There were four stages to Elisha entering into and taking on the mantle of Elijah. Today we will focus on the first phase – the phase of Gilgal.

“And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha to Gilgal.” 2 Kings 2: 1

Gilgal literally means “rolling away the reproach”. Gilgal Is representative of embracing the “cross life”. It is the life of receiving forgiveness, denying self and following not our own ways. but rather the ways of the Lord. We can see through the lives of Elijah and Elisha, that there needed to be a letting go of things past in order to open the way for a new beginning. It certainly takes an attitude of courage and perseverance to embrace this rolling away phase.

What do you need to roll away today? What do we as a body need to roll away in order to herald in the new day that the Lord has made? Is It disappointment, fear, failure, a broken relationship? Whatever it is, there Is hope! As you roll away the reproach, the doors for new things will open.

“Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.” Joshua 5: 9

At the strategic meeting last week the eldership took a resolution to close the door on yesterday, to roll away the reproach. This truly is a new beginning and as Elijah and Elisha moved on to the next phase of their journey together, the phase of Bethel (dreams and visions), we at King’s are doing the same.

You will notice in 2 Kings 2: 2 that Elisha stayed close to Elijah. “Then Elijah said to Elisha “Stay here, please for the Lord has sent me on to the Bethel.’ But Elisha said ‘As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!’ So they went down to Bethel.”
In order to build the momentum in this new day, and to develop our culture of staying close, we have resolved for 2010, that all the eldership and ministry team will be involved in Connect Groups and we would encourage you to also “get connected.”

It is exciting to know that, as the Lord lives, the best is yet to come!

“For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7
Attitude can open a door. Attitude can close a door.

I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong, Ecclesiastes 9: 11

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” Galatians 6:7

What Is Attitude?
The dictionary defines attitude as (i) the way a person views life or tends to behave towards it; (ii) the position or bearing that indicates feelings, words and actions; (iii) an inward feeling expressed by outward behaviour … a reflection of the person inside.

Nothing can change until you do
Life can be summarised in one simple equation:
Outstanding Attitude = Outstanding Results
Good Attitude = Good Results
Average Attitude = Average Results
Poor Attitude = Poor Results

Seven truths about attitude:
1. Attitude determines approach.
2. Your attitude determines your relationships with people.
3. Attitude is the key difference between success and failure.
4. Your attitude at the beginning of a task will affect the outcome.
5. Attitude can turn problems into blessings.
6. Attitude gives you uncommon perspective.
7. Your attitude is not automatically good simply because you’re a Christian.

Three decisions you need to make:
1. Decide to be grateful
2. Decide to have positive expectations
3. Decide to be nice to people.

“Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; (i.e. the sin of presumption) let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.” Psalm 19:13 (NKJV)

Belief is a component of faith, but not necessarily faith!

One could believe a lie or one could presumptuously apply a truth to oneself without the authority to do so.

A good example of this:

Deut 1: 6,8 (NIV) “The Lord our God said to us … ‘See, I have given you this land.  Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore he would give.’”

The Israelis liked this word.  They patted themselves on the back that God had spoken to them.  The problem – they did not enter into it!

Then later, (and this is the point), a few presumptuous people finally came around to God’s command – a day late (Hebrews 3:13) and decided to take God at His Word.  Either they were not aware of God’s full council or they were deliberately and presumptively taking only what fit their religious thinking and so reaped the consequences of the sin of presumption. (Hebrews 3:11)

In short, they decided to “Go up and take the land” … but God was not telling them to do this.  Therefore, It was not faith, but rather a form of rebellion.  God dealt with this severely (Hebrews 4:1-3, 10).

Remember, let us keep firmly in view that these presumptuous people are doing what God said to do.  Only they are not doing it by faith, as they are choosing one word of God over another, ignoring the full council of the Lord.  They are acting as If the word of God were somehow detached from the timing of God, even detached and somehow separate from God Himself.

This has been a full week again – I can’t believe it is over!  As promised James and a few of the younger ones have helped me get my Facebook up and running.  I’ll be able to say “blog” and “ twitter” quite confidently soon.  You better believe it!

Wednesday night’s Saturate Prayer Night was a real highlight this week.  I never get tired of the power of corporate prayer and how God moves when His people get together and pray.  It was so exciting to have the meeting at our new KIC premises at Ern Harley Drive.  We will certainly need to move our next prayer meeting into one of the larger rooms on campus, however, as it was a tight fit!  What a blessing to be able to use the property for God’s work.

As Ps. Les Holmes shares this week about our endeavours in India, you will see that King’s does a lot towards expanding our sphere of influence.  Not only do we support Bishop Ernest Kommanipali in sponsoring children, but a large part of this week has been spent putting together a manual on mentoring which I will present in November at a conference in Hyderabad.  This manual will be translated and distributed as another part of our ministry sowing into that nation.

Keep expanding – it does make a difference!

It is time to review and re-evaluate church life. Is there more to church than meets the eye? Whilst away in Nigeria, I was challenged by this thought. I touched on it last Sunday in my message “Rediscovering our Greatest Asset.” I am convinced that the power of the church lies in our ability to recognise and operate in the Holy Spirit.

There is a lot going on at King’s and we need to consciously rely on the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues, which I spoke on last week, is a key to bringing spiritual energy back into the church.

It is exciting to see that we are doing this and are living beyond ourselves. We heard Ps Guy and his team report back on the miracles that took place during their mission trip to the Philippines.
And this weekend our ladies have enjoyed a retreat with ministry from guest speaker Lynne Frew from New Zealand. All of this activity is an indication of a healthy and active church.

It is my vision to see the church continue to expand spiritually, impacting the lives of others and building the church, which is the body of Christ.

May God Bless you today and through this week.

Ps Kindah

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James