Shaping Culture

Message Focused

At D7 Church we believe that our message does not start when the speaker stands up and starts talking. The message starts before people even walk through the front door. The message usually starts in the car park. When you come to one of our experiences (we refer to our services as 'experiences' because one of our goals is to build a community of people that will feel welcome, loved, valued and celebrated. Ultimately, showing Jesus as relevant and real by creating such an awesome environment that people will not be able to stay away - we want you to experience something irresistible. 

We also understand that people are message carriers. We all have a message (good or bad) to share. At D7 Church we go to extreme lengths to consistently communicate one message: "You are so valued and loved that Jesus died for you!"

People Focused

We want everyone who walks through the door to feel like they are the most important person in the room. The way we make that happen is by:

1. Focusing on the people. Even though we have a job to do, the number one focus of our team at D7 Church is the people. People are the most important part of what we do because the people are why we do what we do. It’s all about people, Jesus died for people and we are commissioned to reach out to people. It’s all about people – nothing matters more than the people.

2. Giving people an experience. The experience starts with the welcome team member, to the worship team, to the pastor then back to the welcome team again until that person leaves at the end of the service.

This is one of the ways we shape the culture in our church.  

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Can We Trust The Bible?

1 book written by 40 different authors from different backgrounds, made up of 66 books written over a period of 1500 years, in an era of no mobile phones, no texting facilities, no blogs. The authors could not facebook each other to see if everything matched up. Yet it has a definite thread of continuity that constantly runs through it from beginning to end: The Old Testament was God's promise that he would destroy death. The New Testament tell us how he did it.

Oxford Scholar Alfred Edersheim cites 400 Old Testament prophecies that point to the coming Messiah and to his life and death. Jesus perfectly fulfilled every single one of them. For 8 of these prophecies to have been fulfilled by accident would be 1 chance in 1000 x 100 billion. In other words it would be the same as covering the whole of Britain 2 feet deep in 1p coins, putting a cross in one of them, mixing it all up again, blind folding someone giving them 30 minutes to find the marked penny. Mind blowing! 

Yes we can trust the Bible! Why not give it a go today.

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Breaking The "I" Barrier - A Lesson in Humility

I once shared with our team about our responsibility in cultivating a humble heart. Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. Humility is essential and it is the key if we want to stay usable and if we want to reflect God. Here it is a little bit of what we discussed.

We are not individuals on a team trying to succeed in our area of expertise. Rather we are a part of a team trying to see how we can serve our team with our area of expertise so that the team can succeed. The world does things a certain way but we are Christians and we do things differently.We live in the world but we are not of the world (John 17:15-16)

Self Promotion vs. Humility

God favours humility and will take you much higher than your self promotion ever can. Don’t be scared that if you are humble you will lose out! God sees and He will lift you up - when the time is right! (James 4:10)

Remember God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5)

Tips to stay on track:

1. Watch your attitude
Does it need attention and self promotion? Is it seeking the kingdom first? - Think Matthew 6:33. Check your attitude towards your team and your church, is it focused on the big picture and serving the vision? Do you even know what the vision is?

2. Know why you do what you do
Why do you serve on team?, Why do you come to church?
Do you even know God? Do you have a relationship with Him?

3. Stay humble
Stay humble by watching what comes out of our mouth.
Stay humble by watching what you ponder on in your heart.

4. Follow the Son's example - Serve!
"...Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:26-28)

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The Elisha Principle

 

The Elisha Principle Here are a few thoughts from the life of the prophet Elisha that could help us accomplish what we want in life. I have called it 'The Elisha Principle'.

1 - Persistence pays off. In 2 Kings 2:1-6 we read how persistent Elisha was. He followed Elijah wherever he went. Even though Elijah kept on saying "Stay here Elisha!". There's was just no way Elisha would leave. Was Elijah perhaps making things more difficult to Elisha? Was he testing his character and willingness to serve? Note that during their journey from Bethel to Jericho and from Jericho to the Jordan there were no records of miracles. It was just plain stuff, no wonders or mighty displays.

From Genesis to Revelation God seems to reward persistence. He rewards those who persist on seeking Him diligently (Hb. 11:6). See also Gl. 6:9, Js.1:12, Rm.5:3-5 and plenty more here.

Here is the thing:I want you to be the most persistent follower of Jesus the world has ever known! Seek Him and you will find what you are looking for.

2 - Vision pays off. In 2 Kings 2:7-10 we see that Elisha knew exactly what he wanted and he asked for everything! - This is confirmed in verse 10. Let me ask you a few questions:

Do you know what you want? Can you actually see it? (v.10)

and if so...

Are you settling for less?  (Eph. 3:20)

Most people think they know what they want or come up with some sort of a place holder they call vision in order to look ok. When things get tough however, and I do mean real tough, they give up. Remember Js. 1:6-8, I highly recommend you make this text part of your meditation time.

3- Focus pays off. Are you getting distracted? Is your job diverting you from your calling? Is your personal comfort distracting you? How about fear? Our present culture is controlled by it. In verse 10-13 we see that Elisha had focus. He kept his eyes on the target at all times. He wouldn't let go! Note that he would not leave Elijah's side until he saw (v. 12) what he was looking for and took possession of the blessings he was seeking (v.13).

Are you focusing on what you want? Can you see it?

Most people say yes to both of the above questions but when you look into their lives they are just everywhere. Are you all over the place? If so the answer to both questions is NO. You cannot focus if your life is cluttered. How many things we are missing out because we are failing to see.

Why didn't the other prophets in this chapter get something from God, after all they also knew Elijah, they served God? Here is why, because they did not follow the same example as Elisha. Elisha set himself up for success because:

1) He knew what he wanted (Vision)

2) He did not get distracted (Focus)

3) He had the guts to persist (Persistence)

 

Powerful Prophet + Powerful Lessons = Powerful Life. God is no respecter of people (Ac.10:34), He shows no partiality. What He did then He does now! What He did for Elisha he can do for you.

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Servant Leadership

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 

- Matthew 25:21 

A leader is one who serves. You are never more like Jesus than when you are serving. A true leader will always display the attitudes, motivations and service of a servant. The Hebrew Meanings 'Ebed' means slave or a servant. This word applies to a person who is at the complete disposal of another person (Gn. 24:1-67). As leaders we must be at the complete disposal of Jesus.

However saying I’m serving Jesus can be too general, you have to narrow it down. 

• Serve Jesus (Jn. 12:26). Where he is we should also be.
• Serve your family (1 Timothy 5:8). 

• Serve your pastor (Mt. 10:41-42). Become bigger person by serving and more intimate with your leader. You become bigger by serving your leader. 

• Serve your church (Eph. 1:23). The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. 

• Serve your world (Colossians 3:23-24, Mark 10:45). 

There's no "I" or "me" when dealing with a great leader. He/she will always put others first and the big picture on the table.

Do you have a heart to serve? Do you want to improve your leadership skills and network with others on the same journey? Sign up to our Leaders Academy here.

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Understanding Faith

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.  

 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NLT)

Do you believe that God can unleash his power in your life in such a way that the dormant potential in you will be released allowing you to lead a life full of purpose and abundance?

Pastor, do you believe that your church can unleash God’s power in such a way that you will see your community changing before your eyes like never before? The 1st Century Christians did.

Parents, do you believe that God can bring back your child? 

Do you believe that God can heal your deepest traumas and set you free from that disease that the doctors told you it would never go away?

Note that the above verse is not talking about the minds of 'the bad people', 'the non-church goers'. It talks about ALL UNBELIEVERS -  including those sitting in church every Sunday. 

The moment we choose to see the glorious light of the Good News and understand this message about the glory of Christ, we (the church) will start moving from the side line to the centre. Ephesians 1:23 says, The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. The moment we understand the power we carry and start living in faith (Hb. 10:38, Rm. 1:17), we will start moving the mountains that try to stop us (Mt. 21:21).

Where to start

1. Start by realising that there are things in this world that have the potential to blind you, these things also are all temporal and have no eternal value. Money, power, pleasure and control are strong influences that have the potential to blind you.

2. Address unbelief (worry, doubts, lack of faith, atheism). Unbelief was the only thing that truly amazed Jesus (Mk. 6:6). Worry and faith walk in opposite direction. Faith and doubt cannot coexist.
 

Do the Faith Test

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON’T BELIEVE

1. You forget God’s Word. You won’t read it! You ignore 1Co 15:58.

2. You forget that it’s a privilege to serve. When you don’t believe everything becomes too much trouble. Being helpful around the house, serving in church, giving people lifts, hosting home groups, cooking for people, visiting them in hospital, being a true friend... everything becomes too much trouble. Jesus asked Peter to demonstrate his love for him by serving His people (John 21:17).

3. You forget where you belong. You belong in God’s house Rm 12:5.
Do you even value the people you do life with? Do you take them for granted?
Without this understanding you will always start something but never finish. You start something in your community or church but soon run out of steam because you are moved by the air of emotions, when that runs out your are back in the same lazy state you started when in fact you should finish in an even greater way than when you started. Don't give out excuses not to be involved in the body of Christ (His church) Luke 9:57-62, 14:16.
 

Do you know why people start giving excuses in the above verses?

Because they did not believe that Jesus was who he said he was. THE SON OF GOD! Do you really think that they would dare to even think about giving out lame excuses to the Son of God? Yet so many of us are doing that right now. Your excuses are always proportional to your level of understanding.

4. You forget you have to give up everything (Lk. 14:33). What do you have right now? Would you be willing to give that up? Give up what you cannot keep in order to gain what you cannot lose.
 
Now What?

1. Understand that the level of your impact is directly proportional to the price you are willing to pay and the faith you have is directly proportional to the sacrifice you’ve made. 

2. Aggressively remove unbelief from your life. Read the Gospels and the promises God has for you in his word and claim them!

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4 Tips On Raising Girls

Dad your job is essential when raising girls. Here are a few things that I have learned:

Daughters will usually look for a man to date and marry just like their fathers. You have to be a good role model.

Your girl needs to know that she is a princess. You show this in the way you talk to her and treat her, so be gentle with her.    

A girl derives beauty and value from their dads. She needs to know that she is beautiful, so you've got to tell her. She also needs to know that she is valued, you can do this by treating her like a princess. If you are a woman reading this answer this question: “do you think you are beautiful?” listen to your own answer. Who told you that? My guess is, it was your dad. Or maybe you will hear nothing because he never said that you were beautiful.

Date your daughter. Take her out to coffee shops, parks, bird parks, shopping and show her how he should expect to be treated. When you do this make sure you keep eye contact and focus only on her.

What about you? Do you have any tips on raising girls? 

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