Our God is unstoppable and of the increase of His government and peace there is no end. These are challenging times and whilst the world is facing uncertainty, discouragement and conflict, God is steering His people in certainty, encouragement and unity. The Lord is building His Church and nothing will hinder the fulfilment of His purposes. As we fix our eyes on the Lord rather than on our circumstances, He builds us up and strengthens our faith so that we can co-labour with Him in His wisdom and power. Hallelujah!
Over these past weeks, the Lord has been speaking to us about the journey we are on as a church and how we can reach our destination as a community of love, equipped to be like Christ and do His works. In his message entitled, "The Big 5," Richard showed us in Luke 4:18,19 and Ephesians 4:11-16 how God gives some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers so that the Church can fulfil her purpose of being like Christ and doing His work as she learns to be apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic, pastoral and able to teach. These five gifts or anointings are significant as they are seen in both the ministry of Jesus as well as the Holy Spirit. In conclusion, Richard then showed us how the anointing of God first of all touches the believer's speech and that as the Church is filled with the Holy Spirit, so her language will change and be aligned to God's purposes.
Just as Jesus was anointed to fulfil the Father's work, so the believer is anointed to be like Christ and do His works. In his message entitled, "Living in the anointing," Richard encouraged us to take hold of what we have received in Christ (1 John 2:27), to remain in Christ (1 John 2:28; John 15:4,5; John 6:57) and to release what God has deposited in our lives (1 Cor 11:23; 12 - 14) so that others are influenced and built up by the Anointing.
In his message entitled, "Finish what you started," Alexander showed us how God anoints His people to fulfil the assignment He has given each one of us. In order to finish the work, God has given us, Alexander showed us 3 characteristics of those who are committed to fulfilling their assignment: those having a compelling purpose (Heb 12:2), a clear perspective (Mt 8:18-22) and courageous persistence (Jn 11:21,40). In conclusion, Alexander asked us 3 important questions: what do you need to finish, what are you committed to and who are you committed to?
On Sunday Richard encouraged us to hold onto our faith as we looked at 5 areas in which our faith can be challenged and how we can protect and strengthen our faith. In his message entitled, "Under attack!" Richard showed us the biblical answers: to our prayers not being answered (James 4:3; 1 Jn 3:22 and John 11:1-44); to God's apparent absence from our circumstances (Rom 8:28, 37-39), to things that conflict with our understanding of God (Prov 3:5; Phil 4:5-7; Heb 11:3), to not feeling God's presence (2 Cor 5:7; Eph 3:16,17), and to not seeing evidence of God in our lives (2 Tim 2:13; Hab 3:17-19; Job 19:25). Richard then encouraged us to remember what God has done for us and what He will do for us so that we have the faith to enter into what God has for us! Hallelujah!
In the words of the apostle Paul, our purpose is "that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col 2:2,3). For this reason we have been sharing a weekly pep-talk with the following messages:
"Someone has walked in your shoes - part 1" - Natalie asks us whether we are willing to pay the price to get to where others have gone before us.
"Someone has walked in your shoes - part 2" - Natalie reminds us of the One who has walked in our shoes and truly understands what we go through in life.
"But God..." - Elizabeth encourages us to put our "but" into it whenever we face challenges in life.
"Recipe for the truth" - Frances shows us how important it is to take hold of all of God's Word to grow in Him.
"Encourage" - Captain Richard on the KLS Encourager invites us to join him on his mission to encourage others with the authority God has given us.
We praise God that despite the Covid-19 restrictions, we are still able to meet on Sundays to worship, pray and be encouraged by God's Word and one another. In this season, God is calling us to persevere and to continue to build each other up as we follow God's leading and align ourselves to His purposes. We therefore encourage you to make every effort to be connected to your brothers and sisters in Christ and to make use of the various platforms available online to do so as well as to attend our Sunday meetings as possible.
