19-08-2018
Ekklesia= The church is the called out ones.
The church is not:
-A
physical building.
-A
service that lasts two hours;
1 Peter 2:9-10 The Message (MSG)
9-10 But you are the ones chosen by God, *chosen* for the high
*calling* of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do
his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference
he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
By grace, all of us have been saved. By grace, we have all been called out of our old lives to live a new life with Him.
Ephesians 2:10 The Message (MSG)
10 He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to *join him* in the work
he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be
doing.
God has called us to join Him.
God calls us by name.
You are to join Him in His purposes.
Calling brings passion to our lives.
"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love." - Mother Teresa
It's the heart when you reach out to somebody in good deeds and God translates into new life in that person.
We are called to join Him in His work in different ways.
We are called to join Him to do something better.
Exodus 17 The Message (MSG)
17 1-2 Directed by God, the whole company of Israel moved on by
stages from the Wilderness of Sin. They set camp at Rephidim. And there wasn’t
a drop of water for the people to drink. The people took Moses to task: “Give
us water to drink.” But Moses said, “Why pester me? Why are you testing God?”
3 But the people were thirsty for water there. They complained to Moses, “Why did you take us from Egypt and drag us out here with our children and animals to die of thirst?”
4 Moses cried out in prayer to God, “What can I do with these people? Any minute now they’ll kill me!”
5-6 God said to Moses, “Go on out ahead of the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel. Take the staff you used to strike the Nile. And go. I’m going to be present before you there on the rock at Horeb. You are to strike the rock. Water will gush out of it and the people will drink.”
6-7 Moses did what he said, with the elders of Israel right there watching. He named the place Massah (Testing-Place) and Meribah (Quarreling) because of the quarreling of the Israelites and because of their testing of God when they said, “Is God here with us, or not?”
8-9 Amalek came and fought Israel at Rephidim. Moses ordered Joshua: “Select some men for us and go out and fight Amalek. Tomorrow I will take my stand on top of the hill holding God’s staff.”
10-13 Joshua did what Moses ordered in order to fight Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. It turned out that whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel was winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek was winning. But Moses’ hands got tired. So they got a stone and set it under him. He sat on it and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on each side. So his hands remained steady until the sun went down. Joshua defeated Amalek and its army in battle.
14 God said to Moses, “Write this up as a reminder to Joshua, to keep it before him, because I will most certainly wipe the very memory of Amalek off the face of the Earth.”
15-16 Moses built an altar and named it “God My Banner.” He said,
Salute God’s rule!
God at war with Amalek
Always and forever!
Moses was old but he was part of the battle. He prayed and asked God to empower the young people to fight the battle. Next to him was Aaron and Hur.
RELATED: Be Significant like Hur was to Moses
We allow our young people to be the Joshuas. As Aarons and Hurs, we support them.
Together we build this new mindset.
1) Called to be God's dwelling place.
Romans 12 The Message (MSG)
Place Your Life Before God
12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your
everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and
walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God
does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so
well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.
Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the
culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God
brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
We need to believe that God brings the best out of us. God allows you to achieve the best in the world.
God's covering is in your family. God's covering on you is also in your circumstances and your troubles. Place God in the centre of your life and God brings the best out of you.
God is a God who is able to supply all our needs if we apply His Kingdom principles.
"Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny."
-
Mahatma Gandhi
Ephesians 2:19-22 MSG
God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we
got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the
foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone,
with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see
it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into
it, a temple in which God is quite at home.
God is building a home.
It is in this home that God dwells.
Be part of a community.
There is a place where all of us can find a common identity to celebrate and be proud of.
God is using us all irrespective of how we got here. All of us are sinners. We are all saved by grace.
God used the apostles and the prophets as the foundation.
Christ is the chief cornerstone.
Let's build this place as God's dwelling place together.
God will give us the same language. We all called by God as His sons and daughters for His purposes and we speak the same language.
We all experience the joy of God.
"Take your joy and take it to the place with the greatest need and there you will find your purpose."
All of you have certain things that make you joyful.
There is a joy that comes from you.
Take our joy into the place of need and there you find purpose.
Allow God to do this.
Imagine the possibilities.
2) Called to God's purposes.
Our lives are made to reflect the character of God.
We gather so much information (Youtube, etc) but there is so little transformation in our lives.
We need to plough it into our lives.
The powerful testimonies is in the gospel that you sow.
3) Called to warfare.
The change in this nation is not upon the works of man. It is a spiritual battle.
It is not on individuals. It is on us to continue to pray.
It is spiritual warfare.
We must not rely on man. We have to come back to a God to seek Him and pray in the spiritual realm and God will use His people.
Ephesians 6:10-20 The Message (MSG)
A Fight to the Finish
10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you
strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of
the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to
everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest
that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for
keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his
angels.
13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
19-20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.
We win this battle as Sons + Bride + Body.
This battle is one because of Calvary.
4) Called to serve.
God gives us all our own personal stories.
Acts 13:36a New International Version (NIV)
36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation,
he fell asleep;
Our story is God's story. Let's build God's story in our lives.
You unravel me, with a melody
You surround me with a song
Of deliverance, from my enemies
Till all my fears are gone
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
From my mothers womb
You have chosen me
Love has called my name
I’ve been born again, into a family
Your blood flows through my veins
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I am surrounded
By the arms of the father
I am surrounded
By songs of deliverance
We've been liberated
From our bondage
Were the sons and the daughters
Let us sing our freedom
You split the sea
So I could walk right through it
My fears were drowned in perfect love
You rescued me
And I will stand and sing
I am the child of God
You split the sea
So I could walk right through it
You drowned my fears in perfect love
You rescued me
And I will stand and sing
I am the child of God (yes I am)
I am a Child of God
I am a Child of God (yes I am)
I am a Child of God (full of faith yes)
I am a Child of God
I am a Child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a child of God
Yes, we are a child of God.
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