Ps Steu then focused on how the Word of God will help us to build our relationship with God.

Ps Sean quoted William Temple, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury during World War II. He said "when I pray Coincidences happen". Coincidences are so linked with the fact that when we pray into situations and circumstances and believe for them, these so-called coincidences, these impossible situations all of a sudden, turn around and become possible.

Ps Sean quotes the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-27....Jesus told him it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God. So we all think we are doomed but Jesus then replied with "What is impossible with man is possible with God". In fact Jesus was talking about salvation, the greatest immeasurable impossible act Jesus could ever do. We cannot enter into the kingdom of God on our own, but with Him, we enter in to a new way of living.

The second greatest remarkable act about God's presence is himself living in his people. We stand In this generation able to receive the Living God inside of us and walk with the power of the Holy Spirit. Ps Sean goes onto speak about the power of the Holy Spirit living inside us and how we can be a house of miracles when we fully trust in the living God.

Listen to this challenging message...

Ephesians 3:20-21 says, NIV says "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, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

To be immeasurable means impossible to measure, vast, boundless. Our minds get lost in this ability to not be able to understand how incredibly vast God is…. beyond human capacity to calculate but God works outside everything we can contain and control. We serve a God, we know a God who is able to work outside of everything that we measure. He is immeasurably bigger. He can do immeasurably more than we ask or think.

Ps Sean looks at more scriptures showing how everything is under God's creation. Genesis 1:1 (NIV) “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” God created everything.

Ps Sean looks at the Galaxy, the Milky Way, even further into space and gives insight to the size of the stars and planets....we cannot fathom nor understand. But trying to do this in our own strength, our own understanding is not possible. Even the most advanced human measurement still cannot contain what God created.

We need a next level thinking of trusting God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." Things happen to us from the inside out when we are saved by God. Only our Saviours kindness and love saves us, washes away our sins. This is because of His grace, He made us right in His sight and gave us confidence that we could inherit eternal life. In John 1:14 we see the scripture speaking of Jesus being full of grace and truth.

The Pharisees & Sadducees constantly came to try and test Jesus to push him to trip him up, because of the grace that he showed to people. In those situations, we see our wise Jesus continue to speak truth, continue to speak grace as they challenged Him, reaching the very heart of them.

Ps Carla continues to examine scriptures illustrating how Jesus dealt with people with not grace but also truth, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, scripture abounds in such examples.

We are all loved enough to be changed. Truth may diagnose the problem but grace comes along and brings the healing, it's both, it's not either!!

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) says "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." Things happen to us from the inside out when we are saved by God. Only our Saviours kindness and love saves us, washes away our sins. This is because of His grace, He made us right in His sight and gave us confidence that we could inherit eternal life. In John 1:14 we see the scripture speaking of Jesus being full of grace and truth.

The Pharisees & Sadducees constantly came to try and test Jesus to push him to trip him up, because of the grace that he showed to people. In those situations, we see our wise Jesus continue to speak truth, continue to speak grace as they challenged Him, reaching the very heart of them.

Ps Carla continues to examine scriptures illustrating how Jesus dealt with people with not grace but also truth, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, scripture abounds in such examples.

We are all loved enough to be changed. Truth may diagnose the problem but grace comes along and brings the healing, it's both, it's not either!!

Ps Steve speaks about what value life is, why this matters and how we can live in the power of this life.

Are we actually living in the power of a simple gospel? This is the crux of Ps Steve's message today. Are we living in the power of what Jesus has done for us? Jesus makes a point that when we were born in the natural sense, we were dead in the spiritual sense, right. When we came out of the womb, our first breath, our first tears, we were physically alive that day, but the Bible says that we were spiritually dead (John 3:1 & following - Jesus Teaches Nicodemus).

Ps Steve lays the foundation that as a result of the fall (Adam & Eve), we are all born into sin spiritually. However God, who is so rich in mercy because he loved us so much, even when we were dead in our sins and our trespasses, gave us new life when he raised Christ from the dead. And so, when Jesus went to the cross, we went to the cross. When Jesus was buried in the tomb, we were buried in the tomb. The Bible says that we have also been raised to newness of life in him, we've been given a brand new life. We have been born again.

Romans 12:2 (NIV) says " 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." Let God transform us into new people. We are now in Christ. How can we do this?, only by changing the way we think & see. We've got to change the way we think in order to change the way we live because we will always live in accordance with what we believe.

If we renew our minds, we can wake knowing old addictions & habits no longer form who we are because we are free!!!

What did Jesus do?...He broke their traditions...of the Jewish culture...healing on the Sabbath, setting people free, exposing hypocrisy, challenging their authority.

God sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, to be a sin offering. He condemns sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the flesh but according to the spirit. Jesus was the offering pay for our sin, the penalty we could not pay.

This is a masterly expose of the story of the crucifixion, the real meaning behind the cross.

Ps Sean looks at definitions of healing and restoration, reminding us that the context here is not purely physical but spiritual as well in order to cover mind, body and soul.

Again the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 is the basis here, the son goes from being in a position of total fulfilment as a son of a well off Father to selling himself and wishing he was eating pig food - lowest of the low - to being then fully restored and healed by his Father upon his return. Jesus tells this as a wonderful way of demonstrating God's love for us and his ever open arms no matter how awful we may feel our world has become. If we lack self esteem or identity we need to look no further than these scriptures to see how God views us and how our feelings do not align with God's truth.

Ps Sean also reminds us that from the fall (Adam & Eve) we were born into a similar position, but the revelation here is that when we realise our Heavenly Father's arms are open wide... we can likewise be restored back to sonship in a moment through the blood of Jesus.

Ps Sean gives us seven things as takeaways to restore our lives....

1. Panic to Peace
2. Despair to Joy
3. Bound to Free
4. Poverty to Provision
5. Sick to Strength
6. Disconnect to Connect
7. Hopeless to hope

Listen to how Ps Sean unpacks each of these takeaway nuggets for our lives to be healed and fully restored to our Lord and God. Amen!

John 3:16-17 (NIV) describes the character of God perfectly..."For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him".

Ps Paula then spends most of her message speaking about the subject of compassion, how we all need compassion at times in our lives and how this aspect of God's character so illustrates the value of loving people. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), it is the seemingly despised Samaritan, not the religious priest, who has compassion, but this compassion costs him, as it does us and indeed it cost Jesus' life.

Real compassion is not just a thought but an action too!

Lamentations 3:22 (ESV) says "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end..."

Do we exhibit compassion or religion....listen to this challenging podcast!

Ps Sean then looks forward to the rest of 2926 outlining some of the many exciting aspects of the vision for Family Church as far as the Portsmouth congregation is concerned. The mission statement for the church is Reach | Grow | Empower. Ps Sean spends time unpacking these words and speaks about 'Reaching' many souls near our present boundaries. He emphasises the need for whole congregation prayer to support and undergird any such activity.

Listen to this podcast to glimpse what is in store for the rest of the year!

Ps Steve Carey introduces Ps Andrew White from Victory Gospel Church Southampton to bring The Word for the momentous occasion this afternoon.

Before Ps Steu joined Family Church many years ago, Victory Gospel Church was his home church, so it was fitting for Ps Andrew to speak on the occasion of the formal induction of Pastors Steu & Carla Payne as Senior Leaders of the whole of family Church.

Following the message given by Ps Andrew, Ps Andy Elmes speaks directly to Ps Steu & Carla imparting words of wisdom regarding leadership of a church community. He speaks very clearly about maintaining the truth of the Gospel, focusing on Jesus, keeping space for private prayer and the authority with which this position brings.

As this formal induction of Ps Steu & Carla Payne closes, many invited guests also pray, laying hands on the now Senior Leaders of Family Church. The service ends with worship.

1. We Value People
2. We Value New life
3. We Value Relationship with God
4. We Value Church Family
5. We Value Gathering
6. We Value Commissioning

Each of these is represented by a part of the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15) - a central Christian teaching on God's unconditional love and forgiveness. All other Family Church congregations heard a recorded version of this message and everyone received a booklet entitled Reach, Grow, Empower, explaining these values. Please refer to www.family.church for further details.

This continues in Acts 9, but then Saul has a life-changing encounter with Jesus! He had to let go of the “old” life in order to live in the new life that God had for him. As Paul, he wrote a huge part of the New Testament, teaching the early Christians about salvation by grace and the “New Creation”. Paul endured much hardship, but at the end of his life he was able to say this: “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” (2 Timothy 4:6-7 NLT).

Paul completed the race that God had given him. He was totally reliant on God as he ran his race. Two major things that can hinder us to run the race that God has set before us are self-reliance & pride. The race that God has called us to requires faithfulness and consistency.

We must strip off the things that are unnecessary - sin, weights, offence, hurt, shame, self-reliance, pride, distractions etc. Ps Carla takes us through many scriptures illustrating these points and ends with the challenge that we must run into the presence of God and hold on to the hope that He brings to our lives.

This hope is JESUS!

Ps Steu's keystone verse is 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" There is a past work that has occurred in our lives, that in this present day causes us to stand before God as the new creations. That past work is the moment our faith was placed in Jesus Christ. An incredible Exchange of the Cross happened in our lives.

The theme of this message is very much that with God all things can be made new. There is nothing that God cannot make new. Our lives have been redeemed, fully. We have been brought back through Jesus to God, but God is now in the process of restoring that which was brought back to him. Often, even when we were straight, we walked away from God. We all have to come to the point where we come to our senses and accept Jesus, returning to God.

Ps Steu continues by recounting the story of Jairus daughter, after Jesus healed the woman who touched the hem of His garment. He speaks about the crowd that needs to be got out of the way on order for us to unblock the way to Jesus. Some of us need to clear a path, get rid of the crowd, the distraction, the opinions, the the stuff that is just blocking us getting to what Jesus wants to do in our lives.

Let us have the faith to move away from the 'crowds' in our lives so we can focus on Jesus to know Him, obey Him, love Him. It's time to have faith in God in order He can do a new thing in the impossible situations in our lives.

The ministry of Ps Andy & Gina can be reached at https://greatbiglife.co.uk/ and presently Ps Andy's book 'Soul Winner' is being translated into multiple languages to make the content accessible to many nations.

As one chapter closes and another begins for Family Church, it was fitting on PS Andy's birthday to recount the history of his ministry and that of the church. Ps Steu introduces Ps Sarah Carter who interviews Andy & Gina Elmes "This is your Life" style.

Many contributors and friends send messages of congratulation, encouragement and blessing. The evening ends with prayers and laying on of hands over Ps Andy & Gina for their next chapter in life with special prayers for their 'sending out in Jesus' name'.

Ps Steu ends the evening with closing remarks.

This was a once in a lifetime service......

Through the blood of Jesus we have Redemption - we are redeemed, and at the cross, the Divine Exchange took place where the sins of us all were taken by Jesus, the only sin free man ever.

Andy illustrates this with a personal story about a model boat which was stolen then rescued from a charity shop.....it had to be bought back, at a price, indicating its value. This mirrors God's love for us and the sacrifice of Jesus.

Listen with intent at this wonderful inspiring message!

There are moments in life when you realise you are standing on holy ground - not because something is ending, but because something has been faithfully completed.

After 28 years of founding, leading, pastoring, and building this church and ministry, the time has come for us to step aside and step forward. To release what has been entrusted to us, and to trust God for what He has entrusted to others.

Ecclesiastes reminds us, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” Seasons change, not because something has failed, but because God is faithful to finish what He starts - and bold enough to begin something new. When we first said 'yes' to God all those years ago, we had little more than obedience, faith, and a burning conviction that Jesus deserved a church alive with His presence and His power. We dreamed of a people who would love God deeply, love one another fiercely, and reach the lost relentlessly. What God has done since then has exceeded anything we could have planned or imagined.

We have seen lives transformed, families restored, leaders raised, nations touched, and Jesus glorified. This house has been built on prayer, faith, generosity, and an unwavering commitment to the Gospel. It has been the honour of our lives to carry that responsibility. And while this chapter closes, let me say this clearly: our voice is not stopping - it is simply shifting. The message God has placed in us, the convictions we carry, and the call to equip, awaken, and send will continue. It will simply be expressed in new spaces, new contexts, and new assignments. For those who still want that voice in their lives, it will be there - faithful to the same Jesus, shaped by the same fire.

This church was never built to rest on one person - it was built to run on mission and vision. Paul wrote, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God gave the increase.” I may have planted, others have watered, but it has always been God who makes things grow. And He is not finished - not even close.

To those now stepping into leadership: you carry this house with heaven’s backing. God trusts you. We trust you. Lead with courage. Guard the culture. Keep Jesus at the centre. Stay hungry for His presence and bold in your faith. The best chapters are not behind you - they are ahead. To every member, volunteer, giver, intercessor, and faithful servant: thank you. Thank you for believing, for standing, for serving, for loving, and for never giving up. You are the living stones of this house, and the future is strong because you are strong.

As for us, we now step into the next adventure with the same heart that started this one - faith-filled, surrendered, and expectant. Abraham went out not knowing where he was going, but knowing who was leading him. That is enough.

This is not goodbye as in separation - it is goodbye as in sending. And sending is always filled with hope.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God has been faithful. He is faithful. And He will be faithful still.

Thank you for the journey. Thank you for the trust. Thank you for the love.

The story continues...

Andy & Gina

We need filling up with God on a daily basis, otherwise we shall break down like a car without fuel. We need filling up with God, but God's satisfaction is not giving some settlement of comfort staying safe within familiar walls. God's infilling is designed to take us to the edge of the unknown and it's often an uncomfortable step.

Ps Sean is telling us we need to live comfortably uncomfortable lives . He then takes some situations from the Scriptures to illustrate how God uses us when we are 'on the edge of our comfort zone'. When the Lord meets Gideon, nothing is the same thereafter - going to win a battle with only trumpets and lanterns is pretty amazing! In the story of David & Goliath, the army was learning how to fight physically, how to come up with the latest strategies. David was learning to fight lions and bears by faith in God, it took him over the edge of the unknown.

We cannot allow ourselves to always understand in the natural, we have to trust God by faith and watch Him come through. The fruit of that spiritual satisfaction creates bonus, freedom, and faith. When we are filled with His Spirit, we shall have boldness walking in freedom, audacious faith, proclaiming the gospel.

We need to be in His presence. We need to seek Him that we would be filled. Recall that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be satisfied, not for our own sakes, but for the sake of everyone around us.

Ps Paula goes on to speak about Matthew 9:14-15 (NKJV) "Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast." Jesus was basically saying here, why should his disciples fast when God himself is right with them? There was no need to fast, but he explained that one day when Jesus goes, then his disciples will need to fast. And that one day has carried on ever since Jesus ascended to Heaven....

This week we have a period of Prayer and Fasting in the church so these verses are relevant as Ps Paula carries on to explain how fasting with prayer is a spiritual discipline we can include in our lives to move ever closer to our Lord.

Prayer & Fasting is a gift to us, when we seek God we find him, we are humbled before God. In God's presence we find freedom, breakthrough and release from oppression. This week we shall pray for a fresh commitment to

1. seek the Lord afresh, humility & urgency to ask for His presence, wisdom, and power for this next season
2. consecration to examine our hearts before God returning to holiness & wholeheartedness
3. bold living, to be courageous in our witness, bold in our faith, and unashamed of the Gospel to live lives that provoke questions that carry hope displaying God's kingdom

Ps Steu explains how foundations need to be adequate for the shape of the building, the reach of the building, or the size of the building also, the height and longevity of the building. This is true in physical terms and also in spiritual terms for what God is to accomplish in our lives.

If we are to build something significant, it starts with a strong foundation. As we step into the next season for Family Church, God is asking us to make sure the foundation is right for what He wants to do next. God wants our next to be significant, so it's important to take time to make sure the foundations are good - no shortcuts. In Matthew 16:18, He said to Peter who had an amazing revelation of who Jesus is - "I also say to you that you're Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail".

Ps Steu continues to unpack revelation between the physical and spiritual, and asks key questions...

1. What foundations need to be laid in our lives to correctly prepare for what God wants to build
2. If we have ideas of what God wants to build in our lives, what foundations need to be laid in order to correctly prepare here
3. Are our foundations going deep enough, are we aware that its possible that foundations laid so far are not deep enough, so more time is required to correct this
4. When we do rise to a great height and God uses us in glorious ways, this has to be a sustainable position for the future....to reach out further, we must ensure foundations are deep enough

We are all living stones in the work God is doing in the church. He is building every one of us. We all have a part to play in the building of God's house, to be filled with His presence, His Glory and Splendour.

Ps Andy takes as a key scripture the verses in Nehemiah 2, especially verses 17-20 (NKJV) "Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?” So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

Ps Andy emphasises that we all personally need to have an agenda of 'Rise up and Build' for the new year. We need to be servant hearted as was Nehemiah, not rest on our laurels, be thankful for the foundations well laid in our lives and those of Family Church itself, being prepared to get behind the leadership in building the future. Time for procrastination is over!

Interestingly the story in the scripture above shows how having a word from God, having a servant heart and having determination in the face of opposition will bring success in short order. Nehemiah rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days!

This a challenging message for 2026!

These two people were quite elderly and had been waiting a long time on the promises they had been given. Their lives were a faith walk. We cannot rush God, His timing will never be our timing! Ps Sean points out that incredibly a promise made to Abraham thousands of years ago is still being outworked on the Earth today - Father of many nations right now!

Ps Sean goes on to provide more examples of how our lives need to be a faith journey trusting in God, based on promises given to us.

Ps Gina also speaks what may be some of her last messages to the church as a whole as senior leadership changes take place early 2026. She is keen to impart a message to us "Be strong and courageous and trust God". The faith we have learnt about in the classroom of faith messages demands courage. In the early verses of the book of Joshua, God speaks to someone who is about to lead His people into the promised land...

Joshua 1:6 & following (NIV) " Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Ps Gina's message today builds on this text by talking about the courage that Faith demands.

Ps Andy then summarises the life of Joseph with ten learning lessons of faith.....

• Faith starts with a God given dream
• Faith trusts God when people fail you
• Faith refuses to let circumstance define identity
• Faith stays faithful in unfair places
• Faith chooses integrity over opportunity
• Faith trusts God in delays and silence
• Faith serves others even while waiting on its own breakthrough
• Faith believes that God can change everything in a moment
• Faith recognises that promotion comes from god, not people
• Faith sees God’s hand in every chapter – even the painful ones

Every point here which comes from the story of Joseph equally well reflects into our own lives!

How to take hold of something by faith? We have the promise, we are stepping out, we have a word for the situation but we are not yet holding the outcome. Ps Andy looks at how Abraham conducted himself here in his journey after being told he would be Father of many nations yet had no son. He made mistakes (Ishmael) and more. Ps Andy walks us through this story looking at how we can be frustrated at waiting for fulfilment of God's promises yet the last thing God needs is for us to step in and "help Him". God is Almighty, he needs no help from us!

When God gives a promise, the Fulfilment of that promise is on Him, not on us. We need to walk in alignment with the promise but the fulfilling of the promise is based on Him which means He puts His character and His name on the line. We settle back not in apathy, but in simple Faith saying God I don't know how or when but if you promised I know you will. When we have a promise from God, we need to be speaking in alignment with that promise.

This is an action packed message, Ps Andy concludes explaining the situation about Abraham and Isaac, where God appears to test Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac after he had waited many years to get him.

When God said, take the promised child, go to the region where Jesus was also crucified, sacrifice him as a burnt offering, it was a massive challenge of faith. When God gives something he promised then steps into our world saying can you trust me, we see the maturity of Abraham's faith. In Hebrews 11, Abraham takes Isaac, ready to sacrifice, but knows God will intervene. Abraham reasoned he would receive Isaac back from the dead. Abraham holds a child knowing he's in covenant with God. So God speaks to him telling him to offer his son just as Jesus would die many years later and rise. Abraham does not know God's plan here but does know his son will live. He was releasing God to do something that would save us.

This is an amazing and challenging message!

As Pastor of Family Church, Andy implores us to be people having unshakable faith. We are not to place reason above faith. Let Faith be first in our lives. Before every miracle we read of in scripture, there's always an unreasonable request demanding people of unreasonable faith! Andy concentrates today on the story of Abraham found in Genesis 12 to 14. God told him to go from the country he knew to a place he did not, but that many promises would be his - the Father of many nations and more....

Andy underlines the importance of stepping out not in our own strength, but on a promise from God as Abraham did, even if the full details are not known at that time. Foolishness and presumption have no place here. We need a word from Heaven to take a journey to somewhere called seemingly impossible - just as Ps Andy & Gina are taking on their own next steps of ministry. In Genesis 13:14 and following, scripture says (NIV) The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”

We can liken Lot to people, relationships, activity, habits etc in our own lives today and realise that we cannot expect to step out in faith somewhere new until we leave behind what we have naturally known. Only then will God show us the stars of tomorrow and all the sand of unstoppable promises.

Just as many did during military conflicts, we are called to lay our lives down for God's purpose. Ps Sean recalls John 3:16 (NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life". This is a picture of sacrifice, the offering of God giving His son was a gift, it cost God our Father - the nature of sacrifice.

John 15:12-14 (NIV) says "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command". Ps Sean makes no apologies for telling us we cannot live a life ignoring Jesus' commands calling ourselves Christian & expecting the benefits!

Ps Sean continues referring to Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship". He continues speaking about three key ingredients of sacrifice:

• Surrender
• Selflessness
• Suffering

Jesus lived this kind of life, not because he needed to but because we needed him to do this for us.

The only true complete and lasting answer to the needs of humanity is found in Christ Jesus. There is nothing and nobody else that can be bring true hope, true healing and restoration outside of Salvation found in Jesus Christ. God's desire is that every human being on the face of this planet would find salvation in Jesus. Ps Steu refers to the well known verse John 3:16....(NIV) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life".

Salvation is something every person can receive. All we have to do is put our faith in Jesus, repent of our sins and come to Jesus. Ps Steu explains at great length with many other scripture references how this is the plan of God for all humanity, to have the opportunity to be saved. This was revealed to Peter in Acts chapters 10 and 11. We have all been given an incredible message by God to share with the people around our lives.

We are Christ's ambassadors. Blessed are the feet of those who bring good news!

Amongst many scripture references, Sean looks at Luke 6:38 (NIV) "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” The law of sowing and reaping is as relevant today as it was thousands of years back when the scripture was written. He follows this with Matthew 6:19..."“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also".

Ps Sean points out that there are two fields we can sow into - the immediate field in front of us and the eternal field beyond our temporal lifespan. Which is worth more to sow into? The Bible tells us to set our minds on Heavenly things, not earthy things. Gaining the whole world but losing our soul is not wise..

Ps Sean goes on to speak about the love of money and our love for the Lord. 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV) says "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Money helps us achieve many things, the key here is our heart attitude. Are we doing something because of our love of a monetary reward (perhaps), or our love for our Lord?

He ended with three key points on sowing with finances

• Get to give - not give to get
• Love is our motive - generosity, kindness, & love from the overflow of a grateful heart
• Joyful Obedience - have a merry spirit when giving

This is a challenging message!

Today Carla speaks about how in Genesis 2:8, Our Father God planted a garden. NIV verses..."Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed". In verse 15, God told Adam to work the garden and care for it "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it".

The Bible says God planted and Ps Carla envisages God crouching down putting seeds into the ground, perhaps with dirty hands. So the Bible is full of imagery around gardening, all this relating to our relationship with God, who is the planter & cultivator of both creation and of our hearts.

Ps Carla explains how the story of the Israelites who eventually feed not from manna & quail, but planted crops is similar. No longer was God going to rain down provision but to do something different. He was saying now you need to work the land and care for it. The Israelites had come into a place where the principle of seed time and harvest were put in motion.

Ps Carla leaves us with thoughts on three key seeds we have the ability to sow daily

• Speech - how we speak really matters. Proverbs 19:21 says death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat of its fruits.
• Tears - Psalm 126:5 (NIV) says "Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy". We may be moved to tears in our prayers of closeness to our Lord...
• Energy or money or capabilities - God loves a cheerful giver, all that we have is His anyway!

Acts 2:42 (NIV) says "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer". This has been the central theme for the series on growing the church.  Every time we touch the bread, whether it's a cracker, a wafer or sourdough, whatever bread we're using, let it remind us that a body was broken for our freedom. When we take the cup, that Jesus Christ paid the price of his blood, so that we could be set free from religious experience and obligation and brought into a relationship with Him and His Father.

Ps Andy explains the deeper spiritual meaning behind the taking of communion before speaking about prayer and the importance of prayer in our lives. He speaks about us being a house of prayer, not entertainment and how prayer should be ta the heart of our lives.

Prayer and communion go hand in hand, together they are a crucial part of the fellowship of believers as described in Acts 2:42.

After 28 years of pioneering and leading Family Church, on Sunday, 1st February 2026, we will be handing over the leadership of Family Church to Steuart & Carla Payne, who will step into the role of Senior Pastors. This transition comes after much prayer, preparation, and a clear sense that the assignment God gave us nearly three decades ago is now complete. We are confident that this next chapter will be filled with fresh vision, strength, and fruitfulness under Steuart & Carla’s leadership. They are trusted, tested, and called by God to lead Family Church into its next chapter. We are excited about what God will continue to do in and through the church under Steuart & Carla's leadership. Please know that this transition is not an end, but a continuation of the faith journey God has us all on. Thank you for standing with us, for loving us, and for continuing to build God’s house with faith and unity. With love and blessings, Andy & Gina.

Ps Andy further explained how this indeed fits with the biblical pattern of change and transition seen in the New Testament church. Paul raised people, trusted them, pastored them, taught them, established churches and also moved on to new things as God called him. Whilst the news today does seem a huge change, it is a reflection of Ps Andy's willingness to be obedient to God's calling even when the future is uncertain. God is a God of movement, we all need to become open and able to hear His call upon our own lives.

This is a deep spiritual connection. It is about us having a shared life, walking together in unity and in love with a community of people who love God. We must purpose to walk together in all seasons of life, be it in joy or in sorrow.

At the end of this message Ps Sean speaks briefly about the vision the church has for provision of Connect Groups across our postal area, providing a means of outworking the building of relationships together and discipling individuals in their Christian walk.

This week, Ps Paula begins the series in earnest by speaking about being 'Devoted to the Word'. The key scripture here is Acts 2:42 (NLT) "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer".

In Acts 2, we read that Peter, a disciple, had just preached the gospel to a crowd. In verse 41, it lets us know that the ones who devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching were those who received Jesus' words, were baptised and added to the church - 3000 souls! Those who gave their lives to Jesus became devoted to His words. What we see in the book of Acts is the word of God come alive to people who were willing to be devoted and were willing to change their lives.

The whole of Paula's message is about how our lives become shaped by reading and being devoted to the word of God. Without this, our lives drift, according to our feelings at times and certainly not in alignment with God's plans for us. We must read and apply Gods word if we want to grow.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT) says "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right". We need the bible and Christian friends to feed us truths not pander to our emotions!

After defining what 'church' really is, Ps Andy looks at the cardinal way a church might grow, seeking always to base his thoughts on Biblical principles and patterns.

The early church managed to grow exponentially without social media, internet etc but purely as described in Acts 2, verses 42 onwards (NIV) "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved".

Ps Andy dwelt on the key tenets of these verses, serving as an introduction to the forthcoming messages in the next few weeks.

Ps Gina speaks about

• Gideon (from the weakest Clan in Manassa). Here God is showing His strength in the midst of Gideon's weakness.
• Daniel was taken Exile by the evil Babylonians. He grew up in a culture where he knew he was the child of God but they stole it out of that culture, put him in the Babylonian culture, which is a god-hating, Bible hating culture. He was told to eat from the king's table, to eat things that were against the law of Moses which is what Daniel lived. But he ate just vegetables and water, not the king's food, and ended up the strongest man there, his Godly defiance and prayer is something for us all to take on our journey of life.
• PS Gina also talks about Hannah and Anna, linked by name and a thousand year gap in the Biblical history.  Both these women get to come on her journey because they were amazing, understanding what it's like to labour and pray, when not seeing anything for years and years and years. Then they experience God, He comes through. They understood what it is to go to God in the worst times of their lives so they didnt get bitter and twisted. They understood that God had purposes and plans.

Her message is clear - the Bible is not religion, it is the word of God gifted by grace to us to show us how to live and to give us hope, peace and strength in the ups and downs of daily life.

Nathan's key verse is from Luke 6:46-49 (NIV) "Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

Illustrating his message with many other scriptures, he presents three cardinal points about the House of the Lord...

• Point number one - the house that stands, stands together
• Point number two - the house that stands, stands whatever the weather
• Point number three - the house that stands, stands forever

Nathan expands on each of these points and presents a challenging message pointing to the fact that the house that God is building in our lives will stand forever if we build it on Him and remain faithful to Him.

Jesus is talking to his disciples and looks at them and says, I am the true vine and my Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away, He prunes it, so that it may bear more fruit. The only time God prunes is when he's got more fruit in mind. He says abide in me and I in you. A branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. My father is glorified by this but you bear much fruit. And so prove to be my disciples, just as the father has loved me. I have also loved you, abide in my love. These are such powerful truths, covering the fruitfulness of a believer's life.

Ps Andy spends considerable time reflecting on the fact that once we have given our lives to Christ we now have Him abiding in us, we are joined to the vine, we are able to do many things we previously could not (all things are possible with Christ Jesus), and that our lives reflect the glory of God in the fruit we produce which is good fruit, not that which we once created when we were born in sin.

This is a powerful message, listen, be amazed!

He begins with the scripture Mark 4:35-41 where Jesus calms the storm amidst petrified disciples who thought they were going to drown. Sean has three props he describes which define powerful attributes to our Christian walk, often navigating storms in our lives.

First is a compass to provide direction. Without direction in our lives we become lost, we end up being places we didn't want to be, often doing things we didn't want to be doing. Ps 119:105 (NIV) says "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path".  When we are illuminated by God's love and His word, our path has a sense of direction and purpose that we didn't see before. But if we don't know his word, we run without a compass, at a loss when it comes to the storms of life.

Second is an old school metronome to keep us in God's Rhythm. When a storm break out, the rhythm changes, we panic, stress sets in. But was Jesus stressed, no He was resting in the boat when the storm came. English cultures tend to be stressful, we need to change this, reverse it and become more calm and relaxed in the way we do life. God's rhythm is one of gentleness and calmness.

Thirdly, Sean had a ruler, not easily bendable reminding him of the need to be flexible & adaptable. The reality is, we cannot be rigid in our faith if we are to have a Christian walk with God. Being adaptable to what God is saying is very key to living through the storm. Being able to bend to what He's saying, living to His rhythm, walking in His direction requires us to be like Romans 12:2 (NIV) says "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."

Ps Sean ends with thoughts about storms that occur inside our heads, thoughts, anxieties, jealousies, fear, psychotic behaviours.... Let us understand that with Jesus in our lives, we are forgiven, accepted, redeemed, saved and given new life. He ended with prayers rebuking negative thoughts in our heads, praying for the peace of God to invade our hearts and minds this day and for ever Amen!

Ps Steu talks about a young man trapped in a bird cage, a place of pain and fear and uses this picture to formulate his message. Some of us are still in a cage, trapped by the things of life. Maybe we are not fully free as a bird when the cage door opens. But Jesus came to set us free! We are set free the second we accept Jesus as our saviour - this is salvation. In John 10:9-10, Jesus says, 'I am the gate, those who come through me will be saved, they will come and go freely and find good pastures'. Psalm 23 also refers, our shepherd leads us into green pastures & gives us rest. Nothing else in this world can possibly satisfy our lives but Jesus.

The key to living in the freedom that Christ has given us is to walk closely with Jesus, there is no other way! Matthew 11:28-30 says 'come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls'.

Ps Steu describes a three step process...

• Coming to Him
• Walking with Him
• Learning from Him

Then we find true rest, true freedom, and our burdens become light. Ps Steu brings many other scriptural pictures together which describe the grace of our Lord in our lives and how we are discipled by abiding in his word. We fly out of the bird cage and rest under his eagles wings....the freedom of God's Kingdom.

Multiplication of provision, be it loaves and fish, oil in a jar, grain and oil to make a loaf of bread are all a result of people experiencing God increase things in their lives. Ps Andy then goes on to speak about the common denominators in these miracles (and many more miracles all across the whole of scripture).

Miracles, always followed unusual, unreasonable, often unfathomable quite crazy requests coming directly from God or a prophet. When a person dared to do what they were being told to do in obedience, suddenly what God had promised them or intended for them came into being! But for them to come into the promised experience, they had to step out by faith, usually defying their own reasoning to do what God had told them to do.

Stepping out by faith and walking by faith causes us to enter into the promised things that God has for us. God has promised things for us all in situations we face daily, sometimes that look hopeless. Have we got the faith and the courage, sometimes along with with wise council, to step into that which God is asking us to do?

We should, because we have already experienced the greatest miracle ever likely to happen in our lives when we gave our life to Christ!

The story of Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath is found in 1 Kings 17:7-16 (NIV) " Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of he Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

It's interesting that God picks a widow to supply food to the prophet Elijah.  Scarcity meets obedience in the lives of the two characters here. God in heaven sees us in the time of famine, He sees us in the time of need and He has a plan for us in that time of need. But sometimes the way to get what He's got for us is to do something He's asking us to do that's unusual or we'd prefer not to.

So God sees us and cares for us in famine Seasons!

Ps Andy continues his explanation here that the miracle occured again after the fishermen were asked by Jesus to undertake a seemingly embarressing and unusual request. Experienced fishermen had been up all night and caught nothing, yet here was a carpenter telling them what to do. This was a challenge of obedience for them.

In this moment there was a revelation of who Jesus was for Peter because Jesus had been preaching earlier and Peter had been on the shore listening, but the penny had'nt dropped. This was not just a man, this was the son of God and suddenly Peter sees his miracle knowing it was a miracle because he was a fisherman and he said, "this doesn't happen, I've been doing this since I was a kid, this doesn't happen.....". But it did!!

After this, Jesus tells Peter to leave his boat, leave everything, join Him and He would make him a fisher of men. This was a miracle that positioned him In what God had designed for him to be - not just provision but intention. Sometimes we eat the fish, move on and forget to stop and say, "God, what are you doing in this moment that concerns me and my future. Miracles reveal the hand of God, but often they also reveal his intentions.

Are we positioned to listen to God in the moment and be obedient to seemingly extraordinary requests from God? a similar instruction, this time after Jesus' resurrection.

Ps Andy continues his explanation here that the miracle occured again after the fishermen were asked by Jesus to undertake a seemingly embarressing and unusual request. Experienced fishermen had been up all night and caught nothing, yet here was a carpenter telling them what to do. This was a challenge of obedience for them.

In this moment there was a revelation of who Jesus was for Peter because Jesus had been preaching earlier and Peter had been on the shore listening, but the penny had'nt dropped. This was not just a man, this was the son of God and suddenly Peter sees his miracle knowing it was a miracle because he was a fisherman and he said, "this doesn't happen, I've been doing this since I was a kid, this doesn't happen.....". But it did!!

After this, Jesus tells Peter to leave his boat, leave everything, join Him and He would make him a fisher of men. This was a miracle that positioned him In what God had designed for him to be - not just provision but intention. Sometimes we eat the fish, move on and forget to stop and say, "God, what are you doing in this moment that concerns me and my future. Miracles reveal the hand of God, but often they also reveal his intentions.

Are we positioned to listen to God in the moment and be obedient to seemingly extraordinary requests from God?

PS Andy today speaks about the miracle found in 2 Kings 4, 1-7. The wife of a man cries out to Elisha because her husband is dead and creditors are coming to take her boys as slaves. After a conversation, Elisha tells the woman to collect containers and pour the small amount of oil she has into them. Miraculously, oil flows until the last container is filled. Now she can sell oil to pay her debts.

The amount she received wasn't a provision issue, it was a capacity issue. She could only receive according to what she made room for. God's provision met current needs and her future security.  

Do we need a miracle?, are we listening for God's unusual request? Is God trying to highlight something in our lives? If the widow's actions (ie her faith) had not been commensurate with the instructions received from Elisha, her needs would not have been met, the miracle of supernatural provision would not have occured!

He begins by speaking about 'lack' and the varying forms of lack we can experience in our lives. Sometimes this is through comparing ourselves to others around us, sometimes through genuine lack of resources, food, shelter, clothing etc. The story of Elijah and the widow in 1 Kings 17 is well known.....he asks her to make him a small peice of food from the remains of her flour which she was going to use just before she and her son died of hunger. But, this never happened, the jar of oil and the flour never ran out, just as the Lord had spoken thtough Elijah.

In Matthew 14, Jesus feeds over 5000 people with fives loaves and two fish. But, he had given thanks to God before the miracle began. From a position seeming to be of lack, a supernatural God turned a natural situation into a miracle of supernatural provision and abundance.

Ps Sean makes the point that this can be the case in each of our lives, but we need to surrender our lives, posture oursleves into submission before God, and act with obedience and thanksgiving. Leaning on our own understanding will never work (Proverbs 3:5-6).

We are to acknowledge Him, then He'll make straight our paths. This means our relationships need to acknowledge Him, living God's way. Our finances have to live God's way. My eyes must honour Him, my ears must honour Him. My language must honour Him, every part of who I am acknowledges you to be, God, of all creator of the Heaven and the Earth. Therefore my body honours you, my desires honour you, my thoughts and intent honour you.... every aspect of every part of my life honours you. When we do this, we start to get more than enough breaking out of the depletion, the lack, around us.

This is when we start to get Mana falling down from heaven into our lives, where we start to see supernatural provision in dry places.

Surender, Submit, Give Thanks to God....then Miracles come......

Today, Ps Sean speaks about this and how in Joel 2:28-29 scripture states "that I will pour out my spirit on all Flesh". This is a very inclusive statement and relates today to our multi-lingual, multi-racial congregation!

Ps Sean further speaks about how Jesus told His disciples that His Father would give them another helper if they kept His commandments (John 14:15-17). Jesus said that they would receive power when His Spirit came to rest upon them that they might witness to His name in all Judea, Sumeria...

The challenge of this message is to ensure we all realise we are heirs to God and that His spirit will come down upon all of us in order for us to live power filled Kingdom lives.

Their stories challenge each of us to check our relationship with Jesus, dismissing religion and ritual.

We all have a local 'Jerusalem' - the circle of people we are in contact with regularly. Ps Andy speaks at length about how we must initiate conversations with people who are in our circle of influence. Jesus wants us to be witnesses of what has happened in our lives. 

We all need to take on the challenge of identifying people in our circle, praying for them and asking the Lord to intiate times for us to speak them. The time has passed for undercover Christianity. We must begin to talk about Jesus, because of who He is and also what He means to us.

A famous verse is John 1, 41-42. Andrew meets Jesus, he encounters Jesus. The first thing he did was to go and find his brother Simon. So really this is not just about ourselves as individuals but also our whole family, our hosuehold too.

Andy challenges us to pray for the salvation of our whole family network, then to be 'inviters'...bringing them to church and also to purpose to live Godly lives to demonstrate the love of God in our daily walk.

If God wants a big family, the first thing we need to get a hold of is God's heart. The most well known verse is John 3:16, personally describing the Father's heart for the world - where it says God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life. Hence God's heart for the lost is first, that no one should perish. Paula retails a story about herself seemingly being lost yet she did not know this, many people worried....when she was much younger. There are so many people on the world who live happily yet are lost without realising. God is a Father who desires for all of His children to know Him. Yet, in order to grow God's household, we need to know His heart for humanity. The church is His family and His household. We are a spiritual family, each of us are ambassadors for Jesus and are to grow together and invite others to be part of the family.

We all must take up the role of ambassador. God wants us to understand his heart and be the people who go and bring others to him. So in order to grow God's household, we need to get a hold of God's Heart, and take up our role as ambassadors. Also, we need to reach out. Paula challenges us all to reachout to one more person - the power of "one" is amazing.

This is a powerful and challenging message at the start of this new series!

Understanding the message of the Gospel brings truth, freedom, deliverance and everything we but there is no power until we unveil the message. The message is what we carry, the message of the power of the Cross brings multiplication everywhere we go. 

We don't walk in our own ways, we walk in His ways - the very life of Jesus. We walk in the same way Jesus did, the power of deliverance. The power of the Cross is that we no longer live, but Christ now lives in us, and we no longer have to live according to the flesh but according to the power of the Spirit. This is why (in Romans) Paul emphasises that we no longer live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. The spirit is the Harvest of the Cross, it's what we've received through the dying of Jesus, we've received new life, freedom and wholeness.

Sean goes on to mention three main hurdles to living in the power of the cross:

• We need to get over our ability. Our inability & inadequacies are no problem for God, but often they become a barrier for us
• We need to get over our knowledge. This is a tough one because as human beings, we think we know what is best all the time.....sometimes God's not asking us to understand, but just to be obedient
• His Spirit over our flesh. When we do everything according to o ur flesh we're going to deny three times (as Peter did). We are negative - no multiplication! It's the opposite. But when we live according to the spirit it's plus three thousand every day!

To see multiplication, we must come into the Lord, through the power of the Cross. Love has must be the motivation in everything we do. It gives us the grace, allows us to walk in forgiveness and is unconditional everywhere we go. If we are not walking by love, then we cannot do this.

We don't embrace this by our doing religion, we embrace it all by faith. We believe that He said He did it for us and did it, He did. Ps Andy explains how this is the true meaning of identification, we're living in a society that's warped with the wrong ideologies, the power of identification finds its strength in the work of the cross. God doesn't want you to crucify yourself because you haven't got enough hands! You can't do it yourself!

He wants you to identify with the death he provided so that death can be yours and with the burial and resurrection. So when we identify with Christ, what we're saying is, you were on the cross my saviour, but you also took not just my sin, but all sin so that I could be free from sin and become a new creation. 

Ps Andy tells us he wants us all leaving the service today knowing that our old man is dead in Christ and that we've been risen to newness of life. Now we've just gotta get some grave clothes off so we can begin to live in the good of what God isn't going to do because He's already do it!

Via some pre-recorded video interviews, thoughts from a number of members of the congregation regarding the differing aspects of the series were shared with us all.

Following this, Sean & Paula held a conversation to discuss aspects they felt had been cardinal in the series on The Word, illustrating their thoughts with commentaries from their own lives.

We were all challenged as key thoughts on obedience, daily infilling from God's Word, the state of the soil in our hearts and our ability to forgive others (and more) were brought to our attention. Sean and Paula wrapped up the session by looking at practical ways each of us could be involved in order to become partakers not spectators!

• Our belief in who He says He is. Our faith in who He is will determine some of our experiences. Our faith doesn't change Him, it accesses Him!
• Our submission to His lordship in His word - it is possible to believe in him but not submit to him
• Obedience to Him

Ps Andy quotes many examples from scripture where these three ingredients caused great things to happen (the Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13 is not a disciple, but his faith, his submission to the authority of Jesus and the spoken word of Jesus healed the servant)...

Andy explains how often we need to lay aside our own natural experiences, our thinking, our rebellion to the worldly thinking and submit to God. When God speaks something into our situations and it doesn't make sense, let it be. Let it be according to your word, may it be so.

This week, let's hear what God says to us, submit to it, walk in accordance to it and see the power contained within it released into our lives and of others. 

God's word needs to be the final Authority for our lives. When we pray and in times of attack in our lives, in times of temptation, for all the spheres of our lives, for our money, our relationships, our family life, our children, our jobs. The most effective prayer is when we use The Word. When Satan tempted Jesus, he was rebuked by The Word of God being quoted. If this works for Jesus, it will for us!

The world throws all sorts of lies and untruths to us daily, the best defence and offence is God Word. Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV) "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God".

Daily we need God's Armour and His Word to fight the battles we are up against.

PS Andy goes on to teach about the relationship between seed and soil using the parable of the sower as an illustration. There is a simple relationship between healthy seed and good soil. His word was and will always be eternally relevant. 

Ps Andy goes on to challenge us to examine our own lives and check out the condition of the soil in our hearts, are we chocked by thorns or barren as hard land or have we good healthy hearts ready for his word to flourish in our lives.

There are five areas we can look at to gain healthier soil in our hearts....

• Keep freshly ploughed ground - keep worshipping, intimacy with Jesus keeps our hearts in a condition ready to receive seed
• Have faith, we cannot please God without faith!
• Humility makes good soil because God resists the proud and give Christ to the humble
• Obedience to God takes our lives from be a barren land to a fruitful forest
• Heart health "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Proverbs 4:23, NIV).

Andy revisits John 12:32 (NIV) "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself". This verse is prominent in this years' Family Church Vision statement. There's a principle here. When Jesus is lifted up, he causes multiplication and increase. It says "when I Am is lifted from the earth...". The Bible refers to God as the I am in the old and in the new testaments. Today we celebrate The Great I Am, which is Jesus Christ, when we choose to magnify His Word in our lives, the Word of God Bible scripture. We're causing multiplications when when we choose to magnify His word in our lives, things break out, breakthroughs occur.

When we turn to God's word, it's the kind of truth that can transform us and set us free. Ps Andy speaks about how we need to abide in The Word, not use Jesus as breakdown service,,,, we need to purpose to be sold out for Jesus and Him alone. Mixing up ideologies in our lives will only cause chaos.

This is a challenging message!

We know that the word of God is God, the scripture tells us this, there are two ways we get this word. Logos is the physical word. Anyone can have Logos words, they look good but are not life transforming. John 6:63 (NIV) says "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life". When God speaks we have Rhema words, God breathed, the words come alive to us.

By faith, we need to trust what God is speaking to us through His Word. Sean goes on to speak of some practical steps for us starting with that fact that the Word of God is our daily bread. Then he focuses on some cardinal facts associated with us knowing and quoting scripture that relate to daily life. For every one of us..

• We are a child of God
• We are fully known by God
• We are fully loved by God
• We are called by Him
• He has plans and purposes for us
• God made us righteous
• We are free from the power of sin and everything that holds us
• We are a masterpiece
• Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit
• We are holy and blameless before God
• We are chosen
• God provides all our needs
• He will guard us against the enemy and we are protected
• We are one with others in the body
• Scripture calls us His children and we are in awe of God
• We are blessed, we are highly favoured, we are called by name, every one of us

But without His Word, without knowing His Word, we don't know who we are!

Who do we worship sounds an obvious question, but is fundamental - we can't move on to how do we worship if we don't know who do we worship. It matters that we know who we worship. But it matters that we actually know who we worship! Without this knowledge, everything is futile. Our God is the God who made heaven and earth, the sky and the sea, all of us. He can heal us of our diseases, and we should be in awe of Him. He is not only a great God but a good Father. Only by having a personal relationship with God and walking closely with him can we be moved to real authentic worship. The more we know of God, the more we will want to worship Him. The more closely we walk with God, the more He reveals himself to us.

The first mention of worship in the scriptures occurs in Genesis 22 where Abraham goes to sacrifice his son Isaac in obedience to God. Scripture tells us that Abraham went to worship God before taking the wood for the burnt offering and his son Isaac. Then God spared his son and provided a ram in the thicket. This was a test of Abraham’s faith in God, of course at the time he did not know this.

So when we ask ‘How do we Worship’, the first answer is with obedience. Many of us may need to examine our lives and discover what we need to sacrifice however small in order to worship God. God answered Abraham by telling him his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.

From our hearts, we give an offering, this leads to worship. However, just an offering alone doesn't come from relationship with God, is not an act of your obedience to God and is just an offering which is empty religion. True worship comes from the heart, from a genuine authentic love of God and wanting to respond to who He is. What the offering is, or its size, God sees it as worship. Ps Janine related the story of Mary and the Alabaster jar of perfume (Luke 7:37). Maybe some of us have something to pour out on Jesus’ feet?

Whatever we offer, no matter how large or small, God sees it as worship. It moves the heart of God. It's not meaningless, it's not futile. Everything we do to magnify God is seen as worship and it moves him.

PS Janine gives us three pointers

·         We worship with our obedience

·         We worship from our heart

·         Our worship is a weapon

Using the story of Gideon and the Midianites in Judges 7:18, Janine describes how our worship has a sound, which the enemy cannot abide. When we speak out scripture, it confuses the enemy. The sound of our worship disarms the enemy. Anything and everything that we do to magnify God creates the sound of worship.

Janine closes this inspiring message with her favourite worship scripture from Romans 12:1 (NIV) “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”.

Worship is not about singing songs or hymns, it is a lifestyle living devoted to God. We are all designed to worship, but do we always worship the correct thing? Worship comes from 'worth-ship', meaning to give worth or value to something.

Psalm 29 tells us (NIV) "Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness". Psalm 95 (NIV) tells us "Come, let us bow down in worship,.....".

The Apostle Paul's definition of worship shows this complete devotion of life to God. In Romans 12 we are told (NIV) "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". Other translations (NLT) use the word plead instead of urge to emphasize Paul's point here....

Hence the Lord is the only one who is appropriate to worship, anything else or anyone else is idolatry. Genuine God-centered worship exalts God, and God Alone, and is offered for His pleasure alone. True worship is God focused. He is the only one who is appropriate to worship, anything else or anyone else is idolatry. 

Ps Paula explains the story of the Ark of the Covenant in 1 Samuel 5. The Philistines had captured the ark of God and placed it in Dagon's temple. However, the next day they discovered their false god Dagon had fallen face down before the ark of the Lord. Any idols we have in our lives will also eventually fall down before God! Nothing can Stand in God's presence!

Philippians 2 (NIV) tells us "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,....".

This is a challenging message from Ps Paula to begin this new series on Worship.....

In Psalm 139:16 the Psalmist writes how God's eyes saw our unformed body and how all our days were ordained in His book before they came to be. Andy goes on to speak about God's ability to redeem the coins of our life which were not spent well. When we live for God's purposes in our live, not only are we given future coins to spend, but (because He is outside of time & space), he can to step into wasted moments and redeem them. Joel 2:25 (NIV) "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten, the great locust and the young locust". This redemption is a financial term getting back things that were spent and adding them again to our account. How good is God?

Every one of us will stand one day before the Lord face to face. Let us take this appointment seriously, spending the currency of our days wisely, leaving a precious legacy.

Matthew 6:25 tells us not to worry (NIV) "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.......... Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life". Realize also that our tomorrow starts today. What we do today impacts our tomorrow. In Malachi 3:10, scripture actually says we can test God on this (NIV) "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it". So, decisions we make today impact our tomorrow.

God is our God of Today, He was our God of Yesterday and He is our God of Tomorrow. We can have peace of heart knowing God has our back at all times.

She refers to the same passage in Hebrew telling us Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever and in a world that is always changing. Often we experience situation where people do not treat us the same, but God is the same every day. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness".

PS Paula goes on to talk about how Psalm 118 tells us that this is the day that the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it. We need to rejoice in the days we have and not mourn what we dont have. Ps Paula goes on to encourage us to pick God today. Make today matter. Don't procrastinate, don't put off what we can do now. Today can be a fresh start for us. We may want what we want but there's something wonderful about surrendering to God because when we surrender to God we realize that everything we were holding on to is foolish and doesn't satisfy us and certainly is not causing us to be who God wants us to be. 

This is a must listen challenging message about how we will live our today!

Ps Sean speaks about how our yesterdays do not dictate our future, how living in the past can lead to robbing us of our future, how we need to cut away from the past in order to live in God's richness by faith. In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul speaks about "pressing onward toward the prize God has for him".....but he is in a prion cell whilst writing this, shackled! He was not holding on to the past, he was pressing on towards God. Often the main things holding us back are ourselves or others if we allow them to. Learning to hand out the past to God is a journey of trusting God with faith. Sean ends with three key points...

• God can forgive yesterdays failures (Isaiah 43:25, Hebrews 8:12, Psalm 103:12, 1 John 1:9, Romans 8:1)
• God can heal yesterdays hurts (Psalm 34;18, Luke 4:18 - Jesus' mandate was to set the oppressed free!)
• God can deliver us from yesterdays disappointments (Joel 2:25)

Psalm 77:12 is what we need to meditate on (NIV) "I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Let us walk in the fullness of strength God has for us as we position ourselves for 2025.

Our pilgrimage from 2024 to 2025 is to carry on growing in God. God is fully committed to growing us into who we really are. We just need to ensure we don't carry on living in the "old skin" so to speak.

Andy speaks of three common roadblocks to pilgrims....

• Fear of unknown (we need to walk by faith)
• Our limited view of our potential
• The way others see us

Additionally, three keys to pilgrimage are..

• Celebrate and commit to the next
• Build strong behind us, build a legacy to life
• Always plan to exit well

Final thoughts.....the way we leave affects the way we arrive (as we move on in our lives). Also, it will cost us our future to live in the past. Let us remain conscious that we all have an appointment in Zion - 2 Timothy 4:8 (NIV) " Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing".

Ps Andy then looks again at the characteristics of God which are the hallmarks of His behaviour. We see these exemplified by Christ's behaviour described by the scriptures. When we understand God's character correctly, it affects our expectations of Him. The character of God is revealed by his word and also His Son. Hebrews 1:1-3 (NIV) "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  but in these last days He has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven".

Everything we need to know about the character of the Father we can gain by watching Christ! But God places us in his Son, so that our identity now is that we're a people who were once separated from God, but now we are in Christ and Christ now lives in us. The life that we live should be Christ-like. If we live a Christ-like life, the world sees the character of God Through the way we now live.

So, the character of God is revealed by His word. The character of God is revealed in His son. But the character of God is also revealed through our lives. When we understand that we are now in Him and He in us,,,,,,the life we live now must be to demonstrate His character!!

People may let us down, but God never does. Nearly 200 times, the Bible teaches us about the trusting nature of God. One of the key things that makes God trustworthy is that He cannot lie. God is love. God cannot lie. The devil is the father of Lies. God is the father of truth and righteousness, honestly and integrity.

Numbers 23:19 tells us (NIV) "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" When He promises, he's going to do something, He will always do it because His name and His person are on the line so to speak. We can have confidence in God because He cannot lie. Because of this confidence we can also put our trust in Him. Trust is where we turn our belief into action. Faith and trust go hand in hand.

The ultimate example of trust in God was Jesus upon the cross. Ps Andy delivers an exciting message punctuated with real life stories and scriptures to explain how we can put our trust in God.

God's love for every single one of us is unconditional, his love isn't based on the things we do. It's based on the fact that He made us and He loves us full stop. We need to throw away thoughts telling us there's a chance that maybe God does not love us! The Bible lets us know that we can trust His goodness to meet us in every situation we face knowing that God is good. This is foundational in our relationship with him because it affects how we see and respond to difficulties in life.

Ps Paula details how God is Good all the time, irrelevant of our performance, backed with scriptures and at the end of the message with two young guys doing a run round the church illustrating how God's goodness is always following us (Ps 23 - Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life......).

Ps Andy delivers an awe inspiring message that ends quoting the hymn:-

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases

His mercies never have come to an end

They are new every morning

New every morning

Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord

Great is Thy faithfulness

God's love is steadfast, unchanging and is new every day for us!

She goes on to explain how in we are bombarded by untruths about the nature of God from just about every angle in modern life and how in fact this is identical to the way in which the serpent beguiled Eve in the Garden of Eden. Many institutions, media, even religions will mock Jesus and tell lies about our God in these days.

How do we refute all this? We need to know the word of God. The Word of God describes the character and true nature of God from Genesis through to Revelation. We don't need to know chapter and verse necessarily, but we do need to know the Word of God then our mind is filled with The Truth, we can refute any lies coming into our minds and live a free life honouring God.

Listen to this inspiring message linking the them of Remembrance Sunday to the sacrifice of Jesus for our souls to the ways of our hearts.

Using the stories told in Mark 4, v 35 onward, Ps Sean describes the situation where Jesus' followers have been listening to parables, watching miracles and now Jesus is asleep in a boat after saying "let us to go the other side" (of the water). The waves kick up, the disciples wake Jesus from his sleep as they are full of worry about being drowned. But, Jesus had told them they were going across the water, and go they would, come a storm or no storm. Jesus' promises are always kept. He never lets us down, even when we are mid journey and begin to worry over something.

Ps Sean speaks further about us leaning into the character of God and leaning not unto our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). He also speaks about how we can acquire greater faith in God. The Bible gives us this instruction in Romans 10:17.

Listen to this challenging message about how we must lean upon the one true God by having faith in His character through His word!

God is wanting us to put trust in him, why?, because He is trustworthy. We trust Him as the creator of the universe, but also his promises - when He gives us a word, He puts his own name on that word to fulfill it. When Jesus said to the people in the boat, we're going to the other side, a storm came but it wasn't really the issue because Jesus had given the word as the author - ie He had given a promise and it would be fulfilled (storm or no storm). The reaction needs to be to thank Him, even when it looks impossible, we don't know or cant see how it can be fulfilled. We move from standing with the author seeing things that haven't happened yet to standing with the finisher. Faith in God positions us at the finish line even when we are still in the race!

Ps Andy further expands on this by speaking about the faith journey that Abraham had, and ends suggesting 4 key lessons....

• Faith is usually a journey, which rarely ends the next day
• If God needed our help He would ask!
• Faith is never reasonable, we may need to wait for it to make sense
• Faith is always real before we see it 

The Bible recognizes Jesus as the author and the finisher of our faith. In the book of Revelation 22:13, scripture speaks of Jesus being the alpha, and the omega, the beginning and the end. Jesus causes us to be able to believe in God and see things happen where we're left saying "thank you God, that was you, not me"!

Andy spends time explaining how Jesus is not just the author of promises about our lives, but is also the finisher of the same promises also. We need to live our lives from the standpoint of the finisher, not just the author of the promises for our lives. Looking at Hebrews 11, we gain insight into many hers of scripture who lived by faith in God. Later, Andy will focus more on Hebrews 12 where the focus is turned more toward ourselves and how we live our lives.

He refers to Acts 2:1-12 (NIV) " When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”"

Ps Sean's message focuses on the fact that everyone was United in one place, the Holy Spirit filled every person who was then enabled to speak in languages they did not know, and this in turn brought the people from outside the room to wonder what was happening (as they recognized their own tongues).

For our city this is a prophetic message of how we can be a transforming force with the Spirit's intervention such that those outside our immediate circle can become convicted and saved.

This can all happen because we are a UNITED house of the Lord!

The gifts of the Holy Spirit all come from one God, one Holy Spirit. God brings these gifts into the lives of his family, in order that we can live a power-field victorious life, blessing others. Ps Andy describes these in detail and how they work in our lives. He speaks about how the New Testament church operated in the gifts of the Spirit. He explains how spiritual gifts are given to a person as the Holy Spirit wills, for navigating our lives and also ministering to others. The anointing flows at its best when we are meeting the needs of others. He also speaks for a while about the gift of Tongues – for personal use and also when given in a church setting followed by interpretation.

This is a fascinating and challenging message!

• The ability for us to walk in freedom and wholeness
• The ability to minister to the needs of others - not to be selfish on our Christian walk
• The provision of moral power, and excellence of soul - ability to say no to things

After describing these at length, he speaks about seven areas where the power of the Holy Spirit works in our lives

• Transforming us from inside out into the image and the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18)
• Providing the boldness to do things such as sharing our faith
• Providing supernatural ability (Mark 16: 17). Jesus tells His disciples to lay hands on the sick and they will recover, speak in tongues, raise them...this applies to us now 
• The Holy Spirit consecrates us, giving us the ability to live a life that doesn't sin 
• To live the life God's called us to. The Bible gives us no excuse not to forgive even when we are hurt
• He calls us to do the same things that Jesus did when he walked the Earth. Why? Because the Spirit of the Lord that lived upon Him is now the same Spirit upon us. He is anointing us to preach the gospel, set people free. This is not just a Pastors job! 
• Providing the ability to walk in obedience to the things He asks us to do

The Holy spirit in us gives us everything we need. This is why we are called to be Spirit-filled, Spirit-led and Spirit empowered. This brings glory to God each day, because of the way we choose to live....

PS Sean introduces two key words of importance here - Intimacy and Hosting.  Intimacy relates to a relaxed atmosphere but also privacy. For example between two people in a marriage, there's intimacy. Breakdown occurs without this as others things get in the way with two people walking in different directions. God wants to call us back to intimacy with the Holy Spirit today in a fresh way without distraction from the world. 

When we host someone we ensure our house is on order, we want to welcome them to feel at home in our house. This requires effort and heart commitment.

With countless scripture references, Ps Sean provides insight into how the Holy Spirit is resident within us, is in fact our teacher, our guide, our helper, our comforter. Above all, the Holy Spirit is there to provide the correct comfort we need in our lives, as opposed to worldly comforts and distractions which may satisfy earthly desires but move us away from intimacy with God.

John 15 refers (The Vine & The Branches).

This is a challenging message!

So it is today. Nowhere in the bible do we find the actions on the day of Pentecost being reversed. In this action packed message Ps Andy explains how in fact there can be no such thing as Christian who is not Spirit filled. Ps Andy fills this message with scripture references stating how the Holy Spirit has been poured out on us all.  

If we are saved and have received Christ into our hearts, we have received the Spirit of God. Amen!!

Ps Andy then speaks about how we are to move to a third part of our discipleship series, which we are calling 'Jesus Empowers'. This is Pneumatology and it's the Doctrine or the study of the person and works of the Holy Spirit.

Ps Andy continues with an introduction to this series which again is fundamental to our understanding of our Christian walk.

Ps Andy delivers a punchy message about everyone becoming involved in the journey of the church by being servant hearted and being prepared to give of our time, talents and finances.

Listen and be amazed!!

Listen as Ps Andy further unwraps this subject with biblical examples challenging us to move away from our comfort zones and respond to God's calling. God does not call the equipped. moreover, he equips the called....with His anointing!

Ps Andy continues to speak about what happens for us and also for others as God's anointing flows in our lives.

He begins by referencing the familiar verses Isaiah 61:1 (NIV) 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 prisoner......and; Luke 4:16-21 (NIV) He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written “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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

This is very much Jesus saying "I am the one anointed, I'm the one sent from God". An anointing is for the purposes of saving people and setting them free - the moment Jesus stepped into Ministry (fulfilling the purpose of God on Earth).

Ps Andy speaks further on this explaining how Anointing from God is not just about miracles but also very much the ability and the power of God to do what he requires of us. Anointing always serves a purpose...a need and also to live in obedience to Christ.

1 Samuel 17:32 (NIV) says "David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” Here we see how a 'yes' committed David.

Matthew 4:19-20 (NIV) says “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. This 'yes' caused action to take place...they immediately left their nest and followed Him..

A 'yes' creates shift in our lives...sometimes to a place entirely out of our comfort zone. The 'yes' of Simon, Andrew, James and John changed the course of their lives. They move from where they were to, where they where God wanted them to be.

Ps Steu's fourth 'Yes' is that a 'Yes' means a 'No'!  'Yes' to God will bring breakthrough in our lives. We become free of the things that once distracted us, deceived us, free of old ways and old habits, just by saying, "God, 'Yes', I'm gonna run hard after you". The more we burn for God, the less we will burn for the things of the world.

In summary, a 'Yes':-

• Commits us
• Causes Action
• Causes Shift
• Usually means No as well

A 'Yes' to God means

• Whole heartedly running after God
• Being fully committed to God's house not just as spectators
• Becoming servants in God's house 
• Servants becoming stewards
• People who really take ownership and fully own their responsibilities

Sean explains how God is unchanging, keep promises and above all is truly loving. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) states "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres".

Everywhere where this scripture says 'love is ....', we can replace the word 'love' with 'God'. God is patient, God is kind.....and so on.

Ps Sean explains at length these and many more of the characteristics of the Heart of our Father God in a most challenging message.

Later she shows how in fact with Jesus all things are possible but without Jesus in our lives, we are lost!

This is a message not to be missed!

Ps Andy speaks today about how we are regenerated by a re-birthing, washing and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Our new birth is a spiritual birth which results in us being made alive spiritually.

Ps Andy goes on to teach how our regeneration occurs at the moment of our salvation, and that the only means of regeneration is by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Ps Sean speaks of how the world is full of division, strife, and anger but in contrast we are united by the faith, hope and love of Christ.

The Bible explains how we are all saints. The word saint relates to the word sanctification. We have been set apart from the penalty of sin and made holy before God.

Listen as Ps Steu unpacks this amazing topic and explains how God sees us through Christ. This is a must listen message!

Redemption is a term which implies that something has been paid for or bought back, like a slave who has been set free through the payment of a ransom. The word ransom is related to the Christian concept of redemption. Jesus paid the price for our release from sin and its punishment. His death was in exchange for our life. In fact, Scripture is quite clear that redemption is only possible “through His blood,” that is, by His death.

Ps Andy emphasizes that all this is only possible by the perfect sacrifice God made through His Son for us....He predestined our lives before we were born! As Ps Andy explains, it is vital we do understand this aspect of our salvation, then we can live to enjoy the benefits...

• Eternal life - Revelation 5:9-10
• Forgiveness of sins - Ephesians 1:7
• Righteousness - Romans 5:17
• Freedom from the law’s curse - Galatians 3:13
• Adoption into God’s family - Galatians 4:5
• Deliverance from sin’s bondage - Titus 2:14 & 1 Peter 1:14-18
• Peace with God - Colossians 1:18-20
• The indwelling of the Holy Spirit - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Redemption means to buy back. And in this case, it's to buy back to the original owner. We were made by God to be Gods. However, we were stolen.....but God has brought us back to himself by paying the ransom price of Christ. Amen!

God's plan for us in all time was reconciliation back to Him like Adam and Eve were originally before sin existed.

Romans 5:1 (NLT) states "Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." Further, in verses 6-10, this scripture tells us "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son."

Ps Carla speaks further about how we are reconciled back to God through Christ and then, additionally, how we should live once we are reconciled to God and His Holy Spirit is there to guide us.

In forgiving our sin, God has Justified us in His sight. This is a key thing to understand - part of our salvation. To be justified means we are declared or made righteous in the sight of God. This righteousness is a gift from God, it has nothing to do with our 'acts of kindness' which as Ps Andy tells us are seen as filthy rags compared to what Jesus did for us on the cross (Isaiah 64:6).

With plentiful scriptures, Ps Andy explains how our justification, our right standing with God is the fruit of divine exchange at the cross of Jesus.

As Ps Andy speaks on our salvation, he asks simple questions - who is saved by whom from what, and by what means? Its crucial to have a correct understanding of these aspects in order not to have any false understanding.

Today he unwraps the subject of forgiveness, a cardinal point in our Christian walk. With reference to multiple scriptures, Ps Andy ensures we all understand the difference between being forgiven original sin which comes the instant we accept Jesus and receive His salvation, and daily misdemeanors we all make. Without forgiveness, we cannot live in perfect relationship with our Father God. The debt for our sins past, present and future can only be paid by the blood of Jesus, this is why it is so imperative we receive Him as our Saviour.

This is an absolute must listen message which unwraps key aspects of the gospel in relation to forgiveness of sins.

Using a real door as a visual aid he speaks most profoundly about how Jesus is the door to a relationship with the Father. Our relationship with the Father in Heaven was lost due to the Adam and Eve's sinful nature in the Garden of Eden (book of genesis refers).

Many claim to be a messiah or even the Messiah but the only way to the Father is through Jesus Christ. Let us open the door of our hearts to Jesus with faith in order to receive Him and receive eternal life.

Scriptures abound here but the cardinal point of Ps Sean's message is this: If Jesus is not Lord of all in our lives, He is not Lord at all. We all need to examine how we live, what we say, what we hear, what we look at, what we do, engage in, our decisions, everything. This is immensely challenging. Luke 6:46-49 (NIV) says "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock".

It's easy to listen to the word and not respond in our hearts and deeds. Jesus bore the price for our sins with His blood on the cross. Our value is His blood. Let us not forget. If our lives become compromised, this leads to blindness which leads to deception ending in destruction. Jesus bore our sins to set us free and make us righteous before God the Father.

Ps Andy continues to explain how it was necessary for a sinless man's blood to be spilled to pay for all our sins, how in fact only Jesus the Christ could pay the debt to bring us back into relationship with God our Father.

This is an absolutely must listen message, its the heart of the Gospel focusing on Jesus who is the Good News. Listen to this and you can be under no illusion about needing to commit your life to Jesus.

Jesus didn't primarily come to sort out social justice or bring peace, or to free the people of the day from the Romans....disappointing many we are sure! Nor did Jesus come to get us all to live a morally upright life - although many of His teachings reflected this.

Jesus was and is The Messiah. He came to deal with our separation from God due to our sin. We are all born to sin as a result of Adam's revolt in the Garden of Eden. Since then, the Old Testament records how blood sacrifices were made as a result of sin. However, not until Jesus paid the final ransom price by His blood being shed, were all the sins of the world paid for (Mark 10.45).

This is the true nature of the Gospel message which Ps Gina explains at length, showing how our sin nature is able to be exchanged for a righteous nature when we accept Jesus into our lives as Saviour.

This is an amazing podcast, which answers in detail the nature of Jesus as a sinless Son of God the Father and Saviour of the World.

Listen to this as Ps Andy describes on great detail how Jesus was and is full man yet fully God.

We are called to be rooted deeply into relationship with Christ, with lives overflowing with His goodness. So it follows we need to study who Jesus is....which is the subtitle for this weeks' message. We need to know who Jesus is, understand his truths so we can walk in His fullness.

Hebrews 13:8 (NIV) states "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever". Sean speaks about how Jesus was, is and is now, before the beginning of time and how Old Testament scriptures foretell His life in the New Testament. Equally, in order that we are not deceived by the many false doctrines, teachings etc of this world, it is essential we understand the true nature of Jesus. Knowing about Him is not enough , we need to actually be in relationship with Him for ourselves, have a revelation of Him in our lives.

Ps Sean challenges us to delve deeper into our bibles, read the Word to know more of Him. as the scriptures say (John 1), he is the Word made flesh.

Paula then uses the example of Nehemiah and how his heart feelings led him to lead rebuilding of the city walls in Jerusalem. He did not sit idly by and watch the city ruin, he recognized the need, found his place and brought about the rebuilding of the walls.

There are masses of things we can become involved in during this year to deepen our faith, become more involved. We are all challenged to look at how we can be part of the ministry of the vision for the church this coming year.

Jesus said that if we are to be disciples, we need to lay down our lives and pick up our cross. We have to make a decision not to be a part of this broken world anymore, but be a part of His Kingdom - its a decision. Jesus never made anyone in the Gospels step out of the crowd, but invited people who wanted to to do something different. There was a cost then and there is a cost now. Our lives have to change and must do so. But, the rewards are infinite and we become those who are part of the people doing and seeing miracles break out. Crowd people go to Church. Disciples are the Church!

PS Andy goes on to speak of many more challenging differences between the crowd and disciple experience, leaving us in to make up our minds where we are in the journey of life and where we will move to next.....

This is a MUST LISTEN message!!

Ps Andy uses the text from Mark 4:35-41 to illustrate his message. The NIV version reads "That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”  Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

God wants us to speak to certain storms in our life. We don't need to wake Him up! He has given us authority to deal with storms that come to resist us. In the Gospel of Mark, the other side of the journey was a man who needed help and when Jesus said let's go to the other side, He had that man in mind. God is many steps ahead of us in our journey. Jesus said that no weapon fashioned against Him could prosper, hence he dealt with the storm.

We are not sitting on the shore, we are in a boat, a moving vehicle with the heart of God. We will get winds of resistance. Hence it's important we know how to stand up and say "cut it out, wind". The Lord said we will get to be other side. The journey can be confusing, but if Jesus is said we will arrive, then we shall arrive!

Andy also speaks of contrary winds and contrary storms which come to confuse us, leaving us somewhere we were not meant to go. We must be led by the spirit in order to make the right decisions. he speaks of where Paul ended up in Malta a result of a broken ship, lost cargo because well informed people would not listen to the Spirit led voice of Paul.

The parallels in our lives with everything said here are all so real. If we are on a God led journey, we will undoubtedly need to deal with winds, storms and the like. Let us know how to!

Other ways we can know the right thing are from guidance by the Holy Spirit, from our leaders and Pastors and also personal convictions.

Ps Steu goes on the speak about why we might choose to do the right thing, because it honours God, it Glorifies Him and also because it results in greater blessing in our lives. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) says "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago".....there is still the call of God upon our lives to live correctly before Him. We were created in Christ Jesus to do good works. We're not saved by by good works, but were created for good works. The truth is that once we need this life, we step into the Kingdom of Heaven, and in the Kingdom of Heaven, there is more reward for those who are faithful with what God has given us to live with.

Ps Steu completes his commanding message by speaking about when we should be doing the right thing.....when we are being watched, when no one is watching us, when others are not doing the right thing and when it is difficult, costly, timely and expensive and when we are tired.

We shall all reap the harvest of blessing if we know the right thing, why to do the right thing and when to do the right thing. The service ended with a time for personal reflection and re dedication of our lives to God.

Those three verses are the result from our choice to follow God's direction in life. The second half of the psalm speaks about the ungodly who are like the chaff that the wind drives away. The end of the second three verses - the ungodly path - is sad and hopeless and ends in nothingness.

God's way in this scriptures leads to happiness, but the other path is the wrong way - which will lead to misery.

Ps Gina goes on to speak about how there are likely to areas of our lives we have not yet committed to the Lord and how these will be like dead branches in the tree of our lives. True happiness will come from ourselves submitting our all to our Saviour.

The children of Israel took forty years to undertake an eleven day journey because they prevaricated and kept looking back rather than moving through the Red Sea into a land of promise flowing with milk and honey. This is the plan of God, for every one of us in salvation. The message of Jesus comes into our captivity and speaks freedom.

We choose to believe in Jesus and we leave 'our Egypt'. But we need to make sure we have left it, to come out of a 'red sea', free from our enemies and our addictions. Then we are coming not to a land of promise, but a life full of promise. This is God's plan for our salvation.

As Ps Sean says, we all need to make sure we do not just accept the gift of Jesus, but we truly unwrap the present and accept Him into our lives fully, for He has great plans for us!

May you have a truly blessed and peace filled Christmas!

The church was packed full for this service with people standing at the back, but listen to this impactful message to learn the real truth behind Christmas.

Pastor Andy goes on in detail to explain how the crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is also reflected in us too. Scriptures reveal how we also were co-crucified with Jesus.  The person we used to be died on the cross in Christ to 2000 years ago. That fact became activated the moment we believed. our loves need to be acted out to reflect this.

This is an awe inspiring message that will stir our hearts and minds. Listen, believe and act!

Pastor Andy also reflects on how sometimes we need to concentrate on the things we cannot see in order to 'fix' the things we can see.

This is a superb podcast revisiting the cardinal elements of the previous weeks and reinforcing the fact that whilst the series on House of Prayer itself may have finished, it is just the start of the focus on prayer in our personal and corporate lives.

This is a MUST LISTEN podcast, covering enormous ground with scriptural backing to all Andy speaks of. He ends with some application pointers..

• Be aware of the two realms....any breakthrough you need may have more to do with whats happening in the unseen. Hit your knees and do business with God and see him bring breakthrough!
• Pray in the understanding for the things that we understand in the spirit for things we have done.
• Understand how to separate people and things from what influences them. When we do spiritual warfare, we deal like Daniel the things that were happening, but were causing interference. If the airways are cleared, the sound of God can break through!
• Ensure we are wearing the armour of God.
• Use our God given authority to begin to bind and loose things in what we call the Spirit ground. Do not get into arguments with people in the natural realm.
• Remember we don't speak to enemy thoughts without authority, but when we speak to the devil's demons (lies, addictions...), there is a ring on our finger that says we represent a King and Kingdom.
• Realise that when we say Jesus with conviction, every devil hits its knees and leaves the building. When we say Jesus, every sickness has to submit. Let us not live like people unaware. Let us not reduce the name of Jesus.

Listen to this message to hear Ps Andy unwrap the details here, quoting scriptures and personal life events which also bear out the promises of God in the Bible for his own life.

Ps Andy gives challenging insight into what to say and what not to say when praying for others who are sick, especially as our God knows everything we can even think of before we utter a word. Sometimes the simplest of prayers are the most powerful.

Ps Andy specifically speaks about how Jesus deal with unbelief before curing people in the bible. Nothing is impossible for God. God is wiling and able to bring freedom though prayer, as shown in scripture and also in present day situations.

We are given the privilege of being the channels of the Holy Spirit's prayer. It's a privilege to be able to take someone else before the throne of God and pray for them. We get to be that link that link between what God is thinking and what God wants to do in their lives. We become a link for another person. The Bible commands Christians to pray for one another. James 5:16 (NIV) says "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective".

Ps Gina continues to explore this topic quoting many scripture references (notably the story of Esther) where life situations changed as a result of people interceding for others. She explains h ow she walks in the prayers of her own mother and challenges us all to be effective prayer warriors for others.

Ps Paula continues with personal life stories punctuated with scripture but also challenges us to pray about both the small and big things in our lives. If we dont but we moan and grumble, what are we like? Paula speaks about going before God with a humble heart, on our knees in complete surrender in supplication. If our prayer life is only about the good things in life, we end up quite shallow. Paula speaks of Hannah in the Bible who made a petition, she got on her knees in supplication for a child.

The prayer of supplication does not leave us wanting what we want. It shifts our hearts and causes us to want God to be glorified, because when we get to the end of ourselves and don't know what to do and God is got only person that we have left to help, we begin to realise "God, I'm nothing God nothing. So may your will be glorified." Everything comes from God and for His glory.

Pauls ends speaking about how prayers of supplication, petition, and intercession produce miracles......God can take our broken situations.....other people will then know the power of God. But when people stop praying, miracles stop happening!

As Pentecostals, we believe that God enables us to pray with another prayer language. We don't believe speaking in tongues is a sole evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit - many Christians who don't pray in the Holy Spirit live most  beautiful spiritual lives. Also some Christians who pray a lot in the spirit live very ugly lives! Speaking in tongues or heavenly language that the Holy Spirit makes available to every believer is an evidence, but not the evidence of the Holy Spirit. 

Speaking in tongues is something God wants us to enjoy. We believe that what was given and demonstrated in the early church in the book of Acts can be a believer's experience today. Why? Because we're a part of the same church which Jesus opened 2000 years ago. Pastor Andy continues to explain some of the main aspects of praying with our own understanding and praying in the Spirit. 

Listen to this podcast to hear exciting news about how we are all able to pray in tongues. Towards the end, Pastor Andy also discusses aspects associated with the Spiritual gift of Tongues and how and when this is used.

Andy speaks about how we ought to always be praying in faith as we approach Him in prayer. We need to exhibit a child like trust in Him and His promises. If we know God exists, we know our prayers are heard. If we know our prayers are heard, we can have expectation of prayer answered by faith. We walk by faith and not by sight.

Ps Andy continues speaking about how our attitude should be one of faithful thankfulness after our initial prayer of supplication. God is not deaf nor suffering form memory loss! Of course this does not mean we can be arrogant in our attitude, but remain humble in our approach to our Lord.

If we ask anything according to his will, scripture tells us it shall be granted. How do we know the will of God? It is revealed in His word - in our Bibles! 

Ps Steu asks some questions

• Why should we pray together? It is fundamentally something the church does. We are designed you to be part of a body of believers. Also, praying together brings us to greater unity with each other, especially when we pray according to God's word. Praying together invites the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us that whenever two or more are gathered in His name, He is there in our midst. This is a powerful thing. God empowers us. We need the presence of God. Praying together increases our faith to believe God for the miraculous. Collective prayer also moves us from seeking our own desires to seeking the purposes of God and the desires of God. 
• When should we pray together? Answer - regularly!! We've got to remember that we are children of God's kingdom. Praying is what we do; talking to our Father is what we do. Ps Steu speaks about specific occasions that might warrant us praying together - times of decision making, intercession....
• How should we pray? Remember Jesus said if two or three of you agree on earth, concerning anything that they asked for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.... So we should pray in agreement with God's words. The word of God reveals the will of God. In 1 John 5:14-15, it says 'this is the confidence we have in approaching God that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us? And if we know that we have what we have asked of Him'. The Bible is the greatest prayer tool we have, so speaking passages of scripture reminds us who God is and what God says. We also ought to pray earnestly. Acts 12:5 retails Peter being in prison, but that the church was earnestly praying for him. The story ends with his release.
• What happens when we pray? Prison doors are opened! Acts 4:31 tells us that 'when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness'. The presence of God came and filled the room. The Holy Spirit did something amazing in their lives.

The Holy Spirit is the same now and will do amazing things in our lives.....

Persecution of Christians is not a new thing. It was happening in Biblical times, and it's happening today. Sometimes, living in the UK and especially growing up in the UK, we can easily forget that persecution is something that today, millions of Christians in this world are experiencing and some in really extreme ways, including imprisonment and being martyred for their faith. It's really important that our prayers extend beyond our own lives and beyond our church. It's really good to be praying for our missionaries and our mission partners who are working overseas.

Pastor Steu speaks to four members of the church representing different nations where persecution is rife. They pray in their mother tongue, leading the church this morning.

He goes on to speak about how we are the House of Prayer, carrying the House of prayer everywhere we go, individually and corporately, and then follows this explaining the verse preceding the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:5) where we are told not to be like hypocrites, but to go to our room, close the door and humble ourselves before God in private prayer. Referring to the book of Ezekiel, he speaks about how the Lord had a plan of restoration for the people of Israel, to grant their requests, make them whole and righteous but the Lord God awaits the prayer of the people first. Likewise we need to be speaking to God daily about our needs and our circumstances, then God will open up the doors of heaven and blessings will flow.

Ps Sean's key point is that we cannot expect God to perform for us in a public space if we are not in communion with Him in our own private secret space. In our private space we need to be thankful, claiming righteousness, thanking God for freedom and joy. We need to put time in for our private prayer with God...otherwise we are mere religious hypocrites (without power).

This hard hitting message is full of scriptures and positive practical tips for our private relationship with God.

Give this podcast a listen to find out about all the wisdom there is in this simple relational prayer.

When we read about the day of Pentecost, we see it today when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all flesh. But we also see it was the moment that the church was born. What was the church doing before it was born? They were praying and suddenly in their prayer meeting the Holy Spirit fell and the church of Jesus Christ was born.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) says "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land". The people called by Hs name are us Christians!, our land, our lives can be healed and our sins forgiven if we humble ourselves before our God and pray and seek Him.

Next week, we begin to unpack all this in greater detail.

Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways (Proverbs4:26, NIV). Having placed ourselves on a pathway, we are already on a trajectory in life..is it good or bad? Jesus told us to follow him and He would give us a new life. So, we need to start taking responsibility for our thoughts.

Andy goes on to give scriptural examples of where good and bad thinking led to good or bad life experiences. He quotes Philippians 4:8 (NIV) "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things".

This scripture gives us direct guidance on how and what to think about. He concludes by asking us to think about whether we wish to give our lives to Christ and to then think about whether we should act upon any arising thoughts. A challenging message indeed!

1 Peter 5: 7 says (NIV) "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you", however the verse before tells us to humble ourselves before God (v6) "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time". The in verse 9, 10 and 11 come the promises....."Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Ps Sean gives a deep and meaningful message concluding with prayers for all the congregation to open their hearts to The Lord and humbly submit to Him.

Guilt not dealt with can turn to shame...a painful feeling certainly not of God. God doesn't want this for us...it makes us feel not worthy. Shame also affects how we see ourselves and others. As we carry huge bags filled with the rubbish of our lives, our view of God (and others) is obscured. We cannot see anything clearly because of the baggage we refuse to put down..(often!)…

But, God paid the price through Jesus to free us of such rubbish. However, sometimes we do choose to pick it all back up again. The story of Adam and Eve in Genesis (Genesis 3:7) shows how they were ‘ashamed’ of their nakedness. Their guilt had turned to shame. Jesus enables us to become re-joined to God and our guilt and shame dealt with, we are born again and free.

Ps Carla provides many scripture references illustrating how we are now able to walk boldly, how everything has been dealt with and how we need to be people able to bounce back and allow God to use all of our situations. 1 John 1:8-9 tells us to freely admit our sins. Hebrews 10:22 (NIV) says “let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water“. We do not need to carry guilt or shame, we are free indeed. 

Matthew 16:24 tells us how we need to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Our identity is found in who we follow. Here, Jesus speaks of submission - we are not asked to carry our worries! When we take up our cross and follow Him life begins to make sense. A relationship with Jesus is rewarded with a lack of stress, no anxiety and no depression. There is only hope in Christ! 

Scripture is a most powerful tool. (Proverbs 4:20-22). When the Word is inside us.. Revival breaks out.

Ps Sean continues to speak about replacing worry with faith, rejoicing over God rather than dwelling on negativity. Worry and overthinking are both able to dominate our lives easily if let them, but we need to take captive our thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:5) in order to transform our lives.

1 Peter 5:7 tells us rather to cast our anxieties on Him for He cares for us….a great rule for living. But, we also need to read the verse beforehand…..we are to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand that he may lift us up!

Pastor Andy mentions the verses in Colossians 2:8 and following where Paul embraced God's wisdom resulting in life changes just as we need to now. Ultimately, we need to make a decision to follow the wisdom of Jesus and not that of the world. God and The Word must become our primary source. In James 1:5 the scripture speaks about how if we lack wisdom we should ask God who will give generously without finding fault in our lives (under the sub title of Trials and Temptations).

In Ephesians 1:17 and following we are instructed to keep asking the God of our Lord Jesus to give us the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in order that we may know Him better. The verses which follow also speak about the eyes of our hearts being enlightened so we may know the hope of which He has called us, His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe - the same power which raised Christ from the dead!!

We have a decision to make - do we contend or pursue the wisdom of God?, perhaps we need to humble ourselves and admit that often we do not know that which we do not know!

The NIV Bible titles this ‘The fellowship of the believers’

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The NKJV Bible titles this ‘A Vital Church Grows’

 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ [n]doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

All of our Pastors draw vitally important nuggets from this scripture in relation to the future of our Church Fellowship. This is a ‘must listen’ message!!

The Declaration of Independence stated the United States no longer wanted the rule and reign of England, rather to be autonomous and self-governing. Ps Andy goes on to look at how effectively mankind moved away from the rule and reign of their Lord God in the Garden of Eden, believing happiness (amongst other things) to be found in the tree of knowledge of good and evil. History tells otherwise! Humanity turned its back on a position that it had, to go on a pursuit of something that could never be achieved, because we know that happiness, life and liberty aren't found in places outside of God. Since Adam, we have all been looking for those things in places where we can't find them when all the time God is there, omnipresent ever-present saying, “hey return to me, why don't you walk away from your statement of independence of me and my kingdom and come back into my kingdom, where you will find all those things”.

When we don’t have a relationship with God, we unknowingly draw things we think will create happiness from our wives, husbands, children or friendships. This makes relationships a lesser experience than God intended them to be. 

Ps Andy asks “what's the answer to all this”? Basically, have a healthy relationship with God, then all other relationships in our lives will become beautifully balanced as they were meant to be. Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) states “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”. The context of this statement comes from Jesus speaking to his followers saying, don't be like unsaved people, don't be like heathens or pagans, or people who don't know God and seek other things to bring them happiness. Rather, Jesus said that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, make a relationship with God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, making this the greatest pursuit of our lives, then our striving will cease. Our Father will add these other things to our lives and put His blessing upon them. However, if we look at other things outside God’s Kingdom for our pursuit of happiness, we effectively make them idols in our lives…..

PS Sean takes a walk through the scriptures explaining the power behind a water baptism – it is not a ceremony! Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. John the Baptist was doing this because he was making a way for Jesus and getting the people ready for the saviour of the world to enter. All of this was to fulfil those scriptures spoken previously in the Old Testament in Isaiah & Malachi – hundreds of years previously. 

Two examples from scripture show how the people were taken through the river Jordan leaving the entrapments of their old ways behind and the freedom of the new life in Jesus ahead. These are great examples of how visually the water baptism buries old ways. Ps Sean goes into detail to explain this in a not to be missed message ending with a challenge. Are we baptised, if so, do we need to bring remembrance to the power of our baptism and remind the enemy that our old life is dead and he has no hold over any of our old ways? Or, if we are not baptised, Sean hopes we are encouraged and that our understanding of this incredible sacrament is now awakened that we may seek to be baptised. 

Joshua had to know this in his heart as he led the children of Israel forward into the land of promise that God had given them. This promise that God made to Joshua is ours as well. God has come to dwell in our lives by his Spirit. And the truth is that he will never leave us and he will never forsake us. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, we are new creations in Christ Jesus. Old things are passed away and all things have become new. This transformation is amazing but only the start. God wants us to walk in the power of this transformation every day. He wants to empower us to be different to this world, to stand out as his holy people, set apart people to be people who walk as Jesus did. In other words, to carry the character of Christ, walk with love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness and self-control. These fruits are the look and feel of His people.

Ps Steu mentions there are many occasions when we need to know that God is with us by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. He speaks of four specific occasions when we need to know that the presence of God is in our lives, when it is vital to remember that God is with us. These are Temptation, Tension, Triumph and Tragedy. Ps Steu explains how having God in our lives and displaying the fruits of His Spirit sets us apart from others and turns heads when people are otherwise focused on the worldly ways of living. 

Reference is made to Luke 24 and Acts 1, both of these verses being statements made by Jesus after his resurrection and just prior to his Ascension. Jesus was telling His disciples they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, then being witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and even to the ends of the Earth. Clearly, Jesus is demonstrating that He has substantial plans for them, through their lives. He was asking them to receive His Spirit, allowing it to reside, rule and reign within them….then they would be limitless in what you could do. It's the same for us! In the same way God had a plan for the first church, He's got a Plan for the church today because we're the same church but the Holy Spirit comes into our lives to lead us but also empower us and give us divine or supernatural ability. At the boundary of our own ability, God’s ability through the Holy Spirit in us begins to act. 

When the understanding or the revelation that we are now filled with God's own Spirit fully settles in our minds, we will begin to do things we didn't think we would - like forgiving what you couldn’t; loving those we couldn’t and so on. God doesn't ask us to do things in our own strength alone. The first footstep may be ours to take, but the other footsteps that cause us to arrive where He is asking us to go are provided by Him. There is a two-fold benefit for us - number one, it’s great for us, number two, it's also good for others because God has called us to minister His life to others.  We are people who can be led by the Spirit in our daily lives. We are people who are empowered by the Spirit in our lives, and for the benefit of others. Let this be so.

Andy refers to John 16:13-15, here we see Jesus saying that the Holy Spirit is coming to guide our lives, in all truth. Spirit-led is also evidence and demonstration of us now being God's children, (Romans 8: 9- 14). There really is only one type of Christian – that is Spirit filled!

We all have to make a decision – to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us or not…Psalm 23 indicates how God will shepherd our lives if we let Him. The Holy Spirit wants to cause our lives to be transformed, renewed, empowered and enlightened.  The key question that affects us all is are we ready for this and will we let Him?

We often refer to Spirit-filled Christians, meaning that but we're a Spirit-filled people of people who know and believe that God's spirit is now resident in our lives. The moment we consider that the same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead now lives in us, everything begins to change, if we dare to believe it! 

Pastor Andy describes how the Holy Spirit was present at the beginning of time (Genesis 1:2), throughout the Old Testament (in the Temple and Tabernacle), how in the Old Testament we see glimpses of everyday folk doing supernatural things. God’s Spirit was present but not in them. Racing through to the New Testament, when Jesus on the cross says it's finished and the veil in the temple was rent in two from top to the bottom; that was the Holy Spirit saying everything that Jesus needed to do to purify people had been completed in order that the Holy Spirit could live within people. 

The atonement of Jesus enabled the veil to be torn. If Jesus had not paid for our sins, God’s Spirit would not be able to live in us. He is a holy God; we were an unholy people due to Adam sentencing us to separation because of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from every sin that separated us, so God could no longer just be with us but reside in us. This was God’s eternal plan, foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament and promised by Jesus himself in the (John 14:17). In verse 18 Jesus says He would not leave us as orphans and that the Holy Spirit would reside in us - Pentecost.

Pastor Andy speaks about how the difference between the Spirit of God just living in us but also residing in us. Some of us keep the Spirit of God locked in a basement; we need to be sealed with the Spirit but also “be being filled” with the Holy Spirit. Then, the Holy Spirit can reign in our lives and empower us to do supernatural things on earth.

Pastor Andy speaks about how in many instances when we choose God’s will or God’s way over our own, that it will cost us in some way. Whatever God asks us to do; we normally lay down something that was our will. Luke 22:42 (NIV) is the most significant example of this in scripture “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done”. Jesus prays on the Mount of Olives before His crucifixion. He knew what was to come but sought the Father’s will. The sacrifice was ultimate. He had choice, He could have walked away, but He sacrificed Himself for us all. This moment is the Passion, Jesus choosing us knowing what lay ahead.

Pastor Andy concludes his word for today by leading the congregation if the words of the Lord’s Prayer - Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV) “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

By permissive, we mean things that God permits or allows while other things would be God's perfect will for our life. God's will is sovereign yet certain things are permissive – they may not be what God truly desires for us, but will allow us to do these things. Our choices may give us a lesser experience of life than what He intended in His perfect will. Some people are happy to live within His permissive will only. 

There is also available to us the perfect will of God - that which God wants for us, which is His very best. God has specific perfect will plans for us, but we have choices whether we take hold of them or just settle for living in that which is allowed. In Jeremiah 29 verse 11, God speaks to Jeremiah saying I know the plans, filled with prosperity, not harm that will give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah had to choose to say yes or no to the plans of God – he did say yes. In Jeremiah chapter 1, he says the word of the Lord came to me saying before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. 

The permissive will of God will never match the perfect will of God. Let us aim for the perfect will of God. 

Ps Andy examines the Revealed will of God in the scriptures, where God has made His will known for us on many occasions. Referencing Romans 12:1-2, Andy explains how our lives are His property, our lives are no longer our own as we were bought at a price. Andy goes on to describe the Prescriptive will of God (e.g. Matthew 19:19, Honour your Father and Mother), and then the Prohibitive will of God (e.g. Exodus 20:7, you shall not take the name of the Lord in vain). Later in the series, Ps Andy will speak about the Permissive and Perfect will of God. 

Andy then speaks of other scriptures where the Revealed will of God is clear to us all, in order to live a ‘set apart’ life. His message also deals with the will of God as explained in detail by Jesus teachings and His actions. Worthy of mention was the story of the man with leprosy in Matthew 8. Here we clearly see how God’s will though Jesus is not just for salvation but also for healing as well. It is God’s will that we all shall not perish, hence why we all need to meet with friends and family and explain the gospel message.

Previous messages have spoken about the choices we have in order to walk a pathway of righteousness. The book of Proverbs, especially the first few chapters speaks of different pathways, life and death, purity, justice, forgiveness etc. A major key to the Christian life is to look at the pathways our feet should be on, but also those they shouldn't be on. Remember a powerful thought - we don't own our past – Jesus bought this at a price. So let’s not try and manage something that doesn't belong to us! Pastor Andy majors on four key points.

First - Always choose the small gate and the narrow path. Matthew 7:14 (NIV) says  “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”. Walking with God includes gateways and pathways in salvation; we come through the Gateway of Jesus. Jesus said he is the shepherd; anyone who comes through him can find salvation and be saved. Pathways follow gateways and we have choices to walk the pathways of obedience and understanding now everything has changed in our lives and we are a new creation. 

Secondly – Make straight paths! Crooked paths symbolise ducking and dealing, deception, a little bit of walking straight with God then bending to suit our own ways.  We need to make our crooked paths straight. Zacchaeus had a Gateway moment with Jesus; the next thing he did was address the wrong pathways in his life – he said he had been a con man, robbed and stole from people and now he must give it back, all of it ! In Matthew 3:3, John the Baptist references what Isaiah said about preparing the way for the Lord and making straight paths for him. Before this line he said “repent, for the Kingdom of God is near” – this repentance is about changing our thinking to accommodate the reign of Christ. Fortunately, if we trust the Lord, lean not on our understanding and in all our ways submit to Him; then He will make our paths straight – not us! (Proverbs 3:5-6). God can only bless the parts of our lives which we submit to Him. 

Thirdly – It’s good to have a lamp. It’s much easier to stay on the right path if we can see the way. Psalm 119:105 (NIV) says “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”. The word of God takes away darkness from our steps. When we walk with God, He lights the step in front of us as we walk in faith. We need to ask the Lord to enlighten our steps as we read our bibles.

Fourthly – It’s good to have a guide. A guide can lead us in our path, especially when we are lost and don’t know the way. John 16:13 (NIV) says “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come”. The Holy Spirit didn't just seal our lives for salvation, but came to live in us to guide us through all the jungles we would face daily.

Pastor Andy ends his message by looking again at the verse which encapsulates the series on Pathways. Proverbs 4:26 (AMPC) says “Consider well and watch carefully, the path of your feet and all your ways”. Let us each ensure our pathways are straight, not crooked and that we walk God’s pathways, the narrow path through the gate of Jesus illuminated by scripture.

God's ways are totally different when the world screams ‘do whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it’. God calls us to crucify our flesh and it isn't always easy. The path of righteousness is about our actions and our responses. Matthew 7:13 says (NIV) “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”.

Like Zacchaeus, we need to be able to let Jesus into the mess of our lives. When you let him in, he speaks freedom and he speaks restoration and like Zacchaeus, (his identity was restored), so can ours be. 

God we need you, help us, restore us, and bring us back onto your path, in Jesus name, Amen.

There are many lessons we can learn from Abraham, the children of Israel, Jonah and others. For example, the fact that Abraham had to step out in faith on his journey reminds us that when we walk with God, it's a Journey of faith. Doing things God's way takes faith because we are opposing the way of the world. So it's important as we endeavour to live out God's path for our lives that we follow God for us. Without God we can't do anything effective as ambassadors of His Kingdom, we can’t live an effective life without His presence in our lives. We need to make wise choices in order to do this, seeking wisdom from the Bible, Proverbs 4 being a wonderful start!

Pastor Stue continues this theme by unwrapping thoughts about God’s plan for our lives. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 gives us instruction about the offer of life or death telling us to love the Lord our God and walk in obedience to Him, keeping His commands, decrees and laws. The path of righteousness is God’s plan for our lives, the pathway for us to follow.

Ps Paul continues to speak on three aspects - God's plan for us as individuals, His plan for us corporately and His plan for us programmatically.

Listen to this engaging message!

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When I lift my voice and shout

Every wall comes crashing down

I have the authority (yes, I do)

Jesus has given me

When I open up my mouth

Miracles start breaking out

I have the authority

Jesus has given me……

…caused the whole congregation to shout Jesus name with many strongholds then being broken. Ps Andy then spoke that we have the same authority as Jesus had from His Father. When we begin to  speak with the authority of Jesus Christ,  the enemies stood in front of us begin to flee, the situations that seem irreversible begin to turn. Ps Andy believes that this was more than just a nice moment, more that God restored a shout to his house today. Also, we have got to put a shout in our personal prayer times. 

Andy continued to speak around Isaiah 35, how wastelands became floodlands, how our hands will become strengthened for worship and service, how our knees may be strengthened to sustain our bodies and how fear be banished. This was a message and a service not to have missed!!!

The story of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37 is an illustration for us now, says Pastor Andy. Here, God tells the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy over the valley of dry bones which then become alive after skin, sinew, tendons and eventually the breath of God is breathed back into them. Surely, this was a Kairos moment. This was a picture for Israel, but is also a picture for us, but when we look at what's going on in the world today, it looks like chaos. It looks like the ship is going down. We read reports for Christianity, people don't want it anymore. People don't want religion, they do want God. They want God but what is the answer? God's church is the answer. The church is already on the earth, but too much of the church is dry bones, too much of a church once lived, but went dry and died in their faith, gave up on God, but kept coming to church and fell asleep. Pastor Andy believes we are in one of those moments. A Kairos moment where God is breathing on his church, putting fresh breath back into the church.

We need to be positioned correctly and hungry for the Spirit of God to blow new breath into our beings.

We are all called to serve for His purposes – this is our response to the time such as this. 

In Matthew 24, Jesus speaks about end times, of many earthquakes, natural disasters and signs in the heavens and on earth. Also that darkness will increase wickedness on earth. We do live in a world that is pretty broken, according to Jesus - the acceptable year of the Lord or the season of God's grace. Luke 4:18-19 speaks of the acceptable year of the Lord of the season of God's Grace - beginning when Jesus died on the cross and ending when Jesus returns. In this season that we live, every single person who calls out to Jesus can be saved.

If anyone calls upon Jesus, turns their heart to Jesus, they will be saved because Jesus took the sin of the world upon himself so that we could be made perfect in the sight of God. This is the Gospel message. This season of God's grace is the season of God's favour. The Bible is very clear that we are going to see an outpouring of God's spirit upon the church His people that will be mobilised and empowered to live for the purposes of God's kingdom and bring the good news of God's kingdom to this world. God set us apart and He has a purpose for our lives. The only way we can accomplish the purpose of God in our lives is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Each of us has been positioned in God's Kingdom for such a time as this.

Even though we go through storms in our lives, the key to being used for God's Kingdom purposes is to make ourselves available to Him. When we are available to God, positioned in this moment for God's purposes we can then walk in His purposes in our lives. We do not need to be perfect, just available. 

Maybe we need to spend less time worrying about how we failed, how we didn't make perfect choices, how we wasted our time, how we hurt others, or perhaps how we ourselves were hurt, or how we suffered, and maybe we need to spend more time, being set apart now, for the purposes of God.

God creates specific moments for specific things that he's doing on the earth. We need to have a correct world view of the moment we are in and also an equally good spiritual view. In Luke 12:54-56 Jesus talks about the foolishness of not being able to interpret present times from a Godly understanding. God doesn't want us to be foolish!  We need a healthy balance of how God wants us to respond and what God wants regarding what is happening in the world. Every season serves a purpose under Heaven (as Ecclesiastes 3:1) and God wants us to be able to interpret his Seasons.

When Isaiah spoke of this (Isaiah 60), he said ‘Arise and shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  For Behold, the Darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness’. This is a good description of a ‘now’ moment, isn't it for many? But the Lord will rise over you and His glory will be seen upon you and the Gentiles shall come to your light. Obviously, this was speaking to a Jewish people then, but it's speaking to us now, as the people of God. Paul said the same thing often in the New Testament. Specifically in Romans 13, 11-14 (NKJV) it says “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts”.

So this moment is a time to wake up, cease living any life of compromise we may have and be alert (1 Peter 5, 8). Jesus will return to this earth like a thief in the night without warning. In Acts 2:17 (NKJV), Peter speaks to men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem saying  “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.  And on My menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.”

There is no reference to gender, race, age, rich or poor in this passage. The Bible is a signpost telling us to look out and be ready. Are we ready? Do we know the time?

The Bible says in Hebrews 12 we are a part of a Kingdom which cannot be shaken. We are in a world where everything is currently shaking. There will be revealing of a Kingdom and a Kingdom people which cannot be shaken because their God is God. This is a Kingdom moment, a moment when God is about to move. We must be ready for what God is about to do – a continuation of the theme of encounter.  

Pastor Andy defines this as a Kairos moment – a God ordained moment in history, as opposed to Chronos (sequential and quantitative). Alternatively, view Kairos as the most opportune moment for action. Andy refers to many scriptures as examples of God ordained moments of time but perhaps the best example comes from the book of Esther. Esther was positioned to prevent destruction of the Jews, although she did have to use her influence with the king in order to do so.

As we walk through this year just maybe we also have been positioned for such a time as this. Where we have congregations in England and the Philippines with any favour that we are walking in just maybe we have been positioned in life for a time such as this for a moment that God did long before any of us were born. God says there is a year called 2023, that's the Kairos, there is a moment in that year where the world is falling and in that moment, the church is going to stand on our feet, and begin to be my body, my hands, my feet, my whole life.

Esther could have shrunk back, she could have said “I like my life, I am the Queen, I could lose everything….” She knew when she appeared before the king, he would either extend his sceptre or not. If he didn't extend his sceptre, she would have been put to death. If he extended his sceptre, she could ask for up to half of his kingdom – quite a lot of pressure! She prays and fasts and walks in before the king presenting her request. A God moment follows resulting in a complete change of the circumstances saving the Jews.  

This is a Kairos moment.  Esther 4:14 (NKJV) says “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” We need to awaken our hearts and say, God use me. If we are a prayer warrior, it's time to pray; if we are a giver, it’s time to give; if we are a server it’s time to serve and so on. The Kairos moment is upon us….for such a time as this.

Many lives were changed as a result of encounters with God and many are recorded in scripture, particularly in the Gospels. In Luke 19, we read about Zacchaeus, someone who had experienced religion, but wasn't satisfied. Being a short man he climbs a tree to see Jesus.  Jesus passes under the branch of a tree, looks up and says “today I'm coming to your house”.  Zacchaeus jumps up and says “I've been robbing everyone, I've been handling my finances wrongly”, and in a moment changes the way he managed those finances and the way he treated people. One Moment, one encounter with Jesus changed everything. 

Pastor Andy speaks about the story of Nicodemus, a religious man; then the story of a woman caught in adultery. He follows this by examining in detail the story of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well having a discussion with a man about giving her living water. The woman is unaware she is speaking to Jesus the Messiah until later. Afterwards she races off to tell her whole township about Jesus. Her life and that of the others referenced in the bible were changed by their encounters with Jesus. Interestingly, in the story of the woman at the well, Jesus takes no notice of the divides between Jews and Samaritans, or the fact she had many husbands. He tells her just to live a new life.

In the same way, Jesus can and will change our lives now……if we let him.

Pride, procrastination and passivity can keep us from fresh encounters with God. The bible is full of people who had God encounters; we need only to think of Zacchaeus. If he had been too lazy to get up the tree he would not have had the encounter with Jesus that changed his life. Let us not be hampered by world ways, let us diligently seek our God for fresh encounters daily.

In Genesis 28, we read about Jacob the descendant of Isaac and Abraham. He'd been raised in a Godly house and heard about God. He wasn't absent from concept theology or understanding that there was a God, but there wasn't yet a trigger point personally. In verse 16, we read of his dream where he looks up, and at the end of a ladder sees God, with ministering Spirits going up and down and God speaks to him in that moment of subconscious or dream state in such a way that when he wakes up his life changes. When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought ‘surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it’. 

Jacob experienced an actuality of God, and awakening to His presence. The God of his Fathers that he had heard of became real. When God becomes real, everything we do finds its true purpose. We don’t need external motivations to serve in church or worship Him for example…….we can’t stop! There's no problem with the ingredients of our services and meetings – the problem is an absence of the actuality of God in our lives!

Actuality causes us to put legs on the things we claim to believe. How many people believe their loved ones are going to hell if they don't get a chance to receive Christ as saviour? Are we telling them? Maybe we are all guilty to some degree of not knowing as we should. But all of a sudden, the wind changes, the Spirit blows. We are woken and everything we believed suddenly makes sense. Like Jacob, we arise from an awakening ready to serve Him, give Him everything, and walk with Him all of our days. We don't need incentive or motivation. He is enough. 

We do not need to return to a season of no love, no joy, and no peace after the 12 days of Christmas! God wants to be the gift that keeps on giving throughout the year, even in harsh times. Let us not pack God away after Christmas. God is for life and not just for Christmas, just like a dog is for life. It's not just for a moment; it's for the life that follows. God wants us to enjoy a relationship with Him, not a Festival about him. Let us keep the Love, Joy, and Peace in our hearts for all time and enjoy the fruits of a relationship with God as we take to our hearts the real good news of this season.

In Matthew 5 verses 13 to 16, Jesus makes an incredible statement, saying that we are Salt and Light in the world, for our light to shine that others may see the glory of God. So we are meant to be different, to live differently. Part of this is giving honour where honour is due, e.g. in our speech and actions. 

Pastor Andy continues by giving examples from the Bible to show how we should show honour to God, to His Son, to others, with our gifts, talents, wealth and more. 

Discover even more amazing ways we can honour God, His, Son, each other, our leaders, our elders by listening to this action packed message. As per love, to honour someone is a doing word, a verb. We are an Honouring people and God blesses us in our faithfulness. 

In Matthew 22:34 onwards, the Pharisees try to test Jesus by asking (NIV) “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments''. Jesus was immediately responsive with words about loving God and loving people – an active love. We are likewise called to have this active love and responsiveness to God and people around us – both those we love and those we don’t!

All of this begins with us submitting ourselves to God. Romans 12:1-2 (NIV) says “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.” 

Jesus responded to His disciples by saying ‘follow me and I will make you fishers of men’…. Interestingly, their response recorded in the Gospels was “and immediately they left the boat….”.

So we begin our responsiveness by being responsive to God, initially in prayer which develops our spiritual relationship with Him, then we are in a position to be able to be responsive to others as well. An overflow of our internal responsiveness to God will cause an external responsiveness to others around us. This includes situations, the use of our time, money, gifts and talents. The lady with an issue of blood pressed past the crowd and reached out to Jesus by faith. Sometimes we need to press in and press through the crowd and noise. On the other side of this is a miracle - a touch of His Garment and a release of His power. Often when there is lack or need we must press into God with faith and submission to Him. 

As a church, the body of Christ, let us be responsive to the call of lost people in a lost generation. People may look like they've got it together, but they often haven't.  When they go home, they see brokenness within themselves. We are the people Jesus calls the light of the world. Let us be responsive to God and to people. God has responded to us, He gave us life through His Son.

We also serve because we want to use the skills and the gifts that God has given us. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) says “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”. Natural gifts and talents as well as spiritual gifts are there for us to fulfil our purpose in the Lord and bring glory to His name in helping others.  1 Peter 4; 10-11 (NIV) says “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen”.  So we serve because we love one another; we serve because it's the way of God's kingdom, and we serve because we want to use the skills and the gifts that God has given us. God has given us responsibility in his kingdom, according to our ability; we don't all have the same things to do as we all have different abilities. We all have different skills but we all have something to do in God's Kingdom and God’s house, his church.  In serving, we contribute towards the strength of the church, to make it excellent and glorious (as David’s temple).  People seeing a church as such will automatically have a glimpse of the excellence of our God. 

How do we serve? Deuteronomy 10:12 (NIV) says “Serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul”.  The Christian life must be all-in. The church in Laodicea was rebuked because they were lukewarm, God said I'd rather you be hot or cold! Society is half-hearted in many areas, apathetic and lazy but do not give into this. It is not the way that God called us to live. He called us to be a people who serve with all of our hearts. Romans 12; 10-11 says to love each other with genuine affection. 

So, let us be faithful in serving with small things, we shall be rewarded with greater opportunities. Lastly, we serve where there is a need. If there is a hole, we fill it, unconditionally and without delay. 

The apostle Paul also recognizes this perspective saying “you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household”…….the household of God. In Romans 8:17 (NIV) it says “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory”, 

So because we are born again, we are heirs to the Father and joint heirs, with His son. We are brothers and sisters in Christ and children of God in the family of God. We function as a family in an inspirational manner. 

Ps Andy then spoke of some aspects we model as church family. We are loving (as in 1 Corinthians 13:4-2). We celebrate equality, especially in status, rights and opportunities, rejecting racism, prejudices and classes which have no place in our church. We love diversity, seeing it as a strengthening blessing. We are a growing family, healthy things grow, and our desire for our church is just this. We need to be welcoming, always with room for new people. We resolve our individual issues and differences rather than wandering off foolishly. Forgiveness and repentance is essential between brothers and sisters, involving others biblically (Matthew 18:15). 

1 Corinthians 12:12 onwards speaks of Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ. Every one of us has skills, talents and God given abilities necessary to keep our Family running smoothly.  Paul says in this scripture that we are many, one body, one group, one family. Let us be an inspirational family that honours and glorifies God as we all play our part. Get involved, meet your brothers and sisters and grow together in your faith!

When we love God and know God and his love for us, it fills us with awe. Our natural desire is to show him our love. How do we show him? Our love is our worship. For example it’s the difference between being in love with someone and showing them we love them. We show our love for God through our life, our actions, our obedience, our thoughts and our words. 

God has called us to do better things and to be set apart. Because of that we say yes God. It's not just about singing. It's not about us coming together religiously. Our obedience is worship. When we choose to express our love for him every day of our life, we are living a life of worship. 

Romans 12:1 (NIV) says “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”.  So, this is an everyday thing, not a Sunday thing.

Janine spoke of personal circumstances in her own family where relatives were ill; her heart sank at the sad news. Her response was to worship God. When we open our mouths to worship, our focus shifts to Jesus (above the sound of anxiety and fear). We speak bold prayers, we declare God’s promises, our faith builds and our soul is brought into alignment with what God says over us and our situation. So even though worship is for Him, is to Him and is about him, it also speaks life over us and our situation. 

We worship because He is good and He is good all the time. It's not about how we feel. It's about God. We will not choose to be passive in the presence of King Jesus. We will not be holding back on the one who gave us life, who gave us everything. What it looks like is not significant, its gratitude and thankfulness in our hearts that matter. Let us focus on Jesus, engage our hearts and lift Him up.

But when Jesus speaks to us, He is not speaking logic and understanding. He is speaking Spirit and life. Often, like Nicodemus, we get our kind of thought process, but it isn't going to work in order for us to have a relationship with God and then understand the things of God. First we must come to the place of spiritual life. This can only be achieved by believing in the name of Jesus, the name who saves. Then we can transform our natural thinking into spiritual thinking and understand Jesus. This is based on believing in faith. 

The new life, the believing in Jesus, being born again, this moment is called salvation as Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:13-14 (NIV) “ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory”. This seal, the deposit, or down payment means nothing can come against you because you have His presence inside of you – awesome eh!  We will face trials and tribulations but we stand by faith saying ‘God has marked me, is in me, and is the great overcomer’.

We are the redeemed people of god who once walked in darkness yet now have the Spirit of God within us to help us understand the Word as never before. John 14:26 (NIV) says “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”. So we don’t need to depend on earthly things when we are down - often they make us feel worse! Immediately after these verses in John 14 comes the passage abiding in the vine in John 15. If we remain in Him and he remains in us we shall bear much fruit…..apart from Him we can do nothing. The key here is continually abiding in connection with the Holy Spirit and living life submitted to the Spirit – hard at times when the flesh wants to take over. The fruit mentioned here is described in Galatians 5:22 onwards….. Love, joy, peace…there is no law against these things because they are of the Spirit of God. No force acts against these fruits, they are of the Spirit of God. A Christian walking in the Spirit produces fruit of the Spirit just as an apple tree produces apples – no law governs this.

The rest of Galatians 5 is devoted to living life by the Spirit. If we walk by the Spirit we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. We are not free to do whatever we want, but if we are led by the spirit, we will develop Spiritual fruit and our lives will be recognised as such.  Let us eagerly desire the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

Andy and his wife Gina are the Senior Pastors of Family Church. Since the launch of our very first service in 1997, Family Church has grown into the thriving multi-congregational church it is today with congregations across the south-coast, the Philippines and an online congregation reaching the world.

https://family.church/timeline/ shows the timeline of the church to date. All praise to Jesus our Lord and provider.

Isaiah 55:8 onwards speaks about God’s thoughts not being our thoughts, rain and snow coming down to earth not returning without watering to enable the earth to flourish and his word not returning empty until it has accomplished that which it was sent for. So, in order to get to know God’s thoughts we need to read His word just as we need to hear the words from anyone else if we wish to know them. God is not mysterious, he has compiled a whole Bible of life for us to understand His nature, His thoughts and the best ways for our lives. This is why it is crucial we are Bible believing. 

The Bible sheds light on the pathway of our lives. Psalm 119:104-105 (NIV) says “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path”. In other words ‘Lord please show me the way, I am tired of the wrong way’.    

Jeremiah 15:16 (NIV) says “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty”.  The prophet Jeremiah profit is speaking of the words of God like delicious food, so sweet they were my heart's delight. We need food to keep our physical bodies healthy and strong, the scripture tells us that we need spiritual food to keep us spiritually healthy and strong. We're not just a physical body - we have a spirit inside of us that's going to live on. We need to grow in our salvation, not living just as babies (1 Peter 2:2). Meditating on the Word of God a little at a time is a healthy way of digesting God’s word. 

2 Timothy 3:16 explains how scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, correction and training in righteousness. Often we get things wrong in life but God has already planned for this by providing scripture to train us, correct us and give us higher ways of thought. John 15 speaks in gardening terms about how God will prune us in order we bear more fruit, to be even more free of the dead stuff that clutters our lives sometimes. 

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) states “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Our faith is increased hearing the word of God. Faith comes when we see our mind and our spirit with God's word. We do not need to feel we are people of little faith. Every time we go to the word of God, every time we mutter a little scripture under our breath…….our faith is being activated. 

The word of God is our only offensive weapon! Ephesians 6 speaks of the Whole Armour of God. Our ability to withstand the devil and be strong in the Lord is dependent on putting on the whole armour of God. The sword of the Spirit is in fact the spoken word of God. When Jesus was challenged by Satan he said ‘It is written…….’. The only time the enemy speaks is when he is lying! The sword of the Spirit doesn't become a weapon just in our hands. It becomes a weapon when we speak it out.

This Family Value for our church is foundational. Being Bible believing provides not only a backdrop to life, we understand God’s thoughts, he feeds us through His word, he corrects and trains us likewise, our faith is grown upon His word and ultimately He provides an offensive weapon for us to ward off evil!

Pastor Andy says he does not wish the church to be a storage unit for people, but rather a place where people are equipped and empowered then mobilised. We don't want to be a place where people come, sit and nothing changes. We want to see the power of the Holy Spirit quicken and mobilise your life. This is the primary purpose of church leadership. Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV) states “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built”. Reading on, v13 says “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” These gifts are known as the Ascension gifts, not the gifts of the Spirit mentioned elsewhere. Anointings or graces placed upon church leaders are there to enable everyone else to become equipped for God’s business wherever they are. A Biblical model is everyone in church finding the purpose of God for their lives, being equipped by Church leadership to be doing the things God called them to do, i.e. works of service.

1 John 3:8 (NIV) says “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work”. Jesus came to destroy Satan, so when we are busy with the business of the Kingdom, we also are destroying the devil – shutting down another kingdom which destroys people's lives. We were made for the purposes of God, for his salvation, but also to do God's business on the earth, which He prepared beforehand. Adam was the first great example of this. God made Adam for a relationship first, but then positioned him to do his business in Eden. Adam tended the garden, controlled the flocks, and had all authority over every animal, every growing thing, and every creeping thing. He was fulfilled in what he did because he was made in the image of God and carried the likeness of God. God is purpose-driven. 

As a church, we want to equip people; this is our heart, our agenda, one of our values. We want to be a church that equips people for ministry in the church, but also in the sphere of influence we all have. The best evangelism is when we all introduce Jesus to our friends and family – not just stage centric evangelism. 

We want to be a place where the Holy Spirit empowers people. We believe that we are spiritual people and we believe we shall receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon your lives (Acts 1:8). Power always has a purpose. We want to be people who are experiencing the power of God and seeing the power of God come through our lives. As we minister to others, we want to be a place where people flourish and grow.

The account of Jesus with His first disciples at Lake Gennesaret in Luke 5 is fascinating as it teaches us about the character of disciples. Several key points emerge………

Jesus interrupted the daily life of these fishermen in this account – they were washing their nets. We need to be prepared to allow Jesus now to interrupt our daily lives rather than be so preoccupied and busy with life we have no time for our saviour. 

Next, we need to learn to trust Jesus. The fishermen in Luke 5 had been fishing all day and caught nothing, yet were prepared to lower their nets again at Jesus' command. Proverbs 3:5 tells us “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. We need to be able to live a life of faith in God rather than our designs. This is when miracles occur!

After the miracles of the catch Simon Peter falls at Jesus’ knees almost signifying he is useless. Likewise we also need to realise it is God who is the provider of all good things; our own abilities are comparatively limited. 

After the miracle of the catch the disciples left their boats and followed Jesus – what a challenge this is to us in our daily lives! We are not told exactly what happened yet but we know that the life of a disciple puts God first. We don’t need to leave our current lives and go and live in a monastery, but we do need to use our skills in the world in which we live in order to reach other people and make God at the centre of all we do.  Mark 16:15 says “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”.

Many of us who have been saved for a while have knowledge and gifting we can use to help others. Our challenge is not to be just Sunday morning Christians but to be prepared to reach others, and disciple them  as we all grow in our walk with God.

The first step to discipleship is when a person hears about Jesus and has an opportunity to respond and come into a relationship with Jesus. Salvation is a matter of faith; a person must place their faith in Jesus Christ. To be a disciple, faithfulness will release the rewards of Heaven into lives. However, faithfulness does not release salvation.  Salvation is released into a person's life when they place faith in Jesus Christ. Once we understand this we can hardly keep it to ourselves!

In Mark 16:15 Jesus tells his disciples “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”. Jesus wasn't just speaking to those who would become the first church leaders of the early church. He was also speaking to every believer - it is every believer’s responsibility to be telling others. 

God wants us to be a church leading people to Christ ‘in the building’ but also leading people to Christ in our everyday life (our friends, family, co-workers…). If we moved evangelism from something that happened once a week on a Sunday morning or in a special event where we bring in a guest speaker to something happening every day it would be momentous for the Kingdom of Heaven! We have a responsibility to let others know that Jesus saves. If they choose to reject this so be it….but we have an obligation to make sure that they have the ability to make that choice. The ramification of this is that soul winning gets into the lifestyle of everyone.

How do we start? Acts 1:7 (NIV) says “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.” God will provide the power we need once we get up and get going! The two key words in the great commission are ‘Go’ and ‘Preach’. Preaching needs to be translated as ‘communicate’ or ‘chat’ or ‘discuss’, then it becomes a more everyday activity. Our ‘Jerusalem’ is our local environment – friends, family and so on. These are the people we need to pray for and ask for the opportunity to sit and talk with to share the essence of the good news.  God will give us the ability when we get going. He will not equip us before we go! As a people of Faith, He promised, He will give us the ability of the Holy Spirit, but we need to go and position ourselves and have an intention to tell others.

Pastor Andy wants us to be a people who do not see soul winning as an event that we bring other people to. We need to carry Christ into the world of others as part of our normal life. God doesn't want us to win a conversation or win an argument; he wants us to win a person.

Christ-centred or Christocentric (the formal description) is a life focused upon a commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord at the core of every human decision. Some people are motivated by the quest for pleasure or money, their job, their families. The things which we spend our lives on can become the gods of our life. The result is that the thing we centre our lives on becomes our Lord. Our human heart was designed for worship. If it does not worship God, it will worship something else. If we are not Christ centred, we will be centred on something else. Worship is measured by the amount of time, money, and emotional energy expended and can be defined or identified by the level of passion and commitment evoked by us. After a while we begin to resemble what we worship.

Pastor Andy wishes to continue leading the church into what God has for it next.  His prayer (as the song says) is “Jesus at the centre of it all……..” Let it be ours too!

• Christ Centred - Committed to keeping Jesus and His Kingdom at the centre of our lives and church
• Commissioned - Living passionately to share the gospel locally, nationally and globally
• Disciples - Growing into all that God has called us to be, continually transformed by His Word and Spirit
• Empowering - Equipping disciples to serve God in all spheres of life
• Bible Believing - Walking in the unchanging truth of God’s Word, resolved to never add to it nor take from it
• Spiritual - Acknowledging the ministry of the Holy Spirit; being filled, empowered and led daily
• Worshippers - Passionately praising, intimate in worship, hungry for God’s presence
• Family - Celebrating our diversity in culture and age, committed to developing healthy relationships
• Servant Hearted - Serving one another and the purpose of God in our generation
• Community Minded - Being the hands and feet of Jesus in our local communities
• Responsive - Constantly responsive and active, never apathetic and passive, to God and His call
• Honourable - Giving honour where God says it is due

So, the disciples are hanging out with this person, not knowing who he was. Having a conversation with Him as He opened the scriptures, the word of God, the most powerful thing, the revelation of Jesus set their hearts on fire inwardly in a spiritual way. 

But what was actually happening was they were walking with Jesus, and in that moment, everything inside of them - faults, passions, desires,  appetites, affections, purpose and endeavours were set on fire. Right there, in that moment, set alight for the kingdom of God.

Are we not in a similar situation – gathered in His presence? Are our hearts being set ablaze for Him as we move around, igniting passion in our world? To see miracles, to see the power of God working in people’s lives, to see people delivered from sickness….we all need to be set on fire. Fire in the Bible usually depicts God's presence. Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3 asks why the bush does not burn. In Exodus 19, Moses brings the people out of the camp at Mount Sinai to meet with God,  the Lord manifests in a thick cloud of fire and smoke in order that the people might see, hear and believe.

Look in the New Testament to see what God has done in His actual name. “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem in all Judea Samaria to the ends of the Earth” (Acts 1:8). This is incredible. What God is saying is that you shall receive the fire of God in you, what does Paul say in Romans 12:1? (KJV) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”. We call down the fire to hit our sacrifice inside of us. We are the Living Sacrifice that we can call upon the name of the Lord and watch the fire. 

Peter denied Jesus three times but later, when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4, NKJV). But later in verse 14, Peter delivers a message telling them to “heed his words”. This was a new Peter – who had the fire of God in his heart. 

The thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections and purpose changed - the power of God took him over and that was in his life would never be the same again. Then Peter said in verse 38 “repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ”. He speaks into a great big crowd for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promise, is to you and to your children and to all who are far off for.  This call is for us now as well. We all need the fire of God in our hearts.

Her principle scripture is the parable of the unforgiving debtor from Matthew 18:21-35 (NLT) "Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! "Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

The lesson here is that we must forgive others their sin against us if we want our sins against God to be forgiven.

She also references Ephesians 4:31-32 which tells us to forgive others and not be filled with bitterness. In 1 John 1:8-9, we learn that God is faithful Father willing to forgive our sins if we confess to Him and do not fool ourselves believing we are without sin!

Luke 6:37 tells us not to judge others, else we shall be judged, nor condemn others, and finally to forgive others that we may also be forgiven.

A forgiving heart is essential to freedom in Christ!

Ps Paula’s subject last week was ‘A Heart of Love’ and she spoke about how we, as God’s people, are called to unity and this can only be achieved when we truly love one another with hearts softened to God’s love. Loving one another in a way that brings unity to the body of Christ can only come from a true, experiential knowledge of God’s love.

We must understand that a guarded heart is not a hard or a closed heart. We must be careful what we let into our hearts. In fact, it’s when we allow the ‘wrong stuff’ into our hearts that we start to close them up even to the ‘right stuff’ and we become hard-hearted. Crucially, we must operate the gate to our hearts correctly, letting the correct things in and keeping other things out. The Bible talks about this in Proverbs 4:23…(NLT) “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”, or (NIV) “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it”.

The condition of our hearts determines the course of our lives. If we want our lives to go in a healthy direction we have to keep our hearts healthy. 3 John 1:2 (NKJV) states “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul (heart) prospers”. The key to a prosperous or healthy heart is guarding it well. Operate the gate!

In order to have a healthy physical heart, we have to guard it well. It can be severely damaged by continually eating the wrong foods, not doing enough exercise, and by challenging circumstances that can lead to worry, anxiety, fear, shock, grief, loneliness, stress, disappointment and unforgiveness. However, by eating the right foods, doing exercise, and dealing with challenging circumstances our hearts will be kept healthy. In the midst of challenging circumstances, being deliberate about trusting God, walking by faith, speaking positively, spending time with good people, taking time to rest and relax, and being quick to forgive… all these things can be hugely beneficial to the health of your physical heart.

In the same way, when it comes to guarding our hearts (speaking of our souls), there are three main areas that we need to consider:

• How we eat. Matthew 4:4 (NKJV) “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” When we let God’s Word in we are eating the bread of life. This is really good for the heart. However, we are often so unguarded about what we feed on. We fill our minds with the voices of this world that contradict what God says - through friendships, social media, music, what we listen to, what we watch, what we read! We forget to operate the gate of our heart and end up letting in so much junk that our hearts get clogged up!
• How we exercise. 1 Timothy 4:8 (NKJV) “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” When we live God’s way (godliness, holiness) it’s like physical exercise, in that our hearts become stronger. Living a godly life effectively positions the gate of our hearts ready to close when the wrong stuff tries to come in. However, when we continually live like the world the gate of our heart is left wide open and anything can come in!
• How we respond to challenging circumstances. Psalm 27:14 (NKJV) “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” In Psalm 27, David lists a whole load of challenges that he is facing in that moment - opportunities for fear, people against him, lies said about him, violent threats, relationship breakdown. Yet David was positioned at the gate of his heart (he lived a godly life) and he kept it firmly guarded… in this Psalm David declared that his heart would not fear, that he would worship God, that he would seek God’s face, that he would have good courage, trusting God and waiting on Him.

Waiting on God is about taking time to find out how God would have us respond, rather than immediately reacting or rushing in, or just trying to handle things in our own strength, or doing things the world’s way. When we face challenging circumstances, one of the best things we can do is ‘wait on the Lord’ and commit to respond to our circumstances in God’s way. This ‘waiting on the Lord’ will strengthen our hearts. 

Let us determine the condition of your heart. If our heart has been damaged because we haven’t guarded it properly, we’ll be able to tell by the way we speak. Luke 6:45 (NKJV) “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks”. 

Critically, this isn’t about other people right now, just ourselves. Listen to our thoughts and think about how we speak. What does this tell us about the condition of our hearts?.....Perhaps we have been consuming the wrong stuff which clogged our hearts up, perhaps we did not exercise godly living and hence did not guard our heart? Perhaps challenging circumstances have damaged, broken, or even crushed our hearts? Perhaps it’s become heavy because of secrets, shame, or guilt.

The good news is that God wants to heal our hearts! Psalm 147:3 (NKJV) states “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”. Luke 4:18  (NKJV) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

Let us come to Jesus today, laying our hearts before Him, acknowledging that we have let the wrong stuff in and let God take it out. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV) says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. Romans 12:2 (NKJV) “And do not be conformed to this world (man shall not live by bread alone), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God), that you may prove (live out, demonstrate) what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (living according to God’s ways/godliness)”.

Commit to guarding your heart!

Maybe we need to trade our anger for his love this morning. Maybe we need to change or exchange bitterness for His love this morning and let our hearts be free, let our hearts be healthy. If someone has heart failure, it usually means this is it - it's the end of their life. Heart failure usually means death but today we need to know God so deeply that we exchange our bad hearts for His love, changing our hearts for ever!

Thinking like a farmer, the world of farming and agriculture gives us the best visual example of these two things working together:

• The farmer prepares the soil
• The farmer sows His seed.
• The farmer waits for the soil to do what it does
• The farmer harvests a crop
• The farmer takes the best of the crop to sow again to secure ongoing provision, not just a momentary one

This starts with correctly separating the tithe & the seed:

• The tithe and seed are two separate components working together in unison in God’s plan of caring for and prospering us
• Tithe is a tenth of our increase
• Seed is that which is given above and beyond the tithe and unlike the tithe which belongs in the storehouse, can be given wherever we feel led to give

Some examples of good soil:

• Alms – Widows, orphans and humanitarian needs. (Psalms 41:1-3, Proverbs 21:13 & 19:17, Leviticus 25:35-37, Galatians 6:2)
• Missions & missionaries
• Other ministries that inspire us to give - evangelists, and church planters
• Tithing up or forwards – giving into things we want to see a harvest in

When this is done correctly, it also empowers and resources a church to act effectively in its giving and response to needs.

The principle (law) of seed time and harvest is something God designed and instituted. It’s another principle that carries on after the cross and is a law like the law of gravity can be denied but is present to be used. It is something initiated for our benefit that man could be fruitful and multiply according to His desire for them. We see this desire expressed in the original design of Genesis firstly in Genesis 1:28 (Adam and Eve – be fruitful and multiply) then Genesis 9:1 & 7 (Noah – be fruitful and multiply). God instituted a principle (law) that was both natural and spiritual to enable multiplication called sowing and reaping. It’s a law that affects every area of our lives, not excluding finances. See Proverbs 18:24 (friendship) and Proverbs 11:25 (refreshing and encouraging).

This is a continual principle described in Genesis 8:22(ESV) “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Also Galatians 6:7 (ESV) “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” and Luke 6:38 (ESV) “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” 

Understanding “seed kind”……….

• Every seed bears fruit after its kind Genesis 1:11 (NIV)
• Carrots make carrots, and cabbages produce cabbages
• What we sow, we reap – God puts control of our harvest into our hands
• A replacement structure of financial provision beyond being carried by Him
• What do we need more of in our lives? What do we need to sow into to make it happen?

We are making it a lifestyle, not a moment. The key verse is 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 with key points:

• We determine the amount and heart behind our sowing
• Giving should be by heart conviction, never manipulation
• God is able and willing to respond in abundance
• God supplies seed to the one who intends to sow and desires to increase the size of a person’s seed barn
• Enrichment returns in every way
• Our obedience to give results in praises given to God

Remember there are 3 stages, not 2: “seed – time- harvest”.

• Sowing involves faith and believing in the promise. It’s not about what we see or experience

Sowing and reaping are not subject to natural conditions

• Example 1: Issac sowing in famine – Genesis 26:1 & 12-14
• Example 2: A man who considers conditions – Ecclesiastes 11:4-6

Generosity is a Kingdom trait

• Proverbs 28:22 – “The stingy man and the generous man”
• Proverbs 11:24 -25 – “The one who gives increases all the more”
• Proverbs 22:9 – “Having a bountiful eye”
• Isaiah 32:8 – “A generous man devises generous things and will stand”

The relationship between us, our money, earth, and heaven

• Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven – Matthew 6:19-21
• Lazurus & The rich man – Luke 16: 19-31
• Saved but with nothing to show for your life – 1 Corinthians 3:15

The Bible clearly teaches us how we should handle our finances in a Kingdom way, but also how God leaves the choice with us. Giving, whether tithe or offering, should be done with persuasion, obedience, and faith.

So how as believers, should we handle our finances, especially during a season of financial crisis or famine?

• We see ourselves as stewards of what He has entrusted to us
• We honour Him with the tithe and return the first fruit to Him
• We live a lifestyle of sowing and reaping where we are sowing seed and enjoying harvests

•  According to Malachi, not tithing is robbery
• We are to bring (return) all the tithes to God
• Tithes are to come into His storehouse (the Church)
• This is the only place in the Bible where God invites a man to test Him
• Tithing causes a multi-faceted effect of increase and protection in and over a person’s life which goes beyond money alone

Tithing is not an Old Testament reality or a law

• Tithing is an ongoing active principle rather than a previously given law
• The first act of tithing originated 430 years before the Mosaic Law was given (Genesis 14:18-20), by Abraham who walked in promise & grace rather than law & obligation
• It was an act of victory & faith, not fear & desperation
• The tithe was given to Melchizedek (A type of Christ). We tithe to the Body of Christ (the Church) 
• Tithes are received here on earth by man but also by God (Hebrews 7:8)
• Jacob tithed (Genesis 28:20-22)
• Jesus encouraged the tithe (Matthew 23:23)

Another term used for ‘tithes’ is ‘first-fruits’. The key verse qualifying this is Proverbs 3:5-10

• Don’t handle finances with our wisdom; rather, be wise with His wisdom
• A matter of cause and effect – blessing following our faith and obedience

Understanding God’s love of firsts

• First born – Exodus 13:2 (livestock and people)
• First fruits – Exodus 23:19 (first not last, brought to God’s house).

A principle that is seen through scripture:

• Garden of Eden – The first tree was His; the rest was theirs
• Cain and Able – An issue of firsts (Genesis 4:3-5)
• Promised land – Jericho was His; the rest is theirs
• The teaching of Exodus regarding first born and first fruits
• The tithe was holy (Leviticus 27:30)
• We don’t return tithes. We don’t give them
• A matter of a person’s internal heart response – widows offering (Mark 12:42-44)

A matter of percentage, not amount.

• Tithe was about the percentage and not the amount
• This means that no one was excluded if the amount was too much
• God gives a level playing ground for all to tithe

Where does the tithe belong?

• The tithe belongs in the storehouse.
• Our local place of fellowship and feeding
• Offerings are to be sent to other places and activities. Our tithe belongs to the local church to resource the church
• Many churches are left begging because of a lack of understanding of this
• This is God’s plan for funding and resourcing His Church

Don’t lose sight of the 90%

• Sometimes greed, fear or insecurity, over the 10% can cause a person to miss the promise concerning the remaining 90%
• Principle of first fruits – what is sacrificed in the tenth redeemed the rest

What does tithing achieve?

• Honours God for who He is
• Demonstrates trust and faith in God
• Acknowledges the source of our provision
• Resources the Church (takes care of His bride)
• Tests our hearts – priorities, securities, loyalties and affections
• Opens the windows of heaven
• Affects and redeems the rest - If the root is holy, so are the branches (Romans 11:16)
• Prepares the ground for the seed we sow

What are things that stop a person from tithing?

• Ignorance
• Lack of faith
• Greed
• Fear

How to start tithing or how to correct a tithe

• Re-budgeting
• Re-prioritising your finances
• Start a faith journey to 10%

Remember, this is the only thing in the Bible that God invites you to test Him in, so why not go ahead and do it? He is not doing this because He has a need, but because He wants to set us up to meet all our needs.

• Acknowledging our citizenship to an alternate kingdom and its rule and reign that is present here and now.
• Choosing to live like citizens of God’s Kingdom
• A standard definition for the Kingdom is “rule & reign,” and so to be a Kingdom person is to recognise the rule and reign (ways) of the realm we now identify with
• We are a people restored to His Kingdom (Colossians 1:13), with every aspect of our lives aligned with his reign, including our resources

An example of having two different kingdom experiences is given in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

• Two different financial kingdoms present at once with two different experiences
• A good parallel between a world financial system and a Kingdom one
• This world’s kingdom’s that takes everything from us or God’s Kingdom which restores and resources us

Ps Andy asks three honest questions in relation to good stewardship

• Do we see ourselves as owners or stewards of our earthly wealth?
• Who does our earthly substance (our stuff) actually belong to?
• What would we have without God and His ability?

Deuteronomy 8:10-18 (NIV) answers these questions….

• We are stewards of what God has given and entrusted to us, therefore we are to live like stewards
• 1 Peter 4:10 
• 1 Corinthians 4:2 Original design. Humankind was made and positioned to manage – Genesis 1:2
• Jesus taught parables on good and bad stewardship. – Luke 16:1-13 & Matthew 25: 14-30  

As Stewards:

• We see ourselves being given responsibility to handle and manage what He entrusts us with in our lives and in His Church
• We should have open hands of stewardship rather than clenched fists of ownership 

A key thought is that ‘If He can get it through us; He will get it to us’! Money and resource are not meant to be abused or wasted, stored or hoarded or worshipped or served.

• Jesus warned about this in His statement on mammon in Matthew 6:24
• Mammon – Spirit of serving & loving money
• Money isn’t evil, but the love of it is – 1 Timothy 6:10

 Understanding its purpose

• It is to be used to meet our needs and also the needs of others
• To build God’s kingdom and make His covenant known on the earth

Good stewardship has both a natural and a spiritual dimension. Naturally:

• Check there is no waste in our lives and budgets
• Cut back where we need to so we have what we really need
• Go through our budgets, and manage our income and outgoings
• Seek council & wisdom from people who handle money well

Spiritually:

• Recognise that we are managing & caring what He has entrusted us with 
• We acknowledging Him in all our ways, including our resources
• Look to Him daily concerning the finances He brings to us and finances He wants to get through us to others

Gina uses the story in Ezekiel 4:12 to illustrate this. Being ‘defiled by sin’ is perhaps an abstract phrase but God gets the prophet Ezekiel to go to a public place and bake a loaf of bread using human excrement as the fire. After a conversation with God, Ezekiel uses cow dung instead (v15). So the bread is made and God gets the people to eat it so they understand how awful it is eating defiled bread. What a terrific visual story illustration this is! God wanted the people to know what He was experiencing when he saw one of his own filled with a life of stinking sin. The whole Bible basically is about God's favourite subject. We are his favourite subject but more specifically, it's about us because of a relationship with His Son Jesus.

From Genesis to Revelation, the idea of relationship with God can be an abstract thought to people, even to us as Christians. How can we have a relationship with an invisible God whom we cannot see or hear? There are three basic things we find in all books and information on relationships, an initial ‘hello’, time to be together and good communication.

Ps Gina teaches about the altars used in the Old Testament for sacrifice and how an altar is really a place of communion or connection with God. In the New Covenant, Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. 

When we come to God and make Him part of our lives we are no longer defiled - scripture in 2 Corinthians 2:15 speaks of our lives being a Christ-like fragrance rising to God. When we spend time with God, He smells the sweet fragrance of Jesus burning on the altar of our life of our hearts. 

This is awesome Bible teaching!!

We must understand that love is who he is. It is not just what he does – often this is where confusion sets in. We might say we are loving, but this is not the same for God, He is love. God loves because He is love. In His essential nature He does not become good when He does good things or become loving when He loves. He loves because He is love; He is good because He is good. These are expressions of His nature, the very person he is. 

This message begins with 1 John 4:16 – God is love; if we live in Him He lives in us. Do we live this way? John 15 speaks of the vine and the branches, if we abide in Him, he abides in us, and we can bear fruit and change lives. Therefore we must ensure we have accepted Jesus as Saviour, then the above scripture is true for us. We can then know God, experience His love, live in His love, and represent Him properly in the world to change lives. 

The Prodigal Son story continues with the father running towards his son. He loves him, he brings a cloak, a ring, and sandals for his feet and brings him back to his house for a celebration, and a fatted calf is killed. The father restores him and repositions him as a son, as someone who belongs in his kingdom.  But did the repentant son realise exactly what had happened at that moment? The parable ends with the celebration. After this we wonder how did the prodigal think. Did he walk around his father’s kingdom the next day with his head held high or with shame still in his eyes? If he was confused about his father's heart or what his father had done; although he was now restored to the kingdom, he could still walk around as a slave perhaps. He could have walked around thinking his father would change his mind the next day, feeling a trespasser rather than a son, even though he was fully repositioned and restored. 

Maybe when we bring this into our world, we can have the same confusion – if we have returned to God yet are still living like we are estranged. The message today is that God would say this to all believers. If we are saved, we have got to know that what The Father has done is complete. We are no longer a prodigal, God knows us as righteous, redeemed and restored.

As Christians, we are called by God to push back the spiritual darkness in this world by shining His light; we’ve been called to bring the light and life of God’s Kingdom into the world around us. This is not a physical war or a political debate. Jesus refused to fight in this way. Our battle is a spiritual battle that requires us, as Christians, to know who our enemy is, to be aware of his schemes, and be equipped to fight. Our enemy is the devil, not people. Our battle isn't against people, it's against the principalities and powers that are behind them.

As Christians, God has equipped us with spiritual armour. Ephesians 6:10-18 describes this for us. Amongst defensive items, our offensive armour is the shoes of good news and the sword of the Spirit.

The Sword of the Spirit is our other weapon of attack. This is the word of God, i.e. the truth of God revealed.  God’s truth becomes deeply rooted in our hearts by a process of forging. We are the metal in the hands of Jesus the head blacksmith - and He has appointed other blacksmiths (leaders) in the church who are called to equip all believers to do God’s work (ministry) – see Ephesians 4:11-12. The role of the blacksmith (church leader) is to expose the metal (us all) to the fire of the Holy Spirit and then to shape it with the hammer of God’s truth. The fire of the Holy Spirit heats us up, purifies us, and softens us. The hammer of God’s truth, repeatedly connecting with our lives that have been softened by His Spirit, then shapes us. God’s truth can then become deeply rooted in our hearts and we become people who are equipped with the sword of the Spirit, ready to push back the darkness with the light of His truth.

Ps Steu’s prayer is that every one of us will regularly be exposed to the fire of the Holy Spirit and that we will know the shaping of God’s Word. Let us use all opportunities available and be more and more deliberate about allowing space for the Holy Spirit to work and for the Word of God to be imparted into our lives.

The Greek translations here tell us we must take pleasure in The Lord, praising Him above all other things, abandoning all other things in His favour and be willing to long for Him. Psalm 42:1 (NIV) states “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God”.  This is the love God wants us to have for Him, a love which is greater than anything we have ever known. God is calling us. Nothing else has this level of significance in our lives. 

Often, life gets in the way, we have excuses, we are busy, or distractions come our way. But God wants us to experience His goodness and His faithfulness. When we love the Lord with our whole heart, we long to be with him, to spend time with him, and to know him. His presence is literally everything. It is the presence of God that will change us and witness to those around us. If we do not carry the presence of God, we have nothing.  We cannot live without the Spirit of God. 

Moses is one example of a person in the scriptures who knew the presence of God. The story unfolds in Exodus 33. Moses did not want to lead the people to the Promised Land without the presence of the Lord. He actually asked God not to send them away from the place they were in unless He was personally with them – otherwise they would be no different from any other people on earth! This applies equally to us now as it did in Old Testament times. 

As we ‘run our race’ this year, God is calling us for more. He wants us to be people who pursue Him and who are passionate about Him. Even though we are so undeserving, we get things wrong so often, He still chooses us. He is desperate for each of us to put down our distractions and focus our attention on Him. God does not wish to compete for our time. We need to want the presence of God more than any other thing in our lives, which means that we intend to lay things down and push things to the side.

Joel 2:28 speaks of God pouring out His Spirit on all people, prophesying, dreaming dreams, seeing visions. This is for every single person, not a favourite few.  We now live in the days that everyone hoped for during Old Testament times. Back then, there was just one day, the Day of Atonement, when the high priest could enter the presence of God. Fast forward to the New Testament and God himself dwells among His people (Jesus comes, dwells amongst us, witnesses throughout the gospels, and the people who encountered Jesus couldn't get enough of his presence).  His presence changes lives. This is why Mary wanted to be with Jesus in the Mary and Martha story (Luke 10). 

Now we have the Holy Spirit within us. God is longing to be with us. However, we can have the Holy Spirit but seem as if we are constantly searching because we do not use that which we already have.  James 4:8 tells us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. This must be our prayer, to earnestly seek and desire His presence.