Havelock Wesleyan Church

***Sorry for the poor audio quality.*** With the exception of Biblical Christianity, which I would argue is not really a religion anyway, every single religion in the world is predicated on the idea that if we’re not good enough for God, we need to improve our lives and work to overcome our deficiencies and shortcomings first and then we can approach God.

***SORRY FOR POOR AUDIO QUALITY. ISSUE HAS BEEN CORRECTED.*** If we’re not careful, going deep all the time could cause us to begin to think that the gospel is a lot more complicated than it really is. Unfortunately, one of the effects of that kind of mindset is that it hinders our ability and our desire to share our faith with others because we are afraid that we might not have all the answers. For the next 2 teachings we’re going to be taking a look at some conversations that Jesus had with people who were largely ordinary people just like us. And we’ll see that in those conversations, Jesus had a real knack for being able to boil the gospel down to its basics.

Philippians 2:1-5

Paul uses the financial gift from Macedonia as an example to the Corinthian church. But even more importantly he describes their heart in giving the gift. He says that they “committed themselves to God first.” They understood that the grace and salvation from Jesus means that you have committed Himself to Him completely. When you receive Jesus as your Savior, then you are His. You give Him all of your life to receive His life in return. It is now not your life any longer. This means that you are committed totally to Him. This is reflected in every area of life.

1 Timothy 6:18-19

Too many Christians live with a scarcity mindset. God is not a God of scarcity- our God is a God of abundance. The trouble is that we often try to do our economy without God...because deep down we have a hard time trusting God. Being generous forces us to trust that God will take care of us- as He asks us to meet others needs- He will meet our needs!

There is truth found here, there is hope found here, Jesus is with you. nothing can separate you from Him. Because of His resurrection, Jesus conquered sin, conquered death, conquered fear. Our Hope is in Him and in Him alone. In all of our lives, we will face difficult situations, we will face terrifying circumstances, we will face trials and tribulations, but we will not face them alone, God is with us.

God is looking for Christians and churches who are willing to pick up the ball others have dropped. And, He wants them to start running with it. Nobody ever won a football game by worrying about being tackled by the opposition, and nobody ever won anyone to Jesus by worrying about what problems they might encounter. God wants to see if we are willing to pick up the ball and do something with it. Jesus gave us a command most people refuse to follow.

Romans 14:19

With the coming of Jesus, the sun of righteousness was rising. And Jesus has been rising all over this world ever since. One day the sun will reach high noon and Jesus will appear in glory. And our healing will be full and final. Let’s think together about how Jesus becomes our Healer.

A simple fact we need to remember is that in order for us to have a growing relationship with God we need to get the relationships with others right first. Just like a successful relationship with God our interpersonal relationships must be based on complete faithfulness.

God did not require a great deal of the people in the way of offerings—tokens, really, of their herds and their crops, and handful of grain, or an animal or two for the family. But what they brought had to pass two important tests, and in many cases only they and God would know if they passed them. What they brought had to be the first and the best—the first of their flock, and the best animal they had. There were two very important reasons for this.

Many of you may have had relationships that have faced difficulty and after a while you too have experienced reconciliation. This is a great event in one’s life or a couple’s relationship! There is one form of reconciliation that is more important than any other, I am speaking of your personal reconciliation to God! Sin is the cause of our need for reconciliation.

Too rarely is there this powerful sense of gratitude because our God of power has forgiven us and rescued us. Too rarely is there this powerful sense of joy that flows from the gratitude of what God has done. There are almost no hallelujahs, or obvious expressions and declarations of praise because of God’s great worthiness and holiness. There is little evidence that we who belong to God feel compelled to fall before God. Worship happens when we put the time and effort into it.

Do people see you and see godliness? As we mature, those of us who claim Christ as Saviour, should see our lives continually transformed into a life that is more Christ- like. How can we see that and what does it look like?

Why should we pray? God knows how grateful we are! There is a big problem with this kind of attitude and then the issue becomes, Why pray at all? God knows all that we need! We may even quote our Lord when He said that God knows all that we need.

Sin will always take you further then you want to go, it will always cost you more than you want to pay, and it will always keep you longer than you want to stay. You think you will be in control, but it will be sin that is in control.

Even superficial reading of the Bible tells us that God has a heart for the lost—that he wishes no- one to perish but for all people across all nations to come to their senses and repent of their rebellion. God wishes hell upon no-one, he wants all to have life through his Son. Such is God’s passion for the lost that he engages in fierce conversations with his own people and with the population in the wider world.

How does God measure success? We’ll see from scriptures that God measure success by faithfulness. How faithful are you to God?