Chris Kolle then continued his messages on grace, talking about ministering grace.

All ministry begins in grace. The grace of God has given us everything we need to be and to do everything we need to do. In 1 Cor 15:9-10, Paul calls himself the least of the apostles - that’s humility. None of us deserve anything from God - the grace of God doesn’t treat us according to what we deserve. Paul realises that he used to persecute Christians but by the grace of God he is who he is. Paul didn’t define himself by his past, but who he is in Christ. We need to do the same - define ourselves by who we are in Christ, not our past.
Gal 1:15-16 tells us that Paul was set apart and called by God’s grace so he could preach among the gentiles. Just like Paul, we all have a ministry to perform. This is not salvation, but the outworking of that salvation. Grace with work is grace outworked. We don’t work to get.

If you don’t give out and minister the grace of God, it will be without effect. Paul worked hard. Not for salvation, but to outwork the grace. If you work hard for the wrong motivation, you won’t get anywhere or last long. You can’t serve to get something from God (Rom 11:6), you can’t serve to repay God. We work to give. Everything done for God is the outworking of grace.

True ministry outworks grace.

1 Pet 4:10 - we have all received a gift and we need to use that. We need to “faithfully administer God’s grace”. Administer means to steward, to be a steward; to be accountable with the gift you have been given. Paul says (1 Pet 4:10) that we are to use the gift we have received. That means we have already received the gift and we need to steward it.

Acts 14:26 says that we need to be committed to the grace of God for the work. That means we aren’t just committed to the work. If you are committed because you are faithful and loyal, that won’t cut it. Your motive is wrong and you’ll give up. The apostles were committed to the grace of God for the work. If you’re loyal and faithful to the work only, you’ll eventually come up against a roadblock or obstacle that you won’t be able to get past. Your own strength won’t get you through. You need to be committed to the grace of God for the work. In order to stay committed to the grace of God, you need to guard your intimacy and relationship with God. Don’t get so caught up in the work that you neglect this. The grace and intimacy will help you get through the obstacles where loyalty and faithfulness won’t. People will let you down, but God’s grace won’t. When people start to fall away and don’t turn up to do the work, keep God’s grace in mind and don’t get critical.
Be committed to the grace of God, not the work.

Keep in mind 1 Cor 13:3 when you are doing the work. You need to remember why you are working and who you are doing it for. Don’t be loyal and faithful without the grace or you will become judgemental and legalistic.

Look in the mirror, don’t be ashamed of your past, you are who you are. We bring what we can. Be a part of the church because you have a call on your life, not because it meets your needs or out of loyalty. Minister out of God’s grace and don’t neglect your relationship with God.

Mike continued his theme from last time he was with us and talked about another foundational stone as you build a church - unity and encouragement.

We are the body and Jesus is the head of the body. Like all bodies, for one function to work, the others need to be working. A responsibility of being in the body is loving the way Jesus loves. We’re required to love with the Jesus type of love and our concept of Jesus’ love is probably misunderstood. Judas was with Jesus and he was loved by Jesus.

We need everyone to contribute to the body. We all have to give an account of what we’ve down with what Jesus has given us. In Rom 12:5 Paul says that we notice if a member of the body is missing.

The natural body does get sick. The body of Christ also gets sick. Some of these are the fruit of the sinful nature listed in Gal 5:19-20. They are all preventable. If we loved one another, they wouldn’t happen.

Growth, health and spiritual vitality all happen when people love one another. Who are you caring for/praying for/supporting in the church today?

1 Pet 3:7 says treat your wives with respect so that your prayers aren’t hindered. We need to apply that to the church. We need to genuinely care for people, like the scriptures tell us to.
1. Importance - We are all important. Nobody is more or less important than others.
2. Independence - Don’t be independent.
3. Invest - Invest into people. Pray for them.
4. Initiate - Initiate unity (Eph 1:1-3). Do everything to preserve the unity of the brethren.

Have a great week! Be willing to step it up and pray for somebody. Encourage one another and say good things to others.

Ian Richardson then continued this message. He spoke from Phil 3:12. We need to make a choice to move forward. We choose how to respond to everything that happens to us. Living in victory is not about what happens but how we choose to react. The decisions that we make will determine how we view and live our lives.

If we fail to make the right choices, they can become a stumbling block. We can get stuck in the past and make decisions based on the past - ie the filters of the past and how we reacted to those things.
We need to press on toward the goal - not looking at our feet.
How do we do that?
1. Forgive - Phil 3:13 “forget what is behind means “not allow the past to hinder you from moving forward”. The heaviest load we can carry is unforgiveness (Eph 4:27). Carrying unforgiveness gives the enemy a foothold.
FOrgiveness doesn’t mean that don’t feel the hurts. You don’t “get over stuff”, you move on. Just because you forgive doesn’t mean that you trust that person again. Trust is earned, not forgiven (John 2:24).
Forgiveness and trust are not synonomous. Thinking of unforgiveness helps us understand forgiveness. Unforgiveness means wanting payback. Let go of the debt you think they owe you. Forgiveness is the choice to let go of the need for restitution.
It doesn’t mean that you have no hurt or that you trust that person. Until we choose to forgive though, we won’t overcome the hurt. Don’t allow the past to hinder you.

2. Don’t look down. Don’t look at your feet. Look at where you are going. Focus on what is before and glance at what is behind. As a church, we need to focus on what is ahead. We need to let go of the past and embrace what is ahead. We need to embrace the future with hope and anticipation.

Have a great week! Keep your eyes on Jesus and what it is He is going to do in your life.

He starts off by telling them that they are holy, called to be together and sanctified. He praised the positive. Paul taught them strongly on their position in Christ.
“Know what you are before you try to be that”. Humanity needed to die. On the cross, our humanity died, it was crucified.
Revelation comes from meditation. Meditate on the word of God. Know who you are in Christ. Know it and believe it.
Romans 10:9 tells us that salvation is confessing and believing. Justification is having our heart right. Salvation is everything Jesus won for us on the cross, when he died and when He rose again.
When Jesus died, He gave us a new self image. We need to decide that the Bible is true, then believe it. If you feel bad about yourself, go and see what God says about you. Confess what God says about you because it is so, not that you want it to be so.

We have Christ in us, love is in Christ, so we have love in us. We have patience in us because we have Christ in us. It’s all in there, but we need it to come out. Begin to confess that you are patient, that you have love etc and let that come out. Let the stuff that covers the patience be removed and let that shine through.

Read Col 2:6-10. Keep that in mind. Make a decision to believe it. Don’t ask for more of God, we already have all of Him.

Just believe that!

We need to be careful of what we say and start to speak positive words. We need to resist the devil. We don’t have to fight him, just resist him.
We are more than conquerors - you’re only a conqueror when you’ve already won. (1 John 5:4 - We have overcome the world.)

In 1 Samuel, we read about Jonathon. Jonathon was a man under God’s authority. Johnatohn went up to the enemy and he attacked them. God has called us to exercise authority over th enemy. We need to resist the enemy who blinds the eyes of those we want to see come to Christ. We need to give the enemy a hard time all the time. God isn’t going to do it for us - it’s our job and we have to exercise authority. It’s our job to enforce the victory that Jesus won for us. We need to resist the devil, especially in the mind. (2 Cor 10:4-5)

We need to take hold of everything that God has given us. We have got everything we need from God, we just need to go out and use it. We need to encourage one another, take our thoughts captive and see the victory.

Have a great week and practice the prayer tips!

Look at our own heart and actions. If we don’t judge ourselves, God’s judgment will come upon us. There are consequences to our actions. We should be the same way with others as Jesus is with us.
Gal 5:13-15. Through love, serve one another.
Loving a person you don’t get along with is the biggest challenge.
The greatest credibility we can have is loving one another. Eph 4:16

Have a great week. Respond to the challenge of reaching out and loving somebody that you don’t get along with.

Everybody counts, to be loved, cared for and counted. We’re not to judge, avoid, or ignore people, but to help and understand others.

1 Cor 12:12-17
We are all one body and we need to strengthen the weaker parts through prayer. The weaker needs more attention, but often it is the head that is weaker. The enemy goes for the head and often the body then starts to attack the head as well.
He has given us power in the church to fight for the church. When two or more agree in prayer, it will be done. This needs to be an agreement from the heart though, not just a verbal agreement. When you say something, make sure it comes from the heart.

Rom 15:1-7. v3 says Christ did not please Himself. We don’t get to please ourselves either. We are to please our neighbour, to build them up and encourage them.

God is looking for endurance, encouragement and praise (v5). Encourage one another, love one another, look out for one another. Find ways to build them up. Unity is hard work, but when everybody participates, everybody will benefit and there will be unity.

God has given us grace to help us endure, encourage and praise.

Have a great week this week and find somebody to encourage!

This atmosphere continued as Tony came to preach. He continued the new creation theme from last time he was preaching in Bendigo.
If we are born again, we need to grow in the things of God. Our natural man says “do this, don’t do that”. That is law.
The law is not to make you holy, it is to show you that you need to be cleaned.
You can’t keep the law. Old Testament is about do’s and don’ts. In the New Testament, the time period that we’re living in, the laws are written on our hearts because we are a new creation. We keep God’s commands because we want to, not because we have to.

In Col 1:27-28, we proclaim Christ in us. When we are born again, it is the spirit that is born again. It is the inside that changes. Your spirit is an inward man. It is born again. Your Spirit man has ears to hear, feet to bring the gospel of peace. When we die, the natural man dies, not the spiritual man.
When we are joined in the Spirit, we have become one with God. We can’t be separated from God. On the mount of transfiguration, the disciples saw the inner man, the glory of God manifesting itself.

We have Christ in us. All the strength of God is in us. All the Spiritual blessings are already in us.
We are tempted in things but we have Jesus in us who has already faced the temptations that we are facing.

When we get tempted, rely on Christ in us. He can do it, He can overcome it.
Speak in tongues more and build up your Spirit.
Chew on the word of God, meditate on it, turn it over, speak it our and you’ll get a revelation.

Faith - confidence based on knowledge (of the Word of God). The people perish for lack of knowledge.
Rely on the word of God and rely on Christ in us. Be stron gin the Lord and the power of His might. Let God hold on to you. Walk in the Spirit. The Spirit automatically does the right thing - it is the natural man that wants to do wrong.

Let Christ express Himself through you.

Have a great week and be a blessing to somebody!