Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foundation. Show all posts

Sunday, 25 October 2009

Going forward in God

By Pastor Peter Linnecar
God has been causing us to examine the foundation of our lives. But the message we are receiving over and over again is that we now need to turn away from those things which are behind, to give and receive forgiveness, and to go forward in His will for our lives.
Last weekend we looked at how God has been clearly speaking both through Charles Green and through David Matthews. It's a particular truth about what it means to forgive, to be forgiven, to move on, not to look back but to go forward.
Charles Green referred to "forgetting those things which are behind". David Matthews talked about not concentrating on the Poll of Bethesda, but on Jesus Christ Himself.
The end result of the ministry of Jesus was that He gave Himself for the sin of the world, and broke the power of sin. He did something which would allow Jan and her team to stand in front of soldiers, who have known nothing else by the power of a gun and a need to kill. If ever a situation had darkness brought light into it, that was one.
Maybe you think, "It's all very well reaching out across the nations. What about me?" This morning Jesus wants to speak to you.
Luke 9:57-58 (show/hide)
There's a place for foxes and birds to live, but the Son of Man ... where does He live?
Luke 9:59-60 (show/hide)
It's just as relevant to us, what God wants to do through your life in Brentwood as it is for other people who have gone to foreign countries. The bottom line is, "Whatever you want me to do, wherever you want me to go ..." I'm available for whatever you want to do in my life.
At this time, God is causing each one of us not only to examine the foundation of our life, but after that examination to move forward with what He wants us to do. The enemy of our souls wants to keep us so much in self-examination that we don't move forward. Jan says how now she sees that things in her past were a preparation.What has God done in your life to date?
For some of the people Jesus was talking to, they were attracted to Jesus – "I'll follow you wherever you go."
Luke 9:61-62 (show/hide)
"Family is where it's at. Let me sort this out, and then I'll follow you."
Once you've put your hand to the plough, and got underway, the only way you'll get a straight furrow is if you keep your eyes fixed on the destination. If you look back, you'll wander and go in different directions.
Last weekend and today we've heard God speaking to us. "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
This is what Jesus said. Let's remind ourselves of what He did.
John 12:26-27 (show/hide)
There's self examination if you want it! We tend to forget that when Jesus spoke of putting your hand to the plough, in His own life He worked it out. But His soul was troubled.
John 12:27 (show/hide)
There are some sitting here who think that their life is a treadmill, and they're trapped. The enemy is saying "All those years were wasted. It's time you got out of the treadmill." And the result is a paralysis.
Here we have Jesus talking about things. But by God's Holy Spirit, Jesus lives in us, and as a Christian I want to go forward fulfilling His purposes in my life.
The moment Jesus spoke these words, a voice came from heaven :-
John 12:27-33 (show/hide)
Lifted up on a cross, giving His life so that the power of forgiveness reigns supreme – forgiveness for anyone who lives contrary to God's way, for anyone who, by sin, has wronged the living God.
God who, "gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Don't speak to me of a treadmill! It's a life going forward with joy to fulfil the works He has set before you. What is this idea of a treadmill, that the enemy of the soul has put in your minds?
Hebrews 12:1-2 (show/hide)
We've looked at what Jesus said and did. The resurrection powerfully dealt with all the power of sin, in such a way that we live a different life. Let us lay aside every weight – sin. Let us lay aside every weight.
What causes some to feel burdened, to feel shackled, to be people looking forward in such a way that you don't know how you're going cope – "What's happening to me?" The enemy causes you to swirl about in your thoughts, and the end result is you do nothing.
Come on! Let us lay aside every weight. I'm not going to think that way. If you're running in a race you make sure there are no encumbrances.
What's our destination? Who are we looking at? We're looking to Jesus in the sense that He's the author and finisher of our faith. What does Jesus have for you to do in your life in Brentwood at this time?
Jesus Christ is the one whom we serve, love, with whom we are open and transparent, and it's Father's will in our life that we do this.
Is doing Father's will a treadmill? The complete opposite. Doing Father's will simply means we're open and sensitive to what God wants to do through us to make an impact in this earth. And it's as real in Brentwood as in Dafur.
The enemy would make you think that the wonderful things we've heard about don't happen here. "I've been so caught up with self-examination that I don't know the way forward." But here is the way forward :-
Hebrews 12:1-2 (show/hide)
Later in chapter 12 we have this :-
Hebrews 12:25-27 (show/hide)
There's a shaking going on. And its purpose is to reveal the foundation of your life – Jesus Christ. I'm going to do what He thinks, fulfil His purpose. Things fall away until ...
Hebrews 12:28-29 (show/hide)
The challenge of this morning from Jan, and from what we've just read, and from what we heard last week ... is that in our shaking we wake up to what God wants to do through us. And we'll fulfil His purpose and do what He wants and think the way He wants us to think.
He's a wonderful saviour, and He's been faithful to each one of us.
If you just look ... just close your eyes. Look inside, and just think to yourself how faithful God has been to you. Think back just for this moment at how careful He's been to bring you to this point in time when we can be free to say, "How faithful You have been to me. There hasn't been a day when You haven't been there. There hasn't been a time, even when I've felt washed up on a beach ... You've been faithful."
We thank You that we can acknowledge how faithful You've been and will be. We thank You for Your goodness to each one of us. I thank You that by the power of Your Holy Spirit, it doesn't matter who is here ...

Friday, 19 June 2009

He Will Do It



I just want to refer to the groundbreaking time that Paul was involved in as the church extended from Jerusalem to Judea and then worldwide. But we zero in on him arriving at Thessalonica.

Acts 17:1-7

Just note the fact that when Paul came to an area, here he starts at the synagogue and starts talking with people about Jesus Christ, who he is and what he means; who he stands for. He is the Lord, he is the Christ. The accusation in verse 7 that “there was another king apart from Caesar called Jesus.”

So it was that “the world was turned upside down” is so accurate on the strength and power of the gospel.

Acts 17:9

He was only with these people for three weeks and he formed a church, probably in his house. Here we have believers who are meeting in a house and Jason was obviously one of these people And yet in these three weeks that Paul was there, there was a real pulling together of Christ and fellowship.

1 Thessalonians1:2-6

There’s something about the word of God which is in line with his will. God can work through you, by his holy spirit.

There’s no way that there was some weak-knee-ed membership form that they signed up to. They were aware of the power of what they were preaching.

The more we go on, day by day, so it is, that God is revealing what he wants to do in this place, for his glory. The links that we are forming and the way that God is moving in your heart and bringing to your attention that he is faithful. He is being faithful and he will be faithful. To the end that his name with be glorified in his church.

1 Thessalonians 2:13

It’s the word of God, it’s the truth. And as we go forwards we will cherish the word of God. There’s a narrow way and a broad way; there’s good fruit and there’s bad faith; there’s a foundation built on rock and there’s a foundation built on sand.

How do you know if the foundation is right? It’s when the storms and the floods come. They both look the same but when the circumstances hit you, it’s then that you know what the foundation is. And this church in Thessalonica was formed when other people were totally anti-what they believed in. Their lives were changing and the Jews couldn’t stand it because these people weren’t becoming Jews. And the whole world was turned upside down.

And as Paul writes to them, he can’t stop thanking God!

1 Thessalonians 3:9-14

He longed to be there, he’d founded the church and he privately wondered how things were and couldn’t wait for Timothy’s report and it was the truth, God was taking them forwards. And it was the Lord who was causing them to expand.

“Love towards another”.

What is a church? It is a body of people because they have a common goal and purpose to worship him, to lift up His name. It isn’t a place where people are trying to score points off others.

It’s a place where Jesus Christ has the pre-eminence. It’s about who he is.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-19

You notice it’s not “for” everything” it’s “in” everything, give thanks.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-25

Who is faithful? Jesus Christ is faithful. God is faithful. If you want to stand there and hurl at him a heart of mistrust or non thanks! Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it. There is no way that God gets involved with a life, injects his power and life into a life and then somehow leaves them or forgets about them or leaves them on their own. Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it. In other words, this faithfulness goes all the way until such time as you see him face to face. All the way through. It isn’t that you’re sort of looked after and then left to work things out for a few years. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Sunday, 22 March 2009

Spiritual Sacrifices to God

The Apostle Peter reminds us that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, the foundation of our faith. And secure in that knowledge, we are called to offer up spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God.

Church is all about people. The church is the people. I want to talk about the fact that the foundation of the church is Jesus Christ, and the foundation of your life is Jesus Christ, if you’re a Christian. Maybe somebody here is rediscovering the orientation of what their lives should be.



1 Peter was written at a time of severe persecution. Peter wrote the letter to a variety of people in different towns around Turkey, and the letter was read out to different groups of believers.

Just like a young baby, we are to desire the sincere milk of the word. Everything else in life apart from Jesus Christ is transient. In v4, Peter talks about who Jesus is in the context of the church.

There isn’t one prayer He hasn’t heard. And He doesn’t just hear prayers, but He answers them too.

1 Peter 2:4-6

I want to look at what is a spiritual sacrifice, because if that’s acceptable to God, I want to be involved in it. We aren’t looking at Old Testament sacrifices. But there’s a spiritual house now.

1 Peter 2:6-11

There’s a total difference between being part of the people of God, and not being a part. There are people again this week who have heard news about employment problems, losing jobs, and so on. One common denominator is that as a Christian, there is no doubt whatsoever that God is more involved with your life than you realise. The circumstances of your life are there because He loves you.

You may say that there are things going in your life which don’t seem to stack up against that. But God is proving Himself as your provider in your life. I can react either by throwing in the towel and ask what this life is about. Or I can face the circumstances of life head on and accept the fact that Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, loves me and gave Himself for me, and the relationship I now have by God’s Holy Spirit is real. It’s not a haphazard hope.

Peter was keen to encourage people not to forget what it said in the Old Testament – Jesus was chosen before the foundation of the world, and provided as the solution to your life. Even before this world was made, He knew you’d be here in your situation this morning. And the words you are hearing this morning by His Holy Spirit are a direct result of Him wanting to communicate with you. He loves you.

He makes Himself known to us through different routes. He’ll make Himself known.

Isaiah 28:16-18

“He that believeth shall not make haste” has nothing to do with speed. It’s communicating that he who believes is not anxious, not in a panic. I am not going to be anxious. There’s a sure foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.

When the same information comes to me in my work place, the impact of that information on me as a believer in God is received in a totally different way from someone who does not know God. He is your loving heavenly father, and knows what He’s doing.

The progression of your life involves you knowing God inside as your provider, and the one bang in the centre of your life.

There have been quite a few times in my own life where the only solution could be God because I’d run out of ideas. And every time that has happened in my life, He’s done something.

And if you think about the answers you’ve received, and work things back, you realise that God must have set things in motion years ago, and they’ve come to fruition at exactly the right time. Many of you could stand up and give a testimony like that.

Peter was very keen that these new believers should realise their foundation.

Jesus referred to the same idea Himself. At the end of the parable of the vineyard, we have the following:

Mark 12:10-13

Jesus knew what He was about. He knew He was talking about Himself here. And when He hung on the cross, taking into Himself your sin, He knew about you. He was there to break the power of sin in your life. He knows all about you. And even if you think He hasn’t heard, He has heard, and the answer is coming, because He is not deaf to His children.

We see the concept of Jesus as the cornerstone repeated in Acts 4. This is Peter soon after Jesus had died and risen from the dead.

Acts 4:8-15

The Jewish people rejected Him, and in time the Gospel went out from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth. That’s why you’re here this morning.

Peter was concerned that these people should be aware of their situation and their relationship to Jesus Christ.

We have Paul talking about the concept of the cornerstone as well:

Ephesians 2:19-23

This church building is not where it’s at. The church is you and me – a group of people. The bride of Christ is the church – the group of people. And over this year and onwards, more and more will be added to the church as God’s Holy Spirit speaks to them. There will be a different foundation – Jesus Christ and what He wants to do in their life.

So when I am a Christian, I want to please my Father who is in heaven. I want to fulfil His purposes for my life. You knew that once, but you’ve let it go and drifted. And this morning God is pulling you back lovingly, saying that He is your foundation. You know that without Him you can do nothing.

I’d love to be able to talk to each of you individually, to ask after your circumstances and what impossibilities you are facing. Because I know that the impossibility people recount – that impossibility is a possibility in God. The foundation of your life is Jesus Christ. In no way will He let you down. He loves you. And your reaction to your circumstances will either be one of bitterness, or it will give you pause to consider who is the foundation of your life. Can He change things in your life? Of course! What do I want to do? The answer is that I want to do what is pleasing to Him. I want those spiritual sacrifices to which Peter refers in my own life.

Hebrews 13:15


That is a spiritual sacrifice. What does that mean in practical terms? My mindset needs to be that I am totally aware of what God has done in my life. At a moment’s notice, I could make a list of what I can thank God for. It wouldn’t be difficult, because the spiritual sacrifice of each of us is that we’re aware all the time of what we can be thankful for. That tends to cut across any moaning, any “poor me”. Everyone here can thank God for something.

There are things you have to deal with, I know. But what is your overriding frame of mind when you go about the day? Do you rejoice when you hear what God does for other people, or do you just wish it could happen to you?

Hebrews 13:16

“Communicate” is often in terms of giving and helping financially.

2 Corinthians 9:7-12

Giving thanks, giving to help others, being liberal – a cheerful giver, not tight-fisted, not “me and mine”, not working things out so that it destroys a heart of liberality. Be careful that you don’t work things out the wrong way.

Romans 12:1-3

There’s a spiritual sacrifice of continually giving thanks, of giving, and putting one’s whole life in line, proving what is that acceptable will of God.

Romans 12:2-4

As you think about practical things, what are spiritual sacrifices? What are those things which are pleasing to God? We’ve looked at some. Your prayers are a sacrifice to God.

Revelation 5:8

Revelation 8:3-4

It matters that you pray. God delights for you to become a co-worker with Him in prayer. You get alongside Him and become a co-worker. When you pray, He hears your prayer. He delights to hear. You’re praying because you know you need the answer from God. And those prayers which you pray are like sacrifices in that in the end time, the prayers of all the saints will be there.

Philippians 2:14-17

In the face of impossibilities, hold forth the word of life. And that’s a theme running through today. Peter said Jesus was the cornerstone. Take away the central stone, and the arch won’t be there any more. But with Jesus Christ immovable in the centre of the arch, He is building His church. And bang in the middle of your thinking, your aims and ambitions ... “I want to please you. What do you want me to do?” He’ll make it clear. If you’re trying to sort things out, try different doors. He will guide you. But be on the move – God can’t guide someone who stays put. And there is no way that God will let you down. He loves you. He’s a wonderful heavenly father.

The main message for you today is to live right, offering up spiritual sacrifice, holding forth the word of life, knowing what is the foundation of your life, going forward this week.

Tuesday, 8 April 2008

Holding forth the Word of Life



As Christians, we need to hold forth the word of life.

In the early church, God organised everything so that His word of life came upon a variety of people and changed them forever.

Acts 16:12 – 18

The damsel was a fortune teller and her masters were running a business through her and conning people out of money.

Acts 16:19 – 34

How did God get hold of that keeper of the prison? The keeper had carried out his job and locked Paul and Silas in prison. When the earthquake happened Paul and Silas had the opportunity to escape but they didn’t, which resulted in the keeper of the prison coming to them and asking what he must do to be saved.



God Knows What He Is Doing!

God manoeuvres things in the circumstances of mankind because He loves us. God knows what He is doing in the affairs of man. He knows what He is doing in building His church. He knew what He was doing when His son went to Calvary.

Philippians 1:1 – 7

God does what He does at the time He does it for a purpose. There is no template of how God operates. He is faithful and He is love. God has opened our hearts and our minds for that word of life to come and dwell inside us.

Philippians 2:1 – 4

These verses are very practical. The people of Philippi knew how the church had started and the miracle that happened with the earthquake. Paul wanted them to hold forth the word of life. They needed to be aware of what God had done in their midst. God builds His church in His way and in His time.

Philippians 2:5 – 8

The reason why Jesus humbled Himself, was because He knew what needed to be done in order for the church to exist. For the joy that was set before Him he endured the cross. He went through everything for you and me and forgot His own reputation. Nothing matters other than what is inside of a person.

From generation to generation God communicates His life, because He loves us. What’s the future for us and our children? Our future is to bring praise to the One who has given us life inside. Our future is to communicate to others and allow Him to share his love to others through us.

Philippians 2:9 – 11

He’s alive. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. His life is communicated to people and changes them on the inside. We are here at this time in our life, because He wants us to hold forth the word of life that He has given us.

What Is Your Foundation?

Philippians 2:12 – 13

It is God who is working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Our standing before God does not change because of the current circumstances in our life. What is the foundation of your life? Where is your trust?

Philippians 2:12 – 15

Across the world there are people who can’t stand the Gospel and so we are to be as lights in the world, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. We are going to hold forth the word of life, and recognise what God has done in our lives.

What’s the future of your life? To allow God to work in your life and to be obedient to Him. The keeper of the prison didn’t consider that putting Paul and Silas in prison would result in His salvation. How are you going to react to a new circumstance? What’s your foundation? Where are you going? There are people who are just waiting for that time when God’s life comes to them.

Philippians 2:16

Are you going to hold forth the word of life or are you going to let a circumstance turn you about? You know the miraculous provision of God and how God’s life was communicated to you. God is organising His church in His way worldwide. He knows what He is doing.

He’s a wonderful saviour and the church is His bride. There is nothing that can prevail against it. He went to the cross, took everything in Himself and died to it, so that sin could be conquered in your life. You don’t have to live contrary to God, your life can change. There was a reason for the miracle that happened in Philippi.

God is faithful. He is true. He is all love. He forgives you and me. He has forgiven you and me. Why? Because He is building His church.

We’ve only got one life. Let’s go forward, holding forth the word of life.