Stop Being Normal!

…………following from last Sundays Sermon…………………..

You can not be a follower of Jesus and stay normal.

“When anyone is joined to Christ he is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come”. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17

The dead old, boring, gutless, purposeless, normal you is GONE! You are now a new person, fueled by the power of Christ in you. Someone is going to take notice of the change and say ‘Something has happended to you. You are not the same person you used to be. If your boss at work doesn’t know that you are a Christian you are probably not.

You are new person. You are now radical and willing to do whatever it takes to live for Jesus and follow him, to love God and love people. It takes guts to follow Christ. Jesus said “If you want to follow me take up your cross and come follow me”.

You can’t follow Jesus and still try to live a normal life.

Cefas was a normal, everyday fisherman. But when Jesus called Cephas to leave everything and follow him, he did and he was not the same again. First his name was changed to Simon Peter. He never went to any preaching school but when he spoke on the day of Pentecost 3000 people gave their lives to Christ. Now thats not normal for a fisherman!!

Paul was a normal Pharisee doing what normal Pharisees do. At the time he was killing new converted Christians. But when he encountered God on the Road to Damascus, he wasn’t the same again. He reached the Gentile world with the gospel.

You can’t follow Jesus and continue to live life in a normal way. You can’t love with the same normal love you loved people before you found Jesus. You can not give the same way you used to give. You can not serve the same way you used to.

People who follow Christ Are not Normal. The Bible calls them ‘Perculiar people’ – 1 Petr 2:9, because with Christ they are now people of power, people of promise, more than conquerors but most of Faith in God who can do exceedingly, abundantly and above all……..Ephesian 3:20

Normal people are ‘average’ people who do average work and produce average results. No one is inspired with ‘average’.

Tell me someone who is well known because he/she was average. Show me a monument of an average leader.

Normal people don’t inspire others

Normal people don’t make incredible leaders

Normal People don’t change the world

Normal people don’t take risks

Normal people don’t face fears

Normal people die with a lot of regrets.

Step up another level today and live above normal.

Potential 1

You are more than what you think. You are more than what you have done. YOU’VE GOT POTENTIAL. Potential is not good unless it is released. The potential in a seed to grow into a tree that will bear lots of fruit is huge. In fact in a small seed contains a forest not just a tree. It also contains millions of dollars if you think about what those trees can produce. A wise farmer will release that seed to the ground and allow it to reach its full potential that is locked inside. You are carrying something that is greater than you and what you think. If you are a smart farmer, release it and cultivate it until it has grown to its full intended purpose.  You can do it. Start today. Procrastination frustrates Potential, so press forward. Give birth to the dreams and desires that God has placed in your heart. You can do it!

Church Vision pt1

After Vision Sunday, I received several comments from our church people regarding the vision of the church. Most of  them were overwhelmed and greatful for having such a vision for the church and the community.

Some of the comments I made on Sunday:

Vision is the picture of the future that produces passion today. What is the picture of the church do you see? What picture of the community (Manurewa) do you see?

A Vision Guides us
A Vision keeps us focused all the way. -
A Vision fuels creativity and potential – Vision makes us do things we never thought possible - 
A Vision launches us into ministries and areas never considered before -
A Vision unites people - 

Vision reminds us of:
• Who we are:     Identity & Values
• What we are called to do:     Mission
• Where we are going:     Vision
• How we are going to get there:     Strategy

12 Applications you can use

I use these regularly. They make life easier. Blessings 

 

1. FeedBurner – Great piece of software to track subscribers on my blog.

2. Bloglines – A must RSS feed reader for blogs and podcasts.

3. Xdrive – A free online storage up to 4 gig of free back up.

4. YouSendIt – It’s a great service for sending large files over the net.

5. YouVersion – This is a new one for me. Great tool. Good way to study the bible together with others online.

6. WordPress – Its the best blog software there is and its FREE. Great way to clear and share my thoughts and daily insights.

7. FREEFTP:  Its fast, easy and I think its reliable. I haven’t had problems at all since started using it beginging of this year to connect to my CMS.

8. Countdown Creator: Cool software for creating church countdowns.

9. The Springbox. This is a great little widget creator. I started using it last week to get feeds direct to my desktop You can also create your own custom widgets for anything.

10. Logmein: I can remote control from home, work, church anywhere. View or transfer files.

11. Instaverse: Quick Bible reference while surfing. Don’t need to open up a Bible program. Just cut and paste.

12. Firebox: I am a recent convert to firefox. It’s much faster and hassle free. Great addons too.

Sermon Reflections

By Salome Mitchell

If the message yesterday – ‘Positioning yourself to receive a miracle’ – did something for you, I encourage you to text Lui or email him so that he can be encouraged with what God is imparting to him to preach to his flock. I don’t think we can get it any clearer than that!  Alignment will put us in a position to receive the blessings of the miracles we are waiting for. When we are not in position we are  in ’opposition’. That is scary.

Thank you Lui, I am one happy sheep who needed to hear the message.  I am working on aligning the areas of my life that God needs to reign over.  Each time I remind my two sons about returning to the Lord, I get the response : “…don’t want to be a hypocrite…when I do return to the Lord I want it for real…”

How do I re-align my prayers for them? Thank God he’s answered some of the prayers and they are always open to hear the Word of the Lord from their grieving  mother.

Thank you Lui and Ane for your prayers and the Sunday messages.  Yesterday’s message got to my heart, and I plan never to miss a day – without thanking God for you and for your prayers for my family and I.

For the rest of us, let’s be challenged and uplift one another in prayer – that whenever we hear God’s voice, we will OBEY Him. 

Lifechurch, whenever God speaks and bring conviction to our hearts, please remember the following steps:      

CONVICTION +  REPENTACE = REVIVAL!  It’s going to rain, and we need to be aligned to God’s purposes and Will for our lives.

Bless you Lui and Ane and the children, it’s so good to see you and the children happy, healthy and passionate about God and the vision He has put in your hearts.

Salome

Notes from Ane’s Message

• Yesterday we gave birth to a new vision – (referring to the Manurewa Paint Out)
• When we get to heaven we will compare our spiritual stretchmarks
• LifeChurch has become a breeding ground for visions
• When God gave us the name LifeChurch, I think He meant it.
• The fire of God rejuvenates our strength
• You no longer hold on to your dreams but your dreams hold on to you
• We are a prisoner of great expectation, our vision hold on to us, we can’t give it up
• Gods visions are bigger than you
• As we prepare to give to the Lord this morning I am here not to raise funds but your faith.

Notes from Gina Siaosi

Minister out of love
Jesus is a Person
If you love God you will find it easier to love people
Our prayer life must be motivated by love
You can get tired of praying for people if love is not your motivation
If you are not falling in love with God, STOP what you are doing and REVIEW everything
God is asking for a heart relationship not just a behaviour change
Remind yourself “I am loved by God”
Start with God – Personal time with God is so important
Get addicted to God
God is emotionally stable. He is the God of yesterday, today and tomorrow
Leaders must be healthy emotionally
Get a life don’t drain other people’s
God is calling us into a matured love relationship
Love God, Love yourself. The way we love ourselves will affect others
God created the universe but he puts his image on you.

Some key points from Sundays sermon

1. A Dangerous Church has Divine Boldness. Acts 4:1-13. Proclaim Christ without compromise

2. A Dangerous Church has ordinary men and women transformed into extraordinary people because they had been with Jesus Acts 4:13

3. A Dangerous Church never underestimates the power of God. Even handkerchiefs that had touch him healed the sick when placed on them. Acts 19:11-12

4. A Dangerous Church transforms Consumers into Contributors. Acts 2:44-45. The church is called to the world. We are not here for ourselves, we are here for the world. We are the salt and light of the world, not salt and light in the church. As light, our contribution to the world transforms darkness. As salt, our contribution preserves and brings good taste and flavour. 

5. A Dangerous Church transforms the Living to the Dead. “I have been crucified with Christ. It’s no longer I that lives but Christ lives in me ….Gal 2:20. Transforms selfish living into living for others. Die to self and let Christ live through us.