Never Give Up On God's Faithfulness!

Isaiah 40:31
Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I am sure many of you have faced questions about God's ability or willingness to answer prayer at some point in your life.  Many of us have faced such questions recently, especially with the sudden passing of Zoe Grace Dunbar.  The tragedy came as a shock to all of us, and has brought the family of the church together in an incredible way to support, love and care for our dearest brother and sister Wade and Roxanne and their whole family.

In the midst of tragedies such as this, it is easy to point fingers at God.  And there is space to do so.  There were times when David cried out to God in ways many of us are afraid to do so.  Such tragedy drives that kind of emotion out.  And it is helpful to let it out.

But in this edition of the "encouragement", I want to encourage you all to never give up.  There have also been many people being afflicted with serious viral infections (like Chad and Dayna Parkes), others coming down with the flu and the list goes on.  It is clear we are under attack.  Friends, it is imperative in this time that we do not succumb to the lie of the enemy and abandon our faith in God's Goodness.

Our God is always good.  His Word declares it, and His Word is the highest authority for Truth.  The challenge is knowing this Truth but living in a seemingly different reality.  It is one of the biggest challenges living the Christian life faithfully; seeing what should be but experiencing a different reality.  (This is something I will hopefully touch on in my sermon on Sunday night).

My friend, as this verse declares, if you don't give up on hoping in the LORD, your strength will be renewed!  You will be given strength to face this life and rise on the wings of your Saviour.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray without giving up in Luke 18 when He told them of the parable of the persistant widow.  Friends, we too will not give up on the Goodness of our God!  He is Good!  Despite what our experiences tell us at this moment, our God is Good and His mercy endures forever!  And it is with this heart that we will encourage and offer our deepest love to people like Wade and Roxanne, and Trevor and Chan, and the many others we will come across who have faced such extreme trial.  Our hearts go out to you our amazing friends, we love you with all our hearts.

We will never give up.

Understanding God's Grace in All Its Truth

Colossians 1:6
All over the world this Gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's Grace in all its truth.

Reading through Colossians after Steve's recent series on the book, this verse jumped out at me.  Two powerful truths are revealed.  Firstly, the Gospel was bearing fruit all over the world and growing.

Think about this...  Before Paul arrived on the scene, Judaism and Greek mythology were probably the two most popular religions.  Within 300 years, Christianity had become the world's most believed upon faith.  How did that happen!?

Romans 1:16 gives us a good answer:  "The Gospel is the Power of God".  The Message of the Gospel is the most powerful message anyone can ever convey.  So powerful that it will spread like a wildfire naturally.  One only has to look at this worldwide "Grace revolution" we are in to see that.  People everywhere are coming into this revelation because the message is the Message of the Gospel!  Just this week I received an email from a lady in Cape Town who had been watching Joseph Prince's teachings on TBN every week and finally the revelation of Grace penetrated her heart and she started Googling "Grace" and came across "Highway to Grace".  She said her life has been completed transformed by this revelation.  Stories like this confirm the power of this Message.

Another side to the Gospel's power to bear fruit is not only in global understanding, but in personal growth.  This message is one that naturally produces faith in God's goodness.  If you find yourself still battling in a certain area, still feel like there are areas you need to adjust etc.  Be patient.  The seed of the Gospel that has penetrated your heart will start to germinate and produce some beautiful fruit!

Paul then goes on to say in the second half of this verse that the Gospel has borne fruit "since the day... you understood God's Grace in all its truth."  Notice that word "all"?  That's intriguing.  Could it be that it is possible to understand God's Grace in fractions of its truth?  Could it be that the more of its truth we grasp the more fruit we will see?

Friends, God's Grace is bigger and wider and more powerful than any of us will ever come to comprehend.  We never stop learning from it, and we never stop loving it.  Continue to soak yourself in New Covenant books and teachings and grow in your understanding of God's Grace.

Maybe like the woman in Cape Town that emailed me, you've heard the message of Grace so often but it hasn't had that much of an impact on you.  Don't stress.  Don't try to believe it.  Keep soaking yourself in it, and eventually this Powerful, World-changing Message will grip you so tightly that you will never be the same.

May you forever stay in the Rays of God's Glorious Grace.  And may you forever grow in your understanding of it!

2 Corinthians 8:9 
For you know the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

I heard a brilliant point about the poverty of Jesus a while ago...  If there was any king in the world who deserved to arrive in fanfare, the most prestigious palace and beautiful of settings, it was Jesus.  Jesus is the King of kings.  He created everything we see, and everything we don't see!  (Col. 1:16)  You would have expected His manifestation and birth on Earth to have been a bit more prestigious.

And yet, the Creator of all things arrived to one of the poorest families in Jerusalem, a family who couldn't even secure a room to stay in at the time of His birth.  And His first crib?  A bed of dirty straw where animals eat.  This doesn't sound like royalty at all does it?

This is the humility and security of our King.  In no way ever does He feel the need to show off His majesty and all-consuming power.  Ever.  The only time He did while on Earth was out of compassion.

It is an incredible thought!

But why?  Why would the King of all kings do such a thing?  Enter this world in such humility?  It baffles the reasoning mind.  You see, Jesus didn't need a thing to know His identity.  Jesus didn't need any external form of power or authority to know who He was and where He was from.  He also needed to show this world the power of the "other world", the Kingdom of Heaven.

But another incredible reason is that Jesus willfully chose not to have such wealth and riches and be born into hard-working poverty so that mankind could be redeemed from the slave-driving antics of the enemy!  Dictatorial leadership and slavery is a brainchild of satan.  Jesus came under it in order to redeem us from it!

Friends, Jesus gave up His riches for you and I!  He gave up His authority in this world so we could have it!  My friend, by the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus, you have been redeemed to a position of royalty and authority!  Don't ever use this identity to wield power over others, it should be used to serve others.

If your heart only longs to glorify God and see His Kingdom established here on Earth, God will bless you to be a blessing!  God wants to bless the nations through you.  Thank Jesus that today you can access a life of success and blessing because Jesus gave up such a life.   Believe today the work of Jesus on your behalf, and begin to walk in His blessings.  Step by step, you will find yourself blessing more and more around you as you simply walk in who you are as a Royal child of the Creator!