The Light of the World.

 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14 (NKJV)

When you travel through the night, whether by car or by plane, you can see a city far ahead as a blaze of lights.

Jesus says his followers are like a city filled with light. This is a representation on earth of the City of God in the glorious Kingdom of God which is to come.

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Rev 21:10-11

What is a city like? It is a community filled with diversity, different kinds of businesses and trades, different kinds of organisations. There are government offices and private companies, big businesses and small family businesses. In a healthy city the government does not own or control businesses and big businesses do not totally dominate small businesses.

So it is with the people of Jesus. There are big churches and denominations, and there are house churches and informal prayer groups. There are fellowships where believing business people meet to prayer and bring their faith into their work.

In a secular city there are very creative people who are self-employed writers, artists, architects and consultants. No company boss or government official controls their lives. Their free creativity keeps the society open to new ideas.

So it is in the Kingdom of God. CS Lewis was a great Christian writer, but he did not hold a senior position in his church and he did not have a church leader telling him what to write or what not to write. Some of the most influential Christian leaders have not been church leaders.

Bach and Handel wrote worship music that moved the hearts of millions. Bach was a humble church organist and music director in a local church. Handel was a commercial composer who wrote operas and music for public occasions.

For centuries, we have been locked into a narrow, stereotyped idea of church and the Kingdom of God.

God is now saying: LET MY PEOPLE GO!

Too Good to be True?

 A woman had lost her sight. Her eyes were badly injured, and no doctor could help her. She attended a church service where the preacher prayed for healing.

She began to see again and was thrilled, but when she shared her miraculous news with her family, they didn't want to believe, even though they clearly observed how she could see.
Then she began to doubt herself and after a short time she could no longer see.

God wants to bless us beyond comprehension, but often we don't want to believe it. A negative thought is firmly rooted in our mindset.

‘It's too good to be true.’ With this thought, we often block the wonderful gifts that God wants to give us.

After Jesus died on the cross, the disciples were traumatised. They had believed that Jesus, as the Messiah, would free Israel from Roman occupation, and then he died.

It was supposedly too good to be true. The time for Israel had not yet come, but God had even better plans for his disciples.

So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:6–8 NLT

Thank God the disciples believed. We read in the Acts of the Apostles how the disciples ministered with the same miracle-working power as Jesus himself before his death on the cross.

Then, in the Gospel of Mark, we see Jesus authorising and empowering his disciples to continue his miracle-working ministry. Was this only for the apostles? No. It was for all who believed.

And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mk 16:17–18 NRSV

But some Christians do not want to believe that this promise still applies to our time.
Some doubt whether this passage really belongs to the Gospel of Mark because it may not have been written by Mark himself.

It is possible that Mark did not write this last passage. So what!

The first five books of the Bible are attributed to the authorship of Moses himself, but the last chapter of Deuteronomy 5 was obviously not written by Moses.

So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.

And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day. Dt 34:5–6 NASB95

When I read this verse, I burst into tears. This is not normal for me. The Holy Spirit communicated to me in this way how God himself felt when Moses had to die. He wanted to bless Moses even more.

Then I heard the voice of God as a clear but inaudible thought.

‘Please don't limit God.’

Please open your heart to many more blessings and miracles from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Eph 3:20 NLT

God has Better Plans

 Are you discouraged? Disappointed? Frightened?
Are you completely dejected?

Before the Last Supper, the apostles were disappointed and deeply shaken.

But how was that possible? They were Jesus' closest friends. They believed he was the Son of God, their Saviour and Redeemer. He was with them in the flesh. And they were dismayed?

A few days ago, Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem. The crowds had recognised him as the Messiah with jubilation.

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Mt 21:9 NIV

The Jews, and probably also the apostles, expected that Jesus as the Messiah would then establish the kingdom of God in Jerusalem, that Jesus would rule the world.

But Jesus did not do this. Everyone was disappointed. The religious leaders were now able to manipulate the disappointed Jews.

Instead of the expected triumph, the disciples were staring disaster in the face.

What did Jesus say?

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. Jn 14:1 NIV

You expected a great revival, prayed for it for years, heard wonderful prophecies.

Nevertheless, the corona catastrophe came. Then came the war in Ukraine, and another war in the Middle East.

Where is God? You no longer understand anything.

What does Jesus say now?

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. Jn 14:1 NIV

You were expecting something wonderful from God. You have waited a long time for it and now you are shaken.

My father was 70 years old. He had smoked 40 cigarettes a day for many years and his lungs were almost destroyed. I had prayed for him for years but there was no sign of faith. But he was plagued by emphysema. That's a death sentence.

Then I started praying in a completely different way. ‘Please let my father live until he comes to faith.’

He made his peace with God at the age of 88. He was very weak but there was no sign of emphysema.

Finally he turned 91, he was nearly blind and life had become a burden to him.

Then I read in the Bible:

With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Ps 91:16 NIV

I thanked and praised God. I then prayed boldly.

‘Dear God, you have answered my prayer. But now life is a torment for my father. How would it be if my father could pass away peacefully exactly 16 days after his 91st birthday?

Exactly 16 days later, Jesus took my father to heaven without pain.

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. Jn 14:2–3 NASB95

God has good plans for us, including you.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. Jn 14:1 NIV

All Christians are Called

 No one who sought healing from Jesus was disappointed. No one who sought forgiveness was rejected.

The suffering of the sick aroused such compassion in Jesus that his stomach turned. Jesus healed, not just to confirm his identity as Saviour, but because he was spontaneously moved by love.

But Jesus was not satisfied with this. He knew that he was short of time, that he had to die on the cross. He had to train and equip his disciples.

Jesus was never satisfied with average religious results. He knew that all people, Jews and non-Jews, would suffer in hell without repentance and forgiveness.

… he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Tim 2:4 NET

Jesus knew that many would not believe and that countless people would never believe, but he wanted to save as many people as possible.

In Luke 9, he sent 12 disciples as evangelists.

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Lk 9:1–2 NIV

Jesus then sent 70 disciples with the same mission.

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.

And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest. Lk 10:1–2 NASB95

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ Lk 10:9 NIV

Jesus wanted to heal all the sick. Why? Out of deep compassion. He loves all people.

But Jesus saw far into the future. He knew that a gospel without many miraculous healings would save some, but when people are healed en masse, many more will come to faith.

We see this today in Africa, in Islamic countries, in South America and in Asia, where millions of Muslims, atheists, Hindus and witches convert to Jesus every year.

When Jesus sent the seventy disciples, he commanded them not only to proselytise, but to ask God to raise up more missionaries.

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Lk 10:2 NIV

Twelve is good. Seventy is better. But there are countless people who need God's salvation.
God has raised up prominent preachers. I thank God for Billy Graham, Reinhard Bonnke and others. But there are billions of lost people in the world.

You and I are also called to proclaim God's kingdom with power.

WHY IS THE WORLD A TERRIBLE MESS?

Everywhere we look, we see animals hunting and killing animals, animals and plants dying of disease and dehydration, plagues and famines killing men, women and children.

Did God create the world like this? NO.

Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind ... And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:24-25 (NLT)

The Bible gives us a little glimpse of the animal world as God planned it.

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. Isaiah 11:6 (NLT) 

• God put Adam and Eve in charge of a world of animals at peace. There was no killing and no death, not even among animals.

• Adam and Eve were appointed to be the governors of a planet full of peace and life but when they chose to believe in evil, death entered the world, just as God had warned them.

...but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:17 (NIV) 

The devil appeared to Eve as a snake. Did Satan possess a natural created snake or did Satan make himself to appear as a snake? We don’t know.

God is not responsible for the suffering and death around us. 

• We have all followed the example of Adam and Eve by believing the lies of darkness and mistrusting God. 

• We have cursed the earth by our wilful blindness. 

But God had an amazing plan to restore all things. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

It was man who brought death into the world and messed up God’s creation but God was not taken by surprise. He saw it all coming because the future is an open book to His all seeing eye.

Even before Adam and Eve went astray, God planned that He Himself would come to earth as a man. 

• What a man destroyed, a man would restore, the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the promised Messiah of Israel.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

• For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (NIV)

How can you receive the restored eternal life that Jesus offers?

How did Adam and Eve lose eternal life?

• Eve believed the lies of the devil and lost her immortality and glory.

• You and I can believe the truth of Jesus and God will restore to you what Adam and Eve lost. 

But Eve did not just believe a lie; she acted on it.You must believe the truth of Jesus and act on it. 

• Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and commit your life to trusting and obeying Him. He is the one who created you and truly loves you.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. Romans 8:18-19 (NIV)

• When you decide to stop believing the lies of darkness and live by the truth of God, you become a son or daughter of the Most High God, the Heavenly Father. 

• Suffering does not disappear but one day you and I will live in God’s perfectly restored heavenly new creation.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, 

• in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Romans 8:20-21 (NIV)

THE NEW WORLD IS COMING. ARE YOU READY?

Mark 1:14-15 (NIV)  After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

• "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

The time had come. The Kingdom of God was really near. 

• The King of the Universe had arrived on earth. 

• He had started to proclaim His mission, to win back the earth from the power of darkness and to restore the rule of heavenly goodness.

This was Good News and it still is today.

• When Jesus died on the cross, He defeated the power of evil and opened the door of Heaven for all to come in, all who would receive Him as the Son of God and the King and Master of their whole life.

• All who are willing to be adopted as Sons and Daughters of the Heavenly Father can come into the Royal Family of Heaven with amazing eternal privileges.

When Jesus died on the cross, He suffered the full penalty due to you and me for our faulty and selfish lives. 

• When He rose from the dead, He did not return immediately to heaven but spent 40 days with His disciples, teaching them to lead as pioneers of the New Heavenly Order.

The two qualifications for entry into the Kingdom of God were these:

• REPENT and BELIEVE.

• REPENT is a translation of the Greek word METANOEITE, which means to change your mind, let your whole way of thinking be transformed, so that your attitudes and your way of living cannot help but be changed.

• REPENT means to enter into a relationship of FAITH in God which transforms your heart, you mind and your life.

Once more we are at a strategic turning point in history. 

Many events around us indicate the time prophesied in the Bible is very near, the time when Jesus will come again. 

This time He will not come as a humble servant but as the Lord and King from Heaven.

• To be ready for His return, we need to be transformed in our thinking and believe with a deep, God given trust in His love. 

• We need to go deeper in our faith and be open to change our entire way of thinking because these are increasingly troubled times.

  • We are coming into times where old traditional ways of thinking will not work for us, where good Christian living will not be possible without living in very close communication with our heavenly King and His Spirit living in us.

• Jesus told a parable referring to exactly the time we are living in.

• Matthew 25:1-13 (NIV)  "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

• The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

• The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

• "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!' "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.

• The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

• "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'

• "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

For hundreds of years, many Christians have lived with second hand faith.

However, we are living in dangerous times. So many preachers have failed. Not only the world but the church is shaking.

Each one of us needs to have a personal love relationship with Jesus.

• What was wrong with the foolish virgins? They depended on blessing from other Christians, from ministry.

The wise virgins were personally and individually filled with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Makes you Free to be Different, to be You.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Mt 5:14 (NKJV) 

When you travel through the night, whether by car or by plane, you can see a city far ahead as a blaze of lights.

Jesus says his followers are like a city filled with light. This is a representation on earth of the City of God in the glorious Kingdom of God which is to come.

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Rev 21:10-11

What is a city like? It is a community filled with diversity, different kinds of businesses and trades, different kinds of organisations. There are government offices and private companies, big businesses and small family businesses. In a healthy city the government does not own or control businesses and big businesses do not totally dominate small businesses. 

So it is with the people of Jesus. There are big churches and denominations and there are house churches and informal prayer groups. There are fellowships where believing business people meet to pray and bring their faith into their work. There are missions to the homeless and prayer groups in colleges. These are just as important as congregations which meet on Sunday. 

In a secular city there are very creative people who are self employed writers, artists, architects and consultants. No company boss or government official controls their lives. Their free creativity keeps the society open to new ideas. 

So it is in the Kingdom of God. CS Lewis was a great Christian writer but he did not hold a senior position in his church and he did not have a church leader telling him what to write or what not to write. 

Some of the most influential Christian leaders have not been church leaders. 

Bach and Handel wrote worship music that moved the hearts of millions. Bach was a humble church organist and music director in a local church. Handel was a commercial composer who wrote operas and music for public occasions.

God does not want all his people to be the same. 

He wants different kinds of churches, different kinds of ministries, different kinds of people doing different kinds of things to demonstrate His own glorious creativity. 

Maybe you are copying other Christians or trying to fit in with what your church, your leaders or your family expect of you.  

Stop, look around and listen to God. What did HE put you on this earth to do? He will show you and your life will never be the same.

For centuries we have been locked into a narrow stereotyped idea of church and the Kingdom of God. God is now saying: LET MY PEOPLE GO!