle?
If you have truly come to this place where you are done with sin, then you are ready for the next step. You can’t miss this next step. It is so important because it brings this all together. If you want to have success at getting victory over sin you have to have a...
- PLAN.
Did you ever try build a house without a plan? Or go after a career without a plan? Ever attempted to compete in a highly competitive event without a training plan or a game plan? Ever travelled to an unfamiliar destination without a travel plan? Don’t leave your success up to chance.
The reason why so many believers don’t success in victory over sin is not because they don’t know the truth, or have the right way of thinking, or have decided they are done with sin. It’s because they don’t do this final step. True dominion for me, only came when I did this final step. And trust me, it’s awesome! And it’s actually quite easy. I’m going to show you how.
The best plan for you is the one you come up with. No one can come up with yours because you know what will work for you and what won’t. Don’t do someone else’s plan. Do your plan. What I’m going to do now is give you some suggestions that will help you develop your own plan.
So here are my suggestions:
- Make that quality decision.
Decide that you are done with sin and now is the time where you are going to take control back over your flesh. There is something very powerful about making a quality decision about this.
- Set a date, work towards it, then execute it.
Unless God gives you a supernatural miracle that breaks your particular habit, you are going to have to endure a period of time of resisting the cravings and breaking the habit/addiction. And here’s the plan:
Set a date: This is going to be the big day that you quit. Perhaps call it “The Big Day”. This will tell your mind that you mean business. Don't make it straight away though. Give yourself some time to build up to it with a few practise runs first. (I’ll explain this next).
For me the best time to make a lifestyle change is the 1st January, but if that is too far away choose another date. Perhaps something significant to you like a birthday or an anniversary. But something that's about 2-4 weeks away. Then...
Work towards it: Before the Big Day, practise having a few fasts for 24-48 hours. Fasting is resistance training! It’s powerful because you’re practising bringing your body and mind under the control of your spirit. Decide what you are going to cut out. I’d suggest:
Certain foods like sugar, junk food, or even all foods and alcohol).
Entertainment and social media.
Whatever it is that you struggle with ie porn, maturbation, drugs, nicotine, swearing etc.
This is a short enough period that you can endure the cravings. During which spend time in prayer and worship.
Then after the fast enjoy the stuff again. (Obviously I’m not saying go and enjoy sin, but if you find you struggle with it again once you get off the fast, that’s ok, you have a plan that you are working towards.)
Now, do this kind of fast a few times before the official “Big Day”. If you do that then by the time the Big Day comes around, your body and mind have already started getting used to obeying your spirit, and you would have built up an ability to resist and say no.
Execute: When the Big Day arrives, just go for it and quit all those sins, habits, addictions, enslavements and anything you are done with. Push through any cravings and keep going!
Here is where this plan really starts to work:
The more time you put between your Big Day and your current day the more powerful you will feel. Every day you resist will feel like a gain. As the gains begin to add up it will build a momentum in you of feeling powerful. This feeling of power comes from having control over sin and it is an amazing feeling of winning and victory. It actually begins to feel better than any sins or habit that tempts you. The more momentum of power you build up, the less you are going to want to give all that power away for some cheap quick fix. Plus the more momentum you gain, the more it will motivate you to keep going. It’s really just getting past the initial few weeks and then it gets easier, and the feeling of power you experience then is far greater than what that sin had to offer!
- Find healthy alternatives for stress.
I’m convinced that most bad habits, behaviours and addictions that we develop actually start out as coping mechanisms for stress and feeling unfulfilled in life. They are our quick fixes to correct poor emotional and physical management of ourselves. Instead of having to use unhealthy options to correct the build up of stress in your emotions and body, rather use healthy alternatives to prevent the build up of stress and to invest in your emotions and body. If you do this, then the desire or need for unhealthy options will dramatically diminish. This would be something to start in the lead up to the Big Day.
Healthy alternative ideas:
Sports, gym, hobbies, swimming, fishing, running, social clubs, fun activities like jetski, climbing, skydiving, surfing, boxing. Whatever is fun, active and refreshing to you.
So I hope you are ready to give this a try. It is totally doable for you and I believe you can do it! If you didn’t quick catch it all, perhaps go back and re-read it slowly. When you catch it, I promise you it will lead you into victory!
Hey I would also love to hear from you. Feel free to leave questions, comments or any feedback on this article in the comment section below, or contact me via my Facebook page or email info@newnatureministries.org
God bless, and may His peace fill you in every way.
Ryan Rufus.
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How is your inner world doing? Are you going through life feeling good about yourself? Or, and no judgment here, do you live with a regular sense of torment, anguish, anxiety, negativity, frustration, anger, self loathing, foreboding, darkness and/or sadness? If you find that these latter things are what characterise your inner world, then I want to show you what you can do to change that, if you want. I believe it’s totally possible to go through life feeling positive, happy, free, at peace, joyful, content and actually just feeling good about yourself on the inside - even if you’re facing challenges and difficulties. I’m not saying it will be easy or that there’s a magic cure, and I’m not talking about narcissism, self obsession or self-centeredness. I’m simply saying that you, as a child of God, can improve the quality of your inner world and get to a place where you feel good about yourself, at least most of the time.
Feeling good about yourself doesn’t come by accident or because you’re just lucky. It’s not because of your temperament either. It’s something you have to intentionally work at. And I believe it’s actually not that hard or complicated. You simply have to “think the things” and “do the things” that make you feel good. Does that sound too simple? Were you expecting something more mystical? The truth is if you were to get into a consistent pattern of thinking the right thoughts and doing the things that make you feel good about yourself, the result will be an increasing momentum on the inside of feeling good. Here’s what I’m talking about.
Here are 12 things that will make you feel good about yourself:
1) Believing the truth of what God says about you.
There is no condemnation, shame or guilt for you as a born again believer in Christ.
You are unconditionally loved, accepted and approved of not because of your performance good or bad but because you are in Christ and a child of God.
You are forgiven of all your sins past, present and future. God is no longer holding them against you and there is not more judgement or punishment from God towards you.
You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. God see you perfect in Christ all the time, forever!
Your salvation is eternally secure because of the grace of God, not because of your performance.
Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate you from God’s infinite love for you.
God is for you and not against you, there is perfect peace between you and God.
God doesn’t see you as a filthy sinner and terrible person, he sees you as his beloved child.
2) Getting a win in life.
Completing a challenge makes you feel good about yourself.
Conquering something, getting a success, reaching a goal, overcoming an addiction, achieving a prize, getting a medal or a trophy.
All these things make you feel powerful and give you a feeling of victory and achievement that will make you feel good about yourself.
But if you’re constantly giving up, not trying, accepting defeat, living defeated - then of course you’re going to feel bad about yourself on the inside.
3) Making gains and building momentum.
Building your health, losing weight and keeping it off, building muscle, building your savings and reducing your debts, building your spiritual strength and momentum through regular prayer and study, building strong quality relationship and so on.
The feeling of gaining momentum in these areas all adds up to making you feel good about yourself on the inside.
4) Earning it!
You don’t just want to get everything handed to you so easily or for free like you’re some charity case that everyone should feel sorry for. There’s no dignity in that.
But when you earn something for yourself there’s a strong sense of pride and dignity that comes with that.
I’m not talking about being proud and unable to accept help when you really need it, and I’m not talking about earning salvation, that is a free gift and something you can never earn. Rather, I’m talking about not exchanging your dignity and power for an entitlement or hand-out mentality.
It feels good to earn something. You feel powerful when you can pay for things that you had to work hard and save up for.
It feels good to provide for yourself and/or your family and not have to rely on others.
Paying off your debts makes you feel less enslaved and more powerful.
And being rewarded and recognised for good hard work or accomplishments makes you feel good about yourself.
5) Taking a relaxing holiday, and having regular rest days.
Don’t be too proud to take a break. You need to balance work, rest and play. It actually helps productivity and is a more fun way of doing life.
Most kids grow up never being taught how to value a break, or how to balance work, rest and play. You have to learn.
Aim for one full days rest per week. Aim for at least a 2-3 week holiday per year. And find a weekly activity that refreshes and energises you like a sport, hobby or entertainment.
On rest days and holidays, do the things that make you feel relaxed. Don’t do excessive activity or stressful activity. Sometimes forcing yourself to do nothing so you can get bored is a good thing! Sit by a pool, read a book, unplug, get a massage, go to the beach, go for a walk, to the movies, or just stretch out on the couch for a day watching TV! Don’t feel like you need to get things done on your rest days. Don’t do housework, gardening, or catching up on all your odd jobs - just CHILL and UNWIND!
I’m convinced that most bad habits, behaviour and addictions that people develop actually start out as coping mechanisms for stress and feeling unfulfilled in life. They are our quick fixes to correct poor emotional and physical management of ourselves.
Instead of having to use unhealthy “options” to correct the build up of stress and poor emotional and physical management, rather use healthy alternatives to prevent the build up of stress and to invest in your emotions and body. If you do this, then the desire or rather the need for unhealthy options will dramatically diminish.
When you build up a momentum of healthy rest and play, you will live with less stress, less disappointment in yourself (for doing unhealthy activities to cope) and with a greater sense of fun and fulfilment in life and in yourself. All of this adds up to feeling good about yourself on the inside!
6) Developing a healthy sleeping pattern.
Sleep is so important. Your brain releases positive hormones that you only get when you’re asleep. That’s why when you don’t get enough sleep you feel grumpy.
Fight for your sleep. Make it a priority. Invest in a good mattress and pillow. Make your room dark and quiet.
Don’t be ignorant when it comes to this very important area of your life. We spend one third of our life sleeping on a mattress so make sure you get a good one that will maximise your comfort and deep sleep. This is one area in your life not to be stingy in.
Also, try to get to bed early as much as you can. Don’t eat or drink a lot before bed. Calm yourself before you go to bed. Find a way to unwind and deal with stress so it’s not robbing you of sleep. Don’t do work all the way up to bedtime, and don’t get into big issues before bed. Manage your time well so you can give yourself unwind and relax time before bed.
If you build up a momentum of good sleep you will naturally feel better about yourself.
7) Getting rid of bitterness.
I know it’s easier said than done. But bitterness is stopping you from feeling good on the inside. It’s toxic. It’s poison. Find a way to get rid of it. Carrying around all that bitterness, anger, hatred, pain and offense is robbing you from living with a positive inner state.
You have to forgive people, release people and stop blaming people. Even if you’re doing this for your own benefit and not theirs.
The way to forgive people is to realise that we never actually deserved to be forgiven by God yet he did it anyway because of his grace and mercy. People may not deserve to be forgiven but the Bible says “forgive others just as God has forgiven you”. How did God forgive us? He forgave us even though we didn’t deserve it! Those people may not deserve it, but forgive them anyway, just as God forgave you when you didn’t deserve it.
And because you may still feel the pain of what they did, you might have to keep telling yourself that you have forgiven them and have released them and are no longer holding it against them. Keep doing this and you will reach a point where the pain doesn’t affect you anymore. (It doesn’t mean you have to trust them though. Trust is earnt.)
The more you get rid of bitterness the better you will feel on the inside.
8) Dealing with grief properly.
Don’t hold it in. Don’t ignore it. Don’t pretend it’s not real. Cry. Let it out.
Remember loved ones, but let them go. Letting them go isn’t forgetting them, it’s simply moving on with your life while you remember them. Know that they would want you to move on with your life. You might think you can’t live without them, but you can, and they want you to. Celebrate the time you did have together. Cherish it. It meant something.
Don’t carry around guilt or regret that you didn’t do enough or say goodbye properly.
Don’t embrace a spirit of heaviness or feel like you have to be depressed forever in order to honour them. Let go of heaviness and depression. Don’t give in to excessive grief. That’s not healthy for you or what they would have wanted. Grieve and move on.
Forgive yourself if you need to. Even if you think you don’t deserve it. Let joy come back, even if it’s slowly.
Honour loved ones by living your life and allowing yourself to feel good about yourself.
9) Giving and receiving makes you feel good about yourself:
Giving a gifts and receiving gifts.
Giving and receiving positive words, compliments, affirmation.
Giving love and being loved.
Helping others, giving and volunteering in your church/ministry/charity.
Doing these things make you feel good on the inside.
10) Caring about your appearance.
Wearing nice clothes.
Getting a nice haircut.
Having a makeover.
This may seem superficial, but try it for awhile. Decide you’re going to care about they way you look. Not for everyone else’s benefit but for your own inner well being. Take pride in yourself. Believe you have dignity and worth. Go get some nice clothes, a new watch, jewelry and a great hairstyle that all makes you feel good. Who cares what people think or say, forget them, do it for yourself! YOU DO DESERVE IT! It’s time to feel good about yourself!
11) Leading someone to the Lord.
This is one of the best feelings in the world. You know you’ve affected someone’s eternity! And you feel like you’ve done something so incredibly important, because you have!
The more you lead people to the Lord or are part of a church or ministry that is seeing people saved, the more you will feel good about yourself on the inside.
12) Resolving conflict and resentment.
Don’t let it build up and fester while you just ignore it. Deal with it and manage it.
Resentment is a wedge that slowly drives people apart. It’s starts off small but grows bigger and bigger the more you don’t deal with it. Deal with resentment especially when it’s small.
Be humble. Admit mistakes. Take responsibility. Lead the way in all this. Be the bigger person. Don’t wait for others to initiate resolution. You be the one.
Keep your relationships as healthy and conflict free as much as you are able to do.
Having healthy relationships, that are stronger because you’ve faced conflict and resolved it, makes you feel good on the inside.
You know what, there are many other things that make you feel good, but these are a great place to start. These are the basics. Do them well. Make the right decisions and life will begin to stack up a momentum of feeling really good on the inside.
If this all feels a little superficial or self centred to you, know that God is a good Father and actually really cares about your well-being as one of His children. He knew you before he formed you in your mother’s womb. You are so precious to him that he was willing to send his son, Jesus, to die for you. And he really cares about your inner state.
1 John 3:1 “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting comfort and hope, which we don’t deserve, comfort your hearts with all comfort, and help you in every good thing you say and do.”
The post How to feel good about yourself. appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
I see a new wave of GRACE BASED SPIRIT FILLED churches being planted all over the world. God is divinely stirring and connecting the right people and ministries together from all over the world to plant GRACE BASED SPIRIT FILLED CHURCHES!
These are not going to be religious boring churches, they’re going to be churches that are alive and full of the Holy Spirit and grace. God has given us a heart and vision at New Nature Ministries to plant these kinds of churches into our future. We see ourselves connecting with people who have a calling and desire to plant a church but need some training and ongoing support in doing this. Over the last 23 years of Kylie's and my life God has fashioned in us 12 cultures that every church should be established on.
These are the 12 cultures:
PRESENCE: Where there is a love, honour and hunger for hosting God’s presence.
WORSHIP: Where the goal of worship is to lead people into an encounter with God, and a lifestyle of surrender to Him.
WORD: Where the preaching of the Word is rich in New Covenant revelation that spiritually feeds and establishes people every week.
SPIRIT: Where there are regular ministry times full of the Holy Spirit with people being saved, heal, set free, inspired and transformed.
FELLOWSHIP: Where people share their lives together as one caring family in fellowship, generosity and serving.
VISITORS: Where visitors are so welcome and feel instantly connected with the church.
EVANGELISM: Where everyone cares about the lost, brings the lost, and the church is geared to seeing them saved and added.
EQUIPPING: Where people find their purpose and place and are empowered to fulfil it.
CHILDREN: Where children’s ministry is all about having fun, learning about God and being connected with friends.
EXCELLENCE: Where there is a spirit of excellence for the purpose of giving value and importance to the message and Presence.
LEADERSHIP: Where leaders are secure, truly know God, have a pure love for people and a high value for God’s grace, glory and government.
PRAYER: Where everything we do is birthed in prayer and reliance upon God.
We are looking to partner with people who resonate with our culture and message to plant New Nature Ministries churches all over the world. These are early days, but if God is stirring your heart, then get in contact with us and let's see what God does.
info@newnatureministries.org
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A lot of people are prophesying really positive things for 2019 for the Church. Almost as though we are all going to accidentally fall into the promises and blessings of God without any challenges or proactive decision making on our part. What I’m picking up is that there are going to be some real challenges for the Church and believers this year, but there are some things we can and need to do about it.
I believe in 2019:
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You will need to build your faith or you may be swept away by the increasing tide of unbelief.
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You will need true intimacy with God. Do not lose touch of intimacy with God. You need regular times of worship, prayer and soaking in His presence.
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Your voice and convictions will be forced into silence unless you make a decision to love God and not fear man.
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Incredible pressure will come on the Church like never before to conform to the pattern of this world, but we must be continually transformed to the pattern of God through the renewing of our minds and surrendering to God’s will.
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Fruitfulness will come out of a true reliance on God, not striving, fear, anxiety, drivenness or worldly ambition.
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The other day I heard someone say these words to their teenage son who was struggling with sexual purity, “Do you have a plan for purity?” Then he said, “I can’t give you a plan, you have to come up with one yourself because you know what will work and what won’t”. Long story short, the son came up with a plan which he had to adjust a few times but eventually it was successful, and now that son teaches sexual purity to people all over the world. The son was Jason Vallotton whose father is Kris Vallotton and together they have a ministry called Moral Revolution.
But it got me thinking, often we just take life as it comes and hope for the best but don’t actually have a plan that will give us the best opportunity for success. There are so many things in life that you need a plan for in order to be successful. To build a house, to go after a career, to compete in an event, to travel to an unfamiliar destination. If we left all these things up to chance what hope do you think we might have of success?
What about when it comes to purity? Do you leave it up to chance or do you have a plan?
So here’s my question to you, “What is your plan for purity in 2019?”
The best plan is the plan that you come up with. No one can come up with a plan for you. You know what will work for you and what won’t. All I want to do in this article is make some suggestions that might help you make a plan.
So let’s get straight to it!
First I’d suggest you need to make a decision, "I am going to be pure in 2019 therefore I am going to have a plan". Just making a quality decision like this can make a big difference.
Now start coming up with your own plan. I suggest it includes both the spiritual and the practical. Let’s start with the practical.
Practical:
1) What is your plan to walk in the light?
I’m sure you’re aware that temptation and darkness diminishes significantly when it is exposed to the light. So,
Share your struggles with someone you can trust and ask for their help.
Talk to your spouse or a good friend, and just be honest. Not sure how to start? Just show them this article.
Talk about your most vulnerable times of temptation with them. Identify when you seem to struggle the most. i.e. When you’re stressed, when you have too much time alone, if you drink too much, if people put you down a lot, if you feel lonely and so on. Just talk to someone.
2) What is your plan to protect your eyes?
For men temptation is usually triggered visually therefore you need to do the best you can to protect your eyes.
Put some kind of filter software on your computer with search history and notifications sent to your spouse or supporter. They must have the password only.
Limit the number of devices you have or at least put filters on all of them. Whatever is your source of struggle is what you need to deal with.
3) What is your plan for stress relief and emotional fulfilment?
Often we use a sexual release as a way of relieving stress or feeling emotional fulfilment. The more we can turn to healthy alternatives the less we’ll feel drawn to the wrong alternatives.
Stress relief - find a fun but intense activity to regularly do like sports, hunting, boxing etc.
Emotional fulfilment - find a hobby/activity that replenishes you emotionally like cooking, crafting things, reading, movies, beach, hanging out with friends or whatever but it must be something that’s relaxing and satisfying to you.
Spiritual:
1) What is your plan to build your inner spiritual strength?
Pray every single day even if it's just for 5 minutes! Activate God’s strength and grace in your life everyday.
Feed on God’s Word and the truth about your dominion in Christ.
Be part of a church community that has an encouraging and edifying atmosphere.
2) What is your plan to resist temptation?
Practise exercising dominion over your flesh by doing an occasional fast and cutting out unhealthy food from your diet.
Practise saying no to certain things to train your body and mind to gain control.
Put sexual fantasies to death immediately.
Don’t be passive, be a fighter, be a warrior!
Again, these are just suggestions and I haven’t covered every angle because everyone is so unique. But if you think about it enough you’ll be able to figure out what you need to do.
The best time to come up with a plan is right now! The longer you leave it the less likely you are to do it. How about starting your plan right now and begin executing it straight away!
Can I encourage you to keep walking forward even if you stumble at times. Stumble forward!
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below. Feel free to give your thoughts, feedback or suggestions or contact me by email at info@newnatureministries.org
Please share this article as it may just help some people who really need it.
God bless,
Ryan Rufus.
Other posts you may find helpful:
Overcoming pornography (Article)
Overcoming pornography. (Audio)
Walking in the Spirit Covenant. (Audio)
Walking by your reborn spirit. (Audio)
Walking in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. (Audio)
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Grace is the most extreme good news a person could ever have the privilege of hearing in this life! It has the power to free you, transform you and empower you for life. Grace is not about how perfect you must be, it's about how perfect you have become in Christ. Discovering what you have become in Christ always leads to discovering what He can and wants to do through you! What do you think about when you consider the message of grace? Here are seven powerful teachings to help you communicate grace to others with clarity and simplicity that will bring joy and delight:
1 - Total Forgiveness
2 - The Gift of Righteousness
3 - Open Access to God
4 - Freedom from the Law
5 - A New Nature
6 - A New Identity
7 - A New Family
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About Extra Virgin Grace:
We haven't become a form of God's righteousness, we have become the very righteousness of God! This revelation is one of the most important life transforming revelations that you, as a believer, can ever have. It will humble you and give you confidence at the same time. It will change the way you relate to God. It will make you bold. You'll begin to think and act like a true child of God, like royalty, with authority and power. And most of all, unwavering, as you realize that your righteousness and sonship are not based on the fluctuations of your imperfect performance but on the unchanging nature of God's perfect righteousness in you. My conviction is that free people will free people. Therefore the greater the freedom we come into the greater the freedom we'll be able to bring others into. The essence of freedom is to know that you are 100% set free from the law and are 100% righteous in Christ - 100% of the time. Bondage is to believe that you are still under the law and not always righteous. Get ready to be armed with a key that will unlock many difficult Scriptures and distorted doctrines. What is this key? It is the key of discernment between the gift of righteousness and self-righteousness. It is the understanding of the difference between the biblical theme of the Olive Tree and the Fig Tree. It is ultimately your conviction of Extra Virgin Grace.
Chapters:
Chapter 1 The Olive Tree vs. The Fig Tree.
Chapter 2 Re-defining What Renewing The Mind Is.
Chapter 3 A Moment Within God's Eternal Grace Covenant.
Chapter 4 The New Way of The Spirit vs. The Old Way of The Letter.
Chapter 5 Galatians 5 Explained in Context.
Chapter 6 The Beatitudes Are For The Self-Righteous!
Chapter 7 Re-defining What Holiness Is.
Chapter 8 Hebrews 12: A Grace Understanding of God's Disciplines.
Chapter 9 Romans 5 to 8 Unlocked.
Chapter 10 Hebrews 5 & 6: The Impossibility of Losing Your Salvation.
Chapter 11 The Theology and Experience of Rest.
Chapter 12 More Gets Done When You Rest!
God bless
Ryan Rufus.
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At the start of 2018 God put Germany on my heart. I knew I had to visit this year because God has a part for me to play in a new move he is beginning in Germany that will touch all of Europe. I sent out some messages to a few leaders in Germany at the start of the year to see if there was any interest in having me come and minister. I had a few signs of interest but not much materialised, except for a guy in Switzerland who contacted me. We got talking over social media and realised we have similar hearts for the Gospel and he invited me over to minister at his church in October. At the same time, a friend of mine who is a book publisher in Germany, Gerald Wieser of Grace Today Verlag, also organised for me to speak at a small church in Germany on the same weekend.
So I went, not quite knowing what would happen or what the connection would be like. I was pleasantly surprise to find an incredible church in Switzerland with some amazing leaders. God instantly connected us in a deep heart connection. Our hearts are so similar for the Gospel and for the Church. Ben and Lena Stolz are the leaders of “Grace.Church” in Buchs, Switzerland and my new friends and partners in the Gospel! They are doing an excellent job and are very good leaders! The church is smallish in size, however, they carry a huge calling! I was received so well by the church and had a great time ministering in their AM and PM services. The Holy Spirit showed up and we had a powerful ministry time where many lives were touched and healed. I can honestly say that out of all the churches I have visited over the years this church has one of the most incredible atmospheres of grace, and it is producing life, freedom and passion for Jesus in people. During the evening worship service the Holy Spirit started laying a prophecy on my heart for Grace.Church and for Ben and Lena.
The key points were: “This may be a small church but it has a large weight of glory on it. God is raising this church up to be a very influential church in Switzerland, Germany and Europe. God is also going to raise Ben and Lena Stolz up to be very influential leaders in Switzerland. I see many sons and daughters coming from this house and many church plants. I see numbers of celebrities coming and joining this church because they feel safe in the house. And I also see some people from this church being raised up to become celebrities. Get ready because this church is going to grow!”
I’m really looking forward to building this relationship and going back again next year. We believe God is going to begin opening many more doors into this region.
I believe there is a move of God beginning now in Germany and Switzerland and will spread throughout Europe. I believe in this move we are going to see God doing four main things:
Awakening the Church to the New Covenant and the Holy Spirit.
Planting countless Spirit-filled New Covenant churches everywhere.
Raising up many grace leaders to bring influence.
A Proliferation of books about the New Covenant and the Church.
And I am excited that I get to play a part of this, however big or small that may be, I am ready!
If your heart gets excited about this, please pray with me and for this move of God.
If you have a church in Germany, Switzerland or Europe or if you are seriously considering planting a New Covenant church in Europe and would like to do it in partnership with us then please get in contact with myself, Ben Stolz or Gerald Wieser.
Contact details:
Ryan Rufus - info@newnatureministries.org
Ben Stolz - ben@grace-church.ch
Gerald Wieser - g.wieser@gracetoday.de
If you would like to financially support planting New Covenant churches in Europe and ongoing ministry then you can give to either ministry, and let us know it’s for “church planting and ongoing ministry into Europe”. We will make sure it goes to the right place.
To give to New Nature Ministries visit - www.newnatureministries.org/partner-give
To give to Ben Stolz visit - www.grace-church.ch
To give to Gerald Wieser visit - www.gracetoday.de/Partner
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Insights into what is happening in the spirit realm regarding the liberal left in America and why they are opposing the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the supreme court. Hear why I'm excited about what's happening in America right now.
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I share stories about when the Holy Spirit has done supernatural things in my life.
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After around 9 minutes of sharing the Holy Spirit came upon me powerfully and I got supernaturally drunk. It was awesome! This message carries a real impartation and anointing. Topics covered: worship, discouragement, discernment, stress, defining success.
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Kylie and I know what it is to live on a budget and to have more month left over at the end of your money! We lived in Hong Kong for twelve years which is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. In Hong Kong you are paid monthly, so around about the 20th of each month we would come to the end of our money and have to find a way to make it to the 28th which was payday. We know the feeling of financial stress and it’s horrible. For years we lived with it, trying to raise a family of six in a 700 square foot (65 sqm) apartment that seemed to get smaller as the kids grew bigger. Rent and school fees alone took up 65% of our salary!
But this season in our life taught us a some things. It taught us to live by faith and walk with God. It taught us to budget and to live within our means, and it taught us to be creative. We didn’t realise how much we learnt in Hong Kong until we came back to Australia where we are now reaping the benefits of the discipline we learnt in Hong Kong. We are fortunate that in Australia our expenses are dramatically lower than in Hong Kong, and as we apply the same discipline to our budget now the results are fantastic. We have no debt, we are saving money and we are able to be generous while also living reasonably comfortably. We are earning less and yet we are saving more! And to be honest, we don’t actually earn that much! It’s all in the way you budget and more specifically how you prioritise your spending.
We have learnt that there is a very small factor in the way that you prioritise your budget that will determine whether you live under increasing debt or in abundance. This is something that has worked for us and we want to share it with you. There are lots of financial principles out there but we believe this is the most basic and foundational. It is by no means an exhaustive financial plan that takes into account all the nuances of your situation, but rather a simply strategy that can be applied to most situations. The answer is to literally flip your budget upside down, which I’ll explain in a moment.
But firstly, I believe that God wants to get you to a place where you are living in abundance so that you can use that abundance to bless others and do every good work God has called your to. God doesn’t want you to be under a mountain of debt, and struggling just to survive. If this is your situation, then I want to show you right now the way to get out of debt and into abundance. And it’s not just about giving, or making more money, it’s about stewarding every paycheck a better way.
And here it is:
There are 7 things that demand your money with every paycheck and it is vital how you prioritise each one. What should I pay first? What should I pay last? How do I order everything in between?
This is the order in which you should prioritise your budget:
Tithe/give/sow
Tax
Debt
Save
Bills
Necessities
Luxuries
If you divide every paycheck up into these seven things and prioritise them in this order, you will eventually get out of debt and into abundance! This is how Kylie and I order our finances and it works! It may not work straight away but give it time and stick to it and it will eventually start working for you!
The first four things should be done before you even spend a cent on anything else!
Luxuries must absolutely always come last. This is essential! Only buy luxuries once you’ve taken care of all the other things and only if you have money left over. NEVER go into debt for luxuries!
Here is the problem though, people often put luxuries first and by the time they get to paying their debts and saving there is no money left, let alone having money to give!
In fact, a lot of people prioritise their spending in the exact opposite way they should and their list for spending priority ends up looking like this:
Luxuries
Necessities
Bills
Savings
Debts
Tax
Tithe/give/sow
The problem when you do it this way is that there is usually no money left after number 3, which means there’s no chance of saving, paying debts or taxes and giving to God is just impossible! If giving is last on your list, and you do somehow manage to have a little bit left at this point, can you imagine how hard it will be to give it?
The solution is so simple. Flip your budget over!
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Give first. Put God first in your finances. This is the point where it’s the easiest to give because the longer you leave it the harder it gets.
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Tax. Put a little aside every paycheck into a separate account so it’s there at tax time.
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Debts. Put as much as you can towards them every week so you can get rid of them as quick as you can and not be getting killed by interest. Once your debts are cleared your savings are going to rocket.
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Save. Try to put some aside every paycheck, even a small amount. Over a few years this adds up. Spend savings mostly on assets rather than liabilities. (Research the difference).
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Bills. Pay your bills as soon as you can, and try to limit them so you can free up money.
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Necessities. Know the difference between a necessity and a luxury. The problem is people often convince themselves that luxuries are necessities. Food, transport, accommodation, medication, basic clothing are necessities. Going out to restaurants, buying new stuff, upgrading technology, vacations and entertainment are all luxuries we crave, not necessities we absolutely need.
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Luxuries. There’s nothing wrong with luxuries but just keep them last on the list.
Now I know this all may seem a bit over simplistic and perhaps not practical for you. But can I suggest you just try it? Print my list of priorities and use it when working out your weekly/monthly budget. Start dividing up your money according to this list, and most importantly be disciplined with those luxuries!
When you get to the place where you are getting out of debt and able to live more comfortably as well as putting God first in your finances and giving generously, you are going to feel really good about yourself! Financial stress will melt away and you will begin to take up a commanding position with your money to use it in seeing the gospel being preached, churches being established, the poor being fed and clothed and the lost coming to know Christ! This is the ultimate purpose for this little tool that God has entrusted to us called money. And I prophesy that you shall become a great steward of it!
Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV)
“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
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There's a lot of confusion about the grace of God today. Some either go too far, others not far enough. Here is a simple teaching with impartation about what true grace is.
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While I realise worship is more than just the music and singing part of a church service, in this article I am referring to the music and singing part.
1) Make your goal of worship to encounter God.
Imagine if the whole congregation had an encounter with God at church. If you did nothing else in the service but helped people have an encounter with God, it was a successful service. It’s impossible to truly encounter God and not be changed. When people encounter God many things get sorted out in their life - bad attitudes, unforgiveness, temptation, anger, wrong thinking, fear, despair and more. Also, when people encounter God they get filled with God’s love, peace, joy, kindness, faith, hope, wisdom, victory, strength, life and much more. I don’t know about you but if I don’t encounter God in worship, I just feel unsatisfied.
2) Choose the right songs.
If your goal is to encounter God then you need to choose songs that will facilitate this. It’s actually quite simple: choose songs that focus on God and are God centred not people focused and people centred. It’s hard to encounter God when you are mostly singing about yourself. Also, choose songs that sing directly to God more than songs that sing about God. King David wrote psalms about God but his most intimate songs were ones where he talks directly to God. Songs that sing to God will instantly connect people with God and help to lead them into an encounter. Just singing about God can be impersonal and keep people disconnected.
Don’t just sing songs because they’re the latest popular ones. Listen to the words and theology of a song and use those songs to build towards your purpose of helping people to encounter God. Even some of the anointed and timeless “golden oldies” can be very helpful in the right moments. Finally, if a song has passed its “use by date” then cut it, as it has probably lost its ability to move people and they may tune out when you sing it.
3) Be decisive and lead.
If you are seeking to lead the congregation into an encounter with God then those who are leading need to have a clear and decisive voice and direction. They need to engage people, meet them where they’re at and lead them deeper. If you hit an obstacle during worship and people are not going any further, don’t just keep singing through the song list. You need to discern what is happening in the room and in people’s hearts and then speak into it. In every meeting there are usually hindrances or ceilings stopping people going deeper and higher in worship. A good leader will identify those hindrances and address them decisively and effectively. Are people just tired, discouraged, distracted, or are they dealing with unbelief, condemnation, lies, fears? Is there some kind of spiritual opposition or demonic influence? Discern what is happening in the room/atmosphere and in people’s hearts, then meet people where they are at and lead them deeper. Worship leaders and pastors need to work together in this as a team and both be responsible for it.
4) Have appropriate energy.
If everything is just low energy and subdued, people will not engage but will tune out. Worship will just go through the motions and cease to be worship. People will leave with a sense of frustration and disappointment. I believe if many worship services were to just add a bit more energy they would improve dramatically and the congregation would engage more and worship would take off. Especially if the leader is engaging the congregation, dealing with hindrances, getting people focused on God and leading them into encounter. If a song requires passion, sing with passion. If you’re singing about making a joyful noise don’t make a sorrowful whisper. Have appropriate energy.
5) Pick up the flow of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit always wants to take people deeper in worship. If the leaders are in tune to the Holy Spirit they will pick up on what He is doing and be able to flow with Him to take people into encounter. Every service has keys that will unlock the congregations ability to go deeper and higher in worship and encounter. Sometimes, for example, the key may be a word of exhortation at the right moment that will lift faith and expectation in the room and focus people on going after God. Sometimes the key may be a prophetic word, a word of knowledge or simply another gift of the Spirit. It may be a scripture, a prayer, a particular song or it may even be a corporate prophetic action the whole congregation needs to participate in. The Holy Spirit will reveal these keys to those who are listening and discerning. Leaders are simply looking for the keys in each service and the people who may be carrying the next key.
Of course this is just my brief perspectives on developing effective worship services in the Church. You may or may not agree, and I know there is a lot more to say about the subject. Perhaps you have some other helpful suggestions you would like to add. We would love to hear from you in the comments below.
God bless
Ryan and Kylie Rufus.
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Tithing is not a heaven and hell issue or a black and white issue and therefore it is open to some differences of interpretation. The problem though, is that some people believe the topic is clearly black and white and are adamant that it is or is not part of the New Covenant. Now it’s fine to have strong convictions. But that doesn’t make you mature. What makes you mature is how you handle people who hold an equally strong yet opposing conviction to you. Calling someone a legalist or still under the law because they believe in tithing is in my opinion on par with having a childish tantrum in order to manipulate. Equally so, calling someone licentious or stingy or robbing God because they don’t believe in tithing is the same thing.
We need to be big enough to accept that when it comes to tithing there are people on both sides who hold very strong convictions that they both claim are based on Scripture. We can still walk in love and unity as long as we walk in honour. If your pastor believes in tithing and teaches it in the church but you don’t believe in it (or vice-versa), you just need to live free and by your own convictions, but don’t go around the church undermining the pastor and spreading division over the issue. Don’t get on a cause to “awaken the church to the truth”. Don’t attack the leader as a legalist or mock him because “he doesn’t have a clear revelation of grace like you do”. Rather be free to live by your convictions, walk in love and keep your words honourable when the issue of tithing is raised.
Do we all have to agree?
We don’t have to all agree on tithing. But we do need to celebrate each others faith to either tithe out of conviction or not tithe out of equal conviction. If you want to debate it do it in an honourable way. Don’t be vicious and don’t be a jerk. Don’t use intimidation, manipulation, mockery, superiority or any means like that. Just be humble. Present your convictions that are based on Scripture and let the chips land where they land. You can’t bully people into faith. You can only teach the Word and let the eyes of people’s hearts be enlightened to produce faith in them that leads to corresponding actions.
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If there’s one thing that Jesus guarantees us in this life it’s that at some point, no matter who you are, you are going to face hardships. (John 16:33). Being a Christian doesn’t make us immune to difficulties, in fact, it probably attracts them more as the enemy desperately wants to restrict our influence in this world. It seems that many believers have simply not prepared themselves to face hardships. I’m sure you know of those “fair weather” believers who, when everything is going well, are happy, enthusiastic, passionate, at church, involved, helping others, generous and stable. But when tough times hit and they face difficulties, challenges and hardships their world comes crashing down and they just seem to fall apart. Some end up disillusioned, despairing, losing their faith and even becoming bitter with God. The problem was, they just weren’t prepared properly to face hardships.
But there is a way to prepare ourselves to handle all of life’s tribulations and challenges and to remain steadfast and secure through them all, even coming out on the other side stronger and more fruitful!
The answer is very simple, develop deep roots. Do you know what I’m talking about?
In Mark 4 Jesus shares the parable of the sower of the seed (the Word) and the different soils that receive the seed. In particular He talks about the rocky soil that has no depth. Many immature believers are like the rocky soil that have no depth of the Word of God in their life, and are therefore living in a dangerous place that is very vulnerable.
Mark 4:5-6 (ESV) “Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.”
He then explains the meaning to His disciples:
Mark 4:16-17 “And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.”
Jesus then talks about the seed that falls on good soil:
Mark 4:8 “And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
He explains the meaning in verse 20:
“But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Jesus makes a strong contrast here between an immature believer and a mature believer. Which one are you? Which one do you want to be?
The reason so many believers get so rocked when facing hardships is because they don’t have a depth of the Word of God in them. They have shallow roots that cause them to be scorched when the heat hits. We need to be more than just shallow “fair weather Christians” who are only passionate about serving God when everything is going well, but are unable to do the same during a difficult and challenging season.
Jesus is giving us a very simple secret here on how to develop depth and maturity so we can be faithful and fruitful no matter what season we’re in.
The secret?
Don’t wait until you are going through a hardship to begin sowing seed into your heart, spend time now sowing God’s Word into your heart so that by the time you hit a crisis there is a depth already there to be able to handle it.
Don’t be one of those Bible illiterate believers that get superficially excited about God on the outside but frizzell at the first sign of heat. Spend time now studying the Word and getting it into your heart. Yes it is a big book and can be hard to take in, but that’s why you need to have a plan and an approach now that can begin to develop roots that go down deep within you.
How do you go about sowing God’s Word into your heart?
Here are 5 simple things you can do:
1) Download an audio Bible.
It is so much easier to listen to large quantities of the Bible with an audio Bible than to try and read it. With an audio Bible you can listen while you’re traveling, working, shopping, laying in bed and so on. This is a great way to ingest large volumes of the Word and to get the big overview of the entire Bible. I recommend trying to listen to a whole book of the Bible in one sitting. It will help put the Bible in context for you which will start to help you understand it better.
2) Topical study.
In your own personal study time it helps to have a topic, a theme or a particular scripture of interest that you want to find out more about. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is laying something on your heart. Perhaps you want to prepare a sermon or a short devotional to share in a group. A topical study is a great way to study the Word. This could involve reading books as well that cover your topics of interest. It’s also good to use helpful study tools like Bible commentaries, Bible dictionaries, a concordance and different versions of the Bible. Most can be found online for free! This kind of study is when you are most stimulated to learn because you are interested in the topic.
3) Sit under the Word in church.
Every believer should be a part of a local church where you are being fed a good substantial meal on the Word of God at least once a week. Over the years this adds up to an incredible amount of the Word of God that gets sown into your heart, especially if you meditate on it or discuss it with others the week following.
4) Listen to teaching sermons through the week.
Find a great podcast or website that you can follow and regularly feed on. Imagine if you listen to just one other sermon each week. That’s 52 additional teachings you are receiving per year. That’s a lot of the Word of God going into your heart! Just make sure it’s good sound theology though. If you’re not sure, ask your pastor or a mature believer you can trust. All this builds up a great harvest in your heart. It may not seem like it at the time but it will produce fruit later on.
5) Bible college.
You might consider attending a Bible college or studying online. This is a more intensive and systematic way to get the Word of God into your heart. Again make sure it’s a good course by doing some research. This will take you out of that zone of being shallow and Bible illiterate and develop real depth and reservoir of the Word within you that you will be able to draw on so deeply when it’s needed.
Don’t leave it up to chance, make a plan today. Download an audio Bible right now and put it on your device. Get your Bible out and start reading. Find some good books, podcasts, video’s and Bible tools. Go to church on Sunday and feed on the Word and keep doing it.
If you want to transform your life this is how to do it!
Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a hunger for the Word, and to continually open your understanding so that the Bible comes alive to you and you become passionate about it!
Here are some resources that can help you: (but also do your own research).
Audio Bibles: https://www.biblestudytools.com/audio-bible/
Different Bible versions: https://www.biblegateway.com/
Bible study tools: https://www.studylight.org/, https://biblehub.com/
Bible studies, podcasts and video’s: www.newnatureministries.org
Blessings and happy studying!
PS: my website is a great place to feed yourself on the Word of God. Watch my videos, listen to my audio sermons, ready my teaching articles and blog, and perhaps even consider getting some of my books to go deeper. Feel free to write to me with any questions as well and I’ll do my best to get back to you. God bless, Ryan.
Other articles you may find helpful:
How to get your faith to work
http://www.newnatureministries.org/teaching/how-to-get-your-faith-to-work/
How to build spiritual momentum
http://www.newnatureministries.org/teaching/how-to-build-up-spiritual-momentum/
5 ways to get on fire for God
http://www.newnatureministries.org/blog-post/5-ways-to-get-on-fire-for-god/
How to have a powerful prayer time
http://www.newnatureministries.org/blog-post/how-to-have-a-powerful-prayer-time/
How to prepare yourself and your sermon
http://www.newnatureministries.org/blog-post/how-to-prepare-yourself-and-your-sermon/
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Here are 5 ways you can build spiritual momentum in order to access higher levels of the supernatural.
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There is no magic wand or miracle cure so stop looking for it! But there are 8 simple things you can do to dramatically help you overcome pornography.
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Preached in Hong Kong, this message will stir you with 5 simple ways to get on fire for Jesus.
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This is part 3 of a 3 part teaching on "Walking in the Spirit", which is to walk in the Spirit Covenant, from your reborn spirit, in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
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This is part 2 of a 3 part teaching on "Walking in the Spirit", which is to walk in the Spirit Covenant, from your reborn spirit, in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
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If you don’t deal with that materialistic monster inside of you that says, “I have to have it”, then you will never get ahead in your finances. Materialism is a hungry monster that never seems satisfied even with the rush of buying a nice new thing. If you need material things to make you feel happy on the inside, it’s a sign of an emotional pain inside of you that is usually connected to your self worth. You’re trying to make the pain go away by the euphoria you feel when you buy something. The more expensive the greater the rush. But that rush doesn’t last long though and guess what? You just made the monster more hungry because buying that thing you couldn’t afford put you further behind financially and that’s depressing. So how to get over that depression? Buy some new stuff so you can feel another momentary euphoric hit. It’s the drug of choice, but like drugs it doesn’t cure you it just makes you more dependant and in need of a greater rush, even if it destroys you! “It’s ok” you say, “I’ve got this under control. Just a little bit. I won’t let it get out of control.” Some people can go from a few hundred dollars in debt, to a few thousand, to a few tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and worse. That’s a heavy burden to have to carry because of a little monster that could have been crush in the first place. Don’t feed the monster. Starve it! How? By adopting these basic principles:
Live within your means and only buy what you can afford.
If you can’t afford it, go without it until you can afford it.
Don’t go into debt for luxuries or liabilities. You don’t need the latest thing.
Practise these little things and you will choke materialism!
And lastly, never find your self-worth from what you have or what people think of you because of what you have or don’t have. Find your value from God. He created you and you are extremely valuable to Him. He loves you.
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The other day God said to me, “Ryan, think, don’t worry about money”.
After meditating on this for a long time, God really took me to a new level of not worrying about money. If you find yourself worrying about money, I hope this will help you.
There is a big difference between thinking about money and worrying about it. When you think about money you are in control, but when you worry about it, money is in control. Money is never supposed to be a master that controls our lives and consumes our thoughts, decisions and actions. It’s only ever supposed to be a tool that we use to bless this world and advance God’s Kingdom here on earth. But the devil wants money to become our god so that we become obsessed with it rather than with God, and unable to truly serve God because we are controlled by puppet strings attaching us to money. We need to break free from our attachment to money. Do this and you’ll stop worrying about it.
Jesus said we cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24).
If you were to be absolutely honest with yourself, which one would you say you are truly serving?
God’s intended divine order for our lives is that we serve Him and money is simply a tool we use. Therefore we think about money but we never worry about it.
Worrying about money is a sign in our life that we should pay close attention to. It should make us ask some questions:
Why am I worrying about money?
Is it because I don’t trust God?
Is it because I’m obsessed with money and always feel I must have more?
Is it because I don’t manage my money well and therefore never have enough?
Is it because I spend before I think and get myself into financial trouble?
Is it because I’m serving money rather than God?
If we don’t deal with these issues in our life then worrying about money will always be a problem no matter how much money we do or don’t have.
We need to take the time to get ourselves to the place where Jesus is truly Lord in our life and where we trust Him. We also need to get to the place where we manage our money well and learn to live content and within our means and to save. If you do these things then practising not worrying about money will become easier and easier. Even during the times when you don’t have enough!
Look at how Paul puts it in Philippians 4:12-13:
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
There is a difference between obsessing over money and thinking about money. Obsessing over money is because we’re enslaved to the idol of money. Thinking about money is something that responsible people do who understand that money is a tool that is supposed to serve them.
Money is undeniably an important part of life that God wants us to proactively think about from a place of dominion. If we can remove the worry and be able to think straight about money, we’ll be able to plan, administrate, increase and use our money effectively.
There are Spiritual and practical things we can do to help us think, not worry about money.
Spiritually if we put our faith in God as our source then we’ll enter into rest and peace, knowing that God is ultimately looking after us. From this faith we can pray for our finances, stand on God’s Word over our finances and put God first in our finances.
Then practically we can:
Work smart - if you don’t have enough you either need to earn more or spend less. If you do both you will definitely have more money.
Spend smart - live within your means and only buy what you can afford. Don’t go into debt for luxuries and liabilities. If you can’t pay cash don’t buy it. Only borrow for assets (things that make you money like a house or business).
Save smart - cut down on excesses and be disciplined to save little by little.
Invest smart - put your money into assets rather than liabilities.
Develop multiple income streams - so if one dries up you have others.
Build up your passive income - so your money is making money for you.
Give smart - giving is good for your soul. You can’t outgive God.
Before we left Hong Kong to come to Australia and start our ministry almost a year ago, God gave Kylie and I two promises. Firstly He said, “I will add the momentum” and secondly, “You will not have to worry about money”. Over the last year these two areas, to be honest, have been our biggest source of anxiety. We’ve wanted the ministry to gain momentum much quicker and we’ve worried about where the money is going to come from. But God has done a miracle in us as we have had to press through these two confronting realities in our life and get into faith and rest. We’ve come to a place now where we really are at peace about the ministry and about money. We’re not worried about it nor feel we need to get in the flesh to make anything happen. We like practising not worrying about money and not being under pressure to make the ministry happen. Since coming into this place of peace, we are really enjoying the ministry and we know that our motives for doing anything is not to try add momentum or for money but purely because of faith, love and hope in God and what He is asking us to do.
Jesus shows us why we don’t need to worry...
Matthew 6:25-33
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
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This is part 1 of a 3 part teaching on "Walking in the Spirit", which is to walk in the Spirit Covenant, from your reborn spirit, in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
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My recent trip to Hong Kong and the Philippines was so good. This time I got to take my 16 year old daughter Chloe who recently has been getting on fire for God. I wanted her to experience an international ministry trip and let God give her a heart for the nations.
We first visited Hong Kong where we got to hang out with Renae, my oldest daughter, who is currently studying musical theatre in Hong Kong. We spent the day eating, shopping, wondering the city and watching a dance production. It was so good to hang out with Nae again.
I got to minister back in City Church as well. It’s been one year since I preached there and 11 months since we left. We received so much love and honour and it was hard to say goodbye to everyone again. But we will be back!
Then we were off to the Philippines with my father, Rob Rufus, for a ministry trip. Our first stop was Davao City. This is the city of President Duterte and it is the safest city in the Philippines. We were amazed to find out the President has a 90% approval rating by Filipino’s. They absolutely love him over there because he is getting rid of corruption, building prosperity and taking care of the people.
My dad and I got to share the ministry at the “Grace for Leadership Conference, Davao” and it was awesome! It’s like we were two seperate chemicals that when mixed together become explosive! We seem to activate each other to go to higher level and the result was a powerful time of ministry. The conference was made of up mostly church leaders with over 80 churches represented. At first everyone was a little cautious but after the first couple of sessions they were “all in!” and the meetings became extremely exiting! I preached on walking in the Spirit and it came out the best I have ever preached. My father spoke so powerfully on identification with Christ and how to receive an impartation from God. The truth of the Gospel just opened up the atmosphere to heaven and God came pouring in! There was supernatural impartation and the feedback was many lives were changed!
You can watch the 6 video’s here, or listen here. (I will be uploading them all so keep checking for updates.)
The hosts of the conference were just wonderful! Pastora Bing Apura from Jesus Church and her amazing children pastors Butch, Judah and Kookai, along with Pastors Ching and Mitch Alukuino from Firstborn Community Church were incredible. These are some very special people in Davao. God has given us a deep heart connection and we feel like we have known them for years! We will definitely be doing more with them in the future.
The worship team was truly a worship team. They released a big sound of worship and I could listen to them all day long! They worked so well with us during the conference.
We were so honoured to be able to sign some books as well and take lots of selfies. In the Philippines you can’t take just one photo, it has to be two!
Then it was off to Manila for another Grace for Leadership conference and Sunday church ministry. Jimmy Santos “my manager” in the Philippines was a huge blessing and took care of us so well, along with his amazing wife Clare. Pastor Jimmy is the “divine connector” and his ministry is to connect different pastors, churches and ministries together in the Philippines who are celebrating the Gospel of Grace and resonating with the same sound for reaching the Philippines with the grace of God. He is such a good man and God has connected us together in a divine partnership in the Gospel, and he has become just a very dear friend!
The Manila Grace for Leadership conference was well attended with many churches and church leaders represented. It was a blessing to connect with pastors from all over the Philippines and already my “manager” Jimmy is starting to organise future trips with many of these pastors. If you want us to visit you in the Philippines then please get hold of Jimmy and we’ll see what we can arrange.
On Sunday I was so blessed to minister in two of my favourite churches in the Philippines. I feel so at home in both of these churches. In the morning we were at The Life Giver Church, led by Pastor Willy Leynes and his wife Pastora Anne Leynes. They love the presence of God there and are grounded on a strong foundation of grace. They are a highly favoured church and are planting more churches all over the world and working with the government on many levels to see change in their city. I preached on walking from your reborn spirit and the word was received with excitement and joy. We have a deep heart connection with them also and will be partnering with them in the Gospel to support their church planting and see the Gospel of Grace spreading all through the Philippines.
We did some more book signing and selfies!
Then it was off to New Life the Fort, led by our good friends Pastors Alvin and Michelle Dela Pena. This church is rocking and it is always a joy to minister here. They meet in a cinema in the busiest shopping centre in the Philippines, Market! Market! They have six services a day with over 400 people per service! We are praying and standing in faith with them for their own BIG building. I did the 3pm and the 5pm service and spoke again on Walking in the Spirit. This was my main message for the Philippines this trip, and again it was received with joy. I love this church and pastors Alvin and Mich have extended to us an open invitation. We can’t wait to go back. Next time I will have to go with my wife Kylie!
We did some more book signing, selfies and then we got to spend some quality time with Ptrs Alvin and Mich. So many amazing people and deep heart connections in the Philippines now!
Finally we even got to have lunch with Pastor Paul Chase who is the senior pastor of the New Life Churches. He is an apostolic father and a great man of God. We were so privileged to hear him sharing stories about walking in the Spirit. We found out that we were preaching similar things all week without even knowing it! God is awesome!
I have to be honest, the Philippines is my favourite place in the world to minister! The people are so happy, passionate, humble, servant hearted and just love Jesus. God is moving and we are seeing towns, cities and regions opening up to the amazing Gospel of grace. I look forward to going in as long as there is an open door and serving and loving the Philippines.
Please contact myself or Jimmy if you are serious about having us minister with you in the Philippines, and especially if you would like to gather churches and leaders together and host a “Grace for Leadership Conference”.
See you again Philippines and until next time, may His peace fill you in every way!
Ryan Rufus.
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This teaching will coach you through on how to activate the gift of tongues and get it working in your life.
The post How to Speak in Tongues (Part 2). appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
A biblical understanding of tongues that will give you faith at activate tongues in your life and go deeper in walking in the Spirit.
The post What is Speaking in Tongues? (Part 1) appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
At the end of this message I pray a prayer over you to break the spirit of discouragement. If you are dealing with intimidation, depression, discouragement, sadness or oppression then please listen to this this and let the revelation and power of God set you free.
The post Breaking the spirit of discouragement appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
No matter who you are, we all go through times of discouragement and I’m sure you agree it feels horrible. Discouragement is like a dark cloud or a heavy blanket that wants to oppress us and take away our energy, our drive, our joy and just make us want to give up, run away and be silent. For some it can last a moment and for others it can drag on for days, weeks, months or even years. I believe the time it lasts for has got a lot to do with how we deal with it. But in order to deal with it we need to know what we are dealing with.
I find there are two kinds of discouragement. One that comes from natural circumstances like hardships of various kinds, insults and attacks from people, failure in things we attempt, sins we give into or just stupid things we do. The other comes from an actual demonic spirit of discouragement. The first one you can reason with and mentally overcome by putting things in perspective, but the second one is not rational and cannot be overcome by mental reasoning. It is a spiritual attack that has to be broken in the spirit in order to be overcome. The problem is most times people are unaware that their discouragement is coming from the spirit realm and are just trying to deal with it from the natural and mental realm.
There are some seasons in our life we go through where the circumstances just attract discouragement. For Joseph it was one discouragement after another from the pit to the prison to the palace. He was rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery, then accused and lied about by Potiphar's wife of sexual assault and thrown into prison, then being forgotten about in prison for years knowing he had a great calling on his life. Who knows what kind of discouragement Joseph endured.
Then there are times where we come under an assault by the enemy because he hates us and hates the destiny on our life. You can go from riding high and feeling strong to suddenly feeling incredibly weak, inadequate, intimidated and wanting to just hide away for awhile. There’s usually no rational reason for this in the natural, it’s just a spiritual atmosphere and assault against you. This happened to the prophet Elijah. After destroying the false prophets of Baal in true Old Testament fashion he receives a message from Jezebel that she was going to kill him. After hearing this message Elijah was intimidated and fled deep into the wilderness where he wanted to give up and die. There was no reason in the natural for Elijah to have been discouraged by Jezebels words, but there was a demonic spirit of discouragement operating behind her words and Elijah allowed that spirit to come on him and he tried to deal with it in the natural by running from it. This wasn’t a natural discouragement it was spiritual. This same spirit of discouragement wants to make us run away and give up on our destiny and calling.
Even Paul the apostle faced a spirit of discouragement on occasions. In fact he called it a messenger from satan sent to buffet him day and night through religious people and hardships. The way God told him to deal with it wasn’t through reasoning but through the grace of God, which is God’s supernatural ability and strength that is manifested when we rely on him and not our own natural strength. Paul said because of this buffeting there were times when he despaired even of life. This same spirit of discouragement wants to make us despair of life but there is a way to overcome it and reign in life.
So how does this spirit of discouragement find a way to have influence in our lives? I believe it looks for opportunities and vulnerabilities in us. This usually happens when we are facing particularly difficult natural circumstances and we don’t keep a healthy mental state that agrees with truth but rather sees the difficulties and begins to agree with lies. When we allow the circumstances to take our eyes and thoughts off Jesus and get them on ourselves and our abilities we become vulnerable to a spirit of discouragement.
I experienced this very thing just yesterday. I was talking to my wife Kylie about a truth that has been stirring in my heart lately. As I was sharing I was also aware of a growing frustration I am recently having in struggling to present some of the truths I’m being stirred with, particularly recording them for YouTube. I then spoke out very negatively over myself and from that point on I became very discouraged. Hopeless thoughts, self pity and wanting to give up overwhelmed me for the rest of the day. It was particularly bad because it was actually Kylie’s 40th birthday and I was being a little bit of a drama queen! What’s really funny is that I even had a prophet friend of mine on the other side of the world phone me up out of the blue and for some reason just felt to share with me about aligning my mind and thoughts with heaven in order to see the promises of God come about in my life! I finally realised I was dealing with a spirit of discouragement that had found a vulnerability through my own poor thinking and verbally speaking lies over myself. This morning I got up and smashed that spirit of discouragement off my life and the peace and joy of God have returned and I feel supernaturally encouraged. It’s not the first time this has happened. It happens anytime I’m willing to agree with lies and speak them over my life. I’m usually a very positive person and keep my eyes and thoughts on Jesus but every now and then if I’m facing challenges I get a little vulnerable to looking at the circumstances instead of Jesus.
But God has been challenging me lately to never speak negatively over myself but instead to speak life! Even if I feel inadequate in some areas don’t validate and agree with those inadequacies. Come in the opposite spirit and speak the truth of God over myself even if I have to faith it!
I’m realising that there is a link between a poor psychology (mental state) and being vulnerable to a spirit of discouragement. The Bible says we haven’t been given a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind. 2 Corinthians 10 says the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine (spiritual) power to pull down strongholds (wrongs ways of thinking in the mind), and we are to take captive every thought that is contrary to Christ and make it obedient to His truth. Ephesians 6 says our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual demonic forces and we are to put on the armour of God, a part of it being the sword of truth and the helmet of salvation that protects our mind and thoughts. Then Hebrews 12 says we are to endure hardships by fixing our eyes on Jesus and to consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners (religious Pharisee’s operating under a demonic spirit) so that we don’t lose heart and faint in our minds.
There is a connection in all these scriptures between the spiritual state of our mind and the enemies ability to attack us. The enemy doesn’t have any right to attack us because we are in Christ but if we agree with a spirit of fear and with lies about our identity in Christ and don’t stand on the truth of our salvation then we’ll actually become vulnerable to a spirit of discouragement. And if we’re walking through some difficult circumstances and begin to speak out negative things over ourselves, don’t be surprised if you start feeling a heavy cloud of discouragement coming over you and hanging around. But thank God there is something we can do! And here it is:
I believe there are two ways to deal with a spirit of discouragement. Firstly we need to repent, which is to change our mind and agree with God. To stop agreeing with lies and circumstances and to see things in the Spirit according to the truth of Christ. If God has called you to do something but you are not seeing it happen don’t speak what is not happening, speak what is true in the spirit. “I am this… and I will do that… because God has called me to it!” “I am good at this… and I can do that… because God has given me the strength and ability to do it!”
Secondly, you need to break off the spirit of discouragement through warfare prayer. This simply is where you speak up and take authority over a spirit of discouragement, command its power to be broken and command it to go. And it will go because it has to go if you are in Christ. All of a sudden you’ll feel the dark gloomy clouds vanishing and God’s joy and peace flooding back into your life.
Once you realise the heaviness you are experiencing is a spirit of discouragement then it’s actually very quick and easy to deal with it.
A few weeks ago I was feeling discouraged because one of the articles I spent a lot of time writing didn’t get as good a response as I was hoping. (I know, pretty pathetic right!). But I started to entertain silly thoughts in my mind like, “What’s the point of writing articles, no one is interested?” At that point I should have recognised the lie and shut it down straight away but I didn’t. I allowed my thoughts to run with this negative thinking and eventually lead me to a place where I felt like giving up. This was happening just before I went to bed so I went to sleep feeling really discouraged. I had a dream that night and in my dream I was in a church and someone from my past was there. This is a person who gave me quite a lot of trouble in the past while I was in leadership in a particular church. I woke up the next day not thinking too much about my dream but feeling twice as discouraged as when I went to bed. That whole day I walked around discouraged and didn’t realise what I was dealing with. That night I went to sleep and had another dream where that same person appeared in my dream again. This time Kylie and I were hosting guests from all over the world in our home and that person was right there again! I woke up thinking, “Ok, what’s going on here God?” I knew God was trying to get my attention and speak to me so I really sought Him about my dreams. God showed me that this particular person always tried to intimidate me and make me feel inadequate as a leader. The spirit operating through them was constantly trying to make me give up. Seeing this person in the church represented my current ministry into churches and seeing them in our home represented my online teaching ministry. Then God spoke to me and said, “It’s got nothing to do with that person, it’s the spirit behind them. That person represents a spirit of discouragement that is trying to silence you and get you to give up your ministry into churches and online.” I suddenly had insight into what was going on. Once I realised what was happening I was relieved because I knew how easy it is to deal with a spirit. I simply went into a time of prayer and broke the spirit of discouragement off me, which broke very quickly and easily. I also repented for agreeing with discouraging lies and began to agree with the truth of who I am in Christ and what God has called me to do and began to speak that out over myself.
Its funny how the enemy always tries to come at the very beginning stages of a new venture to stop it. He tried to kill Moses when he was a baby. He tried to kill Jesus when He was a baby. He tried to tempt and trick Jesus at the very start of His ministry. He tried to stop Joseph at the start of his calling, he’s trying to stop me and he’s trying to stop you.
If you’re launching out in something new and find you’re facing lots of discouragement don’t be surprised. The enemy doesn’t like what you are doing and wants to stop it.
The last six month period for Kylie and I since starting our ministry has been incredibly challenging. The biggest challenge has been in keeping a healthy mental state. We’ve just had a massive transition in our life and are basically starting over again at 40, and with not much momentum. This causes you to continually have to keep your thoughts on God and not on what’s not happening and how it’s not happening quick enough! Kind of like all the seed under the ground with not much on top to show for all your hard work. The most frequent thing God has kept saying to us is, “Just keep going.” I have to say that, while I find it very challenging, I also absolutely love the season we’re in. I can feel our faith being tested. We’re having to rely on God and keep a disciplined focus on what He is saying. We can feel endurance being worked in us and faith being developed with fire. Even though it hurts at times, we feel God enlarging us and strengthening our fortitude and reliance on Him. I call it a rough start to a great future!
So I want to encourage you, don’t allow a spirit of discouragement to just sit on you. You can do something about it. Break it off you and if it tries to come back keep breaking it off. Then in the meantime keep your thoughts on Jesus and agree with truth. Don’t agree with lies in your mind or speak negativity over yourself ever again, rather speak what is true in the Spirit and what God says about you. Throw off that heavy discouragement and keep running your race by fixing your eyes and thoughts on Jesus!
God bless you and may He fill you with His courage!
Ryan Rufus.
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Today one of God’s generals left planet earth and entered into the glory of the King of kings. I know the saints in Heaven are focused on Christ but I do wonder, if for a moment, everyone paused to welcome Billy Graham into the cloud of witnesses with a standing ovation. This is a man of whom it can truly be said, “He ran his race, and finished it well”. It wouldn’t be right to not take some time to honour the man and let his life inspire us. All day in fact I have been thinking about how I want to run my race like Billy Graham. He was a man so focused on His mission to win souls for Christ. I don’t want to miss what God has called me to do. I don’t want to be disqualified for the prize of winning my race because I got caught up in the temporary things of this earth.
Freewill is a peculiar thing. We decide whether we’re going to obey God and see heaven coming to earth through our lives, or if we choose to squander our allocated days on trivial things. I could be a person who gives myself over to aimless indulgence, merely eating food, passing it through my body, taking up space, growing old and dying with no impact or legacy in this world. OR, I could choose to use what God has given me and be a man like Billy Graham who led 3.2 million people to Christ through his crusades, preached the Gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity or mankind, broadcast his show “Hour of Decision” for over 50 years along with other broadcasts reaching a lifetime audience of 2.2 billion people, who was a spiritual advisor to twelve United States presidents, who ministered for over 60 years and was married to one wife, Ruth Bell, for almost 64 years, having no scandals whatsoever but is rather the benchmark of integrity and purity, and leaves a legacy that will continue to reach multiple millions of souls until Christ returns.
What does it take to be someone like this? I don’t think the answer is that difficult or mysterious. Billy Graham was surrendered to Christ. He was gripped with eternity and God’s love for souls that were on their way to eternal judgement and hell. He was willing to deny himself and pay any price. He was willing to be disciplined, focused, consistent and hard working. He was willing to be courageous! He was willing to be hated by people, knowing that souls were more important, and that he was loved by God.
I want to run my race like Dr. Billy Graham. He ran his race exactly how Paul the apostle encourages us all to run our race:
1 Corinthians 9:24 - 27 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
The race is our destiny and winning means we fulfil it. We’re not competing against others we’re competing against ourselves. Being disqualified is simply not fulfilling our destiny because we were distracted.
I am confronted in the most challenging yet loving way by how Billy Graham lived his life. What will I say as I see my final days approaching? Will I have regret because I passed up my destiny inheritance, or will I be able to say like Paul that I finished my race?
2 Timothy 4:7-8 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Billy Graham finished his race and the way he ran should inspire us. I want to be like Billy Graham and stay focused on my calling and mission here on planet earth. I want to endure all things for the sake of the lost and consistently work hard and push through every opposing challenge that wants to stop me finishing my race.
As we consider great people like Billy Graham may we not so easily get caught up in the distractions for life but keep our eyes on Jesus and eternity. It is all worth it for the sake of the lost.
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
God bless you Dr. Billy Graham and the legacy you leave behind.
https://billygraham.org/
https://memorial.billygraham.org/
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When last did you test your gospel to see if it was man-centred or Christ-centred? A few years ago I realised I was beginning to head off into a man-centred gospel that is weak and powerless, and I had to check my foundation and make some crucial re-alignments. There are a lot of believers who have come into grace but are being taken off into a man-centred gospel without even realising it. This sermon I did in Hong Kong will help you test your gospel to make sure it is Christ-centred and continues to remain powerful and effective in yours and other people’s lives.
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I’m sure you are familiar with Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace”. Recently I have been ministering to someone who grew up being taught this scripture in a very religious way which resulted in terrible depression, and more recently becoming very suicidal. He was taught that if you don’t have dominion over sin then you are not in God’s grace and are not saved. He was told if you died with sin in your life then you are going to hell.
The religious angle which makes this so deceptive and destructive is that “sin won’t have dominion over you if you are in grace, therefore if sin is having dominion over you then you are not in grace.” This is absolutely not what this scripture is saying and to teach it like this is to bring bondage and death. This teaching kills believers slowly, and in the case of my new friend almost drove him to the point of taking his own life. Thank God he is now seeing the truth of grace and is getting set free. It is a wonderful testimony in the making that I hope I get to fully share one day.
So how do we understand Romans 6:14 then?
How shall sin not have dominion over us?
Does being in grace mean we will never sin again?
If we still sin does that mean we’re not in grace?
I want to answer these questions by showing you the 2 ways that Romans 6:14 applies to us:
“Sin shall not have dominion over you”
1) Legally, and
2) Experientially.
1) Legally sin cannot have dominion over you anymore because you are no longer under God’s law.
When you were under the law then sin could have dominion over you because the law could find you guilty, and condemn and punish you for your sin. Once you believed in Christ then you came out from the position of being under the law and came into a new position of being under grace. Coming into Christ sets you free from the dominion of the law which means that sin no longer has a way to find you guilty and to condemn and punish you. Sin cannot use the law anymore to condemn or punish you since you are no longer under the law anymore. The removal of the law has removed sins power over you to condemn you. Therefore sin shall no longer legally have dominion over you, since you are no longer under the law but under grace.
It’s important to see that everyone is positioned either, under the law or under grace.
Before a person believes in Christ and is born again, they are under the law of God. (Romans 3:19). They are in the domain of the law, and therefore under the dominion of the law. This is the position they are in. As long as they are under the law there is no amount of good behaviour they could do that could take then out of the domain of the law and bring them into the domain of grace. The only way to come out of the law and into grace is to have faith in Christ and be born again. Once you are born again you come into the domain of grace, and are therefore under the dominion of grace. This is now the new position you are in. You are no longer in the domain of the law but in the domain of grace. You cannot be in both domains. It is spiritually impossible! (Romans 7:1-4). You can only ever be in one, either law or grace. If you are not born again then you are under the law. If you are born again then you are under grace. Once you are born again and under grace, there is no amount of bad behaviour that can take you out of the domain of grace and back under the domain of the law. Good behaviour didn't get you into the domain of grace and bad behaviour doesn't take you out. It has nothing to do with behaviour it has to do with faith.
The next most obvious question people will ask is, “What then, shall we just sin now because we are not under law but under grace?”
That question is the right question to ask after you hear grace correctly taught. In fact, if our grace teaching does not provoke this question then we are not teaching grace in its fullness. Perhaps we are afraid that people will use what we’re teaching to run out and sin, so we hold back on teaching grace the way Paul taught it. The way Paul taught grace provoked this very question. In fact look at the very next verse that comes after Romans 6:14:
Romans 6:15 “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?”
Of course the answer is no! Which Paul clarifies at the end of verse 15, “Certainly not!”. But Paul asks this question because he knew that other people would ask it after the revelation of grace he just taught. For me this shows that if someone is teaching about grace from Romans 6 and this question doesn’t flash across your mind, then they’re not teaching true grace. Your grace teaching has to show that a believer is no longer under the law and therefore that if they do sin that sin no longer has any legal dominion over them.
Until you can accept this revelation you will never fully understand grace.
And this actually is the heart of grace. God doesn’t want us to sin, but if we do sin, then that sin is already legally pardoned and can never condemn or punish us. Does this mean that we should just sin then? Of course not, but if we do sin that sin has already been dealt with in Christ. Does that make it okay to sin. Of course not. We shouldn’t sin. But if we do sin, we have One who has taken the punishment for us and continually reveals our eternal innocence before the Father.
This is what 1 John 2:1-2 confirms:
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins…”
Now it’s not just legally that sin can no longer have dominion over us. Because of your new reborn nature you can now begin to exercise dominion and experience victory over sin.
2) Experientially you can walk in dominion over sin because you are not under law but under grace.
Romans 6:14 is not saying that “if you don’t walk in dominion over sin then you are not under grace”. Rather it is saying that “because you are under grace it is now possible to walk in dominion over sin”.
If we had to walk in 100% dominion over sin in order to be under grace then nobody would be under grace because nobody walks in 100% dominion over sin. But this scripture is not saying that in order to get under grace you have to walk in dominion over sin, it is saying that because you are under grace you can now walk in dominion over sin. This is a very important difference and if we don’t understand it we will put God’s children in bondage.
You used to be dead to God and alive to sin, but now you are alive to God and dead to sin!
Before you were in Christ, you were dead to God and alive to sin. (Eph 2:1-2). Our sinful nature is what was leading and controlling us. (Rom 7:5). We were slaves to sin and the law that we were under had no power to control sin or set us free from sin. In fact the law only exposed our sin and stirred up our sinful nature to sin even more. (Rom 7:5,7,8,13). Therefore while we were dead to God and under the domain of the law, sin had dominion over us and we were slaves to it.
But then we believed in Christ and were born again. This is where we died to sin and came alive to God. (Rom 6:2,7,8). Just as Christ died once and rose again to new life, so too we died to sin once and rose again to new life in Christ. (Rom 6:10-11). This is when our old sinful nature was crucified with Christ and removed, and where God raised us up to new life with a brand new righteous nature. (Rom 6:6. Col 2:11).
Before, when we were under the the law, we were dead to God and alive to sin, but now we have been born again into the domain of grace and are dead to sin and alive to God! Because we died with Christ to sin and were raised up with him into new life with a new nature, we have been set free from sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. Sin no longer has dominion over us to control us anymore. We now have dominion over sin and can exercise that dominion. (Rom 6:6,7,17,18,22). We can now say “NO!” to sin. We don't have to obey it anymore. (Rom 6:12). We can exercise dominion over sin. We can now present all the parts of our body to God as instruments of righteousness and no longer present them to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. (Rom 6:13). Sin shall not have dominion over us because we have died to our old powerless life under the law and have been raised up with Christ into new powerful life in grace. (Rom 6:14).
However, if we are not experiencing total dominion over sin, it doesn't mean we’re not under grace, or that we’re not saved, or that we’re in danger of losing our salvation. It simply means we have yet to learn how to exercise the dominion we have as born again believers in grace. The wonderful thing about grace is that if we should fall while we are learning, we always fall into His grace. His grace picks us up, dusts us off and encourages us to keep going. And this is the perfect environment to learn how to exercise our dominion over sin.
The way to exercise dominion is to present the members of our body to God and not to sin. (Rom 6:12,13). We surrender our eyes, our mind, our hands and all other parts to God. When sin comes to tempt us, we must say “no”. The reason why we sin is because we say “yes” to sin. Nobody makes us say yes. We say yes. Sin cannot make us sin. We decide to give into it. We don’t have to because we are no longer slaves to sin. We have power over sin. We don’t have to try and get power over sin, we have power over sin and we just need to exercise it! There is no sin that is beyond us being able to resist it. The problem is we’re waiting for God to take the feeling away or to exercise dominion for us. But that’s not how it works and if we’re waiting for that we’ll become disillusioned. God has given us dominion and it’s up to us to exercise it.
But thank God for his grace, that even if we don't experience full dominion over sin, we still legally always have dominion over sin and therefore, it shall never have dominion over us ever again. And I pray that as you discover your position in Christ and the new nature you have, all because of His grace, that you will begin to experience dominion over sin more and more.
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If you believe you are called to preach, then knowing how to prepare yourself and your sermon well is a skill I’m sure you’ve realised you need to develop. Here are some things that I have learnt over the years that help me get ready to deliver a “weighty now word from God” that impacts and transforms people’s lives:
- Pray for yourself, your sermon and the atmosphere.
I have found that prayer, without a doubt, is the most important part of preparing yourself, your sermon and the atmosphere you about to preach into. If you want heaven’s weight on your sermon which shifts the atmosphere and opens people up to supernatural revelation and impartation then you must pray. If I had to choose between preparing notes or preparing myself through prayer I would always choose prayer. Sermon notes without prayer will not effectively transform people’s lives. I can literally tell when a preacher has not prayed enough for their sermon, themselves or for the atmosphere because I can feel there’s no momentum in the spirit but rather a drag. Take the time to pray. This is where you’ll receive a now word from God. It’s where your inner person becomes sensitive to God. It’s where you pray for your audience and the spiritual atmosphere to be open, full of heaven and receptive. It’s also where you get full of the Holy Spirit and where the weight of what God wants to say and do comes upon you. Even if your sermon is not that good, people will catch an impartation from God because you are carrying something in the Spirit and have helped prepare them to receive it.
- Figure out your process.
Everyone has a different process for preparing themselves and their sermon. You have to find what works best for you and not be under pressure to do it someone else’s way. I’m a prophetic teacher, meaning that I teach what I feel God bringing up in my spirit to teach. This usually only comes up in my spirit closer to the time when I’m scheduled to preach. If I get a sermon too early in the week, then by the time it’s Sunday it doesn’t feel like there’s any life left on it. So usually I only pick up the theme by Friday, have my notes finished by Saturday afternoon, and then meditate on it until Sunday. The worst thing you could do is ask me for my notes by Wednesday or Thursday. This interrupts my process and my sermon is usually never as good because I’m more concerned about my notes than about hearing and moving with God.
Sometimes my process is different where I’ll work on a teaching over a longer period of time, or teach a sermon I’ve taught before, but I’ll still fine tune it Friday and Saturday similar to my usual process. Your process may be totally different and that is absolutely fine. Just go with what works for you.
There may be the situation where you are given a topic to preach on and that is fine. You can still apply your process for preparing. I’ll simply let the theme marinate and distill in my spirit until around Friday so I can own it and make it mine, and then start to form it into a sermon to preach by Sunday.
- Decide on your theme.
At some point you need to decide on your theme. It’s best to know exactly what your theme is when trying to prepare your notes. If it’s not clear at the start you’ll get lost in endless thoughts and scriptures while preparing your notes. Sometimes I start out in a puddle and end up drowning in an ocean of too many thoughts. So how to avoid this? Always ask yourself, what is my dominant thought? Don’t try to say too much. That is where you get into trouble.
The best advice I can give to any preacher about their message is keep it simple and keep it short. I’m going to say it again because most people don’t think this relates to them, “KEEP IT SIMPLE AND KEEP IT SHORT, PLEASE!” This is a skill and a discipline that bad preachers don’t have, and often the reason why people don’t like their preaching. It’s too confusing as they criss-cross and circle back and forth while trying to be profound and cover every angle and thought related to their topic. Even that sentence is laborious!
I once heard that a good sermon is like a short airplane flight.
The plane takes off (short introduction).
It flies straight to the destination (one dominant thought).
Then it lands (short application at the end).
How to do this? Here are some tips:
DON’T BE SELF INDULGENT!!! Nobody really wants to hear every detail about how this topic relates to you.
Don’t be confused. Know what the dominant thought of your sermon is and stick to it with discipline.
Practise your sermon. When you do this you’ll get a good feel for how long it will be and what you need to edit.
Read your notes to someone else. This can reveal where you have dead spots, or confusing thoughts, or unnecessary things that distract and interrupt the flow of thought.
People will appreciate a clear, simple and short sermon. A good restaurant never over feeds people, they always leave them wanting just a little bit more! If you step out of the pulpit and people are wanting more, you’ll definitely get other opportunities to preach.
- Figure out your style and structure.
Everyone is different and there are so many varying styles and personalities. Some people are storytellers, others are line upon line teachers. Some prefer topical preaching while others expository teaching. Some are prophetic who use visions and pictures or unctions, others are clinical who lay out compelling arguments and proofs. Others blast through with the fire of God and very little content while others don’t say a lot but each word they do say is weighty. You just have to find out who you are and go with your style. Who are your favourite preachers? What kind of preaching do you like the most? These could be indicators that you have a similar style of preaching.
If you’re a storyteller, be a storyteller in the pulpit. Don’t think you have to be a line upon line teacher. If you are really funny, be really funny in the pulpit. God gave you that gifting as a channel to communicate truth through. I’ve been shocked a number of times when someone I knew who is very funny or a great storyteller gets up to preach and suddenly they are very serious or try to teach line upon line, and it’s terrible. I’ve thought, why didn’t they just tell stories or get us laughing with their incredible comedic humour and use that to communicate what God has put on their heart? Use the gifting and personality that God has given you and enjoy doing it that way!
If you want to get good and developing the right structure for your sermons I would suggest studying the preachers you really like and feel you share a similar style with, and figure out why their sermons are so good. Analyse them. Break them down and then hone your own skills with what you learn.
- Get inspired, full of faith and revelation.
There’s nothing worse than enduring a boring sermon from a dull preacher! Don’t be that person. There’s no way you can deliver a bad sermon if you are inspired, full of faith and full of revelation! Don’t always wait for it to come to you, go and get it. Feed your spirit, listen to preachers who are inspired and full of faith. Get in God’s presence and let Him speak to you and give you revelation. Read a book, watch a video, get around inspired people.
Jesus said to Peter, “Feed my sheep”. Don’t give God’s people dry crackers, give them rich and nutritious well prepared meals that are full of God.
- Rely on God, not your talent.
A novice preacher once confidently strutted up to the pulpit where, to his horrific surprise, delivered a poorly received sermon. He left the pulpit broken and humbled. When he later asked his mentor Charles H. Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, what went wrong, Mr. Spurgeon said, “If you had entered the pulpit the way you left it, you would have left the pulpit the way you entered it.” Moral of the story, be humble and rely on God.
Preaching is not performing. You are not there to entertain or impress people. Don’t come under that pressure. You are there to deliver something God has put on your heart for them. Yes it comes through your personality and the gifting and anointing that is on your life, but we must always remember that we are not giving people us, we are giving them God. We are not drawing people to us, but always pointing them to Christ. If you can connect people to God, He will do the work in them. We are simply the message carriers. The ambassadors of the King.
- Preach to change the atmosphere.
I believe that there are eternal truths in heaven that when uttered here on earth they change the atmosphere and open people up to heaven. I don’t preach to impress people, I preach to change the atmosphere and open up channels into their heart where God can minister His Word and presence to them. This is what transforms lives. When people come up to me after I’ve preached with tears in their eyes, I know somehow I have done my job and they have been touched by heaven.
- Get into the zone before you preach.
Before I preach I like to be quiet and still. I try to calm my mind and my inner being right down. Nervousness is a good thing because it means you are aware that there is a weight on you and that you want to deliver it effectively. But in order to not let anxiety and excessive nervousness runaway on me, I will go into a zone of peace and calm. This is like a godly meditative state where I’m focusing on God and what is about to happen. Sometimes I will lie on my bed being still and calm, sometimes listening to soaking or instrumental music. Other times I may pray in tongues for quite awhile, or worship, but always inviting the peace of the Holy Spirit into me and over the atmosphere. In these times I’m trying to get the natural me to bow down, and the spiritual me to rise up and move with God.
- Relax, breathe, be confident and go for it.
Now go and preach you wonderful preacher of the Gospel!
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From the "Grace for Leadership Conference" in Manila, Philippines 2017 with Ryan Rufus. This Q&A went really well!
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Have you lost your fire? Did you once burn brightly for Jesus where you would have done anything for Him, and yet now going to church once a week seems a rather difficult commitment? Do you ever think perhaps one day I’ll get my fire back and really serve God but right now I’m happy to just go through the motions of nominal Christianity? If so does it bother you that you’ve settled into this lifestyle? In first world suburbia it’s quite easy to fall into this rut, but I want to tell you how you can get out of it, and get back to burning hot for Jesus all the days of your life.
Being on fire for God doesn’t come automatically, you have to intentionally work at it. However, if you leave it up to chance your fire will go out.
Here are 5 things that will show you why your fire may have gone out and what you can do to get back on fire for Jesus:
- Fully surrender to Christ.
The reason many of us are not living on fire for Jesus is because we think our life belongs to us and that we get to do whatever we want with it. The truth is that in order to come alive to Christ, you first have to die to yourself. If you didn’t die, then you simply added Christ to your life rather than letting Christ become your life. This is a self-centred gospel rather than a Christ-centred gospel. If you are at the center of your life and are living for yourself, you will find it hard to be on fire for Jesus. You have to get off your throne and let Jesus sit on it.
On the 24th July 1995 the old self-centred Ryan Rufus died and the new Christ-centred Ryan Rufus came alive. Since then my life has not belonged to me, it has belonged to Christ. I literally got down on my hands and knees in my bedroom that day and said to Jesus, “I surrender. I give you my life.” The miracle of rebirth took place and Jesus has been my life ever since. I didn’t add Him to my already self-centered life, I completely gave up my life so that Christ would come alive in me. Ever since then it hasn’t been hard to be on fire for Jesus.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”
Colossians 3:3 “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
2 Corinthians 5:15 “and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”
The first step to being on fire for Jesus is to make sure you haven’t subscribed to a man-centred gospel but rather a Christ-centred gospel. A Christ-centred gospel says, “I am no longer living for myself but for Jesus.” When Christ becomes the center of your life then doing anything for Him won’t be a sacrifice, it is your actual life.
- Focus on eternity.
The second step to being on fire for Jesus is to focus on eternity.
Eternity is the highest perspective we can have in life. Everything else finds its place and priority when we see things from eternity. If we do not live with eternity pressing into our priorities here on earth, then we’ll get easily distracted and caught up living for trivial things - our comforts and pleasures. When difficulties from following Jesus challenge our quest for comfort and pleasure, then compromising our commitment to Christ won’t seem so bad. However when we see things how Christ sees them, our priorities here on earth change. When we live with heavens priorities it will cause us to get on fire for God.
Colossians 3:1-2 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
- Feed and fan the flames.
The third step to being on fire for Jesus is to feed and fan the flames of your passion for Jesus. If you don’t they will easily go out just as a fire eventually goes out if you don’t feed and fan it.
All of these scriptures below show us we need to do something in order to maintain our passion and focus for Christ:
2 Timothy 1:6 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands”
1 Timothy 1:18-19 “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck…”
Jude 20 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit”
Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
1 Timothy 6:10-12 “Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
If you leave things to chance and feelings your fire will go out. You need to be intentional and disciplined. To feed and fan your flames you need to be regularly feeding on the Word of God and spending time in His presence. God is a God of fire and when you encounter Him and His Word, you will get on fire!
Revelation 1:12-18 “I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
It’s hard to encounter Christ’s like this and not be on fire!
- Find your purpose.
The fourth step to being on fire of Jesus is to live with divine purpose.
With no purpose your life becomes aimless with no reason to be on fire. But when you find and follow your God given purpose it will stir up a fire in you. Our mission is to disciple the nations, and our purpose is to find out how we fit into that and fulfill it with our particular talents and calling. It’s easier to find out your purpose when you are surrendered to Christ, living for eternity, and feeding and fanning the flames of your passion for Christ. When you get connected with your higher purpose it’s easier to get on fire for God. If you’re not on fire for God it’s probably partly due to you not being connected to your purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
- Fellowship with fired up people.
The fifth step to getting on fire for God is to surround yourself with other people who are on fire for God. Fire is contagious, it spreads. All you have to do is get around people who are on fire for God and they will fire you up. Then get around other people whose fire has died down and you fire them up! Hopefully your local church has some people like this and especially the leadership. If the leaders are not fired up I doubt the people will be.
What kind of believers do you fellowship with? Are they on fire for God or has their fire gone out? What topics dominate their conversations - work, weather, sport, news, themselves - how about Jesus? How about eternity? How about Kingdom purpose? How about the Word of God?
2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”
Philippians 1:3-8 “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.”
Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Final though:
We have one life and we don’t have the luxury of wasting it. People’s eternal destiny depends a lot on us and how on fire for Jesus we are. God has not called us to a trivial life, He has called us to a life of divine purpose and destiny. If we are surrendered to Jesus, focused on eternity, feeding and fanning our flames, are connected to our purpose and hanging around other believers who are fired up then it won’t be hard to live on fire for Jesus all the days of our life! Serving Him will be no sacrifice, it will be our burning desire.
Hebrews 12:28-29 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
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There is a simple key in how to come under the authority of Christ and have his dominion reigning in your life. This will help you to receive miracles, deliverance, freedom, blessings and empowerment.
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Having a regular powerful prayer time in your life is a game changer. I’m not talking about a little religious “quiet time”. I’m talking about prayer that shifts the atmosphere over your life and supercharges you with heavens power. Prayer times that smash off the assault of the enemy and break any oppressive atmosphere around you and leave you with a sense of victory. Prayer times where you encounter God and walk out feeling strong and ready to take on life!
I’m not sure if you have ever had a prayer time like this but I want to encourage you that you can and that you should make it your expectation. Everytime you go to your place of prayer you should expect a powerful time of prayer with God. If you were to have these regularly, it truly would transform your spiritual life.
I want to share with you some key elements to a powerful prayer time:
- Find a solitary place:
Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Jesus often went to solitary places to pray. A solitary place is somewhere you can get alone with God and with little distractions. It’s also a place you can make some noise if you have to. I prefer my room rather than outdoors. And I don’t care who hears me. Often my family is home but I’ve gotten used to that and in some ways I’m glad my kids get to hear how I pray. I used to hear my father praying in his room and it actually helped me learn how to pray myself. Sometimes I would wake up in the morning to him praying in tongues in the room next to mine. I’d get up, have breakfast, go out for an hour or two, then come home and find he was still in his room praying in tongues. That had a big impact on me!
- Find a time that works for you:
For Jesus it was, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark...” (Mark 1:35).
Early in the morning is before your day has started and prepares you for the day. It’s like sharpening your axe before you start chopping. I find the morning is the best time to pray. Often if I decide to pray in the afternoon I never do. There’s usually too many distractions and I just don’t feel like praying by the afternoon. I have to decide the night before that I’m getting up to pray in the morning. It usually always requires some discipline but the more it becomes a routine the easier it gets. You may find that another time is much better for you. Just do whatever works best for you.
- Start with worship.
Worship is an act of surrender. It literally means to come towards, bow before and kiss the hand. Worship is coming under the kingship of Christ. It’s bending the knee and confessing the His lordship. As we do this we come under His dominion, authority and power.
I always start my times of prayer declaring the lordship of Christ and telling Jesus I love Him and surrender everything to Him: my heart, my will, my plans, my possessions - all that I am and everything I have.
I then invite Jesus, the king and His kingdom to come into the room and into my life.
I then spend time singing worship songs. This includes songs I know as well as free worship, where I just sing from my heart. I can play a few chords on the guitar that I taught myself. Enough to sing a few worship songs. My kids always tell me that I play the same chords over and over again and ask me if I know any other chords, to which I always tell them I probably should learn a few more. But those chords do me just fine and are enough to have a great time of worship. And when I sing I don’t hold back, I let my inner rockstar out cause he loves to sing loud and passionate! But I also flow, sometimes I’m loud, sometimes soft, sometimes it’s all free worship from the heart, other times it’s known songs that I sense are good to sing at that point. One thing I find to be very important and powerful is not to sing about Jesus but to sing to Jesus. It’s more intimate and interactive and brings you face to face with Him.
The whole time I’m worshipping I’m also inviting the Holy Spirit to come and welcoming the presence of God - His anointing, His glory, the atmosphere of heaven, the Kingdom and dominion of God.
And I’m always pressing in deeper and seeking to go further into God’s presence. One thing I have found is that the Holy Spirit loves language of our desire and dependence on God. “Jesus I love you, I’m desperate for more of you, I must feel your presence, I must hear your voice, I need you, I can’t live without you.” The Holy Spirit is so attracted to this and always responds.
It’s amazing how this kind of worship and surrender takes us deeper into God’s presence and causes our prayers to be much more effective. Look at this amazing scripture about Jesus’ prayers while he was on earth:
Hebrews 5:7 “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”
He prayed with fervent cries and was heard because of his surrender to the Father.
- Praise Him.
My worship time also involves praise where I declare the greatness of God. Praise shifts the atmosphere and lifts your faith. So many people focus on their problems and difficulties while trying to have a prayer time. This gets the focus off God and onto yourself. Don’t do that! Rather lift God up, exalt Him, declare His greatness over all things.
There is an old Bible word that tells us to “magnify” God. This is to see how infinitely big and superior in power God is to all other things. I like to spend time magnifying God and boasting about how great He is.
Psalm 34:2-4 “My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalm 69:30 “I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.”
When we see God in His awesomeness and how much greater His is than our problems or our enemies, our faith becomes explosive and the atmosphere around us shifts.
- Pray in tongues.
When I feel that my praise and worship has lifted the atmosphere I will usually go into a time of praying in tongues.
Praying in tongues is a very important and powerful part of my prayer time.
It does a number of things:
It builds us up on the inside to become spiritually strong.
It bypasses our understanding/mind and connects us with God’s consciousness.
It helps us become more in tune with the Holy Spirit.
It connects our prayers with the Holy Spirit.
It helps us to hear God’s voice, feel His presence and sense what He is doing.
1 Corinthians 14:4 “Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves…”
1 Corinthians 14:14-15 “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.”
As you continue to pray in tongues for a period of time you will start to go deeper and begin to break into higher levels in the Spirit. I’ll often just keep going and find a natural escalation and intensity in my tongues. This is in correspondence to what is happening in the Spirit realm through my connection with the Holy Spirit in intercession. If you’ve never done this, don’t over analyze what I just said or be critical of it, just try it! It’s actually hard to explain it, it’s just a matter of experiencing it. Once you have, you’ll want to do it all the time because of the powerful effect it has.
- Declare truth about your identity.
This will take you out of a posture of defeat and weakness and into a stance of victory and boldness and even give you a righteous aggression in the Spirit, which quite frankly more believers need to have! This is all about declaring who you are in Christ. When we know how righteous we are in Christ and how much authority we have in Him, our prayers will become powerful and effective. And this is the context of:
James 5:16 “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
The truth about our identity is that we are the righteous of God in Christ Jesus so we don’t ever need to prayer condemned, tentative or begarly prayers! We pray confident faith-filled prayers knowing that we are children of God and he hears us!
- Warfare.
Sometimes you have to do spiritual warfare. Either for ourselves or on behalf of others. There are times we need to stand against and break a demonic assault, dark atmosphere, intimidation, accusations or lies that are coming against us or against someone else.
Sometimes our warfare requires praying with our understanding where we take authority over the enemy, resist, stand against, rebuke, break and command to go. Other times it requires intercession tongues where our spirit connects with the Holy Spirit and He prays through us pinpointing the things in the Spirit realm that need to be addressed.
Romans 8:26-27 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
I find warfare praying can usually get quite aggressive and requires that we press through until we get some breakthroughs in the spirit. You’ll discern when you get the breakthrough because you’ll feel the release in your spirit.
Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
2 Corinthians 10:2-4 “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.”
- Supplication prayer.
I usually never start my prayer time with supplication prayers (asking God for things). This is simply because at the start I’m usually very much in the flesh, earthly focused, low in faith, with no heavenly atmosphere or power flowing. Prayers in that atmosphere are usually pretty ineffective simply because we’re not praying them from a place of faith, authority and power. I do my supplication praying usually after I’ve done all the previous things I’ve talked about because then the atmosphere is supercharged. In this atmosphere you don’t have to pray long prayers or beg and plead. You just pray short powerful prayers and you can sense they are much more effective. This is when I’ll pray for myself, family, other people and situations.
Acts 4:24 & 31 “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God… After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
- Soak in God’s presence and hear his voice.
Sometimes God actually wants us to be still and quiet and just soak in His presence. It’s great to have some soaking music ready for this kind of thing. This is when God wants to fill you, give you revelation, speak to you, empower you, activate gifts or simply take you deeper into encounters with Him.
There’s only ever a few times where I’ve started my prayer time with soaking and it’s always been very Spirit led. Most of the time if you try to go straight into a soaking time at the beginning of your prayers you’ll find you just vague out or fall asleep. This is because the atmosphere is not ready for soaking or you’re not ready for it. You need to go through the other stages to prepare yourself and the atmosphere. Sometimes while doing the others stages I’ll suddenly reach a point where the glory of God comes and I know I can do nothing else except lie down and soak in God’s glorious presence.
So why don’t you make a time this week to have a powerful prayer time with God. Find a solitary place, get up early one morning, start out with worship and surrender, then praise and magnify God, spend time praying in tongues, then declare your identity in Christ, deal with any demonic stuff through warfare and once the atmosphere is charged and clear then pray for some needs and requests or perhaps simply finish off soaking in God’s presence.
I’m really praying and believing that you are going to start having some powerful prayer times with God!
God bless,
Ryan Rufus.
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In this sermon I look at a number of scriptures that show that our prayer does move God and therefore why it is so important for us to pray.
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I’m sure you agree, feeling insecure sucks! But how do you know if you’re insecure? Do you find it hard to feel confident around people? Are you overly hard and negative towards yourself? Are you painfully dependant on other people’s approval and acceptance? Do you emotionally spiral down after hearing people criticizing you? Do you go through life feeling worthless and insignificant? These are all signs of a root of insecurity and it’s a terrible thing to suffer through. But there is hope. God has the cure. God never intended for us to go through life feeling tormented by our insecurities. We are his children who he loves so much, and his way to overcome is better than anything the world has to offer.
You may have had a challenging upbringing which left you struggling with various insecurities now. Many people spend their whole adult life trying to overcome their childhood. Well regardless of whether you had a good or bad upbringing, there is a way in God to become secure and go through life with greater confidence, loving yourself in a healthy way, feeling valuable and important without needing people’s approval, being able to handle criticism, living with less anxiety and actually enjoying life more.
The root cause of insecurity.
Every human being is born with the need for acceptance, approval, love, and to know that they are valuable. If we don’t know we have all these things from God already, then we will try and get them from the world by looking to people, possessions, performance and pleasures in order to fill an emotional whole. People will go to extreme, and often destructive measures just to feel loved, accepted and important. From joining gangs, cults and fanatical religions who offer community, acceptance and importance even though they may do evil things. To sleeping around with many partners because it makes you feel wanted, loved and valuable for awhile even though its superficial and leaves you more empty. Some people join the army and go to war, not out of a sense of duty or patriotism but because of the praise they get from people they so desperately desire. Many get themselves into terrible debt through an obsession to buy materialistic things because it makes them feel good for awhile, or appear successful, or important, or valuable, or to buy people’s approval and love. Some people even become gay, not because they believe they’re gay, but because of the love and acceptance they receive from the gay community. I don’t judge people for doing these things because I understand why they are compelled to do them.
Where does true inner security come from?
True inner security comes from knowing that before you do anything, God loves you, accepts you and approves of you and has made you his child and has given you great value. When this truly gets into our hearts we will become secure. Inner security comes from a heart that understands, believes and receives God’s unconditional love, acceptance and approval of us regardless of our performance!
If we know that in Christ we have great value, we won’t go about trying to get value from the things we do or possess. If we know that we are approved and accepted by God already, we won’t enslave ourselves to other people’s approval and acceptance of us in order to feel good about ourselves. If we are secure in our identity as children of God we won’t feel insecure about our identity and driven to try and achieve one through destructive means. Instead we can just get on with our calling and purpose in life of being a child of God and doing the things his children do. Not to become, but because we are!
Good parenting helps us to be secure.
Before Jesus did anything for his Father, his Father loved him, was pleased with him and called him his son.
Matthew 3:16-17 “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
When the Father said, “This is my Son” he was giving Jesus identity, value and importance. When he said, “Whom I love” he was giving him unconditional love. When he said, “With him I am well pleased” he was giving him acceptance, approval and taking pleasure in him.
Jesus didn’t have to earn his father’s love, acceptance or approval through his performance, he already had it from the beginning. He didn’t have to earn his sonship or prove it by doing the right things for God, he already had it. Knowing his father loved and approved of him as a son was the source of Jesus’ security and the springboard from which he served God.
Religion is a bad parent because it tells us we need to perform well in order to receive God’s love and acceptance as children, or worse, in order to become or stay his children. No wonder I meet so many insecure Christians who are afraid of God and don’t even know if they are saved. They are trying to perform for God to earn his love and earn their salvation. But God’s grace is the unmerited favour of God that makes us His children and reveals His love, acceptance and approval of us regardless of our performance! This is the source of our security, and the springboard from which we also serve God.
Galatians 3:26 “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.”
John 1:12 “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
There is no performance in this, when we believe in Christ we become in that instant, children of God, whom God loves, approves of and takes great pleasure in! This is what our security is rooted in, it’s where it’s anchored from, immovable and unchanging!
Look at how wonderfully Ephesians chapter 1:3-6 puts it.
Verse 3: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
This means God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing not because of our performance but simple because we are in Christ!
Verse 4: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
This shows that before we even came into existence God’s grace had already chosen to make us holy and blameless in his sight!
Verse 5: “In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—”
This means it was God’s love and good pleasure towards us that chose us to be adopted as his children, not through our performance but through Jesus Christ! This is what we have in Christ before we do anything!
Verse 6: “to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”
This means that all of this is not to the praise our performance, but the glorious grace of God that he has freely given us in Christ.
Anyone who truly understands and knows this ought to be so secure on the inside. We’re not living to try and get people’s approval in order to feel important and good about ourselves. We already have God’s absolute love and approval and his good pleasure towards us.
What happens when we are secure?
The more secure you are the lower you can go, and the higher God can raise you up. The more insecure you are the higher you will strive, and the lower you will go.
John 13:3-5 “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet.”
Jesus knew how powerful his father was and how much power his father had given him. He didn’t have to prove his power or worth. He knew where he came from and where he was going. He didn’t have to strive to attain some level. He already had it! And because he knew it and was secure in it he was able to humble himself and become a servant. Servants are treated bad yet don’t demand rights, privileges or prestige. They are not serving their own purposes but someone else’s. Jesus wasn’t serving his own purposes but the purposes of the Father here on earth. While doing it he was treated badly, persecuted, rejected and crucified. If he was after his own ambition he would never have fulfilled his God given calling and purpose on earth. If he was insecure and felt the need to achieve identity, sonship, love, acceptance and value he would have sought those things through trying to exalt himself. It would have cost him his calling.
Look at what Jesus said to his disciples after he had washed their feet:
John 13:14-15 “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
Jesus was teaching his disciples what true greatness really is. It wasn’t trying to exalt yourself and striving to be the greatest in the Kingdom, which they were all doing. It wasn’t to have the biggest following, the most likes, the praises of everyone, fame and glory, great possessions and power. It was instead to be a humble servant, secure in who they are, and whose they are, and where they are from. Not self seeking, not driven for approval or to impress people. Not demanding your rights, privileges or prestige. Not complaining or being bitter when life and people don’t treat you well or you’re not achieving what you had planned to achieve. People who know who they are as God’s children, that he loves them and accepts them and they are valuable already, don’t need to strive to get all these things in life. Instead they can walk as children and servants of God. They don’t need to be at the top of everything in order to be important or loved. They can go low. It is these that God can use. These who God will raise up and exalt to the highest places. Who he can trust with promotion.
Philippians 2:3-11 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
If you will meditate on this simple truth of the source of your security, insecurity will begin to evaporate from your life and God’s grace-based security beginning to emanate from deep within you.
True security comes from one place and one place alone. It comes from knowing that God loves you, accepts you and approves of you not because of what you do or have, but simply because you are His beloved child in Christ.
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Feel like you're going through life not living in the sweet spot? Entering into God's rest will help you get into the sweet spot. Catch an impartation of supernatural rest from this word that is grounded in a biblical theology of grace.
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From Ryan's 2nd session at the Grace for Leadership Conference recently in the Philippines. Paul the apostle strongly urged the Church to continue in the grace of God because this is where empowerment comes from. The Church must never feel it needs to move on from grace. Rather we grow in grace which empowers to know God and to serve Him.
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Why we should set goals:
Goals give vision to our life and point us in the direction we need to be heading. They help keep us focused on what we should be doing so we don’t drift around aimlessly wasting time and achieving nothing. Without vision we become directionless, like a ship on the ocean with no destination. As soon as the ship knows where it’s going it can set a course on how to get there.
If you don’t have goals you don’t have vision. If you don’t have vision you won’t have direction. If you don’t have direction you won’t have a plan. If you don’t have a plan you won’t have focus. If you don’t have focus you won’t have discipline. If you don’t have discipline you won’t be consistent. And if you’re not consistent you won’t have success.
Success comes from consistently being disciplined to stay focused on a plan that keeps you moving in the direction of your goal until you achieve it.
Most New Year’s resolutions are merely wishful desires that lack a thought out plan of achievable steps to success. They are things we hope we can have or be in the new year, but without any true intent or plan to achieve them. That’s why most New Year’s resolutions go nowhere. But New Year’s resolutions are not bad. They show us that there are things in our life that we want to improve or achieve, which is a good thing. We should take these desires more seriously. Why not just take a little time to turn these desires into realistic goals by developing a pathway of achievable steps to reach them? If this is something you would like to do, then here are a few tips for how to set and achieve your goals.
How to set goals for the year:
Set measurable goals. If your goals are vague and you’re not able to measure them you’ll lose focus quickly and abandon them. You’ll also never have the satisfaction of knowing if you have actually achieved your goal or not. For example if your goal is simply to be a good person, how do you know if you have ever achieved that? How do you measure if you’re good? Being a good person is a great goal but you need to have some kind of measurable steps along the way. In other words ask yourself, “What does being a good person look like? What good things do I want to do this year?” Perhaps you might want to volunteer at a charity, or buy gifts for certain people this year with a caring letter attached. Perhaps you might spend one quality hour with each of your children per week (or spouse or other people) finding out about them and encouraging them. Think of some good things you want to do and set some of these things as goals you can achieve and thereby measure throughout the year. Whatever your goal is, make sure it includes things you can do and achieve. If not, it will be hard to track your goal and stay focused on it.
Set realistic goals. If a goal is not realistically achievable for you, it won’t be long before it becomes too overwhelming and you just give up. For example if you weigh 200kgs don’t set yourself a goal to be 70kgs by the end of the year. That’s pretty much impossible and you’ll get discouraged quickly. Rather set a realistic goal to be 170kgs by the end of the year. That is still challenging yet realistic. Then the year after that set a goal to reach 140kgs. Whatever your goal is, make sure it’s challenging but also realistic. This will help you to stay motivated and positive about achieving your goal.
Write your goals down. I suggest to write out your goals, print them and then display them in a prominent area where you can be reminded of them regularly and continue to plot your success. Writing them down and displaying them will help you take them more seriously as well. Be prepared to spend a bit of time doing this because it is important and worthwhile. If you’re trying to travel to some difficult destination, it’s always better to have a map in front of you to guide you or it’s easy to get lost. Display your goals on your wardrobe door or you bedroom wall, the back of the washroom door, on your fridge, your desk, anywhere that’s prominent for you.
Plan a pathway of success for each goal. Running a 42KM marathon can be a very overwhelming thought to anyone who has never run before. In fact it would seem impossible. But it’s not. Many people all over the world do it. The way they do it is by having a realistic training plan with smaller achievable goals along the way. If you’ve never run before but started a good marathon training plan in January, by December you would easily be able to run a 42KM marathon. Your goal for January may be to run a combined 20KM for the month. That’s one or two short runs per week. That doesn’t seem too impossible. If you can achieve that goal for January, then you are on your way to running a marathon in December. Your goal for February might be 30KM for the month. March may increase be 40KM. If you increase your training goal by 10KM per month each month your fitness and strength would grow rapidly throughout the year and be well preparing you for December. In November you may decide to run a few longer distances and increase your mileage a little to get you that extra bit ready for the marathon. If you can stick to your plan by achieving all of these smaller goals throughout the year, come December you will run the marathon no worries! You may not get a fast time but you will have completed your first marathon. The following year you may set a goal to run it 30 minutes faster which you would then adjust your training plan a little to reflect that goal. My point is, if you include this kind of plan for all your goals, they won’t seem as overwhelming and impossible. In fact, you’d be surprised at how much encouragement to keep going you gain simply from completing each smaller stage.
The idea is to set smaller goals along the way to achieving your main goal, and to have a timeframe for when each smaller goal needs to be achieved. These are steps or stages along your pathway to success. Write these steps out when you write out your goals.
Another example if you like is if you want to climb Mount Everest. There are stages along the way that you have to complete in order to have a successful climb. You don’t just set out one day and hope you’re lucky enough to reach the summit. There is a pathway you have to take with progressive altitude stage camps along the way that you have to reached within specific timeframes. Mt Everest is far too overwhelming to climb in just one go. You have to break it down into smaller achievable stages in order to achieve such an incredible goal. In the same way if you breakdown your main goal into smaller achievable stages, each within a timeframe, your goal will seem less overwhelming and become much more achievable.
Set a start date. I suggest that once you’ve decided on a goal it’s best to start immediately. The longer you wait the more chance you have to get distracted or procrastinate and then relegate your goal to just another one of those “silly New Year’s resolutions I never do anyway!” If you can’t start immediately due to the nature of the goal then at least set a start date. Write it down, print it and display it. Even tell other people so they can hold you accountable to it.
Do the most important things first. There’s often so many things we need to juggle in life, and all of them seem to demand our attention. Yet not all of them are as important as each other. Some of them are just superfluous things that wouldn’t really matter that much if we just didn’t get to them. We should order our priorities and do the most important things first rather than second. This is something I continually deal with because I get so easily distracted and I’m always trying to do multiple things at once. I’m learning the art of doing the most important things first and the lesser things second. If your goal is to write a book in a year then you will have to have some times set aside for writing. During those times, the most important thing to do is write, so don’t do other things. They can wait for another time. If your goal is to travel overseas at the end of the year and you have a savings goal, then lesser important things that demand your money need to be denied. Perhaps that year you don’t upgrade your wardrobe, phone, computer, TV, car, fridge, washing machine and all the other new things we just “have” to have. If you put the lesser important things first, you won’t ever get to the most important thing. Do it first and let the other things come second as much as that is realistically possible and appropriate for you.
Develop a routine. Don’t leave your goal up to doing it when you get the chance or when you feel like it. Rather set aside a time and day each week or month that you will give specifically towards that goal. Get into a habit of doing that quickly so that it becomes a routine. This is probably one of the more determining factors of whether or not we achieve our goals, that doesn’t get capitalized on because of a lack of intentionality and discipline to develop a routine. Personally, I’m not a routine person, but I’ve had to force myself to become one in various areas in order to reach certain goals. I could be helpful to include your routine when you write out your goals.
Follow through. Ah the great nemesis! If only we could achieve our goals without having to work hard, be disciplined, stay focused, overcome setbacks, find motivation and follow through. Unfortunately we have to do all these things if we want to achieve our goals. The good thing is, that if we’ve done the previous steps I’ve talked about then doing the “follow through” is easier. If you’re like me and get bored quickly and are easily distracted you may have to adopt a guiding principle that says, “Finish a goal before you start a new one.” If not we’ll end up with a lifetime accumulation of half achieved goals. How depressing! Instead lets:
Set measurable goals.
Set realistic goals.
Write our goals down.
Plan a pathway of success for each goal.
Set a start date.
Do the most important things first.
Develop a routine, and
Follow through.
What kind of goals to set?
Here’s a thought guide to help spark ideas as you think about the kinds of goals you want to set for 2018:
Physical: diet, weight, strength, fitness, sport, health, appearance, style.
Spiritual: prayer life, worship life, study life, ministry/serving life, church life.
Material: financial, career, ventures, possessions, travel, helping others.
Relational: family, friends, social.
Emotional: hobbies, sports, rest, fun, play, counselling, education.
Well I do hope this blog has helped you and you enjoy setting goals for 2018. I pray you have much success in achieving them.
God bless,
Ryan Rufus.
PS. If you’re interested to know my major goals for 2018, here they are:
Goal 1: Run 10KM in 35 minutes.
Goal 2: Build our first home.
Goal 3: Finish and publish my book “I Believe in Eternal Security”.
Goal 4: Minister in Germany, USA, Philippines, Malaysia and Australia.
Goal 5: Get involved with helping children who are victims of abuse.
Goal 6: Make 10 Ryan and Kylie Vlog videos.
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This will help you find and fulfil your purpose here on earth.
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A number of years ago Rick Warren wrote a book called “The Purpose Driven Life” which became one of the most successful books ever written, selling over 60 million copies. People all over the world, in the tens of millions, were buying the book and taking part in small group courses that worked through it to literally help them find their purpose in life. Why was this book so successful? Simply because it answers the number one question that most people are asking in life: “What is my purpose?”
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Find out how to move from a puddle of your limitations and fears and into a river of God's unlimited supply that has been flowing since the Cross.
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Many believers carry around a disappointment and confusion as to why their prayers don’t get answered. They pray for various things and yet never seem to see their answers arriving. Because of this some believers lower their expectations of God and themselves and even adjust their theology to match their experience rather than what the Word of God promises. But what if there was a way to supercharge our faith and get it working so that we actually started seeing more miracles and breakthroughs in our lives? Well there is a way and it’s actually more simple than you think. The Gospel is not complicated. Man complicates it, but actually the Gospel is very simple. It’s not about trying to have more faith. It’s about removing the things that hinder faith so that God’s Word can grow and produce a harvest in our lives.
All we need to do is a little bit of gardening in our heart to clear the soil so that the seed of God’s Word can be received and grow to produce a harvest of faith and fruit.
Here’s the reality, faith will only work in a heart that trust only in Christ and not other things. Therefore if we clear our heart of trust in other things, so that we trust only in Christ, we’ll see our faith starting to work more. A clear heart is able to hear and accept the seed of God’s Word into it and produce a harvest because there is nothing else hindering it in the heart.
In Mark 4 Jesus gives the parable of the sower. Jesus gave this parable to teach us how to make our faith work. He speaks about two very simple concepts: the “seed” which is the Word of God, and the “soil” which is a person’s heart. The problem was never with the seed it was always with the soil. God’s Word, His seed is perfect and will work every time as long as it has good soil. If the soil is bad the seed will be hindered and won’t produce. In the parable Jesus talks about four kinds of soil but only one of them produced a harvest. This was the good soil that had no rocks, thorns or hard pathways in it. It doesn’t matter how good the seed is, if the heart has got other things in it the seed can’t produce.
Here’s the parable in 5 verses and then we’ll look at the revelation. While you read it try to identify what the path, rocks and thorns represent:
Mark 4:3-8 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
The path:
The path is hard soil. It’s hardness in the heart and it represents unbelief. You ever heard someone say, “I’ve been there, done that, tried it many times but it didn’t work so why would it work now?” When we have this hardness in our heart the seed cannot get in. Instead it’s quickly snatched away and can never produce a harvest.
God accused Israel, who failed to enter the promised land during the time of Moses, of having hard hearts of unbelief and called them evil hearts (Hebrews 3 & 4). Even though God had promised they will enter the land they hardened their hearts and rebelled against God by not believing what He had said. God’s Word was a promise that they would enter and yet because of fear and unbelief they did not believe His Word. And because of that they failed to enter. If we are not entering into the promises of God, let us not have hard hearts of unbelief that take us down a pathway away from the Word of God but let us rather humble ourselves, believe His Word and ask God to help us with our unbelief.
In Mark 9, the disciples tried to heal the demonised boy and failed, yet when Jesus turned up He healed the boy instantly. We, like the disciples, may be tempted to say that it’s not God’s will to heal this situation or give us a miracle in that area but Jesus is our perfect theology, infinitely more than our experience. He showed it’s always God’s will. If we are not seeing our faith work we need to go back to God’s Word and not our experience and we need to humble ourselves and ask God to help our unbelief. Just like the boy’s father who said to Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Our problem is we don’t want to admit we don’t have faith. We want to make it about someone else or something else or that it’s not God’s will. The reality is that it is God’s will but we are not accessing it because we don’t truly have faith. Humility says, “Help me Lord with my unbelief”.
If you read Mark 9 and Matthew 17 you’ll see Jesus has no problem telling the crowd and his disciples that the reason they couldn’t get the boy healed was because of their unbelief. And that if they had faith they could heal this boy and that nothing is impossible to them that believe.
Matthew 17:16-20 “I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
The way we get rid of the hard pathways in our heart is to humble ourselves and admit we have unbelief, and then ask God to help us to believe His Word rather than our circumstances. By doing this we will soften the hard soil so that it can receive the seed. It means that when we hear God’s Word we will believe it and accept it above what we may be currently experiencing.
The rocks:
The second soil that couldn’t produce a harvest was the soil that had rocks in it. I believe the rocks simply represent the Law that was written on stone. This is when a person trusts in works rather than on Christ. When you do that your faith won’t work. You have to get the rocks out before your faith will work. You have to get trust and dependence on your works out of your heart so that you rely only on Christ and His work for you.
Jesus here, was speaking into a context in Jerusalem where Israel was trusting in their works righteousness to be saved and to merit God’s blessing and favour. Jesus was revealing himself as the saviour and that it’s by God’s grace that we are saved and blessed.
The problem is there is so much confusion in the Church today about this as people are mixing Christ with works. Because of this their faith is not working properly. The soil of their heart is still full of rocks. You cannot mix grace and works. It’s either all by works or all by grace. It’s not some of Jesus and the rest by my works. No salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. Not only is salvation by grace but so is healing, deliverance, provision, victory and all miracles. At the Cross Christ took up our sin, our sickness, our poverty and our defeat and therefore forgiveness, healing, wealth and victory all come through grace and never through our works of righteousness!
Galatians 3:5 “So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?”
We receive miracles simply by believing what we heard about Christ and His grace which is God’s riches to us at Christ’s expense. What stops us receiving is when we are relying on our works to earn God’s salvation, healing, provision, favour and blessings. Works nullify faith and stop it from working.
Galatians 3:12 “The law is not based on faith”.
If we want our faith to work, we need to get the rocks of trusting in our performance out of our heart so that we trust only in Christ. As long as the rocks are there your faith is always going to struggle to work. Clear the soil and get the rocks out so that the soil of your heart can accept the seed of God’s Word and you’ll see an increasing harvest or miracles!
The thorns:
The thorns choked the growing seed so it could not produce a harvest. Later Jesus explains that the thorns represent “the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things” (Mark 4:18-19).
I believe this very simply is speaking about idolatry. Idolatry is to trust and hope in other things rather than God. Idols are anything we have in our heart that replaces God. If we are trusting in our possessions, people and power rather than on Christ, our faith won’t work.
You can tell if someone has idols by how much they are caught up with the cares of this world, if their focus is money, and if they are always desiring after other things and are not satisfied and trusting in God. These idols are things that will choke the Word of God and prevent miracles in your life. These idols are okay for the seed to grow a little, but as soon as it starts to grow big and threaten to replace the idols, the idols react and choke the Word so it cannot grow up and produce a harvest.
If you are trusting in other things rather than God, then you have idols in your life that are hindering your faith from working. If you want to get your faith to work you have to get the idols out of your heart. Your reliance and pursuit must be on Christ alone, and not possessions, people, power and pleasures. Maybe it’s time to do some serious gardening to get those thorns out. We place such high value on these things and don’t want to give them up and yet Christ’s loving word to us is that these things choke what is true life- His Word which wants to get your faith working and produce a much better harvest in your life.
Matthew 6:25-33 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
The good soil:
Mark 4:20 “But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
If the soil of our heart is good it will accept the seed and produce a harvest. We don’t have to try to have faith, all we have to do is remove reliance on other things and trust only in Christ. When we do this, our heart will easily accept the Word of God.
Romans 10:17 (NIV) “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
Having faith is not as hard as people think. It is simply believing in the finished work of Christ and that all of God’s riches come to us by grace through faith and not works. When we believe this our heart is good soil and can believe and accept anything God promises us through His Word.
If you’re trying to be saved, stop trying through your works or by hoping in other gods or things and simply have faith in Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
If you are sick and trying to be healed, stop relying on your works to qualify you for healing and rely only on Christ.
Matthew 8:16-17 “That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
If you are struggling financially, stop believing you are under a curse (paths), stop relying on works to qualify you (rocks) and stop trusting in other things (thorns), but put your faith in Jesus, he alone is your source and supply. It is because of grace that heaven’s riches comes to us and we simply receive it and walk in it by faith.
2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
If you’re struggling with condemnation, temptation, defeat by the enemy then stop trusting in your works to qualify you or overcome the enemy, trust in what Christ did for you at the Cross, it was His work and His work alone that sets you free from sin, condemnation and the power of the enemy!
Colossians 2: 13-15 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”
All of these scriptures I have given you (along with many others) are seeds that need to be planted in good soil. If you do this and believe them and meditate on them, your faith will work in these areas and you will begin to see a harvest growing in your life. It may not all happen immediately and at once as sometimes it takes a little time for the harvest to grow, but the main thing is get the seed into your heart and eventually it will work every time!
Matthew 17:20 “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Mark 9:23 “Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
The post How to supercharge your faith. appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
From the Grace for Leadership Conference, Philippines, 2017.
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The Philippines has truly won my heart! It is one of my favourite places in all the world to minister. The people are humble, passionate, servant hearted and uncomplicatedly involved in building the Kingdom of God. My recent trip there was one of the best ministry trips of my life. It was the first one for us since starting New Nature Ministries and I’m happy to report a very successful one. I was invited in to do a “Grace for Leadership Conference” by a group of friends and ministry partners of mine from Manila. Firstly, this is a group of very effective people who plant churches, raise up leaders, and mentor pastors to grow in grace and build powerful local churches that reach their communities. I’m so grateful that God has connected me with them in fruitful partnership. Pastor Jun Yu is the senior pastor of Faith Center churches and hosted the conference. He is one of the best grace teaches in the Philippines, an incredible leader and it’s an honour to be connected with him.
Jimmy Santos, who I have known since 2011, and who has been deemed “the Connector” as he has an amazing gift for connecting pastors and churches together in partnerships of mentoring and effective Kingdom advancement, is my main contact in the Philippines who I recently named humorous yet somewhat God-ordained way, my “manager”. He picked me up from the airport in Manila and took care of me the entire time. He is the best and scariest driver in the Philippines! To say the traffic in Manila is chaotic, is an understatement. I literally have to force myself to close my eyes most of the time and pray for God’s protection in the melee of frantic traffic with oncoming overtaking cars that don’t get back in their lane until the very last second, bumper to bumper traffic with vehicles all trying to squeeze into the 1 inch gap in front of you between your car and the next, scooters and bicycles weaving in-between cars narrowly escaping death at every moment yet as though this is a normal way of life, children casually playing on the roads and crossing it periodically to see what their friends are doing on the other side while instinctively knowing where all the threats are and how to avoid them! Jimmy lives on his horn as he alerts other drivers of his intentions and to warn them to not even think about pulling in front of him! On the roads, Jimmy is king! I don’t know how the traffic works in the Philippines, because it really shouldn’t, but some how it does! It has a rhythm that everyone seems to know, yet one I would never attempt, so thank God for Jimmy!
The conference was packed with over 300 delegates who had come from all over the Philippines far and wide. 31 churches were represented, mostly by senior pastors, pastors and various key leaders from their churches. I was deeply honoured and humbled by their presence and yet they were so honouring and thankful to me for coming. These things affect your heart and fill you with a sense of responsibility in the Kingdom of God to communicate His Word and ministry with a godly stewardship.
The first evening a worked to establish a foundation of why the Churches must never move on from grace as it is the foundation of the New Covenant and the means by which believers move on to maturity. It is also through grace that all of heavens riches are supplied to us including healing. There was a ministry time of refreshing, renewing and healing with many people touched and healed in God’s presence. The second day instantly climbed to new heights in God’s truth and his intense powerful presence. I continued with everything is supplied to us through grace including empowerment to serve God and a grace for generosity and provision. (All of these sessions will be made available on www.newnatureministries.org over the next few weeks). To respond to this we took up and offering that will go exclusively to brand new church plants in the Philippines (to be administered by Ptr Jun Yu). What an honour to witness as everyone sowed seed into this grand Kingdom venture the Holy Spirit initiated, and it felt like the God birthed something amazing which I look forward to being a part of into the future. We then had a 1 hour questions and answer session with various questions from pastors including topics like tithing, fasting, abuses of grace, how to handle strange doctrines creeping in, Israel superstition, wisdom in navigating our partnerships with people who are going off into strange doctrines, dealing with suicide, dealing with homosexuality and more. At first I was nervous of the Q&A session as I normally don’t like being on the spot but God’s grace was there in a tangible way and I found there was a resource of his wisdom to answer all these questions. I could feel revelation being imparted and lights coming on and most answers received an applause to my surprise which was greatly encouraging. After these two sessions the atmosphere felt so open and free. Truth and grace had revealed the love of God in a profound way and all eyes were on Jesus. I knew there was only one thing we could do and that was to administer the tangible presence of grace to everyone there. This was the session that absolutely blew me away in how God came. I started off asking people to stand if they had prayed the prayer “please God single me out at this conference and speak to me because I don’t want to leave empty handed, I must receive from you”. Almost everyone stood and I began to release the blessing of God. Because the atmosphere was so free due to the grace of God people received so easily. The anointing began to increase all over the room as people became engaged and intoxicated with heaven. Joy, laughter, crying, shaking, falling broke out all over the room spontaneously. God’s Kingdom was increasing bringing divine order and alignment to people’s lives. Everything that was not of the Kingdom of God was going and freedom was coming. I called out 10 people who felt the touch of God on them very strongly and as I began to pray for them and see the powerful response of God in them I suddenly became aware of my own fathers influence in my life. I was moving in ways inspired by him and I realised that his mentoring over the years has developed a depth and anointing in me that I was now able to draw on. That thought made me very happy as I then continued to release God’s fire. And he came! In fact, his fire came with much glory. I looked out over the room and could see waves of fire and glory hitting. The visible grace of God was moving over pockets of people. Spontaneously different areas would erupt as the presence of God would hit and groups of people would instantly start laughing, shouting praises, falling over under the power, shaking and rolling on the floor as the fire and electricity of the Holy Spirit moved through them with almost unrestrained intensity. The glory of God makes ministering so easy! I could see God beginning to hover over other area’s of the room and as I announced it God’s glory would land and people would go over under the power. Looking out into this atmosphere I could see every person deeply engaged with heaven. I felt we needed to sing “worthy is the lamb, seated on the throne” and as we did, it was as though each person was trying to reach into heaven and lay hold of the throne of God and grasp onto Christ with such affection, adoration and deep worship. These are the atmosphere’s I love. When everyone is caught up into heaven and captivated by Christ. When hearts are set free and God’s fiery passion burns so deeply that all you can think about is the face of Christ and giving your whole life to serve him. We ended with some big praise songs and I thought the place was going to disintegrate! 300 passionate people celebrating Jesus with all their hearts and with wild movements expressing their joy and freedom before God. In the end nobody wanted to leave. It felt as though we could do this for all eternity.
The feedback has been so positive. Many people talking about how God changed their lives over this time, and how it’s going to carry over into their churches, ministries and families. Well I can’t wait to do it again, and it looks highly likely it will take place next May 2018. We’re looking at holding a “Grace for Leadership Conference 2” in the city of Davao, Philippines and are currently in the planning stages. This time my father Rob Rufus will be joining us and I already feel like it is going to be a life changing event. Details will be coming out soon. Can I encourage your to come and bring leaders with you.
I then had the privilege on Sunday to minister into two magnificent churches. The first one was The Lord is my Shepherd Christian fellowship, led by Ptr Mel and Edna Vero in Tondo, Manila.
You can catch the whole service that was streamed live here (Jimmy Santos). This was a great time in which we saw many things including around 20-30 people giving their lives to Jesus! This is what I live for!
Then we got back into Jimmy’s car and headed up to Tagaytay along a most terrifying road that was everything I described before x2! I literally had to close my eyes for most of the trip as keeping them open was like watching death approaching and was very stressful. Haha! Jimmy is so calm in all of it and completely owns the road. I think I was more exhausted after the trip from the adrenaline released on the roads than from the ministry in the conference and churches! They took me to a lookout with a majestic view that looks over the Taal Lake and Volcanoes. God’s creation is transcendent and truly gives worship and glory to God the creator of all things. Then it was off to a church that I describe as being “under the favour of God”. There are some people that have a little favour, and then there are others who walk in divine supernatural favour because of the effect of grace being allowed to flow through them. Listening to all that God is doing in Faith Center Tagaytay and through Ptr Bernie, a humble servant of God, was so exciting. From being given land, and buildings to open doors to speak regularly to the top levels in the police force including generals and politicians, to open doors into business sectors with divine fruitfulness, all just continued to give glory to the God whose unmerited grace truly brings unmerited favour. It was such a delight to minister in their church and God’s fire once again broke out. You could feel heaven burning in the room and everyone being consumed by God. We had a powerful extended ministry time that was hard to bring to an end which felt like this could go on forever. I had the privilege of leading another 20 plus people to the Lord. It’s opportunities like these that make me feel alive and excited about what God has called me to do! I am so thankful for a fantastic first trip for NNM to the Philippines.
Thank you Philippines for having me. You have truly won my heart and I see a long partnership ahead of fruitful team ministry. I was so encouraged to see different groups of pastors that meet together to fellowship and grow in grace. No one is trying to promote their ministry, or own each other, or use each other to build “their own kingdom”, but everyone focuses on grace and how they can mentor each other in grace and be mentored in grace. The fruit of this is a healthy team of pastors building each other up and building the Kingdom of God together. I am so honoured to be a part of it and will continue to help and support it as much as God allows.
To follow this journey and stay up to date with all the conferences and teachings coming out of my partnership in the Philippines keep visiting our:
Itinerary page
Audio page
Video page
Facebook page (@RyanRufusNNM)
Please let us know how you have been effected by the “Grace for Leadership Conference” and the message of grace in the Philippines. And let us know what area you are in and what God is doing through you and your church. We would so love to hear about it and give glory to God as God is linking people together in divine partnership.
All my love,
Ryan Rufus.
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Ryan is up, up and away this week ministering in the Philippines. As he took flight on this first official NNM trip, I thought it timely to talk about learning to fly.
I was watching a movie with the kids the other day. It was about a young boy that rescues an eaglet that has fallen from the nest. The basic storyline follows how the boy and eagle bond together through the summer season, the young boy teaches the eaglet to hunt, survive and fly so that he can survive on his own in the wild through the coming winter. While we were watching the movie I was reminded of a picture that God had given me about a year ago while in Hong Kong. The picture I saw was of an eagles nest that was becoming uncomfortable and eaglets instinctively knowing it was time to fly. I knew this was God speaking to me. The picture brought understanding to questions I was asking God about and I felt peace in my heart immediately, it's hard to do it justice explaining it here, but I’m sure you may have had a similar experience to this. I instantly knew that God was in the season we were in. At that time, I was seeking God and feeling like I was in a wind tunnel not hearing anything, not knowing what to do, then, after I saw the picture, it was like I was immediately in stereo silence, I knew that I knew, that I knew! The whirling and noise stopped, and I had clarity. He was IN the season, He was making the nest uncomfortable, we were the eaglets needing to prepare to fly. It turns out that this picture was really helpful in our transition from Hong Kong to Adelaide and beginning NNM. While I was watching the movie, I learned that an eagle learns to fly over a season by a series of exercises. They begin by practicing spreading their wings, flapping, jumping off low branches and growing day by day in strength and precision. They don’t start out looking like majestic creatures cruising up in the thermals, but instead they look rather glitchy, uncoordinated and clumsy. As with most movies, the learning to fly sequence was shown as a montage. Don’t you wish sometimes that our transformation seasons could be done in montage fashion? That we could speed up time and put it to a cool movie soundtrack and get to the good bits faster! But, It is for our benefit that we have time to practice and repeat the things we’ve learned until they become second nature, because the day is coming when we need to fly for real. I believe that our longevity in what we are called to do depends on the preparation season being walked through faithfully.
It is important to prepare well, but it’s equally important to fly when it’s time to fly. It is daunting to be on the edge, but it is the place to be when launching for flight. The preparation work and training has strengthened and conditioned our wings to be able to fly, we need to trust we can. We believe that our instincts have been sharpened and refined in everything we do, from doing the mundane to the magnificent, it’s all done with a dependance and connection with the God and his Spirit. Consistently being faithful with the little nuances and the strong loud voice of God. In all the changes we’ve been through in this recent season, there has been purpose, training and exercising. Just like the eaglets, we have been in a season of preparation for flight. We have been practicing and honing our skills, now it's time to fly!
My encouragement to you if you are in a season of preparation, is to trust God’s timing, you may not understand all the process right now, but as the season changes, you will know. Lean into God, be patient and rely on His perfect plan for you to unfold. If you are in a time of launching, you need to fly! It’s time to go. You cannot stay on the ledge anymore, you need to have faith that you have been prepared for such a time as this. It’s time to fly, go for it!
We hope that you have been encouraged by this, feel free to comment or share your story below
Love Kylie
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Galatians chapter 5 is often taught in a legalistic way which is the opposite of why it was written. Find out what the key is to unlocking Galatians 5 so that you can understand and teach it in context and bring life and empowerment to people.
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Matthew 5:20 “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
What kind of righteousness do we need to have in order to exceed that of the Pharisees? Especially since the Bible says in Romans 3:10 that there is no one righteous, not even one!
Do you think Jesus was saying you need to try really hard to be righteous and if you perform greater than the Pharisees then you will attain perfect righteousness and be able to go to heaven? Absolutely not! The Bible is very clear that no one is righteous of themselves.
So, what kind of righteousness was Jesus saying we need to possess in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven? Nothing less than the perfect righteousness of God! Anything less is an inferior righteousness that will keep us out of the Kingdom of God. God has made a way for all mankind to enter his Kingdom and walk in a relationship with him. It’s called the gift of his righteousness that makes us perfect in righteousness and enables us to draw near to God!
Four aspects of this righteousness:
1) Righteousness is a gift we receive not a reward we achieve.
Romans 3:19-22 “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.”
Romans 5:17 “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”
Righteousness is a gift we receive not a reward we achieve. If it’s a reward for good performance then our righteousness is always based on our performance. If it’s a gift then our righteousness is never based on our performance, but always on the quality of God’s righteousness – which is perfect. Therefore, our righteousness is always perfect! Anything other than perfect righteousness is really no righteousness at all!
2) There are only two kinds of righteousness.
Romans 10:3-4 “For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Philippians 3:9 “…and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”
There are only two kinds of righteousness. Only one of them is true righteousness. There is self righteousness, which is man’s attempts to be righteous through works of the law, then there is God’s perfect righteousness which is a gift we receive by faith. Our self righteousness is like filthy rags to God and can never make us truly righteous. Not even slightly. It’s an absolute offense to the Cross to believe that we can earn God’s righteousness. The only thing that can make us righteous is the gift of his righteousness and it is simply received through faith and never works.
3) We haven’t become a form of righteousness, we’ve become the very righteousness of God!
Romans 5:19 “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
We haven’t become a form of righteousness, we’ve become the very righteousness of God. Do you know that you are not more righteous than God and God is not more righteous than you? How is it possible to say that God is not more righteous than you? Simple! Because you and God both have the same righteousness – his righteousness! By faith you receive the gift of God’s righteousness.
4) Nothing can make you unrighteous.
Hebrews 10:10 “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Hebrews 10:14 “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
If God has made you righteous then nothing can make you unrighteous. Not even if you mess up and make a mistake and do something stupid. There is nothing you can do to make yourself anymore righteous and there is nothing you can do to make yourself any less righteous! Our ongoing state of righteousness before God is never based on our performance. It’s always based on his perfect righteousness. He has made us perfectly righteousness with his righteousness for all of time and nothing can change that!
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I believe that a person that has been born again has been made alive in Christ. In fact they died and Christ now lives in them. In being united with Christ in his death and resurrection we have become one with Christ. Christ now is our life. Once this has happened to a person, how is it possible for it to be reversed? To lose your salvation you would have to spiritually die again. God would have to kick you off the throne where you are seated with Christ, he would have to send you back to the Cross, where you were spiritually included in Christ, and he would have to spiritually kill you and then raise you back up into spiritual death. That would have to be the means whereby a person could lose their salvation. But if that were to happen to us, it means it would also have to happen to Christ since we are united with him and he is our life. For us to spiritually die again Christ would also have to die again. Yet we know this is impossible because Christ has an indestructible life and can never die again. If it can't happen to Christ then it can't happen to us. Christ's life is now the guarantee of our eternal life. This is eternal security.
When I live for God now and serve him and resist sin, it's not to try and earn, keep or complete my salvation, it's because I have faith in God, I'm compelled by his love and I have an eternal hope. If I sin now of course I feel bad about it and I apologise to God. But I don't try to earn my way back into his presence through a faulty belief in a ritual of confession, repentance and asking for forgiveness. The truth is I can never be separated from his presence, his blood has dealt with all my sins and the Holy Spirit never leaves me. I won't try and get something I already have which is forgiveness of all my sins, permanent peace with God and open access to Him because of the once for all sacrifice of Jesus. I'm not trying to get back into his presence, I live from his presence and if I fall I fall into his presence. Grace empowers us to live in his presence even if we've sinned and from this presence we will overcome sin. We're not shut out of the presence of God or cut off from him if we sin because the blood has permanently opened the way. This is the New Covenant. It's this faith and atmosphere of grace that helps us to overcome sin. Living with unbelief in the finished work of Christ makes us afraid to come into God's presence and breeds doubt whether we can actually live close to God, and if he has truly forgiven us and is pleased with us. This unbelief will cause us to not enjoy a close relationship with God and that is disempowering place for trying to overcome sin.
I believe the Holy Spirit will comfort me if I mess up and sin, but he won't let me get comfortable in sin. He will lovingly challenge me, especially if I'm being stubborn about a sin. But he is not my prosecuting lawyer, he is my councillor, my helper, my aid - my legal defence. He speaks on my behalf of my innocence and my righteousness because of the blood of Jesus. He testifies to the once for all sacrifice of Christ and my perfect righteous position in Him. I don't live in guilt, shame, condemnation or fear of punishment, I live in faith, peace, joy and confidence to enjoy God's presence and live close to him even if I haven't performed well.
Here’s a sermon I did on what holiness and holy living really is in the New Covenant and will transform your whole perspective on the subject.
http://www.newnatureministries.org/audio-posts/redefining-what-holiness-is/
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Find out how Hebrews 6:4 is one of the best verses to prove that our salvation is eternally secured by Christ's indestructible life.
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Be frustrated. It’s a good thing! You don’t hear many people telling you that, but it’s true. We often think something is wrong with us because we’re frustrated and displaying “bad character”. But frustration is actually your friend. Don’t run away from it or bury it. Listen to it. It’s trying to tell you something and if you learn how to listen to it and figure it out, it will actually become something that propels you forward in life. I have to keep reminding myself of this because I hate being frustrated. It always takes me awhile to realise I need to listen to that frustration because it’s trying to indicate a problem I need to solve. My initial thinking is always to think there’s something wrong with me or that I’m under some kind of “spiritual attack”. Last week from Saturday morning to Monday night I was extremely frustrated about a particular issue. I didn’t even realise I was though, I just thought I was grumpy and having a bad week. I wasn’t very pleasant to be around for Kylie and the kids. But I had a breakthrough on Monday night when it finally dawned on me that I was actually frustrated about a particular issue happening in my life. That frustration led me to research something which completely solved my problem. All this week since identifying and solving the issue I have felt incredibly relieved, empowered and clear about what I need to do, as well as excited and hopeful about doing it! Not only did I solve my problem but creative idea’s and solutions have been pouring through my mind ever since. Even though for two days I had felt awful, I was reminded that frustration is a good thing because it does five very important things in our life and I want to share them with you.
1 Frustration shows you that you’re hitting the ceiling to your next level. Frustration is a sign that something is hindering you from breaking through to you next stage of success, whatever that may be for you. It could be in your business, your marriage, working relationships, a project, with your kids, finances, Church growth, getting healed and so on. If you can solve that frustration, you will go to your next level. When a pot plant out grows it’s pot the roots get frustrated by the limits of the pot and the plant reaches it’s ceiling of growth. To solve the frustration simply replant it in a bigger pot and that plant will continue to grow. It’s so simple. Don’t run and hide from frustration. Don’t pretend it’s not real or happening and don’t think there’s something wrong with you. Face it, deal with it and you will go to your next level of success.
2 Frustration shows you what your passions are. If you learn to listen to them you’ll actually start to get a clearer picture of what your purpose in life is. So many people don’t know what there purpose is. Well what frustrates you? What things do you see that are wrong in a situation that no one else seems to see, and you just can’t handle it but must fix it straight away? Those things are indicators of what drives you and makes you tick. Ask yourself, what are you frustrated with and why? Then use those answers to put a picture together of your purpose in life and let that help direct you in some of your next decisions and what to get involved in.
3 Frustration shows you that you’re still in the game. If nothing frustrates you then you have given up in life and have check out. You’re just going through the motions now. You should at least get frustrated by that and use that frustration to get back in the game. Find out your passions in life and go after them. Some people try to work frustration right out of their life as though they’ve attained some godly level of holiness. All you’ve done is a attained a level of boredom and dullness in life with no challenge or sense of achievement. That should frustrate you. If it does, that’s good! Use it.
4 Frustration teaches you how not to do things. Frustration is an indicator that something is not being done right. The results you are getting in that area are not what you are expecting. There is a reason for that. Perhaps you are doing something wrong, or neglecting something and so the situation is being frustrated. This frustration can teach you about what not to do. There is no point getting angry that it should be working when it’s not. Rather, find out what is being done wrong and discover a better way to do it.
5 Frustration drives you to find a better way. Frustration is an intense dissatisfaction with a situation that must change. The process is not great but the results are. The frustration that I had from Saturday to Monday was extremely unpleasant. I was vexed, angry, annoyed about my situation. I had to find a solution. I knew something was not right. All of those feelings drove me to do some research and in that research I found the cause of the problem as well as the solution. This gave me a glorious breakthrough and when I spent time in prayer on Tuesday morning the flow of creativity and idea’s regarding my situation was almost too much. Joy had returned, my zest was back and excitement and hopefulness was growing. I feel clear, focused, empowered, relieved, happy and full of pep!
I want to leave you with a final thought, and that is to make sure you diagnose your frustrations correctly and get to the true root cause of them. Only then can you go about solving them, and this only if you do it in a healthy way. This does not include complaining, whinging, whining, gossiping, slandering, fighting and causing trouble and division because you’re not happy about something or someone. That will just make your frustration get worse. Rather analyse your frustration. Do you really have a right to be frustrated about that thing? Is it really what you are frustrated about or is it actually something else? If you don’t solve the root cause you will never solve the problem or go to your next level. Sometimes we direct frustration at other people when in actual fact it’s something in us that is unresolved and that person may just be triggering it. Getting angry at that person and causing trouble is not going to solve your issue and is a waste of time and energy. Sometimes the biggest hurdle is finding out your real frustration. Once you’re done that, the solution generally manifests itself quite easily.
So what’s frustrating you at the moment? What do you think it’s trying to tell you, and what do you need to do to solve it?
Do you have any other insights about what frustration can teach us? We would love to hear about them as they may be very helpful to others. Please join the conversation in the comments below and let your voice be heard.
God bless you and may you have a great week solving all your frustrations!
Ryan Rufus.
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Why did God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden? How is this tree similar to the Old Covenant Law? Find out in the sermon as we look into the depths of grace.
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What does renewing the mind really mean? We've been told what it means, which is basically to reprogram the mind with the Word of God, but is that really what it means to re-new our mind? Why does the Bible say renew the mind and not reprogram the mind? Because those are two very different things.
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If people could see my thoughts.
The Bible says I have a sound mind but sometimes it doesn’t feel like I do! Do you ever have those weeks that are just a total mental battle? It would be great to say we’re always flying effortlessly in the clouds with Jesus but sometimes we’re in the trenches of our minds engaged in a war zone! Whether it’s fighting off condemnation, accusation, intimidation, insecurity, frustration, agitation, depression, temptation, irritation and I’m sure you can add a few more to the list. For some people this is a really big issue where they are just fighting to keep their head above water let alone walking with a strong sound mind that is overflowing with peace, faith, joy, victory, confidence, boldness and strength.
So is there a way that we can strengthen our mind? Can we move more and more to having a sound mind that thinks the thoughts of God and operates in the eternal wisdom that is from above rather than the earthly wisdom from below? Yes we can and I want to share 5 things that help me. These won’t guarantee you’ll never face a mind battle again, but they will equip you to win the battle a whole lot quicker!
5 ways to develop a sound mind:
- Set your mind on things above.
The truth is there is nothing wrong with anyone's emotions. Emotions simply follow our thoughts. What we focus on will have a direct affect on our emotional mental state. If we continually focus our thoughts on the eternal Kingdom of God our mind will be filled with hope, faith, joy, peace and strength. When we focus our thoughts on problems, challenges, hardships, difficulties, troubles and negative things our mind will be filled with despair, fear, hopelessness, unbelief, depression, intimidation, accusation, condemnation etc.
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Philippians 4:8-9 Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
- Fix your thoughts on Jesus.
Jesus was able to endure the Cross because He looked beyond it to something greater, us. We can therefore also look beyond our troubles to something greater, Jesus.
He is our great example of enduring with joy. He is our victory, our saviour and our King.
Hebrews 12:2a looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
John 16:33 In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
How do we look to Him? By seeing Him in the Word. By meditating on Him. By prayer. By praise and worship. Praise declares the greatness of God. It lifts our eyes up to see Him. It magnifies God over all our problems. Praise songs should never be about us but always about God. I don’t want to stand around singing songs about me, and my struggles and my hard life. I want to sing songs about God’s bigness, His power and His strength. When we do this we are filled with heaven’s bigness and eternal perspective over all situations.
- Take every thought captive.
We must challenge every thought that tries to exalt itself above the knowledge of Jesus and make it obedient to His truth. When we allow little lies to contradict the truth of Jesus in our mind the battle begins. Most of the battles in our mind are because of lies exalting themselves above the truth of Jesus. Sometimes you’ve got to force those thoughts to be obedient to Christ with a little bit of spiritual warfare!
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
- Put on the helmet of salvation.
The more we have a revelation of our perfect salvation in Christ the more it protects our mind. This include a knowledge of the finished work of Christ, salvation by grace, set free from the Law, our justification by faith, no more condemnation, no longer counting our sins against us, set free from the penalty, presence and power of sin, we’ve been made perfect and holy forever, eternally secure in Jesus and seated in heavenly places with Christ high above all principalities and powers and with all authority.
Ephesians 6: 11-18 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
- Pray.
When we know that we are not alone, but God is with us and we can pray and He will help us, it fills us with supernatural peace that guards our mind.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
I’d love to hear from you what helps you to develop a sound mind, and any great Scriptures you could share. Feel free to comment below.
God bless, and may His peace fill your mind in every way!
Ryan.
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Holding a strong conviction on tithing doesn't make you mature. What makes you mature is how you handle someone who holds and equally strong yet opposing view to yours. So much fighting because of immaturity in the way people handle this very issue. Find out how you can hold a strong conviction while still walking in love and honour with those who hold a different view. And find out where I stand regarding tithing and the New Covenant.
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Holiness has got nothing to do with sinning or not sinning. It has to do with something else, and once you know this your life will literally change.
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Ryan and I married when we were both 19 years old. We thought that we were awesome and really mature, we had plans, we were both studying, we were going places.
Then, life happened! Joyce Meyer once said, “Life is what happens when you’ve planned for something else!” How true is that! Ryan mentioned our first fight in the last blog, I remember it too, and the reality of realising that I don't really know anything. Young, idealistic, passionate and right.....wrong! We knew the odds were stacked against us. We didn't have real jobs or qualifications. We were dancing so close to the edge and at times it felt like we were hovering over the edge.
So, if I had the chance to tell my younger self a few things, what would I say? I would want to firstly reassure my younger self that even though she was just married, and about to become a mum at 20, she was going to be ok!
What I’d say about marriage:
Now that you've made a life commitment, understand that “life” means a L O N G time. It’s like the old Pantene commercial, “It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen”. Your life and marriage is a process, you can’t click your fingers or pray the right prayer and have it all sorted overnight. Be realistic! Give your husband room to be himself. Don’t try to force him to be what you want him to be. This means not jumping on every little problem or mistake. You have a long time to resolve who does what with household chores, so don’t let it be too big an issue. Keep things in perspective. Problems and friction usually arise when assumptions are made and premature conclusions are drawn, rather than having a normal conversation to figure out how things truly are. For better or worse, you have both come into marriage with different idea’s of how it should look and ways of doing things. Here’s something you haven’t realised yet Kylie, you are both completely different! You have the opportunity to make your marriage work in the way you want to. You can take the good things that you have learnt from your parents, from other couples and from books, but your relationship is going to be uniquely yours and Ryan’s. Therefore, be secure in that there isn’t only one textbook way to have a great marriage. You shouldn’t compare or measure your relationship with others. That will just make you feel depressed, plus it takes your focus off where it needs to be anyway.
Be mindful of your husband and what his needs are. That is a great place to start. Find out what makes him feel loved, what encourages him, what makes him laugh, what upsets him, what he fears. It’s not your job to make everything perfect, that is impossible. But understanding how he reacts and responds in different situations will help you to help him during that time. Support him, build him up and help him to be the best he can be. Lay down your fears and insecurities, you’re not doing him any favours when it comes to hiding these things, they have a way of surfacing at the most inappropriate times anyway (believe me!). Honest communication, as hard as it is at times, is the best way of resolving issues. Listen without interruption and let him speak. Try not to freak out but take a moment to think before you respond, especially in those really intense times. Then respond as best as you can with affirmation and love. Forgive one another, laugh with one another, encourage one another, say sorry and mean it, hold each other like you mean it, kiss and all the rest!!! Enjoy doing life and dancing together.
What I’d say about becoming a mum:
Now that you’re having a baby, it will take time for this to sink in and things to settle down. Don’t be afraid. Just take it one day at a time at first, then take bigger steps. Unlike the Huggies commercials, the reality of having a baby, is that it’s hard to prepare for. You don’t know how you are going to cope with this new little baby. They may be the sweet angelic “good baby” that sleeps through the night and hardly ever cries. OR you might have a baby that cries all the time, doesn’t sleep when the book says it should, have bad reflux and be ridiculously difficult. You might not feel like your baby loves you or even likes you for awhile...... that’s okay. It takes time for them to show you that they love you. But it is really stressful at first, you don’t know what it’s going to be like, sleep deprivation, new financial pressures, irritable communication, disorganised home, trying to get to places on time, in clean clothes!!!........ All of these things will be a challenge at first. Don’t worry about it, you will find a natural rhythm with all of that. My advice, is to take a deep breath, and keep breathing, you are going to be okay. People have been having babies for a long time, and you are going to be able to handle it. At first, the days and nights will be one big blur. Most babies are born with jet lag, and want to sleep in the day and play at night. You will feel like this is never going to end, and this little baby is never going to grow up. But, I’m here to tell you that even though it feels like that, it’s not true. Before you know it you will be walking down the baby isle at the shopping center and not needing to buy anything! Babies are only small and immobile for a short time, you’ve still got tantrums, toilet training, fussy eating, attitudes, bedtimes, school, friends, homework, puberty and girlfriends and boyfriends to go. But you will be fine, enjoy your little baby, talk with them, write down funny stories, when they are older they love to hear stories of what they used to do. It’s okay to not have it all together all the time. You are not failing if you ask for help. We all need a break from time to time. Even though you are a parent, you are still a person, and you need space to be you too. You will get to know your child, their personality, their giftings, strengths and weaknesses as time goes on. Enjoy the process, cheer them on, correct them when they are wrong, include them in your life. Don’t let others raise your child, by all means, invite people in to help raise them, but don’t abdicate being a parent. You are the best thing for them, and you are equipped with the grace needed to raise them. Seek understanding about who they are and what they want to achieve in their life. Help guide them and love them through the ups and downs. You are an example to them, they learn so much from you. You’re the best thing for them, don’t doubt it!
As a nineteen year old I would have wanted to skip all the hard times and challenges that we’ve faced over the last 20 years but I have learned to embrace them and learn from them. They are a part of me, just like the good times. Together our life has been shaped by many things and I’m happy to say that I wouldn’t swap it for anyone’s. The place we’re at right now, we own.
We are still busy raising our kids but I can honestly say that I really like each one of them. I really enjoy them, their personalities, their characters. They are some of the funniest people I know!
Not to mention, I am so grateful to be doing this life with Ryan. He’s my favourite. He makes life extremely fun! The fact that I haven’t always felt this positive about our life is just testimony to His Grace that is at work in us.
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Walking in the Spirit involves 3 things: It's to walk from the spirit covenant, from your reborn spirit, in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Find out what this means and how you can walk in the Spirit at a deeper and more powerful level. www.NewNatureMinistries.org
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I remember at the tender age of just nineteen years old, standing up at the reception of my wedding with my new wife Kylie and declaring, no, prophesying to everyone, with great youthful idealism and optimism, that our marriage was going to be “a testimony to the world of what God intends for marriage!” Man, did I put a lot of pressure on myself! I remember our first fight ever which occurred one month after being married and realising I didn’t have a clue what was happening nor how to resolve it. There were simply no tools in the tool box! No experience to draw on. No wisdom available that comes from years of marriage. I was lost at sea, drowning in mysterious complexities of male and female incompatibility with no land in sight! I honestly don’t know how we got through that first fight, but somehow we did. Certainly not without a fair share of shock and surprise, pain and confusion, panic and a debilitating soberness that only marriage can awaken your reality to. I felt like Neo awakening from the Matrix, bald, with no eyebrows, atrophied muscles and completely confused as to what is going on! (I may be slightly exaggerating for comedic effect although I know some people who would probably say I’m understating it compared to their awakening!) Yet I must say, as a man who is always up for a challenge, this first fight experience and the helpless feeling it produced in me, sparked a new determination to understand and figure out this strange and beautiful creature that God had given me. And to find a way to live in the fulness of the abundant life that God intended for marriage. God is not mean. He created marriage to be a wonderful thing and a source of great joy, fulfilment and destiny. And when we learn from the wisdom of the one who designed marriage, success is surely to follow.
Well over the past 20 years of marriage, Kylie and I can say it hasn’t been easy but we truly are best friends who love each other deeply, enjoy each other’s company, operate as a team and are fulfilling destiny together. Difficulties have had the effect of drawing us together and strengthening our bond. God’s “tested by fire” kind of wisdom has become our culture and guide to keep things continually healthy, strong and happy. It is possible to have a good marriage. And we want to share with you six of our best secrets that have help to keep our marriage healthy and happy.
So here are our 6 secrets to a happy marriage:
Devote yourself to your spouses happiness.
If you’re in marriage to make yourself happy it won’t work. Your focus is selfish. Selfishness destroys marriages. The reason you get married is because you fall in love with someone. And love by very nature is not selfish. It’s about the other person. It’s about laying your life down for them. Jesus said, "Greater love has no man than to lay his life down for a friend". The highest form of love is to lay your life down. Jesus loved the Church, His Bride, and He laid His life down for Her. The reason you got married was not to make yourself happy but to make your beloved happy! If that is your focus I guarantee your marriage has a good chance at being great. But if your goal is to make yourself happy I guarantee your marriage is heading towards destruction. Instead of focusing on your happiness, start focusing on how you can make your spouse happy. Trust me, it will have an amazing result, especially if they're also doing the same.
Develop your friendship:
If you don't have a friendship you don't have a marriage. If you want to have a great marriage you need to invest in your friendship. That's why you're together right? Because you're both really good friends right? When little children get together with their friends all they want to do is play. Husbands and wives should play together! Have fun, laugh, tickle each other, joke around, go and do fun things together and just play. Let the little kid out in you that just wants to play. My wife Kylie is my best friend. We have fun together and really enjoy hanging out with each other. That's because we keep investing in our friendship. We find the more we invest the funner it gets!
Don’t fight each other, fight for each other:
Winning the fight for a great marriage is not about fighting each other but fighting for each other. It’s to fight against everything that would try and destroy your marriage and your spouse and to do that together as a team. Stop standing toe-to-toe and start standing back to back to protect each other and your marriage as a team. A great marriage doesn't happen by accident, you have to fight for it!
Deal with resentment:
Don’t allow resentment to build up. Resentment is a wedge that will drive you apart no matter how much you love each other. Your spouse wants someone they can respect not resent. If you are doing things that are causing them to lose respect for you instead of building respect they are already resenting you and it's already driving you apart to some degree. You need to deal with it. You cannot be lazy or ignorant about it. If you just continue to allow for this resentment it will eventually build up to become “irreconcilable differences”. Getting angry or upset with your spouse because they’re not giving you the respect you think you deserve is not the answer, in fact it's childish. You need to step up and do the things that win their respect and affections and dissolves resentment. That means you need to talk about things. If you do this I guarantee your marriage will move towards becoming great!
Discuss don’t debate.
If you invest in your spouse with kind words and avoid harsh and accusing words I guarantee your marriage will improve. Every marriage will go through conflict and trials by fire. The way you process through them though will determine whether your marriage comes through on the other side as ash or as pure gold. How do you handle frustration and stress in your relationship? Do you focus on the negatives, turn on each other and fight each other, or do you focus on the positives, watch your words and lay your life down for the other person? Do you bring out the list of all the wrong, hurtful and bad things your spouse has done and use it as ammunition against them so you can win the fight or do you extend grace, mercy, forgiveness and love? Are your words harsh and vicious or gentle and kind? Do you have control over your words and emotions? Are you proud and determined to prove that you’re right and your spouse is wrong? Or are you humble and quick to admit that you’re at fault and that you’re sorry. Are you thoughtful of what your spouse is going through or are you just consumed with yourself? These “small things” determine a marriage of ash or pure refined gold.
Deep grace:
One of the secrets to a great marriage is the grace of God. It has taken our marriage to new heights. It hasn’t made us lawless and sinful or lazy and selfish. In fact it’s had the opposite effect and made us better people and better spouses. It has established us in our true identity in Christ, which deals with insecurity and it’s effects like fear, jealousy, defensiveness, protectiveness, being bossy and needing to control and has made us less complicated as people. Over the years it has dealt with our pride and brought humility which has sorted out things like stubbornness, unwillingness to change, having to be right, boastful, over opinionated, over confident and just plain irritating! It has brought faith to trust in God and know that He loves us and is with us in our marriage and therefore it drives out fear, anxiety, stress and impatience. His grace has brought peace into our souls which helps us overcome anger, strife, tension, stress, negativity, being overly intense and being driven by the wrong things and has brought an atmosphere of peace over our marriage and our home. His grace has blessed our marriage because it has changed us so much and made us each a better person to be married to. If you open you life up to the grace of God I guarantee it will improve your marriage by improving you!
If you take these 6 things and meditate on them and put them into practise in your marriage, it won’t be long until you see things getting healthier and happier.
God bless, and please, we would love to hear from you. We really do value your feedback and interaction. Leave comments below, and please share this with people you think will be blessed by it.
Thank you for reading and we’ll see you next Friday where we will be sharing our secrets for parenting in grace or having an exciting sex life in marriage! Maybe we should take a vote?!!
All our love,
Ryan and Kylie Rufus.
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It is so important we understand the correct context of Hebrews 12 regarding the disciplines of God. Most people seem to misinterpret this chapter which leads to a misguided application. Find out what this is really all about. It's actually very encouraging!
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Two weeks into the ministry and Kylie and I are feeling suspiciously happy! We’ve just felt this happiness all week without really knowing why. It’s not like we don’t have challenges where we have to fight to keep our eyes, thoughts and attitudes in the right place. The future is still uncertain for us. We’re heading out into the big unknown with no guarantees other than God. We have children to raise, bills to pay and life to live and contend with, with all it’s surprises physical, mental and spiritual. But we are just feeling happy. The kind you wonder “how long is this going to last for?” The kind that suggests either everything is going very well for you, or you could possibly be losing your mind and have slipped into some kind of blissful unreality that’s ungraciously going to catch up with you later on!
But we have been thinking about it, and here’s why we think we are feeling happy:
We are pioneering something: the human spirit needs adventure. We need to explore, discover, go beyond ourselves, conquer challenges and build something important. When we’re not doing that, or have settled, something in us feels unfulfilled or sad or perhaps even dies. Even though pioneering can be scary, the excitement and challenge of it brings deep satisfaction and happiness. Kylie and I are experiencing that feeling of being on an adventure and pioneering and building something from the ground up - and it just feels good!
We are creating an atmosphere: one of our highest values is that we get to create the atmosphere that we want to live in. We’re not going to just accept every rotten atmosphere that wants to impose and consume us or limit and control us. We create our own atmosphere through our attitudes, beliefs, values, focus, authority and the anointing and presence of God that is on our lives. Everywhere Jesus went He took His atmosphere. He didn’t accept everyone else’s atmosphere but instead changed the atmosphere with His own. He said, “When you go into a house, let your peace come upon that house.” (Matt 10:12). When He went to raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead at Jairus’ house, Jesus didn’t allow any of the people weeping and mourning to enter the house. He protected the atmosphere from unbelief and only took in those with faith. And in that atmosphere that Jesus created a great miracle took place. Kylie and I have been intentionally creating and protecting an atmosphere around us. An atmosphere of peace, simplicity, faith, joy and the presence of God. And living in this atmosphere is life.
Feeling of fulfilment: it doesn’t matter how much money or “success” you have in life, if you’re not fulfilling your God given purpose you will always feel unhappy and unsatisfied. Kylie and I feel like we have obeyed God and taken that step into our God given life purpose on planet earth. And even though we had to give up a lot in order to do it, and our world was turned upside down, it feels so good to be moving forward and up into the calling of God. This just in itself is unearthing powerful things deep within us, not only of joy but a new release of creativity, energy and passion.
Are we going to face major challenges in our future? Absolutely. Are we going to have setbacks? Most definitely. Is our joy going to be challenged? Without a doubt. Probably right after posting this blog! But I think it is good to step back and allow yourself to feel happy without guilt. Sometimes other people just need to see happy believers. Not fake or pretend happiness but true deep tested happiness that is real and is expressed purely and without boasting, and have those people say, “You know what? I want some of that happiness. I need to be in that atmosphere”.
So Kylie and I would like to invite you into our atmosphere. Let us help you create an atmosphere around your life of supernatural increasing peace, joy and fulfilment. Come and spend time soaking and feasting on an atmosphere of faith, truth, encounters with God, and the absolute good happy and joyful news of the truly amazing and never-gets-old Gospel of grace! In particular, we really want to encourage you to feed on our audio teachings. They are full of the atmosphere of grace, peace and truth and will quickly help you establish your own atmosphere of the same. Then everywhere you go, let that atmosphere change the people and the world around you.
God bless you, and may His peace fill you in every way.
All our love and warmest affection,
Ryan and Kylie Rufus.
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Hear about the wonderful and essential ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He endorses us, He empowers us, He emboldens us and He exonerates us.
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Launching the ministry has felt like being pregnant and then giving birth. That’s what Kylie says anyway but I know exactly how she feels. I’m just kidding ladies, I’ve got no idea about that! But it has been a long nine months since we knew we were going to uproot our lives in Hong Kong and step out into something that had no substance except for our faith. You know the whole Hebrews 11: 1 “Faith is the substance of things hoped for…” kind of scary roller coaster ride that God takes you on every once in a while. I have to say, it was a rather difficult pregnancy those nine months. The sort where God asks you to give up a solid income, nice house, all your furniture, a close support network of family and friends, uproot your children from the only life they’ve ever known, give up all your securities and go and start again somewhere with no guarantees of success other than you just know you’ve heard God! I’m not complaining, it’s actually been both scary and exciting at the same time! I love getting into the place of having to rely on God. That place where you know you’re going to see miracles. But my flesh HATES it because it’s so scary and challenging and there’s always that little imposing thought at the back of your mind that says, “What if we missed it, hey?!!!” But I know that’s all part of the process and can’t be avoided. It certainly has been a discipline though of keeping our eyes on Jesus and getting into His atmosphere and letting His strength, peace and faith fill us.
The last couple of months of the “pregnancy” was all about just getting to the place of birth, which for us was the Grand Launch of New Nature Ministries. All our focus went into the new website and getting set up as a ministry. After the launch we had kind of a peculiar feeling though because having finally got to the end and everything was done - we actually realised it’s only just beginning! The baby at the end of a pregnancy is what the pregnancy is all about and where it all really begins. Not to discount what women go through during pregnancy. (I feel like I’m treading on sensitive ground and getting into dangerous “mansplaining” territory!)
Well anyway, we are very excited about our new baby. We feel God has launched us into our life work. This is the next 30 - 60 years of our life and we’re going to nurture this ministry and watch it grow over time. But crossing that threshold from pregnancy to birth almost feels like Israel crossing the Jordan and going in to process their inheritance after 40 years (to get a little spiritually metaphoric on you!) It’s quite amazing though, the timings of God and how He worked this all out. We were able to launch on my 40th birthday and this was in fact nine months after God spoke to us about leaving Hong Kong and setting up in Australia. On top of that, when Kylie and I left Hong Kong we were both spiritually 21 years old. And it had that same bitter-sweet feeling of leaving home. You’re sad to leave your parents as you venture out, but you know this is your next stage of life and growth.
How am I feeling right now, exactly?
Well let me try to share from my heart as open and honest as I can. I want this blog to inspire by being authentic, real and totally honest in a way that relates to what people are really walking through without having to put up any fake facades.
Wait for it… I have felt surprisingly uninspired this week! Haha. I’ve also felt all this pressure that I have to come up with lots of new sermons and articles and blogs and video’s and if I don’t people are just going to tune out and the ministry is not going to go anywhere! (I don’t think I’m neurotic, am I? Do you think I am? Maybe I am? Am I?)
Then coupled with that, I actually feel like I’ve got so much spiritual stuff inside that wants to come out all at the same time right now but I don’t know which subject to focus on and bring out right now. And because of that nothing is coming out. Kind of like if you’re trying to force too much beach sand out of a container that only has a very small opening. The force of all the sand trying to escape at the same time effectually blocks the entrance so no sand can get out. That’s how I feel. I’ve been revving for the last three years rearing to get going with all of this and now that I have the opportunity and space…well, it feels like I stalled the engine! I’m actually laughing just thinking about all this.
But this is what’s happening in my mind and I have enough experience to differentiate between my mind and my spirit. In the deepest and calmest parts of my heart I know what the answer is. I hear God speaking to me and just reminding me, “Patience Ryan! This is the next 30-60 years of your life. Walk with Me. My presence and My Word will inspire you at the right time and in the right season. I will put my hand on your heart and mind. My presence and My Word are your bread and butter.” This really helps the fleshy revs to die down. I know I never want to live my life as a reaction to fear, flesh or earthly pressures. I want to live my life only ever as a respond to heaven and motivated at all times by faith, love and hope as I walk in the Spirit. I don’t just want to put out a quantity of teaching because that’s what is expected, I want to put out quality revelation and teaching even if that takes more time. And I know that comes from living in an environment of God’s presence and His grace. The perfect environment for inspiration, activation, motivation and revelation to flow - so this is my focus right now as I get into position.
Having said all this, I have actually been getting prepared for a whole new season of fresh revelation and content. That which is the essence of my life message and walk with God. I’m collecting the best of my past sermons and teachings as well to upload to the website. Everything we release from here on out we want to be potent, undiluted, and the distilled essence of grace that is so grounded in Scripture and God’s goodness that it blows religion out of people, churches and nations and empowers people to walk in the Spirit and live powerful, joyful and victorious lives.
So if you are wanting to keep up to date with all our latest content then I would simply recommend you subscribing to a few things:
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iTunes podcasts (here)
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Video channel (here) + get a free ecopy of “Extra Virgin Grace” when you subscribe to my YouTube channel (here).
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Monthly newsletter (here) + get a fee ecopy of “The Clear Message of Grace” as a thank you gift.
By the way, we would absolutely love to hear from you about how any of our content is affecting you, or any feedback you have, or even just to connect with each other! You can do that by leaving a comment below or sending us a private message.
Also if there are any topics and scriptures or questions you would like us to look at then please let us know. We will do our best to cover those. We may even start a regular Questions & Answers blog if we get enough questions. That could be some great teamwork right there!
It’s been a pleasure writing this very first blog for the new ministry and we hope you keep tuning in for more.
With all our love and warmest affections,
Ryan and Kylie Rufus
The post Our very first blog post after the launch! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Motivating people to earn God's blessings and avoid His judgment simply kills them. It's the Letter that kills according to 2 Corinthians 3. New Covenant motivation is by the Spirit and it's crucial we know the difference and teach the right one. Find out what this all means in this short clear teaching.
The post The Spirit Vs The Letter appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Welcome to our ministry site, we are so happy to have you here!
Here's what you can expect to regularly be coming out of this site from us:
Sermons: all our latest audio sermons packed full of grace. Subscribe to iTunes and get our latest sermon of the week, uploaded every Sunday.
Blog: regular updates about the ministry, what's on our hearts and what we're doing around the world, and just fun grace content that's enriching and entertaining!
Teaching articles: go a little deeper into theology with us as we regularly update our teaching channel with clear teachings on a wide range of New Covenant topics.
Video channel: we will be regularly uploading new video’s to our easy-to-watch video channel. Video’s include: difficult scriptures explained, various doctrines made clear and latest video sermons from our ministry around the world.
Books: We have six books published so far, but we are working on more! I (Ryan) am currently writing on a new book called “Eternal Security” plus I’m revising “Sanctification by Grace” into a brand new and improved version. Kylie is working in her own children’s books which are fantastic! I’m also working on converting all my books into Audio Books.
Partner: You can actually get all our current books for free when you partner with us, plus any new book releases, audio books and digital products we release are free to all our partners. Find out more on the Partner/Give page. We really value your partnership and it’s an important part of this ministry.
Monthly newsletter: It’s going to be short and to the point to keep you up-to-date with all the latest that's going on with the ministry. Get an instant free copy of "The Clear Message of Grace" booklet when you subscribe to newsletter. (We won't overload your inbox! One, maybe two emails per month maximum.)
Finally, whenever I visit someone else's site I always want to be able to find out their history, their vision, where they stand doctrinally on issues of the New Covenant, who is endorsing them and see lots of photo’s of them and their ministry. It's annoying when this info isn't made clear so we’ve made sure you can find out all that information about us and it’s all in the “About” section of our site.
It's such an honour to host you on our site and we look forward to connecting with you more.
All our love and blessings,
Ryan and Kylie Rufus.
The post We have launched! appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Preached in the Philippines in 2011 to a stadium audience of over 1500 people. It contains some of Ryan's strongest grace teaching.
The post Total Grace appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
This message may change your life! It contains the keys to breaking free from fear when it comes to your finances and moving into faith.
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This message contains the essence of Ryan's life message and is powerful. It's one of those classics you can listen to many times.
The post Two Kinds of Righteousness appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
This is one of the most foundational teachings every believer needs to grasp in order to truly understand the New Covenant.
The post The Gift of Righteousness appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
It's so important to understand the context of a verse before we try to apply it to believers. Get the context wrong and you're bound to get the application wrong.
The post 1 John 1:9 explained clearly appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Preached at Jesus Festival 2014 Manila to an audience of around 2000 people. It carries an impartation of supernatural peace and will probably change your life.
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God's love is unconditional, unrestrained, uninterrupted and unending. Do you truly know and believe this? When you do, it will change your walk with God.
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Ryan doesn't hold back in this one. He takes on some distorting and destructive perversions of grace trying to infiltrate the true Gospel. Spoken at a leaders conference in the Philippines in 2013.
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The post 10 reasons why Matthew 24 describes both 70 AD and the end of the age appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post Reasons for a future interpretation of Revelation (chapter by chapter) appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post The reason why it’s impossible to lose your salvation appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post Why Trinitarian Universalism is misguided and unscriptural appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
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The post Only through personal faith in Jesus can a person be saved appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
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The post Is all mankind free from their sins or only those in Christ? appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post Scriptures that refute the cunning and twisted doctrine of perichoresis (all humanity is already included in Christ) appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
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The post Explaining Romans 3:31 and Matthew 5:17-18 through the New Covenant. appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
The post Does the law play any part in our ongoing Christian walk? appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
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The post 1 John 1:9 explained clearly – does not say believers need to get continual forgiveness appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
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The post Trying to earn forgiveness hinders your relationship with God appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
Our sins were a debt in our spiritual bank account that we had no way of clearing. One day the demand would be made upon us to settle this debt or be cast into a fiery prison. What a fearful thought knowing a hellish reckoning is coming without a single hope within ourselves of avoiding it! Our only hope is that someone else would reconcile our debt for us. Then enters Christ who settled our debt by becoming our sin for us and then giving us his perfect righteousness. In Christ God is no longer counting our sins against us! The written record of the debt of our sins that stood against us was taken away. This means the account was not only paid in full and satisfied, but it was also shut down and removed, never to be opened again! There is no sin account with your name on it in heaven anymore! There is no place where sin can be recorded against you ever again. Your account was taken away and nailed to the Cross in Christ (Col 2:13-14). We have a new account now and it’s called the gift of His righteousness. This account is an inheritance we have received. We didn’t earn it and it is therefore not dependent upon us in anyway. It is full and overflowing with God’s righteousness. Sin cannot affect it, it can’t drain it, it can’t diminish it. This account is given and maintained by grace and not our works. It is managed by our heavenly mediator and advocate, Jesus Christ (1 Joh 2:1-2). It stays as perfect and full of righteousness as much is God is perfect and full of righteousness! Some people erroneously think that when they sin, that very sin appears in their spiritual bank account and their righteousness account goes down respectively. They believe that through repentance and asking for forgiveness that sin disappears from their account and causes their righteousness account to go back up again. They live in fear of their accounts not balancing and receiving the due consequence from God. They believe that as long as their account doesn’t balance their relationship with God is compromised. If they die with an unreconciled account their is fear of what may happen. Some believe their salvation may be lost, others believe their will be other consequences. Surely this is bondage, legalism, self righteousness and a recipe for God’s people to live fearful and insecure and outside of the perfect love of God which casts out fear. Surely Jesus did not die for this kind of a complicated accounting nightmare. What about all the sins committed that we may not even consider sins yet God does?, or the ones we forgot about? I’m sorry but if your righteousness is not perfect because of even a single one of your sins affecting it that you failed to clear from your account, you are NOT going to heaven! Thank God our sins cannot affect our spiritual account anymore! If you think you must maintain your righteousness through the transaction of repentance and asking for forgiveness then you are no better off than Israel under the law covenant and your eternal destiny is as unstable as theirs was. You’ve merely exchanged animal sacrifices with the act of repentance and asking for forgiveness and given them the exact same value.
I thank God that grace is not like that! There is no part of salvation that is our doing! Not getting it, nor maintaining it! In Christ we have a new spiritual bank account and it is full of His unending righteousness and grace. The old account of sin is gone. God made it this way! Religion cannot accept this because it still wants to offer some kind of a sacrifice or performance to get rid of sins. But faith believes what Christ has done and that it’s a perfect, complete and finished work! Its our inheritance as sons of God. Not by works but by grace alone through faith in our wonderful and perfect saviour, Jesus Christ!
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The post Total forgiveness of past, present and future sins appeared first on Ryan Rufus.
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