29/05/2005 The Barbaric Way

29/05/2005
"The Barbaric Way"
Erwin McManus
CiftLife Church Sunday 9am

Matt 11:1-6
v.3 "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect another?"
John had the choice to live a normal civilised life or to follow a barbaric Christian life.
John knew Jesus was the one, but why did he ask?
He asked because Jesus wasn't what he expected: he began to doubt. "Why doesn't He come through for me?"

A life following Jesus doesn't guarantee freedom from pain or suffering. But it is purposeful - everyone's life is unique. For some it may involve death - like John's.

It's not about God making life safe, but about God making it significant.

Why does it seem that today's Christians seem like average nice people - blending into society?

God isn't about standardising you; He's about unleashing your uniqueness.

Christianity is more than just what we see. We serve a passionate God. When we start to live a barbaric life - because God's Kingdom is forcefully advancing. We need to run with it. We cannot settle for mediocrity.

We need to be as passionate as a crash of rhinos. They can run up to 30mph but can only see up to 30 feet. Although we cannot see the whole path ahead, we can still run regardless and trust God to take us to our destination.

“It’s not enough just to live for myself: I need to live so I may save as many as possible. This is what God has called me to live."

22/05/2005 Making Big Decisions

22/05/2005
"Making Big Decisions"
Paul Molyneux
CLC Sunday 9am

Deut 30:15-20
We make our decisions and our decisions make us.

"The decisions we make each day determine the destination of our life" - John Maxwell

 When making big decisions we need to ask ourselves:

1. Is what I'm seeking Biblical?
2. Will it help me?
3. Is it wise stewardship?
4. Will it glorify God?

 
What the Bible says about making big decisions:

1. Pray for guidance (Prov. 28:26, 2:6)
2. Get the facts ( Prov. 13:16)
3. Ask for advice (Prov. 24:6, 20:28)

·          Learn from others' experience

4. Set our goals (Prov. 17:24)

·          Refine and define our paths: focus

·          Don't define our goals based on our own resources, but on God's unlimited supply.

5. Count the cost (Lk. 14:28-32)

·          ...but also trust in God

·          Is your goal realistic?

6. Consider the problems (Prov. 20:18, 23:13)

·          We shouldn't ignore them, nor should we worry too much lest it will unnecessarily

7. "Face your fears (Prov. 29:25, 14:26)

·          "Courage isn't the absence of fear but moving ahead inspite of it." - Mark Twain

8. Step out (Prov 16:3)

 

 

18/05/2005 Pursuing the Call

18/05/2005
"Pursuing the Call"
Clayton Coombs
YA CLC Wednesday 7:30pm

Eph 4:1-6
Destiny refers to your destination.
But you reach your destination once! How you get there is just as important. We cannot just think about the destination and neglect the process.

Dreams - can come from God or your own psyche. But it usually occurs while you're asleep.
Visions - usually happens when you're awake.

Ps 37:4 - The more we focus on God, His desires become ours. His thoughts become ours.

God doesn't reveal the whole picture, but glimpses of the future, to give us hope. We need to trust God. He is more than capable to carry us through tough circumstances. He has a plan for us. Jer 29:11

The Calling

Matt 22:14 - "many were called, few are chosen" How will you respond?

The calling is to embrace unity. Here's how to foster the unity of the church:

1. Be realistic in your decision.

• Striving for the ideal without being real is immaturity; living the real without striving for the ideal is apathy. Maturity is living with a tension.

2. Choose to encourage rather than criticise. (Matt 7:1-9)
3. Refuse to gossip (Prov 20:19, 26:20)

• This is passing on information when you're neither part of the problem nor the solution.

4. Practice God's method for conflict resolution (Matt 18:15-17)

• Step 1: talk to the offender.
• Step 2: bring along a mediator. Note the objective is reconciliation, not to win a case. You could be the offender.
• Step 3: tell the church.

5. Honour the leaders (1 Tim 5:19)

• Uphold the leadership God has ordained.

What does the unity of the church have to do with the call?

• Matt 18:19-20 There is spiritual power in unity.
• "Church" in Greek is "ecclesias"
• "Ecc" means "out of"
• "Clesis" means "calling"

If the church is pursuing the call, we will begin to draw people towards God.

Perfunctionis Admissio Unum

Where do you draw the line between being purpose-driven and performance-driven?

This issue has been on my mind for a while. Now, please note that I'm not condemning the practice of churches, and how organisation and politics (God forgive i use that word) are somewhat necessary for the running of it. But I do wonder, in particular, about serving.

In church there are many areas to serve: you can be a pastor, communion-server, offerings-collector, deacon, counsellor, parking-attendant/traffic-controller, leader, coach, audio/video/lighting-technician, usher, etc. These are all good. But I believe that no matter where you serve, you need to have the right heart to go about it. Purpose or performance? Here's a brief overview on the attitudes of a person motivated by either of these:

Purpose-driven
Someone who's purpose-driven always looks to God. These are people who ungrudgingly serve (extra commendation to those behind the scenes). They give it their all, knowing that whatever little they do, it's still significant.

Performance-driven
These people, although they mean well in serving in some area, are more focussed in getting things right and (in some cases) perfect. Their goal to achieve the best possible thing takes the #1 priority.


Now here's where it can all become blurry. In some cases, like in the music ministry, you need to be as good as it can be. If it's not done right, it can be a distraction to others. But then if you have a heart to please God - you will do it as best as you can right??

What I believe: God is the #1 focus. No matter what. Because of this, you can then perform well. Really, it can be as simple as that. When you put it into perspective, it all follows through. When you have the right heart, you will go far. The other extreme, is serving with a bad attitude: you aren't really honouring God, nor performing well - this is another topic entirely. Now I understand I'm not perfect either, and no ministry or church is perfect. In a way, I'm letting this be a lesson to myself: that I would remember that I'm glorifying God, not looking towards others for self-glorification.

So in the end it comes to this: in serving, you are performing in a way. But for God, and only God. Not the people around you. You are pointing the way to God, not yourself. Remember that.

Anyway, just some thoughts I'd like to share. Please feel free to add your opinions.

Perfunctionis Admissio Unum. Performing for an audience of One.

15/05/2005 The Purpose of it All

15/05/2005
"The Purpose of it All"
David McCracken
CLC Sunday 9am

Ecc 3:1-8, Matt 6:9-13
God's objective from Genesis to now: His Kingdom come.
His Kingdom is the authority to rule over other kingdoms.
This is the purpose of it all.
Any purpose God has at any moment for any individual is to see His authority come into that situation.

Gen 1:26-28
God gives man dominion over the earth. He blessed Adam and Eve.
But when sin entered, the desire to please oneself replaced the desire to obey God.
God's representative was marred.

Ezek 38:16
God then chose Israel to be His representative.
He blessed them, but they squandered and turned from Him.
God then raised up His Son to be His representative.

Matt 10:17
Now we are God's representatives: His ambassadors.
We are empowered to demonstrate God's power.
The blessing of God is never for the benefit of the Christian alone. It is to see His Kingdom being represented on the earth. It is to enable us to better represent God.
God's blessing is for us to become better witnesses, not to squander it for ourselves.
We need to take the focus off ourselves, and seek first His Kingdom.
Touch the objective that His blessings are purposed for.

Everytime He supplies your need, He provides a seed.
God's intention is to use us as instruments: to take the seed and sow it. There will be no harvest if we squander the seed.
We can live supernaturally like it's the most natural thing on the planet because God wants to be seen in us.
God's provision is to empower us to serve God.

Ezek 47:11
God's power is a river, not a lake. We need to allow God's power to flow through us not to consume it like marshlands.
The river must flow to reach the sea of humanity. It doesn't flow to the Church but through the Church.

Perseverant Leaders

To all u cell/coach/church leaders...

I caught up with a friend yesterday and we agreed that being a leader can sometimes be hard. Now i'm not saying this to discourage you or anything - but so that you can understand that as a leader (just like living life itself) has its ups and downs. I guess that as a leader, there is some degree of expectation. For example, you are somehow expected to preach what you say and stuff. Now for some this is easy, but for others it may be hard - after all we're all humans. But let me just say that although there's this expectation thing - don't therefore pretend to be someone you're not. Be genuine. When I started off as a cell leader, there were times when life seems to go wrong, and I simply put on a mask as I went to cell, pretending all was good. I believe people will respect it when you're vulnerable - that you are still a human (haha!) So basically, it is something to strive for: to walk the walk, and not just talk the talk... but at the same time, we're all still human and we all need a bit of grace.

I'm getting somewhere... hang on!! Going along the same lines.... last year, there was a time when I almost burnt-out. This was around the August-September period. I've probably shared this with some of you. But this was a time when I felt so inadequate as a leader. You might know the feeling - when cell members are discouraged, we leaders encourage them. But who do we turn to when we need the extra encouragement? I guess there's the cell - but to a certain degree. When it gets too deep, sometimes you need a stronger pillar to lean on. So it was with me - i felt totally discouraged. But it was during these times I've learned to depend more on God. It is because of Him, we serve. We don't really need the cell verbally encourage you so that you know you're on the right track. We need to understand that because God is using us as His instruments - we KNOW for a fact, God is smiling, and He's proud of you. In saying all of this, I want to encourage all of you that you don't have to attain some standard. Remember that God has already positioned you as a leader for a specific purpose. He's doing something through and in you.

There is no "perfect" leader. Just people humble, obedient and willing to be used by God. You need to have a heart for people.

I know that also, God has placed us alongside each other to encourage and support one another. The whole unity thing. Being a leader has its ups and downs - but like life, it's during the tough times where our character is strengthened most.

PERSEVERANCE: A dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for.