Church Unlimited North Lakes: Recent Episodes
Church Unlimited Podcast
Church Unlimited is a vibrant and life-giving church in the North Lakes area of Brisbane. Under the leadership of James and Paula Hensley, Church Unlimited has grown to be a key church of influence in our region. Our prayer is that if you don't already have a church to call HOME, you would come and join us in the great things God is doing with Church Unlimited.
Check out Series 1 on our website churchunlimited.com.au/podcast-archive
Salvation with Ps. James Hensley
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You Are, But You Will with Ps. Kerrin Wallis
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Gratitude
Closer Series
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Tabernacle Prayer
Closer Series
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Hearing God's Voice
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Bouncing Back From Disappointment
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Mission Sunday
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Telling People About Jesus
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Growing Closer To God
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7 Ways To Serve
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What Serving Does In Me
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God Can Use Your Past with Ps. James Hensley
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How Do We Know Jesus Resurrected? with Ps. James Hensley
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Church On Mission: BELONG with Nate Malia
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We Belong To God with Ps. Paula Hensley
CHURCH ON MISSION SERIES
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We Can Know God with Ps. Ray Bartram
Church On Mission Series
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We Can Know God
Church On Mission Series
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Anointed Imagination with Ps. Cindy-Leigh Boske
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CHURCH ON MISSION: CU STRATEGY with Ps. James Hensley
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It's Time To Grow Up with Ps. Ray Bartram
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Troubling The Teacher with Ps John Cameron
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From Setbacks To Comebacks
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Church Is Unlimited
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Have You Lost Your Passion & Zeal?
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Give Up To Go Up with Ps. James Hensley
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People Need Jesus with Ps. Dan James
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God Is Unlimited with Ps. James Hensley
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Why Should We Forgive with Ps. James Hensley
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Stepping into the Greater with Ps. James Hensley
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Why I Need Belonging with Ps. Ray Bartram
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Why We Need Each Other
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Living Set Apart with Ps. James Hensley
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The Wonder of Christmas with Ps. Dan James
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Inheriting The Kingdom with Ps. James Hensley
Sunday 3 December 2023
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Simple Things That Build A life of Substance with Ps. Dan James
26 November 2023
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Is There Not A Cause with Ps. James Hensley
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Your Miracle Requires Movement with Ps. Darron Hayhoe
Guest Speaker: Reach Church
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PNEUMA: SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
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The Lord's Prayer with Ps James Hensley
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PNEUMA: THE ANOINTING with Ps. James Hensley
We are not baptised in Holy Spirit to speak in tongues - Speaking in tongues is a wonderful by-product of being baptised in Holy Spirit! Jesus is the example! Whatever we see Jesus doing – we do!
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PNEUMA: Speaking In Tongues with Ps. James Hensley
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PNEUMA: Baptism of Holy Spirit with Ps. James Hensley
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PNEUMA: Person of Holy Spirit with Ps. James Hensley
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Making A Difference In The World
Guest Speaker: Clinton Montgomery
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Posture of Presence with Ps. James Hensley
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The Unlikely Heroes with Ps. Paula Hensley
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Blocking The More with Ps. James Hensley
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More Than Conquerors with Ps. Ray Bartram
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Prayer of Jabez with Ps. James Hensley
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Taking Steps with Ps. James Hensley
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Sacrificial Giving with Ps. James Hensley | Taking Ground Series
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PRAISE with Ps. Paula Hensley | Taking Ground Series
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THERE IS MORE with Ps. James Hensley
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DECIDE TO CHASE with Ps. James Hensley
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Crossing The Threshold Into The New with Ps. Dan O'Farrell
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The Two Mountains with Ps. Phil Kennedy
Guest Speaker
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Humility: The Way of Jesus with Ps. Luke KennedyPs. Luke Kennedy Guest Speaker
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Living In Love With Holy Spirit with Ps. Dan James
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Taking Your Next Step with Ps. Ray Bartram
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How to be a Better Steward with Ps. Dan James
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Designed For A Purpose On Purpose with Ps. Michelle Fredericks
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THE TITHE with Ps. James Hensley
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Generosity of God with Ps. James Hensley
GOD WANTS YOU TO PROSPER!
God desires that you would prosper in everything!
- Your Marriage, Your Children, Your Physical Health, Your Mental Health, Your Church, Your House, Your Money, Your Work / Calling / Purpose
Prosperity doesnt always lead to wealth!!
- But it always leads to health.
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ENGAGING WITH THE PRESENCE OF GODwith Ps. James Hensley
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PEOPLE NEED JESUSwith Ps. James Hensley
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LIVING FREEwith Ps. Dan James
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LIVE FREE with Ps. Dan James
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GROW IN BEARING KINGDOM FRUIT with Ps. James Hensley
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Grow In Substanceis a part of the Grow Series. To listen to more of this series see our “Grow Series” in the playlists. This message and more are also available on YouTube.
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Position Yourself with Ps. Stefan Striefler from Gospel Church
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The Generation That Get's It Right with Ps Kerrin Wallis
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Easter Sunday Service with Ps. Shane Willard
Shane is from Charleston, SC (USA), and has been in full-time ministry for over 20 years. He began working in full-time ministry as a youth pastor of a small church. Since that time, Shane has held multiple pastoral positions at various sized churches. Shane now ministers full time in America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. With degrees in both clinical psychology and theology, Shane is known for being an informative, brilliant and humorous communicator.
Shane is mentored by a pastor with rabbinical training, and teaches the context of the Scriptures from a Hebraic perspective. This perspective helps people to see God’s Word in a completely new way and leads them into a more intimate relationship with the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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Good Friday Service with Ps. Shane Willard
Shane is from Charleston, SC (USA), and has been in full-time ministry for over 20 years. He began working in full-time ministry as a youth pastor of a small church. Since that time, Shane has held multiple pastoral positions at various sized churches. Shane now ministers full time in America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. With degrees in both clinical psychology and theology, Shane is known for being an informative, brilliant and humorous communicator.
Shane is mentored by a pastor with rabbinical training, and teaches the context of the Scriptures from a Hebraic perspective. This perspective helps people to see God’s Word in a completely new way and leads them into a more intimate relationship with the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
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GROW IN PURPOSE | MY PLATFORM with Ps. James Hensley
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Grow In Purposeis a part of the Grow Series. To listen to more of this series see our “Grow Series” in the playlists. This message and more are also available on YouTube.
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GROW IN RELATIONSHIP | MY STRENGTH with Ps. James Hensley
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Grow In Relationshipis a part of the Grow Series. To listen to more of this series see our “Grow Series” in the playlists. This message and more are also available on YouTube.
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GROWING IN SUBSTANCE with Ps. James Hensley
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Growing In Substanceis a part of the Grow Series. To listen to more of this series see our “Grow Series” in the playlists.
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GROW CLOSER TO GOD with Ps. Dan James
GROW CLOSER TO GOD is a part of the Grow Series. To listen to more of this series see our “Grow Series” in the playlists.
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Ps Stacey Hilliar | Guest Speaker
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LET'S GROW with Ps. James Hensley
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Let's Grow is a part of the Grow Series. To listen to more of this series see our “Grow Series” in the playlists.
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Better At Parenting with Ps. James Hensley
Better at Parenting is a part of the Better Together Series. To watch more of this series see our “Better Together Series” in the playlists.
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Better at Marriage with Ps. James Hensley
Marriage is the original “Better Together”. If we are honest with ourselves, our current society views marriage as nothing more than a piece of paper…a piece of paper that can be nullified with a change of heart and another piece of paper.
To be better at marriage, we need to understand how God views marriage. When you open up Scripture, you see that it was actually God who instituted the idea of marriage.
Better at Marriage is a part of the Better Together Series. To watch more of this series see our “Better Together Series” in the playlists.
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Church Unlimited Podcast | 8th January | Living a year of Fruitfulness with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | 30th October | Overcoming Spiritual Warfare with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | 16th October | Revival Series - Anointed for Miracles with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | 9th October | Revival Series - Let The river Flow with Ps Kevin Forlong
Church Unlimited Podcast | 25th September | Revival Series | The Glory of God with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | 18th September | Revival Series | Revival - The River with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | The Prodigal Father | Father's Day | 4th September with Ps Richard Kobakian
Church Unlimited Podcast | 28th August | Breakthrough Series - Breakthrough Alignment with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | 21st August | Breakthrough Series - Breakthrough Seed with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | August 14th | Breakthrough Series - Breakthrough Root with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | August 7th | Breakthrough Series - Breakthrough Inheritance with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | July 24th | The Five Sola Series - Faith Alone (Sola Fide) with Ps Paula Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | July 17th | The Five Sola Series - For the Glory of God alone (Sola Dia Gloria) with Ps Dan James
Church Unlimited Podcast | July 10th | The Five Sola Series - By Grace Alone (Sola Gratia) with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | July 3rd | The Five Sola Series - By Scripture Alone (Sola Scriptura) with Ps Brad Austin
Church Unlimited Podcast | June 26th | The Five Sola Series - Through Christ Alone (Sola Christus) with Ps Dan James
Church Unlimited Podcast | June 12th | Kingdom Economics Series - Sowing & Reaping and Reaping with Ps Lucas Connell
Church Unlimited Podcast | May 22nd | Pentecost - Person of Holy Spirit with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | April 24th | Faith For Your Family's Future with Ps Paula Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | April 15th | Good Friday Service | No Other Way with Ps Dan James
Church Unlimited Podcast | April 3rd | Where Does The Church Go From Here with Ps Shane Willard
Church Unlimited Podcast | March 20th | Personal Conviction Public Influence with Ps Dan James
Church Unlimited Podcast | March 6th | Vision - Signs of the Times with PS James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | February 20th | Vision - Faith = Positive with PS James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | February 13th | Vision | Kingdom Shift with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | November 28th - Kingdom Economics - The Tithe with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | November 21st - Kingdom Economics - Prosperity with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | November 14th - Kingdom Economics - Generosity with Ps Dan James
Church Unlimited Podcast | October 31st - Church On Mission - Commission with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | October 24th - Church On Mission - Champion Leaders with Ps James Hensley
Church Unlimited Podcast | October 17th - Church On Mission - Creating Community with Ps Joanna James
Church Unlimited Podcast | October 10th - Church On Mission - Christ Centred Disciples with Ps James Hensley
Exercising Spiritual Authority - Church Unlimited - 20th June with Pastor James Hensley
Church Unlimited | People Who Know They Need Jesus with Pastor Joanna James | 9th May 2021
Guest Pastor Richard Kobakian brings a brilliant word on 'living beyond the stars and dots'.
Pastor James finishes the Vision series with a powerful word on being an influencer for Jesus.
We overestimate what we can achieve in one year but underestimate what can be achieved in a decade.
Behold I Do A New Thing with guest Pastor Daniel Pappas
When praying about 2021 for our family and our Church, God spoke the words STRENGTH and HEALTH - that 2021 would be a year of strengthen everything. We don’t want to be a MUSHROOM church that springs up quickly but withers away just as quickly. We must fight popular culture that places more emphasis on FRUIT rather than ROOT. As humans, especially in the western world, we tend to care more about how things look, than how things are! We have become obsessed with image but what you see is not always what you get!
Marketing and social media would have us believe that the look is more important than the substance. Just because something looks good, doesn’t mean it is. Just because something looks healthy, doesn’t mean it is! And just because something looks strong, doesn’t mean it is!
This week, Pastor James speaks a word on How to Get the Most out of your Church | Church Unlimited 31st January 2021 with Pastor James Hensley
In this series, Kingdom Economics, Pastor James brings an eye opening and exciting perspective on being blessed of the Lord prospering in every area of our lives, including finances.
Join us a Pastor Paula Hensley speaks a fantastic word on the importance and power of being surrounded by people with a mutual faith.
Join us as Pastor James preaches a thought provoking word on the power of the mouth and the importance of speaking out in faith.
Join us this week as Pastor Kevin Forlong brings a great word about having an Ear of Faith.
Pastor James Hensley continues the series 'The Anatomy of Faith' with this incredible word about having an Eye of Faith.
Kicking of the new series 'The Anatomy of Faith', Pastor James brings a thought provoking and faith building message on Faith and the importance of understanding what faith looks like and where it come's from.
Pastor James continues the practical series "Sanctity Of Marriage". This week we dive into the different love languages and how we should always be seeking to serve and how man and woman are made to resemble the image of Christ when they are joined as one, together.
This week, Pastor James speaks into the Breakthrough giving - Seed to the Sower. We have looked at Breakthrough Blessing - I AM THE BLESSED OF THE LORD and Breakthrough Prayer and Fasting – a place of deliberate, intentional and purposeful FAITH.
Join us for a great word this week with Pastor James as he continues the series, ' Season of Breakthrough '.
Pastor James shares a great word in part 2 of the Season of Breakthrough series on the power of Prayer and Fasting
This week Pastor James Hensley started this powerful and encouraging word around seeing your breakthrough.
This week we have guest speaker, Pastor Lucas Connell speaking a powerful, transformational word on the formula for God's Purpose.
This Pentecost Sunday, Pastor James Hensley speaks a powerful word on the Significance of Pentecost.
Five Keys to Navigating the Last Days.
Matthew 24
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for [a]all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, [b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Point one -
Don't be deceived
-- Don't be Naive
-- Don't be gullible
Point two -
Don't be Troubled
-- Jesus says "see that you are not troubled!"
Point three -
Don't let your love grow cold
-- We are to love one another
Point four -
Don't quit
-- Jesus tell us in scripture, "But he who endures to the end shall be saved"
Point five -
Don't shrink back
-- 'and this gospel of the kingdom will l be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations. and then the end will come.'
John 20:24
24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the
disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told
him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his
hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my
hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and
Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked,
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be
with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger
here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into
my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
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Repentance is my RESPONSE to Holy Spirit Conviction
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Repentance leads to RESTITUTION
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Repentance leads to REALISATION
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Repentance leads to RELATIONSHIP
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Repentance leads to RESOURCES
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Repentance leads to REVELATION
5 POWERFUL TRUTHS FOUND IN THE SCARS OF JESUS
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JESUS‘ SCARS PROVE HE IS THE RESURRECTED LORD
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JESUS‘ SCARS PROVE HE IS MY ETERNAL DEFENDER
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JESUS WOUNDS ARE PROOF THAT HE SYMPATHISES WITH OUR SUFFERING
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JESUS SCARS PROVE HIS ETERNAL GLORY
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JESUS SCARS HELP US TO NEVER FORGET THE VICTORY OF THE CROSS
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;He leads me beside the still waters.3 He restores my soul;He leads me in the paths of righteousnessFor His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me;Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil;My cup runs over.6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow meAll the days of my life;And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
WAIT UPON THE LORD
For some people, like me, you need to slow down and wait upon the Lord. For others it’s a proactive get off your back side and wait upon the Lord. Waiting upon the Lord is so key because it means I move beyond my own capabilities, competencies, hustle and I start to enter into the Grace Zone. The Grace Zone is the Zone of God’s favour.
Matthew 22:14
“For many are called but few are chosen…”
I Kings 19:16, 19-21 NKJV
We must position ourselves to fulfil all that God has purposed for us!
2 Timothy 2:15
Scripture tells us that we need to prepare ourselves
- To study
- To be diligent in presenting yourself approved in rightly dividing the word of truth
God’s purposes are endless…There is no shortage of Calling. There is however a shortage of people who have taken the time to prepare themselves for their calling!
God Chasers
God has two types of presence
Omnipresence – God is everywhere at all times and you cannot escape His presence
Manifest presence – with faith in our hearts and expectation in our spirit, God’s presence is made manifest.
It is in the Manifest Presence that:
- Miracles are dispatched
- Forgiveness and grace abound
- Wounded hearts are restored
- Tired hearts are restored
- His Presence is FULL of peace because God is our peace
- Relationships are mended and restored
- Provision and prosperity are released
- Healing is manifest
We must be intentional about pressing into God, intentional about seeking Him. We must be GOD CHASERS!
Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
JOEL 3:8-14
For the Lord has spoken.”
9Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10Beat your plowshares into swords
And your ]pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ”
11Assemble and come, all you nations,
And gather together all around.
Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.
12“Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
13Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”
14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
INTIMACY
These is nothing like the presence of God. Nothing compares to the feeling of being connected to Father. When you are in His presence, in the Secret Place, it is just you and Him.
The SECRET PLACE
- In the Secret Place my ANXIETIES are overcome with His PEACE
- In the Secret Place my FEARS and worries FADE INTO NOTHING
- In the Secret Place my INSECURITIES are grounded in SONSHIP
- In the Secret Place my LONLINESS and REJECTION are overcome with BELONGING
- In the Secret Place my APPROVAL is NOT BASED on performance and results
- My TIREDNESS and my heavy heart find REST
- In the Secret Place I have Fathers UNDIVIDED ATTENTION
We ARE created for presence. We are created for intimacy with our Father.
My greatest calling, my greatest mandate is FATHER. It’s connecting with Him and knowing Him.
Father spent 5 days making creation, yet creation was still incomplete.
Genesis 1:26 “Let US make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.”
Genesis 2:7 “and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
We are created different from all other creation. He BREATHES His life into us.
RUACH means breath. It means Spirit and Life. Father is BREATHED into Adam.
We were created BY Father and FOR Father for no other reason than He wants us. He desires us and wants to have relationship with us. He wants to connect with us in a deep and personal way.
God has been speaking to us a lot out of 1 Kings 17 - 19 and the story of Elijah. Following a three-and-a-half-year drought in the land of Israel (that Elijah said would happen), Elijah prays for breakthrough rain to fall on the land. Following this prayer, he sees a cloud the size of a man’s hand on the horizon. As Pastor Paula was preparing this message, she heard the words in her spirit that Elijah spoke on Mount Carmel “Get ready it’s about to rain!!!!!”
After Elijah spoke those words 1 Kings 18:46 says that the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and the power of the Lord came upon Elijah. He tucked his coat into his belt and he ran ahead of a horse drawn chariot all the way to his destination.
The Bible is FULL of verses with regards to our Run of Faith!
Philippians 2:16; Galatians 5:7; Philippians 3:14; 2 Timothy 4:7; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
How can we build the faith rhythm in our lives so that we keep in step with the Holy Spirit, filled with His power to jump over obstacles and run the race to WIN??!!
Barnabas - Son of Encouragement
Often when it comes to mission we focus on those who seemingly made the biggest difference. Evangelists who’ve won countless souls for Christ, those with incredible giftings that stand out from the pack to do extraordinary things. In the early church it was Peter and James and then Paul and Timothy who stood out from the pack. And no doubt they did extraordinary things for God. They were gifted by God and stepped out courageously by faith to do amazing things.
Yet they never did it alone. They had people in their corner, lesser known usually, encouraging them on. Championing them in every way they could. I want to talk about one of those people from scripture tonight. Barnabas.
Giving in the Kingdom of God is ALWAYS an expression of free-will and faith, never of law, obligation or compulsion. Tithing is presented in both the Old and New Testaments as foundational to our giving and the basis of financial support for the Ministries of the Local Church.
Last Sunday we kicked off our 4 part Breakthrough teaching series with BREAKTHROUGH PRAISE. We talked about Paul & Silas being wrongfully imprisoned for casting a demon out of a little girl…
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.
THERE IS BREAKTHROUGH THAT COMES WHEN YOU LEARN TO PRAISE!
Developing our Weapon of Praise is a massive step in finding Breakthrough.
Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on:
12 May – Breakthrough Praise
19 May – Breakthrough Prayer & Fasting
26 May – Breakthrough Giving
2 June – Breakthrough Steps of Faith
2 June – Miracle Offering
3-7 June – Week of Prayer & Fasting
7-8 June – Holy Spirit Encounter with Ps Ben Naitoko
This week, we are going to look at how Breakthrough comes through PRAYER & FASTING.
John 10:10 tells us that
“The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you might have life abundant.”
God has abundant life for us…
More!!
Enlargement!
But we have a real adversary who wants to contend with us to keep us confined and small. As people of FAITH - we need to see the FULLNESS of God breakthrough the plans of the devil!!
Have you ever noticed that when you go to step out and do something great for God, there is always resistance and opposition? The enemy has no idea who you are until you start to open your mouth…And when you make a stand to be used by God, the enemy brings the attack. Paul shows us this is not uncommon.
ACTS 16: 19-34
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; 21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” 22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
So, Paul cast out this demon…Sets this little girl free…And the people are in an uproar!
They strip them naked; they beat them with rods; throw them into prison! Not just prison but the inner prison - putting their feet in stocks…
Seems a little unfair…
Every time we step out to do something for God, the devil is waiting and plotting to shut us down. Let’s keep going… this is the good part!
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
THERE IS BREAKTHROUGH THAT COMES WHEN YOU LEARN TO PRAISE!
We have had 3 big prophetic words spoken over us as a church this year and these prophetic words all line up with each other. (You can listen to these on this week's podcast). These prophetic words also line up with what the Spirit of God has been saying to Ps James and Ps Paula. This is exciting because we believe that we’re on the cusp of a breakthrough…a God shift. There is a breakthrough anointing on Church Unlimited (Jeremiah 1:9-10)
· To break ground
· To see people set free
· To take territory
We have been appointed over kingdoms and nations
· to uproot and tear down
· to destroy and overthrow darkness
· to build and to plant
Our goal is NOTHING short of REVIVAL.
2 Peter 3:9
God is willing that NONE should perish but that all would come to repentance. God’s desire is that His Kingdom would COME and that HIS WILL would be DONE – HERE!!!
Luke 5:4-11
“When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word, I will let down the net.’”
“And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So, they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.’ So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”
This passage is symbolic of the harvest to come. It is prophetic of the great catch of souls that God wants to release into Heaven.
Psalm 100:1-5
“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all you lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.”
1) What sound does your voice make?
What sounds do we make as Christians
Psalm 100:1 'make a joyful noise'
Noise = triumph
- Joyful and triumphant sounds should be the sound of the believer
What do people associate the sound of your life with?
What are your attitudes, conversations, spiritual life, actions, goals and intentions? Are your prayers God-focused?
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Negative sounds that you make will attract life predators.
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Positive sounds will attract good, blessings and prosperity.
-Your friend’s sounds will become your sounds (are they full of faith and hope? Do they aspire to reach more?)
2) What sound does your service make?
Psalm 100:2 'serve the Lord with gladness'
2 Corinthians 9:7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
It’s our privilege to serve. There is no better investment than to serve Jesus.
Our whole life should be in service to God.
Ephesians 6:5-8 tells us that all our service is unto the Lord.
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Your service is in your church, in your home, in your workplace and to others.
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Your service is not determined by your circumstances but by your heart conviction.
3) What sound do we come into His presence with?
Psalm 100:2-3 'come before His presence with singing'
Do we come into His presence with fear, out of obligation, only bringing our needs, on our terms?
David says come with singing.
How we approach God depends on our relationships and perception of God - who we think He is and what we think He’s like. It’s not enough to just know about God.
- We need to know He is God and know how He sees us.
When you know His love and grace and kindness, it’s not hard to come into His presence with singing.
4) What sound do we approach His place with?
The ‘place’ is where God put you – work, home, school…
We should be the same at church as we are at home, at work, and in our circle of influence.
In Genesis 28:10-22 we read that life is tough for Jacob - he’s in a low place. Then Jacob encounters God.
- When God got Jacob’s attention, Jacobs perspective changed.
Genesis 28:16 “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!’ But he was also afraid and said ‘What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to Heaven.’”
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The sound we make will lead us to our destiny.
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Our sound is not dependent upon our circumstance, it’s a spiritual thing.
Jesus resurrection surprised everyone
Revelation 21:1
What seems like the end is just the beginning of something new - 2nd chance
Luke 24:1-8
Jesus resurrection was traumatic. Trauma is any experience that doesn’t fit in with our usual way of thinking about how the world works.
Trauma can be positive or negative (frightened, shocking, joy, amazement)
Luke 24:36-45
Christianity is built around words like joy, amazement, surprise, resurrection, hope and infinite possibilities.
God is not that gives us meaning: God is that which renders all things meaningful.
Jesus is not the band-aid of meaning we put over our trauma…Jesus is the trauma, the event, the moment, that enters into what we think meaning is and turns what we thought about the world upside down. Easter is about that moment that turns everything we thought about how the world upside down and gives us new beginnings, fresh starts, second chances and infinite possibilities.
What does resurrection mean for us?
- Resurrection demonstrates that death has no power. What appears to be the end is only a new beginning.
· Resurrection says you were wrong about death, what else could you be wrong about
· Nothing else has the last word, only Jesus
- Resurrection challenges the way we think. If we were wrong about death, what else?
· We need to open up more conversations about Jesus
- Resurrection demonstrates the availability of new life here and now.
· resurrection and new life are available to us right now
· you are never beyond hope
- Resurrection demonstrates that there is a new creation bursting forth in the middle of this one. It is a glimpse as to what is going to happen later.
· You don’t know what God might do to your tomorrow that changes everything
· Fear has no place
1 Corinthians 15: 1-58 – Paul spends 57 verses explaining resurrection and sums it up in verse 58
· Resurrection means that if you’re doing it for God, nothing is wasted
· Paul wrote this waiting to die before he ever knew if his message ever worked (before the gospel was preached, before the church even took off)
- Resurrection declares that this world matters to God. It is still valuable enough for God to start the process of reconciling the whole broken thing to Himself.
· Because the world is valuable to God, we as Christians can’t just sit around. We are called to fix this broken world
- Resurrection means that how we speak, act, and treat others matters because God is restoring creation and we should be partnering with Him to restore the world.
· Are we participating in disrepair or in order and beauty and compassion?
· How you treat people matters, how you respond to people matter
· It matters how you treat others because God is restoring the broken world
1 Peter 1:3
- Resurrection offers new birth. An imagery that gives hope to a do-over, a fresh start, a new hope and a belief that says how it has always been isn’t necessarily how it will always be.
· That part of your life you want to do over (regrets, failures), that’s resurrection
· Resurrection is proof we get 2nd chances. As a church, we need to see this as a fundamental way we see the world so that we assure people get a 2nd chance
· Your past will not be held against you, there’s a new hope. How it’s always been is not how it always be
Romans 6:8-14
- Resurrection offers the opportunity to be free from whatever is driving our lives. Fear, rejection, pain, control, greed, hoarding, lust, anger, all belong to death…and death does not belong.
We find it so easy to naturally be selfish and yet Jesus spends so much of his time teaching us that to be like Him is to put others first.
· He tells us that He did not come to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.
· He tells us repeatedly that the first will be last and last will be first.
· He tells us not just to invite those to dinner who can pay you back but invite those who there’s nothing in it for you.
Jesus showed this in how He lived and in what he taught. He imparted it to His disciples through how He lived His life. It’s no surprise what we find in the early church.
Acts 2:1
Acts 2:42- 47
Acts 4:32-35
Jesus creates this idea of community, of His church that is so attractive and so powerful. It’s so different from what society looks like today. It’s something that people desperately want. To belong is one of our greatest needs. Our world around us is longing for community.
Our Father in Heaven
Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus didn’t say this is what you should pray. Jesus said this is HOW you should pray. Jesus was teaching us how to pray not giving us a formula to recite.
The personal pronouns Jesus used were not singular but rather all plural (our not my, us not me). It wasn’t an oversight that Jesus spoke it this way.
HOW WE LIVE OUT COMMUNITY
1. We worship together
Our Father in heaven…
· Communal worship. Not just individual worship.
· People from so many different life backgrounds coming together to worship God. (would we be together without Jesus as our focus?)
· If we don’t feel like worshipping, the worship of others can help carry us into God’s presence. Our praise and our worship is directed at God, but it also supports and lifts up others.
Your Kingdom come; your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
· Together we declare His Kingdom come, we declare Heaven on earth.
· Together we worship and together we believe for His Kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven.
2. We provide for each other
Give us today our Daily Bread
· Jesus isn’t just my provider, He’s OUR provider.
· Whatever I have in my possession is ours and not mine. This means if I see a need and have the means, I meet the need.
· If I let others go without when I have plenty, then I just see God as my provider and not our provider.
· Our prayer to God ‘give us today our daily bread’ is about provision for all of us, increase for all of us.
3. We live in right relationship with each other!
Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors.
· When I ask for forgiveness of my sins (and I need to regularly), I generally am just thinking of my sins. Yet here Jesus encourages us to pray 'forgive us our debts'. It’s this sense of when it comes to prayer, it’s God forgive us for our shortcomings.
· This is a genuine heart of repentance that says God we’ve missed it. God, we’ve fallen short. God forgive us. Help us to be more like you.
· This is forgiving others. We don’t live in isolation. It’ an ‘our’ and ‘us’ thing too.
· If I am genuinely struggling with forgiveness, the best remedy is to pray for that person. When we genuinely pray for the blessing of God on their life, it’s hard to stay in unforgiveness.
4. We look out for each other!
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
God is relational and he created humanity because He wanted to be in relationship with us. We were created to be in relationship, both with God and with each other. Because of this, there is nothing more fulfilling than engaging the presence of God.
There are two aspects of God’s presence:
· His omnipresence – which means that God is around us at all times
· His manifest presence – which is what Adam had in the Garden of Eden; the ability to relate to and engage with God
Sometimes we are so caught up in doing what we are doing that we take God’s presence for granted.
Luke 10:38-42
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.” 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Martha was too busy being busy and busyness makes our relationship with God more business rather than relationship.
Let’s look at 3 big verses for a second:
Psalm 22:3
God is enthroned in the praises of his people…
Psalm 16:11
In his presence, there is fullness of Joy
Nehemiah 8:10
The Joy of the Lord is our strength
When I worship, God is enthroned – or His Presence is made manifest. As I lift up my voice in worship, I become more aware of God’s Presence. When I worship and His presence is manifest - there is Joy! This is why we feel better when we worship. When I worship, His presence comes, His Joy is released, and I am strengthened.
There is so much power in our praise and we need to understand what happens when we praise. Let’s look at Joshua’s first two victories.
- Crossing the Jordan
In Joshua 3 when they go to cross the Jordan, they cross in a very specific order:
· First, they send the Ark of the Covenant (The Presence of God)
· Then the Priests
· Then the Levites families
· Then everyone else
If this was me, I would have been arguing with God - we are going into the enemy’s land, so we had better be sending the fighting soldiers first! But this is not how God wanted them to cross, His Presence goes first.
- Jericho
In Joshua 6 with Jericho:
6 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valour. 3 You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”
Notice again the order:
· The Priests with Trumpets & instruments
· The Ark of the Covenant
· Then the men of war
We take Jesus seriously – so what does that mean? It is important to think about Jesus as a human being in order to help us work out how Jesus wants us to live. What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?
Jesus Christ was a first-century rabbi who taught people how to live on earth. He was entrusted with speaking in the synagogue and at the temple. Let’s look at the calling of the first 4 disciples:
Matthew 4:18-22:
- As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
- “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
- At once they left their nets and followed him.
- Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them,
- and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
There are a couple of things to notice about this passage:
- They were fishermen.
- Jesus’ sales pitch was “Follow me”
- 4 grown men left everything they knew to follow a random stranger
Then again in Mark 2:13-14:
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.
14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
Again – the sales pitch is “Follow me” and these grown men are leaving everything to do just that – businesses, family, wives, children - everything.
What is happening here?
In first century Israel, every boy wanted to be a Rabbi – it was the highest honour. But at the end of the day, only the best of the best went on to become a Rabbi. To be entrusted with the title Rabbi was not something that was done lightly – there are only 3 Rabbis mentioned in the Bible – Jesus, Paul and Gamaliel.
In order to be a rabbi, you had to memorise Leviticus by the age of 6. If you did this, you graduated to the next school. The next school was the Bet Sefer – the school of the book – which lasted from age 6-12 and you had to memorise the entire Torah before the age of 12. If you memorised the entire Torah before the age of 12, this qualified you to take the exam in order to progress to the next school. The exam was on your ability to ask questions about the Scripture in order to keep a conversation about God going. Think about the Bible - when Jesus was 12 years old, he was wowing the teachers of the law with his questions. If you wow the teachers of the law with your questions, you then progressed to the next school – the Bet Talmid. Bet Talmid means the school of discipleship and this lasted from 12 years old to 30 years old. The Bet Talmid consisted of 5 stages and you had to graduate from each stage or you were told “I’m sorry, you’re disqualified from being a rabbi, go back and earn a living at your family business”.
Do you see yourself as a person of influence? As a leader? Most Christians don’t. Instead they see themselves as nice people, loving people, and unfortunately, keep to myself people. There is nothing wrong with being nice or loving, however, Jesus instructs us to be SEEN in John 13:15:
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Our love is to be seen as a testimony – an influence to those who don’t yet know Christ.
In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus says
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
You are to be the salt of the earth – not salty – but to bring out the flavour in life. You are to be the light of the world to shine bright in the darkness. As a church, we are to be a city on a hill that is not hidden – to be a beacon of hope and life in our community!
We live in interesting times – culture and society are volatile and vulnerable. The seven pillars of culture are rapidly changing – family is under attack, as is religion, our finances are out of order, the entertainment world has incredible influence but have questionable morals, in education our children are taught lies as truth, the media spins and shapes our worldview and finally, our government is unstable, untrustworthy, and politicians are seen as being only in politics for their own gain.
However, if we go to the book of Daniel in the Bible, we find that there is an example of a man who lived through a similarly vulnerable and volatile time. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were amazing men who lived their lives in such a way that they continually gained favour and influence.
The book of Genesis records how God came to a man named Abram and challenged him to SEE.
Genesis 13:14-15
The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you SEE I will give to you and your offspring forever.
I want you to notice something here; God tells Abram to take a look around. And then God tells him, if you want to possess the land, you have to do more than look at it, you have to SEE it. God says: Look around and all the land you SEE … I will give to you.
Abram, don’t just look at the land, you’ve got to SEE yourself in the land. You’ve got to SEE the land filled with your descendants. You’ve got to SEE the land producing a great harvest under your management. I’ll give you all the land you can SEE!
And this is the great challenge for all of us…to SEE!
Looking at the land, it would have been easy for Abram to assume:
- it was too vast to ever populate.
- it was too harsh to ever tame.
- it was too well defended to ever conquer.
This is the danger of LOOKING with our natural sight.
When we look at
- Our circumstances
- Our resources, or lack thereof
- Our own lives, with strengths and weaknesses
We start making assumptions about what’s possible and putting limits on what God can do.
2 Corinthians 5:7
We live by faith, not by sight.
It’s not that we DON’T look with the natural eye; but faith allows us to see beyond where the natural eye can take us. Faith and reason are not opposed. Reason takes us as far as our natural senses can take us and then faith takes us beyond what’s REASONABLE to what’s POSSIBLE in God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-16
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God … Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given us by God. The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. For who has known the mind of the Lord? But we have the mind of Christ
Paul is saying you can’t know the heart of God but looking with the natural eye. Further you can’t know your future by looking with the natural eye. God has prepared things for us that can’t be seen by the natural eye. They can only be discerned by the Holy Spirit - this is why Holy Spirit is so important!
Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision the people perish.
In other words, the difference between those perishing and those flouring in life is VISION - that is the ability to SEE!
1. Holy Spirit Helps Us to See the Invisible and to Receive the Impossible
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.
Over the past 3 weeks in church we have looked at:
Kingdom is UNLIMITED
Spirit is UNLIMITED
I am UNLIMITED
And now Church is UNLIMITED
In Matthew 6: 9-10, Jesus teaches us to pray:
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
This prayer clearly outlines our mission – to partner with God in bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth. Jesus came to establish the Church:
Ephesians 5:25
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
This is not the building, but rather the people in whom the Holy Spirit is dwelling. In Matthew 16:18, we see Jesus building his Church on people:
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
God desires that His Unlimited Kingdom would come to Earth as it is in Heaven in us!
Psalm 127:1
“Unless the Lord builds the House, we labour in vain.”
The Lord is the Builder of the House, the builder of His CHURCH, but we labour as well – we have a part to play.
So, why gather at a Building?
If the Kingdom of God is in me and I am the Church - why do we GO to Church?
The answer is Church is so much bigger than Sunday - I am the Church and Church is any time I am advancing the Kingdom on Earth. But to give us some context, it is important to note New Testament practices.
Luke 2:41-50
41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it;44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.”
49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.
Jesus was lost from his family for 3 days because he was at the physical Church
On Sunday 10th February, Ps. Paula preached the third in the series – I am Unlimited.
Over the past 2 weeks in church we have looked at:
Kingdom is UNLIMITED
Spirit is UNLIMITED
And now I am UNLIMITED
As we seek to serve the Kingdom of God, instead of the Kingdom of me – God will answer some questions that I believe that we all have at different times -
Why was I created? Why am I alive? What was I created for? What plan does he have for me in this life?
Seek Him first and He will show you! You were created on purpose for a purpose - bigger than you, yet inclusive of you!
How do we live the UNLIMITED life? How do we enter in? How do we live in all that God has purposed and planned for us to do?
If we line our lives up with His plan and His purposes we should be like a space-craft that has lift off and flies off into space powered by huge jet power, set on a course of adventure and purpose!
Except that many of us are not living like that.
Why not?
I am reminded of the Israelites in the Bible - we find their story in Exodus and Numbers. The Israelites had lived in a place of not enough - their limitations controlled by the Egyptians. God rescues them out of Egypt by doing mighty miracles before their very eyes.
They then travel through the Red Sea, safely on dry land, then to watch the entire Egyptian army drown in the Sea as the Lord closed up the Sea over them. As they travel through the desert, on the way to the land God has promised them, God travels before them in the day in a cloud and at night behind them as fire! God provides for them fresh food every day.
After all this, they arrive at the Promised Land. It is the land of the unlimited potential for the generations to come! It represents the Unlimited Kingdom of God.
He tells them that they will need to take out a few other nations but promises that the same power that has been with them, provided for them and protected them all this time will defeat the inhabitants of the land! However, we know how the story goes, Moses sends 10 men to go and check out the land that God has promised to them and they come back with this report.
Numbers 13:26-33
27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Before the Israelites lives changed, they had to change their thinking.
Before our lives can change…we must change our thinking. We must change our mindset from limited to UNLIMITED. From grasshoppers to Sons and Daughter of the KING!!
How do we do that?
The Prophet Isaiah shows us how to break free from a limiting mindset in order that we might take territory in our Promised Land!
Isaiah 54:2
“Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
Overview
Over the past 2 weeks in church we have looked at:
Kingdom is UNLIMITED
Spirit is UNLIMITED
Over the next 2 weeks we will be unpacking:
I am UNLIMITED
Church is UNLIMITED
This week, we looked at the concept of Spirit is UNLIMITED. Jesus promised that he wouldn’t leave
his followers alone on earth when he ascended to heaven.
John 14:16-18
“And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, even the Spirit
of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him,
for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
There are a couple of things we need to understand about the Holy Spirit:
A. Holy Spirit is God
The Holy Spirit is not part of God, Holy Spirit is fully God and equal to the Father and to Jesus. He is a
Person and all knowing, all powerful and all present.
Genesis 1:1-2
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and
darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the
waters.”
Holy Spirit was present at Creation. Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image,
according to Our likeness...”
Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son were all present at Creation.
B. Holy Spirit is Unlimited
Logically, if Holy Spirit is God; and God is unlimited; THEN Holy Spirit is unlimited.
C.Holy Spirit is the Revealer
Jesus has a conversation with Peter in Matthew 16 and asks him, “Who do men say that I am?” Peter
responds with “You are the Son of the Living God.” In verse 17 it says “Jesus answered and said to
him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My
Father who is in heaven.”
We don’t have the revelation of who God is on our own – Holy Spirit reveals it to our limited earthly
mind.
Revelation 3:20 says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
Holy Spirit is at the door of our hearts knocking – waiting to reveal Jesus by opening our spiritual
eyes to the unlimited kingdom of God.
To paraphrase Romans 2:4
“it was the Goodness of God that led me to repentance”
It’s not something I decided to do on my own – God himself in the form of Holy Spirit brought me to
a revelation of repentance.
D.Holy Spirit is within me
1 Corinthians 6:19
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, who you have from
God? You are not your own,”
Holy Spirit in me allows me to access the Dunimas power of God – his unlimited power.
E. The Spirit is better than Jesus’ bodily presence
John 16:7
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the
Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
When Jesus was on earth, the power of God was limited to Jesus. But when Jesus ascended into
heaven, Holy Spirit was released on earth and God’s unlimited power was made available to all of us.
F. Holy Spirit is for all believers
Acts 2:38
“For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord
our God calls to himself.”
Jesus says in John 3:34
“For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.”
How does the Spirit Help Me?
Holy Spirit is the Paraclete – the Helper. Holy Spirit is not my personal genie. He is not here to simply
help me get a car park. He is not here to just make me feel good all the time. He is definitely not
here to help me live a comfortable life.
- Holy Spirit helps me to know God
2 Corinthians 4:6
“For God, who said, “Let there be light in
Overview
Over the next 4 weeks we are going to be unpacking:
- Kingdom is UNLIMITED
- Spirit is UNLIMITED
- I am UNLIMITED
- Church is UNLIMITED
This week, we looked at the concept of KINGDOM is UNLIMITED
THE KINGDOM
The Kingdom of God is such a massive concept we wrestle to get our little brains around it. It is absolutely, 100%, without a doubt, UNLIMITED. It is without boundary, it is beyond and there is no way on earth we are ever going to fully understand the concept of the Kingdom of God.
However, we do need to challenge our thinking about God’s Kingdom and have a right understanding of what it is not:
The Kingdom of God is not the Kingdom of Self – where life is all about me.
The Kingdom of God is not the Kingdom of Church – this is thinking too small. The Church is a part of the Kingdom of God, but it is not the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is not the Kingdom of Denomination – again, this is thinking too small. Denominations are simply the expression of the how the local church functions – not the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is not the Kingdom of this Earth – too small again. God’s Kingdom stretches beyond – that is why it is also called the Kingdom of Heaven.
For the full devotional notes for this sermon, please sign up on our website.
Ps. Kevin Forlong presented us with a powerful message, titled “Unlimited” to help challenge our thinking at the beginning of this new year. Here are some notes for you to consider as you spend time in God’s Word this week.
Overview
When you think about the men and women in the Bible, it is worth noting that these are all accounts of ordinary people doing outrageous things. They were simply ordinary people who were caught up in extraordinary circumstances, experiencing the most unusual encounters with the person and power of God.
Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Ephesians 3:20
New American Standard
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
God is the God of Beyond … beyond comprehension … beyond limitation … beyond restriction … beyond ‘whatever’.
Application Question:
Have you been putting God in a box in your thinking?
1. Beyond
Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
God is wanting us to embrace something that is far above and beyond where we are at or where we have ever been!!
Consider the following examples from the Bible:
God took Noah -beyond- the flood.
God took Israel -beyond- the wilderness.
God took Joshua -beyond- the flooded Jordan.
God took Daniel -beyond- the lion’s den.
Application Question:
Where in your life do you need to believe beyond?
· In your marriage?
· In your family?
· In your finances?
· In your health?
· In your future?
· In your potential and possibilities?
2. Asking and Thinking
Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,
The release of God’s ability is linked to our asking and thinking. Putting it simply - your thinking determines your asking!!
The Bible is full of examples of people thinking and speaking above and beyond what is to be expected … what is normal … what is reasonable … even what is ‘possible’!
Think about what you are thinking about!!
Listen to what you are listening to!!
John 4:35-38 NLT
You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”
Our thinking is so often limited by past perspectives - our life experiences, education, traditions, and everything else that influences us. And this stops us thinking beyond. We need a new revelation, a new perspective and a new mindset.
Ps. James Hensley preached a powerful message to start 2019, titled “The Anointing”. Here are some notes for you to consider as you spend time in God’s Word this week.
Overview
Lamentations 3:22-23 says
“22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Essentially, the Psalmist is saying every day is a new beginning. God has great things in store for you in 2019. He has great things in store for Church Unlimited in 2019. God has called us to grow – see what Jesus says in John 12-14:
“12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
Jesus gives us permission to believe Him To believe in His Works To believe that WE can do His Works To believe that we can do even GREATER To believe that whatever we ASK for in HIS NAME will be done!! 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises that even when faced with more than we can handle – the big God-dreams for 2019 – we will be able to bear it and 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 confirms that it is because of His anointing that even in our weakness, the power of Christ rests upon us, enabling us to do all things.
Our strength is found in the ANOINTING - we must learn to trust God and operate in the Anointing that comes with each task!
2 Timothy 1:6-7 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, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Ps. Brad Austin preached an amazing message to start 2019, titled “Luke 5 – New Disciples”.
Whatever our goals are for the year, New Year’s resolutions can be a useful tool as we get to look back in light of our last year, perhaps face some sober realities, or focus on some joys, and we get to ask ourselves – who do we want to be? If someone were to look at us, what are we going to improve, or define ourselves by? What character traits do we want to feed, and which ones do we want to starve? And how is this going to affect us, our family, our workplaces, church, and perhaps the eternities of those around us?