Audacious Faith

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
Hebrew 11:1 

Nothing is impossible with God and Nothing is too hard for Him. However, in order to see the impossible we have to be willing to hold on to what we believe with perseverance and determination. We will also have to refuse to fear when facing impossibilities.

Hebrews 11:1 describes faith. Hebrews 11:2-38 demonstrates faith. Note that only one verse focus on the theory of faith, the rest of the chapter deals with the practicalities of faith. That is 37 verses of faith being put to work. Faith is practical. Hope grabs hold of nothing, faith holds on to it until it becomes something.

Consider these words of Jesus:

“According to your faith will it be done...” (Matthew 9:29)
“If you have faith and do not doubt...” (Matthew 21:21)
“Have Faith in God,” (Mark 11:22)
“Anyone who has faith in me will do even greater works,” (John 14:12)

Activate your audacious faith:

1 - Read Hebrews 11:1-38 (The Hall of Faith). Read it out loud! Faith comes by hearing the word of God.
2 - Pray for mountain moving faith. Pray for the spiritual gift of faith.
3 - Do life with people of faith. Please note that this does not mean that you will neglect your friends and the people in your life that need Jesus. We were called to be light and salt. We were called to be IN the world not OF the world. One of the signs that your faith is increasing will be the fruit around you. Found people, find people.
4 - Fast. This will give you an edge when fighting the enemy and the things of this world. Fasting is a powerful weapon. Fasting can definitely make your faith stronger in a shorter period of time. The price is higher, but If you are looking for a shortcut, this is it.

Do you have a testimony were you got results by activating your faith?
What are you doing right now that requires faith?

The Urgency For The Gospel

The purpose of our church is to make (healthy) disciples. Why? Because Jesus said so: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, - Matthew. 28:19. See also Luke 19:10 and Mark1:15

The gospel of Jesus Christ: the virgin birth, the sinless life, the substitutionary death, the triumphant resurrection and the eminent return of Jesus Christ. The gospel as a historic reality and the gospel as a contemporary life giving, changing force. The gospel that has the power to meet you where you are and speak to you where you are at in life. The gospel that is as relevant today as it was over 2000 years ago. Where cities, counties, nations can be changed by it.

Every Christian occupies some kind of pulpit and preaches some kind of sermon every day.  So you are preaching the gospel in a way or another whether you like it or not!  The question is: What kind of message are you preaching? 

 
The kingdom of God is built by people that have the guts to tell their whole world about Jesus and what he is doing though His church. God has given us this time this season.  The bible says that David served his generation, we are now responsible for this generation. 

Who in your life needs a fresh touch from God?

Men of Extravagant Generosity

The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
A generous person will prosper; 
Proverbs 11:24-25

What is generosity? Generosity is the quality of being generous. A generous person is willing to give money, help, kindness, etc., especially more than is usual or expected (Cambridge Dictionary).

The above verses present a paradox: you become richer by being generous. The world says to hold on to as much as possible, but God blesses those who give freely of their money, possessions, time and energy. When we give, God supplies us with more so that we can give more. In addition giving helps us gain a right perspective on our possessions. We realise they were never really ours to begin with, but they were given to us by God to be used to help others.

What do we gain by giving? We gain freedom from enslavement to our possessions (your possessions will not possess you), the joy of helping others and God’s approval.

In John 6:1-14 we see that God’s math works in this way: 
Everything you have x God = everything you need + more

Do you struggle with giving? Do you feel your possessions possess you? If so what are you going to do about it?

How we should approach giving
God gave us his most precious "possession" – his Son (John 3:16). So here is the thing: Refuse to serve God leftovers.
      And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,
      Is it not evil?
      And when you offer the lame and sick,
      Is it not evil?
      Offer it then to your governor!
      Would he be pleased with you?
      Would he accept you favorably?”
      Says the LORD of hosts. . - Malachi 1:8

In the above passage people kept the best animals for themselves and offered God leftovers. They assumed God would be pleased because they had sacrificed something. Refuse to give God a scrap or two just because you feel guilty for giving him nothing. Refuse to mumble a few words at the end of the day, when you lie in bed half asleep.  Refuse to have a mindset that says: “Do I have to give?!”

God described this practice as evil. Let’s stop calling it: busy schedule, bills, forgetfulness, sickness and call it as it is: Evil. Your greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things that don’t really matter.

Do you offer God leftovers of your money, time and energy?

In The Stillness - D7 Band's Brand New Album

Church I am so excited!!! In the Stillness the 2nd album by D7 Band will be out this summer. This is an amazing expression of where we are at as a church. This new album is promising to be awesome. The production and engineering process will take longer and it will be more detailed and refined and the sound will be massive.

10 th September 2011 - An Unmissible Day

click for full image

I am so excited for all the girls in our world.  They are going to be blown away with what Angela has been preparing for them. The very first King's Daughters  Conference is going to add so much value to the women present on that day - their lives will never be the same ever again! Our Christmas Ball was amazing but the King's Daughters Conference will just be totally over the top specially tailored to welcome princesses into God's presence.

Check out this message from Angela:

"King's Daughters exists to inspire and challenge women to understand their identity and value so that they can lead an amazing, abundant life with passion and purpose. The King's Daughters Conference is a unique experience where you will encounter God, be completely refreshed and equipped to be all you can possibly be." - Angela De Souza (King's Daughters Conference host and Executive Pastor at D7 Church)

So add the date to your diary:

King's Daughters conference this summer on 10th September 2011. Where girls from all over the UK will be getting together for a day of inspiring teaching, incredible worship, live music and loads of laughter.

And for all the men reading this post - buy a ticket for the woman in your life now.