God Will Make Your Name Great - Like Abraham

Genesis 12:2
I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

Deep inside each and every one of us, there is a longing that our lives, or at least what our lives contributed to, made an impact on this world.  That is the destiny of God inside His children.  He created us with that longing.

Abraham was spoken something over him that I am sure would have galvanized every fibre of his being.  He was told that his name would be made great.  And He was told it by Almighty God.  What a promise!

Most believers today are weary of such a promise though, and understandably so, as they are careful not to chase fame, instead walk in Love and humility in serving the people of this world, much like Jesus did.  But Jesus' life was the most famous ever lived.  You see friends, if you walk in the purposes of God for your life, your name becoming great is inevitable.

You may ask how this promise to Abraham applies to us?  Well, Galatians 3:8 tells us that the Gospel that applies to us was announced to Abraham first, and the author is referring to this verse in Genesis 12 when God made this promise to Abraham.

You see, the Gospel is so life-transforming that it empowers what would have been average lives to become greatly significant.  So much so that our names will be remembered for ages to come.  That is the kind of impact we were created to make.

And of course, clearly it is all to "be a blessing".  Greatness is not without a purpose.  It is to be a blessing to the world.  To those around us.

Friends, we have been designed and created to make a significant impact on this world.  Not just an average one.  A significant one.  Believe God that His purposes for your life are great, step out in faith as you believe that, and watch as your greatness blessed many!

At the onset of our 3rd "Glory and Grace" conference 2012; I believe Highway Christian Community's name is destined for greatness.  I believe the plans that God has for us as a church are gigantic!  I believe God wants us to shape the very social economic structure of our country, and even Africa!  Such a conference is all part of God's plan to equip us to become the great people, and great fellowship of saints that He has destined us to be!

Amen!

The Law has been Summed Up

Galatians 5:14
The entire Law is summed up in a single command:  "Love your neighbor as yourself."

People who come into a supernatural revelation of the Grace of God often do so when they realise that they are no longer "under the Law", that the Law no longer applies to them, and they most certainly don't need to obey it perfectly in order to please God.  These are all powerful truths.  The only challenge is that often the very purpose the Law was given is disregarded.

People show throw the baby out with the bathwater, if you like.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am not advocating we start relooking at the Law and see what may be helpful for us to live good Christian lives, no, that is not what I am saying.  (Because if we did, we would become obsessed with keeping it, like the Israelites did).  What I am saying is that there is a purpose behind God giving the Law, and we should consider that purpose.  The purpose was that the Israelites would live in peace.

"World Peace".  This is one of the most common answers to the question "what is the one thing you would ask for if you could have anything in the world?"  It is engrained into our DNA that we were meant to live in peace and harmony with one another.  Why?  God designed us that way.

The point of the Law was Love.  Jesus came to show us that.  The Israelites priests of the day were keeping the Law outwardly and looked down upon anyone who didn't match up.  They were revered and respected almost as demi-gods, and had a strong hand of control of the people.  Jesus came and showed up what was in their hearts.  It wasn't Love.  They had become so obsessed with keeping the Law outwardly that they had no regard for the person behind the lawbreaker.

Kingdom justice is not about punishment, it is about restoration.  One only has to look at John 8 and the woman caught in adultery to see that.  Jesus came to show us that at the heart of God was not some megalomaniac dictator who wanted robotic lawkeepers, no, there was a heart of a Father who longed for nothing more than to see His children live in peace with each other.

Friends, today, remember, this is the heart of our faith.  Unconditional Love.  Let's remember this imperative Truth in our quest to see God's Kingdom come here on Earth.  The greatest manifestation of Heaven on Earth is peace between mankind.  Friends, it has been made possible through the Cross!

We know that we can never Love unconditionally unless we get a glimpse of God's unconditional Love for us.  (1 John 4:19)    Friends, have a look at the Great Love the Father has for you, and allow His Love to penetration every part of your heart and let it so overwhelm you that it oozes out of you to everyone you know, and everywhere you go.

Highway to Grace "Snippet"

The following is a snippet taken from the "Introduction" of Steve Wheeler's latest book "Highway to Grace".  May it bless and inspire you in your walk with God!  For more information on the book and to buy it online, log on to www.highwaytograce.com

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After twenty years in the ministry I had a rude awakening.  I realised that I had been mixing the Covenant of Law into the Gospel of Grace.  I was sincerely doing my best to preach the Gospel as best as I knew how.  But I confused the covenants that God made with Abraham, Moses and Jesus. 

I spent years teaching that God’s blessing is proportional to our fulfilling certain conditions.  Year in and year out I preached “What you should be” and “What you shouldn’t do”... “Ten things you should do to get God to bless you”... “Pray harder, longer, louder”... “Twist His arm with a 21-day fast”.... 

Now I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that God’s blessing comes solely because Jesus fulfilled the conditions for me.  At the Cross Jesus cried out, “It is finished”.  The Greek phrase used there is “teta lestai”, meaning “paid in full”.  This is a financial term meaning that no debt remains outstanding.

Many attending church religiously every week have no idea what was accomplished on the Cross.  You will never enjoy your inheritance when you remain ignorant of what is rightfully yours. 

To fully appreciate God’s Grace, we have to understand what the Finished Work of the Cross means for us.

At the Cross:

• the Old Covenant was obliterated
• every sin – past, present and future – was forgiven and wiped out
• sickness, death and hell were forever defeated
• we were co-crucified, co-buried and co-resurrected with Jesus.

Because of the Cross:

• we have become a new species re-created in Christ
• we have been seated at His right hand in the heavenly places
• we reign in this life as kings.

For too long God’s goodness has been doubted and the Work of the Cross diluted.  Mixing Law and Grace has caused the Gospel to be polluted.  Not separating the Covenants has resulted in confusion.  

Grace is not just some subject we can tag along with all our other Bible doctrines.  Grace is the essence of who Jesus is, what He did and how He will forever relate to us.  To understand Grace fully we have to think of Grace as being a Person: Jesus himself. 

I want to spend what’s left of my life here on earth unapologetically declaring the Gospel Truth:  God’s Grace given to us through His son Jesus Christ.   

“So what is our part then?” you may ask. 

Our part is to believe this Good News.  Faith is the ‘positive response’ to what He has already accomplished at the Cross.  Only Faith pleases God. 

The Bible teaches that Faith was deposited in our hearts as a gift when we heard the Truth of the Gospel.  You have all the faith you need.  Now you have to exercise it.

A life-changing journey

Understanding this message and seeing its life-changing impact is a process.  As a church we’ve been on the journey for over three years now.  A revelation of the Gospel of Grace is renewing our understanding of who we are in Christ.   And Grace has changed our understanding and approach to church, spiritual disciplines, preaching and leadership.
  

The results we are beginning to enjoy include a greater freedom to be who God has called us to be.  I regularly have people telling me that they are reading the Bible with new passion and revelation.  The Gospel of Grace is producing a new boldness to step out and trust our Father to demonstrate His Kingdom rule on earth.  Testimonies abound from those who are reaching out to the lost with this awesome message of Undeserved Favour.  There is far less ‘performance mentality’ in our church life.  I hear of unsaved people coming into our meetings and experiencing love and unconditional acceptance. 

We are enjoying a guilt-free relationship with our Father, and are expecting – and seeing! – greater things from Him because of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross for us. 

Over the past few years we have had our fair share of trials, disappointments and misunderstandings.  We have made some mistakes in our language and in our exuberance.  At times the ‘pendulum’ has swung excessively, and there have been more questions than answers.  I will address many of these in this book.

As Andrew Wommack says, “We haven’t arrived yet. But we have left.”  With the benefit of hindsight there are many things I would do differently.  But by His Grace we are where we are – and we are still moving in the direction of Amazing Grace.

We have taken more ground than we have lost as a church.  We have had more victory than failure; more joy than sorrow.  And with Jesus’ help we never want to go back into legalism; we never want to hear those dreadful words:  “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (Galatians 3:1)