But what I was really blown away by was Pastor Richard Doherty’s (Melton AOG Pastor) opening Scripture reading.  As you would know by now, we are fired up for revival and are praying hard to see it come to Melton and to our nation of Australia.  But little did I know, we weren’t the only ones in our town hearing God’s heart cry for revival.  What Pastor Richard did was insert our town “Melton” into every mention of Jerusalem and Zion in Isaiah 62 and it rocked my world.  Because it affected me so much, I then read it to our Prayer Gathering last night and this morning and they too were left in awe of what God is saying to us and doing in us.  So, below I have included this Scripture with the edited names to refer to our local context.  The Message paraphrase puts it so well…

ISAIAH 62

Look, Your Savior Comes! Regarding Melton , I can’t keep my mouth shut, regarding Melton , I can’t hold my tongue, until her righteousness blazes down like the sun and her salvation flames up like a torch.

Foreign countries will see your righteousness, and world leaders your glory. You’ll get a brand-new name straight from the mouth of God.

You’ll be a stunning crown in the palm of God’s hand, a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God.

No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land Beulah (Married), Because God delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration.

For as a young man marries his virgin bride, so your builder marries you, and as a bridegroom is happy in his bride, so your God is happy with you.

I’ve posted watchmen on your walls,  Melton. Day and night they keep at it, praying, calling out, reminding God to remember.

They are to give him no peace until he does what he said, until he makes  Melton famous as the City of Praise.

God has taken a solemn oath, an oath he means to keep: “Never again will I open your grain-filled barns to your enemies to loot and eat.  Never again will foreigners drink the wine that you worked so hard to produce.

No. The farmers who grow the food will eat the food and praise God for it.  And those who make the wine will drink the wine in my holy courtyards.”

Walk out of the gates. Get going!  Get the road ready for the people.  Build the highway. Get at it!  Clear the debris,  hoist high a flag, a signal to all peoples!

Yes! God has broadcast to all the world:  “Tell daughter  Melton, ‘Look! Your Savior comes, ready to do what he said he’d do, prepared to complete what he promised.’”

Melton will be called new names: Holy People, God-Redeemed, Sought-Out, City-Not-Forsaken.

Isn’t that amazing!  What gripped me was how God is reminding us that what He has started and said He would do He is also prepared to complete and follow through on His promise.

I recently read in a Rick Joyner book that the desire to pray for and believe for a revival can only come from God.  Any attempt from man to manufacture the desire or stir up the emotions is useless and a waste of time because it cannot be sustained.  But what we are experiencing is a move of God and a desire from God that gives great hope.  I keep on saying to those of us committed to pray for revival that God has given us this relenting passion for prayer and if He started it He is going to see it through to its completion!  That gives me great hope.

So Melton, Australia and the people of God around this world, listen up…No more are we the dejected, desolate and dead-end part of our region, God is stepping down to purify and beautify His Bride.  Our stains are being turned into shining gems and our God will hold us in His hand showing this world the miracle of revival.  No longer are called rejected and ruined, but restored and redeemed.  A City of Praise, a Holy People and a City not Forsaken.

Can you hear His footsteps approaching?  Look, our Saviour comes!!

The topic of suffering has been a cause for much debate and questioning throughout the ages.  Your typical argument will go something like this, “If God is love, then why does He allow His people to suffer and endure horrific pain and some even killed for their faith in Jesus?”  Sadly, this is often asked by those within the Church!  Our “name-it-and-claim-it” mentality is in great conflict with this.

In this perverted era of prosperity preaching and the “name-it-and-claim-it” crowd polluting the ears of ignorant believers, we are seeing a rapid hatred for suffering of any kind.  We avoid it at all costs and actually believe the lie that if we suffer then that means that God is angry at us and is paying us back for our sin.  Hang on…didn’t Jesus take care of that on the cross?

Anyway, what this has done is create a weak, shallow and pansy Church that is powerless to stand against any attack or coming persecution.  Instead, today’s Church chases prosperity, blessings, favour and happiness because, after-all, Jesus died to make me rich, influential and comfortable right?  What a load of garbage!

Since when did Jesus say that His brutal torture, His horrifc wounds and His violent death was given to us so that we can have wealth, health and happiness?  As a matter of fact Jesus says in John 15:20 (ESV),

“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”

How can we justify living in prosperity and over-flowing greeds when we worship a homeless, humble Servant?  What makes us think that we will avoid ridicule, persecution, opposition and suffering if Jesus Himself was bombarded with it?  Has His confronting Gospel message changed that we are shocked when we are judged and treated disrespectfully because we follow Jesus?

At this point I think it is wise to clarify what type of suffering Jesus prepares us for.  This came to my attention this past Sunday as a guy from Church (Paul) approached me seeking to clarify what I meant by suffering for Jesus.  Here is his e-mail in relation to our conversation..

We should be willing to suffer for the name of Jesus.  This does not mean we should just suffer in everything we do – that is not a martyr mindset that is a defeated mindset.  We need to be wise in discerning what it is to suffer for Christ.  There are too many that suffer for the sake of suffering and claim that God’s hand is in their suffering.

Some have a hard week and struggle to get through and say they are suffering for Christ yet none of this brings any glory to Christ.  To suffer with Christ is to find yourself in conflict or opposition because of your belief or your stance in Christ .  The enemy delights in fooling the church into believing that all suffering and turmoil in their life is a test from God, they are suffering for God so that means they should just put up with it.

Nothing could be further from the truth and the enemy uses this to rob the church of it’s effectiveness and take the attention off himself so that Christians the world over will just accept the things he throws at them because they are deceived into thinking this is how it is supposed to be.

I think that is a great insight.  In other words, suffering for Jesus is in direct relation to any opposition, persecution and threats as a result of your faith and position in Christ.  Simply suffering because your husband doesn’t understand you, or your sins have given you consequences that you don’t want, or even you are dealing with lung cancer because of years of smoking, this does not mean that you are carrying your cross and enduring hardship because you’re a Christian.  No!  The suffering that God honours and gives supernatural strength to endure is the suffering that comes with your undying and solid stand for Jesus.

These “suffering Christians” are the best of the best.  They live sold-out to Jesus and know what it means to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus.  Suffering is simply what can happen to them as they live surrendered to God.  It is not pursued or even desired, but if it comes, so be it and they will suffer well and still glorify God because of who they are in Jesus.

The persecuted Christians around the world understand this so well.  They are threatened with death daily for simply gathering to worship Jesus.  They are imprisoned, tortured, and killed, not because they are bad people, but because their government bans any Christian expression.  These are the suffering servants that glorify God in their sacrifice.

That’s why the Apostle Paul, who was well acquainted with suffering, urged the young Pastor Timothy, “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 2:3 ESV)  Paul didn’t say to avoid it, dispise it or reject it…no, share in it.  In other words, don’t be ashamed to suffer for Jesus’ sake because you represent Him.  Therefore as soldiers for Christ Jesus we are to be prepared to suffer if it should come and that’s why Rob Cartledge urges us to take on a martyrdom-attitude in his great book Taking Up Your Cross (read it for an in-depth insight into this topic).  Prepared, no matter what comes, I will never deny my Jesus!

The Apostle Peter takes it a step further.  In 1 Peter 4:13 (ESV) he writes, “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” What the?  Rejoice?  Is he for real?  You see, Peter understood that to deny yourself even to the point of seeing suffering as a means to share in what Jesus endured, is an expression of love and devotion unlike anything this world could ever give.

It looks beyond the moment of pain and waits for the moment of glory with Jesus.  Countless martyrs were quoted as saying that they truly experienced God in the midst of suffering and persecution for Jesus.  Their joy was revealed and their God was close.  As Pastor Sze, a house-church pastor in China who was imprisoned for his faith once said, “Before prison we heard about God.  But in prison we experienced God.”

The reason I have blogged about this is because I want to prepare the Church to suffer well.  Not suffer for the sake of suffering or think that we are heroes if we walk around with a long face so others can marvel at how humble we appear.  But should it ever come to the Church and we are being persecuted and our faith being held in question, then we will be prepared, willing and strong to not denounce Jesus but rather stand firm knowing that to suffer for His sake is a powerful expression of worship to the King.

Paul ends it best, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18 ESV)  Should you ever suffer for being a follower of Jesus, hold on, stand firm and stay true because the glory of God is being revealed.

But follow these instructions below and you’ll have a web experience on your iPhone that looks and feels like an App!  Please note that for the time being, audio streaming of our sermons are not available through this “App” due to the limitations of the software our iPhones come with.

Without further ado, follow these instructions and you’ll get it up and running on your iPhone in no time!  Blackberry users should be able to alter these intructions to have a similar result.

Open up Safari on your iPhone and enter our web address:  www.citywestchurch.com.au  On the left is a screen shot of the traditional website.  You may get this screen or the mobile enhanced version as shown above.  Once loaded, click on the “+” sign on the bottom of the screen.  This is a function to add a bookmark.  But what we aim to do here is add a bookmark to your iPhone – not just Safari.

Next select the “Add to Home Screen” button.  This function allows you to add the bookmark to your iPhone home screen. The end result being you simply select this “bookmark” as you would select any App.

Here you get to name your bookmark.  You will notice the CityWest logo is automatically added as an icon.  In order to keep things neat, delete the “church” in the title.  This allows you to view this bookmark neatly on your iPhone home screen.

A new button appears on your home screen!  This button can be moved around on your iPhone just like any App.  Next time you want to access the website, simply select this button and your done!  Just like an App!

And there you have it!  It’s simply a bookmark to our website.  Due to an enhancement in the coding of our website, mobile users experience the website in a very similar way an App operates.  The default landing page are the various blog posts at CityWest.  As mentioned above, currently the iPhone doesn’t allow direct audio streaming of sermons from a website.  We’ll have to wait till we have the funds for an official App to allow for this.  In the meantime, feel free to subscribe to our podcast here.

Be sure to explore other parts of the website by clicking on the drop arrow in the top right hand corner.  This gives you access to a tonne of different pages from our website.  Be sure to check this frequently as updates will occur soon.

And there you have it!  It’s like having an App without actually having an App!  Please feel free to contact us here if you have any questions or issues.

In light of the current sermon series at CityWest – “Invasion Of God” – a common theme is repentance.  Repentance is simply an acknowledgement of something wrong in your life, confessing it and turning your back on it and conquering it with the help of God.

Switchfoot fits into this mindset perfectly.  All five members are surfing fanatics and the word “switchfoot” is a surfing term as lead singer Jon Foreman explains..

“We all love to surf and have been surfing all our lives so to us, the name made sense. To switch your feet means to take a new stance facing the opposite direction. It’s about change and movement, a different way of approaching life..”

When we see sin in our lives, it’s always a good idea to “switchfoot” – turn and face the opposite direction.  But a prerequisite of this is to actually acknowledge the mess in our life in the first place.  As fallen human beings, this is a tough place to go – to admit that we haven’t got it “all together” as we make it out to be.

But if we are honest with ourselves, it’s often very plain of the mess we have made of our lives and the need to “switchfoot”.  In this light, we hope you enjoy “Mess Of Me” from Switchfoot’s new album, “Hello Hurricane”.  Lyrics are below the video.

I am my own affliction
I am my own disease
There ain’t no drug that they could sell
Ah there ain’t no drugs to make me well
There ain’t no drugs
It’s not enough
There ain’t no drugs
The sickness is myself
– Chorus –
I made a mess of me I wanna get back the rest of me
I’ve made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I’ve made a mess of me I wanna reverse this tragedy
I’ve made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
We lock our souls in cages
We hide inside our shells
It’s hard to feed to the ones you love
Oh when you can’t forgive yourself
Yeah forgive yourself!
There ain’t no drugs
There ain’t no drugs
There ain’t no drugs
The sickness is myself
– Chorus –
I made a mess of me I wanna get back the rest of me
I’ve made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I’ve made a mess of me I wanna reverse this tragedy
I’ve made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!
AHHHHHHOOOOO!
There ain’t no drug
There ain’t no drug
There ain’t no drug
No drugs to make me well
There ain’t no drug
It’s not enough
We´re breaking up
The sickness is myself
The sickness is myself
– Chorus –
I made a mess of me I wanna get back the rest of me
I’ve made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
I’ve made a mess of me I wanna reverse this tragedy
I’ve made a mess of me I wanna spend the rest of my live alive
The rest of my life alive!

But recently something changed.  God ruined me!!!  He started breaking off me my controlling nature and the fact that I had been holding on too tightly.  He messed up my plans and replaced them with His…I mean, c’mon, how rude! (Thank you Jesus)  He began releasing me from the need to want all of the details and want them far in advanced so that I could make strategic decisions.  Now that I think about it…I was a sick man!  Not only that but what I held on to so strongly was my ability to organize around a sermon series and make sure all issues were addressed and everything in place before it even began.  But then it happened, God knocked the wind out of me and stepped in as if to say, “Hey Mark, let’s try it a new way.  Let’s try it with you letting go and Me leading you one step at a time.  No more painting the future how you see it, let’s try you trusting Me, depending on Me and waiting for Me.  How about you step out in faith, expect Me to show up and watch what I’ll do.”  Well, can you imagine my response?

Thankfull I could say nothing else but, “YES LORD, Not my will but Yours be done”, and I have never felt so free.  How stupid of me to think that by holding on to this Church and ministry so tightly would give me joy and fulfillment.  How ridiculous to think that I could do God’s work in my way by my wisdom and my strength…wow, I really was an idiot!  But He woke me, shook me and changed me and I am not the same man I was even 4 months ago.

So as some of you would know, our sermon series “Incarnate” was put on immediate hold and replaced with our “Invasion of God” series which is really just a response to what God is doing in us and through us.  I have not planned for this series nor have I outlined what will be preached months in advance.  I literally have no idea what God will do or lead me to preach this coming Sunday.  I am just waiting on Him to plant within me His message and I simply obey.  It has gotten to the point where last Sunday the sermon I had spent hours preparing during the week never got preached because during that morning God said, “Mark, you will not preach that sermon today, instead just read My Word.”  So after a bit of a wrestle with God about who’s idea was better, God won and I just read Ephesians 4,5 and 6. Hey, that is not me and even know I freaketh out!  What is God doing?  I thought the process of wrecking me was drawing to a close…yeah right!  I have said to God, “Lord, You still have so, so much work to do on me, thanks for being patient.”

Interestingly today God confirmed to me that this is His preparation for revival.  I just started reading Rick Joyner’s detailed account of the Welsh Revival which occurred in 1904-1905 titled, “The World Aflame”. It is truly the most amazing and breathtaking revival ever to hit this world.  But in this book Rick writes, “A true move of God is not fueled by money, organization or advertising.  True revival only comes when the pillar of fire, that is the presence of God Himself, picks up and moves.  To try to organize, promote or sell a move of God is profanity in its lowest form”.  Then further on, using the example of Evan Roberts and the others who were used by God in the Welsh Revival, Rick writes, “Those with the humility that comes from knowing they do not have the answers, which stimulates a holy desperation for God in them, seem to be the only ones who can ever be responsive to the Lord when He wants to do a new thing.”  Um, did you get that?  Is God messing us up for a reason?  My shock didn’t stop there.  He goes on to write, “During times of a dynamic outpouring of the Holy Spirit, such as the Welsh Revival, the Lord can only use those who will yield themselves completely to Him in order that He might do something entirely new.”  Yes, dear reader, God is up to something new.

Are you being prodded and nudged by God too?  Is He dealing with you more forcefully than ever?  If so, don’t reject His move, embrace it because this could mean the start of the greatest revival this world has ever seen, the harvest before the return of our precious Jesus.  Could we be that generation that will see prophecy fulfilled and be used of God to do His will?  Yes we could be, but let’s make room for Him so that we don’t miss Him.

So, what’s next?  Don’t ask me anymore, I have no idea.  But one thing I do know, Jesus is in charge and in control and is leading the charge!  Let’s follow.

This book is based on the same titled sermon series held at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Check out the sermons here.

Basically Mars Hill Church opened up a web based survey and asked for people to post any questions they would like Mark Driscoll to address. After receiving thousands of questions and thousands of votes against these questions, the top ten areas were addressed in a sermon series and a book was put together.

Now you can download a copy of the audio book for free thanks to www.christianaudio.com!

Simply log in or create an account and for the month of February, it’s yours for free! Simple!

Ian Malins in his book “Preparing the Way for Revival” describes in more detail what we are craving.  He wisely makes us understand that there are three dimensions to God’s presence.  Here is how Ian Malins explains it:

GOD’S GENERAL PRESENCE: This is seen in the fact that God is everywhere and no matter where we are, God is there also.  Psalm 139:7-12 (ESV) describes it, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?  If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.  If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” Our very life and existence depend upon His constant presence and sustaining power (see Hebrews 1:3).  An external presence of God surrounds all people (like air), whether we realize it or not.  Without this general presence we could not exist (see Acts 17:28).

GOD’S INDWELLING PRESENCE: This is a deeper dimension of God’s presence that we experience at the time of spiritual birth (see John 3:5).  Before we believed and received Christ, we were spiritually dead.  There was no spiritual life within us.  But when we believed, we were brought into covenant relationship with God, through Jesus and His Spirit is now not only with us but dwells within us (see John 14:17).  Some Christians go only this far in their understanding of God’s presence.  But there is more to His personal presence than that (as wonderful as that is!)

GOD’S MANIFEST PRESENCE: Jesus speaks about this in John 14:21 (ESV) when He says, “…And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” The manifest presence of Jesus is not just the presence of Jesus living within us; it is the presence of Jesus revealed among us.  It is God visiting His temple – both individually and corporately.  It is God’s Spirit moving in us, among us and upon us in holiness and power.  It is a presence we can feel.  At such times people know without a doubt that God is in their midst, moving and touching their lives.  This is the level of God’s presence we experience in times of revival.  And many have never known this kind of presence before.

For those of you unsure about what revival is, this will bring greater clarity.  We are pursuing and praying earnestly for God’s manifest presence – and let me tell you, we are seeing it more and more.  When God shows up in this way we are totally and utterly overwhelmed.  You cannot walk away from this encounter with the Living God and not be changed.  Since God has been gracious enough to reveal Himself this way, I have become a new person.  I am not the same Mark as I was even four months ago!  I never realized how much I needed God’s manifest presence until I actually experienced it.  There is no place I’d rather be and I crave it constantly.

In God’s manifest presence are many, many joys.  Jesus is honoured to a greater extent.  Jesus is elevated as above all.  Jesus is adored and worshipped in a way that is deserving of His Majesty.  The Holy Spirit is given room to move and to be poured out on His thirsty people.  The embrace of the Father goes beyond theory and is felt.  The Smile of Almighty God shines over you and you cannot help but reach out higher than you ever have.  Prayers take on new meaning as it becomes an intense and intimate communication.  And this list goes on about how the manifest presence of God transforms us.

But what I find most remarkable about this is that we are uncovered and laid bare before our Holy God.  Repentance doesn’t offend you anymore and you actually long for it.  Humility becomes your goal and you are quick to agree with God about your fallen, sinful state.  Deep and authentic brokenness becomes normal and you can’t get enough of God’s cleansing power.  There is a stripping away of the flesh and a consuming sense of God’s Spirit being poured out upon you, as in a baptism.  What can I say but God is an overwhelming God!

So, if your eyes have been opened to seeking God on a more intimate level, then go ahead and ask Him.  Let me remind you that God wants this more than you do because His love for His kids goes so deep and He hates anything that separates Him.  God’s manifest presence is for you, but do you want Him that close?  It will take people who pray hard for Him to come and earnestly live out 2 Chronicles 7:14 – please read it AND LIVE IT!

Remarkably, the greatest of God’s people understood how their depraved and corrupt flesh so easily fights against God’s will and can quickly disqualify them.  One such person is of course the Apostle Paul.  Read this classic battle that Paul wrote about in Romans 7:15-25 (ESV):

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.  For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

What a battle!  Two laws operating against each other.  But only one law can prevail – which will it be?

Charles Finney in his classic collection of revival sermons, “Revivals of Religion”, wrote an extensive list of sins that we can use to check the state of our heart and holiness.  He includes both sins of omission (not doing what we should do) and sins of commission (doing the things we should not do).  So take some time to evaluate yourself, but be sure to pray first, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what displeases Him and then be quick to confess it to God, repent and humbly pray His forgiveness to wash over you.  Here we go:

SIN OF OMISSION:

Ingratitude – Have you neglected to thank God for His many blessings and favours?  How many can you remember?  I am sure there are numerous mercies you have received.

Lack of Love for God – Imagine the feeling of discovering the love of your spouse, children or friends has diminished and become weak.  What if you saw another person capturing their heart and devotion?  Would you be jealous?  In a similar way, God calls Himself a jealous God (Exodus 20:5).  Have you given your heart to other loves and greatly grieved Him?

Neglecting Your Bible Reading – Has the Word of God not occupied your time and mind for awhile?  Has your Bible reading been so careless that you cannot remember what you have read only moments earlier?  What about instances of unbelief?  Have you read it so casually that God’s promises don’t have power in you?  Have you accused God of lying?

Neglect of Prayer – Think of the times when you have neglected to pray for family, friends, town and nation.  What about the times when you purposefully avoided the prayer gathering or meeting to do other things.  Remember when you have prayed in such a way that offended God because of your empty phrases and faithless words.

Poor Spiritual Attitude – Have you been unnmoved by God’s presence?  Have you questioned, mocked and despised what God has done or is doing?  Have your prayers become meaningless chatter that is totally lifeless and careless?

A Lack of Love for the Souls of Fellowmen – Look at your friends and relatives and remember how little compassion you have felt for them.  You have stood by and watched them going right to hell, yet it seemed as though you did not care.  How many days have passed that you have not prayed about their sinful condition?

A Lack of Concern for Unbelievers – Perhaps you have not cared enough for unbelievers to learn about their condition.  Do you really care for their hell-bound souls?  Do you desire their salvation?

Sin of Hypocrisy – Do you deny yourself?  Does your talk coincide with your walk?  Are you only pretending to be a Christian?  Your faith is an insult to Jesus Christ!

Neglect of Family and Private Duties – Think of how you have lived, putting yourself before your family.  How have you prayed?  What example have you set before them?  What duties for their sake have you neglected?  Are you watchful of your own life?

Neglecting to Watch over Fellow Believers – We have many brothers and sisters in Christ and it is wrong to not watch over them.  How little do you care about the state of their souls?  Have you become aquainted with them?  With how many of them have you taken enough interest to know their spiritual state, let alone their names?  Have you been silent so as not to offend?  When they fall into sin, what is your response?

Neglect of Self-Denial – Is Jesus asking too much?  Are you willing to do anything for Jesus as long as it does not require self-denial and death to self?  Are you unwilling to deny yourself comfort or convenience for the sake of serving our Lord?  What about luxuries you cannot afford?  Do you have the audacity to complain about others who give less than you?

Of course, there are more sins that relate under this category.  Ask God to show you…

Let’s move on…

SINS OF COMMISSION:

Worldly – Mindedness – What has been the state of your heart in regard to your worldy possessions?  Have you looked at them as really yours – as if you had a right to dispose of them as your own, according to your own will?  Do you see the things of this world capable of gratifying your lust for more?

Pride – Remember all of the instances when you have found yourself thinking of yourself more highly than you ought.  How many times have you been vain about your dress and appearance without even considering the inner state of your heart?  How many times have you thought more about and taken more trouble and time decorating your body to go to Church than preparing your mind to worship God?  Do you long to be worshipped by others?

Envy – Have you envied those you thought were above you?  Have you envied those who are more talented or more useful than yourself?  Has it been more pleasant to you to dwell on their faults rather than their virtues, their failures rather than their successes?

A Critical Spirit – Remember the times you have had a bitter spirit and spoken of Christians in a manner that did not show love.  Do you look for what is wrong and dwell on it and perhaps make sure your opinion is known?

Slander – The times you have spoken unnecessarily about the faults, real or imagined, of members of the Church or others behind their backs – this is slander.  You don’t have to lie to be guilty of slander.  Telling the truth with the intent to injure is slander.

Lack of Seriousness – How often have you been lighthearted before God, forgetting His divine and holy presence can literally crush you?  Have you forgotten there is a God?  Or perhaps you have had less respect for Him and His presence than you would show toward an earthly judge.

Lying – Have you intended to deceive others?  Have you decided to make an impression contrary to the naked truth?

Cheating – Have you dealt with others in a way that you would not like to have done to you? (See Matthew 7:12)

Hypocrisy – Does hypocrisy exist in your prayers and confessions to God?  How many times have you confessed sins that you did not mean to stop committing?

Robbing God – Think of the times you have misspent your time, your money and your affections.  What about misapplied your talents and giftings?  Have your lusts and greeds stolen what is reserved for God?

Bad Temper – Perhaps you have abused your spouse, children, family, coworkers, or neighbours.

Hindering Others from Being Useful – Have you weakened another Christian’s influence by saying things against him?  Have you stood in the way of others being used by God because of your arrogance and pride?  Have you taken people’s time needlessly?  Have you used others to serve your purposes thus preventing them to serve God in His?

There you go, that is an extensive list but one that can no doubt be added to.  I offer this to you as a starting point towards a life of clean hands and a pure heart.  At CityWest Church we are really being drawn deeper into repentance and holiness as God steps closer than ever before.  But as Rob Cartledge wrote in God’s Heart Cry For Revival ““The closer you get to God, the cleaner He expects you to be.”  Be quick to repent as there is too much at stake.

So if you are willing to join me in asking God to search us and see if there is any offensive way in us, then we can expect God closer than He has ever been and we can walk in the joy of His salvation.  Don’t reject this, embrace it!

We got to rest and relax under the shade of tree’s while the kids played on the playgrounds and beach.  The weather was awesome and to top it off, the aroma of a BBQ cooking a few feet away was the icing on the cake!

Thanks to Harold for organising the event!

Below is a short video with some of the happy snaps from the day.  Hope you enjoy!

His website includes a vast resource of quality teaching and preaching and he freely makes this available for the Body of Christ.

In today’s age of “celebrity pastors” who make a living on travelling the world pushing their books at inflated places and then travelling on to their next destination in their Lear Jets to talk more about the so called “prosperity gospel”, John is a welcome contrast.

He is perhaps best known by the quote embedded in the following image…

“God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him” – what a way to view your life!  What a sharp contradiction to the “live your best life now” or “seven steps to happiness”  so freely peddled into today’s Christian bookstores.

Although John is a Pastor, Speaker and Author – and he writes a tonne of books, what contrasts him from others is that he also makes his books, and all his teaching material, freely available to all!  What an awesome blessing he is to the Church and a glowing example of what it means to be a servant of Jesus.

Below are just 10 examples of books available for free download from his website desiringGod.org.  In fact, if you head over to his website, you will find 54 books available for free download in PDF format.

Feel free to download to your heart’s content – Download Adobe PDF Reader here.

Desiring God | Download PDF

The great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. Discord between duty and delight doesn’t exist: delight is our duty. Piper stuns us again and again with things we saw in the Bible, but never dared to believe. Join him on this dangerous quest for maximum joy in God. But beware, it may cost you your life. Never mind – “the steadfast love of the Lord is better than life” (Psalm 63:3).

Don’t Waste Your Life | Download PDF

God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work, not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives.

Music Video by Lacrae | Don’t Waste Your Life

Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die | Download PDF

The death of Jesus is of foremost importance for the world. And the central issue of Jesus’ death is not the cause, but the meaning—God’s meaning.

Finally Alive | Download PDF

What does the Bible teach about the miracle of rebirth? In this new book, John Piper explores Jesus’ peculiar command, “You must be born again.”

History’s Most Spectacular Sin | Download PDF

The most spectacular sin in the history of the world is the murder of the innocent, pure, perfect, and infinitely worthy Son of God. And at the center of that evil is the Satan-empowered betrayal of Jesus by his friend, Judas.

The Misery Of Job & The Mercy Of God | Download PDF

Job lost everything: his wealth, his health, and his ten children. All swept away in one satanic storm. Reduced to a heap of flesh, ashes, and tears—rebuked by friends and jeered by strangers—righteous Job wrestled over the purpose and presence of God in the midst of unbearable pain.

Video of John Piper’s Poetry on the Book of Job

The Power Of Words & The Wonder Of God | Download PDF

John Piper, Sinclair Ferguson, Mark Driscoll, and other leaders from Desiring God’s 2008 national conference examine the life-altering power of our words and their impact in sharing the gospel.

Conference video trailer upon which this book is based…

The Prodigals Sister| Download PDF

It has been ten years since the Prodigal Son left everything he knew – his home, his sister, his older brother, and his father. And now the prodigal’s sister intends to fulfil her promise, to find the Prodigal dead and bring him home alive.

Stand | Download PDF

Many people seek to better their lives by leaving, changing, swapping, or modifying their commitments.  But God’s Word holds up a beautiful value that, while difficult, leads to deep satisfaction and great reward: endurance. Such long, steady, hold-the-course perseverance is especially needed within our vacillating generation.

A Sweet & Bitter Providence | Download PDF

The timeless themes of sex, racial tension, and God’s perplexing and perfect plans are as much a part of our human experience today as they were for Ruth and Boaz over three thousand years ago.

Video trailer for the book…

Over the past month or so, God has humbled CityWest Church, and started to bring us towards an awareness of His Vision and plan for this nation. For too long, “We”  – the church, have been those that Isaiah prophesied about when he wrote..

“And the Lord said:”Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.” Isaiah 29:13

CityWest Church has begun a journey of “refreshing” as God is pouring out His Spirit upon each of us one by one, and drawing us into a fuller knowledge of who He is.

One thing that often hinders us, is our desire to draw into Him. God wants to be with us, and although we say that we want to be with Him, like in Isaiah, our hearts are no where near God and we think that a 5 minute devotional is going to be enough to submerse ourselves in Him, and live according to His Spirit.

What fools are we! Who are we kidding? God is waiting for us to come to Him in sacrifice and pour ourselves out at His feet, and all we give Him is a quick, “Hello, cant stay cause I’m in a rush but just wanted to say thanks! love ya.”

He doesn’t need us to complete His mission, any more than I need my children to help me do what I do. But, I get no greater joy than having my child come to me and say, “Can i help you daddy?” And that is what God is longing for. We are His children, the “Bride of Christ”, and He desires to have us fall on our knees, Humble ourselves, and give Him our devotion.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.” Col 3:2-4.

The Dictionary defines “devote” as, “To give or apply ones time, attention or self, entirely.” God doesn’t want a part of us, He wants all of us. Entirely! If we want to see God working in and through us, then we need to give Him more than 5 minutes of our day, or 2 hours on Sunday. He needs to have our whole lives.

God will not  compromise, and neither should we. unless we conform to His standards, we wont make the grade. We need to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the Gospel. Remember…

“Take your cross up DAILY!”

It says in the bible that the disciples fell asleep as Jesus prayed. He spent hours in prayer. If the Son of God, Jesus Christ, needed to spend hours in prayer drawing near to God, then how much more should we? We need to stop making prayer our “spare tyre”, or “get out of jail free” card – our helping hand – and make prayer the “steering wheel” of our lives. You might be amazed at where you can go when you let God set the course for your life.

“These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:7.

God is restoring His “House of Prayer” here at CityWest Church. If you want to see God’s throne put back where it belongs in your life, then please join us daily as we meet to pray, and seek His face, and bring our selves, families, church, community and nation before His throne. Then we will see God move in an amazing way as His Spirit becomes manifest and pours itself out on our dry and thirsty land. Let Prayer become a culture not a meeting!

“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2Chron 7:14

Please join as as we gather for prayer daily at the following times and locations…

Sunday | 9:30am | CityWest Church
Monday | 7:00pm | Daniel & Kylie Lynne’s home
Tuesday | 7:00pm | Daniel & Kylie Lynne’s home
Wednesday | 6:30am | CityWest Church
Thursday | 8:30pm | CityWest Church
Friday | 6:30am | CityWest Church
Saturday 7:00am | CityWest Church

Please see Daniel Lynne for more information.

Today’s featured music video is from the award winning Christian band Skillet. Known for their heavy music and piercing lyrics, Skillet continues to belt out songs that relate to a mass audience.  In fact the song “Monster” was played as an opening song at a number of American Football games.

While they enjoy the moment to spread their music, the band takes great pride in helping spread the message of a dying humanity and its need for a Saviour.  And the song “Monster” is a glowing example of this.

In Romans 7, Paul takes the time to describe the typical human condition.  He is in torment as he sees, even in his own life, an ugly pattern emerge.  The things he doesn’t want to do, he keeps on doing.  And the things he wants to do, these things are impossible for him. He talks about a war raging inside of him and is best expressed in the following passage..

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Rom 7:21-24

Paul sees that he is living in a body of death.  And if you were honest with yourself, you would come to the same conclusion.  You know that the “old person” inside of you rages at your new nature and you constantly find yourself at war with your old nature.  It’s like you have a monster inside of you.

On your own, this is impossible.  Give up and give up now.  Surrender to the fact that this war will never be won on your own. It takes the death of Jesus to pay for this monster inside of you.  And it takes the Spirit of God to help you detach yourself and put to death that monster once and for all.  And only then, can you be free.

In this light, we present the song, “Monster” by Skillet.  Lyrics are below the video…

Skillet | Monster – lyrics

The secret side of me, 
I’ll never let you see.
I keep it caged but I can’t control it.
So stay away from me, 
The beast is ugly.
I feel the rage and I just can’t hold it.

It’s scratchin’ on the walls, 
In the closet, in the halls.
It comes awake and I can’t control it.
Hidin’ under the bed, 
In my body, in my head.
Why won’t somebody come and save me from this
Make it end.

I feel it deep within, 
It’s just beneath the skin, 
I must confess that I feel like a monster.

I hate what I’ve become, 
The nightmare’s just begun.
I must confess that I feel like a monster.

I feel like a monster.

My secret side I keep, 
Hid under lock and key.
I keep it caged but I can’t control it.
Cause if I let him out, 
He’ll tear me up, break me down.
Why won’t somebody come and save me from this
Make it end.

It’s hidin in the dark, 
It’s teeth are razor sharp, 
There’s no escape for me, 
It wants my soul, it wants my heart.

No one can hear me scream, 
Maybe it’s just a dream, 
Or maybe it’s inside of me.
Stop this monster.

I feel it deep within, 
It’s just beneath the skin, 
I must confess that I feel like a monster. X3

I’m gonna lose control, 
It’s something radical, 
I must confess that I feel like a monster.
I, I feel like a monster. X4

So this blog post might seem a little self-serving, but please understand my heart and my request to you.  Fact is…I NEED YOUR PRAYERS!  I can so easily mess this all up that it often scares me to think about the weight of what I do.  To hear from God is crucial and if I get distracted and think I can do this on my own I am nuts!  Recently I read a blog post by Pastor Perry Noble and it inspired me to include his blog below.  It is very helpful for me and I pray that it allows you to pray for your leaders more specifically.  Here it is…

PERRY NOBLE BLOG – “Pray For Your Pastor”:

This particular post may seem a little self serving…but so be it…this needs to be said (AND…I don’t mind asking people to pray for me!) 

This past Thursday (Thanksgiving) I was enjoying some great food and watching a football game when all of a sudden I began receiving text messages about something happening to Matt Chandler, the pastor of The Village Church in Texas.  Long story short…Matt passed out, hit his head…was rushed to the hospital and after some tests was diagnosed with a mass on his frontal lobe that will be looked at this week.  Matt is a young leader (33 or 34 I believe) whom God’s hand is all over.  His preaching/teaching is amazing…and God has used him to grow the Village Church from about 100 or so people to over 7,000 in just a few years.  (He is an incredibly gifted preacher/leader!)

Hearing about what happened to him shook me up…BIG TIME.  I had VERY few words for the rest of the day as I began to think about the stress and pressure that is on pastors that simply is not understood by many.

My prayer is that things like this will cause the church to rally behind their pastor…and pray for him with more passion and intentionality than ever before.  Here are several areas where you can be praying for your pastor…

#1 – His Walk With God – Pray that his relationship with Jesus isn’t one out of obligation…but of OBSESSION for HIM!!!  It is VERY tempting for a pastor to read the Bible for sermon prep and NOT to know Jesus.  Pray that His relationship with Jesus will be FRESH and that he will be filled with vision and passion like never before.

#2 – His Integrity – It takes YEARS to establish integrity…and it can be destroyed in seconds.  Pray for your pastor to keep his eyes on Jesus and OFF of anything that might lead him astray!!!

#3 – His Marriage – Pray that your pastor just doesn’t preach about a healthy marriage…but LIVES it out.  I promise you the enemy comes STRONG after his marriage…and his kids!!!  Lift up his wife and children by name as well!!!

#4 – His Sanity – He deals with critics, he deals with unrealistic expectations, he deals with accusations, he deals with pressure that is intense.  Pray that he will keep his sanity.  I recently heard of a survey that said only 10% of the men entering the ministry actually retire…the others either get disqualified OR drop out!  That is a 90% failure rate!!!  THE STAKES ARE HIGH!!!

#5 – His Health – I was in a meeting of pastors a few years ago…everyone of us were leading large churches…everyone of us were under 35…and over HALF of the men in the room (remember, we were under 35) had been hospitalized in the past two years because of serious medical problems (most likely brought on by stress and anxiety!)  Good health is so vital for ministry…and I can promise you that physical, emotional and spiritual health do not just “happen!”  Do not assume that just because your pastor is young that he is healthy…lift him up.

Whoever your pastor is…seriously…I would ask that you lift him up.  No matter who you are…no matter who your pastor is.  I don’t care if you are reading this site and hate me…don’t hate your pastor.  Cover him…and pray that Jesus will speak to him and through him in ways that he has never experienced.

Rick Warren once said that he believes pastors are the most underrated changes agents in the world…and I believe that!!!  SO…let’s lift him up before God…and pray that Jesus will have HIS way in his life!

Thanks Perry, that blog post really helps the pastors of this world!

I know in myself that if I am not supported and lifted up in prayer I really struggle to go on.  The minstry takes a massive toll on a person’s well-being and as Pastor Mark Driscoll once taught that it can literally be Death by Ministry.  I know that what is ahead demands that I am hearing from Jesus and knowing without a shadow of doubt what He is doing and how He is leading, so please pray that I can stay on course, not stray after my own ideas and be filled with the Holy Spirit that will empower me to serve you well and reach this world for Jesus.  Know that I am praying for you too and together we will see revival come.  The best days are ahead, let’s pray it through!

“YouVersion.com has given you the ability to engage with Scripture like never before, and with YouVersion mobile you have access to the Bible, corresponding contributions, reading plans, and online community no matter where you are. With YouVersion mobile the Bible is with you…during your morning commute in the tube, while waiting in line at the grocery store, or in church on Sunday. YouVersion gives you the power to engage in 41 different translations, in 22 languages, on one device that rests in the palm of your hand.

What a great resource! And to top it off, this application is completely free! And for a very limited time, you can also download a “local” copy of the New Living Translation for free also! For those without an iPhone or Blackberry, don’t despair! Make sure you check out YouVersion for an awesome online Bible tool and community. Give it a go now! Why not enter a query in the search box below:

And if you’re after some great Bible reading plans, YouVersion is also the place to go with over 20 different plans to choose from! Altogether an awesome tool for the Body of Christ. Check out the following video for a glimpse into the reading plans at YouVersion..

All links are below.

YouVersion Website

YouVersion iPhone Application – once installed, download free New Living Translation

YouVersion Blackberry Application – enter link in your Blackberry

Bible Reading Plans

Mobile YouVersion

Apostle Paul fully understood this power when he penned..

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..” Rom 1:16a

Through the story of the Gospel, God’s power can break into a persons life and bring salvation into it.  However, if you were honest with yourself, the story of a man who lived more than 2000 years ago, did some miracles, was murdered, died for all our sins and was mysteriously resurrected and taken back into heaven seems a little far fetched to base your life on.

And according to the Bible, God loves the “foolishness” of the Gospel message to shatter the “wisdom” of man.  To the hard hearted human, the Gospel message seems like utter nonsense – verbal diarrhea – and a great way to ridicule those “simple minded people” who place their trust in such a story.

As Christian’s, we should take delight in the fact that God has purposely designed things to be this way.  He is in control and He uses the “folly” of the Gospel to separate those who will believe and those who won’t.  Have a read of this…

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Cor 1:18

There it is again, “the power of God.”  Embedded into the Gospel message is the power of God.  This invisible power has the ability to penetrate a persons heart and soul and bring about change no natural process can explain.  We’ve seen it time and time again where a person is confronted with this power – they are never the same again!

For this reason, we should never shrink back in our responsibility to share the Gospel.  If we do, we are holding back the power of God to impact a persons life.  Will all believe?  Nope – actually most will see it as complete nonsense.  But to those who God has already begun His work on, whose hearts have been been softened by the Spirit of God, the sharing of the Gospel will allow the power of God to come flooding through.

What an awesome privilege and responsibility God has left us with!  Our job is to simply pass the message along, step back and watch the result.  And it’s in this context that we share the following video as a great help.  Please feel free to pass it along to your friends and family.  The direct link can be found here.

Sunday was also our Christmas celebration and Pastor Mark shared a great message where he merged the birth of Jesus and how He continues to be born into the lives of those that open their heart to him.

The day was preceded with our Little Gems Christmas Concert – where the children of CityWest Church put on an awesome performance in celebrating the birth of Jesus.  And on Sunday, we had a full on celebration with an awesome message, baptism service and followed by a CityWest special – the good old BBQ lunch!

The Gospel was shared.  Food was eaten.  People mingled. Kids had fun and five souls had the awesome privilege of getting baptised.  What an awesome day to cap off an awesome weekend!  Jesus still rules and is in the business of saving people!

After the Baptism, the following video was shown to give others a glimpse into how Jesus has begun to change the lives of 5 people – John, Lydia, Marina, Carla & Jamie.   Hope you enjoy!

Thank God that even His followers are making a lot of noise also – especially in the area of music.  And because we embrace anything that glorifies the message of the Gospel in a true and honest way, we begin a new segment on our blog – featured music video’s.

Here you will find regular postings of the latest and best Christian music video’s.  We embrace any genre – as long as the music and lyrics amplify Christ into the minds of people.

To kick things off, we present Flyleaf – an alternative rock band from Texas.  All 5 band members are Christians and their music is heavy and resonates with a theme of followers of Jesus Christ.  Flyleaf is known for their honest and raw music coupled with lyrics that abandon your typical Christian cliche.  And this suites us perfectly at CityWest Church.  We are a church which pursues relationship – not religion.

Below is the video to Flyleaf’s new song, “Beautiful Bride” from their new album, “Momentum Mori”.  As Christian’s we are the “Bride of Christ” – a beautiful bride which Christ is preparing every day to present to Himself as spotless and pure.

The song talks about how we are all connected to each other through our submission to Jesus.  It also calls for us to rise up and be the Body of Christ as we aught to be.  Awesome theme and awesome lyrics.

Flyleaf’s take on this topic is typically them – heavy music and visuals which may seem uncommon to the typical Christ follower.  Hope you enjoy!  And be sure to check out the lyrics below the song to get the full meaning behind the song.

Beautiful Bride lyrics:

Unified diversity
Functioning as one body
Every part encouraged by the other
No one independent of another
You’re irreplaceable, indispensable
You’re incredible
Incredible

(Chorus)
Beautiful bride
Body of Christ
One flesh abiding
Strong and unifying
Fighting ends in forgiveness
Unite and fight all division
Beautiful bride

Strengthen your arms now
Train your fingers for battle
Urgency’s here now
Train your fingers for battle
Fighting this violence
With your feet wrapped in peace
Sad tears and silence
Now screams of joy
Victory

(Chorus)
Beautiful bride
Body of Christ
One flesh abiding
Strong and unifying
Fighting ends in forgiveness
Unite and fight all division
Beautiful bride

Beautiful bride
Body of Christ
One flesh abiding
Strong and unifying

We’re not gonna fall and forget
How far You went to pick us up
If one part’s hurt the whole body’s sick
If one part mourns we all mourn with Him
Rejoice, and we’ll sing with you
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah

(Chorus)
Beautiful bride
Body of Christ
One flesh abiding
Strong and unifying
Fighting ends in forgiveness
Unite and fight all division
Beautiful bride (x2)

A long time ago I was listening to C.J. Mahaney teach about a very valuable skill he has learnt over time.  He describes it as being aware of the ‘Evidence of Grace”.  He does this by forcing himself to not get carried away with the dramas of life and focus on the troubles around him, but rather consciously seek and dig for the evidence of God’s grace around him.  Sometimes it’s an easy find but at other times it takes some digging!  He would walk around his church campus and be on the look out for evidence of God’s grace and celebrate it by worshipping Jesus.  What an awesome skill to learn.

Over time I have tried to incorporate this into my own lifestyle.  Sometimes I have done it well, but at other times I have been so caught up in the trials and troubles in front of me that I forgot and consequently suffered the consequences.  So, today I sit at my desk still a little weary about what is in front of me and the trials of the past few weeks and I naturally want to stew over them and dwell on how it all stinks and how hard it is to keep going.  But my spiritual man is screaming to drag my attention from those distracting circumstances to what Jesus is doing around me.  I must move into the attitude of gratitude and celebrate the evidences of God’s amazing grace!

So here I go…Over the past 3 weeks I have seen satan kick up a stink about what is happening at CityWest Church.  He has been working overtime to try and stop this move of God and generate disunity, discontent and discouragement.  Why do I see this as evidence of grace?  BECAUSE WE ARE STILL STANDING AND WE WILL FIGHT ON!  Thank You Jesus!

More pieces of evidence are the changing lives I am seeing.  While some are running and hate the way we are going, I cannot stop praising Jesus for the new converts and the joy they have in their new-found love for Jesus.  This is what it’s all about!  I never get sick of seeing this.  What an amazing proof of God’s grace at work.  Thank You Jesus!

I also celebrate the fact that we will be baptizing five adults in two weeks and I can’t wait.  In the midst of hardship God has been abundantly gracious to bring these new souls into His Kingdom and into our Church.  I will have the joy of baptizing my baby sister (Sorry Lydz, even though you are 25, you’re still my baby sister) and this is beyond what I could’ve ever imagined.  Yet more evidence of grace.  Thank You Jesus!

Hold on, I’ve got more…Jesus has revived my hope and expectation of revival.  Yep, I still believe we will see it in our lifetime and be used mightily by God to extend the fame of His Name and expand His Kingdom.  I am desperate for His presence and hungry for His in-filling.  My zeal has erupted again and I cannot stop what God has begun.  The critics will always be there, but my God is louder than any voice of men.  Yes, this evidence of grace is one that I needed to remember and celebrate.  Thank You Jesus!

I cannot end without celebrating the evidence of grace God has shown me in giving me a wife and children that are beyond any dream I could’ve had.  Blessing upon blessing and grace upon grace.  Who am I that I should deserve such a family?  What a spectacular piece of evidence of God’s amazing grace to a man so undeserving.  I could not do this without them.  Thank You Jesus!

Ok, now it’s your turn.  No matter what you are going through I am sure you could spot at least 5 evidences of grace.  But don’t just see them, worship Jesus because of them.  Give Him glory and honour and praise for His abundant grace.  Watch your mood shift and your emotions lift.  This is truly a gem of a skill to learn and apply as we go through this life of ups and downs.  Don’t miss it, GOD’S GRACE IS EVERYWHERE!

To our sin-stained flesh that sounds a bit too extreme.  I mean, c’mon Jesus, aren’t you expecting too much? We think He does this to make it tougher than it already is.  We think that we will lose out and have to give up what we love most.  We think it is so unfair for Jesus to demand it all, so we fight Him for it.  We kick and scream.  We yell in protest.  We complain and moan.  But, why does Jesus really ask this of us?

In Isaiah 55 we find the start of an explanation.  Read these well known verses, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa. 55:8-9 ESV)  So, what we think is losing out, God sees differently.  What we think is too much and over the top, God does not change His mind.  The thing is, the Christian life is full of what we call oxymorons.  An “Oxymoron” is not a moron full of oxygen, but is defined as, “…a figure of speech which produces seemingly self-contradictory statements, as in ‘cruel kindness’, ‘to make haste slowly’ or ‘deafening silence’.”  So an oxymoron is a combination of words that don’t usually go together.  Another one would be “Miserable Christian”!

Jesus used this to teach us a very valuable truth.  Read what He said in Mark 8:35 (ESV), “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Say what Jesus?  Again He says in John 12:25 (ESV), “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” What does Jesus mean?  Is Jesus just trying to confuse us with these oxymoronic statements?

Jesus obviously knows something we don’t.  Remember, His ways are beyond ours, so let’s dig deeper to understand this.  In a nutshell Jesus simply means this…If you hold onto your life, where you rule it, you direct it, you own it and expect to be close with Jesus, you are dreaming.  Someone once said, “God sends none away empty expect those that are full of themselves”.  So to save your life, or hold onto it because of your pride will mean you will lose it in God’s sight.  Such people have no standing before our Holy God.  He will not esteem anyone who will not let go of the flesh and sin.  But on the other-hand, if we are willing to let go of our rights, our agendas, our will, our control, our opinions and give Jesus complete access, we then cross over into a place of living empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit.  And let me tell you, God’s ways are by no means boring and dull!  You haven’t lived life until you lived it with Jesus.

So, don’t get scared by Jesus’ high demands of surrender, He calls for it because He knows that the abundant life He promises can only be attained with this level of commitment.  Don’t listen to what your flesh or satan is telling you, listen to Jesus and trust Him enough to believe that He knows what He is talking about.  We are by no means smarter than Him and if He says, “Lose your life for my sake”, it is in our best interests to obey without question.  Go on, don’t hold back any longer, you’re missing out!

To close this post, sit back and put 11 minutes aside and watch this clip of a preacher speaking on this subject.  It might be a little shocking to you, but resist the urge to reject it. Rather push in harder to Jesus and really know what its like to LIVE!

It Will Cost You Everything from I’ll Be Honest on Vimeo.

Lou Engle writes a Forward in Banning Liebscher’s new book titled “Jesus Culture”.  In it Lou writes some thought provoking words in relation to this topic.  Read this and weep, “A culture of prayer is what is needed, not a prayer meeting.  The Muslims have a prayer culture but the Christian church has a prayer meeting.  How will a nice little prayer meeting contend with the Muslim prayer culture?”  Isn’t that convicting?

While there is a rise in the desire for prayer in various pockets of the world, such as the 24/7 prayer groups that gather around the clock praying and interceeding, the majority of the church is sleeping.  Have we been so blinded by satan that we are dead when it comes to communicating with Jesus?  Have we been lulled into an apathetic attitude where we think we don’t need prayer and now see it as a hinderance to what we really want to do?  Has the prayer gathering become so boring that if we’re not jumping around and being entertained in the rock-concert church service we don’t want anything to do with it?  Church, please listen…we are in trouble!

From a Pastor’s perspective this is serious.  It was Charles Finney who said, “Every Pastor should know that if prayer meetings are neglected, his labors are in vain. Unless he gets Christians to attend prayer meetings, all his efforts won’t bring about spiritual renewal.”  I can preach until I am blue in the face; I can promote and try and get people to pray as much as I like, but if we have no desire to pray together we will remain void of power and will be fruitless.  The success of all of our efforts hinge on our eagerness to pray.  No prayer, no power -  BUT, know prayer, know power!

Rob Cartledge in his upcoming book Taking Up Your Cross writes, “The prayer team of the Church is the heart of the Church. The smaller the team, the smaller the heart. There is nothing wrong with a small heart as long as it is strong. But if the small heart is weak, then we have a problem.”  Are you beginning to see how serious this is?

God has put into place rules that govern the spiritual part of our lives.  One such rule is one that so many Christians forget and neglect.  The rule is this…great things for God and from God can only be attained through wholehearted prayer and intercession.  We are stupid if we think that we can be all that God wants us to be if we don’t pray.  Likewise, a church cannot rise up in it’s divine calling unless the people gather regularly in prayer.

Only those who travail in prayer will prevail in prayer.  Only those that see prayer as a lifestyle or culture and not a meeting will see breakthrough in Biblical proportions.  King David was a great example of a praying man.  Many of his heartfelt prayers can be read in the Psalms.  Reading his words you can sense his deep groaning and desperation to speak with God.  David’s strength, wisdom, courage, forgiveness, restoration and direction were all found through relentless prayer to God.

Proverbs 15:29 (ESV) tell us that, “The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” Notice, it is prayer that gets God’s attention.  Not our efforts of striving.  Not our performance in ministry.  Not our spectacular examples of “humility”.  No, God is attracted to the praying person.  The one that humbles him/herself before His Holiness and realizes how desperately they need Him.  The one that repentantly comes searching for grace and mercy.  The one that prays knowing that it all depends on God.  These are the ones that God will honour with His presence and power.

In Matthew 14:23 we are told that Jesus went up on the mountain by Himself to pray.  Why?  Because Jesus understood that to sustain Himself and keep on track he had to remain in vital communication with His Father.  During these moments of prayer He was strengthened, He was empowered, He was ministered to and loved.  It was His food and His source of life.  Why can’t we be like that?

Again we are told in Mark 1:35 (ESV) that, “…rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he [Jesus] departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” What a hunger!  What an example.  How much more do we need to pray if Jesus needed it so much?

The purpose of this blog post is to encourage you to ask God to fire you up for prayer, both privately and together with your church.  Pray this prayer with me, “Lord Jesus, You are the example I want to follow.  Please help me to see prayer like you do.  Kindle a passion for prayer within me so that I am eager to pray alone and together with my church family.  I am sorry for making excuses and showing that I was not interested in praying to you.  Awaken within me the deep desire to be a mighty prayer warrior and to see the powerful effects of what prayer can do.  Make me clean before You so that I can approach You with confidence and assurance that You hear me.  Enlarge my faith to pray God-sized prayers and help me to believe for the ‘impossible’.  I need you Jesus to break the apathy and laziness off my life so that I can be useful for Your Kingdom’s cause.  In Jesus’ name, Amen”