God goes before us!

Exodus 15:23-27
[23] And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
[24] And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?"
[25] And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

The newly liberated nation of Israel was on its way from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan but it was proving to be a difficult journey. The young nation of Israel began their journey in great spirits. Their archenemy, Pharaoh, was defeated, and his army was drowned in the Red Sea. The Israelites were rejoicing and praising God!

But we see Israel move very quickly from the celebration of triumph to the bitterness of disappointment. They quickly found themselves in the wilderness of “Shur”. The word Shur means “wall”. After the triumph, Israel hit the wall. Anyone ever had that feeling? They were in the desert and they had no water. No one could survive long without water in that hot climate, especially in a desert.

Had God suddenly abandoned them? One of God’s rules for the spiritual life is that testing comes before resting! Only three days journey from the point where they had crossed the Red Sea, the people encountered their first difficulty of a water shortage in the midst of a desert.

Let me divert here and encourage you in these days of economic uncertainty. When looking ahead makes you fearful, look back and remember. Uncertainty has a way of focusing us exclusively on the mystery of what lies before us that we forget what lies behind. If you have been a Christian for any length of time, God’s faithfulness to us in the past should shape our assurance and perspective about the future.

So the Israelites find themselves without water. Amazingly enough, three days of waterless wandering had created a great dilemma for them.

Then, off in the distance they see some water. There is no way to hold back the three million Israelites from stampeding the water. They run to the water, some half stumbling and sprawling into the water – only to find that the water was bitter and undrinkable.

Exodus 15:23
[23] And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

Marah brought great disappointment.

Everyone has their “Marahs”. Just when you thought you were coming out of the wilderness, just when you thought you were going to be refreshed from your wanderings in the wilderness – you find only bitter waters that are undrinkable.

But God had a remedy for Moses. He told Moses to toss a tree into the water and the act of God created sweetness out of bitterness.

Exodus 15:25
[25] And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

Trees don’t grow overnight. That tree was planted in advance. Be encouraged - you will face some bitter waters in life – BUT YOUR TREE IS ALREADY PLANTED. God has gone before you making a way!

That’s my five minutes!

Lovers of Pleasures!

2 Timothy 3:1-4
[1] This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
[2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
[3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
[5] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
[6] For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
[7] Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

There is no doubt that we are living in the last days. This can be confirmed but observing the happenings around the world, for there is no doubt that we are living in perilous times. Verses 2 through to 4 outline some of the signs that we can look for. I don’t know about you but I see this on a daily basis. Surely we are living in the end times.

But, it is the phrase “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” that caught my attention this week. Now, I have glossed over this scripture many times, missing the real meaning. It doesn’t say that they won’t love God, but the scripture is saying that they will love pleasures more than God. These people will have a love for God, but they will be driven by a desire for self fulfillment. The people the Bible is speaking about here will come to church when their diary is empty, when there is nothing better to do and when they need God to do something so that they can have a more pleasurable life.

These people will look Godly, but will deny the power of God. When it all “boils down”, these people don’t trust God to bring the abundant life that He promised. They will always revert back to their “life of pleasures”. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Because they reject the power of God, God cannot do exceeding, abundantly for them (Ephesians 3:20).

As a result of their miss placed priorities, these people are led away with divers lusts. Further more, they are ever learning (coming to church, home friendship groups etc) and never able to come to a knowledge of God!

Let’s make an assessment of our lives. If we want the blessing of God on your life we must have our priorities right!

That's my five minutes!

Jesus Loves You

Luke 19:1-10 gives an account of Jesus passing through Jericho. Jesus went to Jericho for one lost soul. That was the soul of Zaccheus, the chief publican or as we know it today, the chief tax collector. These men were typically men of wealth, hated by the people. They were looked upon with much animosity. Nobody would have been looked upon with more distain that would a tax collector.

Jericho was a fine city with alot of activity. It was an elite town where the prestigious and rich lived. It was the type of place that people liked to frequent for holidays. I don’t find it the least bit surprising that we find Zaccheus the tax collector there.

Nevertheless, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. Though Zaccheus was a renegade in the eyes of the Jews, he was a precious lost sinner in the eyes of Jesus. Jesus didn’t go to Jericho just to enjoy those things that you enjoy in a rich and prestigious city. He didn’t go to Jericho to join in the festivities of the city. He came to Jericho because he was on a mission. He came to see Zaccheus, a low-down tax collector. Out of all of the “more respectable” people in Jericho, Jesus chose the chief tax collector.

Jesus went to Jericho for Zaccheus. Jesus loves you, He went all the way to Calvary, and when He was on the cross, you were on His mind. He doesn’t love you just because you attend church. He loves you because He loves you! God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinner, Christ died for you and me (Romans 5:8).

With Jesus, it doesn’t matter what you have done, but it matters what you will do. With Jesus, it doesn’t matter what you have been, but what you will become.

If we will just make an effort to come back to Jesus, He will be there for us. Just as in the parable of the prodigal son. When the father saw his son coming down the road in the distance, the Bible says he ran to him and kissed him. The father could have made his rebellious son “serve his time”, but we read that the son experienced unconditional love. When you come back to the father’s house, you’ll experience unconditional acceptance and unconditional love.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been or what skeletons you have in your closet, Jesus loves you and He waits to be gracious to you (Isaiah 30:18). JESUS LOVES YOU!

Power of Choice - Victor Frankl

Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl.

Frankl was a Holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp.

• Everything was taken away from these prisoners.


• They were stripped of their clothing, their pictures, and their personal belongings.


• They even took away their names and gave them numbers.


• Frankl was number 119,104.

Everything was taken away except one thing. Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

I’m absolutely convinced that the most important choice you make everyday is your attitude.

Great Quote on Choices

The words of Eleanor Roosevelt ring true:

"One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words. it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility".

That's five minutes from Eleanor!

The Power of Choice

Choice is a very powerful thing. We all like being able to make choices – in fact choice is an integral part of freedom. Can you imagine what it would be like to live your life without the ability to make a choice? Even worse – imagine not being able to have a choice as to your life partner!

At the outset of this post, let me say that the course of our life (whether good or bad) is not determined by the circumstances that we confront in life, but by the choices that we make in those circumstances.

I have seen people presented with some of the worst circumstances that life has to offer. Some people choose to maintain a good attitude, striving to overcome their circumstances. On the other hand, others accept their circumstances as their “lot in life”, eventually finding themselves imprisoned by their circumstances. It is important to realise that we cannot choose our circumstances, but we can choose the attitude that we maintain in our circumstance. Ultimately, we are not victims of the situations that life puts us in, we are victims of the choices that we make within those situations. Understanding and accepting this fact is vital to living a full life!

Let’s be truthful now – usually we prefer to believe that it is anything other than our own choices that put us where we are. I think people are too quick to fall into a victim mentality! I think “victimhood” (if that is actually a word) is a chronic disease in our society. Many people these days are too lazy and irresponsible to even understand that they have a choice. People are constantly searching for someone to blame for their circumstances they find themselves in when often they are in that position because of the choices that they made!

Galatians 6:7 says “Be not deceived; god is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”. Sounds like choices to me!

For all of my life, it has been made perfectly clear that smoking damages your health, most likely resulting in an early death. Has anyone seen the pictures on the cigarette packages lately…yuck! Yet today, lawyers are getting rich by suing cigarette companies on behalf of men and women who have suffered because of smoking. Sure the tobacco companies have created an addictive product, but everyone who chooses to smoke today, knows that. Lawyers are called in to “rescue” these people from their situation which is really a result of their choice. You see, there is a consequence to our choices - life or death, success or failure, the choice is yours.

In planting weeds of irresponsibility, how can be hope to harvest an abundant crop of excellence and success! The choices we make will determine our harvest. Many Christians unfortunately sow one thing and then get a harvest they don’t like – so they ask God (like the lawyer) to change the harvest. It is a simple concept – what you sow, you will reap.
Now we must remember that God is gracious, forgiving us for the sins we have committed in ignorance. The Bible says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When we are Born Again, God forgives us of our sins. But, He also tells us that we are planting the seeds today that produce tomorrow's harvest. His call to us is that we would understand the power of choice.

Acknowledging that we make the choices helps us to be more aware of the choices available to us in the future. It helps us to stand back when things seem bleak and see other options and other ways. If we feel like victims, we react without assessing our possibilities. If there is a turn – we miss it because we are not looking. The power of choice!

That's my five minutes!

There must be a generation!

I recently heard a very challenging statement - Either we define our times or they define us.

Every child who has ever been to Sunday School has heard of the story of David and Goliath.
We get a great deal of inspiration from the account of David defeating Goliath. A young boy defeating the giant, the “under dog” (if you will) defeating the seemingly favourite.

But what really stands out in the account of David and Goliath is that before David arrived on the scene with his “toasted sandwiches” – Saul and Israel were allowing the Philistines to define them. But praise God there was an unexpected – David was a different kind of man – he intended to define His time. There must be a generation in the 21st Century that is sick and tired of being defined by our times.

Some may be concerned about this transitional point for the church. There is the notion that there are few young men and women that are willing to sacrifice and answer the call into the ministry as our predecessors have. A very similar feeling was prevalent in Paul's day. Paul wrote to Timothy.

1 Timothy 4:11-16
11: These things command and teach. 12: Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13: Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14: Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. 15: Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 16: Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Paul admonished them to not only command, but also teach.

• The next generation need teachers.
• The next generation need mentors.
• The next generation need elders who are willing to stand beside them – and even let them make mistakes!
• If we are to have a successful transition from one generation to another it must be taught.

But we must also note that Paul asked the youth to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. The next generation cannot expect the baton to be handed off just simply because of age issues, but through disciplined actions of reading, studying and listening.

• in 2009, youth we need to be enrolling in Bible School
• in 2009, youth we need to be giving Bible Studies
• in 2009, youth we need to be reading our Bible
• in 2009, youth need to be praying and fasting!

27 March 2009 “National Day of Prayer and Fasting” – Register your name at www.aym.org.au

“THERE MUST BE A GENERATION IN THE 21st CENTURY”

Because of Christmas!

Because of Christmas I have a saviour, healer, deliverer, high priest touched with the feelings of my infirmities. Christmas is more than a manger, more than a tree, more than a feast, it is more than presents – it is salvation, healing, deliverance!

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness. So God sent us a Saviour!

Passion

Mark 12:30
[30] And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

The creative force behind all great art, all great drama, all great music, all great architecture and all great writing is passion.

It was Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) who said “Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion”. I agree – in my 31 years on this planet anything great I have seen achieved has always been achieved by passionate people. Passion is the energy of life and makes the impossible possible. Passion is that thing that gives us a reason to get up in the morning and go, "I’m going to do something with my life today”.

The Olympics are always an exhibition of passion. It is passion that drives a good athlete to become an exceptional or great athlete where they go to levels that no human being has ever been. At the 2008 Olympics we saw the talent of Michael Phelps. It takes some sort of passion to reach those heights. I don’t think I will ever see a comparable athlete in my lifetime – if I do….i hope it’s an Australian!

Passion is a powerful thing! It is passion that mobilises an army into action. It is passion that caused the explorers to boldly go where no man had ever gone before. It is passion that causes scientists to stay up all ours of the night trying to find the cure for a disease.

God created us with the emotions to have passion in our life and I believe He wants us to live a passionate life. Mark 12:30 is definitely talking about passion. In fact it commands very clearly what our passion should be. The object of our passion must be God! This entails loving Him, loving His word, obeying His word (“if you love me keep my commandments”), sharing His passion – I could go on and on – but our passion must be God!

If you wonder why it is hard to live a Christian life – then I suggest you examine what you are passionate about. Nothing is hard if you are passionate about it! It was Jesus Christ’s passion for us that led Him to the cross.

The Apostle Paul was a great example of passion. The apostle Paul wrote: “Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view if the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8). Oswald Chambers says of Paul, “He was recklessly abandoned, separated by God for one purpose - to proclaim the Gospel of God.”

Here’s the amazing thing. Today it is ok to be passionate about anything except God. That is not politically correct -- to be passionate about God. I can be passionate about movies. I can be passionate about sports. I can be passionate about politics. I can be passionate about fashions and clothes. I can be passionate about restaurants (and some of us really are). But I cannot be passionate about God. That’s a no-no.

Colossians 3:23 says "Whatever you do, do it with all of your heart as unto the Lord and not unto men."Help us to have a passion for God!”

Romans 12:1
[1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Notice the Bible says “ye present your bodies”. It’s not automatic. Notice it is “a living sacrifice” - that is total abandonment – that’s passion!

Do you know what the worst sin is for Christians? It is not adultery. It is not murder. It is not some sort of sexual perversion. God tells us in Revelation 3. He says it’s lukewarmness. No passion. A lack of passion and love for God will cause you to do all those things!

Don't Worry! God is in control!

We live in a world shot through with worry and anxiety. We worry about yesterday. We worry about today. We worry about tomorrow. We just worry! I heard two great quotes about worrying:

“Worry give small things big shadows”

“It pays to worry. Ninety percent of the things I worry about never come true”

Why do we worry? To be really simplistic, I think we have turned to material things and forgotten that God is in control! In essence, we worry because have run after other gods that are unable to save us from our miserable plight – money, fame, friendships, hobbies, holidays etc. We have turned our backs on God and forgotten the One and Only true and sovereign Lord of the universe! I think this is why we worry!

The Bible is full of scriptures showing that God knows how to care for his people and we need not lead anxious lives. Our responsibility is to trust and obey him, confident that his grace will carry us along. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phillipians 1:6).

There is absolutely nothing that happens in the universe that is outside of God’s influence and authority. As King of kings and Lord of lords, God has no limitations. Consider just a few of the claims the Bible makes about God:

• God is above all things and before all things. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He is immortal, and He is present everywhere so that everyone can know Him (Revelation 21:6).


• God created all things and holds all things together, both in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible (Colossians 1:16).


• God knows all things past, present, and future. There is no limit to His knowledge, for God knows everything completely before it even happens (Romans 11:33).


• God can do all things and accomplish all things. Nothing is too difficult for Him, and He orchestrates and determines everything that is going to happen in your life, in my life, in America, and throughout the world. Whatever He wants to do in the universe, He does, for nothing is impossible with Him (Jeremiah 32:17).


• God is in control of all things and rules over all things. He has power and authority over nature, earthly kings, history, angels, and demons. Even Satan himself has to ask God’s permission before he can act (Psalm 103:19).

Why is it important to know that God is in control? The Bible says that there is righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. We all know that if we don’t have peace we cannot have joy. The devil likes to make us worry and become anxious because that will destroy our peace. In destroy our peace there is no way that we can have joy – and the Bible says that the “joy of the Lord is our strength”.

Have peace – God is in control. The result of peace is joy, and the joy of the Lord is our strength!

Because of the Times - Alexandria Louisiana

I am going to Because of the Times (BOTT) in January 2009. BOTT is a conference for ministers and their families hosted by the Pentecostal of Alexandria in Louisiana USA. Thousands of ministers from numerous Apostolic organisations gather with a desire to pursue the deity and vision of Almighty God. It is a time for preachers to be fed and replenished and a time where programs, positions, and prominence are laid aside to let God unify the body and install His purpose in our hearts. BOTT follows a basic format is 13 anointed speakers with diverse delivery methods.

For those of you who know me well, you will know that this has been a dream of mine for many years. I like to refer to it as the “Apostolic Mecca” and I’ve even heard it called the “Apostolic Promiseland”. Everyone I have talked to insists that BOTT is a life changing experience. From watching the DVDs over the last few years, I argue that this is the best preacher’s conference in the world. I have seen every message preached at BOTT since 2001, and have watched the majority of them more than once. As my friends – my most treasured multimedia items are my BOTT DVDs.

BOTT exploded into my life during a Wednesday night service in 2003 when the church watched Pastor Anthony Mangun preach the opening message of BOTT 2001 entitled “This is a Lost World and We Have a Mandate to Reach it”. My mum had been receiving these videos from the USA for many years. I remember her watching them as she would do the ironing. This day, mum insisted that the church must watch this particular video.

While Pastor Mangun preached, I remember seeing the walls of the POA sanctuary covered with massive pictures of the faces of lost people and world globes spread across the platform. Pastor Mangun relayed his burden of how all of these faces should haunt us. He challenged all those present that while we have the message and the truth, we must not lose our passion for a world destined for eternal damnation.

It was during this message that my spirit was quickened to the urgency of the task at hand. What was I going to do with my life? Was I going to continue to pursue a successful career in financial systems that had already enabled me to travel all over Australia and the world, promising even more in the future. Was I going to continue to pursue my career of opportunity and financial gain? The video finished and it was time to go home. It is strange when you watch a DVD or video during a service – you feel removed from the event – you don’t know whether to clap, back the preacher up – although it feels like you should. I guess it is even stranger to respond in the altar call. Well, that night I made my way to the altar and committed my days, my purpose, my passion and my life into God’s hands. If you can use anything Lord, you can use me. From that day onward God has opened doors and equipped me to fulfil my ministry in the body of Christ.

Some of my favourite messages from BOTT include:

1. This is a Lost World and We Have a Mandate to Reach it - Anthony Mangun
2. 21st Century Apostolic – Anthony Mangun
3. We are measured by God’s pattern – Anthony Mangun
4. Man’s Greatest Need is God’s Greatest Desire (Knowing God) - Jeff Arnold
5. When you stop measuring the miracle will happen – Jeff Arnold
6. Life’s Three Greatest Words (I Am Persuaded) – Jeff Arnold
7. Hath Israel No Sons – Wayne Huntley
8. Condemnation Interferes with Intimacy – Gerald Jeffers
9. There is no substitute for Sons – Wayne Huntley
10. Addicted – Matthew Maddix

So in January 2009 I will visit Alexandria Louisiana for the first time. I will be making the trip with my two closest friends in the ministry and mentors of mine – Wayne Francis and Stanley Harvey. The trip is extremely costly for only 3 nights and 2 days, but God has provided the funds. There is so much more I could tell you about God’s provision for this trip – but let it be said “God provides”.

Trust God!

Genesis 42:35
[35] And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.
[36] And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

There is an ancient proverb that says “Worry give small things big shadows”. I read another great quote about worry: “It pays to worry. Ninety percent of the things I worry about never come true”.

I suggest you read the about the story of Jospeh in order to understand the context of the scripture above. Start reading around Genesis 37.

Jacob is worrying! Joseph is dead, Simeon is gone and now they want to take Benjamin away. “All these things are against me”. Now that’s a pretty serious statement – that means past, present, and future – everything is against him. Jacob is saying “I’ve been singled out for all the problems of the universe to hit me”.

What do you do when “all these things are against you”? I didn’t say “if” but “when”. If you’ve been around long enough – you will know the feeling.

There are going to be times when it looks like everything is against you. I’ve come across a lot of born again Christians that think because they have been born again that they are somehow immune to problems in their life. The very fact that the Holy Ghost is a comforter ought to tell us that there are times when we are going to need comforting (John 14:26).

What Jacob didn’t know was Joseph was the Prime Minister and Simeon is in the care of a loving brother Joseph. Why was he worrying about Benjamin? Jacob was going by what his eyes could see – not what his faith could discern.

It may look like it is all falling down around you – but God is still in control. We tend to think that God doesn’t understand what we are going through, but He does. We have a high priest which is touched with the feeling of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15) – He knows what it is like. Jesus knew what it feels to be “man forsaken” and “God forsaken”. “My God My God – why hast thou forsaken me”.

Jacob thought all these things were against him – but that was not true. They were actually for him. They seemed to be against him! If fact, they had never been better.

The devil would like us to get our minds on everything that is going wrong – “all these things are against me”. He seeks to destroy our peace because if you don’t have peace you cant have joy. If you don’t have joy we wont have strength – the Bible says “the joy of the Lord is our strength”.

There are times when it appear everything is against us – but that does not mean you are defeated.
1. Have faith in God!
2. Trust God!
3. God has everything under control!

That's my five minutes!