I have posted previously of how Jesus wants us to be both "light and salt" to the world in which we live. Being a witness sometimes scares people mainly because they are not sure of what God expects of them.
Firstly, I believe God wants us to be authentic. That is, He wants us to be the genuine article. We cannot give something away that we do not possess. Therefore, we need to be sure we are born again and have a right relationship with the Father through Christ.
Secondly, God expects us to be natural. That is, in our witness we are to be ourselves; we are not to try and be a clone of somebody else. Nor are we to behave in a false way that we think would be more acceptable to those we share with.
Thirdly, we need to be relational. The best witness comes from building relationships with those you are trying to reach.
The last thing we need to have is an attitude of self sacrifice like Jesus. Our concern for the unsaved should be paramount in our lives, even over our own pursuits.
These four aspects will help us be the kind of witness God desires. Read More
God's purpose for us as the church is to be mobilized and actively involved in the extension of His kingdom.
We see this in the involvement of all three persons of the trinity. The Father has created us with what is referred to as motivational gifts. That is, intrinsinic qualities and characteristics that enable us to fullfill the different functions that make up the body. There is service, leadership, administration, mercy gifts etc all working interdependent with each other to make the church powerful and fully functional.
The Holy Spirit is the provider of the manifestation gifts that empower the individual to do the supernatural works of God.
Jesus is the provider of the ministry gifts that are to train and equip the church for action, as it says in Eph 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 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.
When we look at the provision of God we see that giftings, enablings and the equipping all indicate God's desire for His church to be mobilized and engaged in the work of the Kingdom. Read More
Every believer and every church is to be mobilized. That is, to be in a state of readiness.
In the natural, when there is a threat of war, our troops are mobilized. When there is a natural disaster, our rescue and emergency services are mobilized. They are in a state of readiness to battle whatever confronts them. When the threat or danger passes we say these forces are "stood down". The trouble with many Christians and churches is that they lives in a "stand down" mode rather than in a "mobilized" mode.
A mobilized position does not mean that every minute of every day we are on the front line fighting. Any person doing that would soon become exhausted. No, to be mobilized is to be ready and prepared to seize the opportunities that present themselves. It is to be the light and salt that Jesus wants us to be. This lines up with Peter when he says that we are "always to be prepared (mobilized) to give an answer to those who ask you..."
We need to realize that temptation does not arise from an external source, but rather it comes from within. James tells us that "each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed". Dealing with temptation therefore is not so much an avoidance of external stimulus but rather a putting to death the internal lusts (the flesh) that drive us to satisfy ourselves in those areas. I was sharing with a group the thought process of temptation and mentioned the acronym of T.I.D.E. wich stands for thoughts, imagination, desire and expression.
This of course is how internal evil desires operate in our mind to move us towards sin. One of the group was sharing this with work colleagues and came up with T.I.D.E. as being temptation, imagination, desire and ...........ecstasy.
Funny, but a truth as well, temptation does have power. Pauls' remedy to the situation is that " if we live by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature". Wise advise indeed! Read More
Very true - also Romans 7 springs to mind.
Keep up the good work!!
Joy in Trials
Monday, March 02, 2009
The book of James tells us "to consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,..." Many Christians can come under condemnation if they do not differentiate between being joyful for the nature of the trial, and being joyful in the process of the trial. This is supported by Paul when he speaks in 1 Thessalonians of "giving thanks in all circumstances." Notice that it is "in" the circumstances and not "for" the circumstances.
We are strange people indeed if we rejoice in the tragedy of the event eg loss of a loved one or home etc.
However, as we trust in God through the process of dealing with the tragedy, we can be joyful in the knowledge that our faith in God will be developing in us a perserverace that leads to maturity. Read More
I find that this verse gives me joy, in both "good" and "bad" circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
"give thanks in all circumstances ... "
Sometimes it's hard to work out what to be thankful for, I find these helpful:
"Thanks, Lord for:
* trusting me to overcome this trial. OR
* giving me what I need for this problem
OR
* letting me be a good example
OR
* letting me (with Your help) handle it rather than someone without You.
Hope this helps, Doug
Peninsula Vineyard Church attracts members and visitors from all over Sydney including Dee Why, Brookvale, Collaroy, Narrabeen, Manly, Fairlight, Balgowlah, Manly Vale, Sydney City, Frenchs Forest, Beacon Hill, Chatswood, Curl Curl, Harbord, Elanora, Oxford Falls, Newport, Mona Vale, Avalon, Narraweena, Allambie, Seaforth and Long Reef.
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