Redeemer Coast Church Podcast: Recent Episodes
RedeemerCoast
A church that honours God through bringing His kingdom to the Sunshine Coast by making disciples through preaching and teaching God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.
What if you’ve underestimated the role God has given you? In this episode, we explore what it means to recognise that every believer has a place and a purpose within the Church. Jesus is building His Church, and He has uniquely gifted and positioned each of us to take part in what He is doing. In a world that measures success by size, influence and recognition, Scripture points us to something different: faithfulness with what God has entrusted to us. Your contribution may feel small or unseen, but it matters to God. Join us as we reflect on what it means to stop comparing, embrace what God has given us, and faithfully take our place in what He is building.
In this episode, we unpack the remarkable story of Gideon and discover that great faith isn't built on confidence in ourselves or even in faith itself—it is built on knowing the character of God. Although Gideon saw himself as weak, insignificant, and unqualified, God saw him as a mighty warrior. As Gideon encountered God's heart and presence, his fear gave way to faith. Join us as we unpack how a deeper revelation of God's love, faithfulness, and the way He sees you becomes the foundation for unshakable faith. When you truly know the One who made the promises, you can trust Him with every area of your life.
Judges 6:12 “And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour!””
God is the One who calls those things that be not as though they were. (Romans 4:17)
At the time the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, in the natural, Gideon did not look like a mighty man of valour.
Here was this man, hiding from the Midianites, living under their oppression, and God saw this as the perfect opportunity to call Gideon a mighty warrior.
God wanted to bring about deliverance for His people; in order to do that, He needed a man, someone who would see themselves the way God sees them.
God needed to address the way Gideon saw himself- a mighty warrior.
Gideon went from believing that he was a timid, useless, powerless man under the oppression of people, to a man who was called of God, equipped by Him to bring about His Word and will in the earth.
What has God said about you?!
Acts 3:16: “And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”
As disciples of Jesus, we are called and equipped to do the works He did when He walked on the earth. We have been given the name of Jesus to carry out His will on the earth. What a wonderful privilege it is to be equipped with the name of Jesus to do the works of God! As His Church, His body and His children, we are called to do the works of Jesus. This is what faith in His name is for: that the plan and will of God may be accomplished on the earth.
Mark 4:39-40 “Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
This is a very confronting question that Jesus asked.
“Why are you so fearful?”
He was asking them why they were acting cowardly. This question reveals that they could have done exactly what Jesus did to the storm.
James 1:2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
No matter what we will ever face in life, we can choose to count it as joy! Faith looks at trials and tribulations and chooses joy because, as believers, we already know the outcome: victory!
The trials we face may not be joyful, but our response to the trials can be joy.
Our feelings and reasonings will want to complain, panic, worry, and fear, but rather than letting the fear of the circumstances dictate our response, we choose to believe what God has said in His Word and choose joy! We can choose joy by letting God’s Word be what we focus on and meditate on. Let His Word be the words that come out of our mouths, His Word be the praise on our lips, His Word be the anchor that keeps us steady.
Romans 4:4-5 “Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favour, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”
Faith is the currency in which we receive righteousness.
Believing what God has done in Jesus for us is how we receive salvation.
This is why faith is essential. Without faith, we can’t receive salvation. The only correct response to Gods grace is faith.
2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
This beautiful verse is right in the middle of the Holy Spirit saying through Paul that we’re in this world, we’re experiencing the decay of this world, and yet, because of the Holy Spirit and the life of God inside us, we can live powerful and effective lives that are pleasing to God!
We live these victorious lives by faith! When we’ve learned to walk by faith and not by sight, we have bold cheerfulness!
We can be godly cheerful because we know that no matter what we’re facing, we win!
So, what do we do with this precious faith that God has given to us?
As we go through life, we always have a choice of how we’re going to walk and live our lives. Either by sight- the things that are seen in the natural, our own strength, ability and resources, or by faith- what God has said and promised in His Word.
Are we going to walk by what we see and feel?
Are we going to walk by faith?
We are called to take the paths that are guided by what God has said about us!
Hebrews 11:1-2 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.”
Faith is not just for salvation; faith is for all the troubles we will ever face in life.
We can look at the heroes of faith and see how they used their faith to overcome and implement God's will and purpose on the earth.
If they received the promises of God and overcame the trials of life, then so can we!
It’s important to understand that faith in God's Word is the foundation of what we are hoping for.
Our faith is the title deed that what God has promised belongs to us. We may not see it yet in the natural, but because of faith, we know and are convinced that we have what God has said.
God's Word is our evidence that we have it!
Matthew 17:20, “He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
It’s so encouraging to understand that where we are now in our faith, is not where we will be. What matters is what we do with what we have.
In this Scripture above, we can see how Jesus compared faith to a mustard seed.
When we look at a seed, we understand there is so much ability and potential within it. A mustard seed, as small as it is, when planted produces one of the biggest trees. For a tree to be produced, that seed must be planted.
In the same way, our faith, just like a seed can grow. There is so much potential and ability within our faith, but we must use what we have to see fruit in our lives.
Mark 4:18-19 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
Faith is precious to God. Someone who will simply take Him at His Word.
How can we, as His creation, offer Him something that pleases Him when He created the heavens and the earth? Yet, we can please Him with our faith. (Hebrews 11:6)
Satan knows how powerful faith is; he understands that faith in God’s Word is the answer to everything he tries to throw at us. His aim is therefore to steal the Word of God because he knows that if he can steal God’s Word, he can hinder us from living the fruitful life God has called us to live. Therefore, we must protect our faith!
Mark 11:22-23 YLT98 “And Jesus answering saith to them, ‘Have faith of God; for verily I say to you, that whoever may say to this mount, Be taken up, and be cast into the sea, and may not doubt in his heart, but may believe that the things that he saith do come to pass, it shall be to him whatever he may say.”
Jesus uses the opportunity of cursing the fig tree as an opportunity to teach His disciples how faith works.
In the Young’s Literal Translation, it highlights the point that Jesus tells us that we can have faith like God has faith- have the faith of God.
We can have faith in the same manner that God has faith.
James 5:15-18 “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.”
We need to understand that there are different kinds of prayer. (Ephesians 6:18 Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty.”)
Prayer is a vital part of living a victorious Christian life. There is a kind of prayer that the Bible calls the prayer of faith. The prayer of faith is different from spending time in fellowship and communion with the Father. The prayer of faith is when we know the Father’s will in a situation and boldly declare His will over the circumstance.
1 Timothy 1:5, “ Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and fromsincere faith.”
The Bible speaks of many different kinds of faith: Strong faith, weak faith, sincere faith, shipwrecked faith, little faith, etc.
The Apostle Paul, in writing to Timothy, reminds him of the purpose of his commandment: love from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Sincere can also be translated as genuine faith. It is a kind of faith that is not pretend or masked, it’s real. It’s the kind of faith that is stood the test of time, it has stood the test of trials, and it comes out purified and sincere.
Hebrews 11:11 (Moffatt) “It was by faith that even Sara got strength to conceive, bearing a son when she was past the age for it — because she considered she could rely on Him who gave the promise.”
Growing strong in faith is a process. We can see it in the life of Abraham and Sarah. Their journey started with God calling Abram to leave his father and mother and go to a land that God would show him. Over the years, Abraham developed in faith and was able to trust God for bigger things. Even believing for a son when he was a hundred years old.
Genesis 13:14-17, “And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: 'Lift your eyes now and look from the placewhere you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.”
The life of Abraham is a wonderful example of what it means to walk by faith. The Bible says we are to walk in the steps of faith that Abraham, our father in the faith, also walked. (Romans 4:12).
If we look at his life, we can see that Abraham didn’t start with this amazing, strong faith; it was a process. God took him on a faith adventure, starting with just leaving his father's house for a land God would show him, and through his obedience to God’s instructions, step by step, he grew strong in faith and became the father of many nations.
John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Jesus’ arrival on the earth became the biggest shift in how man related to God. Before Jesus came, everything was performance-based, obedience determined outcome. Protection and blessing were conditional, based on how well people could keep the law. However, when Jesus came, He established the new covenant between God and man. Under grace, we receive what Jesus secured for us. God’s blessings are no longer conditional; God’s blessings are already ours. We no longer have to try to earn protection and blessing; we simply stand in the truth of what Jesus has done for us, in us, and through us.
Problems arise when people try to mix the two covenants. People end up striving instead of standing. People tolerate what they should be resisting, and blame God for what the devil is doing.
Romans 4:19-21, “And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.”
There are various types of faith listed in the Bible, including weak faith, little faith, shipwrecked faith, dead faith, strong faith, and great faith.
It’s important for us to understand what it means to have strong faith so that we can receive the promises of God and live the life that He has for us.
1 Corinthians 2:6-7 (Moffat Translation), “We do discuss 'wisdom' with those who are mature; only it is not the wisdom of this world or of the dethroned Powers who rule this world, it is the mysterious Wisdom of God that we discuss, that hidden wisdom which God decreed from all eternity for our glory.”
Easter, a time of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour! This is the time when we come together and celebrate what Jesus has done for us. Praise God for what He has done for us at the cross, the grave, and resurrection, but there is so much more that God did in Christ at the resurrection.
The Bible says that there is a wisdom of God that was hidden throughout the ages for our glory. It is a wisdom that is not of this world, nor of the dethroned powers of darkness; it is God’s Wisdom hidden for us to be revealed at the resurrection of Jesus. This wisdom is the complete and total victory that Jesus has won for us!
Matthew 9:28-30 And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith, let it be to you.” And their eyes were opened.”
The Apostle John, by the Holy Spirit, says, “This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith.” (1 John 5:4)
Jesus has already won the victory over the kingdom of darkness, and He has given us His authority and power here on the earth. As Christian’s, living the victorious life is the norm. We triumph, we are victors, we are in the Kingdom of Light! It is now our privilege to learn how to walk in the reality of what Jesus has done for us, in us, and through us. It’s our faith in God that overcomes the world.
Ephesians 2:1, 4-5 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”
According to these verses, we once were dead in our sins but now we are dead to sin!
Praise the Lord! We have been made alive and we are now free to live our lives for God.
We were once sinners by nature but now that we’re in Christ, our new, Born Again nature is righteous.
This is the Gospel, the power of God unto Salvation.
The revelation of who we are in Christ is essential to walking in the victory that Jesus purchased for us.
When we read the Word of God, His Word begins to transform the way that we think.
Numbers 14:8-9, “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
There is a saying that goes, “If you think you're defeated, or if you think you will win, you're correct either way.”
This is a very true statement. The way we view ourselves will determine the outcome of our lives.
We can define ourselves by our past, our failures, other people’s opinions, our feelings, our actions, our successes, etc. However, as Christians, our identity is not found in ourselves or other people’s opinions; we are who God says we are.
Hebrews 4:1-3 “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest…”
God’s Word reveals His will for our lives. When we read the Word of God, we begin to understand His plan and will for His children. His Word is full of exceedingly great and precious promises, promises that cause us to overcome problems and enable us to reign in life. What a wonderful gift God has given us through His Word.
However, just because God has said it doesn’t mean that it automatically comes to pass in our lives; we have a part to play too. This is where our faith comes in. What we believe about what God has said is important.
Mark 1:41, “Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.””
Strong faith is faith that is anchored in the Word of God. It’s in God’s Word where we can find God’s will, and once we know and are persuaded of God’s will, we can lay hold of what belongs to us as children of God.
We need to be on guard for wrong beliefs and wrong ways of thinking that can hinder God’s Word from working in our lives. For instance, many people will compromise God’s Word to match their experience, or what they heard someone else say. Rather than let God’s Word be their anchor, they let the experience tell them what to believe.
The example of the leper found in Mark chapter one is a beautiful example of someone finding out for themselves the true nature of God.
Galatians 3:10-11 “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”
Our faith in God is crucial in determining the outcome of our lives.
Living the life of faith is completely different from the life we once lived. We live in a world where we are judged and viewed based on our performance. In the kingdom of God, everything is by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) Now we, as the ones who have been justified, live by faith.
Everything that God has made available to us in Jesus is His will for His children. However, just because it is God’s will for us to live in all that His grace has made available, our response to what His grace has made available will determine if we experience and live in all that God has for us. God’s promises aren’t automated; they are activated! Faith is what activates them.
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”
As a local church, it is important that we understand who we are, where we are going and why. We’re here to fulfill the god-given mandate that He has assigned to us.
We are a New Testament church, a grace faith church because we believe that it is by grace that we are saved through faith. It all started with the mercy of God, who loved us so much that He saved us, not only from sin, death and eternal judgment, but He saved us from any harm and destruction that comes against us.
Ephesians 1:18 “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,”
In the natural, we learn about who we are from our parents. We watch how they react, their responses to the issues of life, their actions, their decisions, how they carry themselves, etc.
In the same way, we get our Born Again identity from our Heavenly Father.
We learn about our new nature from Him. We learn how to live and walk just like our Heavenly Father.
Not only do we get our identity from Him, but we also have an inheritance as children of God.
Ephesians 3:20 AMPC “Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]”
Getting saved and going to heaven is definitely a wonderful truth of the New Birth, but it is not the only amazing, wonderful privilege of receiving Jesus as Lord of our lives. When we heard the Gospel, believed it and called on the name of the Lord, everything changed. We went from living a life in darkness and despair to one of victory, triumph and purpose. We’re not saved just so we can go to heaven one day, we’re saved so that heaven, the Kingdom of God, lives on the inside of us right now!
John 4:29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?””
It is through experiencing the true grace of God that we can go out and testify to the goodness of God. When the woman who was at the well encountered Jesus, even though she was living in sin, her sin did not disqualify her from experiencing the grace of God. Jesus took time with her and revealed to her one of the most amazing truths about worship. “The Father seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
When this woman experienced the kindness and grace of Jesus, she boldly went to her city and testified saying “Come and see a man who has told me all things I ever did.” I don’t know too many people who would invite people to come and see someone who knows their past. Most people want to hide in the darkness when they’re in bondage to sin, but this woman, when her sin was exposed, she wasn’t condemned, she wasn’t accused, she experienced the true grace of God and was set free because the light of God’s grace empowered her! As a result, she boldly became a witness for Jesus in her hometown.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.”
In the message of the Gospel is the power of God to transform the heart of a person. When we received Jesus as our Lord, our inner man, our real self, was made completely new. We have become a brand new creation in Christ. By hearing and believing the Gospel message of the finished works of Jesus, our hearts were changed from a sin nature, to a righteous nature. From living in darkness and deception, defining ourselves by our behaviour and self-effort, to living a life where our identity is found in Jesus, we are made righteous.
Ruth 4:9-10 “And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”
The story of Ruth is a beautiful portrayal of God's grace towards us. Ruth was outside of the Jewish covenant; she did not know God, and she was in a very difficult situation with no husband and no children; she only had her mother-in-law. Ruth made the decision to follow her mother-in-law.
Though the grace and favour extended towards her through Boaz, Ruth went from having nothing to living a full life.
II Corinthians 5:19 “that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”
We’ve been given the ministry of reconciliation! That means we have the wonderful privilege to let those around us know that they have been forgiven, that God is not mad at them, in fact, God has forgiven their sins, they simply need to accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
What God has done in Jesus was a gift available to anyone who would receive it. God doesn’t consider one group of people as cleansed and the other group unclean. When God gave that vision of the food to Peter, God was declaring that to Him, all people are cleansed and are worthy of Salvation because grace has made it available to all.
Acts 10:15-16, “And a voice spoke to him again the second time, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.”
How we see ourselves is how we conduct ourselves. If we see ourselves as sinners, trapped in the cycle of guilt and shame, we will live our lives from that place. But, if we renew our minds to the truth of what God’s grace has done in us, then our actions will change to line up with how we see ourselves.
What God has cleansed, we must not call common. (Acts 10:15) Common means unclean, defiled, or to count as unclean.
By God’s grace, we have been washed, we have been sanctified, we have been justified from our old nature, and now our new nature is pure, holy and righteous! (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Romans 4:24-25 “It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised because of our justification.”
The Gospel is truly a message of grace. The Gospel is good news for everyone, regardless of their age, gender, culture, background, etc. The Gospel of grace is for everyone and it is available to anyone who would simply choose to hear it, accept it, and believe it.
Grace is an inexhaustible subject because it's as endless as God. God is the God of grace. Throughout human history, it has been God’s desire for us, His creation to understand Him. He has shown His kindness and goodness through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is full of grace and truth. It’s of His fullness that we have received grace upon grace.
Galatians 2:19-20, “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
When Jesus was on the earth, He showed us the heart of the Father. He is the exact representation of the Father’s nature. When He came, He came full of grace and truth. Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, He came to show us the kindness and goodness of the Father because it is the kindness of God that leads people to repentance. (Romans 2:4)
Everything Jesus did was full of grace and it drew people to Him. Even those who were considered the “worst” sinners knew that they could come to Jesus and receive forgiveness and the restoration they were so desperately looking for. They were looking for life, and they knew that Jesus had what they needed because He was full of grace and truth.
Galatians 3:2-3 “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”
The truth of the grace of God can be a struggle for human nature to understand. Grace is so often the opposite of what we experienced in life. We grow up with a mentality of being defined by our works. We either justify ourselves by comparing ourselves to others, or we condemn ourselves by thinking that we’re never good enough. Trying to live life by our own self-effort seems to be ingrained in our way of thinking.
Ephesians 2:7-10 “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
We receive salvation by grace through faith. We didn’t earn Salvation through our own works; we heard the Gospel, we believed it, accepted it as true, and received the forgiveness of our sins through the finished work of Jesus. If Salvation, which is the most important thing we could ever receive, is by grace through faith, all of God’s promises are received the same way, by grace through faith.
John 1:16 “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”
When Jesus came to the earth, He represented the true nature of God and came in the fullness of everything that the Father is. Jesus is full of grace and truth.
He came to show us who our Heavenly Father is and how He truly sees us. When God, the Father sees us, He sees the beauty of His creation. We were always meant to be His crowning creation, we were never meant to live in bondage to sin and condemnation, we were always created to reflect God’s glory. Now, in Christ Jesus, the glory of God is in us and we can reflect His true nature.
John 1:12-13, 16-17“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God…For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realised through Jesus Christ.”
The right to become a child of God is for anyone who would simply believe in Jesus. We have been given the right to become a child of God, not because of what we have done right, but because of what Jesus has done for us. True life can only be found in Jesus because He is the true Light that has come into the world.
When we see Jesus, we see who we are. When we see Jesus, we see what true life is meant to be. When we see Jesus, we see the will of God the Father in action.
Philippians 4:9 AMPC “Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and model your way of living on it, and the God of peace (of untroubled, undisturbed well-being) will be with you.”
Practice is required in order for us to become skilled at something. Just like the best athletes in the world have practiced the basic fundamentals of their sport in order to become the best in their area, as believers, we are to practice thinking like God.
We can have peace just like God has peace because He has given us His peace, and peace is a fruit of the Born Again spirit.
Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
The peace of God has enabled us to live a life that is free from worry, anxiety, and fear.
Just like any gift that comes with an instruction manual, we must learn how to walk in the peace of God that is already within us.
As Christians, living in worry and fear no longer has to be the norm for us. The world tries to self-manage worry and anxiety, but Jesus came and conquered worry!
There are different kinds of peace one that the world has to offer, which is based upon circumstances being right, and everything going well, but it is superficial and weak. It doesn’t take long for a troublesome thought or bad situation to come along and steal any peace that someone had.
2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
As those who are “in Christ,” we have been given a new identity, and that new identity is Jesus!
When we look at Him, we see who we really are because He has come to live on the inside of us and we now carry His presence. We behold, just like looking into a mirror, the glory of Jesus and we are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory!
Luke 10:20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
There is so much joy when we know that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
Jesus said that this truth is what we can rejoice over.
In Philippians, when Paul was addressing two women who were in the middle of a disagreement, he reminded them that both of their names are written in the Book of Life.
It was a statement that we can easily read over, but if we take the time to think about what the Holy Spirit was saying through Paul, we realise that this is a significant truth that can greatly help us in our relationships.
Psalm 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
How we see ourselves and the world around us begins in our hearts. Proverbs 23:7 says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
The words that we allow into our lives are what shape the way we see ourselves. Words that were spoken to us as children by our peers, parents and teachers can create a picture of how we see ourselves, whether positive or negative.
Circumstances that we have been dealing with for a long time can create a strong hold in our minds, and we can begin to think that “it will always be this way”, and it creates a picture in our hearts of how we see ourselves.
The good news is that the Word of God has the power to transform these negative pictures into ones that line up with God’s Word.
Philippians 4:1 “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.”
Everything that we would ever need in this life and in the world to come has been finished in Jesus. He has already won the victory for us, all we have to do is stand firm in what has already been accomplished in Jesus.
Many believers make the mistake thinking that have to fight to win something against the devil when in fact, Jesus already defeated the devil, we simply have to reinforce and stand in the victory.
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Paul describes a beautiful picture of redemption in the verses above. The Bible first introduces Paul as Saul, who had a history of persecuting believers, was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, was well-trained, and was a keeper of the law. He had a whole history of self-righteousness and one of sin in the name of the Jewish religion. Then he had a life-changing encounter with Jesus and he was forever changed. Saul became a new man who experienced redemption with a new name, Paul.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Before we received Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we were dead in our sins. We had no covenant with God, we lived in death and produced works of death. Everything we tried to be was worthless in our own strength. We looked for life in our works, defining our value through self-effort.
At some point in our lives, we came to the realisation that our purpose can only be found in Jesus. It was His life that He gave for us that gave our life purpose, His death and purchase for us, determined our value and worth.
Colossians 4:17 “And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.””
Every Born-Again Believer has a ministry. It may not be one of the ministry gifts listed in Ephesians 4, but every believer has been given a God-given gift, and it is needed! In order for the Church to fulfil its assignment, every member of the Body needs to be in their place and bring their supply.
The apostle Paul encouraged Archippus to “take heed to the ministry that he received.” Fulfilling God's assignment in our lives doesn’t happen automatically; it requires a dedicated and committed decision to find, follow, and fulfill God’s call in your life.
Ephesians 4:11-13, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...”
These gifts that Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter four are what the church calls ministry gifts. These gifts are Christ’s provision for His Church to build up, edify, and mature the saints.
People don’t call or appoint themselves with these gifts; they are given by God as He chooses. Notice that these are gifts that God has given to His Church.
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, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV
Many people have different views of the church due to their experiences, but regardless of what people’s opinions or experiences have been, the way God views the Church is what matters.
To Him, the Church represents His glory and the Bible says in Ephesians chapter five that Jesus is coming back for His glorious Church.
To Jesus, the Church is His Bride and she has His heart. Even though the church can be messy, in the end, she will be beautiful, without spot or wrinkle.
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul says that the Church is a representation of the glory of God.
How does one even begin to understand and describe God’s glory?
John 4:23-24 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Everything changed when Jesus came to the earth. He is the only mediator between us and God. Under the Old Covenant, people defined themselves by how “good” they were. They worshipped God based on their performance. But when Jesus came, He showed us the true heart of the Father, and that was that the Father is seeking those who would worship Him in spirit and in truth. Our own efforts never impressed God, what He wanted was hearts that loved Him and believed in Him. When Jesus said “in spirit and in truth”, He created the new basis on which the Church was to come to God.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives that qualifies us to worship God. It’s not because we have been so good that we can come into His presence, it's because He made us worthy and changed our very nature from a sinner to a Born Again believer, made righteous.
Acts 2:3-4, “Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
In order for the Church, the Body of Christ, to function, we need the help of the Holy Spirit. God knew that we couldn’t fulfill the Great Commission on our own; we would need divine help and strength. That is why, before the disciples could go off and start proclaiming the Gospel to the world, Jesus told them to wait for the promise of the Father. (Acts 1:4-5)
When the day came and the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples who were gathered together in that upper room, everything changed. The Church was mobilised, empowered and equipped to carry out the most important assignment that ever existed; preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.
It is important for us to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church so we know how to yield to Him. Last week we talked about the purpose of the Church through the Modal, the Mission and the Mobilisation. We saw that Jesus is the model which the Church follows. The mission of the Church is to carry the Gospel to the world. The mobilisation is the command to “Go!”
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be[c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
In the first chapter of Acts, we begin the unfolding of the plan of God for His Church. Luke, the writer of this letter, starts with “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach…”
Notice how he says all that Jesus began to do.
What Jesus started in His ministry, we as His Church are to continue. Understanding the purpose of the Church is vital when it comes to us receiving clear direction. When we look at the life of Jesus, He modelled how we as followers of Christ are to act. We are “In Christ,” and Christ is in us. That means everywhere we go, we carry His presence with us. How Jesus lived on the earth is how we live. How He responded to situations is how we respond. How He talked is how we talk. How He acted is how we act.
Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
Before we were Born Again, we were in this world with no hope, without God, and with no place to belong. But now that we’re in Christ, we have been brought near and we belong in Gods family. We’re now in the “Love family.”’
In this family, love is the way we function and operate. Our Heavenly Father is love, He doesn’t just have love, He is love. Therefore, we, as His children, carry His love in our spirits.
We have the God-given ability to love like He does. We can see people the way God does. We can forgive the way God forgives. We can give the way God gives.
The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, warned us that in the last days, people will no longer endure sound doctrine. 2 Timothy 4:3 says, "For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their owndesires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear."
Paul finishes his letter to the church in Rome warning the believers to note those who cause divisions and bring offences. He knew that there would be people who would try to come in and cause division through false doctrine.
This warning is just as important for us to heed as it was for the church in Rome.
Every Christian needs to know for themselves what God's Word says. This is how we will not fall prey to wrong doctrine and false teaching.
Every person desires to belong.
The need for connection and love is within every person. God put that desire in us because that is also His desire and we are made in His image. The Church is God’s family and He has uniquely designed it so every person has a place, purpose and belongs.
The Church is united through the common belief that Jesus is the Christ. It is upon this rock, that the revelation that Jesus is the Christ is the rock that Jesus is building His Church. (Matthew 16:18) We are saved into community, strengthened through fellowship, and called to love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Romans 16:1-2, "I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also."
Paul finishes his letter to the church similar to how he starts it, with the longing to see his fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord.
In Romans chapter 16, Paul mentions people by name, including households and home churches. We can see from this chapter the value that Paul placed on these divine connections that he had. The way he spoke of them was with kindness, honour and cherishment.
We can learn a lot from the apostle Paul and how he viewed the relationships that God gave him.
Romans 12:1 "Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship."
Oh, the wonderful mercies of God!
In Romans chapter twelve, Paul has just finished talking about the overall plan of God for both the Gentiles and the Jews, how His plan for them will come to pass because His call is irrevocable. Our behavior does not change God's plan for our life. Paul goes on to say, in Romans twelve, "In view of the mercies of God..." Or because of the mercy of God, let us present our bodies and minds to our God. It's because of God's mercy that our bodies and minds are holy and pleasing to Him. When Jesus made us righteous, our nature was transformed from sinner to saint, from unrighteous to righteous. It is from this transformation that we can now live our lives well pleasing to God.
Romans 10:12-13, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the Name of the Lord will be saved.”
Oh the mercy of God! How rich is He in His mercy!
It is vital for us to understand the nature of our Heavenly Father. Wrong beliefs about God can hinder our faith and negatively impact our view of ourselves and how we perceive God's view of us. But as we grow in our understanding of who He is, how He works, and how He views us, it strengthens our faith and we become more skilful in His Word and how to walk in who we are in Christ.
In Romans chapters 9 through 11, we can see the abundant mercy of God upon all those who would receive it. God has a plan for the Jews and the Gentiles, and within that plan is each person's choice to be involved in that plan.
Romans 8:31-32 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?“
We all go through challenges and trials in our lives, but the good news is that no matter what we may go through, we don’t have to let the trial overwhelm and overtake us. We have already been given the victory in Christ and we overwhelmingly conquer over every test and trial!
Paul asks a good question is Romans 8 verse 31, “What shall we say to the things that come against us?”
That’s a god question to ask yourself, “How am I going to respond to these circumstances that I am facing?”
Sometimes, when things get tough, we get lost in the confusion and questions. But rather than meditating on what we don’t know, let’s talk about what we do know!
Romans 8:3-5 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.“
Now that we have been made righteous, how do we walk out this righteousness?
Romans 6:4-7 “Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin.”
In the first five chapters of Romans, Paul established the truth that righteousness is received by grace through faith. Then in Romans chapters 6-8, he talks about how to live out that righteousness.
When Paul wrote the letter to the church in Rome, he was addressing two groups of people coming from different backgrounds. Those who were once Gentiles were the ones who lived life their own way, without the Law. And then there were the Jews, those who tried to earn righteousness through their own ability, but now that they are In Christ, their identity is neither in their past sin, nor in their works, their identity is in Christ.
Romans 5:1-2 “ Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand…”
When we know that we have peace with God, it brings boldness and confidence in how we live. So many people live their lives looking for peace—peace with themselves, in relationships, and most importantly, peace with God. However, we aren’t the ones who determine how we have peace with God. It is God who sets the standard; we’re His creation, and we come into alignment with how He works.
Romans 4:16, “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all…”
The wonderful truth of the Gospel is that Jesus has paid the price for our sin. Often we don’t understand the magnitude and the depths of what this truth means, which is why righteousness is revealed by faith. As we grow in our understanding in what Jesus has done for us, we begin to grow in boldness, knowing who we are in Christ.
Romans 4:3-5: "For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”
The truth of the Gospel is life-changing! When we begin to understand the revelation of who we are in Christ, it changes everything. It changes how we talk, act, make decisions, think, relate to others, and, most importantly, connect with God.
For most people, their natural default is to judge themselves by their own works. People who tend to compare themselves with others tend to justify their actions based on their motives, meanwhile judging others based on their actions.
Ephesians 2:4-6 “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
This weekend, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! We celebrate His victory over sin, death and the grave! In Ephesians chapter one, Paul magnifies this place where Jesus has been seated, at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. Far above all principalities and powers and might and dominion, and every named that is named. When God raised Jesus from the dead, it wasn’t just Jesus that He raised, He also raised us up with Him!
Romans 3:21-22 “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.”
When Paul wrote the letter to the Romans, he addressed two different people groups: the Gentiles (who were irreligious) and the Jews (who were religious).
The Gentiles believed that they could find life outside of faith in Christ. Even though they knew God, the Bible says that they chose not to glorify Him as God. They wanted to live life their own way and develop their standard of righteousness. They exchanged God’s truth, which is the only truth, for a lie that they wanted to believe. The more they ran away from God, the darker their heart became and ran further into deception. The life they were looking for could not be found in their own opinion or standard. Faith in what Jesus had done for them was, and is the truth, they are looking for.
Romans 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."
What is more transformative than the new birth?! When someone receives Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, one of the most amazing miracles takes place within them; they become a brand new creation! (2 Corinthians 5:17) We don't see any change on the outside, but the inward man becomes a brand new creation, a recreated spirit, a born-again child of God! That person who was once in darkness, separated from the life of God, unrighteous, sinner, becomes, in a moment, righteous, holy, and blameless in the sight of God! (Colossians 1:22)
Romans 1:5-7 "through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church of Rome, he hadn't yet been there in person, so his introduction of himself and the way he chose to greet them had to be specific.
We can glean much light from the first seven verses in Romans chapter one.
1 Peter 5:5-7 “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
The way God’s kingdom functions and the world operates are very different. In order to get ahead and promoted in this world, people have to cheat, lie, and step on and over others to achieve their dreams. They are driven by pride and compare their success to the standards of those around them.
However, in God’s Kingdom, the humble are those whom God can exalt and lift up.
Ephesians 2:8-10 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
The Kingdom of God is different to how this world operates.
This world operates through striving, earning, deserving, self-effort, labour and wages. But the way the Kingdom of God operates is by grace through faith.
John 10:10 "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
God's will for us is always good! He knows how to make things turn around for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Luke 17:20-21 "Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."
We don't have to wait until we get to heaven to enjoy the blessings and provisions of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is within us! Praise God!
Heaven is such a wonderful place because we know that God’s will is being there. Pure love, pure peace, pure righteousness, pure holiness, everything that is good and right is done there because God’s will is being accomplished there.
Jesus prayed, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
We are told to pray in like manner. (Matthew 6:10)
Of course, God wants His will to be done on earth. But He needs people who are willing to find, follow, and fulfil His will.
God has a purpose and plan for every single person on the earth! But it is up to the person whether they are going to choose to follow that plan.
Romans 8:16-17 "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ..."
Part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of who we are in Christ.
Many people live their lives under a cloud of guilt and same. They identify with their past and view themselves as a sinner.
But that's not what God says about us, and that's not the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:44-46. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God“
Oh the wonderful Person of the Holy Spirit! The Father knew that we needed divine help to live this Christian life and He did not leave us on our own to figure it out, He sent the Holy Spirit to help us!
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 depart, I will send Him to you."
Jesus said it is to our advantage that He goes back to the Father so that you and I can receive the Holy Spirit. One of the members of the Godhead lives inside us! The Holy Spirit is our divine Helper. He is the Spirit of truth whose job is to show us things to come!
2 Kings 6:17 “Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
The Kingdom of God is not seen or understood with the natural senses. The Kingdom of God is spiritual and we need light to be able to understand everything that God has given to us and who He has made us to be.
Matthew 13:44: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."
The Kingdom of God far outweighs anything this world has to offer! In order to experience all that the kingdom has to offer, we need to honour and value the kingdom in our lives.
Daniel 4:34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
The declaration that king Nebuchadnezzar made about the Most High God is astounding. King Nebuchadnezzar was convinced that Babylon was such a powerful kingdom because of his greatness. He made a giant statue of himself and commanded the whole kingdom to bow down to it. Even in his own pride and deception, God was working in his heart.
Colossians 1:15-18 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”
A kingdom is a place where a king has dominion and reigns. It’s where his will and purposes are done. The Kingdom of God is where God’s purposes and will are accomplished. Jesus prayed, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus prayed that the Father’s purposes in heaven would be fulfilled on the earth. There are principles in which the Kingdom of God operates that we need to learn so we can function properly as sons and daughters of the Most High God.
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
God has chosen us to bear fruit for His glory! In order for us to produce fruit that remains, we need to abide in Jesus. Abide in His love and abide in His Word.
John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the wordwhich I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
In this passage of Scripture, Jesus knows He is about to leave this earth and be with the Father once again; He knows He only has moments left to be physically with His disciples. What He says to them in these last chapters is significant for His disciples to ensure that the work He began to do is carried on through their lives.
Jesus is the True Vine, and we are the branches. That means if we want to truly live a life that matters, a life that produces fruit that carries into eternity, and one that glorifies God, then we must abide in Him.
John 8:12, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
This time of year is the celebration of our Lord and Saviour and the wonderful truth that God the Father fulfilled His promise to send His Son, born a virgin. When Jesus came to the earth, the course of mankind forever changed. We were once in darkness, full of sin, separated from our Heavenly Father. Shame, guilt, condemnation, and judgment were all we knew. But God! He had a plan already set in motion for our freedom since before the foundation of the world!
John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
God, the Father, has made it so simple for us to come to Him. His desire for fellowship with us shines through the heart of Jesus. Jesus came to reveal the heart of the Father to us. He demonstrated the Father's heart through His words, His actions, how He healed people, showed mercy, and showed us the truth. In John chapter one, John says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (verse 14)
Jesus was full of grace and truth. When you encountered Jesus, you encountered grace, and when you encountered Jesus, you encountered truth.
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?””
Jesus is the resurrection and the life! He doesn’t just have life, He is life. Anyone who believes in Him shall live. This resurrection power that Jesus talks about is not just referring to eternal life when we get to heaven, it is also talking about right now on this earth.
John 10:10-11 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good Shepherd; the good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."
Jesus is our good Shepherd. He is faithful to call, lead, provide, and protect us. As His sheep, we hear when He calls, follow where He guides, and enjoy His provision.
John 10:7 -9“So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door of the sheep; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved and go in and out and find pasture.”
Jesus is the door; it is through Him that we have access to the Father and everything that the Father has for us. Many people try to get to God through their own efforts and goodwill, however, Jesus said so Himself, that He is the door, and it is through Him that we go in and out and find pasture. Everything we would ever need, He, Jesus, is the access.
John 6:35: “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
There is a hunger within each person that can only be satisfied by a true and genuine relationship with Jesus. Those who refuse to believe in Jesus live in a state of hunger and thirst that they try to satisfy with other things that the world has to offer. Only in and through Jesus can a person truly be satisfied. It’s in Jesus where we find our Saviour, our Redeemer, and our Provider. In Jesus is how we discover who we are, what we have, and what we can do.
When Jesus declared that He is the bread of life, He proclaimed that He is the One who sustains, nourishes, strengthens, and fills us. Similar to how natural food fills our bodies, Jesus fills our spiritual lives, which overflows into our souls (minds and emotions) and our physical bodies.
Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…”
How wonderful it is to know that the same God who was with Abraham, the same God who was with Moses, the same God who was with David and Daniel, and all of the wonderful patriarchs of old is the exact same God who is with us.
Mark 10:50-52 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well."
The way we see ourselves is so important when it comes to walking out the promises of God for our lives. In the story of Bartimaeus, we can see that he was convinced that Jesus could and would heal him, despite the discouragement of the crowd telling him to be quiet. We can see his faith shine forth as he cried out with all of his heart, "Jesus! Son of David, have mercy on me!"
He wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity to receive healing, no matter what anyone said!
Mark 5:36 “ As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
We will all face challenges and difficulties at some point in our lives, but the good news is that even though problems come, we don’t have to let our hearts be fearful. In Mark chapter five, Jairus received some horrific news about his daughter, but even in one of the worst situations a parent could ever face, Jesus made a statement that clearly explains the power that we have to choose. He said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid, only believe.”
We have the choice to believe; we don’t have to let fear be the determining factor in our lives.
Mark 11:22-23 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
We have been made in the image of God, after His likeness and nature. (See Genesis chapters one and two).
As God's children, we can operate just like God does on the earth. Jesus told us to "Have faith in God." Another way of saying that is to have faith like God has faith, or have the God kind of faith.
Mark 5:35-36: " While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader's house and said, "Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?" When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, "Don't be afraid. Only believe."
We all will come across times when we receive bad news. We will face challenges and difficulties, but as believers, we can have a different response to bad news.
Mark 16:19-20 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.
There is a God-given assignment upon your life. Whether you realise it or not, God has called you, graced you and equipped you to reach others.
It can be so easy to think that preaching the Gospel is intimidating. It's only for preachers or special types of people with bold personalities, but the truth is that if you are Born Again, God has called you to preach the Gospel. It may not look like standing behind a pulpit and speaking publicly, but you do have a ministry, and God needs you to fulfil His plan for your life.
That's why it's called the great COmmission. It's not just you on your own trying to work up the boldness to try and talk to someone about Jesus, it is you and God working together to reach the people around you. It is much more simple than we think. It first starts with us being willing to be a witness. When we're willing and open to God using us for His purposes, He then can work in us to help us grow in what He has given us.
I've seen people who didn't know where to start when it came to preaching the Gospel, but they were hungry for God and wanted to serve Him in any that they could. It was that hunger that God was able to begin working in them the desire to serve in their local church, and as they were faithful in serving they grew in their God-given gifts and became more bold to talk about Jesus in other areas of their life. Their lifestyle is a witness. Their joy is a witness. Their influence is a witness. It all started with them being willing for God to use them.
Sometimes, we think that we have to go about witnessing, but rather, we are to BE a witness. Our lives are a witness to the goodness of Jesus.
Don't fall into the deception that preaching the Gospel is for someone else. Be quick to be open and willing to hear what God wants to do in you and through you. You will be amazed at the boldness that begins to grow inside of you as you follow His leading to be a witness.
Mark 5:27-28 “When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
This woman in Mark chapter five was dealing with a long-term illness. One that the doctors at that time pronounced incurable.
What is amazing about this woman was that when she heard about Jesus, she didn’t shrug off those reports and think that her situation was too hopeless for any sort of power to fix her. When she heard the reports of Jesus that He healed, hope in her heart began to arise. She opened her heart to the possibility that this was the answer she had been waiting for.
Living in this world that we do, discouragement comes quickly. When we constantly look at the problem we are facing, it can be easy to become bitter and think that this is all we will ever experience. This is how the woman with the issue of blood could have done. After twelve years of failing treatments and spending everything that she had on these treatments, she could have become bitter. But we can see from Scripture that when she heard about Jesus, she didn’t shrug off what she heard. She opened up her heart and allowed herself to believe that Jesus was the answer she needed.
She kept saying to herself, “If I touch His clothes, I will be made well.” In some translations, it says, “for she kept saying to herself.” In other words, she kept talking her answer rather than her problem. It came to the point where she was fully convinced that her next step was to go to Jesus and touch His garments.
She acted on her faith. She wanted her miracle and was prepared to do whatever it took to receive it. Even if that meant walking into a crowd of people, she most likely crawled on her knees to get to His garment and take what was available to her based on the reports she had heard about Him.
Of course, we know how it ended: Jesus felt power go from Him, and He looked around to see who touched Him.
The disciples were shocked at the question Jesus asked because everyone was touching Him, but only one person received power for their healing, and that was this woman who was now healed from her disease!
Receiving from Jesus is simple. No situation or circumstance is too difficult or complicated that the blood of Jesus can’t redeem. That includes your situation. Whenever you face something that looks hopeless, do what this woman did in Mark chapter five: open your heart to become fully persuaded by what God has said, and then act on what you believe.
Remember, under the New Covenant, we’re not trying to get healed; we are the healed; we’re simply reinforcing what already belongs to us as children of God.
Mark 2:5, 10-11: “And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He *said to the paralytic, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.”
In this passage, we read about a man who had been paralysed. He had been in this situation long enough for four friends of his friends to drag him over to see Jesus. These friends knew that the only answer for their friend was to bring him to the feet of Jesus.
Can you imagine the effort that these friends put into dragging this paralysed man to get to Jesus? And when they had finally gotten to the house, there was no room for them! The effort it would have taken for them to drag him to the roof of this house, dig a hole large enough for this man to be lowered into, and slowly lowered him down in front of Jesus.
The scene that this would have been is comical to think about.
But this was not some random act. These men believed in what they heard about Jesus. They believed it enough that they were determined to see their friend healed. They were determined to act on what they heard and wouldn’t let any inconvenience hinder them from acting on what they knew to be true.
It was this action of faith where Mark 2:5 says, “And Jesus SEEING their faith…”
Faith can be seen! When we act upon what we believe, the power of God is activated in our lives.
It’s important that we take time to meditate and locate where our faith is.
To what extent do we believe God and His Word?
How much do we meditate and ponder His Word?
Are we willing to stand on His Word regardless of what the situation says?
Are we willing to act on His Word even when, in the natural, it seems ridiculous?
These four men would’ve looked crazy to others. I’m sure they would have experienced thoughts of doubt and unbelief as they saw how full that house was, But what they believed in their heart about the healing power of Jesus was what caused them to continue to ensure that their friend made it to Jesus, no matter what.
That man came into that house one way, but he left that house totally different! He was forgiven and healed!
What do you sense in your heart the Lord has been prompting you to act on?
Never underestimate the power of obedience to God’s promptings. The smallest instruction can lead to marvellous miracles.
As you grow in faith, the Holy Spirit will lead you to do things that are in line with God’s Word; He will help you to act on your faith. Trust God’s leading, He knows exactly how to help you receive your miracle.
Mark 1:40-41 ”And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
In order to have faith for healing, we must be fully convinced that it is God’s will.
Faith begins where the will of God is known. If we are not fully persuaded that it is God’s will, we can easily be swayed and veer off track when circumstances contradict what God has said in His Word.
When the man who was full of leprosy came to Jesus, he knew that he could heal, but he wasn’t yet fully confident that Jesus was willing.
But praise God, we can look at Jesus’ answer and this question of “Is it God’s will to heal” is settled forever. What was Jesus’ response?
“I am willing.”
Healing is God’s will. He is no respecter of persons, He is simply looking for someone who will believe Him and take Him at His Word.
This where people so often miss it. They look to their bodies, or doctors reports to see if they’re healed. They let outside circumstances tell them if God’s Word works or not. Faith doesn’t work like that.
Rather than looking to circumstances to tell us what is true, we look to what God has said in His Word and believe that His Word is true; His Word is our final authority.
That doesn’t mean we go around denying the issue, but it does mean that we stand on God’s Word, and His report says, “By His stripes we were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
We choose to believe that God’s Word is true and we continue to speak His Word over our circumstances. We don’t allow the symptoms and the reports have the final word, we talk to the symptoms and command them to leave because we’re the healed!
If you aren’t yet fully persuaded of God’s will, that’s okay! Identify where you’re at in faith and ask God for His help. Like when the father cried out to Jesus, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!”
Jesus is faithful to help you grow strong in faith (Hebrews 12:2), but He requires our cooperation. It is our responsibility to take time to meditate on His Word and grow in our understanding of what He has said.
As you do, you will notice your faith growing stronger and stronger, being fully convinced that what God has promised He is also able to perform.
Matthew 15:28 “Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.”
There are only two recorded instances in the New Testament where Jesus marvels at a person’s great faith. One was the Roman Centurion, and the other one was the Canaanite Woman, as mentioned in the above Scripture.
What was it about these two accounts that caused Jesus to marvel at their level of faith?
It can be so easy to neglect and become passive about our faith. We tend to think, “Oh, I know all about this faith stuff. I’ve heard this message so many times.”
The danger of that way of thinking is that we think we’re actively believing God because we say we are, but it is important to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith or not. (2 Corinthians 13:5) Just because we say we’re believing God, doesn’t mean that we are actively and expectantly believing God. It is essential that we continue to feed our faith on the Word of God and spend time in fellowship with the Father.
We looked at the account of the Canaanite woman yesterday, and there are three key takeaways that we can learn from her great faith.
- Great faith is bold.
- Great faith knows and argues its case.
- Great faith persists.
This woman was willing to stand strong in faith because she knew that Jesus was the only answer for the deliverance of her daughter. She was willing to humble herself so she could access to the grace of Jesus to receive what was not, at that time, available to the Gentiles. By faith, she reached into the New Covenant and accessed what would soon belong to her after the death and resurrection of Jesus!
But now, living on the other side of the cross, everything that Jesus bought and paid for belongs to us! Healing is part of our In Christ identity! So we now say “Yes and amen” to God’s promises and it brings God glory when we walk in His promises!
Luke 13:11-12, 16: “And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”…
And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
One of the key things that we need to know is what to yield to and what to resist. If we are unsure or confused about God’s will and purpose, we won’t have the boldness to resist what is not from Him.
In this story of the woman who had bent over for eighteen years, Jesus made it clear that it was satan who had bound her. It was not God who had caused her to suffer with that condition. Instead, it was God’s will that she be made whole! After all, she was in covenant with God, she was a daughter of Abraham.
When we know who the source of sickness is, we know what we are to resist.
Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes not but for to steal, to kill and to destroy. But I have come that they may have life.”
Jesus made it very clear that anything that has to do with stealing, killing and destroying was of the devil. Anything that had to do with life is from God.
Based on that statement alone from our Lord, we know that we have the God-given authority to resist sickness, disease and pain. Jesus came so that we may have life! We can yield to God’s will and fully be assured that anything that God does is always good and that sickness is never God’s will for us.
It is our responsibility to grow in our faith so that we may understand what already belongs to us in the new covenant that Jesus purchased for us. That’s why we encourage everyone at Redeemer Coast to read their Bibles and listen to sound teaching that emphasises the truth of what we are in Christ and what belongs to us. We build our faith for healing by listening to healing messages and meditating on God’s Word.
Some great verses to meditate on healing are:
- Exodus 23:25-26
- Isaiah 53:4-6
- 1 Peter 2:24
- Matthew 8:17
Acts 10:34-35 “And Peter opened his mouth and said: Most certainly and thoroughly I now perceive and understand that God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons, But in every nation he who venerates and has a reverential fear for God, treating Him with worshipful obedience and living uprightly, is acceptable to Him and sure of being received and welcomed [by Him].”
It is so common for people to filter the Word of God through their experience. We may read a passage of Scripture that we don’t understand, or we haven’t experienced in our personal lives, so instead of raising our beliefs to what God’s Word says, we change it to match our experience.
However, where the victory lies is in believing what God’s Word says no matter what we have experienced or what others have experienced.
When Peter saw that the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles, too, he understood that God is truly no respecter of persons. God’s Word is the truth and all of His promises are available to anyone who would simply believe it.
This is true for all of God’s promises, whether healing, provision, restoration, relationships, or emotional and mental healing. God’s promises are true and available to all who would believe!
We can look at people’s lives who have amazing testimonies and stand in awe of what God has done in their lives, and it can be easy to think that they’re that “blessed person” who God chose to heal that day, but truthfully, God’s healing is available to anyone who would choose to believe Him. We can’t allow our feelings and experiences to determine if God’s Word is true or not; we have to be the ones who see His promises and rejoice that they belong to us because Jesus has paid it all on the cross!
The way Jesus lived on the earth, healing all those who came to him in faith, He is still the same today because He is the same yesterday, today and forever!
We have a good God!
Luke 15:31-32: “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”
How the Kingdom of God operates is different from the rest of the world. When the prodigal son arrived home, there was a new way of thinking and speaking that he had to learn.
However, the older son remained in the father’s house, but even though he wasn’t the one to leave, he never operated in the inheritance that was rightfully his. He thought that he had to earn the favour of his father. He wanted to prove his worth to, but the truth is that everything that the father had belonged to to him.
To operate in the Father’s house, we have to learn who we are and what belongs to us as His children.
The Bible says in Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life.”
One of the major areas that we must guard our heart is in the area of being offended.
Being offended is a choice. It means allowing hurt and unforgiveness to fester in our hearts, and it skews the way we perceive things.
The older brother felt mistreated. He felt that his younger brother didn’t get what he deserved in terms of judgement and that he didn’t get what he deserved for all the work that he had done for his father.
This way of thinking hindered the older brother from walking in what was rightfully his the entire time. When the older brother refused to go in to celebrate the return of his younger brother, the father came out and said to him, “son, you are always with me and all that I have is yours.”
The truth was that the father loved the older son too, and that everything that his inheritance was his to take!
As believers we need to guard our heart against offence because in order to appropriate what is rightfully ours, we need to think, talk and act in line with how God sees things.
Luke 15:22-24
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”
To overcome emotional pain and trauma, we need to know how valuable we are in God’s sight and apply that truth in our lives.
We are God’s creation; we have been made in His image, therefore, He’s the only one who can determine our worth. To God, you and I are so precious. He knew us before He created the world (Ephesians 4:1), He knew us before we were even born, and He already had a plan for our life. (Psalm 139). Not only that, but to God, we were worth the price of His Son. He knew that mankind would fall into sin, but He already had a plan that all the forces of darkness could not shake to win us back so that we would be forever sealed in His family.
However, we live in a fallen world, and the Bible says that “satan is the god of this world”. (2 Corinthians 4:4). People have free will, and people will choose to do evil things to one another, and as a result, hurt, rejection, torment and pain are experienced. God never intended for us to live in that state, which is why when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for us, God ensured that all the effects of sin would be dealt with on that cross so that we would not have to live in a constant state of torment. Instead, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can rule and reign in this life! (Romans 5:17).
Total emotional healing and victory are available to us, but we choose what we identify with. Do we identify with the pain and hurt we experienced, or do we choose to identify with what God has said about us?
If we choose to identify with the hurt we experienced, we have limited ourselves and won’t walk in all that God has for us. But if we decide to believe that what God has said about us is true and let His Word become the final authority in our lives, then we will experience all of the good things that He has for us!
Luke 15:21: “Then the son said, ‘Father, I was wrong. I have sinned against you. I could never deserve to be called your son. Just let me be—’
“The father interrupted and said, ‘Son, you’re home now!’
In this parable of the prodigal son, Jesus demonstrates the heart of our Heavenly Father towards us. After the prodigal son wasted all of his father’s inheritance and ended up losing everything, the son finally came to the realisation that he could go home and perhaps he could be a servant in his fathers household.
John 3:3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
When Jesus died on the cross, it wasn’t just for a select few, Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the whole world. Salvation is available to everyone, but just because it is available to everyone doesn’t mean that everyone will accept it. It is the Father’s will for all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)
Jesus said in John 3:3 that in order to see the Kingdom of God, we must be born again. When me confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for us, it is in that moment where our inner man, our spirit, is made into a new creation! (2 Corinthian 5:17) This new creation completely changes our spirts, our hearts. Our hearts are created after God, in His image and after His likeness.
Being born again changes everything about us! We now have the capacity to act, speak, and live like God! We are made holy, righteous, and blameless in God’s sight. (Colossians 1:22)
We couldn’t change our nature on our own, there is no amount of will power or self-discipline that would make us right with God, we needed Jesus, we needed Him to change us from the inside out.
Being born again means that we are in Christ, we have His nature working in us! And as we continue to walk with God and grow in our faith, our soul (our mind, will and emotions), will begin to be transformed according to what God has said about us. Renewing our minds is a process, but it is how we walk out what God has done in our hearts.
I want to encourage you this week to say over yourself what Paul said about himself in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
What a divine privilege it is to be born again and represent God’s nature to those around us!
John 8:31-32 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
True freedom is found in the truth of who God is and the truth of who we are in Him.
David, in the book of Psalm and repeated again in Romans says “how blessed the person is who sin is covered and forgiven.”
There are many people who live this life weighed down with the burden of sin, living in a constant state of guilt and shame. This is the norm for many people. But when they come in contact with the truth of how good, kind, merciful God is, that weight is lifted and true freedom is experienced.
We have been set free from:
- Condemnation, guilt and shame. (Romans 8:1)
- The bondage of sin. (Romans 6:6-7)
- The fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
These are powerful truths that has set us free! We have the right and authority to enjoy this freedom! That means we can resist condemnation and guilt, we can resist sin because Jesus gave us His victory to overcome sin we can resist fear so that we are not hindered in living this life the way God has intended for us to live.
I encourage you this week to begin to see yourself the way God sees you, the way God sees you is the truth. He sees you as righteous, holy and blameless. (Colossians 1:22) You can say that over yourself and as your mind renews to the Word of God, there will be a new boldness in you that equips you to share this good news with those around you!
You are a sent one from God to this world. You are alive in this time, in this generation, in this nation, in this city and this community for a purpose.
There are people in your world right now that are looking for help, looking for answers, looking for something more and you are the one who has been sent by God to reach those people. So often we overthink what these opportunities and encounters are supposed to look and sound like and because of fear, we don’t act.
Mark 16:15 "And He said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."
It's astounding to think about the way God has planned our lives. We are not just some random act of chance, but we were already known by God before we were even in our mother's womb. (Psalm 139, Jeremiah 1:5)
God is the ultimate planner. He's the only One who knows the end from the beginning, and He knew He would need you and me to live in these last days, in this generation, in this city to impact those around us.
James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.
Every one of us has experienced hurt, lies, and rejection. We know what it feels like to have hurtful and damaging things said toward us and about us. These lies and hurts can shape our thought life and become our identity if undealt with. We start believing these lies, and then we start talking them, and eventually, we experience the very things we have been saying about ourselves.
Having a real, genuine relationship with God the Father is absolutely essential to living victoriously in this world. Everything in life comes back to relationships, but the most important one is the place we give God in our lives.
Jesus said He is the “true Vine, and apart from Me, you can do nothing.”
Trials and tests come to everyone, but for those who abide in the true Vine have a source of supply that is not from this world or limited to their own ability. Jesus knew that for us to overcome in this world, we would need Him, and that is why He said to His disciples, “Abide in Me.”
Forgiveness is a wonderful gift. It can change the course of a person's life and change the depths of their heart. Those who have made Jesus the Lord of their life have tasted the vastness and the depths of the mercy of God. What we owed God because of our sin and our fallen nature was far over and above what we could pay Him back for, and yet, the mercy of God was extended to us because He loves us. The person who understands how much they have been greatly forgiven can then have the same mercy on others.
Oftentimes, it is those closest to us that can have the most damaging impact. People can deeply hurt us and the effects of someone else's actions, if we allow it, can be crippling. However, in the Kingdom of Heaven, there is a way through that pain to total freedom, and that is through forgiveness.
We have the authority and the responsibility to choose our attitudes, thoughts, and responses to life's circumstances. It is so much easier to put the blame and responsibility on others or even God.
The truth is the responsibility of what we think on belongs to us. Thankfully, along with the responsibility to guard our thought life comes the authority to take hold of our thoughts and emotions with the Word of God and cast down wrong ways of thinking. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Life consists of relationships: our relationship with one another and our relationship with God.
The value we place on our relationship with God determines how we perceive ourselves, others, and events that occur in our lives.
For some, past hurts and experiences have tainted their understanding of God. They misunderstand God because they filter God through their experiences and what others have said. A wrong understanding of God will create wrong beliefs about God’s true nature.
Romans 15:13
Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As believers, we are never without hope! How the Bible defines hope and how the world defines hope are very different. The world thinks hope is wishing something will happen. But how the Bible defines hope as a confident expectation that what God has said will come to pass!
1 John 3:1
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
Behold, the heart of our Heavenly Father, His love toward you, that He has called you His child.
It's no wonder we don't fit into this world's system and ideas. Our identity is from God, the Creator Himself.
1 John 4:17: “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”
There is a kingdom of darkness, and there is a kingdom of light! The devil aims to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came so that we may have life! (John 10:10)
Each of us has gone through hurt, pain, and rejection because of the kingdom of darkness operating in this world. The aim of satan is for the hurts, pain and rejection that we go through to become our identity and hinder us from walking in the light and the truth of who we are in Christ.
But because of what Jesus came to bring, our past, trauma, hurts, or experiences don’t have to define us!
The Holy Spirit said through the apostle John, “As He is, so are we in this world.”
That means that everything Jesus is is who we are!
His victory is our victory!
His healing is our healing!
His righteousness is our righteousness!
His freedom is our freedom!
His value is our value!
It honours the sacrifice of Jesus when we agree with what God has said about us. Jesus went to hell for us and took on the punishment of sin so that we no longer have to live with the evil effects of darkness; instead, we have the right to walk in the Kingdom of Light and all the goodness and freedom that light brings!
I encourage you this week to read Colossians 1 and meditate on the truth that we have been transferred out of the dominion of darkness and have been transferred into the Kingdom of the Son of His love!
Agree with what God says about you!
Philippians 3:7-8 "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ."
In the world we live in, it is common for people to identify with different things, whether it be gender, race, feelings, family, words spoken over them, gifts, talents, etc.
When we are Born Again, our identity is found in Christ. The apostle Paul discovered that when he surrounded his life to the Lord Jesus Christ, what he once identified with was now worth nothing because he understood that his value was not based on his own achievements but on what God said about him.
Pastor Grant made a very impactful statement yesterday: "We can choose what our image is, but we cannot determine the truth."
When people identify themselves with things other than what God has said about them, comparison, jealousy, envy, and blaming occur. Our true identity can only be determined by the Creator Himself, the One Who is all and entirely truth; that is God.
When we choose to agree with God and say what He says about us, our identify is firmly fixed and cannot be shaken by what others say, what our emotions say, or even what our actions say.
If God says we are right standing with Him, that settles it!
If God says you are valuable and worth His Son's life, that settles it!
If God says you are blessed and highly favoured, that settles it!
I encourage you this week to look in the Word of God, find what He has said about you and start speaking those same things about yourself!
Luke 8:15 “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
The desire of our heart is to be the good soil that produces fruit. Living a fruitful life means that we walk in the promises of God in our own lives, but we also get to be a blessing to others. Living a fruitful life brings God glory. (John 15:8)
The Good Soil holds fast to the Word of God, acts upon what they see in God’s Word, and they bring forth fruit with patience.
When we understand the value of something, we ensure that we do what is necessary to protect and cherish what is valuable.
The other types of soil that Jesus talks about all let go of the Word of God for different reasons; trials, persecutions, anxieties, cares of this life and distractions are all things that can hinder someone from being that soil that produces fruit.
The person whose heart is good soil understands the value of God’s Word and refuses to let it go.
We can be good soil but ensure we:
- Hold fast to God’s Word
- Act upon the light that we have.
The good soil approaches the Word of God with the expectation to understand and act upon what they hear. When we value God’s Word and act upon it, we will receive more light, revelation and understanding of God’s Word.
That means fruitful lives that impact those around us.
We at Redeemer Coast are of those whose hearts are good soil. We hear God’s Word, understand His Word, and act on what He reveals to us. This is our lifestyle!
There are things that God has for each one of us this week, He is revealing and making Himself real to us! There is light and insight in store for you this week!
Receive that by faith and say, “God, I believe that the eyes of my heart are enlightened, and I know the hope of your calling.” (Ephesians 1:18)
I love this time of the year when people are more open and reflective on what Jesus has done for them on the cross. We're mindful of the amazing truth that the Son of God willingly laid down His life for the whole world, past, present and future, and as a result, Salvation is available to all who would believe in His Name.
As I was reflecting on the goriness and brutality of the scourging and the crucifixion that Jesus went through, the Holy Spirit said to me, "That is how valuable people are to Me."
I've always known that people are valuable to God, but in this moment, I saw a glimpse into the heart of our Heavenly Father. Everything Jesus went through on the cross was because, in His sight, we were worth it.
The scourging and the crucifixion were no minor events. They were brutal and torturous. The Roman scourging was horrific. It involved the person being stripped naked so that their body would be totally exposed to the beating of the soldier. The victim's hands were bound together and chained above their head so that they couldn't avoid the blows. The scourge was made of leather and included sharp pieces of glass, metal, wire and fragments of jagged bone, and as a result, it would cut deeply into the person's body, shredding their skin, muscles and sinew.
Jesus went through all of this willingly because He wanted us to live in total healing! Isaiah 53:5 says, "By His stripes, we are healed." Our healing was valuable to God. Jesus knew the scourging that He would have to go through, yet He willingly let them whip Him. To Him, our healing was worth every stripe He received.
Next came the crucifixion. Jesus' crucifixion occurred in the hands of the Roman soldiers, and it was usually used for the most serious offenders. The offender would lay on the crossbeam with their arms outstretched, and the soldiers would hammer an iron nail through their wrists and feet. As a result of the position of their arms and legs, they struggled to breathe, so they would push up on their feet to get oxygen, but the pain would be excruciating, so they would quickly collapse back down again. Each time they lifted themselves up and dropped down, it would put pressure on their shoulder joints, and as a result, they would dislocate their shoulders and, eventually, their elbows and wrists.
Philippians 2:8 says, "And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Why did Jesus humble Himself and die for us, and not just any death, even death on a cross? Because that is how valuable we are to Him.
As we take this time to reflect on what Jesus has done for us, we can also take the time to reflect on the value and preciousness of people. Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." If Jesus was able to see the human race in all of its sin-filled and curse-filled state and still go to that cross, then we, as His disciples, can love people and see their worth.
The value of a human life could not be purchased with gold or silver; the value of a human life could only be bought with the blood of Jesus Himself.
Our neighbours, work colleagues, friends, family, people from different nations, and political leaders are people for whom Jesus died. Each one of them is precious and valuable to Him, and because they are precious and valuable to Him, they are precious and valuable to us. The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5), and we are equipped with His love so that others can experience God's love through us. If we withhold from acting on God's love that is in our hearts, we are robbing them of the opportunity to experience what we have experienced. Who are we to judge someone unworthy of love?
When we refuse to let go of the wrongs and offences that were done to us, we withhold the love of God in our hearts and keep ourselves bound in the trap of unforgiveness.
When we judge someone based on their actions and accuse them in our hearts, we are not walking in the mercy that we have experienced through Jesus.
When we talk behind people's backs and create divisions in relationships, we are doing the opposite of what we are commanded to do as believers, which is to love one another as Jesus has loved us. (John 13:34)
When we refuse to apologise and ask for forgiveness in a relationship because we're convinced we're right, we are walking in pride and not humbling ourselves the way Jesus did for us.
But when we recognise how much we are loved and humbly acknowledge how much we have been forgiven by God, loving people and seeing their worth becomes the nature of our hearts.
The motivation for Jesus to endure the cross was His love for people. As His followers, our motivation to love people stems from understanding God's heart for people. What a privilege it is to carry God's love in us so that we can extend His love to those around us. Let's not let experiencing the love of God finish with us; we continue to extend His love to others through our words, actions and thoughts. That's how the power of the cross continues throughout each generation.
As we remember what Jesus has done for us, let's also use this time as an opportunity to let Him lead us in demonstrating His love to those around us.
Luke 8:15 AMPC
“But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in a just noble, virtuous) and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience.”
The Seed of the Word of God is incorruptible, enduring and lasts forever. Within this Seed is the power to change a person into a whole new creation and change the destiny of their eternity.
In the natural, a seed must be planted in order for the power within the seed to grow and become what it is designed to be. No matter how much power that seed contains, it will only produce a harvest if it is planted in good soil that will provide the right environment for it to flourish.
That is true with the Seed of the Word of God and the condition of our hearts.
The condition of our hearts will determine whether the Word of God can produce fruit in our lives. Thankfully, we have the authority to decide what kind of soil we are.
At Redeemer Coast, we are the good soil! We hear the Word of God, understand it, and act on what we know to be true.
Jesus said those "who hear the Word should hold fast in an honest and good heart will produce thirty, sixty, or hundredfold harvest."
As we discussed yesterday, an honest and good heart is a heart that is:
- Humble- believes what the Word of God says about who they are in Christ and what God’s Word says about their situation. It is pride to exalt our own opinions or feelings over what God has said.
- Keeps a clear conscience- they do what they know to do and act upon the light they have from God’s Word.
- Is quick to repent and quick to forgive- they keep their heart clear of strife and offence because they know that they have been greatly forgiven by God, so they can greatly forgive.
We are of those whose hearts are honest and good! You can declare that over yourself today, “I have a heart that is honest and good, and I am good soil that bears fruit!”
Mark 4:14-17
The sower sows the Word…These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the Word’s sake, immediately they stumble.
The Word of God is the seed; our hearts are the soil.
It is our choice what kind of soil we are. Our willingness to hear, understand and act on what we have heard will determine what kind of soil we are.
The stony ground soil represents the life that is excited about the Word of God and what He has promised. However, they only endure for a short time because they didn’t allow the Word of God to take root in their hearts. This kind of soil can be deceiving from the outside because they look and sound like the kind of person who believes the Word of God, but actually, they haven’t given the Word of God the proper place in their life.
But that’s not us! We’re the kind of soil that chooses to hear, understand, meditate, speak and act on the promises of God. We’re the soil that understands the value of the Word of God and gives His Word first place in our lives. We’re the kind of soil that holds fast to the Word; we refuse to let it go no matter what life throughs at us because we understand that the only way to experience true victory and freedom is through the Word of God, planted in our hearts, and acted upon in our lives.
Mark 4:13-15
"And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?*The sower sows the Word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the Word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the Word which has been sown in them."
In science class, when researching the impact or effect of an object, two different things were considered when determining the outcome.
The Variable and the Constant.
In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus talks about the seed, which is the Word of God, and the soil, which is our heart.
The seed is the constant, and the soil is the variable. In order for the seed to produce results, the soil had to be in good condition.
It is our choice what kind of soil we want to be.
The first type of soil that Jesus mentions in this parable is the seed sown on the path. This represents a heart that is hard, a heart that refuses to hear and allow the Word of God into their lives to change the way they think. It is a heart that is "set in their ways" and is convinced that there is nothing more that they can learn or understand. A hardened heart is the kind of heart where satan can come and immediately steal the Word.
It is our responsibility to guard our hearts from becoming hard, prideful and closed off to the light of God's Word.
Two things that we can do to ensure we don't become the hardened type of soil,
- Walk in the light that we have; in other words, be a doer of the Word of God.
- Remain humble. Understand that we don't know everything about the Word of God and be open to hearing and seeing things from God's Word. Sometimes, that means letting go of our preconceived ideas and opinions.
The words of an open and humble heart can be found in Psalms 119:18, "Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from Your Law."
As a church family, this is the cry and desire of our hearts that we will see and continue to see wonderful things from the Word of God so that we can live our lives according to what God has said.
For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. 2 Corinthians 1:20
When we face problems and troubles in life, rather than letting those things dictate our beliefs, we choose to believe in the promises of God; that is what brings God glory!
The promises of God are seeds that we can sow when we face circumstances contrary to the life that Jesus bought for us.
When we face trouble in our finances, the promises of God’s provision in His Word are seeds that we can sow.
When we face physical challenges, God’s promise for our healing are seeds we can sow in our lives to receive a harvest of healing.
When we face emotional challenges and hurts, God’s promises of peace and joy are seeds that we can sow to walk in victory over fear, anxiety and depression.
Whatever need we have, there is a promise in God’s Word for the harvest of victory in that situation.
Sowing the seed of God’s Word requires us to meditate on His promises and declare them over our lives. When we focus on God’s promise, not the need, we focus on the answer.
When a farmer sows seed, he’s in expectation of a harvest of that seed. Likewise, when the believer sows seeds of God’s promise, they are in expectation of the harvest of the promises.
I encourage you today, if there is a need in your life, rather than focusing on the need, talking about the need and emphasising the need, focus on reaping the harvest of God’s promises, boldly speak them out and choose to be the one to agree with God when He says, “all the promises of God are YES and in Him amen!
Strong faith is effective faith. It is faith that affects our circumstances causing it to change according to the Word of God. When we sow the Word of God in specific areas of our life, we will reap a harvest of that seed we sowed. There is a promise of God for every situation that we would face in this life. When we meditate and sow those promises into our hearts, we will reap a harvest of those promises coming to pass in our lives.
When we meditate on the promises of healing, we will reap a harvest of healing.
When we meditate on promises of God’s provision, we will reap a harvest of provision.
When we meditate on the God’s promise for peace, we will reap a harvest of peace.
The Word of God is alive and active and ready to produce results for anyone who chooses to believe and act on it!
The Word of God is forever settled in heaven, God’s Word never fails, fades or flails, and God’s Word is alive and active.
The Word of God is a sure thing, no matter what comes our way in life, the Word of God is still the same and His promises are still true. We are a church that chooses to believe and act on God’s Word and we see His promises manifest in our lives!
We know from the Word of God that the seed that Jesus is talking about in the parable of the sower is the Word of God.
God's words are life; they bring healing, provision, and light to any situation. In order for the Word of God to produce in our lives, the condition of the soil (our hearts) needs to be open and ready to receive and believe His Words.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”
God is seeking a heart who will believe and hold fast to His Word. That’s when the power of His Word can manifest, and He can show Himself strong in their life.
Hebrews 4:12 says that “the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
The power in God’s Word is ready to bring life and overcome any trial we may go through in this life! Let’s be a church whose hearts are quick to believe God’s Word, confess God’s Word, and act on God’s Word. As we do, we know that He will see to it that we walk through every situation victoriously!
We continue our new series on the parable of the sower. There will be times in our lives when we need to change the way we think according to what God values so that we know what is truly valuable in this life. Our hearts are the soil in which God is able to plant His purpose into our hearts, but it is up to us if we open our hearts to hear, believe and receive what God sees in us.
Let’s be the soil that is quick to believe what God says about us!
It’s vital for us to understand that our life is significant to God and that He has invested into us because we are His workmanship to do good things that He has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). We get to choose what kind of soil we want to be. Let’s choose to be that good soil that produces fruit for the Kingdom of God!