Authority of Jesus

Last night i had a dream...

i was spending time with some other people in the country, and as we were driving back, i saw this fight going on in a valley... the fight got worse, we pulled over... i went over to the edge (the side of the valley was steep... like a cliff), and there is steel steps, like those at a factory... i walked down the steps to the first landing thing... the fight was getting serious... baseball bats were coming out and being used... i yelled out "stop it in Jesus' Name". And immediately two of the biggest guys started walking towards me, up the stairs. When they got to me, they handed me their baseball bats, and continued up the stairs and out. The police rocked up, and we went to the car and went to drive away but we got stopped.

During the day i was thinking about the dream... and God reminded me, For all things in Heaven and earth are under the authority of Jesus, Matthew 28:17-19

Also that we have been given authority through Jesus, authority over evil spirits, and how powerful that authority is. Luke 9:1-3. The enemy has to listen to us... Praise the Lord.

i hate the enemy.

I really hate the enemy (satan).   i hate it how he attacks christians and try and bring christians down.  And if that doesn't work, he'll attack family or even friends to get at christians and to try and stop them from being all that God wants them to be...

Lately I have been reminded how important it is to pray for our fellow christian family, but also for their wider family, that you personally don't know real well.

So pray for your fellow christians, for protection, that they will be able to stand firm in God's mighty wonderful love.  But not only prayer for you friends but also for their whole family, in the same way... satan will look for any little hole that he can get a foot hold in.  

Matt 1

As I was reading Matt I, I started to think that Jesus knew where he came from, not only spiritually (from the father) but also with his earthly heritage. It Went Just Jesus who knew His heritage in those days, but every Jew knew. they Would know stories about there great ancestors.

As they grew up they would have some sense of who they are and k now that they are a part of a bigger picture, a bigger story.

We In the Western World don't grow up with that sort of history/ story surrounding us , being told the stories from day one

the exciting thing is that we have been invited to Join in the story, to be part of this bigger story-Jesus invites us into His family therefore we don't merely have to hear the great stories of Faith, from the past or our generations or from the bible they become our heritage, as we are now related to those heroes of the faith

We have a strong heritage to live in & be encouraged By.

Isaiah 51:1 says

listen to me year who pursues righteousness & who seek the Lord.know the rock from which you were cut, the quarry an which you were hewn.

I always thought that this Vs Just meant look to God, know God, he is the one who created You. But today to was reminded of this vs by the Spirit as I mediated on Matt 1. that of does point to God, who made us, but also to our heritage. that there is some value in knowing our spiritual Ancestors & heritage. We can learn from their mistakes & take courage when they got it right.

So let us encourage each otherwith our own stories of fearful,of stories of how God usedus for something.

rev camp

So last week i was at rev camp.

And last week i promised to blog about the camp.

In short the camp was awesome, God moved, touched the lives of many, and talked to many of the youth.

There were 2 great spiritual guest leaders, Danielle Strickland and Michael Collins.

There was preaching that was laying the ground for Salvation, that a life with Christ isn't always an easy road to follow, telling people to way up the cost.

There was also teaching on the Holy Spirit, and sanictifcation, that there is no junior verson of the Holy Spirit.

There was also teaching about listening prayer... and a lot of practice of it... and a lot of youth hearing God for themselves and for each other. 

There was a lot of fun, during tribal wars, and footy (aussie rules)

All up it, it was a week, where God spoke to the youth of South Aus... Exciting

Pray for everyone who went to camp... I pray that they will continue to chase after God and listen to Him.

sabbath

been reflecting on the sabbath today (and a little yesterday while driving)

Through Sunday school years (those of us that went to sunday school), that the earth was created in 6 days and that on the 7th God rested and there for we are to have a day of rest (Exodus 20:8-11) and count that day holy.

How often do we think that the sabbath (a day of rest) is just a day to sit around the place, chill out, relax, maybe watch tv, maybe doing nothing. 

i want to challenge that concept, that the sabbath is just a day to have off and relax.  

I think it is meant to be more than that.

In Exodus 20 verse 10 it says that the "seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the Lord"

So according to that verse the day is meant to be dedicated to the Lord

Isaiah 58:13 puts it this way, 

"Keep the sabbath day holy.  Don''t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the sabbath, and speak of it with delight as the Lord's holy day. Honour the Lord in everything you do and don't follow your own desires or talk idly, if you do this the Lord will be your delight"

So i am thinking that the sabbath day is a day to spend with the Lord, not just chilling out, doing what we want to do, or not doing anything at all, which i think we tend to do a lot of (just doing what we want to do, when we have a day off).  To spend the day with the Lord, sitting with Him, talking with Him, asking Him what He wants you to be doing, how He wants you to spend the day... It may be just sitting with Him, chillin out, watching a movie, or could be walking around your neighbourhood with Christ, praying for it or it could also be going out and serving the community around you....

I think the key is spending time with the Lord... and doing what He wants you to do all day... not just doing the things that you want or think you should do... Unless you ask Christ, you'll never know if He has other ideas of how you should be spending the day... and His ideas are generally better.

Actually this concept is not just good for the sabbath, it would be a good practice in general.

rev live webstream

been at rev camp this week, 

so far it has been awesome, i will expand on camp later.

This is just a short note that you can join us tonight, 

as the session tonight is going to be streamed live on the internet

8pm EST (in Australia - which is 6am Thursday in Toronto and 3am Thursday in Vancouver) here: 

at 

www.salvationarmy.org.au/sstv

check it out... and also pray for every here, and watching.

is it worth it

Sometimes i look at how things are going in the city, with ministry and i start to get frustrated that nothing is happening, that i haven't seen much happen over the last 3 years. I start to think is it all worth it, or is it time for me to move on, to go some where easier, where the results are more visible.
The last week or so i have been thinking about that.
So yesterday i decided to look back over the years.
As i did, i realized that... God has been working.
Over the last 3 years we have had over 35 people come to cell, at different times... but they were all regular attenders at some point, of which more than 20 were from the community, and not just come and join us from a corps or another church. On top of that 35, we have had people that have only come once or twice.
I also counted up the about of people that i have regular contact with (well as regular as you can, seen at least once a month), and i counted that i had over 25 people that i regularly see and talk to.
I have also seen people move on in their lives, for example - trying to rebuild relationships with family, or getting off the street.
Looking back i Praise God for all that He has done in this city... it may not be fully noticeable when i look at the city as a whole, or look at my cell (which has only had 4 people attend lately), but when i stop and look back, look at the individuals.... God has and is at work... which is awesome... it encourages me, to keep going on for Him.

Is it worth it... Yes it is...