Today was the first of a series of messages about Kingdom living and how to influence our community and impact our world.
The church is not the Kingdom. God will use the church to bring the Kingdom into the world. The Kingdom of God should influence all areas of the world - government, business, community, health etc.
God intended human beings to be God’s representatives. He gave them authority over the earth to rule it and establish His Kingdom. However, sin came in and separated us from God, but God’s plan of humans establishing His Kingdom here on earth didn’t change. He still wants to do that today and He wants us to pray for that Kingdom to come (Mat 6:10).

In Mark 9:1, we see that the Kingdom of God is to come now. It comes in each generation. It is in us and will come with power. The day of pentecost is the day the Kingdom of God came to earth in power. In Luke 17:20-21, we see that the ultimate goal is that we enter the Kingdom, not just be born again. Jesus constantly talked about the Kingdom of God. Being born again is the gateway to the Kingdom of God.
Therefore, the Kingdom of God is here because Jesus dealt with the sin that separated us from God, because the Holy Spirit now lives in us and because the power of the Holy Spirit was released at pentecost.
When Jesus died on the cross, He took the authority over earth back and then gave that back to man, He reunited man to God and ensured that the Holy Spirit could now live in man.

The Kingdom of God is always evidenced by power and authority. The influence we have needs to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
We can now walk in Kingdom authority because the sin that separated us from God has been dealt with at the cross. We can now walk in Kingdom Power because the Holy Spirit was poured out on all flesh on the day of pentecost.

If the Kingdom of God is functioning properly, ie us, we will be walking in authority and power. Wherever we are, we’re empowered to be agents of the Kingdom of God.

Have a great week this week. Keep up with your SOAP readings and keep praying for your REAP targets. Enjoy being an ambassador for the Kingdom of God and be a blessing!

This morning we heard an excellent message from Pauline. Pauline took us to the story of Ruth and used the story of Ruth and Naomi to encourage us all.
In Ruth 1:1-17 we are introduced to Naomi and Ruth. Naomi’s life had been rough, she was bitter and she could only see the negatives. Sometimes life is like that for us. Whether we get ground down or polished depends on what’s inside. Don’t let the circumstances make you bitter.
As we read on through Ruth 2:1-12, we see that Ruth was in a vulnerable position. Loyalty and sticking to it in hard times are going to cost you something. It cost Ruth her family and her home country. Her self esteem would’ve been low - it wasn’t a good situation that she was in.
Ruth 2:13-20 however gives us some hope. Ruth’s situation has turned around. Suddenly there is a kinsman redeemer there in the land for her. It was good news for her. At this point in time, Naomi could begin to see the hand of God upon their situation. It was a suddenly and suddenly God turned the situation around, allowing Naomi to hope again.
In Ruth 3:1-5, Ruth asks Boaz to marry her. Our kinsman redeemer can bring good out of a situation. Whatever situation we face, we have our kinsman redeemer, Jesus, who has the answers. Do we believe that we have kinsman redeemer? Do we believe that God has a purpose in all that? Look forward to the day when our kinsman redeemer will turn the situation around. Grab hold of the hope that He will turn the situation around. Whatever the situation is that you are facing, Jesus has the answers. Give your situation over to God and wait for Him to be your kinsman redeemer.

Seeing yourself and the church the way God sees you was the theme for both communion and the morning message. In the communion message, we were reminded that we need to let go of the labels that we’ve placed on ourselves, leave these at the foot of the cross, see ourselves and the church as God sees us and be all that we are called to be in God.

In the morning message, Alan talked about 2 Kings 7. The city was besieged by the enemy and was being starved to death. At that point, 4 lepers decided that they had nothing to lose and went to the enemy’s camp in the hope of finding some food. They discovered that the enemy had fled and left everything behind. The people of the city had been living as though they were still under siege, not realising that they were actually free.
As a church and individuals, we can become like the city, enclosed by the walls - only seeing what we see and not seeing beyond that to the vision that God has for our us.
In Heb 11:3, we read that God created the natural out of the spiritual. God creates in the spirit and we need to see what’s in the spirit and create it in the natural.
We need to look beyond the natural in our lives and see what God says about our church and our lives.
In Heb 11:24-28 Moses perseveres because he saw Him who was invisible. Moses had an insight into the spirit realm. We need to understand God’s ways (not just know about Him) and not limit our vision by what we see.
To see in the spirit, we need to accept scripture as it is. We need to seek God with all our heart and see what God says about things.
If you want to see a release of the anointing in your life, you will need to see things in the spirit. Ask continually to be filled with the spirit so you can. Look beyond the city walls.
When you do see what is in the spirit, speak creatively and create the miracle. Speak prophetically about what God shows you. Create it. Work in co-operation with God.
Be all that you can be for God. Whatever you’ve got to be, be for God. See yourself, see the church the way God sees it. Speak that into being!
Have a great week!

Today we had Stuart Rodgers visiting from Maryborough. He brought us an encouraging message from 1 Sam 1:1-18. Through this passage we can see that we need grace and faith to function. Hannah needed grace to handle the burdens that God had given her. Hannah brought her situation before God and gave it to Him. We all need to give God our situations that burden us to allow His grace to flow. If we hang on to them, God can’t do anything.
When Hannah was approached by the priest and accused of being drunk, she didn’t become bitter, but explained to the priest that she was burdened. This provides us with a great example when we have things that concern us. We are to take them to the Lord in prayer and not become bitter and angry at the people who may be able to help us, but trust that He will deal with them.
Hannah showed great faith in God. Hannah had desires that could not be filled by earthly means. As we read on, we see that God blesses Hannah with the desire of her heart - a son. Hannah then honoured God and offered this son back to God. We all need to do what Hannah did and honour God with what He blesses us with.
God has a desire and a plan for each one of us, just as we have desires in our heart. Hannah showed faith in God, then God showed grace to Hannah by granting her her desires.

Have a great week. Pray for your REAP targets, keep up with your SOAP readings and be a blessing!