The Love of God

The word ‘Love’ is used for everything and anything these days...

We love our food, we love our favourite TV shows and we sometimes love our family and friends. The world believes love is whatever makes us feel good and happy, willing to use and abuse people in order to achieve ‘love’. However, the deciding factor of Love is this – selfishness centered or selflessness centered.

1 John 4:7-8 Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Apart from God, we can not even begin to understand what True Love is. According to John, God is the author and complete expression of Love (1 John 4:8; 16). When we truly know God and His unconditional Love, we can really love others just as He loves us.

For God to acknowledge He is Love is to admit that He is warm, friendly, affectionate and desires intimacy and relationship. It is a strange but beautiful idea. That God is free to share His identity, to be emotionally identified with fallen man. Furthermore, despite being all sufficient, He desires our love and will not be satisfied until He gets it – AW Tozer

Because God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8), His Love is unchanging and Eternal, for that would require Him to change.

Romans 5:7-8 Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die. But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Even if you don’t believe in God, He still loves you.
Even if you choose never to accept Him, He still loves you.
And even when you are a 1,000 miles away and live in rebellion, He still loves you.

In all honesty, there is absolutely no reason why a Perfect, Good and Holy God should love us. We knowingly disobey His commands and ways almost every day. There is no rational reason God loves us; He loves us… just because He does.

The Nature of God is to Show Love

1 John 4:9-12 This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.

The Love of God is a mystery in every way, transcending all understanding of human wisdom, logic, rationale and thinking. Furthermore, it supercedes and triumphs over all sin, evil and wickedness - overlooking a persons past and instead looking at the individual’s potential good.

Scripture clearly speaks of God’s most striking manifestation of His love, not with gifts and presents, but by the death of Christ on a Cross. God has exhibited the greatness of His love with the death of His only Son in our place of punishment.

God’s Love is expressed greatest by giving mankind a second chance to be redeemed from eternal death. While we were His enemies, (being dead, wicked and guilty), Christ died for us (Rom 5:8).

Christ died for sinners who were guilty and hateful; such that their everlasting destruction would be to the glory of God’s justice and holiness. However, in His great mercy Christ died to save us, from this eternal terror. While our character and condition loved our sin, committed it daily, and were slaves to it; with many being the chief and vilest of sinners; these were the ones Christ willingly died for.

1 John 4:16-17 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

God designed to deliver us from sin and to work a great change in us – to be dead to sin and alive to Christ! (Rom 6:11) For God to love the sinner, the sinner to despise and hate the God, and for that God to die for them… is truly one of the greatest of all mysteries.

For a righteous man to die in place of the unrighteous for no other reason but out of God’s Sovereign Will and Love? We will have all of eternity to adore and wonder at its reality for us individually…


God’s Great Love for His People

Ephesians 3:17-19 [Be] rooted and grounded in love, [so that you] may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – [which is] to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge…

When Paul wrote to the Ephesian church, he desired to express in the strongest sense of the greatness of the love of God in the most emphatic manner possible. He wished that his readers would stop and meditate on this great and marvelous wonder, which comprehends all that is above, below, the past and the future:

1) Breadth – all over the world
2) Length – to all people with the eternal message of the Gospel of Christ
3) Depth – reaches to the lowest fallen people
4) Height – reaches to the infinite heights to the throne of Christ

John 3:16-17 For God loved [Your Name] so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that if [Your Name] would believe in Him, he will not perish but [Your Name] will have Eternal Life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.

God’s love indicates that it is unconditional, selfless, sacrificial, extravagant, all comprehensive, ‘your needs at my expense’ approach. It also explains many of life’s questions, including:

1) Why God creates – because He created people to love Him
2) Why God cares – we are made in His image and we need His help
3) Why we have free will – God wants a loving response from us, to accept/reject His love
4) Why Christ died – God’s love caused Him to offer a solution to the problem of sin which separated us from His Love
5) Why there is Eternal Life – God’s love fully expresses itself to us forever, it never ends!!

Final Thoughts

God’s love is the theme of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation. Scripture declares that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We can therefore trust that His love is constant and eternal. That it never changes, never stops, never runs out, never grows weary…but is always available, renewed and abundant - every day. Let heaven and earth stand amazed at His love which lasts forever.

In Summary: He Loves you because He Loves you… because He Loves you… because He Loves you… because He Loves you… because He Loves you… because He Loves you… because He Loves you… because He Loves you… Because THAT IS WHO HE IS…

Be encouraged – You were made for Love. You were created for His Love. To be affectionately Loved by Him alone. His Love for you makes you valuable, precious and worthy, regardless of anything you do, good or bad. Certainly, if there is Amazing Grace, this is Amazing Love.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

His Mercies Are New Every Day...

Have you ever been in a situation where you really messed up to the point where you thought you’d blown it forever?

Perhaps you betrayed a close friend, made a harsh comment publicly, or failed morally in private? However, what did it feel like to get another chance? When you are forgiven and the slate became clean?

This is the character and heart of God’s mercy - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every moment we breathe His mercies are new with every day (Lam 3:23). The tender mercies or compassions of God fail not; they are ever new, always fresh, constant and perpetual, which are daily renewed.

Psalms 86:5; 15 For You, LORD, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You … [Certainly] you are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

Definition of Mercy

Mercy is defined as ‘the kind, compassionate treatment of an offender, adversary, prisoner in one’s power; compassion where severity is expected, or deserved’. Among its synonyms are leniency, forgiveness, kindness and tolerance.

The primary idea behind mercy is rendering a kindness when harshness or condemnation is expected or even deserved. A merciful person looks beyond the present state of affairs to the potential good that may result from his compassionate handling of the matter. He is willing to forget the other’s punishment or his own desire for revenge in an attempt to produce good fruit from a bad situation.

Jesus Christ, coming down from Heaven and dying on a Cross for a sinful humanity, is the personification and complete representation of the Mercy of God...

The Nature of God is to be Merciful

Matthew 9:12-13 Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.

Jesus shared the mercy of God and was great at giving mercy. In saying that He desires mercy and not sacrifice, Jesus is teaching that He prefers it when people practice mercy and not blindly follow ritual.

He is not condemning the laws of sacrifice He set up for Israel to practice until He fulfilled them, but explaining that He is more pleased with acts of forgiveness and kindness than strict external compliance to the law.

Romans 3:23-25 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance (mercy) God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.

The honest truth is we don’t deserve His mercy. We can do nothing to earn it - in fact we are guilty of separation and condemnation forever when we knowingly disobey His ways which are good and perfect. It is only His mercy which is new everyday day that we do not receive what we should get. If it wasn’t for God’s Mercy, no one could be saved…

Mercy Conquers All

James 2:12-13 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Just as Jesus was merciful to us, we are to follow in His steps and show mercy in our everyday judgements (1 Peter 2:21).

When we show pity, compassion, and kindness to those in difficult straits, we are practicing the merciful attitude that God expects each of His children to exhibit at all times. Although He does not want us to be so soft-hearted that we become an easy mark for those who would take advantage of us, but He does want us to develop a keen sense of discernment that realises when mercy is a better option than the strict application of rules.

Of course each of us would lend a helping hand to another who was in physical need, but what about providing the need of mercy in a heated moment in time?

Psalms 37:21 The righteous shows mercy and gives mercy…

His mercies never come to an end: He doesn’t ration His mercy, as though it were in short supply. He doesn’t say "I can only forgive you for 10,000 sins…once you reach 10,001 you’re out of luck!" His mercy is unlimited; it never comes to an end. For where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more (Rom 5:20).

Don’t ever think that you’ve crossed the line and can’t be forgiven anymore. Don’t ever think that you’ve reached a point where God can’t use you anymore. Don’t ever think that you’ve gone too far and separated yourself from God’s mercy.

Because as long as you have breath in your lungs, you are forgivable and redeemable. Our physical death is the only dividing line between God’s eternal mercy and His eternal condemnation. Who can you show mercy to today?

Ephesians 2:4-6 But God is so rich in mercy, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favour that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with Him in the Heavenly realms – all because we are one with Christ Jesus.

‘They Will Soar on Wings of Eagles…’

Isaiah 40:31 But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint...

God’s purpose for your life and future is to soar like eagles…

Eagles are distinct from most birds in the world. They are the kings of the skies and strike terror in the hearts of their prey. In the sky they soar effortlessly, with views of hundreds of kilometers in all directions naked before them.

When they swoop to kill they have planned every possible alternative to the preys move. They screech before the attack to hypnotise the unfortunate victim.

It is a common and popular opinion that the eagle lives and retains his vigour to a great age of 100 years. And that beyond other birds, he moults in his old age and renews his feathers, and with them his youth and strength.

Eagles can soar for hours on end, for most of their lifetime. They are invincible, powerful, efficient and marvelous species of every definition of the word …

How very fitting that those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength and mount up with wings like eagles...

Exodus 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself…

Greatness = Unlimited Potential

There’s no question about it. You were created for GREATNESS and the impossible to come to pass. Because you are made in the image of God, you have the powers of God when tapped into and when you are obedient to His calling.

Scientists say that we only use 10% of the full potential of the human brain. Imagine the possibilities if we tapped into God and used 50%...75%....90%?

You are fearfully and wonderfully made by an incredible Creator. Why would God go to so much trouble to give us a body, IQ, heart, brain, emotions, eyes, hands and feet, only for us to struggle and fail in life?

You were created for Greatness, Victory, Triumph, Success and Complete Purpose it life. For God's plans for your life are amazing, to prosper you - exceedingly and abundantly above all that you could possibly ask or think!

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship),recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

Those Who Wait Upon the Lord…

To wait upon God does not imply inactivity – it is an active waiting for His help, to trust in Him, to put our confidence in His Faithfulness and character.

God is to be waited upon for the manifestations of Himself, who sometimes hides Himself, but is to be waited for. Since He has his set time to show Himself again, His presence is worth waiting for…

He will help those who humbly depend on Him. They shall run the way of God's commandments cheerfully. Let us watch against unbelief, pride, and self-confidence. If we go forth in our own strength, we shall faint and utterly fall.

But having our hearts and our hopes in Heaven, we shall be carried above all difficulties, and be enabled to lay hold of the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus – which is to know Him intimately (Philippians 3:10).

The Purpose of Trials

The word ‘trials’ brings with it a variety of mixed emotions…

It will likely make you either uncomfortable or angry, disillusioned or uneasy. Many painful memories and thoughts, experiences and people can come to mind, even entire years where everything in life seemed to fall apart.

Trials can have many different meanings and contexts, including storms, afflictions, hardships, tests, discipline, suffering, persecutions and alike…

In many cultures, there is mixed opinion about life’s trials and their response to them. Ancient Greeks saw trials as a curse which was always negative. The Romans saw them to be avoided if at all possible which were to be detested.

However, early Christians saw trials in a different light. To them it was sent by God either directly or indirectly, to Purify, Prune, Prepare and Prove. They saw them as opportunities to purify their motives (1 Peter 1:6-7), prune for greater fruitfulness (John 15), prepare for the future (James 1:4) and to ultimately prove that they belonged to Christ by sharing in His sufferings (Romans 8:17).

FOR you - not Against you

2 Corinthians 4:16-17 - Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.

During the last 2 years I have had to overcome some difficult personal trials that would get harder and stay longer! At times I was often frustrated, angry, discouraged and depressed.

However, only AFTERWARDS have I found that the purpose of trials has always been to grow, to strengthen, to refine and stretch my capacity. The results have meant that I always leave with new capacity, greater humility, superior character and more dependence on the power of God.

Looking back and having perspective is a great weapon against trials for the future leaving you with a bitter and wounded heart. It is very likely that the person who you are today is a result of trials you had to overcome personally.

James illustrates:
• even a poor man has much good in his trial of poverty if he knows God - the owner of the universe.
• and a rich man through he lose everything can rejoice in the good of having learned not to place his faith in riches which can quickly pass away (1:9-11).

Scripture is clear that it is commendable to God when we endure unfair treatment patiently:

1 Peter 2:19-24 - For one is regarded favorably (is approved, acceptable, and thankworthy) if, as in the sight of God, he endures the pain of unjust suffering. [After all] what kind of glory [is there in it] if, when you do wrong and are punished for it, you take it patiently? But if you bear patiently with suffering [which results] when you do right and that is undeserved, it is acceptable and pleasing to God.

Why is this so important and whose example do we have that this is even possible? Look at the next verse:

For even to this were you called [it is inseparable from your vocation]. For Christ also suffered for you, leaving you [His personal] example, so that you should follow in His footsteps. He was guilty of no sin, neither was deceit (guile) ever found on His lips.


When He was reviled and insulted, He did not revile or offer insult in return; [when] He was abused and suffered, He made no threats [of vengeance]; but he trusted [Himself and everything] to Him Who judges fairly.

Testimony – His Eye is on the Sparrow

I received a message from someone whose family was going through a terribly difficult time with no end in sight. This is what she wrote:

I have known the truth of Romans 8:28 in my head for many years, but only over the last month have the words had a meaning for my heart. I am convinced that this whole situation has a purpose, but I am still struggling with the "What." Without the promises of God, I am sure that I would be unable to carry on, going to work and supporting my kids.

If this letter sounds disjointed, it is just how my thoughts have been over the past several weeks. But I have continued to hold on to this truth… Don't worry about 2 or 3 weeks from now, because God has already been there. I know that he continues to hold our entire family in the palm of His hand and that He is directing this to its own end and to His glory. I know that since He cares for the sparrows, He surely is caring for us.

That's a wonderful statement by a believer who, though struggling to understand her own situation, has rested her faith on the fact of God's sovereignty over the details of life.

God's sovereignty means "He knows what he is doing, and he is doing it." That sums it up pretty well doesn't it?


He brought me here. He will keep me here. He will make this trial a blessing. He will bring me out again. Therefore, I am here by God's appointment, in His keeping, under His training, for His time…
- Andrew Murray

http://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/5-4-2003-his-eye-is-on-the-sparrow/

Trials = Complete Spiritual Maturity

James 1:2-4 - Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

The natural response when faced with a situation that is unpleasant is to want that situation removed. If there is something that is causing you pain, you naturally want that pain removed.

However, the mature person sees that trials come into our lives to strengthen us. Trials are for our good. We should not want them removed simply because they are unpleasant. We should bear them in faith and seek God’s wisdom to learn whatever God is trying to teach us during them.

The end destination of trials is ultimately to reach a state of complete spiritual maturity, measuring up to the full stature of Christ (Eph 4:13).

1 Peter 1:6-7 - In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.


In summary, if you are experiencing a trial right now, ask yourself: what is God teaching me? Is there anything in my life that shouldn’t be there? Are there character/heart issues that need to be developed?

If you said yes to any of these, the best thing you can do ….. is surrender. Lay down your pride, discomfort, securities and everything that you dearly hold on to, and give it all to Him. The idea of surrender is that you are wrong and you have nothing to hold onto – Freedom!

If God is perfect (Matt 5:48), the complete expression of Love (1 John 4:16) and is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8), He can be trusted. God is always in control – He has the last say at the end of the day.

Remember: The purpose of trials is to Purify, Prune, Prepare and Prove, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing!

Pride Goes Before the Fall

Pride is a subject few take the time to seriously consider…

It can be described in a number of ways including: excessive confidence, glorification in one’s self/possessions; arrogance, conceit, self-importance, overconfidence, superiority, ego, and self-righteousness.

Additionally, pride can take place in many forms such as competitiveness, contentions, rebellion, strife, personal gain, selfish ambition, jealousies and many others within the family unit, work and society.

In the newspapers and media, these characteristics seem to be a part of everyday life and a character of most people. Ego, status and power are today’s currencies and standards to live by. To get ahead and be in the ‘cool crowd’ is to have a healthy tank of pride and self-importance...

The Dark Side

However, there is a dark side to pride many do not see. Pride consumes, controls and causes destruction wherever it travels. It is especially deceitful and self-centered, leading to disregard and disrespect to all people. As a result it is self-delusion and often results in self-destructive behaviour. There is an overestimation of one’s self and an underestimation of others.

Pride is so attractive because it is a deceitful form of superiority and overconfidence. The things of this world which offer wealth, possessions and power can drive a man obsessively to pride for the things he can achieve. They believe they are greater and more deserving than anyone else. It is a state of mind of arrogance that deceives and makes us believe we don’t need anyone.

It is very fitting that the middle letter in Pride is ‘I.’ It is all about ‘me, myself, and I’, a total preoccupation an obsession with self.

So what does God’s Word say about all of this you may ask? Very simply: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

‘In Their Pride the Wicked do not Seek Him’

Psalms 10:3-4 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his heart, and the man greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord. In the pride of his countenance the wicked does not seek Him.

God’s word has much to say about the prideful and proud person. Pride is giving ourselves the credit for something that rightfully belongs to God. It is taking the glory that belongs to Him alone and keeping it for ourselves. Pride is essentially self-worship.

Everything we have is from God – existence and life itself, the ability to earn money, relationships, success from our talents and ultimately Salvation. Therefore anything we accomplish in this world ALL praise belongs to God.

I propose that the ways of this world are far below and substandard to the glorious and wonderful ways of God He is calling us up to. The God who created everything originally as ‘Good’ and even ‘Very Good’ in Genesis, we have created into evil. Love has become Lust. Good has become Evil. Light into Darkness. Peace into Fear. We have exchanged the Truth for a pack of lies, and it all originates with Pride…

Still not convinced? The fruit and results of pride historically has always lead down the path of destruction. Scripture is clear that pride will be destroyed in the end with all other sins, no one will be spared and all will fall for the last time ‘The Day of Judgement is coming, burning like a furnace. The proud and wicked will be burned up like straw’ (Malachi 4:1).

An Inconvenient Truth

Pride is a serious sin God takes very personally. Imagine your son/daughter, who you have given life to. Throughout their childhood you fed and clothed them, gave them a home, the best education, toys and much of your time and love. Everything they had came from you and not by their own ability.

But then one day in their adult life, after building a successful life themselves, they boldly exclaim, “Look at this great life of mine! I have everything I need and no one to thank. By my own mighty power and ability, I have built an empire for myself and take full credit for it”.

They have forgotten you completely, consumed with themselves and all their achievements. They never have quality time to see you anymore, and every Christmas are too busy to ever be around. This my friend is perhaps 1% of the pain that God in Heaven feels, towards us who have walked away. This is the true Heart condition of Pride.

Prides Contemporary: Humility

Micah 6:8 What does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

True humility can only come from a changed heart and a renewed mind. Our sinful nature is so corrupted and depraved that it can not bear to remain humble for more than one day!

God’s word has as much to say about humility as it does pride. Some of the greatest promises and blessings in scripture are given to those who are truly humble and meek (Prov 22:4). Godly humility is to know that everything we have comes from above, and gives all the glory to God for every success. The humble man is so grateful for his Salvation that his only response is to willingly serve God and His church with all his heart for all his days.

Like all sins, pride corrupts our spiritual nature and being made in the image of God. Pride says, ‘God, I can do this better than you, I can take care of this, I don’t need your help’. This kind of attitude keeps us from the intimate relationship that God desires to have with us. ‘See a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than him’ (Prov 26:12).

Scripture warns the prideful that they will be humbled (Matt 23:12), scattered (Luke 1:51) and if not repentful, finally punished (Zeph 2:10). In contrast the humble will be heard by God when they cry out (Psalm 9:12), delivered by God (Job 22:29), lifted up (James 4:10) and finally exalted (Luke 14:11).

Pride is a difficult heart condition to overcome, but it is possible. When pride is rooted in a person’s life, only a place of repentance and surrender can remove it completely. We need to fight against it and stop it from taking a hold on our hearts. Staying humble is to be the furthest place from the devil. When our hearts are aligned with God, we will receive all that He has in store for us.

Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life!

In Christ: Freedom

Freedom is a powerful word that stirs many words and emotions…

When the walls came down in Germany 1989, the world watched and celebrated because people were being set free. Films like "The Great Escape" and "The Shawshank Redemption" are bestsellers because they stir the human belief to fight for freedom.

People were never created to be in prison, slavery or in any kind of bondage. Even if it is our fault or the result of our decisions, to live in any type of bondage is the greatest of all evils.

This is why Christ came to set us free...

However, many people today are living in bondage to fear, pain, addictions, debt and sin. This is far from God’s best and not where we should be living. God is an expert in setting people free from any bondage or slavery. Through Christ we are all set free and our calling is to set others free.

Definitions of freedom:

• The condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without restraints
• Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, bondage or self; deliverance
• The right to unrestricted use; full access; given complete freedom
• The right of enjoying all of the privileges of membership or citizenship; the freedom of the city.

2 Corinthians 3:17 - Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Enemies to Freedom

Because we are born again, we now desire to live holy just as Christ's example to us is holy, we desire now what he desires, we will what He wills. The battle that exists is between our new nature in Christ and our old nature that is in our flesh. This is why obedience and trust are essential for the Christian walk for they are the two things that enable us to overcome our old nature. Trust and obedience are a giving into the spirit of Christ that now lives inside of us, who is the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 3:12 - And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children… This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Isaiah 61:1-2 - The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me, to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favour.

Take Nothing of the Old into the New

We must pass from one dimension to another, taking nothing of the old into the new. Take a hold of the word of God and speak it over your life. Let it transform your mind and heart. In Christ there is now

• No shame - Isaiah 45:17

• No condemnation, guilt - Romans 8:1

• No sin or death - Romans 6:14

• No devil - Colossians 1:13

• We have passed from death to life - Romans 5:17

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

Freedom – Not to be Abused

With this freedom it is expected that we do not abuse it in any way. Our conduct should be based on our reality. We are now dead to sin and alive to Christ (Rom 6:11). Christ died to set us free from sin, not to remain in it and do whatever we want. We are to live unselfishly as children of God and live lives worthy of the calling.

The enemy has two faces – 1) religion and 2) lawlessness. Religion is any type of legalism that enslaves us to a self-effort approach to gaining God’s favour. Lawlessness is all sin and disobedience that separates us from God. Both are deceiving and are a place of harsh slavery and bondage.

Liberty is our license to walk with God freely, our right and pass to access the presence of God. It is not liberty to sin or to indulge in selfish desires but to live in a life of godliness and righteousness.

Romans 6:17-18 - But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

The liberty of being right with God is the greatest liberty of all. When our heart possesses assurance with God, our heart is free to live with God forever. We are free to serve the Lord without compulsion. We serve Him because we want to do it.

This is the opposite of serving the Lord in a straight-jacket of legalism. We do right because it is right, not to obey a set of laws and rules.

The basis for all freedoms is grace. Grace is the provision God makes for us on the basis of His Son’s person and work. Jesus provided a way that we might have eternal salvation, power to live the Christian life and be in the presence of God eternally.

God provided these things totally by Himself. We did nothing to get them or earn them. We can not add anything to get them or do anything to take away from them.

John 8:31-32 - To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”.

Wherever you are, whatever state your in, of either bondage, confusion or liberation, know that it is God’s will that you are free in Christ, in EVERY area of your life. Physical freedom, emotional freedom, psychological freedom, financial freedom…

Make God number 1 in your life today. I guarantee you, His gift of Freedom is worth it…

Lioness Arising

These people rise up like a lioness, like a majestic lion rousing itself…
Numbers 23:24

Today, I would like to promote a book by one of my favourite authors and inspirational speakers, Lisa Bevere. Lioness Arising is a timely book on the power and authority of women in the church today. Their influence has historically been ignored and abused – but I believe the time has come when their voices will be heard and lives will be changed.

The lioness rises from her slumber, a magnificent image of strength, passion, and beauty. Her mere presence commands the landscape, protects her young, and empowers the lion. In groups, lionesses become a creative and strategic force to be reckoned with, acting as one to change the world around them.

In Lioness Arising, Lisa Bevere offers the life and image of the lioness as a fierce and tender model for women. Revealing the surprising characteristics of this amazing creature, Lisa challenges women to discover fresh passion, prowess, and purpose. Below is an excerpt from her book:

The year was 1994, and it was a night like any other in that season of my life. I had tumbled into bed later than I should have after a desperate attempt at putting my house in order. As a pregnant mother of three sons, I slept deeply in those days. I would shut my eyes and fall right to sleep, only to be roused by the sound of an alarm, children, or late-morning sunlight streaming into my room.

But this night I fell asleep and woke at dawn, shaken to my core. In the predawn hours I’d experienced a vivid and unusual dream. Actually, to call it a dream makes it sound as though it came to me in the form of sleep or shadow; this imagery did not. I dream regularly, but not at this level of intensity. In my world of sleep, I found myself vibrantly awake.

Before me was a scene set in another place and time. I sensed I no longer walked the pathways of earth. I stood in some heavenly realm, a place of illumination, without glare. Radiant light was everywhere and appeared to come from everything. There was no mist or shadow, only glorious color. These saturated hues of living color were comprised of shades so concentrated that I am without earthly reference to name them.

The pigments were layered and multidimensional. For some reason I best remember the tones of purple (but not quite our purple) and blue (yet unlike ours). There were no edges, sides, or upper border, yet the backdrop of color enwrapped what it showcased - an elevated platform of flawless, cream-colored stone, and on this platform reclined a golden lioness.

She was feline perfection - majestic, powerful, and richly textured. She didn’t move, but there was no doubt in my mind that she was alive - far more alive than any earthbound animal I’d seen in motion. Her head was erect but not tense, and her forelegs stretched out in front of her. Her fur and eyes gleamed golden. Beneath her flawless, tawny coat, I could see every curve of her perfectly formed muscles. This stunning, still lioness was far more substantial, vivid, and vibrant than any of the lionesses that now walk our earth.

This book is packed with remarkable insights from nature and a rich depth of biblical references to lionesses. I believe Lioness Arising is a call for women to rise up in strength and numbers to change their world. Learn what it means to:

• be a stunning representation of strength
• fiercely protect the young
• lend your voice to the silenced
• live in the light and hunt in the dark
• raise a collective roar that changes everything


To be released 21st September, 2010

www.messengerinternational.org