|
Philippa Kirby shared a message titled, 'Travelling Transformation' John 6:16-21 'That evening Jesus’ disciples went down to the shore to wait for him. 17 But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn’t come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. 18 Soon a gale swept down upon them, and the sea grew very rough. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward the boat. They were terrified, 20 but he called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I am here!” 21 Then they were eager to let him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!' This took place after Jesus fed the 5000 and the people wanted to seize him by force. The word immediately indicates that perhaps they miraculously arrived at their destination! Travelling transformation means that as we journey with wisdom and freedom we are changing and growing. When we’re travelling transformation, we should be able to see the shifts in our lives… They can be realised! In the moments of waiting, hoping & praying, sometimes we struggle to see Jesus. Storms come up and we can be terrified, uncertain, doubtful but Jesus says, I AM here, do not be afraid, take courage! When we rest in God, fear dissipates. As we trust in His Presence, we immediately arrive. Transformation requires us to recognise the contrast of before and after. Half of the disciples' journey was turmoil, horrible… but then Jesus showed up and the rest of the journey was peace. Transformation is seen with hindsight. Are you seeing the miracles? What can we see now that we couldn’t see before? We've seen Him provide before, so of course we'll see it again! We can trust God for transformation. When we get past the worst and are no longer in survival mode, we can look back and see the miracles and transformative moments “Discipline may be stepping out of darkness but empowerment is stepping into the light.” Tim Smith Insert Quote McClarens dispositions Jesus is the light in the darkness and his light cannot be extinguished. God has patient transformational love for us. To learn through contrast and hindsight we have to reflect. Sometimes we need to carve time out in our busy lives to make space to reflect (and sometimes we just need to turn off the TV!) God is more than enough for us in any storm. What people can offer us is temporary, but what God gives us remains. When we take time to reflect, we can appreciate how God has helped us and his Presence in the storm. Sometimes life is a series of chaos, but God is with us in it. He’s the God of all and He is here. May we allow ourselves to be changed and to travel transformation well. --- You can watch the full message below:
0 Comments
Lawrence Kirby shares a message titled, 'Consumer or Provider? Living from Overflow' John 7:37-39 NLT "On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” 39 (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)" Out of your belly can flow rivers of living water... In the ancient world, your central space that life flows from was called your belly. In today's language we call it your heart. Rivers of living water can flow from us! We can live from a sense of overflow or from a sense of deficit. In overflow you give out to others, but from deficit you rely on other peoples overflow. The call of every follower of Jesus is to be a source of life for others, not a consumer of life that others have brought into that space. This is not just for us, but for the community around us If you’re constantly in deficit it’s very hard to enjoy life. If we have overflow we can give love when it’s not deserved. We need to build resilience in our hearts to handle the ups and downs of life. We build this up by drinking of Jesus! When we’re drained, we need to spend time with Abba Father to get filled and refreshed. Are you a consumer or a provider? Sometimes we’re in both camps! We can build things into our lives that allow us to be a giver. Suffering can draw us to God’s love. Sometimes in Pentecostal theology, we try to exclude suffering from the Christian narrative. In reality, there are times when we are dry and thirsty and we need someone else to be our source, but if that’s us ALL the time… we need to seek help. We can grow in our ability to resource ourselves so that we can live in abundance and overflow which is Jesus’ desire and what He bought for us. The more we resource others, the more God flows into us. Things rot when we hold them to ourselves. Some questions to consider in response are:
--- You can watch the full message below: Tim Smith shares a messaged titled, 'Empowered by Divine Inspiration' Inspiration can be seen as the seed of all things. When we're inspired by something it motivates us to change, but also motivates us to do something that perhaps we haven't done before. Jesus gifts us divine inspiration which can grow into fruit which is far beyond what we could achieve in our own strength. There is a difference between Entertainment and Inspiration. The challenge set forward here is to actively seek out the inspiration of God rather than settling for the entertainment of the world. We live in a transformative way that is alive and not stagnant. Inspiration is the cause for meaningful change which results in transformation... This inspiration is not earned, it is freely given! Romans 5:1-5 NLT "Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." The daily act of embracing the cross and submitting to God is what brings transformation & salvation. Salvation is a free gift, given by Christ so that we may have life and life to the full. It is not just a one-time thing, it is a daily saying yes to all Jesus has for us. Philippians 2:12 NIV "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling..." Any time that we overcome something that holds us back from living fully free, we experience salvation. A character shift can be salvation at work! We are to be masters of our character to display the nature of Christ. Mastery begins with inspiration, and then we get to work, practise, adjust and repeat... with accountability and in relationship with others. 2 Peter 1:3-9 NLT "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins." We can maintain humility by giving Christ the glory and honouring what He has done in us. One of the keys of developing mastery is self-control. This comes by our communion with the Spirit, it is a gift. Discipline may be stepping out of the darkness, but empowerment is stepping into the light. Character is what we take with us everywhere we go, so this is where we want to be on a journey of transformation! Some questions to ponder in response are: Where have I compromised inspiration with entertainment? What is God drawing my attention to? What areas of life do I feel captive or a slave to? Have I been stuck with a discipline view of self-control? Jesus, what are you wanting to inspire in me today? --- You can watch the full message below: Lawrence Kirby shared a message titled, 'Jesus Balanced the Scales for All of Us' 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 '14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.' A new life has begun! God is speaking about how we live our lives... We want to live lives that show Jesus to the people around us. Do people feel better after spending time around us? Are they noticing that there’s something about what we carry and the way we engage with life? Last year Shane Willard set us a challenge of: what would it look like for us to set a table for our community... In Hebrew language, the same word that is used for Table is used for Reconciliation. So the whole way through Scripture, you see reconciliation taking place around tables. There is something deep and spiritual that happens when we share a meal together. Sometimes we view our lives as unbalanced, our own lives weighed down and feeling like we owe God something. God sees us all as already reconciled to him. “No longer then do we judge anyone by human standards…. We no longer do so! Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being!” Do I view and evaluate others as made new - already new creations - already reconciled to God ?! Can we see people the way God sees them? 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Timothy 2:1-5 "I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus." God wants everyone to be saved. Jesus redeems the whole human race. God brings reconciliation to people through Jesus. Holiness and dignity doesn’t start with judging people but praying for them.
You can watch the full message below: |
AboutAn overview of the preaching and teaching from our Sunday gatherings. Archives
November 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed
Get InvolVed |
Ministries |
Local Impact |
Bank Account DetailsKāpiti Impact Church
03-0732-0108738-00 |
© 2024 Kāpiti Impact Church Trust