Blessings in the Kingdom of God (part 1)

The definition of blessing is God’s favor and protection; a beneficial thing which God gives to His people. God’s favor and protection is what many of us want, and quite honestly, we need it. But how exactly do blessings come into our lives? By what channel do they flow?

This is an aspect of the works versus grace debate that often confuses people, because even among some grace circles you will hear people make the claim that we are saved by grace but blessed by our works. And this has the effect of shifting our focus off of Jesus and back onto ourselves and our own performance.

Want to be blessed? Well, you got to work for it! Maybe if you do well enough God will toss some scraps your way.

Of course they don’t say it like that, but that’s the idea that comes out of it.

So today we are going to discuss blessings in the New Covenant; do they come by works, or by grace? Let’s find out together!

How You Prosper in Christ (part 2)

Welcome back to our study on prosperity. We saw last week that prosperity is not a dirty word. In that study, we examined how scripture lists prosperity as a covenant blessing based on our relationship with God in Christ, and also that His prosperity has a purpose: to share His generosity and blessing with those around us.

Now today, we are going to discuss how this happens, and how to receive the blessing of prosperity into your life, because just as with every other aspect of grace, people tend to inject a layer of works over what God gives as a gift in Christ

Join me today, as we discover how to prosper in Christ.

How You Prosper in Christ (part 1)

Prosperity is quite a word in Christianity. There are Christians on both sides of the isle who will either embrace prosperity wholeheartedly, or denounce it completely. This kind of dichotomy is interesting since prosperity is mentioned and explained in the scriptures. However there is a certain caution that is latent regarding prosperity that the scriptures don’t demonstrate.

Prosperity is not evil. God is truly the most prosperous entity in all of existence! And furthermore, He is the giver of all good gifts, according to James 1:17.; which also includes prosperity.

And Jesus specifically stated that our Father in heaven will never give us dangerous or evil gifts, in Matthew 7:9-11.

Knowing this, we can therefore conclude that prosperity, as a gift and blessing from our divinely perfect and good Father God, cannot be wrong, evil, or bad.

How then does prosperity come to us? By what avenue does it travel? Many people need prosperity today, and because they haven’t been receiving, they erroneously conclude that God isn’t prospering anymore, or that His prosperity is only ethereal.

So we are going to explore this today, and get a better idea of how we prosper in Christ today.

The Amazing Blessing of Communion (part 4)

Welcome to the fourth and final part of our series, taking a look at the amazing blessing of communion. Far beyond the ritual, into the reality of our union with Jesus Christ. What a fantastic journey this has been!

We’ve seen how communion is not merely a corporate ritual, but a very personal time. A time not to reflect on your sin, but to reflect Christ’s finished work personally for you.  A time to see how His finished work has changed your spiritual identity.

We also saw in last week’s study how the cup of the New Covenant, goes much more in-depth on a personal level, than what we typically hear about in most communion services. The fact that Jesus Christ took your sin upon Himself and paid the penalty in your place should be life-changing, but we often don’t give it the weight or attention that such an accomplishment deserves.

Today we will fit all these puzzle pieces together to see a fantastic picture of Christ’s finished work. Let’s get started!

The Amazing Blessing of Communion (part 3)

Welcome back to part three of our series looking at the amazing blessing of communion. In part one, we began by examining the personal aspect of the body and blood of Christ. How communion is not merely a corporate ritual, but a personal gift representing our individual union with Jesus Christ.

We also began to see how the body and blood of Christ each represent a distinct gift which Jesus has made available to us through His sacrifice.

Then in part two, we saw what it means to judge ourselves rightly in Christ as we receive and partake of His sacrifice for us. And how the rightly judging ourselves in Christ is a fantastic blessing in Him.

Now today in part three we are going to be examining the cup, which Jesus says represents the New Covenant in His blood. As we look at the cup of the new covenant today, we will see even more aspects of the amazing blessing of communion.

The Amazing Blessing of Communion (part 2)

Welcome back to the second part of our study on the amazing blessing in communion. Last week we saw how Jesus suffered in our place on the cross, and we ended by seeing some of what He accomplished, including the benefits for our physical body.

We’re going to look deeper into this today, because there are many people who still do not understand this. As we read last week, the scriptures make it clear that “many are weak and sick, and have fallen asleep by failing to discern the Lord’s Body”.

So it’s important for us to see what His body truly gives to us. God wants us to see know and receive what He has given to us, and that’s why it’s written in the scriptures. I shared on this about four years ago, but it’s time to share it again because we have some new viewers, and even if you’re a longtime member here, it’s good to be reminded of what Jesus has done. Let’s get started!

Did Jesus Really Finish the Work? (Being Secure in Christ)

One of the biggest areas that I struggled with in the past, was the idea that I was waging a constant battle to “improve myself”.

– Improve my performance – to commit less sinful actions

– To look more like Jesus, meaning basically the same thing, to commit less sinful actions

– To never be comfortable, but always in this constant war to try and become what God wanted me to be.

This feeling was spurned on by the Christians around me who said things like: If you’re comfortable in your Christianity, you’re doing it wrong. A phrase which always struck me as a bit of a dangling-carrot. Did Jesus die to subject us to further futility? Is the work complete or isn’t it? Did Jesus only perform a half-redemption?

I have since come to realize that I am not alone in these questions. And millions of Christians around the globe are on a mental and spiritual treadmill. Constantly running to try and reach an unreachable goal. Never being satisfied, and never feeling any comfort – because if they dared to, they would be a “lukewarm Christian” in their view.

Well, today we are going to examine this, as we have a discussion about being secure in Christ.

What You Say Is Important

Today I’d to share with you some things about the words that you speak.

Now usually when words and speaking are mentioned, there are those that pull away. They recoil and say that this is new age, or some kind of occult teaching… and they are afraid of it. However the reality is that the scriptures have quite a bit to say regarding the importance of the words that we speak and what we say.

Our words are actually quite powerful – although we often don’t take time to consider this fact. Many of us actually let our mouth run in a kind of autopilot mode, reacting to what we currently are seeing and experiencing, instead of using the God-given power of our words to shape our lives.

That’s right, I said that our words have God-given power to shape our lives. As I mentioned, many people do not believe this fact, and the enemy has been taking advantage of that oversight for far too long… so today we will be looking at the power of our words, as described in scripture, and how what we say, is actually important.

The New Covenant Perspective on Money, Tithing and Giving (part 3)

Welcome back again to the third and final part of our series on the topic of money, tithing and giving; specifically the New Covenant perspective on these topics, because it is so very important to actually have the proper spiritual perspective in all things – including money, that it was time to look at them honestly with fresh lenses and firmly on the solid foundation of Grace in Christ Jesus and the freedom which He has given to us.
In the previous two parts of this series, we first saw that money in-and-of-itself is not evil – and we also saw that our Heavenly Father is a generous giver who actually enjoys blessing us in every area, including our finances. He wants us to be healthy and wealthy; not only so that we can have pleasure enjoying the life that He has given to us (which He does want us to enjoy) but also so that we will have health and wealth to be generous with and share the love and blessings of Christ with others as well, as His ambassadors.

Then in the second part, we examined tithing, and saw that the old customs and Old Covenant system have been done away with in Christ, as He is the ultimate sacrifice, payment and tithe.

Now today we will complete this series by looking at true New Covenant giving, founded on the finished work of Christ. Giving freely, based on His love, and your new identity in Him.

The New Covenant Perspective on Money, Tithing and Giving (part 1)

Alright, we have been doing a little mini-series on God’s Provision and Prosperity. The reason why we are taking this little journey is because there is so much confusion, misunderstanding, and flat-out error being taught about not just the Gospel in general, but specifically God’s Provision of both Healing and Finances, that it was time for us to look at these things beyond all of opinions, ideas and man-made theologies out there, and strictly look at what the scriptures say, and what Jesus and His finished work on the cross show us regarding them.

In the first part, we laid the foundation as we looked at seeing Jesus as a provider, and how He demonstrated full provision for our spirit, soul, and body (including healing and finances).

Next, we answered the question of how to handle circumstances and situations that don’t seem very prosperous, and how God’s Provision of divine rest, can lead us out of those situations.

Now today, we are going to begin looking at some of the biggest stumbling blocks among believers today in the area of money, and what the scriptures actually show us that our perspective should be, in the light of the finished work of Christ.