As the Lord continues to prepare us for revival, He is speaking to us about our identity and purpose in Christ as believers and as the Church. God is taking us on an exciting journey and He is helping us to understand our destination and how we can get there together.
In his message, entitled, "Sons or Servants," Alex spoke to us about the difference between an Old Testament mindset and a New Testament mindset concerning our relationship with God. Looking at Hebrews 3:1-6, we saw how faithfulness and commitment are key attitudes that reveal a Kingdom mindset but that our motivation is determined by how we see ourselves - whether as servants or sons in God's House. Alex explained the difference between the two, comparing employees to investors, a thermometer to a thermostat and the old covenant to the new covenant as they relate to our identity, status and work ethics in life.
In her message, entitled, "Created for God's Purpose," Elizabeth spoke to us about God's purpose for our lives. Looking at Jeremiah's call to be a prophet in Jeremiah 1:4-13, we saw how God gave Jeremiah His approval, how God anointed him, how God gave Jeremiah authority and appointed him to fulfil his purpose as he was given access to God's promises and came into agreement with God's word over his life. Consequently, Jeremiah was able to step into God's position for him and was given the power to "Build up and tear down." Elizabeth challenged us and encouraged us to recognise that as we step into God's calling on our lives that there will be a time of preparation and practice but that God watches over us and His word so that what He has promised will be fulfilled.
Podcast: due to technical issues we do not have a recording of Elizabeth's message.
These past few Sundays, Richard has been speaking to us about the journey God is taking us on as a church. In his first message entitled, "Are we there yet?" we looked at Ephesians 4:1-16 and concluded that since Paul describes the church as a people in relationship, a people committed to one another and Christ's purposes, a people joined together as one body with a diversity of members, a people equipped to reach "fullness in Christ" and do the very works of Jesus, that our destination as a church is to be "a community of love, equipped to be like Christ and do His works."
Having spoken to us about our destination as a church, Richard then showed us how God wants us to reach it. In his message entitled, "The Anointing," Richard took us to 1 Corinthians 12:12 & 13 to explain how just as Jesus Christ, the Anointed One depended completely on the Holy Spirit to fulfil His purpose on earth, so believers are anointed by God to be like Christ and do His works. Looking at the significance of what it means to be anointed, we saw that God has set His seal of ownership on us, set us apart to live for Him and His purposes and empowered us by the Holy Spirit to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. Richard showed us, however, that unless we learn to drink and be filled with the Holy Spirit we will not make it to our destination.
As we were not able to have our regular church meeting this Sunday, Richard and Frances produced a short video in which Richard shared a message entitled, "Think Church!" Using the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle, Richard showed us from Romans 12 that just as any scripture in the Bible can only really be understood in context, so our lives as believers only develop meaning in the context of the Body of Christ. Richard encouraged us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2) as we take hold of the truth that each one of us is a significant part of the church.
It is important to our leadership, to help everyone who is part of Kingdom Life to continue to feel connected to our church family and be part of what God is saying to us and doing with us. For this purpose we have started several Connect Groups where people are meeting in small groups within the Corona regulations. These are vital for the life of the church and we praise God for what He is doing in these small groups as people discuss what God is saying to us, encourage one another and pray for another. In addition to meeting together, we are using our weekly pep-talks to not only encourage everyone in their walk with God but to also provide an opportunity for our members to use their gifts to encourage the church.
What is in your hand? Natalie encourages us to use what God has given us to serve Him and His purposes.
Bounce Back! In her pep-talk, Elizabeth encourages us to consider the palm tree to be encouraged to persevere through the storm.
Fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Uwe is passionate about the Holy Spirit and in his pep-talk, he encourages to draw closer to Him.
Peacemakers. In his pep-talk, Alexander explains how understanding the different roles in a conflict situation can help resolve conflict and strengthen relationships.
We praise God for this exciting journey God is taking us on and for the testimonies of breakthrough, salvation and healings we are receiving, despite these challenging times. God is faithful and of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end! Hallelujah!
Image by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
