Citicoast Church's Podcast: Recent Episodes
Citicoast Church
Ps Joey presents us with a serious discussion of being committed. If we are called, and we choose to accept the call, then we need to be committed. She wisely presents a number of reasons why we might not be committed and also how we might lose our commitment. Today's message itself needs our commitment.
Ps Adam relates a situation from his school days but it could relate to any season or any area of life. We need acceptance, we need approval, and we need to know that we have worth. No matter if you feel inadequate or not, there is a critical place for you to occupy and for all of us. Listen and let Ps Adam make this clear to you and how to find your place. You are Called!
Ps Adam begins with an anecdote of how he once found himself up on a mountain overlooking a valley and he called out quite loudly. The echoes came back! Quickly heading over to the Scriptures he shows us how God has a Call for each of us, one that creates echoes. Ps Adam leads on with that to give us confidence that it is not about who we are but who God is in order to be able to hear that call and be successful. This is for every Christian! Be encouraged today to listen to Ps Adam and also to listen to God who has Called you.
Ps Gary Hourigan visits us today with a powerful message about Life Giving Springs. What are they? Where do we find them? Who can drink from them? What should we do after that? Not to worry! Ps Gary Hourigan answers these questions using Scriptures and encouraging us to come and drink. He gives 3 points and elaborates on them so that we can fully understand and desire these Life-Giving Springs.
Jono begins by telling some testimonies of various times in his life where, even though he had earlier tasted and seen that the Lord is good, there are various things that could go wrong with that and build up walls that separate you from God. He matches his own testimonies with scriptural situations and also supplies us with a way of tearing down those walls. (And what's that about ice cream?)
Ps Joey presents us with a list of the amazing characteristics of the humble palm tree. She then leads into five points comparing the attributes of the palm tree with how God desires us to be, as written in His Word. Stay with us on this one because you will surely want to be a Palm Tree Christian after listening!
Today we continue with our series on Taste and See (that the Lord is good). Ps Joey asks three volunteers in the congregation up on stage to be an interview panel. These three people did taste and they saw that God is good. Be greatly encouraged by the personal testimonies of God's blessings in the lives of three ordinary people.
Continuing directly from last week, Ps Adam reminds us we are the salt and the light for the world!
Continuing directly from last week, Ps Adam reminds us we are the salt and the light for the world! He points out that we can be full of confidence but, as we step out from our homes and into the world, it can dissipate and we lose it. Today he uses the power of the Word to show us several steps as to how we can keep our confidence and truly be the salt and shine the light! Be empowered.
What a Title! Ps Adam explains this mysterious message Title using Scriptures. As you might have already suspected, we are the salt and the light! Is this how people see us when they meet us? Ps Adam gives many tips as to how, by encountering God, we can grow into showing that salt and light.
Our guest speaker today is Ps Mark Ramsay, Senior Pastor of Citicoast Church, Brisbane. He reminds us that, as both Christians and churches, we are all Born for More! Today he shows us how to reach out and grasp that More. This is an exciting and encouraging message, supported by Scriptures, so that we can grow in our lives.
Ps Josh opens with a personal testimony that could have ended in disaster and which clearly explains what is behind the Title of today's message. We all have a goal ahead of us but it's so easy to get distracted and take our eyes off the view ahead. So we go somewhere else! Josh uses the Scriptures to get us back on the right path. Whether you are a Christian already or not this is valuable advice for all of our lives.
Ps Adam opens with an amusing anecdote from when he was 14 years old which clearly explains our Title today. We could all end up with a pocket full of sand! He continues with the theme of being responsible with our finances and leaving both a spiritual legacy and a material legacy to our children as well as to the community at large. Be enriched by the scriptures that support Ps Adam's exciting message today.
Ps Adam opens with an amusing anecdote from when he was 14 years old which clearly explains our Title today. We could all end up with a pocket full of sand! He continues with the theme of being responsible with our finances and leaving both a spiritual legacy and a material legacy to our children as well as to the community at large. Be enriched by the scriptures that support Ps Adam's exciting message today.
None of us can go through life without some bad news. How do we feel about being the bearer of bad news? Probably not very comfortable. Ps Adam leads us through this quandary by using the example of Jeremiah. He had to deliver bad news to Kings but he was APPOINTED AND UNAFRAID. Listen to how Ps Adam leads us through to knowing that we are APPOINTED and to becoming UNAFRAID. He ends up with encouraging us to offer some Good News as well.
I feel sure that you would have heard that our life as Christians is a journey. Every kind of journey has its ups and downs. The apostle Paul tells us that it is also a race:
Hebrews 12:1: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us"
After a personal testimony related to this topic, Ps Adam reads that Scripture out to us and then elaborates on it. He then gives us three keys to running our race well:
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Don't Run Alone
He advises us to look to the experience of those that have run before us and mentions several Bible heroes as well as recent heroes who ran good races for God. He also advises us to look for encouragement from those running beside us, running together and helping one another. Also, we should look to inspire those who will run later, after us. -
Run Light
He gives us an example of how burdened down with their equipment police are when chasing a fugitive who has light clothing and shoes on! We can also be burdened down with many aspects of our lives and they can prevent us from running our race successfully. Don't miss this part because we are all guilty and need to change. -
Run Like Jesus
Jesus had his own race to run, as we all do. His race was quite different from ours but He ran it successfully. How did he do that? This is a critical part of Ps Adam's message today.
Ps Adam also tells us that we have someone to coach us and how to get our running performed successfully. Who might that be?
This is Ps Joey's first opportunity to minister the weekly message to Citicoast church ..... And to you.
Her aim is to lift our spirits. For some people, recent years may have been a delight and a victory in their lives making them very happy. For others, it may have been a testing time, especially in 2022. Perhaps it has not been great at all. Our topic today, Hopefully, does not have the normal meaning of the word. It perhaps could be re-phrased as 'Hope Fully'. This is what Ps Joey hopes you can achieve today - FULL hope.
She reads Scriptures of how Jesus transformed situations in family, business, and various aspects of life. She teaches us how to position ourselves to receive such blessings. After thoroughly drawing us in with this introduction she describes three different kinds of hope that we might be living by:
- Wishful Hope
- Expectant Hope
- Certain Hope
She goes into each of these in detail, clearly explaining how they operate in our lives and also showing Scriptures as to how we can live fully in hope.
"So, Ps Joey, how are we all supposed to live hopefully?" It is she who asked that question on our behalves. She gives four points to show us how to live hopefully. We are not alone. Jesus understands us and knows how to help us. He wants us to be helped. And he sends faithful servants like Ps Joey to explain that to us all. Don't miss out on this message as we all need it.
Today Ps Adam and Joey Ryan were established as Citicoast's new Senior Pastors. The ceremony was led by Ps Gary Hourigan under the oversight of the INC (International Network of Churches) National Secretary, Ps Ross Abraham. It was an exciting moment for all of us at Citicoast. (This was not recorded for the podcast).
Our message today comes from Ps Ross Abraham.
Ps Ross opened by prophesying over Ps Adam and Joey and then commended them for taking such a courageous journey. He gave an interesting quote by Dr Seuss - its wisdom and encouragement may well have come from the Bible! He then gave a number of illustrations from the Bible of those who took an adventurous step into a new era of their lives, sometimes not even knowing where they were going. He relates these stories, not only for Ps Adam and Joey but for all of us.
It's all about Open Doors. A door into a new era of life had been opened and those of God have had the courage to step forward and enter it. Ps Ross also relates how sometimes we wait around for a door to be opened and we have missed our opportunities. Sometimes God wants us to take a step forward into some kind of vision or passion that we have had in our lives and then He would open the door because of our faith.
Do you think your life is getting stale and no doors are opening for you? Today's message is for you. Is it that every door you thought was open has been slammed shut and you are now disappointed and discouraged? This message is for you. If you believe you have the faith to step forward and you believe that you know what God wants but the actions of life cause you to be confused, unsure, and hesitant then this message is for you.
Stick around for the prayers made to the congregation, and therefore to you, the listener, at the end of the message. Be blessed.
Ps Adam begins with some aspects of his childhood and his love of animals. One illustration was about a goat, a chain, and a circle in the sand which was the furthest that the kids could run. Adam and his friend would run into the circle as close as they could possibly get to the goat and then take steps to strive to the circle in the sand where they were safe, successful, and complete in their ambition - to outrun the goat.
He then expands this to his adult life, commencing when his father died and he had to become the head of the household. He found that he was always drawing circles in the sand that he strived to get to so that he could feel successful. If he couldn't make his mother happy or his sisters happy then he had not reached the safe edge of the circle, the success, the achievement, and he had failed. He then expands this to how all of us draw circles in the sand with ourselves inside of them. If we reach the edge of the circle we have achieved something. We have succeeded. We have become complete.
Ps Adam discovered that all these circles of achievement and the steps required to get to the edge put a huge weight on his shoulders, accompanied by much stress and effort. It is not worth living like that! Do any of you relate to that way of living? Would you like to find a better way?
Ps Adam does not leave us without answers. He uses the Scriptures to show us that we have a path with Jesus in which we don't have to strive with stress and strain. He describes a number of circles we are likely to be creating for ourselves and how, with Jesus, they become irrelevant.
He prays for two groups of us at the end. I would think that we all belong to one or both groups. Please stay until the end and allow Ps Adam's prayers to be for you also.
Today's message is what we all need to best manage our day-to-day lives.
Hebrews 12:1 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles."
Ps Hugh suggests that, as Christians are full of the Holy Spirit, we should refuse to be ordinary. God is not ordinary Jesus is not ordinary, the Holy Spirit is not ordinary and He lives within us. We have Full power of the Spirit in us. He goes on to mention that there's a war between the spirit and our flesh nature which is always trying to prevent us from doing what we really want to do.
Galatians 5:16-18 - "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."
And there it is, the key to our day-to-day walk in all areas of our lives. But how do we do that? Don't worry as Ps Hugh gives us heaps of assistance in that today. He also gives us much encouragement by looking at some of the Bible heroes and how, by receiving visions, they were led by the Holy Spirit: Abraham, Isaac, Simeon, Paul ..... And not forgetting Lester and Jeanette. "But they are not in the Bible!" Nope! Our God gives us 'ordinary' people visions as well. Patience is required! Many of those people waited decades before the vision was fulfilled. And that includes the testimonies of Lester and Jeanette today.
Be encouraged. The Holy Spirit can give you visions to lead you into what God wants you to do. Amen.
Coming home from where to where? Coming home from being a person who is not functioning fully as you were created to be, into being safely into the person that you were created to be. Ps Danny remarks to the present congregation that it is not an accident that they are there today. That includes you who are now going to listen to this podcast. It is not an accident you intend to listen to this today. You are supposed to.
Ps Danny points out that we are all connected to a purpose for our lives and we will be functioning best, happier, and more in peace if we are working out that purpose. The Bible shows us that God knew us before we were born. We are all created as individuals, designed with a purpose that needs to be fulfilled. Whether would we have realised it or not, we are also created with eternity in our hearts. Until we locate that purpose and reach out to that eternity we cannot be properly fulfilled.
Ps Danny quotes scriptures that show us that the way that God created us to walk is a straight way and we can follow that. There are many Scriptures used today to show God created us, planned for us to be the way we are (or are supposed to be), and that He will be with us on every step of the journey.
Where are you now? Did you use to be in a better place with the Lord? You can come back home to Him. Have you never known Jesus yet and you realise you need to come home to the place that He has created for you? Ps Danny confesses that some of this applies to him. If it applies to you in any way whatsoever, to any extent, then this message today will help you Come Home and show you how to walk the Straight Way that God has prepared for your whole life. This is for your own blessing and the blessing of all those around you. The Bible shows that we can then celebrate!
Today was a very exciting day for Citicoast Church. For various reasons, we have been without a full-time pastor for nearly 2.5 years. Commencing at the beginning of 2022, Ps Gary and Ps Terri Hourigan have done a marvellous job looking after us, sacrificing much in their normal lives. Today we welcome our new full-time pastors, Adam and Joey Ryan. Adam will be presenting his first message here.
Ps Adam is passionate about families, husbands, wives, and kids. He begins his message by relating some of his home life and discussing his favourite places, especially his dad's shed. One of the highlights of his adventures was visiting his grandmother's house. It is there that he acquired a full appreciation of families. Ps Adam assured us that he wanted Citicoast Church could be like that.
He relays three important aspects of a family home by comparing it with a house: a Solid Foundation, Sturdy Walls (requiring an excellent cornerstone), and a Reliable Roof. He appropriately relates several scriptures to all of these so that we can build our house into a home and be sure that it will be the best it can be.
As you might imagine, this mostly relates to Jesus and having Him as a major focus of our family lives. If you don't know Jesus yet, then stay tuned to the end because Ps Adam prays for all those people who don't know Jesus to come and join the House of God and make a wonderful home with him.
(Apologies to all those who tried to listen to this earlier. There was a fault in the podcast file. It's fixed now.)
Ps Danny opens with a cheery greeting and declares how good it is to be able to assemble as the body of Christ, united with one another. Then he asks, "What about when you're by yourself?". He goes on to tell us that Change is going to happen. It's inevitable and nothing can stop it. He says that such Change, whether positive or negative, is used by God and has a purpose for us. God wants to see that purpose fulfilled. He used an analogy of a tree going from autumn to winter. It surely looks dead, just as we might feel in our downtimes. However, we know that there is life in that tree and that is the same with us.
We all live as that tree does, in seasons. Danny remarks that sometimes those seasons suck! I wonder if we can all identify with that. What about you? Using numerous Scriptures Danny shows how God, as with a tree, sees the inside and the heart which doesn't always match the outside. Those seasons, good or bad, are required for God's purpose to be fulfilled.
The good seasons are easy to sail through and the bad seasons are those in which we feel like we're drowning. It doesn't have to be that way. You can learn how by listening to this message and learn how to trust God in all seasons. And how to trust Jesus throughout all seasons. God can minister to us when we are down. The Scriptures tell us that.
"What is the plan and purpose that God has for you?", Ps Danny asks. He also asked, "What does freedom feel like?" Listen now for the answers to all these questions, acquire hope for the future, and how to grasp and fulfil the plans and purposes that God has for you.
Ps Terri begins with some really good news for Citicoast Church. Please listen and rejoice along with us (it's short).
She then relates to us the story of King David returning to Ziklag only to find it burned to the ground. all their wives and children had been captured and taken away. David's troops are furious and wanted to kill him. How did it come to this?
Ps Terri tells us that when David was being persecuted and betrayed instead of looking to God to rely on him he had taken refuge with the Philistines, Israel's enemies. This is a lesson for all of us. Have you ever felt persecuted, betrayed by your family, friends, workmates? Has there been nowhere to turn to? Have you turned to the world at large or the people in it? That's what David did. He should have taken his refuge in God.
David repented and turned to God. God then blessed him and gave him and his army the strength to go and rescue their wives and children. That's our lesson for today. How can we be victorious without God? Where do we get any strength without God? Using many Scriptures Ps Terri shows us how we can get strength in God and be victorious. We all need this so be blessed.
P.S. What's that about eagles and crows?
Ps Danny begins by reading Matthew 6:10 - "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". For God's will to be done here we might wonder how it was done in heaven. Ps Danny explains a lot about that but, notably, that heaven came to earth when Jesus arrived here. While here He made a way where there was no way, he made things different from how they were before.
Ps Danny reads several scriptures to point out to us what Jesus' purpose was here, such as bringing peace and much more. The Bible tells us that we have Christ in us so our purpose here is to be Jesus to the world - not by duty but by love. He also reminds us that, throughout our lives, people would have said something nice to us or done something nice to us or for us. Now, it is our turn to ensure that, by everything of Jesus that is within us, we will do the same.
The brief summary above only touches on this message from Ps Danny today. There are many other scriptures, each of which is chosen to show us what our purpose here is and how to do that without fear or trembling. He shows us how we can be strengthened and encouraged. All so that we can be Sent.
If you don't know Jesus yet then stay to the end because Ps Danny will be specifically praying for you. He finishes off by praying for all of us don't miss that, either.
Ps Danny begins by reading Matthew 6:10 - "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". For God's will to be done here we might wonder how it was done in heaven. Ps Danny explains a lot about that but, notably, that heaven came to earth when Jesus arrived here. While here He made away where there was no way, He made things different from what they were before.
Ps Danny reads several scriptures to point out to us what Jesus' purpose was here such as bringing peace and much more. The Bible tells us that we have Christ in us so our purpose here is to be Jesus to the world - not by duty but by love. He also reminds us that, throughout our lives, people would have said something nice to us or done something nice to us or for us. Now, it is our turn to ensure that, by everything of Jesus that is within us, we will do the same.
The brief summary above only touches on this message from Ps Danny today. There are many other scriptures, each of which is chosen to show us what our purpose here is and how to do that without fear or trembling. He shows us how we could be strengthened and encouraged. All so that we can be Sent.
If you don't know Jesus yet then stay to the end because Ps Danny will be specifically praying for you. He finishes off by praying for all of us don't miss that, either.
Ps Hugh is a high-level consultant in IT. Today he begins by relating how he would often be Sent by his company to customer companies to work on their computer systems. Sometimes the environment there was absolutely horrible and he pedantically did his job and exited as quickly as possible. Other times the environment was very friendly and welcoming and he enjoyed staying there as long as he needed to. It pointed out that being Sent to preach the gospel is similar.
He also points out that if we just want to 'score' the highest number of people saved in a year, or some other egotistical aspect, then we are wasting our time. It is our Attitude that counts. Where do we get that good attitude from? It needs to come naturally from who we are, not what we do. And also from love.
Ps Hugh shows us that God provides all the resources we need to be successful at being Sent. He gives us several Scriptures to back that up. Isaiah said to God, "Send me". We can trust God to be there wherever we go and should not be uncomfortable about asking Him to "Send me".
Stay to the end because, apart from giving this some in-depth advice on all of the above, Ps Hugh gives us some advice on how to prepare ourselves personally in order to be Sent.
Ps Gary reads from John 20:21 .....
"Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
This will be the underlying theme for this whole new series, Sent. Ps Gary said that he believes God wants us to open our eyes and revealed to us a whole city that has come to Jesus. Imagine that! He points out that all four gospels have a 'sending' in them. He points out that we now live in a season for such a sending. Everywhere, far too many people have lost hope and downtrodden, unhappy and miserable. It is important that what we've received we need to give to other people.
Ps Gary, realising that many of us might feel that we are not up to this sending, says that we should not feel condemned but embrace the heart of the Father. He elaborates on us receiving the Power of the Holy Spirit and not trying to rely on our own weaknesses. This is very encouraging. Be encouraged.
He also wisely points out that it is not our job to change anyone but to set them free. As born-again Christians, we have been anointed for this. Today, Ps Gary was on fire, passionate. He lets us know that he is not trying to stir us up into a frenzy but to give us peace.
He reads from Isaiah 61:1, expanding it line by line - "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." This is our duty.
Listen and be encouraged, equipped, empowered, and set free to witness Jesus to the world. Don't forget to listen through to the end for a great prayer and blessing from Ps Gary.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY. When I was a kid there was an ice cream called a Triple Treat. Today you have a triple treat but it's much better than an ice cream. Isaac Sippel, Assistant Youth Leader, was on duty today for our Transition (announcements, tithes and offerings, communion, and so on, following the praise and worship). He also transitioned into inviting up to the stage Ps Ken Riddell, retired Citicoast pastor but not retired from serving in the church with several ministries.
Isaac interviewed Ps Ken about being a father. Some of the questions related to what keys there were to Ps Ken's success in being a father. He had four sons and one daughter so he obviously has had plenty of practice. Of course, he had a wife and mother who had a huge input into all that. Of note for any listeners is that Ps Ken did not become a Christian until he was about 40 so we get a look at what it was like to be a non-Christian father to his children compared to being a Christian father. All would be useful for any fathers listening or any men who may want to be fathers one day. This was a most interesting and useful part of our messages today.
Next up Isaac introduced us to our Youth Pastor, Ben Revell. He begins by discussing an incident that occurred when he was four years old - he faced death but his father rescued him. Of course, there's the comparison with our heavenly Father rescuing us. Ben proceeded with numerous aspects of being a father and, notably, the experience he had while being a Youth Leader to numerous children over some decades. That included fatherless children so they are not being left out in this message.
He discusses the Role of Fathers and you can hear what he considers the main ones are. You might be a male who is not past teenage or young manhood and single but you may also be a father one day and this will be advice for you. He relates the results of a survey where there was a series of questions and 9 out of 10 fathers did not know the answers to any of those questions. This is critical listening to all fathers who want to be successful. You don't want to be one of those 9!
He ends by relating how God is our Heavenly Father and details what that actually means and how wonderful it is. He ends up with a prayer for all of us and that means for all of you listeners out there as well. Be blessed.
After greeting us and telling us what he was going to preach about, Ps Hugh relates to us a chat with his wife, Ps Jeannette, this morning. She said this: "If you want a relationship with someone you have to talk to them." Prayer! Ps Hugh then suggests that, if he asked us all what prayer was then he would get completely different answers across the congregation. He then relates some of the different ways we might pray and points out that none of them is right or wrong as long as we are talking to God. He then begins to look at the Lord's Prayer. But this is a different look at it, one you have most likely never heard before.
Line by line, Ps Hugh goes through the Lord's Prayer, dissecting its meaning and its deeper meaning in a spiritual sense. This can guide us to thank God for who He is, thank Him for what he has done for us, and how we should behave. Ps Hugh's prayer method is just an example of how he does it and we can elaborate on it any way we like.
"Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name " - This is our heavenly Father and Ps Hugh describes the depths of meanings in this. This includes the Names of God as listed in the Bible and what they can mean to us. For each of these names, we can thank the Lord as we pray.
"Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven " - God's will, not ours. Ps Hugh informs us that begins with ourselves, not 'them' 'out there'.
"Give us this day our daily bread" - We are used to taking that literally but it also relates to spiritual things as well.
"Forgive us our sins as we forgive others" - The key to peace with this is not to hold grudges but to forgive others who have wronged us.
"Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one" - God never tempts us but the evil one, Satan, will do his best to turn us off the righteous path that God has allowed us to walk.
"For Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen" - All this is forever!
Obviously, that is a short summary of what Ps Hugh describes. It is rich with explanation, clarity and a guide for us with our praying. He ends with prayer for us all.
After greeting us Ps Gary reads from Romans 14:7 - "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". Jesus also tells us from John 15:11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full".
But what do we do when trials, troubles, and tribulations overwhelm us, cause us anxiety, rob us of our peace, and we attempt to be joyful? Not easy, is it? What is the root of joy? It's not supposed to be only for the good parts of life but, in the difficult parts, it's hard to be joyful. Today Ps Gary shows us the pathway to joy, the keys to living a life of joy. And that is independent of circumstances!
Using numerous Scriptures, Ps Gary focuses on being thankful. Using mostly the words of Jesus and other New Testament speakers, he even goes back to The Fall in Genesis. This is an important message for all of us today. We can find ourselves in dire circumstances where there is nothing positive that we can see with our natural minds. Listen and find how you can retain your joy and achieve peace in such circumstances.
And don't forget that the prayer at the end of the message is not just for those attending church today but for you, the listener, as well.
P.S. Don't miss Ps Gary's personal testimony of how he wrestled with his car problems for about two hours, completely losing his peace and finding nothing joyful about the whole exercise. and then he discovered the pathway to joy! Of course, he wished he had that two hours beforehand!
Ready & Equipped for what? Well, basically, anything that life throws at us! Ps Danny begins with some fascinating statistics about the Bible. For example, the middle chapter of the whole Bible is Psalm 118. Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter. Psalm 119 is the longest. And what about the verses? There are 31,102 verses and each of them is something important from God to us. After discussing these and several other statistics of the Bible he remarks that he could not possibly have done all that counting and is grateful that someone else did it for us. That person must have had great discipline, dedication, and devotion to the job. (Is that a challenge for us?)
He continues by using an illustration of a fanatic bodybuilder. That person must also have had great discipline, dedication, and devotion to the job. How do we know that? We can just take one look and we can see for ourselves! And our hope is, our challenge is, that people we encounter could just take one look at us and see how disciplined, dedicated, and devoted to God we are. He says that we need to reflect Christ in us. The bodybuilder had a vision. We need a vision. We need to be able to confront anything that stands in our way. That way needs to be our walk in the spirit with God. He doesn't want to push us to walk but to walk with Him. How can we do that? Ps Danny shows us how .....
Ps Danny begins the main body of today's message with Deuteronomy 8:3 and how we are advised to build our whole lives on what that says. It's about knowing the Bible, the Scriptures, the Word of God. This is a powerful message indeed and so many people are missing out on the fullness of life by just reading the Word of the Day on their phones instead of studying the Bible, preferably with a real, paper book - in that way, there is nothing else to get in our way and to distract our concentration. In order to be successful in life, the life that God wants us to live, the individual path that He wants us to walk, we need to have the word etched in our hearts and that requires us to read the word, know it, understand it, and see the glory in it. With committed, passionate study of the Scriptures we can work out the hope that is before us.
Of course, we need the power of the Holy Spirit and our relationship with Jesus to be able to fulfil today's challenge (keep in mind that this challenge is for each of our own individual benefits). At the end of the message, Ps Danny prays for us all and that means also for you, the listener. Be blessed!
Ps Marcus Ahern currently lives in Cairns, Australia, and has been an itinerant Bible Teacher for over forty years both in Australia and overseas. Wherever he has been he has always encouraged the local church to flourish where they are and contribute to their local church outreach and work. Today, after much prayer, he begins with a prophecy to Citicoast church and to Bundaberg overall. He tells us that there will be much change and, with change, some new things come but some old things are lost and stay lost. He encourages us to trust God in that and accept change in good grace.
He then proceeds to discuss any desires that we might have. He warns us that if those desires come out of our own hearts then we might not achieve them. However, if God has spoken them then they will come to pass no matter what. God's way is always best. He refers to 2 Samuel 23:5 .....
“If my house were not right with God, surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant,
arranged and secured in every part; surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire."
These words provide the whole basis for the rest of the message but many other Scriptures are also used as Ps Marcus details what God can, and will, do for us. He reinforces the fact that God's covenants are everlasting, eternal. He will not break them and they must come to pass. This is not just for the writer of that Scripture but it's for us.
There is much more! From this message today we can gain more confidence in God and who He says He is and How he will act. He brings order, not chaos. How He acts will not be disorganised and random. If our desires come from God we can trust that our desires will be secured and have peace while looking towards them being fulfilled.
Don't miss out on the details so that you will gain more faith and trust in our Father God.
If have listened to enough preaching messages you would likely have heard the expression, "It's not all about you!" There are plenty of Scriptures that confirm that. However, today's message IS all about you. Ps Terri wants to remind YOU - all of us - that God wants to do something to touch our personal world. Due to the trials and tribulations that we all face, as well as the focus on our jobs and our families, we can tend to lose focus on God. God understands that. He's got you! He wants to exchange fear for peace.
Ps Terri reads through Mark 6:45-52. The disciples were terrified. Jesus came to them because he wanted them to be at ease and relearn to trust Him again. Relearn? Well, the disciples had spent many years watching Jesus perform all kinds of miracles. Then came a terrible storm and they became terrified and they forgot about what Jesus wanted to do for them (and do for us).
That still applies to YOU today (and me, and all of us). There are so many challenges in today's world that can cause us stress and we start to lose focus on God and what He can do and what He wants to do for us right now, personally. And tomorrow! Psalm 120:1 - "I call on the Lord in my distress, and He answers me."
Have you been feeling a disconnection with God in recent times? Have you found yourself managing the things of your life and giving them priority over your relationship with God? Have you forgotten that God can do miracles? Has your former faith become a little bit weaker, as if in a mist?
This message is for me today, for all of us, it is for YOU. God wants to intervene in your personal life, and your personal situations, and He wants to do many things for you personally. Listen to Ps Terri Hourigan as she makes things more clear than we would have thought and shows us how to look to tomorrow when the past becomes too vague
This series on HardCore is for us all to go deeper and become stronger in the things of God so that this will radiate out more powerfully wherever we go. Some of these topics will be harder to understand but well explained. Some of these topics will be expanded from what you already know. You are welcome to join us .....
Today we have Ps Josh and Kristyn Usher from Noosa Church visiting us. Ps Josh is the senior pastor there. He is also the Chairman of the INC Operations Board. Today he is assisting us in going HardCore with Hope.
Where does Hope live? Ps Josh mentions 2 places. From there he develops an inner journey beginning with faith. He gives us born-again Christians some credit in that we have plenty of faith but it is likely that we, for various reasons, start to lose hope. He suggests that hope is lost because of outside touches on ourselves. He reminds us that Christ in us is the Hope of the world. Where does Hope reside? He goes in-depth with Revelation 21:1-7. There are many parts to this and he discusses each part. One part is that we are going to have a new heaven and earth and no more sea. He points out that the sea represents separation. Currently, we have to go to the Father through Jesus so, here on earth, there is that separation. With the new heaven and earth, we will be able to go to the father directly.
There are many times in our lives when we might be in the wilderness for a while and Ps Josh explains how good can come out of that. Where is our hope? What is our hope for?
Keep listening! There's plenty of gold still coming with some recommendations and advice that Ps Josh gives us so that we can focus our hope in the right place. This is how we can truly live as a Christian on earth before that new heaven and new earth comes to pass. If you have just been listening then you will surely want to get out a pen and paper to record these last aspects of advice that we should practice.
Ps Hugh begins by reminding us of what Ps Garry did last week. He had hypothetically split the congregation into 2 parts: super sinners (hard-core prostitutes, murderers, thieves, and more) and the super religious (Pharisees, Sadducees, lawyers, scribes, and more). This week Ps Hugh is focussing on that second, legalistic, self-righteous, group.
The Pharisees spent their lives trying to follow the 631 laws that Moses left them with. On top of that, they were also trying to follow around 1500 regulations that they invented to stop themselves from breaking the 631 Mosaic laws! They were trying to find God but they could never be at peace. Ps Hugh let us know exactly what happened to their lives by following those desires. We can fall into that same trap.
Jesus spoke to both groups with basically the same message and that message is made much clearer here. The Pharisees could never find peace but we can find it very easily. They were trying to find God and Jesus tried to help them. Finding God is far easier than most people imagine and Ps Hugh shows us how to do that.
P.S. If you have ever wondered what the difference was between the Pharisees and the Sadducees then Ps Hugh explains that clearly in today's message and also gives us a memory trigger to remember it.
P.P.S. He also shows us exactly how we could go down the same road as the Pharisees by actually becoming like them. He has earlier described how the Pharisees are guilty of that. Then he tells a very clever joke with the ending clearly showing us how we, as Christians, need to live in our day-to-day lives. Don't miss it!
After addressing the congregation, Ps Gary tells us that there are some Scriptures that are confronting, confusing, and challenging. For example, he reminds us that Jesus said that we should do all that He commanded. Ps Gary says that there is some of that that he has a lot of trouble with. The HardCore Scriptures! I'm sure I do as well! You? Next, he mentions Luke 15:1-2:
"Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”"
There are clearly 2 groups here: Those who knew the Law and what was right and wrong and were doing their best to keep it. And then there were the sinners: Tax collectors, prostitutes, possibly murderers, drug addicts and all kinds. Jesus always attracted both of these kinds of people.
Next, Ps Gary pointed to the congregation and with his left hand divided that half (we all still sat in our seats) and said that they had to take the role of the sinners and really believe that they were as bad as all those things listed above and more. With his right hand, he divided the other half of the congregation and told them that they were the Pharisees, tax collectors, scribes and similar. The Right and the Left!
The group on his Right-hand side knew something ..... It was impossible to keep all the laws and they were all doomed. Why was that? Moses gave around 630 of the laws that were supposed to be kept. In fear of being damned, the Pharisees over time produced about 1300 regulations that had to be followed so that they would not commit sin against Moses' laws. Phew! There were around 2100 laws and regulations altogether. Who could manage all that? Nobody!
Luke 15 contains the classic story of The Prodigal Son. But today it is with a difference. They had big families back in those days and the farmer probably had more than two sons but he chose just two. Ps Gary pointed out that these 2 represent the 2 kinds of listeners that Jesus was talking to. For us today, it was the right-hand side of the congregation on the left-hand side of the congregation and we were both supposed to be mentally living out what we represented. Both sides were doomed by sin and the inability to keep the law!
It appears that there is no way out! But there is. The sinner in the story is obvious to recognise - he took a share of the inheritance and blew it all in the city. The second son represents the Pharisees. He stayed back and faithfully obeyed everything his father told him. He was loyal, faithful, committed, and obedient. He was trying to do all the right things ..... but in the wrong manner.
Interestingly, both sides were in sin but both can be redeemed by the blood of Jesus. There is a way back. And that's just a summary of the depth that is offered to us listeners today.
Are you a sinner as described above, even if it is just about 'tiny' sins and not those 'big' ones? Are you a Pharisee that does everything right but it still seems unfair when things go wrong in your life? Ps Gary leads us all in a prayer that brings us to Jesus and eternal life at the end of this message.
Small Things? What small things? Well, Ps Lance will surely answer that for you.
Zechariah 4:10 - “Who dares despise the day of small things"
Which days that? Well, as you will hear from Ps Lance, every day!
Ps Lance begins by discussing the dilemma of "If Only". It often goes like this: "if only I had done this then .....". it also applies to if you had not done something then ..... It's about regrets. He believes that everybody listening would probably have some If Only times in their life. He gives some examples in his own life. Sometimes neglecting a small thing can cause a big problem in some regrets.
With several Scriptures, relating to this topic he points out that we underestimate the power of small daily habits - the small things that we do from day to day that we think are inconsequential but, if we don't do them, there can be some strong repercussions. Perhaps some of the examples he gives will directly relate to you. It's about discipline and restraint.
We probably all need this as it is so easy to slip out of our routines and not bother. What are now future life would be missing out on if we do that? One of the main things is to postpone getting to know Jesus and handing our lives over to him. If we resist that now then what will our lives be like in a year, 10 years, 50 years? Ps Lance will be praying for all listeners to hand their lives over to Jesus and follow Him. It might seem like a simple and small thing but it is, in fact, a huge, life-saving moment. This prayer is for all of us.
Ps Hugh begins by relating the story of his teenagers. Within just a few weeks they would certainly grow in height - a Growth Spurt! And that could happen to us as Christians. We can listen to the preaching message each week at church and, suddenly, a certain Scripture seems to go deep within us and we are inspired and have a spiritual Growth Spurt.
Ps Hugh spends most of the rest of the time of this message in pointing out that we have gained some inspiration which has given us a Growth Spurt but what is our response to that? What we will do with that? Information - knowledge - is not enough. He has known a number of qualified Bible experts who are full of such knowledge but inside they are dead. He asks us to consider that we have gained an exciting inspiration from the Scriptures but where will we be in 5 years' time?
He advises us that, after being inspired by the message at church each week, it would be good for us to go home and let it digest by meditating on it and allowing it to become part of us in our day-to-day lives. Being realistic, Ps Hugh acknowledges that it's our human nature to indulge in passive resistance. That is, we can go away with much intent but then we don't do anything.
If we, as listeners today, wish to grow in God, then an inspired growth spurt will not be enough unless we do something with it. Ps Hugh gives plenty of real-life examples as well as many Scriptures to show us how we can not just be inspired but put it fully into action in our lives. I know that I need this, how about you?
Stay till the end because, if you don't know Jesus yet, Ps Hugh will be praying for you to get to know Him.
How Deep Are You? The answer to that question is deceptively simple ..... Very deep! What do we have down the bottom of that depth that can stop us from growing in God? Today Ps Gary answers that in depth (no pun intended!). He poses, and also answers, some other questions ..... What evidence of growth is there in our lives? Are we the best that we can be? Are we really who God created us to be? Or are we just somebody who has come to be someone who has been influenced by the world?
Romans 12:1-2 - "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Today's message is critical to our lives as Christians and growing in God. We need to know the depth of ourselves before we are going to know the depth of God and we need Him to enable us to know both the depths of ourselves and His depth. Becoming a born-again Christian is just the start, not the end. We begin a new life. God has created us all with their own individual fingerprint and we need to leave an imprint of that throughout our life. We fall into the trap of wanting to have somebody else's fingerprint.
As usual, that's just a short summary and the message itself goes much deeper than the above. A must-listen section is towards the end where Ps Gary uses the life of the apostle Peter to show how God started to reveal his depth to him and it wasn't always pretty. Peter was transformed and we can be, too. The whole message is a must-listen!
If you don't know Jesus yet, not to worry, as Ps Gary will pray for you at the end of this message and you can start your new journey into growth in God.
There is already a mystery here ..... Farmers plant many seeds and watch them grow (the topic of our new series). But to plant just one seed? Or is it really more? Let's all check that out .....
Ps Danny begins with a short reference to his own journey of growth. He reminds us that everybody's journey is personal but it can still be shared with others. After welcoming everybody both in the congregation and viewing the online live video presentation he points out that we are all fellowshipping with one another and that fellowship encourages growth. We all need people leading and guiding us in our lives. He elaborates further on this later.
He then discusses the birth of his children and watching them grow through their milestones of childhood. Of course, he relates this to our growth as Christians. He and Ps Kristina needed to train their children into having good habits. Do we Christians need that as well? Of course, we do!
He continues on with Psalm 92:12-14 and notes that we need to be planted in the House of God! Who will be able to qualify for that planting? Keep listening so that you don't miss out.
Continuing on with the comparison of agricultural seeds and growth with our own growth as Christians, Ps Danny points out that the early growth takes place underground and is not yet seen. It needs to build great, strong roots before we start to see anything. And will anyone see that in us later?
And that's just a summary! There is so much more to our growth as Christians and the seed that God has planted in each of us. That is a very special seed, indeed, and Ps Danny describes that well in this message. Don't miss out on all this if you are a Christian. If you are not yet a Christian, you don't need to miss out either. At the end of the message, Ps Danny prays for all those who do not yet know Jesus as Lord and Saviour in their lives. You might be just listening and not present in our meeting this morning but this can also be for you .....
Today was Pentecost Sunday. Ps Hugh does not allow that to go unnoticed. He refers to Acts chapter 2 and several different verses in that. This was the true beginning of the Christian Church. It is something we all need to know about and seek God to fully become a member of.
Ps Hugh then commences our new series, Growth Spurt. Growing as a Christian is not about working harder to be good. The reason that God sent Jesus to die for our sins is because that never works. It's all about growing in God and this series will assist us a lot in doing that well. We cannot do anything to be saved from sin but, having been born again, God requires us to develop a new lifestyle by growing in it. Again, this is not at all about striving hard to make it all work. If we have the Holy Spirit it will happen naturally over time.
Ps Hugh and starts to talk about the Fruit of the Spirit. He astutely describes the difference between the Fruit of the Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit. This difference is knowledge that we need to acquire as it enables us to be walking in the right direction. He draws some illustrations as to what kinds of people we would like to be connected to. This includes parents, friends, children, workmates, and so on. When you hear what Ps Hugh has to say about this you will want to become that kind of person too.
Ps Hugh then actually starts talking about fruit trees and how he cannot tell the difference between one and another except for ..... Well, listen and you will also be able to tell the difference between fruit trees and will desire to be the right kind of trees. With all this, we are called to live in freedom, not by doing, but by being. He ends with a question for us, "What are you eating? Is it carnal or spiritual?"
God wants us to grow in Him and this Part 1 of our new series is an excellent start in that.
Ps Danny begins with a mention of all the floods and heavy rains we've been having here, especially on the SE coast of QLD and NSW. He mentions that, after the rain, there is Growth. He then gives a quick revision of last week's message from Ps Gary. We've heard a lot about our gifts as individuals and the necessity to use those gifts as part of the whole Body of Christ. This week, Ps Danny encourages to grow in each of those gifts both as individuals and as part of the whole Body of Christ.
He has recently experienced the Lord speaking to him, basically to stop all the busyness and Listen. The voice of God needs to be in our hearts. And grow in them. How do we do that? Ps Danny does not leave us alone to just think about that .....
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Shine - Wherever we go we carry Jesus in us and He is the Light of the World. We need to shine that light everywhere we go. Ps Danny tells us of a number of aspects of that light and how valuable they will be to anyone we encounter.
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Fellowship - He mentions the Scripture that iron sharpens iron. That is, one Christian friend will sharpen the bluntness of the other Christian friend. We need to fellowship to do that. Speaking on the phone is okay but face-to-face is much better. As you might expect, he uses Scriptures to build us up in faith about operating in these aspects.
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Generosity - Most people will think about money when they hear this. Ps Danny takes a different approach and talks about being generous to others with all the gifts we have. And that includes ourselves. This will surely help our gifts grow. This requires honesty and openness from us and that requires courage and that will come from the Holy Spirit.
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The Value of One - The Bible has a number of Scriptures referring to just one item. e.g. one coin, one sheep, and so on. And, especially, The One on the cross. We can't talk with a million but we can all talk with one.
Ps Danny elaborates on all of these 4 points in order to encourage us and have no fear about growing in our gifts, as well as being bold when we are with others.
As he winds up, Ps Danny refers to two biblical instances where Jesus, said, "Come". They both involve Peter being on the sea. Peter had grown to know who Jesus was, to trust him, to recognise his voice, and so, in each case when Jesus said, "Come" Peter immediately jumped out of his boat. Ps Danny asks us ..... you .... if you will come to him. If you are willing, Ps Danny prays to help you do that. He ends with a prayer of blessing for us all.
After a short greeting Ps Gary reads form John 17:20-23:
"“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."
This is an amazing prayer! After having prayed for his disciples Jesus is now praying for all of us in the future. Of note are that we will have the same glory that Jesus as, that we may be one as He and God are one with the Holy Spirit, that we might be brought to complete unity, and that His love in us will be known by the world. And therein lies the theme for today's message: being ONE.
Over the last few weeks on this series about Treasure we have been reassured that God puts many gifts into us as individuals. This week, Ps Gary wants us to really 'catch' the concept that, not only as individuals do we have gifts and ministries, but as a whole body, the Body of Christ. He elaborates on this with many other Scriptures and some quite interesting analogies. He assures us that he is not merely trying to encourage us to serve in the Church, the body of Christ, by making coffee, stacking the chairs, handing out flyers, or any other normal service. This is much bigger than that! Being One will be carried out by each of us as we go about our days in the world.
Ps Gary then goes into detail with these following 5 points:
- Understand you have specific giftings and callings.
- Purpose of Gifts - To grow the Body.
- God requires a return on His investment.
- Your gift is meant to fulfil you.
- Give It Your Best Shot.
This is an amazing concept and we really don't want to miss it because, without each Part of the body, the body will not function. That's me, that's you, that's each and every one of us ..... Whatever you are good at doing, Ps Gary cries out, "Do It!"
Ps Hugh begins by bringing out a full-length mirror as an illustration. He then discusses how he became born-again and had a great transformation. The day before that happened he had been looking into his mirror, as we do. After his miraculous and wonderful transformation, he looked in the mirror again. Not a single thing had changed! He looked exactly the same. The transformation was all done inside of him.
Then he refers to the background picture that we've had displayed for this series on Treasure. It's an ancient pirate treasure chest overflowing with gold doubloons and other loot. He points out something that is actually wrong with the structure of the treasure chest. He then suggests that is how we are continually viewing ourselves. We focus on the something that is wrong with us and forget to be concerned fully with the Treasure within as we should be.
1 Peter 2:9 - "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
Ps Hugh elaborates on this Scripture to point out just who we are in Christ and how much we mean to God and how we are supposed to demonstrate all that to the public. But what about the flaws that are so recognisable to us? Not the visible ones, the internal ones. He then continues to remind us, with many scriptures, as to just how wonderful that Treasure is that resides within us and that we do not need to be concerned about her own weaknesses. It's not all about us ..... It's all about God within us. We should be able to gain much confidence and encouragement from this message today.
All of the Scriptures for all that come from the New Testament. Ps Hugh ends with a Scripture from the Old Testament. It presents quite a challenge to us! Be bold, listen to the end, and don't be afraid of this challenge. And be blessed.
After wishing all the mothers a Happy Mothers Day (and to all you mothers out there as well) Ps Gary refers to the Amazing Grace as mentioned in one of our worship songs this morning. He then elaborates on just how amazing it is that God saves us from our sins through the Blood of Jesus. He then gives us a hint that we don't know anything about his past life and says this: "The amazing thing about my story is no that I'm standing on the platform. The amazing thing is that I'm standing at all." If that resonates with anyone out there (everybody?) Then keep listening to Gary's passionate proclamations about Amazing Grace.
He then encourages us that God incarnate in us can go out and display that Treasure - Amazing Grace - to the world that we live in. He mentions that God has gone ahead of us. We are not alone - the power of God resides in us and we are filled with the Holy Spirit. He points out that there is no difference between us Christians and everybody out in the world except Jesus.
Are we too busy to stop and noticed someone who needs that Amazing Grace as we have it? Ps Gary then goes into the journey of Jesus and the disciples as described in John 4:27-35. The disciples were interested in continuing the journey but Jesus stopped and started talking to a Samaritan woman. A Samaritan! A woman! The disciples were shocked but too afraid to comment on that. They suggested that Jesus must be hungry and He should get food. Is that what we are like? We are so busy getting on with our own life and proceeding with our own journey that we don't 'see' a person who needs Jesus and His Amazing Grace. Jesus saw her. With just a few words she believed she knew who He was and brought everyone to meet Him.
Ps Gary advises us to not try and bear the burden of all this ourselves but know that Jesus, having gone ahead, has already prepared for people for us to meet. Be encouraged and absorb what Ps Gary is saying as he implores us to understand all this and be available for dying people.
After greeting us and a short introduction Ps Gary started showing us some slides of his grandchildren. He is very proud of them. I'm sitting there wondering. "Where is this going to lead to"? "Somewhere quite important." is the answer to that question. Stay tuned .....
Last week, Ps Terri spoke of the treasure within us and that we might be able to access this treasure in spite of our weaknesses. Today, Ps Gary speaks of another treasure that we have access to ..... The Gospel.
He believes that the whole world is actually looking for the gospel even if they don't really know. Certainly, everybody seems to be looking for something and that clearly indicates that they're not satisfied with what they have in themselves or their lives. We know what that is! Better, we know Who that is. Ps Gary reminds us that the translation of the word gospel is Good News. That is a Treasure.
We have the Good news for everybody but sometimes we keep it to ourselves. The challenges of life seemed to absorb us and get in the way of us spreading the Good News. Gary also well describes the difference between gifts and ministry. We all have different gifts that the Lord has granted to us. But we all have one and the same ministry. What might that be? Hint: in the 1940s and 1950s church attendance here in Australia was 50% of the whole population. It is now dropped to only 7% of the population! Ps Gary read quite a number of Scriptures to discuss all this with us.
He then proceeds to describe to us his passion to give us a new understanding. Ps Gary very wisely points out that we do not need to stress about mentioning the Good News to anyone and that Jesus gives us peace to do that. Further, he teaches us that he cannot say the whole world by himself and neither can we. God has already started doing that and it is His harvest that he wants us out working in, not the whole lot.
Even the shyest of us all those who are somewhat isolated can listen to this message today and be encouraged and confident that God can still use them, as well as everybody else, to reveal the treasure of the Good News that we all have in our lives. Be there!
Ps Terri begins by quoting some words from a song called "Show Yourself" .....
"Come to me now - Open your door - Don't make me wait - One moment more
Show yourself - Step into your power - Throw yourself - Into something new"
This is her message for us today - to be bold and show ourselves wherever we are and that we are vulnerable and open to people. ("But I don't feel as though I'm really up to that.") No worries. Ps Terri fully covers this and helps us to put aside any fears, reluctance, and trepidations about stepping out. Reading from Romans 8:19 she proclaims that this is the word for us right now that it is speaking to us, to you. She wants us, as God wants us, to be ready to meet others and minister to them.
It's not about us. It's about the Holy Spirit within us and the power that we acquire to do what God wants us to do. Ps Terri reminds us that it's not about what we speak or how we speak or what we look like. People that we meet can 'catch' that we are different because it's not us, it is the Holy Spirit.
She also reminds us that Satan wants us to hide that light that God has put in us. We think we are not qualified but there is no condemnation for us. And no pressures either. We just need to be ourselves when meeting others. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. We need not fear failure - Proverbs Proverbs 24:16 tells us that the righteous will rise again.
God wants us to be with other people. He was to be able to reveal himself to them through us. Ps Terri gives us much more encouragement and biblical ammunition to be able to do this.
Shortly after commencing his message today, Ps Gary lets us know that this is an unusual Easter message ..... It is ..... And that it is not your normal Easter message ..... It isn't. However, you will see that it is 100% an Easter message.
During the last week prior to Easter, Ps Gary began reflecting on what his life was like before he became a born-again Christian. He asked himself, "Where would I be if Christ had not come?" He then describes a few aspects and that he had realised that he was under a cloud of death and a cloud of judgement. And, also, that there was nothing he could do about it. He tried, but could not self-direct his life. He still felt like something separated him from Christ. Have you ever felt that way? Keep listening .....
He then flashes back to the beginning to talk about Cain and Abel. Have you ever wondered why God favoured Abel over Cain? Well, He didn't! Keep listening to hear Ps Gary solve this conundrum in a mighty and Biblical way. They were both sons of the Fallen Adam and so were both born with a sinful nature and were no different from one another. Speaking directly from the Bible Ps Gary shows us how we are all the same as those two men. Today is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Why was that necessary? How is it that we can benefit? Keep listening .....
At the end of this message, Ps Gary appropriately leads us into communion Perhaps you might like to prepare the emblems (bread and wine or anything else you might care to eat and drink in memory of Jesus' death and resurrection) and join us at home.
And what happened to that cloud of death and that cloud of judgement? .....
Today's service is a very special one for Citicoast. Our senior pastor of 13 years, Ps Mark Riddell, is going to retire from the senior position. Today's service allows us to give him honour for spending his life for us for all those years. Along with his family!
As part of that celebration, we are pleased to have Ps Ross Abraham and his wife, Ps Kathy Abraham present today. Ps Ross is the National Chairman of the INC - International Network of churches of which Citicoast is a member. He is also Lead Pastor, Elevation Church, QLD as well as branches in several other states.
Our message today contains a number of components and we are sure that you will be blessed by all of them:
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Ps Gary begins by blessing the congregation with a mighty and passionate prayer. If you are listening to this podcast today, then you are part of our congregation today as well, and you can receive all those blessings.
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He introduces Ps Ross who asks Ps Mark and his family to come up on stage so that he can give them honour for this service for so many years. Yes, this is specific to Ps Mark but you can apprehend it in your mind and prayers for your own pastors.
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Ps Mark Riddell responds. Last year he lost his wife, Christine, to cancer. Have you suffered any such traumatic losses? A spouse, child, other relatives, a job ..... ? You will be blessed by Ps Mark's short response as he describes how God has got him through this whole traumatic situation. He can do the same for you, too. Don't miss this as it will be both comforting and encouraging for you if you have been having losses.
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Ps Ross then gives us today's preaching message, "Hope Is God". He begins by discussing the state of the world today and the attacks on our church - the worldwide body of Christ. He lists a number of things that we depend upon in our lives and, as the current state of the world breaks them down one by one, we start to lose hope. After a while, we begin to think that we are set in that state for the rest of our lives.
But, no! We must never lose hope. Ps Ross discusses a number of Scriptures to show us how God is the God of hope, peace, and joy. Ps Ross ends with a prayer to bless us all, you including, that we may break through into receiving those blessings in spite of any negative circumstances surrounding us.
Ps Gary reminds us that we have been working through two series: Sailing and March On. He then somewhat surprises us by saying that all that sailing and all that marching on seems like a lot of ..... hard work! Very honest and realistic! It certainly can be a lot of hard work if we don't know how to go about it properly. And that is what this message is about today. If we don't tackle our journey properly we will end up with Battle Fatigue.
We all have a busy life but we need to guard ourselves against getting tired, discouraged, and perhaps giving up. God wants us to stay in the race and not give up the race. Battle Fatigue can knock us out of the race. The Bible advises us to look unto Jesus "lest we get weary in our soul". Ps Gary works his way through a list of biblical battle-fatigue-fighting characteristics that we can attain from looking unto Jesus.
He then works his way through 6 Points of aspects of life that can cause weariness, failure, shame, discouragement, lost confidence in God, lack of purpose, and many more. Every aspect is found in the Scriptures so we can certainly trust that we can prevent Battle Fatigue and continue on in the journey that God has planned for each of us.
At one point Ps Gary asked us if anyone in the congregation had ever been discouraged. Is it a silly question? I'm sure that it applies to each one of us. And so does this message.
The meeting finishes with communion. It might be good for your body, soul, and spirit for you to join us. You may wish to hit the pause button and get some communion elements from your pantry cupboard.
Ps Terri tells us that we all find it easy to put up Walls. They are to protect us against real and imaginary hurts and fears. There are many reasons why we will put up a wall and they are likely to be different for each of us. Is this me? Is it you? We are hardly going to be able to March On if there is a wall blocking our way. Of course, these walls are not visible but they certainly hold us back from what God wants for us and of us.
Ps Terri reminds us of the expression 'hit the wall'. This refers to a situation in our life where we become discouraged, run down in both mind and body, lose inspiration, don't feel like doing anything, don't feel capable of doing anything, can't be productive ..... I relate to this as I have been there and likely more than once! She advises us not to try and go through the wall or over it or under it - the wall must come down. To do that requires a shift within us. What is that?
Ps Terri then compares us to the situation with the Hebrews and Jericho. How did they make those walls come down? Can we learn from that? We surely can! There are numerous aspects to this success and Ps Terri goes through them one at a time to show us exactly what we need to do to bring down those walls. This message is rich with parallels to our own lives and how to grasp each aspect and bring our walls down so that we can March On. And end with a Victory Shout!
Ps Terri tells us that we all find it easy to put up Walls. They are to protect us against real and imaginary hurts and fears. There are many reasons why we will put up a wall and they are likely to be different for each of us. Is this me? Is it you? We are hardly going to be able to March On if there is a wall blocking our way. Of course, these walls are not visible but they certainly hold us back from what God wants for us and of us.
Ps Terri reminds us of the expression 'hit the wall'. This refers to a situation in our life where we become discouraged, run down in both mind and body, lose inspiration, don't feel like doing anything, don't feel capable of doing anything, can't be productive ..... I relate to this as I have been there and likely more than once! She advises us not to try and go through the wall or over it or under it - the wall must come down. To do that requires a shift within us. What is that?
Ps Terri then compares us to the situation with the Hebrews and Jericho. How did they make those walls come down? Can we learn from that? We surely can! There are numerous aspects to this success and Ps Terri goes through them one at a time to show us exactly what we need to do to bring down those walls. This message is rich with parallels to our own lives and how to grasp each aspect and bring our walls down so that we can March On. And end with a Victory Shout!
Ps Gary reminds us of the story in Deuteronomy 1:1-8. The Hebrews had commenced a journey from Egypt to the Promised Land which would take 11 days. However, the Hebrews took 40 years! There are innumerable reasons for this but the main thing is they were stuck and couldn't get out of their situation. Ps Gary says that he has been in the same place a number of times, wandering around in circles, getting discouraged, losing vision, and feeling distressed. Have you been in this place? Are you in this place right now? He tells us that he has done much counselling too many people in a similar place and that he has coined the term, 'Stuckism'.
Not to worry! Ps Gary uses Scriptures from both the Old Testament and the New Testament to help us get out of this Stuckism mess we find ourselves in from time to time. After all, God has a vision and a plan for us and He wants us to fulfil that. Yes, we are on the move but it's sometimes not getting us anywhere. The enemy will always rob us of our hope and visions for the future. It is the time when wandering around in the desert is finished, over.
But sometimes there is still something hindering us - difficulties of one kind or another. A 'mountain' that seems insurmountable. The Hebrews were camped at such a mountain. God told the Hebrews, "You have dwelt long enough at this mountain". Yes, we have. We have to stop hiding from any enemies and turn and face the mountain.
Ps Gary uses more Scriptures to show us just how we can do this successfully - how to stop hiding from those difficulties (enemies), how to turn around, how to face our mountains. If this is you then this message is surely for you. If it's not you right now then it may be one day so this message is still for you.
Over the last few weeks, we have all become very well aware that our life is a journey that we are taking one day at a time. God has a plan for each of us which is unique to us. Are we prepared to start that journey? In order to answer this question, Ps Danny asks us all, "Who Are You?" This is one of the most important questions we can answer. Most people will think, "Well, this is who I am" but the real response should be, "This is who I have become".
Ps Danny tells us how we are born with a set of neurons and these form pathways in our brain. They are hardwired to a certain way of thinking and that is affected by our environment, including both positive and negative influences. That is why we would say "This is who I am" because we don't know any different. But, who does God say we are? If we can find this out properly we will be well prepared, not only to continue our journey but to head in the right direction and, further, to be able to have victory over any negative events that might occur to deter us. We all need that!
Ps Danny spends the rest of this message on letting us know just what God thinks of us. It is a marvellous encouragement and will help us attain much spiritual strength to have the victories that God wants us to have. Basically, Romans 12:2 explains that our minds can be transformed and renewed. We all need that. There are many wonderful things that describe what God thinks of us, all positive.
Ps Danny puts balance into this message by reminding us that there are those that try to distract us from the truth and get us to go in the wrong direction. We need to be vigilant and resist the devil. There are many things that God does for us as well as what He thinks of us. There are also some things that he will never do (e.g. forsake us!) Ps Danny wonderfully goes into all these things so that we can be sure of who we are and how safe we are to go on this journey.
Of course, Ps Danny reads many Scriptures so that we can truly believe that God loves us, has made us well, has designed a purpose for us, and will assist us in fulfilling that purpose. If God said it (in His Word) it is true. This Description is merely a short summary of a marvellous presentation which is highly encouraging.
The basic theme of today's message is a new beginning for everybody in the congregation and their family as well as a new beginning for Citicoast church. There come times in our lives when we can all take advantage of such a new beginning. However, Ps Gary is quick to point out that we can't begin our new life without the Anointing. How is he going to achieve that? Well, at the end of this message he invites every single person present on this day to come out and have a prayer for the anointing, with oil, just as in the Bible.
At the beginning, however, he calls up all the leaders of the church. He prophetically prays for them each with a different prayer as moved by the Holy Spirit. Possibly, just possibly ..... You might now be thinking that is time to go for a cup of tea and a biscuit. However! Do you have a Youth Leader in your church? Do you have one or more pastors or senior ministers or reverends or priests in your congregation? What about those who serve the church with Door Hosting every Sunday? These and many other leaders are being prayed for. These prayers are anointed for this particular day and these particular people but what you could do is to apply them in faith and in spirit to the same leaders in your own church while you listen. (This section doesn't take up much time.)
Ps Gary then tells us that prayer is an act of humility - basically, we are humbling ourselves to know that we can't do it all on our own and we are internally crying out, "God, I need Your help!" When we set out on this new life our greatest need is to have His hand on us. Ps Gary reads several passages in the Old Testament of stories where various people, or even the whole Hebrew nation, were called out to a new beginning. For example, they didn't even know where they were going but had to trust God. There were enemies who had superior numbers, superior weapons, and superior war experience but God helped them with all that and gave them victories. And God will equally be present with each of us on our journey.
From the New Testament Jesus has said to us that if we serve Him, the Father will honour us. That is the Anointing: The Power and the Presence of the Holy Spirit in every step of our life as we serve Jesus when He calls us to a new beginning.
Just before introducing Ps Terri, Ps Gary reminds us what this series is all about ..... It's about Your Future! And mine. Ps Terri shows us that we may not be able to Set Sail because we are indecisive about how to get started. We may have too many options to choose from or we may have none. We're stuck! We're trapped! No need to panic. Ps Terri spends all of this message on showing us how to get unstuck, untrapped, and set free to set sail. She points out that we are an easy target for the devil when we are not moving. Our rescue will be found in Jesus.
She then elaborates on 2 Kings 7:3-4. The characters we meet here are also stuck between a rock and a hard place. There seems to be no decent option. They then decided upon a 3rd option that seems utterly ridiculous and more dangerous than the others. But God had a hand in this and they ended up in victory. In fact, the whole of Israel ended up in victory because of this situation.
They had to take the first step to move in that direction. After that, God looked after them very well. We need to take the first step and then God will also look after us. It's a step of faith. We can have a lot of negative thoughts, based on fear, or we can have a lot of positive thoughts, based on victory. Ps Terri reads us from a story written by a Cherokee chief to his grandson about all that. This is for us! Everything in it is biblical. It will encourage us to take that first step.
There is so much more in this message that is beyond a simple Description. Do you have any hesitations, indecision, fears, emotions running wild? Ps Terri discusses all this to give us the confidence to move. Don't wait for a certain day to arrive when you feel better about setting out. Today is that day!
Stay until the end ..... After Ps Terri has finished speaking, Ps Gary prays for all of us in a mighty and powerful manner so that we can receive the anointing that we all need from the Lord to set out with the first step for the journey that He has for each of us.
After an introduction, Ps Gary briefly reminders what this series is all about: Ps 84:5. We are all on a journey, hopefully, to satisfy God's purpose for each of our individual lives. Sometimes the destination will be known, sometimes we just go out in faith as Abraham did. This week we concentrate on prayer. Before setting out on any journey it is imperative that we pray. But what shall we ask God for at that time?
Ps Gary asked a congregation member to come out and read 1 Chronicles 4:1-8. That passage of the Bible is all about the genealogies of the tribes and all the fathers, wives, and children. Our reader did have a little trouble with pronouncing all the strange names. Ps Gary then proclaimed how boring it was to read all that! Yep! Honest. And there were many more before and after that passage! Then, inserted into the rest, verses 9 and 10 contained the prayer of Jabez. It stands out like a sore thumb in that whole chapter as the genealogies continue on after the first 10. Immediately, we can see that the prayer of Jabez must be very important for us all.
Ps Gary then investigates the prayer and finds four points of discussion which he then elaborated on:
- Oh, that You would bless me indeed.
- Oh, that You would enlarge my territory.
- Oh, that Your hand would be with me.
- Keep me from evil.
Are you unsure if God loves you or that you think you don't deserve to be blessed? Point 1 above is for you! Are you feeling cramped in your life and not being fulfilled due to circumstances? Point 2 above is for you! Are you unsure that you are actually capable of doing what God wants to do in order to achieve your purpose and perhaps wondering how you can do it alone? Point 3 above is for you! Are you worried that you might come to harm and the devil himself will interfere with you and try to thwart you from attaining your purpose? Point 4 above is for you!
In fact, ALL of those 4 points are critical for us to establish in all of our lives! Be mightily encouraged by this message today.
Ps Gary reminds us what this new series is all about and gives a very enthusiastic welcome to Ps Danny to continue these messages. Ps Danny is in fine form today and starts off by giving us Psalm 84:5 .....
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage."
Ps Danny reminds us that this belongs to all of us as individuals. God has a destination and purpose for all of us and it is a pilgrimage, a journey, to arrive at that successfully. And we need to start! He has numerous illustrations from his sailing experience that can apply to what we need to do and confront on our journey.
Barnacles! When a boat is moored in the harbour where it is safe and comfortable, barnacles will grow and more will grow on top of those with time. The boat becomes unseaworthy! Is that me? Is it you? Ps Danny encourages us to have the strength to sail out. He uses John 10:10a to remind us of this:
" The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;" - He discusses this and elaborates on it. What the devil wants to destroy is our journey, our destination.
Ps Danny then uses John 10:10b to remind us of this:
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." - And that includes on our journey to fulfil the purpose that God has created for us.
As you listen you will realise that Ps Danny has much seafaring experience. Some of his anecdotes out in the ocean have been, shall we say, 'interesting'! An important part of this message is that, for most of the time, at every step of our journey there will be options from which we can choose. But what about when we come to that place where there are no options left at all? Not to worry. He covers this well.
So, take the time to listen to this message and be encouraged to leave your personal 'safe harbour' and sail out into the destiny God wants you to have.
Ps Gary begins by reminding us that he has now been resident in Bundaberg for a whole week. He has always been a regular visitor here and we're going to be hearing a lot more from him now. Our new series is called "Setting Sail". It is another chapter following the previous series. Ps Gary opens up with Psalm 84:5 .....
"Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage."
That's me! That's you! Ps Gary tells us that there is always a 'next' in our lives and we need to be prepared to meet it. He gives a good illustration that shows that, even if we suffer destruction and devastation, there is always new life that follows. He develops this theme throughout this message.
He relates a story of a man called Jim Elliott who said, "If you're going to be there, be all there". That is, whatever we are doing should be full of enthusiasm and dedication. Next, he relates the story of Moses who could have stayed as the son of Pharaoh's daughter but chose the path that God wanted for him. He had come to a fork in the road! He could have chosen either direction but sought God and chose God's direction for him.
What fork in your road do you need to choose from right now? If you don't see one, there will certainly be one sooner or later. Ps Gary urges us to be prepared and ready for such a choice.
Have you have heard the expression, " Practice what you preach"? Well, you will certainly hear that about Ps Gary today. If you have been listening to Citicoast podcasts in the past you will be familiar with Ps Gary as he visits us frequently in Bundaberg.
Ps Hugh welcomes Ps Gary and his wife, Terri, and gives us an update as to what is happening in their lives right now. Ps Gary then describes how boats need time in the harbour. They are often there to be repaired, repainted, refitted, restored, and all other things that will make them stronger and more suitable for their journey. That's us! However, God did not create us to sit in the harbour feeling safe and comfortable for the rest of our lives. The first 3 Parts of this series reminds us that God has a vision, direction, and a journey for each of us. Ps Gary reminds us that also includes, not just us as individuals, but our whole church as a group.
Ships were built to sail oceans and anything can happen out on the open sea! We might have periods of calm but they could also be periods of storms. We have more out there in the ocean awaiting us than we have sitting in a safe harbour. God wants us to have that more. We need to set our hearts on having that journey. Ps Gary describes many of the Old and New Testament heroes who had such adventures and profited in body soul and spirit because of them. Do you have the courage to sail out into the adventure that God wants you to have and be fulfilled in the vision that he has for you?
There are a couple of prayers accorded in the message this week. Please join us in faith for those that are being prayed for.
Ps Hugh begins with talking about encouragement. He asked us to get up and walk around and encourage someone - to speak positive things into their life as we tend to speak too much about negative things. This is on topic! He then continues with some revision of the last episodes of this series but also including extra power to them. He emphasises that we need to listen to the voice of God for our direction and teaches us what we need to do to be able to listen to the voice of God.
And what if we have some mishaps on our journey north (if you're new to this series and have not listened to the first couple of messages, this series is about God giving us each our own North - the direction in which we should be heading with our lives)? Well, Ps Hugh uses several Scriptures and examples to show us how to deal with those mishaps and continue our journey.
So, Who Are You Listening to? Ps Hugh describes how he used to have a group of a handful of men who could open up to one another about all the problems in our lives and help one another with biblical, godly advice through them. That includes admitting our sins as well as discussing - in the proper manner, of course - our sexual problems that we might have been having. We all need such a handful of trusted friends and mentors. He describes the characteristics of such people that will allow us to trust them and accept their words. What are those characteristics that allow us to know that we are listening to the right kinds of people?
(Coincidently, a day before this message was preached, I personally saw a meme on Facebook that was pointing out to us all that the voices we mostly hear these days are not godly voices - they are voices from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, and so on. Statistics will show that they are mostly quite ungodly and non-trustworthy voices to be listening to).
We had a few misty eyes at Citicoast this morning. Ps Ashleigh Latter is heading for the 'wild blue yonder' for a new life. What a coincidence that we are currently having a series on having a journey and finding which way to go. Ps Katrina gave her an excellent farewell message. If you have been regularly listening to our Citicoast podcasts you would have also heard some by Ps Ash and have realised what an excellent speaker she is. We do hope we'll see her again.
Ps Hugh let us know early in his message today that the content of today's messages will continue over 2 weeks. It's a tricky question to know how to find which way is our own personal North. These 2 messages - today and next week - will put us on the right track.
Ps Hugh reminds us that we are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body. The world outside gets the order wrong but Ps Hugh reminds us that the right order of things is to put a priority on our spirit and, notably, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit. Ps Hugh discusses a number of points that will help us to find out how to find our way North before we start our journey:
- Learn to walk with God.
- Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
- Include God in your conversations.
- Pray frequently.
- Have faith.
- Surrender your will to God.
Don't panic! Ps Hugh does elaborate with details on all of these points, including Scriptures. We are all on a journey and sometimes, as with Ps Ash, we may need to change direction and so, whether we are starting our Christian journey as a new Christian or as an experienced one, we all need these points!
Last week Ps Hugh asked us to imagine that we were in the bush or the wilderness somewhere with a compass to guide us. We had the instructions of where to go using the compass but no landmarks or other help. In situations like that the first thing to do is to find out which way is North. Then we can properly follow the other directions.
This week he started off reading from Romans 8:28:
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."
- We love Him.
- All things will work for our good.
- According to His purpose.
His purpose is general for all born-again believers. It is also specific for individual Christians. We don't all have the same gifts that can be used for God's purpose. We are all different. That is why this week's message is entitled, "Which Way Is Yours?"
Ps Hugh then asked us a number of questions:
- How does the world see God? The answer is, "Through us". That's a big responsibility, isn't it?
- If someone looks at you, will they see Jesus?
- What was Jesus like?
- What is a Christian?
- Are we willing to find the way God wants us to take and start walking on it?
Ps Hugh then spends much time in describing to us how we can 'find North' for our own lives. Acknowledging that, if we're going to walk on a journey we eat to prepare ourselves beforehand, Ps Hugh tells us much about how to do this and get it right.
Do you know which way is yours? This message will certainly help you find that and help to prepare for everything that you will meet on the way in which God wants you to go.
Today is a special day for us here at Citicoast. Our service today mostly consisted of worship, communion, more worship ..... and pizzas! However, our next series is going to be called "Which Direction Is North?" and Ps Hugh gives us a brief 11 minutes to tell us what this is going to be all about. Do you need to know?
He mentions what it's like to follow a compass's and how the compass just points in the direction of the number of degrees you're supposed to be following. You then walk in a straight line not looking to the left or right without really knowing where the end is. That is, until you get there.
Using that analogy, Ps Hugh then describes to os how, in 2022, we will be navigating a journey through to the end of the year. How will we know where to go? Well, with prayer, and faith, we will need to listen to the voice of God! Ps Hugh describes how important this is to us. Do we all need to do that at the beginning of 2022? Have you ever made a wrong decision? Has something unfortunate happened to you on the way and you had to readjust your course? Have we all suffered that? Yes!
We encourage you to listen to this Prelude to our next series and then join us next week to continue the journey to see how to navigate your journey through 2022.
Ps Hugh begins by pointing out that God is a practical God. It's not as if He has been 'somewhere up there' but He has always been involved in people's lives 'down here'. And that includes His 'rules' - they had a purpose and we are better off with them. He loves and cares for us. So much so that he gave his Son so that we would not be punished for our sins. Love!
Christmas is a giving time and Ps Hugh describes how Citicoast has already given away 240 Christmas hampers to the needy. He suggests that we give what we can. He then reads a story of practical giving that took place in Central Park, New York. A Christian was challenged about giving. It can be about the little things we do.
He then points out that Christmas can be different things to different people. He was born in England (read, freezing) and was brought to Australia at 7 years old (read, ridiculously hot). He goes into some details to describe these differences. However, having been born here, his adult children have no idea what he is talking about. What is Christmas to you?
He then reads from Luke 1:32-33. This leads on to talking about the negatives that might be in our lives at this time of the year. We can still rejoice no matter what. Psalm 61:1-3 and 2 Corinthians 12:9. He then gives us an invitation. Will you accept?
Special Notice: Those of you who have visited us before will know that our Citicoast senior pastors are Ps Mark and Christine Riddell. Today, the whole church is full of grief of loss. This morning at 7:30 AM Ps Christine was taken to be with the Lord. It is time to grieve and it is also time to celebrate the precious years that we were able to spend with Christine among us.
Ps Gary Hourigan is a member of the INC National Executive. He has visited Citicoast many times before. His message today is timely, not just for those who are grieving over a loved one, but anyone who is grieving over any trauma whatsoever.
Ps Gary begins by discussing God's comfort in our needs and that where we are weak He is strong. He prays powerfully for the Riddell family. Please join us in this as you listen.
Following that he begins today's message "Now it Happened ...." from 1 Samuel 30:1–6. What happened? David and his men were utterly filled with grief and weeping desperately. As he proceeds through the message Ps Gary describes 2 possible reactions that David and his men had. We can have the same 2 choices. One of those choices just causes more problems whereas the other is part of our victory over grief.
He goes on to describe strength in these circumstances. He says that it is too late to pray for strength after the traumatic event has occurred. Wait! What? He gives us a pathway to how to grow that strength so that we are ready for when those times happen, as they always will, to all of us.
You will have many things happen to you - all kinds of traumatic things such as, not only losing a loved one, but losing your job, your home burning down, becoming seriously ill, and many other happenings. This is an excellent message for how to cope with all that .....
Ps Hugh begins by proclaiming that Christmas is coming and asking us what that actually meant to us. He reads through some lyrics from John Lennon's famous song, "So This Is Christmas". He then appropriately points out that nowhere in the whole song does it mention God, Jesus, or any other biblical aspect. And across the West, certainly, it seems that, for a long time already, most Christmases match the godlessness of that song.
Ps Hugh does not proceed with all the normal stories of Mary and Joseph, the manger, the angels, and so on, but presents a different view (not one that negates any of the traditional stories). He says that Christmas is the 'acceptance of sin'! He develops this theme throughout the message. He describes how the Jews of the time of Jesus' birth had started to drift away from their beliefs, just as the West has drifted away from the true beliefs of Christmas. Nothing really changes! He develops some details about that which will be helpful to us today.
He then describes various aspects of Jesus' arrival under the Hebrew Law as a baby, as a man, and right through to the end. All for our sake! Today's message will give you much confidence in who Jesus is, what He has done, and how marvellous it is for us to be adopted into the Kingdom of God. All because of Christmas!
What's the difference between belief and faith? Perhaps you think you may have plenty of faith but not enough belief. Perhaps you think you may have plenty of belief but you need more faith. Ps Hugh will answer your questions in this message. Interestingly, he points out that the word 'faith' doesn't appear in the Old Testament at all in some translations and, in others, just a couple of times. However, the word 'faith' appeared many times in the New Testament.
Not long after his introduction to the topic, Ps Hugh hands the microphone over to his wife, Jeanette, who underwent a difficult time with faith and healing. She asked God questions, one of which was, "What am I doing wrong?" She tells us the answer that God gave her and, basically, we would all get the same answer if we ask that question. She eventually had a transformation and received the healing that she required. This testimony is good news for each of us.
Ps Hugh then continues with several examples of faith and belief in the New Testament. These will encourage all of us and enable our faith to grow. And our belief .....
Bob's back! Ps Bob Bain is one of our most regular visiting speakers. He opens up by informing us that unbelief blocks faith - The Faith Blocker! He says that unbelief is an attitude that binds our faith. He works his way through Matthew 17:14-20 - mustard seeds and mountains. Using some other Scriptures he points out that the disciples were rebuked by Jesus for being unbelievers or having little faith. He then points out that this illustrates that unbelief and faith can coexist but they can't both operate at the same time.
He points out that faith is like a muscle and can be grown. He uses some other Scriptures to demonstrate that not only we can speak out against unbelief but we need to pull it out by the roots. He explains what this all means. Faith is a substance whereas unbelief is an attitude and attitude and can be changed. We probably all exercise a rollercoaster of unbelief and faith. This message is for every one of us.
He ends with a powerful prayer for the whole congregation - and this applies to you, the listener. He then prays for those that do not know Jesus as Lord in their lives. Again, if this applies to you, the listener, then the prayer also applies to you. Join up with Jesus' team today.
Ps Ash Latter begins with a most enthusiastic introduction to Ps Danny Ollis. After a brief 'hello' and prayer he begins our new series. Fairly quickly, and also repeating it throughout the message, he proclaims, "I know that I know that I know!" What is he talking about? What is it that he knows so surely? How did he become so sure of that? All of these questions will be answered throughout the message. Besides that, he is also sure that we should all be able to believe that about ourselves.
Ps Danny humbly admits that he is preaching to himself as he has a lot of trouble with various aspects of life. He does also say that he suspects that we are all the same in that regard. You, the listener, will have to decide that for yourself. (He's got me labelled well!)
He discusses how God has written into each of us a signature. However, we will not be able to manifest that and we will need to be born again. He also points out that the Bible tells us that we have "Eternity in our hearts". Danny has got in touch with that but many will not be able to. He asks many questions throughout the message:
- How can we keep on the right track?
- How do we get it right?
- How can we walk that walk?
- How do we face that challenge?
- How do we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus?
- What is distracting us?
The simple answer is faith? But how do we attain the faith that we need? Where is our faith? Ps Danny reads a number of passages demonstrating to us that the apostle Paul had totally no doubt and had complete faith in a number of situations. If you're like I was while listening at church, you will be eager to find the answers to all these questions. Ps Danny was sure that our new series topic applies to all of us.
(And what was that about Navy Seals?)
Ps Bob Bain and his wife, Lesley, were with us today. Ps Bob was the 2nd F/T Pastor of Citicoast some decades ago. These days, he is an itinerant preacher. He visits us fairly often and always gives a great message.
So, what are these transactions that occur? They are transactions between God and us. Ps Bob exhorts us to remember those times when we were beset by 'stuff' and that we should feed on His words. Pastor Bob prayed for many people in this message today, including the Worship Team. Other things that he prayed about include such as healing, food allergies, finance/poverty, families, and more. To exhort us and raise our faith he firstly gave testimonies of many healings that have occurred in his meetings over the years. He emphasised that the Word of God, spoken aloud has much power.
These prayers were not just for the congregation. Speaking the word aloud is very powerful. Stir up your faith as you listen because these prayers will be for you as well.
Ps Bob finishes his message by asking us some questions: What tools does God use? What is His currency? This is an amazing ending to this message - as he describes the answers to those questions Ps Bob reminds us that we can year concerning tools and currency God uses to do His work.
Finally, if you really don't know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, there is a prayer for you at the end of his message. You can be saved, too!
Ps Hugh introduces Wendy Groves with much enthusiasm, describing how they first met and why he has invited her to speak today at Citicoast church. She had already arrived yesterday for a Healing School that ran for around 5 hours! So, who is Wendy Groves? .....
"Wendy Groves is a passionate and dynamic teacher of the Living Word! Having firsthand experienced the healing power of God in her life after being given a death sentence from breast cancer, her knowledge of the Word will encourage, challenge, and inspire you to receive everything God has for you. Wendy's desire is to see the Church armed with determination and revelation from God's word"
And passionate and dynamic she surely is! You will be highly encouraged by this message today. After introducing herself, she declares quite authoritatively that The Word Is The Answer to every problem we might face in our lives. What does the Bible say? A lot! It is so powerful that even one word from God can turn your life around and make changes. She then describes a vision that she had regarding Australia.
Among other things, she discusses the power in the blood of Jesus, praying in tongues, and proclaiming words from the Bible out loud. She suggests that we practise these kinds of things daily so that we are ready when we are confronted by bad circumstances. She talks about putting down roots near the river. What river is that! Did you know that the Bible tells us there is a River of Life? You will want to do this for sure.
Throughout, she stresses the need for us to go deep into the Word, the Bible, every day and get to know it thoroughly. It contains weapons for every circumstance. Listen and be encouraged and changed.
(And what's that about a bonsai tree?)
After welcoming us Ps Ash gets straight into the message. She begins with a quick summary of the Prodigal Son, reminding us that it's also about the Good Father. She challenges us with this question: "Do we have a personal conviction and passion for God's house?" Why would we? ..... Because we all have an opportunity to celebrate someone's homecoming. When someone new comes in we can make them welcome. Ps Ash then discusses the fantastic party that the Good Father gave the Prodigal Son.
She then proceeds to ask us what makes a good host for such a party. She lists 5 points that a good host might have prepared for those coming to a party. She elaborates on these. Ps Ash injects some of her unique humour into these descriptions. She then asks us what would be necessary for people to bother to attend .....
- An Enticing Invitation
- An Interesting Group of Guests
- Thoughtful Ideas
- Delicious Food (spiritual this time)
- Group Bonding Activities
She also goes into depth for each of these.
She ends on a serious note, one which might apply to many listeners of this podcast ..... You are invited, do you want to join the 'party'? Ps Ash prays for you in this regard.
About our/your church, the church which we/you attend regularly ..... Last week Ps Hugh pointed out that it was a house and that it is our house, my house, your house. This week he first reminds us that it is nothing to do with the building but what is inside. He calls it a Household. That requires people to be in it.
Elaborating on from that, Ps Hugh visits numerous Scriptures to show us that, as we are in the same Household together, God is very keen for us to relate to one another well and in a Biblical manner. Ps Hugh began by asking us how many people we knew in our local church, Citicoast. He then asked us to go and find someone that we didn't know and chat with them. (That took a fair time in the podcast so it has been edited to just a few seconds). Can you do that when you next attend your local church?
Ps Hugh discusses being in harmony with one another as well as supporting one another in prayer, encouraging one another and so on. He emphasises that God is very unhappy indeed when, instead of creating harmony, we create discord. He also looks at Ephesians 5: 21-31 about submitting to one another.
Some of that may seem too hard for us mere mortals to get right but Ps Hugh points out some solutions as to how we can start with changing our attitude and grow into it. Listen now and learn how to bless your fellow brothers and sisters in the same Household......
Who Lives Here? It might be you! You will know for sure by the end of today's message .....
Ps Hugh begins by asking us how we might draw a church - a rectangle with a cross on top. But what might we find in that church? He then mentions that we might not find what we might expect to find inside a church. He then draws the analogy of our own house. He points out that, when we are going to have a visitor, we will rush around to clean the place up and make it acceptable. But is that the real reason people want to visit? No. They want to visit you. And what will they go away with after being with you?
It's the same with the church that we regularly attend. If someone visits, what will they find? Will they find you? What will they go away with after meeting and other members of the church?
Ps Hugh advises us that they should be finding Jesus and going away with the hope of salvation according to the cross. This message should be the root of all churches. It will encourage you to depend on Jesus within you and that His love will spread from you to others.
These are not just any bricks in the wall - they are very special bricks indeed. And one of them is you!
After greeting us, Ps Danny quickly summarises the flow of the last 2 messages and also points out to us that this message will transition into the next series. He challenges us that there will be a series of questions in today's message and that he would like us all to consider what the answers would be. He assures us that we will already know the answers. He also points out that he is actually asking himself the questions while we just listen in. That is, they will apply to every one of us.
This is about becoming a member of The Church, the Body of Christ worldwide and especially locally. He gives Scriptures to show that what's inside our hearts is most important to God. Church buildings can be astonishing structures but the insides are often empty. What is our inside like? That is, we can superficially be a member of a local church but how are we connected inside of us?
When we are properly committed to the local church, there are many things that we can contribute just by being ourselves and being there. Ps Danny elaborates on these, showing the Scriptures that will encourage us to deepen our relationship with our local church. He points out that. for himself, these challenging questions have caused him to develop a hunger, change his journey, change his life, and change his walk, They will provide for us many other aspects.
Is there something more inside of us? Or is the ember burning out? He asks us to be honest with ourselves. We need the community of the church. The community of the church needs every one of us. Be challenged by this message and progress strongly towards the completion of your own construction by God.
Would you like to know the steps of a pathway to attaining the fullness of your relationship with Jesus? Start reading and then start listening .....
Ps Ash begins by giving high commendation to Ps Danny Ollis and his message from last week. His message was basically in 2 parts, the first comparing God building him, with him building a house at one time. As it turns out, Ps Ash is doing exactly the same thing. The house is an old one and she is renovating it. The garden is also old and she is not too pleased about dealing with that. Notably, there was a very overgrown bougainvillaea bush. It had innumerable branches and each branch had innumerable thorns. Something very easy to avoid tackling. When God would prompt her to get onto it she would reply Remind Me Later. Do we do that? We do! Eventually, she did do it and it took an hour. She cut it all up into pieces and disposed of them appropriately.
The Holy Spirit will tap us on the shoulder for several reasons, one of which is to fulfil God's plans for ourselves. But busyness gets in the way. And we will say, Remind Me Later. Or think It, at least. But some things are urgent and need dealing with immediately. Ps Ash discusses 3 Scripture stories where such urgency was recognised by the Lord. In each case, the 3 people concerned were passionately seeking Jesus. And that's where the lesson is for us. If we want to grow in the Lord, we need to have a sense of urgency about seeking Him.
But, as Ps Danny mentioned last week, we can have such a nice period of growth in the Lord that it can lead us to become complacent about it and settle for that without further progress. So, Ps Ash goes into detail about the characteristics of Settlers and Seekers. If we allow ourselves to become a Settler we cannot achieve the height and depth of relationship with the Lord that is possible. The characteristics of Settlers and Seekers are a major part of this message today.
Now start listening .....
After greeting us, Ps Danny points out that parables were written for 3 people and that, today, we're one of those. Domestic houses Under Construction begin with a foundation and so do we, with Jesus being our builder. After the foundation is completed, a house gets a frame, walls, floors, a roof and so on. That can be a harrowing time as we wait for the final completion. Then there comes a time called the Lock-up Stage.
Almost everything has been done and we're almost ready to move in. In fact, people get so relaxed at the Lock-Up Stage that they do move in! And then they get so comfortable that they actually don't complete the work to its conclusion. Ps Danny confesses to us a time when he did just that! Have you arrived at the Lock-up Stage in your life while it is Under Construction by Jesus?
Ps Danny describes how we can become complacent, just sit down waiting, not participating, not seeing, not hearing, and not doing what God has for us. And God always has more for us. However, there is a balance to this. That 'more' that God wants for us can mostly be related to serving others and the busyness of modern life. Too much of that and we can suffer burnout. Thankfully, Ps Danny covers this aspect very well and reads several Scriptures to us relating to ..... REST. Yes, we can become too tired, sluggish, and lack motivation. No need to panic ..... Just as living in a completed house requires maintenance and renovation, so does the house that we are, that Jesus is building. Ps Danny doesn't let us down and describes to us the solution to how to be successful at this restoration of ourselves .....
Today we were all delighted to see our Senior Pastors, Mark and Christine Riddell, attending. We have not seen them for around 7 months due to ill health and recovery. Ps Mark opens today's message with a rundown of what has been happening with their lives. We hope that you will be as encouraged to hear this good news as we were.
Next up, Ps Bob Bain. He continues with our series "Under Construction". Jesus is continually building our lives day by day and year by year. Today's message certainly continues that theme. Citicoast Church has been running for over 40 years. Ps Bob was our 2nd pastor for about 10 years. He has visited us many times over the years and is also in demand as a guest speaker at other churches.
Ps Bob begins with words of knowledge about sicknesses in the congregation. He comes down off the stage and walks around praying for people. There is a definite possibility that some of you who are listening may be suffering from the same kinds of problems. We have discovered numerous times that prayer also works long distance, so please stir up your faith and hope and keep listening until the theme message starts.
Ps Bob starts with Creation when God created various plants and animals to bring forth their own kind. Except for us. The 'kind' that we are is God Himself. We are made in His image. He points out that if we pull a plant out of the ground, it dies. If we are pulled out of connection with God, we 'die'. Today's message focuses on keeping that connection with God so that we do not 'die', but grow stronger each day.
He describes a few places in the Bible where God is in the Secret Place. God is always there waiting for us. How do we get to that Secret Place? Keep listening .....
Next, Bob describes how the church as a whole body has their own Secret Place. If we are disconnected from the Body of Christ as a whole we can also then 'die' .....
Today's message is about life, living, growing, purpose, restoration, and miracles ..... all emanating from the Secret Place.
Happy Father's Day! And it's likely that most sons will one day be Fathers. After mentioning a couple of humorous incidents, Ps Hugh gets a little bit more serious. He addresses those who did not grow up with good fathers. He also mentions that someone he knew in the mail exchange pointed out that Mothers Day is the busiest time of the year for mail. But Fathers Day is just like any other day! Sad. Ps Hugh declared that we need to understand the importance of fathers and give them more respect and honour.
He then asks for 9 fathers to go up on stage. He told us that we would not get dirty and we would not get embarrassed. I think we were all quite suspicious of that, based on previous years. I was one who volunteered. This part of our service goes on for a long time so it has been edited. What is left in is the greeting of the 9 men so that you can hear their names.
And then on to the story of the Prodigal Son - Luke 15:11-31. Most of us know that story like the back of our hands. But do we really? Ps Hugh points out a a few Jewish cultural things from those times so that we can get a stronger idea of just how bad the whole situation was in the first place.
But, the father loved his son no matter what. And God loves us/you no matter what. Ps Hugh reminds us that we all learn things the hard way if we get into trials and tribulations. And how fathers can set a good example to their sons. Fathers have responsibilities and duties. Fathers above all should listen to this message. Mothers should also listen so that they can drop a few hints to their husbands from time to time. Those young men who are not fathers and young women who hope to have a husband one day should also listen. So ..... much blessed listening to you all.
So, who are you? Ps Gary is our guest speaker this week and has also addressed us many times in the past. He tells us what the Bible says about what we think and how we will then be. He advises us to consider who we are in Christ. He goes on in-depth to explain that we are not just an individual but a part of the church and that the church is the Body of Christ for which Jesus is the Head.
Ps Gary gives us some testimonies of what he was like growing up - these kinds of stories always encourage us to show us that we are all just normal people but we have Jesus living inside of us now that we have become born again. He points out that, when surveyed, 68% of Australians have said that church was not good for society! That is their perception. How can we change that? Ps Gary has much to say about that.
Apart from being the Body of Christ, Ps Gary also reminds us that we are the Bride of Christ and what all this means in adjusting our thinking so that we can become what God has created us to be and spread that abroad wherever we go. There are some fascinating parallels between all this and Adam and Eve in Genesis.
Ps Gary prays that our eyes would be and lightened to fully see and understand that we are made in the image of God and we are more than we can possibly imagine. This is an amazing message and highly encouraging for us all. The Scriptures that Ps Gary reads will confirm all this.
Ps Hugh begins by describing some building situations in society. For example, building luxury homes. Having been involved in IT as a Project Manager, he described a massive replacement of all their hardware and software at great cost. It had a 5-year life! The Bible has numerous examples about not building our lives and hopes on earthly things but to spend our time, money, passions, and so on, on things that matter. He then mentions a story about Elisha with the point that we need to turn our eyes off natural things and towards spiritual things.
Continuing, he talks about not focusing on earthly wealth but on rich relationships. He points out that we are all building something and, whatever that is, how it needs a strong foundation, a cornerstone. This, as you realise, is only a very short summary of Ps Hugh's message today. There's much more! .....
What are you building right now? What would you like to be building?
Ps David serves as the Senior Minister of Empower Church, a thriving church with multiple locations across the city of Sydney and Brisbane. He has visited us here in Bundaberg a number of times already. He has had some experience in the building industry so, coupled with his decades of experience as a pastor and his knowledge of the Bible, I guess he knows what he's talking about!
He starts by pointing out that, just as an earthly building needs a blueprint, we have a heavenly blueprint for our lives. God had this ready before we were even born. Pastor David begins with 1 Corinthians 3:9-11. He points out that it is critical that, when building our lives, our foundation must be strong and solid. Jesus! He gives an anecdote about concrete when he thought there was too much concrete being laid. He was quickly corrected! He also relates to Matthew 7:24–27 regarding this matter.
Ps David continues with many Scriptures and anecdotes of his own life and how he had to learn to get it right by building upon the Rock. He has much good advice for us that will enable us to withstand the storms of life as, brick by brick, we build our own lives.
In his message today, Ps Danny elaborates on the meaning of the Title of today's message. However, this will get you pointed in the right direction ......
The building is the church body of all born-again Christians. Every born-again Christian is another brick in the wall (you can stop humming that song now). The body of the church is growing all the time as new bricks are being added. Every Christian is also a Temple!
After a brief introduction, Ps Danny reminds us that we are all being built day by day. It's all about growth! And some steps in that growth can be quite painful due to traumas and troubles of all kinds. He gives an example of the perseverance of Edison who invented the light bulb. You are sure to be encouraged by this illustration. For each one of these difficult times, Ps Danny advises us to ask ourselves this question to God, "What is it you want me to do?" He also warns us to be careful as to whether the answer comes from our flesh or from the Holy Spirit. Rather than just leaving us alone to wrestle with that, he also deals with how we can grow to be sure that we are getting the right answer and following the right guidance. Do you need this in your troublesome times or have you got it all sewn up now?
Success in dealing with those trials, troubles, and tribulations of life throughout our journey, can rely on many aspects. Ps Danny goes through these. For example, he describes God's love for us and encourages us to love ourselves and get rid of any negativity we might have of our own failings.
He next goes into various aspects of the building industry, using physical samples to support our spiritual growth, as well as the scriptures associated with them: the Cornerstone, the stumbling block, and more.
As you have been reading this Comment you may not know if you are born-again or not. Ps Danny has not forgotten you in this message. Listen carefully at the end, open your heart to the Lord, and follow through.
After a brief 'hello' Ps Hugh gets straight into today's message, Hebrews 4:12, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
He immediately refers to John 1:1 where Jesus is called the Word and that He, Jesus the Word, is certainly alive. He also points out that it could be quite painful to be prodded with the sword but that Jesus prompts us with the tip very carefully and gently.
While gesturing with some fencing poses, Ps Hugh reminds us also that such prodding judges the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. He asks the question, "How will we respond?"
He then points out that, in the story of the woman caught in adultery and who was going to be stoned to death according to Jewish Law, after the crowd had dispersed, Jesus advised her to, "Go and sin no more".
Next, smoothly linking this in with the story of the sower and the seed, Ps Hugh assures us that it's not about seed at all but soil! Four different types of soil are referred to in that parable. Only one of them is properly fruitful. For one reason or another, the other three failed to produce a crop. Ps Hugh points out that When Jesus prods us with His sword, our response to that will produce one of those soils. He asks, "Which soil are you?"
And how does this all fit in with Bear Grylls and Mount Everest? Listen and see as there is much more than what is written above .....
Ps Mark Ironside is our guest speaker this morning. After some decades of being in ministry, he has now been the Senior Pastor at Harvest Point Christian Outreach Centre in Gleneagle QLD for around 6 years. With knowledge in advance, he stepped right into our current series with a great message.
After an introduction, including praying for someone, Ps Mark gets straight to the point - the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. There is much confusion about this but he uses Scriptures to clearly distinguish between receiving the Holy Spirit when being born again and, often at a later time, receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is quite clear that they are 2 different experiences. That is indisputable. He then continues to use Scriptures to show us how some people get Baptism of the Holy Spirit sometime later after being born again and baptised in water. He also uses Scriptures to show that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit can occur simultaneously with becoming born again. God can do what he wishes! If you have ever been confused about this, please definitely listen to this message.
He then goes on to talk about praying in tongues. As with the above, and all the way through the message, there are numerous Scriptures being used to illustrate the truth of the message. And that includes praying in tongues. He shows us that there is great spiritual power in praying in tongues. It's part and parcel of becoming Baptised in the Holy Spirit. This is a most exciting message and the Holy Spirit was moving among many people during the service. He can move upon you while you listen to this message. There's so much more information here, so don't miss out .....
Your life has already been changed drastically since you become born again (if that's not you, this message includes a prayer for that). There is a change of active power in your life still to come if you have not yet been Baptised in the Holy Spirit. That power is waiting for you, for the glory of God, for your edification, and to bless others .....
Hmmm ..... Did I mishear that Part title? Or is it a grammatical error? Neither! Ps Danny will explain it all very clearly and succinctly .....
As with last week, Ps Danny points out to us that this is a personal revelation that he has had. He indicates that he will be baring his soul to talk about it but he believes it will be most helpful to all of us as well.
In spoken English, depending upon the usage, we have 2 pronunciations of the word 'the'. The Greek language has 2 words, each of which can be translated into English as 'word': Logos and Rhema.
Logos: What we read with our mind; Rhema: What we read with our heart.
Whole dissertations are available on those 2 words and the above is a simplification. However, Ps Danny gives numerous examples to distinguish between the 2 and how we can access that difference in our lives.
Reading from John 1:1-5, we quickly discover that the word logos is used to describe Jesus as The Word. That's just the start - there is much more about the operation of both logos and rhema in our day-to-day lives. And many scriptures. The question for us all to ponder is this: Are we just reading the Bible as logos, with our heads, or are we also reading the Bible with rhema, a Holy Spirit revelation? Seriously, if we're not getting rhema into our lives we are missing out on a lot. Listen to this message and be inspired to seek God for an understanding of both kinds of words. And read and pray as you go.
This week, Ps Danny gets personal - he says that he's preaching to himself and that we can listen in. He advises that we take notes so that we can later check ourselves out against what he says. I think we won't need to wait until later but, listen in, and see if that applies to you.
Ps Danny quickly reminds us that the Bible tells us that life and death can be in our words. He reads some details from James 3 about the untamable tongue, the smallest part of us but it has the most power. With our tongues, we can bless or curse. Our words come out of the well that is in our soul. Do we have clean water or brackish water down there? Our tongues need to be bridled but no human can control their tongue. We cannot save ourselves. But, Ps Danny provides us with the solutions that we need.
The first step is for us to be willing. We have a responsibility there. God has the responsibility to teach us how to get to the right place. Listen carefully and take notes as Ps Danny quotes many Scriptures from both the NT and OT on how we can manage our tongues. We all need this. We know that already, don't we!
And ..... Do physical hearts actually have a mind of their own? Check out the amazing testimonies that Ps Danny reveals to us on this matter.
Ps Hugh begins with asking a few questions .....
- How does our speech line up with the Word of God?
- How does our speech affect others?
- How is it affecting our own lives?
- Words are powerful. We should read the Word. Why?
He then reminds us of some things we are all guilty of .....
- Saying something that we can never take back and spending many years wishing we could.
- Talking about people instead of talking to them.
- The quality of a marriage is determined by how we speak to one another. (How's that going for you these days?)
There is much more. Hugh uses numerous Scriptures to show us how we should speak in positive ways instead of dwelling on the negative, which comes out in our speech. The Bible, the Word of God, is replete throughout with how to speak positively and bless people instead of cursing them, including ourselves. We all do this! We all need today's message because ..... at the end, Ps Hugh outlines the solution to us and how we can get it right.
The Secret Sauce? What are you going to do with this, Ps Ashleigh? Where are you going with it? Let's see .....
After giving some commendation to some of our faithful congregation members, and then praying, Ps Ash commences talking about food and especially the 'secret' sauces that they all seem to have, without which the taste would not be effective. We siallhere in the congregation eager to find out what the secret sauce is and how it is related to this series on Discipleship. She reads from Mark 9:30-37.
And then she reveals the word which describes the 'secret sauce' for Discipleship. Applying that 'secret sauce' is risky! She points out that we can't live a life without risk. Part of that risk is to show our emotions and not lock ourselves up. She points out that discipleship requires relationship and goes into depth about that.
She eventually arrives at mentioning what her favourite sauce is ..... Mayonnaise! She has prepared all the ingredients that make mayonnaise and asks for a volunteer to do the job while she explains the specific functions of each ingredient and why they are necessary. (We have not diverted from the main topic!)
The ingredients to make it are eggs, lemon juice, oil, salt, and whisking. She then ingeniously uses metaphors to show how each one of these can be applied to an aspect of our being effective with discipleship. Each one has its own Scripture applied to it.
What if we don't want to be a disciple? Well, if we are a born again Christian, we already are. It is just a matter of how effectively we are applying that. This carefully prepared and accurately executed message today will prepare us well to act out the discipleship which is in every born-again Christian.
Ps Hugh begins by thanking Michael who stepped in at the last minute to take over someone else's duty. He then tells us that he, and his wife Jeanette, have just attended the INC State Conference (International Network of Churches). After a brief description, he asks Jeanette to come up to speak about something that moved her at the conference. It is surrender! What does that mean? How hard is it to do?
Ps Hugh then describes how a large part of the theme for the conference was Discipleship! He goes on to say how we all have a Calling from God. That is not talking about serving the church necessarily, but whatever he has created us to do in any aspect of our lives. Then he talks about the Confrontation - a time in his life when he was confronted with the possibility of giving up his calling!
2 years and 3 months ago Ps Hugh lost his wife, Chris, in a horrific road accident. As you might imagine, Ps Hugh was utterly devastated. As usual, and as we would all do, he was asking God, "Why?". How did he get through all this? How did he come to the point where he was able to continue with his Calling? Well, the simple and easy answer is that God moved upon him. However, there was a journey before arriving at that point. Ps Hugh describes this journey to us.
What horrific traumas and trials have you encountered? How will you manage them if some come up? Ps Hugh bears his soul and tells us honestly how it was and what happened. He parallels it with incidences from the story of Job who lost everything except his wife. There was a Limit that God had set so that Job's torments would stop. It's good to know that God sets such a limit for each of us.
This is surely a message that we could all take to heart. Following his personal testimony, Pa Hugh continues with the theme of our Calling in God, one of which we all have.
Ps Hugh starts with something quite different this week. He asks everyone to stand and worship God and allow the Holy Spirit to minister. We pray that you will also enjoy this part of the ministry (it went on for quite a while but this is an abbreviated version - relax, enjoy, and let the Holy Spirit minister to you).
Ps Hugh starts the message by discussing the commands that Jesus gave us. The most topical one, for now, is that we should go everywhere and make disciples. Jesus gave us 49 commands altogether. Surprisingly, Ps Hugh strongly points out that we should not attempt to obey any of these commands! Wow! He does clearly explain that to attempt to do that would be to return ourselves to be under the Law of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we are in an era of grace. He reads from Matthew 22:36-40 so that we can see exactly what we need to do with respect to obeying Jesus' commands. Listen carefully and be set free.
The basic meaning of disciple is a follower. If we want to follow Jesus, our hearts and lives will be changed. Ps Hugh discusses the Word, our conscience, and their relationship with people. These things will be witness to the fact that we have become a disciple. He goes into detail with these aspects because, if we are going to disciple others, they will also need to become disciples themselves and live out these attributes in their lives.
It may sound too much and that we may not be capable of doing but how it works in practice is that Jesus Himself will walk this journey along with us. In order for us to grow, Ps Hugh makes some suggestions as to what we could do day by day. Are you a disciple yet? Have you discipled anyone yet? Whether or not one or both of those apply, if we are a born-again Christian we need to listen to this message.
Following an enthusiastic introduction from Ps Danny, Ps Hugh begins with Matthew 28:18-19 where Jesus commands us to make disciples. That discipleship commenced on the day of Pentecost. There were 120 men in the upper room. By the end of the day, they had 3000 people added to their number. A tremendous amount of discipleship was immediately required.
And what is a disciple? What are they supposed to do? Ps Hugh draws an excellent parallel to when his son was 17 years old. This illustration is useful for us all - otherwise, you might wonder what the purpose of discipling really is. Parents can and should disciple their children.
Even if we don't say a word we will all still be disciples. Wherever we are people are watching us to see how we behave in all kinds of situations. Ps Hugh elaborates on this so that we will have the confidence to grow and disciple others. He also reminds us that none of us is perfect and to not get into condemnation if our behaviour is not perfect when we are in front of all kinds of people.
He references Nehemiah 1:1-11. He points out that Nehemiah had a burden to fulfil a task. Do we have such a burden that will encourage us to disciple others? There are costs to being a disciple. For example, we need to make ourselves available. And what are the rewards of being a disciple? All Christians need to be disciples so it is important for all of us to know the content of today's message.
And what's the difference between building the church and building a brick wall? And what's that about a blank piece of paper?
Today is Pentecost Sunday. Ps Katrina has a passion for us to be warriors, not worriers. She enthusiastically points out to us that we need the power of the Holy Spirit within us so that we can fulfil what God wants us to do. She mentions that there is much miseducation on the Holy Spirit infilling. This blocks many from proceeding as it enduces shame and fear.
She goes quite deeply with much detail into the importance of the Passover, why it was necessary and how it occurred. The Hebrews had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years. They were finally set free but it required the angel of death to pass over Egypt killing the firstborns. It required the blood of a lamb in each Hebrew household so that they could be exempt from this death. There were certain times of the day that were important. There was a certain number of days that were also important following that first Passover.
There is a fascinating attachment between Pentecost and all the details of the first Passover. She excellently describes these details and assures are that Pentecost is a definite part of God's full plan. Of course, the Cross is included in this. Listen to this message and remove all doubts and fears about whether the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is real, necessary, and absolutely still for today for those who seek it.
Scriptures: Acts 19:2, Acts 2:1, Matthew 5: Acts 1:3-4, Acts 1:8, Acts 2:2-4, Acts 2:5-12, at 2:42-47, Acts 217-18, and Acts 2:43.
Following an introduction from Dean Vickers, Ps Ash gives honour to Trevor and Virginia Versace. They were among the founder members of the Citicoast church and have been in service with faithful commitment ever since that time.
She immediately then refers to Acts 1:6-8 where we are told that we are going to get strength and power from the Holy Spirit. She then delivers a personal testimony of a season where she lost her strength and power. She had been dedicated to regular weightlifting but, suddenly, she felt too weak to lift her weights. It was not anxiety and she realised she needed to be refreshed in the Holy Spirit to increase her power (1 Corinthians 4:20-21). She then gives an illustration about how weird it looks when a car is being pulled along on a trailer. The car has lost its strength and power. We do not want to be like that. The Holy Spirit will lead us to be where he wants us to go. That car had no choice. After a number of illustrations to happily ensure we know where we're going to today, Ash mentions 5 critical aspects of what can stop us from gaining and regaining our strength and power from the Holy Spirit:
- Listening to others over the voice of God.
- Seeking approval from the world over the approval of God.
- Chasing an idea over a vision from God.
- Spending time being entertained over being filled from God.
- Making poor excuses to avoid the people of God.
Ps Ash elaborates on all those points, accompanied by Scriptures. And there's more! Have you been feeling weak and overcome in recent times? You need to regain your strength and power from the Holy Spirit. If you are unsure whether you ever had the power and strength of the Holy Spirit then you need today's message even more so. Be blessed by Ash's presentation.