For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.......
- 2 Timothy 1:7 -
Thoughts on This Verse... When we became Christians, Jesus gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Titus 3:3-7). The Spirit lives in us, making our bodies a Temple (1 Cor. 6:19-20) and blessing us in many ways (Romans 8). We can be courageous people even in the face of attack, criticism, and ridicule because of the Spirit's presence. The fruit that the Spirit produces (Gal. 5:22-23) and the love that the Spirit pours into our heart (Rom. 5:5) do not make us weak. Instead, the Spirit's presence is a powerful force to help us overcome sin (Rom. 8:13) and live self-disciplined lives.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
long circuit!
Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.......
- Psalm 34:21 -
Thoughts on This Verse... God has promised a closing time, a reckoning where human power and influence cannot buy out the truth and where each person will have to face up to what he or she has done. Evil will overtake those who have been partners with evil. Those that hate good people, righteous people, will be condemned in their own hate. God's righteousness, truth, and justice will not be short-circuited!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- Psalm 34:21 -
Thoughts on This Verse... God has promised a closing time, a reckoning where human power and influence cannot buy out the truth and where each person will have to face up to what he or she has done. Evil will overtake those who have been partners with evil. Those that hate good people, righteous people, will be condemned in their own hate. God's righteousness, truth, and justice will not be short-circuited!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Saved
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. ... With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them,''Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.'' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.......
- Acts 2:21, 40-41 -
Thoughts on This Verse... Call on the name of the Lord! Proclaim him as your risen Lord! Share with him in baptism as the first Christians did. Have God add you to his holy people. Know that Jesus will save you from the corruption that plagues our world and so many of our lives. You see, God sent Jesus to save, redeem, restore, and bless. Share in the joy of that salvation. Don't wait! Today is the day of salvation! Share in it. Rejoice in it. Pass it on to others. Christ our King has come to bring his salvation to all!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- Acts 2:21, 40-41 -
Thoughts on This Verse... Call on the name of the Lord! Proclaim him as your risen Lord! Share with him in baptism as the first Christians did. Have God add you to his holy people. Know that Jesus will save you from the corruption that plagues our world and so many of our lives. You see, God sent Jesus to save, redeem, restore, and bless. Share in the joy of that salvation. Don't wait! Today is the day of salvation! Share in it. Rejoice in it. Pass it on to others. Christ our King has come to bring his salvation to all!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Instrument of God
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach 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, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn .........
Thoughts on This Verse... Jesus read this passage at a synagogue in Nazareth to describe his ministry (see Luke 4). He came to preach good news, to bind up, to bring deliverance, to offer release, to proclaim grace, and to offer comfort. If Jesus has sent us into the world as the Father sent him (John 20:21-23), shouldn't we be teaching and serving as he did?
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
We have the right!
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.........
- John 1:12 -
Thoughts on This Verse... Isn't it incredible that we are called children of God!? But that is exactly what we are! (cf. 1 John 3:1-3.) We are God's children. Our Father created the universe with its billions and billions of heavenly bodies. Our Father paints a new sunset every day and chases away the darkness every morning. Our Father not only loves us, but he also claims us as his own and will bring us to his eternal home. Why? Because we heard his message in Jesus. Because we received his grace offered in his Son. Incredible! Glorious! Grace!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- John 1:12 -
Thoughts on This Verse... Isn't it incredible that we are called children of God!? But that is exactly what we are! (cf. 1 John 3:1-3.) We are God's children. Our Father created the universe with its billions and billions of heavenly bodies. Our Father paints a new sunset every day and chases away the darkness every morning. Our Father not only loves us, but he also claims us as his own and will bring us to his eternal home. Why? Because we heard his message in Jesus. Because we received his grace offered in his Son. Incredible! Glorious! Grace!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Monday, July 25, 2011
Love is in the air
And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.......
- 1 John 4:21 -
Thoughts on This Verse... For over a week, John has reminded us again and again. We must love our brothers and sisters in Christ. This reminder, however, is the clincher. If we love God, then we must love his children and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Notice that the word isn't''should'' or''will try'' or''want to.'' No, we must. The Bible is careful not to put many''must do'' or''thou shalt'' commands in Scripture. But God's point is clear. Love of each other is not optional, negotiable, or even something to be delayed. God sent Jesus to die for the sins of all of God's children. How can we not love those for whom Christ gave so much? As Paul will say to the Corinthians,''God's love compels us!'' We MUST love.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- 1 John 4:21 -
Thoughts on This Verse... For over a week, John has reminded us again and again. We must love our brothers and sisters in Christ. This reminder, however, is the clincher. If we love God, then we must love his children and our brothers and sisters in Christ. Notice that the word isn't''should'' or''will try'' or''want to.'' No, we must. The Bible is careful not to put many''must do'' or''thou shalt'' commands in Scripture. But God's point is clear. Love of each other is not optional, negotiable, or even something to be delayed. God sent Jesus to die for the sins of all of God's children. How can we not love those for whom Christ gave so much? As Paul will say to the Corinthians,''God's love compels us!'' We MUST love.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Risk More
Mark Broadbent
24th July 2011
*The Story of Jesus walking on water
*The different between disciples and Peter is that he is willing to step out
*The reason why we do not see miracles is because we do not step out
*Reading and knowledge of God is good but we cannot see God's mighty hand at work
3. Actions we can do in responding to God-sized visions
2. We limit our opportunities (time, money, effort)
Thus, we try and compromise in doing what we can do
*The reason why we do not shift from what I can do to what God can do is because we FEAR OF FAILURE
1. Even if we do not succeed, we will still achieve a lot
Exodus 3:7-9: The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.
The story of Moses bringing the Israelites out of Egypt to the promise land
Numbers 20:12: But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
*Moses did not get that
*The reason we must step up even if we fail is so that we will see the kingdom of God at work
2. You will improve
Mark 9:17-29: A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.
*Jesus does not always expect success, he picks us up when we fail
*If we want to succeed, we got to experience failure first
3. If we keep persevering, we will eventually have success
Matthew 13:57-58: And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”
58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
*God loves you and will open other doors when we face failures
4. You will see God come through for you like never before
Joshua 3:11-13: See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”
*It is not enough to just pray big prayers but to act upon it
Start by praying for people inside (the church)
John 4:35: Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
Matthew 9:37-38: Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
24th July 2011
*The Story of Jesus walking on water
*The different between disciples and Peter is that he is willing to step out
*The reason why we do not see miracles is because we do not step out
*Reading and knowledge of God is good but we cannot see God's mighty hand at work
3. Actions we can do in responding to God-sized visions
1. Ignore and wander aimlessly.
we do not want to do that anymore.2. We limit our opportunities (time, money, effort)
Thus, we try and compromise in doing what we can do
3. Embrace that God has God-sized visions for us.
We should do what only God can do*The reason why we do not shift from what I can do to what God can do is because we FEAR OF FAILURE
1. Even if we do not succeed, we will still achieve a lot
Exodus 3:7-9: The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.
The story of Moses bringing the Israelites out of Egypt to the promise land
Numbers 20:12: But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
*Moses did not get that
*The reason we must step up even if we fail is so that we will see the kingdom of God at work
2. You will improve
Mark 9:17-29: A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.
*Jesus does not always expect success, he picks us up when we fail
*If we want to succeed, we got to experience failure first
3. If we keep persevering, we will eventually have success
Matthew 13:57-58: And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”
58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
*God loves you and will open other doors when we face failures
4. You will see God come through for you like never before
Joshua 3:11-13: See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”
*It is not enough to just pray big prayers but to act upon it
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field
Start by praying for people inside (the church)
John 4:35: Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.
Matthew 9:37-38: Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Action speaks louder than words
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.......
Thoughts on This Verse... ''The proof of the pudding is in the eating.'' The proof of biblical wisdom and understanding is in the living. To simply know the truth doesn't mean a whole lot if we don't do anything with that knowledge; to live the truth is everything. (cf. Matthew 7)
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Friday, July 22, 2011
What does it mean to be your brother's or sister's keeper
*Leviticus 19:17-18: 17 “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.
*Be frank
*Do not talk behind people's backs
*To care and love as you have loved yourself
*To be trustworthy but know when its better to tell someone
*Care, protect and value people
*Jeremiah 17:10: 10 “I the LORD search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”
*Psalm 32:1-2:
Of David. A maskil.
*Ask for forgiveness for what sin we have done
*Proverbs 28:13-14: 13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
*Hebrews 12:1: 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,
*Sin can get us side track so we should be ready to throw off everything that causes us to sin
*Proverbs 4:23: 23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
*We must guard our heart (Thoughts and emotions)
*The "well spring of life" - the promise that God brings
All in all
*We have to guard our heart
*Know our intentions
*Know what influences and affects us
*Hebrews 12:5-11: 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
18 “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
*Do not talk behind people's backs
*To care and love as you have loved yourself
*To be trustworthy but know when its better to tell someone
*Care, protect and value people
*Jeremiah 17:10: 10 “I the LORD search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”
*Psalm 32:1-2:
Of David. A maskil.
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the LORD does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the LORD does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
*Proverbs 28:13-14: 13 Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
14 Blessed is the one who always trembles before God,
but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.
but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.
*Sin can get us side track so we should be ready to throw off everything that causes us to sin
*Proverbs 4:23: 23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
*We must guard our heart (Thoughts and emotions)
*The "well spring of life" - the promise that God brings
All in all
*We have to guard our heart
*Know our intentions
*Know what influences and affects us
*Hebrews 12:5-11: 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
So what kind of spiritual heritage do we, our family or non christian friends want to develop to convict and live it out?
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Love contagion
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.......
- Galatians 6:2 -
Thoughts on This Verse... This is just another way of saying,''Love your neighbor as yourself!'' Jesus came to bear our burdens and carry away the stain and pain of our sin. (Read Isaiah 53 for a powerful description of God's Suffering Servant, a passage quoted in the New Testament in reference to Jesus.) He now asks us to live redemptively, in practical ways, toward those around us. More than just praying, or asking what we can do to help, we are called to serve, minister, and assist others who are burdened.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- Galatians 6:2 -
Thoughts on This Verse... This is just another way of saying,''Love your neighbor as yourself!'' Jesus came to bear our burdens and carry away the stain and pain of our sin. (Read Isaiah 53 for a powerful description of God's Suffering Servant, a passage quoted in the New Testament in reference to Jesus.) He now asks us to live redemptively, in practical ways, toward those around us. More than just praying, or asking what we can do to help, we are called to serve, minister, and assist others who are burdened.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Thursday, July 21, 2011
A Compassion Heart
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.......
- Lamentations 3:22-23 -
Thoughts on This Verse... What sustained you through the night? What will get you through today? What will enable you to achieve your goals, even thrive, in the days that lie ahead? The LORD's mercies. These incredible resources never run out! Each new day brings a fresh supply of them. God is faithful to make sure we have them each day. Praise be to God for making our world new and clean each new day.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- Lamentations 3:22-23 -
Thoughts on This Verse... What sustained you through the night? What will get you through today? What will enable you to achieve your goals, even thrive, in the days that lie ahead? The LORD's mercies. These incredible resources never run out! Each new day brings a fresh supply of them. God is faithful to make sure we have them each day. Praise be to God for making our world new and clean each new day.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Different from our perspective
And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.......
- Mattthew 10:38-39 -
Thoughts on This Verse... Jesus wants us to seriously look into our hearts and surrender those things that hold us back from fully following and serving him. We know what they are. He comes to us with his now nail-scarred hands and reminds us that he gave up everything to redeem us. He now wants us to surrender to the Cross the things that hold us back. Let's do it today!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- Mattthew 10:38-39 -
Thoughts on This Verse... Jesus wants us to seriously look into our hearts and surrender those things that hold us back from fully following and serving him. We know what they are. He comes to us with his now nail-scarred hands and reminds us that he gave up everything to redeem us. He now wants us to surrender to the Cross the things that hold us back. Let's do it today!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Maker and Creator
For your Maker is your husband-- the LORD Almighty is his name-- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.......
- Isaiah 54:5 -
Thoughts on This Verse... ''For God so loved the world...''''The Father, from whom every family on earth derives its name...'' God is not just the God of Israel. The LORD God, ruler of heaven and earth, is the God of all nations and one day''every knee will bow and every tongue will confess... that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.''
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- Isaiah 54:5 -
Thoughts on This Verse... ''For God so loved the world...''''The Father, from whom every family on earth derives its name...'' God is not just the God of Israel. The LORD God, ruler of heaven and earth, is the God of all nations and one day''every knee will bow and every tongue will confess... that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.''
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Monday, July 18, 2011
Pray for More
Dan Harding
17th July 2011
*Are we able to pray big courageous prayers?
*We might think an extraordinary prayer is done by missionaries or when someone has seen a vision or God has spoke to them
*But..we need to pray extraordinary prayers too
Nehemiah's heart was broken
*Nehemiah 1:1-4:
3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
*Nehemiah was an ordinary man but God answered his prayers tremendously
*Do you weep easily for things that how you said would be?
Nehemiah confesses sin
*Nehemiah 1:6b-7: I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
(both sins of ommission and commission)
*He and all those people had a clear mind on what they were suppose to do
Nehemiah prayes God's own promises
*Nehemiah 1:8-10 : 8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.
Nehemiah requests success and favour
*Nehemiah 1:11: 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
Nehemiah is granted his prayer by God
*Nehemiah 2:8: 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.
*He rebuild the city and God's name upon it
*There were no angels, prophecy, vision but knew God's promises and wept about it
*When we know extraordinary prayers like this, it is not the end
*Matthew 28:19-20 : 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
*Acts 1:8 : 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
*If what we desire is in sync with God's plan, we just have to pray boldly
*What are the big prayers God is waiting for us to pray?
*Pray a bold prayer if you want to do something extraordinary!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
17th July 2011
*Are we able to pray big courageous prayers?
*We might think an extraordinary prayer is done by missionaries or when someone has seen a vision or God has spoke to them
*But..we need to pray extraordinary prayers too
Nehemiah's heart was broken
*Nehemiah 1:1-4:
Nehemiah’s Prayer
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
*Nehemiah was an ordinary man but God answered his prayers tremendously
*Do you weep easily for things that how you said would be?
Nehemiah confesses sin
*Nehemiah 1:6b-7: I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
(both sins of ommission and commission)
*He and all those people had a clear mind on what they were suppose to do
Nehemiah prayes God's own promises
*Nehemiah 1:8-10 : 8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.
Nehemiah requests success and favour
*Nehemiah 1:11: 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
I was cupbearer to the king.
*He wants God to use himNehemiah is granted his prayer by God
*Nehemiah 2:8: 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.
*He rebuild the city and God's name upon it
*There were no angels, prophecy, vision but knew God's promises and wept about it
*When we know extraordinary prayers like this, it is not the end
How do we pray big prayers?
*God's general promises + What personally means to us
*God's heart + Your heart
*Matthew 28:19-20 : 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
*If what we desire is in sync with God's plan, we just have to pray boldly
*What are the big prayers God is waiting for us to pray?
*Pray a bold prayer if you want to do something extraordinary!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Confessions of a sinner
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.......
Thoughts on This Verse... So many hearts, hopes, and homes are broken by sin. This brokenness infects our culture and invades our lives. God has provided both a deterrent to sin and a means of forgiveness for its guilt: honest and genuine confession of our sin. At the heart of confession is a passion to see sin for what it is in the eyes of God and to be anguished for our participation in it. No wonder confession is so healing (cf. 1 John 1:5-2:2). No wonder God wants us to confess our sin to each other and then come to him for each other's healing from sin and its damage. No wonder God grants such power to the prayer of a righteous person interceding for one led to confess. Let's confess our sin and leave it behind.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Slipperiness of sin
1. Temptation = desire (longing) + enticement (right timing)
*James 1:14-15: but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
2. Sin = desire + enticement/ opportunity + action
*Sin can become full grown when treat sin as natural and normal
3. Death = desire + opportunity + action + unrepentence
2. Don't desire or do that action
3. Flee from temptation
4. Repent
*Galatians 5:24 : Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
*Romans 12:1-2 :
*We should rely on God to change our desires
*Renewing of your mind- changing your perspective.
*To know that it is not the end of the world
* The mind is a very important part because it influences our actions
*By doing the following actions, we will honour God rather than looking at our own bad days
*Limiting our opportunities to sin. We can ask God to flee from the opportunities
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
*James 1:14-15: but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
2. Sin = desire + enticement/ opportunity + action
*Sin can become full grown when treat sin as natural and normal
3. Death = desire + opportunity + action + unrepentence
4 ways to stop at different parts
1. Pray2. Don't desire or do that action
3. Flee from temptation
4. Repent
*Galatians 5:24 : Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
*Romans 12:1-2 :
A Living Sacrifice
1 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. 2 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.*We should rely on God to change our desires
*Renewing of your mind- changing your perspective.
*To know that it is not the end of the world
* The mind is a very important part because it influences our actions
*By doing the following actions, we will honour God rather than looking at our own bad days
*Limiting our opportunities to sin. We can ask God to flee from the opportunities
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Lord you are good!
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.......
Thoughts on This Verse... I usually''speed read'' through the''begats'' (you know, through the genealogies in the Bible). But, let's take time today to go back and read Matthew 1:1-17 and be reminded that God's love, mercy, and faithfulness not only continued through all of those generations, but also blessed and nurtured each of those generations. As he has done in the past, God will do so even more in the days ahead as we await the glorious return of his Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Living word of God
For the word of God is living 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.......
Thoughts on This Verse... What is the greatest tool to repair the human heart? ... by-pass surgery? ... angioplasty? ... artificial heart? ... transplant? How about the Word of God? You see, while these other techniques can be of great aid to the physical heart of people, God's tool for heart surgery is his Word. This sharp scalpel can reach the soul and spirit as well as being a physical blessing. So how much of your heart are you offering to God and his powerful heart-healing tool to touch? As you open God's Scripture, as you hear the message of God preached, why not ask for the Holy Spirit's help to help you understand, apply, and put into practice what is being taught? Let's offer our hearts to the Great Physician to do his work in us!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Friday, July 15, 2011
I shant be afraid!
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.......
Thoughts on This Verse... Death is the ultimate profanity in today's world. We don't like to think about it, much less talk about it. However, death is that one reality that will not leave us alone. We lose friends and family members to death. At one point in our lives, we too, will face this inevitability unless Jesus comes before our passing. So what is our assurance as we face the inescapable? Our Shepherd! He will walk us through, guiding and protecting and comforting us in our journey. And as Christians, this promise is only intensified because we know Jesus as our Good Shepherd, and he has taken the walk ahead of us to insure that our walk through death's valley doesn't end in death, but in glory.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Its all in the mind
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.......
- Romans 14:5 -
Thoughts on This Verse... So often we let personal preference, peer pressure, and concerns about the celebration of certain days, especially holidays, have a divisive effect on our Christian relationships. Bottom line: we're not to try to press our opinion or position on anyone else. We're not to judge another because he doesn't celebrate a special day to the Lord and we're not to judge another because she does celebrate special days. This is a matter of personal conviction that revolves around our desire to please the Lord and to honor him in ways we feel are appropriate. Let's not be so insecure that we have to do what everyone else does or force anyone else to do as we prefer. Instead, let's remember the right angle to take with all things: honor God with everything we are and consider the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- Romans 14:5 -
Thoughts on This Verse... So often we let personal preference, peer pressure, and concerns about the celebration of certain days, especially holidays, have a divisive effect on our Christian relationships. Bottom line: we're not to try to press our opinion or position on anyone else. We're not to judge another because he doesn't celebrate a special day to the Lord and we're not to judge another because she does celebrate special days. This is a matter of personal conviction that revolves around our desire to please the Lord and to honor him in ways we feel are appropriate. Let's not be so insecure that we have to do what everyone else does or force anyone else to do as we prefer. Instead, let's remember the right angle to take with all things: honor God with everything we are and consider the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
It says it all
We love because he first loved us.......
- 1 John 4:19 -
Thoughts on This Verse... As human beings, we like to think of ourselves as the center of our universe. We determine the greatness or validity of most deeds based on their impact upon us. We consider ourselves great adventurers, inventors, and investigators. However, in the most important quest of all, we did not act first; God did. He loved us sacrificially. He loved us personally. He loved us first. Our love is a response to his grace. Our love is simply sharing with others what has been lavished upon us. We love because he loved us first.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- 1 John 4:19 -
Thoughts on This Verse... As human beings, we like to think of ourselves as the center of our universe. We determine the greatness or validity of most deeds based on their impact upon us. We consider ourselves great adventurers, inventors, and investigators. However, in the most important quest of all, we did not act first; God did. He loved us sacrificially. He loved us personally. He loved us first. Our love is a response to his grace. Our love is simply sharing with others what has been lavished upon us. We love because he loved us first.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
What Happens when we Dare to ask God for More
Sunday 10th July
Mark Broadbent
Why does the church exist?
*To be a community, to know Jesus more
1. Unbeliever
2. New Christian
3. Consumer Christian
- they think the church is serving their needs
- we might go "shopping" around for a new church
4. Growing Christian
5. Missionary
*You might think, why are we planting so many churches when there is so many churches already?
-because an average church has 100 people and 1 suburb has 1000 people and we only have 8 churches around 1 suburb.
5. Lead unbelievers to be missionaries
*What we sometimes lack is prayer
*It is not just a season or focus we do for a short period of time but throughout life
*We might pray the hardest and most when we are in crisis or when we are asked to pray
*So how do we do life such that prayer is second importance?
1.GOD SIZED VISION
*We might ignore or do sins of ommission (which is worse than sins of commission) and we wonder aimlessly
*The reason why we do not give generously because we have not handed the areas of life over to Jesus
*Acts 1:8 : But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
*The power of God comes when you are in mission with Him, it is all about God's agenda
2. Compromise
*We give excuses- limited by family situation, boyfriend/girlfriend situation, work situation etc
*We set out what we can ONLY achieve
*Matthew 6:25-34 : “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
*It is a faith issue
*If we put God first, He will give more than what we can handle
*We set out to achieve what we can do- we do not need God then
*The problem with capable people- we do not need God
*All in all, our life is fairly ordinary at the end of the day without God
3. Embrace
*If we embrace God's vision, lets seek God in everything we do
*Ephesians 3:20-21 : Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
*We have to set big goals that is God orientated so that God gets all the glory
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Mark Broadbent
Why does the church exist?
*To be a community, to know Jesus more
*90% says to meet the people's needs- this is not the purpose, it is suppose to be the purpose to know Jesus
1. Unbeliever
2. New Christian
3. Consumer Christian
- they think the church is serving their needs
- we might go "shopping" around for a new church
4. Growing Christian
5. Missionary
*God's agenda is more important than our agenda
1. The Gospel is the first importance in a church, we live and breath the gospel
2. If we want anything to be significant, we must PRAY - this is the secondary importance
3. We then need to raise up leaders
4. Then, we plant churches
*You might think, why are we planting so many churches when there is so many churches already?
-because an average church has 100 people and 1 suburb has 1000 people and we only have 8 churches around 1 suburb.
5. Lead unbelievers to be missionaries
*What we sometimes lack is prayer
*It is not just a season or focus we do for a short period of time but throughout life
*We might pray the hardest and most when we are in crisis or when we are asked to pray
*So how do we do life such that prayer is second importance?
*Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God
1.GOD SIZED VISION
*We might ignore or do sins of ommission (which is worse than sins of commission) and we wonder aimlessly
*The reason why we do not give generously because we have not handed the areas of life over to Jesus
*Acts 1:8 : But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
*The power of God comes when you are in mission with Him, it is all about God's agenda
2. Compromise
*We give excuses- limited by family situation, boyfriend/girlfriend situation, work situation etc
*We set out what we can ONLY achieve
*Matthew 6:25-34 : “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
*It is a faith issue
*If we put God first, He will give more than what we can handle
*We set out to achieve what we can do- we do not need God then
*The problem with capable people- we do not need God
*All in all, our life is fairly ordinary at the end of the day without God
3. Embrace
*If we embrace God's vision, lets seek God in everything we do
*Ephesians 3:20-21 : Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
*We have to set big goals that is God orientated so that God gets all the glory
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
He is Strength
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.......
Thoughts on This Verse... Jesus did what we could not do; he lived perfectly before God. He showed that sin isn't a necessity in our lives and that it does not have to hold us captive. He poured out his Spirit on us so that we could not only share in his forgiveness and cleansing grace, but also so that we could have power to live in a way that pleases God. Jesus is our sin offering and our Savior.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Monday, July 11, 2011
God's plan, not ours
''For I know the plans I have for you,'' declares the LORD,''plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.''......
Thoughts on This Verse... Jeremiah was telling God's people that 70 years after the devastation, God would deliver and restore them. Despite the fact that they had repeatedly abandoned God, he would not abandon them or his promises to them. He would be faithful. In fact, God was planning and preparing a bright future for them. This promise also reminds us that no matter how deep our own personal gloom may seem, God does have plans for us. He will keep his promises to us. He will deliver and bless us. We can have a vibrant hope and a bright future because of his faithfulness and our trust in his Son, Jesus, who delivers us from every foe.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Contentment
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.......
- 1 Timothy 6:7-8 -
Thoughts on This Verse... Godliness with contentment is great wealth! (see 1 Tim. 6:6). So what does it take for us to be content? Paul reminds Timothy that as long as we have food and clothing, we should be able to be content. It's when our desires get out of that channel, when covetousness and greed take over, that our lives get out of control and we replace God with a hunger for what is idolatrous. (cf. Col. 3:5).
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- 1 Timothy 6:7-8 -
Thoughts on This Verse... Godliness with contentment is great wealth! (see 1 Tim. 6:6). So what does it take for us to be content? Paul reminds Timothy that as long as we have food and clothing, we should be able to be content. It's when our desires get out of that channel, when covetousness and greed take over, that our lives get out of control and we replace God with a hunger for what is idolatrous. (cf. Col. 3:5).
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Friday, July 8, 2011
Fruitful basket
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law....... - Galatians 5:22-23 -
Thoughts on This Verse... When the Spirit is alive in our hearts, the character of
God comes to life in us as the Spirit works to conform us ever more
closely to the image and the character of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Better than the riches of this world
Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.......
- Psalm 37:16-17 -
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Trinity
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.......
- 1 John 4:15 -
Thoughts on This Verse... ''Jesus is the Son of God.'' Six simple words. However, they are much more than simple words; they are the doorway that opens our hearts to God. So each day as we confess Jesus as God's Son, we also consciously and intentionally welcome God into our hearts. The Father lives in the person who confesses the Son!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
- 1 John 4:15 -
Thoughts on This Verse... ''Jesus is the Son of God.'' Six simple words. However, they are much more than simple words; they are the doorway that opens our hearts to God. So each day as we confess Jesus as God's Son, we also consciously and intentionally welcome God into our hearts. The Father lives in the person who confesses the Son!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Are Christians Too Political?
3rd June 2011
Landscape and Perception
*90% australians do not want any party to win
*Popular perceptions - mix of both
eg: salvation army, australian christian lobby
*75% people think Christians are too involve in politics
How involve should we be in politics?
God and government in the Bible
*Genesis 1:28: God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
*Genesis 2:15-16: The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
*Genesis 2:17: but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
*Genesis 12:2-3: “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
*Genesis 50:20: You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
*Exodus 18:21,23: But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
*1 Samuel 8:7, 9, 22: And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”
*Isaiah 10:1: Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
*Jeremiah 29:4, 5, 7: This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
*Jesus did not start a political party but avoided and diliberately was not involve with the government
*Romans 13:1, 3, 5:
*Rejecting Rome's political act means rejecting Rome altogether
Five Biblical Principles
1. God desires, more than anything else, that He be Lord of our lives
2. God sees human government as a necessary consequence of our sin
3. God allows us to dictate our preferred form of government
4. God expects government to provide justice and welfare
5. God wants his people to seek the common good regardless of the government system
God and the government system
*Acts 5:29: Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
380BC- Christianity became the official religion of Rome
426BC- Augustine completed his book 'The City of God'
City of Man
(doesnt want injustice)
City of God
(everyone is equal, take care of people)
Justice
both share common values
*Romans 1:20: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
*Romans 2:15: They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)
*Aquinas introduced the natural law- where everybody beliefs is the same regardless
*C.S Lewis claimed that there may be different but similar shared beliefs and that the government should only deal with this area
*Whoever was in charge with the area was given the chance to be a protestant or a catholic but that would mean that the government is in charge and that the government would interfer with the church
*Locke saw Protestants and Catholic at one country that did not kill each other
*Why? because the head of the area did not care who was in charge (there was religious freedom)
*Government and the church separated - who was in charge then? No one has the right and is allowed to be in charge thus we appoint, give consent
*Hence, the beginning of consent base rule- DEMOCRACY
Christianitism Politics Today
*Polis : means city
*Polites : means citizen
*Politika: means affairs of the citizens OR about the way we live together, the science of government
*The Bible does not say much
*In other words, we can freely be involve in the government but we cannot bring the government in
*Ephesians 2:8-10: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Jesus
*Healing
*Matthew 8:13: Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
*Matthew 9:22: Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
*Matthew 12:15:
*Woman caught in adultery
*John 8: 2-11: 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
*Luke 4:18-19: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
*Matthew 5:33-44 (Very political):
*Power relationship completely changed
*Matthew 5:3-10: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
*If a person is nude, that person will be embarrass and the people around who see you will also be embarrass
*Be attitudes!
*He turns the injustice around
*Luke 1:52-53: He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
*1 Corinthians 1:27-29: But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
Landscape and Perception
*90% australians do not want any party to win
*Popular perceptions - mix of both
eg: salvation army, australian christian lobby
*75% people think Christians are too involve in politics
How involve should we be in politics?
God and government in the Bible
*Genesis 1:28: God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
*Genesis 2:15-16: The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
*Genesis 2:17: but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
*Genesis 12:2-3: “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.[a]
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
*Genesis 50:20: You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
*Exodus 18:21,23: But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
*1 Samuel 8:7, 9, 22: And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”
*Isaiah 10:1: Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
*Jeremiah 29:4, 5, 7: This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
*Jesus did not start a political party but avoided and diliberately was not involve with the government
*Romans 13:1, 3, 5:
Submission to Governing Authorities
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.
Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
*Rejecting Rome's political act means rejecting Rome altogether
Five Biblical Principles
1. God desires, more than anything else, that He be Lord of our lives
2. God sees human government as a necessary consequence of our sin
3. God allows us to dictate our preferred form of government
4. God expects government to provide justice and welfare
5. God wants his people to seek the common good regardless of the government system
God and the government system
*Acts 5:29: Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
380BC- Christianity became the official religion of Rome
426BC- Augustine completed his book 'The City of God'
City of Man
(doesnt want injustice)
City of God
(everyone is equal, take care of people)
Justice
both share common values
*Romans 1:20: For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
*Romans 2:15: They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)
*Aquinas introduced the natural law- where everybody beliefs is the same regardless
*C.S Lewis claimed that there may be different but similar shared beliefs and that the government should only deal with this area
*Whoever was in charge with the area was given the chance to be a protestant or a catholic but that would mean that the government is in charge and that the government would interfer with the church
*Locke saw Protestants and Catholic at one country that did not kill each other
*Why? because the head of the area did not care who was in charge (there was religious freedom)
*Government and the church separated - who was in charge then? No one has the right and is allowed to be in charge thus we appoint, give consent
*Hence, the beginning of consent base rule- DEMOCRACY
Christianitism Politics Today
*Polis : means city
*Polites : means citizen
*Politika: means affairs of the citizens OR about the way we live together, the science of government
*The Bible does not say much
*In other words, we can freely be involve in the government but we cannot bring the government in
*Ephesians 2:8-10: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Jesus
*Healing
*Matthew 8:13: Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.
*Matthew 9:22: Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
*Matthew 12:15:
God’s Chosen Servant
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.*John 8: 2-11: 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
*Matthew 5:33-44 (Very political):
Oaths
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.Eye for Eye
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,*Power relationship completely changed
*Matthew 5:3-10: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
*If a person is nude, that person will be embarrass and the people around who see you will also be embarrass
*Be attitudes!
*He turns the injustice around
*Luke 1:52-53: He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
*1 Corinthians 1:27-29: But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.
All in all, if we follow the example of Jesus, Christians are NOT political enough!
**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**
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