How to live Fearlessly

How to live Fearlessly

  “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.”  Psalm 91:5-6

   In the midst of all that is happening in the world, you can be fearless, and this comes from knowing the Lord as the God of peace.  He will crush every fear, every worry, and every anxiety.

Grace-the undeserved, unearned, and unmerited favor of God–is the only thing against which the devil has no defense.  That is why we put our faith in the blood of Jesus when we talk about protection. Grace qualifies us for God’s all-encompassing protection.     

“The Lord is  my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  Psalm 18:2

Protected in the Secret Place of the Most High   – Joseph Prince

Protected in the Secret Place of the Most High  
                                                         Joseph Prince
“I will set apart the land of “Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land,  I will make a difference between My people and your people…” Exodus 8:22-23
   Don’t be afraid when you hear or read of terrible diseases in the world.  As God’s beloved child, you are in the world, but not of the world. And as the children of Israel were kept safe and protected in Goshen, so will the Lord keep you safe in the secret place of the Most High.  

Message for March 1, 2020 from Pastor Shirley

    The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any who understood, dealt wisely, and sought after God, inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him [of vital necessity].  Psalm 14:2 

      The word sought means: seek to go in search of, look for,  to pursue. God first pursued us because of his great love he has for us.  Then there is a desire in us to pursue Him. We love Him, because He first loved us 1 John 4:19.  Jeremiah 24:7 tells us, “I will give them a heart to know me.” 

      Psalms 142:2 tells us that the Lord looks down from Heaven to see if anyone is seeking after Him.  God promises us that if we seek Him with all our heart we will find Him.  

      God is not trying to hide from us or even makes it hard for us to find Him.  It is all for the purpose of getting to “know” Him. Know is to be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information.  In the Bible the Old Testament and the New Testament words for “seek” God will all your heart means: to seek the face of God, to desire, to seek earnestly, to diligently for to pursue.

      Everybody is pursuing something.  What a difference it would make in our lives if our first pursuit would be to “know” God.  To put Him first and allow that to be the foundation of everything else is in our life!

What is more important, that you follow God or that He follows you?                             Ed Elliot-

What is more important, that you follow God or that He follows you?                             Ed Elliot

Some people try to follow God but the truth is God follows them.  Paul makes a challenging statement of a fundamental truth about God’s character.  If people understood what he said about God, it would impact their hearts in a powerful way to draw them to God.

Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”  Romans 2:4

Two powerful truths:

  •  People not knowing it is God’s goodness that leads them to repentance
  • It is God’s goodness that leads people to know God.

Repentance is all about knowing God’s goodness.  Religion makes repentance about your sin, not God’s goodness and what God did about your sins.  Repentance isn’t about you or your past. It is all about God’s goodness and what He has done about your sins.  Religion wants you to focus on how bad, sinful, and disgraceful you are. However, God wants you to know how good He is and how His goodness affects you.  It isn’t knowing how sinful you are that draws you to God.  It is knowing how good He is that will cause you to want to know Him.  

  •  Jehovah-Rash-”the Lord my Shepherd”  God is always watching over us.
  • Jehovah-Jireh –”the Lord that sees and provides.”  God is still the Lord who sees and provides.
  • Jehovah-Rapha-”The Lord who heals and restores our souls.” 3 John 2-”Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” 
  • Jehovah-Tsidkenu-”the Lord our righteousness.” “Even the righteousness which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference.  Romans 3:26
  • Jehovah-Shalom -”the Lord is my peace.”  If we have peace, we will never fear any evil.
  • Jehovah-Shammah-”the Lord is present.”  (for thou art with me.) Today, God is always present with us because we have HIs gift of the HOly Spirit in us.
  • Jehovah-Nissi-”the Lord my canopy.”  A canopy is a covering, a protection for God’s people.

Nothing in these 7 names depicting God’s character and nature reveal anything that would harm us.  As a believer, God’s goodness and mercy will follow you for the rest of your life.

Message for February 23, 2020 from Shirley

Pursued by Love – Saved by Grace – Followed by Mercy   

      Pursued by Love-God is on a relentless pursuit of you?  For those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Savior yet, for those who have strayed from the path of following God, even for those who have trusted Him as Savior.  He is forever drawing us to fellowship with Him. Because of His very nature – which is love – He seeks to have a relationship with us. He created us for His glory. See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are. 1 John 3:1

      Saved by Grace-We could not be saved if it was not for the pursuit of God. If you have accepted Jesus’ gift of salvation, you have been saved by grace!  Salvation is not earned by our own effort or merit.  It is a free gift by God’s grace (undeserved favour) in response to our faith God pursued you out of love that you might accept Him as Savior.  For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ. Ephesians 2:8

      Followed by Mercy-Mercy in the Bible is God’s withholding of a just punishment. Mercy reminds me of the goodness of God in my life every day.  Because of our nature, we deserved God’s anger just like everyone else.  But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us.  We were dead because of our failures, but he made us alive together with Christ. (It is God’s kindness that saved you.)  Epheisans 2:4-5  God is rich in mercy because of his great love he has for us.    

The Local Church as a Place of Refuge.     Joseph Prince

The Local Church as a Place of Refuge

                                    Joseph Prince

The Old Testament cities of refuge reveal a beautiful picture of Christ as our protection.  The six cities were scattered across the land so a person could flee to the nearest one to take refuge.  It is a picture of the local church. The local church is a place of refuge. The church is not man’s idea;  it’s God’s idea. It is a place where all the guilty, where all who are suffering from condemnation, and where those who are being pursued can come and take refuge.  It is not God’s heart for you to take this journey of faith on your own. God’s heart is for you to be a part of a community of faith.

In the Father’s house, people experience healing, breakthroughs, protection, and other blessings.  God the Father raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, “far above all sicknessess, all diseases, all terror, all snares, alll cancers, all depression, and all addictions.  Amen!

The apsotle Paul declares, “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” ( Ephesians  1:22-23). Where is this power today in our broken and fallen world? It is found in the church! His power, His authority, and His fullness are all found in the church–our city of refuge where we can run to and find divine protection!

Message for February 16, 2020 From Pastor Shirley

The good news of the gospel is that you and I are no longer slaves, but have received the Spirit of sonship.

      Romans 8:15 “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

      In the midst of darkness of enslavement and hopelessness God breaks in with good news – But when the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born subject to [the regulations of] the Law, to purchase the freedom of (to ransom, to redeem, to [atone for) those who were subject to the Law, that we might be adopted and have sonship conferred upon us [and be recognized as God’s sons]. Galatians 4:4-5

      When we accepted Jesus as our Savior our identity was established as children of God.  We were released from the spirit of slavery and given the spirit of sonship. This spirit of sonship speaks about our adoption as sons of God.

      In Paul’s time the adopted person lost all rights in his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate child in his new family.  Our adoption into sonship means that you now gain all the privileges of a child in the God’s family.

      We now live from the position of sonship. Knowing who we are and living and walking in the inheritance we have from Him.

Forgiveness will do nothing to change the past, but it can change your future. Ed Elliot

Forgiveness will do nothing to change the past, but it can change your future.

                                 Ed Elliot

Reconciliation isn’t based on one party apologizing to another.  It’s about choosing to walk in love even if the other person never apologizes.

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation”  2 Corinthians 5:19

“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” I Peter 4:8]

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans. 8:38-39

“For it, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”  Romans 5:10

Message for February 9, 2020 from Pastor Jerry

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Col. 3:17

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Col. 3:23-24

     A few years ago there was a popular song that said, “Don’t worry, be happy,” and it was very much played on radio stations around the world.  I say to you today it is the time to be happy and don’t worry. Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow for that will take care of itself.

     As a child of God and joint heir with Jesus our faith tells us to trust God and remember that tomorrow belongs to Him.  We need to understand that we are not waiting for our inheritance to begin when we go to heaven. We are living in our inheritance now because the author of the will and testament has already died making the will in effect.  Jesus is alive to administer the will and has put the inheritance in our hands as of today.

     We need to live like we believe and understand what the Word of God means when it says, “who is able to do exceedingly beyond what we could ask or think.”  It means He has everything under control day by day.  

     The world is in a mess caused by the people that live in it.  Human nature is not a very nice thing if it is out of control and measured by the wrong standards.  I hope your standard for behavior is what would Jesus do.? Read the above Scriptures and judge yourself by them.  How are you doing? 

Good Morning!

We all say “Good Morning!” to others.   Do you know the meaning of “Good Morning?”

G-Get up.

O-Open your heart.

O-Open your mind.

D-Dedicate your day to God.

M-Meditate on God’s word.

O-Optimise your faith & hope.

R-Rebuke all evils.

N-Never doubt God’s love.

I-Inspire someone.

N-Nothing should scare you

G-Go out with joy.

So, I say , “Good Morning and have a blessed day!”

                                     From EVERQUOTE

Message for February 2, 2020 from Pastor Shirley

      The single greatest thing a person can learn after they have received Jesus Christ as Savior is finding out who they are.  We need to know who we are in Christ so that we can live our life as God intended and fulfill our destiny. I have experienced in my life that the more I agree with the Word about my identity in Christ the more my behavior begins to reflect my God given identity.  “How can two walk together unless they agree.” Amos 3:3  We live out our lives to what we are agreeing with.  I am becoming who I already am in Christ. 

      Your identity doesn’t depend on something you do or have done.  Your true identity is who God says you are. Now that you are born again you identify as a child of God. Agree with what He has said about you.  After all God’s opinion about you is the only one that counts. 

1Peter 2:9 tells us, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation God’s special possession that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.