Encounter Church - 3rd October 2021

[Music] in our weakness you were there [Music] you're our strength when it's hard to bear [Music] in our trials you hold the key you're a piece in a troubled sea [Music] in our weakness you are there you're our strength when it's hard to bear in our trials you hold the key you're our peace in a troubled sea faithful you have always been faithful you will be lord we put our trust in you you are all we need faith you have always been faithful you will be lord we put our trust in you you are all we need [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] you're a strength when it's hard to bear in our trials you hold the key you're our peace in a troubled sea faithful you have always been faithful you will be lord we [Music] [Music] you have always been unfaithful you will be lord we put our trust in you you me [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] jesus [Applause] [Music] come to the father of love oh come to the father [Music] come to the father come to the father come to the fight [Music] come to the father of life [Music] [Music] to the father come to the father come to the father [Music] [Music] oh [Music] come to the father come to the father for your [Music] forever [Music] forever you are magnified forever [Music] [Applause] forever jesus [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes [Music] is is [Music] is [Music] all around me [Music] [Music] [Music] is is [Music] [Music] is [Music] um [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] um [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] forever [Music] [Music] forever [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] then so [Music] [Music] [Music] with me [Music] he is [Music] [Music] free [Music] he is [Music] [Music] three [Music] [Music] welcome to church today it is great to be with you virtually online i am missing being in person on um at church and i'm i'm sure you are too but for the meantime let's say hello to each other in the chats let us know that you're with us that you've joined today we would love that and we can say hello um back and have a little call it all but we have got an incredible service for you today apostle mike connell is sharing which we just love has revelation and wisdom that he brings and i just encourage you to open up be ready for the holy spirit to minister to you because he will and he is with you wherever you find yourself bubbled up today so um as we get into this worship just remove yourself from the worries of the world and just praise the king because he is on the throne and he loves you and he desires to be in connection with you right now so let's get into it and let's just praise him for all that he's done and for all that he's doing [Music] [Music] and don't be afraid run into wide open spaces graces waiting for you dance like the weight has been lifted [Music] where the spirit of the lord is there is freedom [Music] is [Music] let there be freedom [Music] come [Music] has been lifted [Music] where the spirit of the lord is [Music] is [Music] [Music] shake at the sound of jesus name lives made whole hearts awake at the sound of jesus name chains will fall prisons shake at the sound of jesus name life made whole hearts awake at the sound of jesus name change will fall bridge this shake at the sound of jesus [Music] of jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] when the [Music] is [Music] [Music] free of jesus [Music] [Music] we bring our praise you bring revival [Music] we lift our hands you lift our eyes up [Music] the way your love is found there will be no fear god your kingdom come your will [Music] all right [Music] break our walls [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] our hearts are white [Music] the spirit of god [Music] [Music] we need you now in your presence there is peace in your presence we are free there's no better place to be there's no better place to be but when your presence there is truth in your presence mountains [Music] there is peace in your presence we are free [Music] here [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] spirit of god [Music] [Music] this place jesus jesus we [Music] need you [Music] [Music] our god is strong in battle our god will never fail [Music] through him our chains are broken in the name of jesus giants are defeated [Music] jesus [Music] we cry out to you lord jesus [Music] singing in victory in the name of jesus giants are defeated every single mountain [Music] is [Music] every single mountain [Music] [Music] is jesus [Music] the name of jesus [Music] be lifted higher be lifted higher [Music] [Music] we lift it higher [Music] in the name of jesus giants [Music] [Music] giants are defeated [Music] you finish what you start there [Music] jesus jesus jesus [Music] jesus [Music] jesus [Music] who we worship you lord [Music] come into your presence lord jesus [Music] [Music] nothing better love and your presence [Music] set upon this time for you i make space for you to move [Applause] [Music] my attention just for one we honor your presence you long to come [Music] i make room meet me here you have all my attention jesus [Music] you have all my attention jesus i make room meet me all i want is your presence [Music] set apart this heart on you [Music] i make space prepared for you [Music] [Applause] [Music] reaching out i make room meet me here you have all my attention jesus [Music] is [Music] have all my attention jesus [Music] you are holy and i'm holy to bonus [Music] you [Music] and is [Music] [Music] [Music] me have all my attention jesus [Music] [Music] you have all my attention jesus [Music] is [Music] we make space for you [Music] we make way for you we make way for you [Music] we make way for you we make way for you we make way for you we make way for you we make wait for you we make way for you we make way for you we make way for you we make way for you we make way for you we make way for you we make [Music] [Music] you [Music] me [Music] you have all my attention [Music] [Music] [Music] my is [Music] want is jesus presence all we want is your presence all we want is a presence it's my pleasure today on behalf of my husband brent and myself to welcome you into this live stream that we're doing here at encounter it's more than welcoming you into what we say and do but it's welcoming you into that presence of god because we stand for something here that goes beyond what we see in the natural and that is what has always been our mission statement of bringing people into a dynamic encounter with jesus christ and as you open your hearts to him this morning i ask in jesus name that you would know that encounter and that connection with him that makes everything else in your life not as important you know i have a very very strong picture in my mind here about jesus and his disciples you know they had the ultimate opportunity to have an encounter with him every day of their lives for three and a half years he talked to them he answered all their questions and he got to the point where they understood what he was saying that he was going to leave them and he was going back to the father because him jesus and the father he kept saying we are one and he said to them in a short while even now you will be scattered and will be in your own homes and you can read about this in john chapter 16 at the very end you'll be scattered you won't be together and you will be in your own homes and doesn't that feel like that for us now whereas a church we cannot gather as we've been used to and i'm speaking to you from here in your own this day and jesus went on to say to them i won't be with you i won't i am going back to my father but i'm telling you this so that in me you will know peace and even though he was leaving them in a short while yet in him we are to know peace because he brings it right to our very homes and right into our very hearts he went on to say in this world you will know trouble but be of good cheer or another version says guard your heart be of good cheer watch your emotions watch your reactions because he said i have overcome the world and this morning i'm speaking directly into your world into whatever it is that you're facing within your home and i'm going to pray that this power of the holy spirit this dynamic encounter with jesus christ will touch you wherever you are the city of auckland in new zealand or around the world as you're connecting and if your world is is filled with pain filled with uncertainty only god and this presence of god can touch you and reach you in your world jesus said guard your attitude guard your heart be of good cheer because i have overcome your world and if your world if you have sickness either in your own body or in your family i want you to gather them around and lay hands on them in jesus name because i am going to pray that that healing dynamic that healing power of god would come into your home right now in jesus name i ask for every person who is unwell who is sick who has pain in their body to be healed in jesus name let that dynamic encounter come and touch their bodies now and if your world is one of uncertainty about your current situation or about what you're experiencing with your work and your future in jesus name i'm praying for you right now that the holy spirit would come and bring peace that peace in in jesus he said you will know peace because even though he's gone to be with the father he's given every one of us that holy spirit to bring peace and in jesus name i ask for your divine intervention to come into every person in every home watching this here this morning you know my viewers he has overcome the world he says he has again and again i have overcome the world we're going to worship here in a little moment and again and i just want as we come to sing that chorus you reign above it all which we will in a moment wherever you are raise your hearts and your hands and your spirits and as one people in every room where this broadcast is coming to believe that he has overcome this world and reigns above everything in jesus name thank you brendan join us meet me here you have all my attention jesus i make room meet me here all i want is your presence all i want is your presence all we want is your presence jesus [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] there [Music] song [Music] jesus [Music] there is no higher name jesus [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Music] [Music] you sent the darkness to running out of an empty grave now speeded alone in glory and thrown down the highest praise you sent the darkness running out of an empty grave now seated alone in glory and throwed on the highest praise you sent you sent the darkness running out of an empty grave now seated alone in glory and thrown down the highest grace [Music] there is no higher name jesus [Music] sing hallelujah [Music] [Music] you rain above [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] well good morning it's uh just a delight to be with you once again this morning and uh it's just been such a such a busy week as we've been doing recordings on tuesday nights and thursday nights and man we have seen miracles happen live has been changed and uh some great direction happening um you know i am just uh so pleased with the way many of you have participated in what we've been doing on tuesday nights as well as on wednesday nights and you know we we don't know what next week is going to bring as our lock down levels no doubt will change but exactly how that will look we'll be communicating to you about that but i want to share um at the start of the service this morning just i thought that patricia actually shared with me and i know she shared with the music group and and she read from john chapter 16 and just reading verses 32-33 it says behold an hour is coming and has already come for you to be scattered he's of course speaking to his disciples jesus each to his own home and to leave me jesus alone and yet i'm not alone because the father is with me these things i have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace in the world you have tribulation take courage i've overcome the world well we've been scattered into our own homes and it's been a time of uncertainty and insecurity for many people and of course there's lots of things that are being spoken about what's what's going on in our nation and around the nations of the world and we are a type of scattered people at the moment one of the amazing things is that we can connect like this but the message that jesus had was listen you're going to have tribulation you're going to have troubles in the world but i've overcome the world and i think that is just a remarkable truth that jesus speaks out to us and so as a consequence of that he states that you know that we can have peace peace i leave with you and you know in the times of tribulation times of disturbance yet there is a supernatural deposit of the holy spirit that jesus can bring to you and he can bring his peace to you so i want to pray for everybody this morning and uh just encourage you to open up your heart and just let the holy spirit come and minister to you and and let his peace and his healing come to you come on let's all just pray if you've got an area in your body that you need healing in just lay your hands on that part of your body um you know and just put before the lord as we pray whatever issues you're facing and in particular if you are really struggling with having that sense of peace this is a moment for you for the holy spirit to come and minister to you come on let's pray let's believe god right now father i thank you that every single person participating in this broadcast father you understand every situation you understand what they're going through lord you fully realize the issues that are revolving around their lives but i pray right now just as you promise because you have overcome tribulations you have overcome the world that that has positioned you to be able to then impart to us courage strength peace and i pray right now jesus that you would come to every person and you would just bless them pour out your spirit upon them and let healing flow father for people with their bodies where they've got pain or other conditions father i just pray right now you just lay your hands on them oh here comes the anointing right now here comes the presence of god many of you are feeling it right now father just touch people by your spirit father let your power of healing flood into people's lives father i pray right now people have got pain that the pain go in jesus name there's a person here in particular you've got a lot of pain in your left shoulder the spirit of god is here father release your healing into that condition now you know there's a couple of people listening and you've got what's called tennis elbow and father i pray for those people right now just heal their elbows in jesus name father release your miracle power into their bodies thank you jesus christ father just flood every person listening right now with your healing power shasiba if there's a person watching right now and uh you gotta you are really troubled with mouth mouth ulcers and um god wants to just come and minister to you right now bring us healing to that father i break that infirmity off that person lord and i just command the mouth ulcers go in jesus name father release your healing power into the mouth and and lord the infections and whatever and just bring healing right now father just right through this broadcast let your peace and let your love just flood people's souls and hearts in jesus name amen amen hey look i've heard of so many people i'm getting healed and we've had some fantastic testimonies of people um communicating with us so i just want to encourage you please talk to us please let us know what god is doing for you in jesus name amen thank you well we just uh want to come again to the time of giving and uh i've just really enjoyed sharing with you just some very simple principles about giving and just very short this morning but uh we've already spoken about the fact that tithing is a new testament principle that tithing is part of us demonstrating our stewardship and that a key component is whether or not we demonstrate faithfulness with the 10 percent so that ultimately greater riches and greater resources can be entrusted to us and the bottom line is that through tithing we demonstrate just simply six characteristics in our lives i just want to share that with you and they're very basic and the first one is the the principle of accountability you see god holds us responsible with the resources he's entrusted to us and one of those resources is money and it's really important how do we hold ourselves accountable to god with regards our money and the second thing that it shows is discipline see when we continue to tithe we do that if we're disciplined no matter what we do it so discipline is demonstrated through tithing and of course the third thing that we that shows our character is honesty because when we come to tithe um i certainly do not know who's tithing and i don't want to know because it's none of my business but the issue is it's between you and god and being honest with god over your finances so honesty is something that's demonstrated and of course the fourth thing is the characteristic of diligence in other words a person remains diligent or attentive to the task of tithing the fifth thing that tithing demonstrates is of course faithfulness and of course if we're faithful and little god will entrust with us greater resources and greater riches because he knows that he's already we've already proven our faithfulness with our 10 percent and with giving so therefore he can then entrust us with much more and the final thing that giving and tithing demonstrates is trustworthiness it's a it's a matter of are we people who can be trusted to fulfill our responsibilities trustworthiness you see if i'm handling my finances in a godly kingdom orientated way with faith and grace i'm actually demonstrating that i'm a person to be trusted and boy what a what a characteristic that is in our lives how we handle money actually very much is an indication of the type of people we are an indication of our character i reckon tithing is a great way to demonstrate our character and what i'm going to do in the coming weeks is we will start to look into second corinthians and about those many the scriptures there on tithing and and giving but but underneath it all god is using money and in particular tithing i believe as a way to demonstrate some key character qualities in our lives it's a point of discipline come on we're going to give today and we're going to believe for god to just do miracles in your life as you bring your 10 and maybe some of you will bring more than that because you feel you want to give some more that's fine and uh we want to just really bless you and believe with you that god's going to move come on let's pray right now father lord i just pray that every person is giving today lord as they are demonstrating principles of wor of of trustworthiness of discipline father things like honesty and faithfulness and so forth lord i just pray that you would move in their lives in a mighty way in jesus name lord you pour out your holy spirit into their lives and you would just do miracles of financial provision father i pray that when there is undeaths that seem to be insurmountable that logic would just come as the god of intervention and bring some resources and release some money into their lives right now i pray particularly for the business people here that rather whatever stress they're going to whatever issues they're facing again lord you would just move powerfully and begin to provide answers and opportunities and you open up doors father i pray particularly for people today that lord are looking to venture out in the new areas of financial um sort of progress the lord you just direct them you guide them you'd bless them in that father i just pray just do miracles in jesus name father i just pray that you bless every person giving today in jesus name amen god bless you there'll be information coming up on your screen on how to give yoda no welcome to church today um my name is emily and i'm part of the team here at encounter auckland and whether you're in green bay or levin watching this as well it is so good um that you've connected with us this morning hey i would love to give you an opportunity to connect with us further today if you um have found this stream somehow or you've been recommended by a friend if you've been watching for a while you've really been feeling like you're connecting with um encounter church we would love to give you an opportunity to connect with us further today and you might ask why um you need to do that and this is because we are a body and um and in this time and and anytime we need to be in connection with one another that is what gives us strength that is what gives us covering that's what gives us sense of identity and and lots of lots of things um practical and spiritual and so um if you're on the fence this morning and you're thinking oh yeah you don't really i don't really need to connect with you i can just watch what i want in and out i tell you there is not the growth that will happen in your life if you just remain on the fence um and we as a church and believe that everybody is gifted from god that everybody has a purpose on this planet and that it takes connection and takes um being with one another to see that really at work in a really dynamic way and so i just want to encourage you to if you haven't before connect with us um send us your message and how you do that is just by getting out your phone and texting the word hello to 5863 and something will come to your phone and you can just take that first step and and hey if you find out you know this isn't for me i don't want that's fine but i just encourage you to take the step of connection because that is one of the purposes of god that we would be connected with one another and flowing as a church as a body of amazing different people um so i just welcome you to do that here now and also if you are connected with us and um you're part of our whanau i am missing you and i would just so love to be able to be together and we're hoping that potentially someday soon we can but hey if you have a prayer request if you have a need we would love to hear from you directly you can text us 5863 with the words prayer and we have got a team that can pray with you on the phone also we have a team that if you don't want to be contacted that we can just pray and intercede for your needs in your life because as i said we are a whanau we are a community of believers that that want to be able to stand with you and to be able to believe and hold faith for miracles in your life so if you um have a need have a prayer request do text us 5863 with the words prayer and it will come to your phone and that would be awesome okay i'm passing over to pastor brent now well today it's my delight to welcome once again apostle mike connell to share with us you know uh as all of you know mike has been a very close friend of mine i mean we're we're in talk um most days some way or another through social media or just over the phone but i love mike so much and and apostle mike has just brought so much wisdom and understanding to us the few tuesday nights ago when he shared and we ended up talking about people who had adopted our children and have got adopted children i mean what a powerful time it is and of course this week again i'll be interviewing mike and then we'll be having him on our thursday night holy ghost night and just to see what the lord does there but you know um mike apostle mike it's such a delight that you've given time to share with us again a great man of god a great leader in the things of the spirit a great pioneer in the ministry of deliverance and in particular uh in the area of inner healing come on let's uh welcome uh apostle mike today and we just believe that god will speak to us through what he delivers in jesus name amen greetings pastor brandt and pat and encounter church great joy to be with you today and to minister and share the word of god with you i encourage you open your hearts to receive what uh god is wanting to say you know one things i'm feeling a great level of concern about is the level of diversion hostility and antagonism that's going on not only in our country but right across the world and we're aware of the covet situation and regulations and particularly in auckland you'll be aware of the continued repetition of confinement it's very easy for an environment like this to bring up the worst in people and to stir up feelings of anger and justice so the message i want to share today is going to touch on the grace of god and staying in the grace of god i call this message what spirit is influencing you what spirit is influencing you you can either be influenced by the spirit of god and represent him and carry on his assignment and be an effective person representing his kingdom and advancing his kingdom or you can pick up the spirit of the world a spirit that divides a spirit that controls and manipulates and you can then cause destruction to what god is doing and not act as his representative which are you what spirit are you operating under let's just read a scripture out of luke chapter 5 51-56 luke 9 51-56 it came to pass when the time had come for him to be received up that he steadfastly set his face to go to jerusalem and he sent messengers before his face and as they went they entered the village of the samaritans to prepare for him so jesus has uh got his heart set on fulfilling his assignment that embraces the cross the letting go his own desire to preserve self so he can fulfill what god has called him to and he's sent messengers are here because he's got a crowd with them to go into the town of the samaritans and prepare a place for him to come and it says but they did not receive him they did not receive him they rejected him they reacted to him uh because his face was set for the journey to jerusalem and when his disciples james and john saw that they said lord do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven like elijah did burn them all up and he returned he turned to them and he rebuked them and he said you don't know what manner of spirit you are of for the son of man has not come to destroy lives he's come to save and they went to another village so you notice here that the disciples are facing and jesus is facing rejection the samaritans rejected jesus the samaritans resisted him coming to their town they pushed back on him and the reason is because there was an intense hostility between the samaritans and the jews and both of them hated one another there was religious and racial pride so sitting in the heart of people was bitterness and hatred and and racial pride religious pride and it's something about the presence of jesus that causes these things to surface in people's lives and you find it says here the disciples reacted they reacted to what they felt was unfair they've come to help they've come with a heart to bless they've come to bring ministry to the to the city and now the city has reacted to them and so they're feeling rejected they're feeling injustice they're feeling angry at how they're being treated and so their response was the response we see so often their response is left for italian let's get fire to come down from heaven and uh so the human tendency is for people to divide and separate from those who we view as being different we could be different in color different in racial origin different in gender different in social uh ranking uh different and uh origins where we've come from there can be many reasons we're different but the tendency for people is to divide and create an us in them mentality it's rooted in pride so fear when there's fear in people's life then they don't it's an uncomfortable feeling people seek to control they seek to try and manage it and and often they end up trying to control life by labeling someone blaming someone for the struggles that they're facing what they're going through and then set up an us and them mentality and often when there's a lot of fear there's also deep suspicion and uh there's also uh deep hostility people come up with all kinds of conspiracy theories it's like the mind fantasizes about what may be happening but really it's driven by the spirit of the world it's not driven by the spirit of god and we see that if you have a think about it you go back into the into the days of the early church the roman emperor uh called the nation or divided the nation up he divided them against the christians he labeled the christians as resisting the government as resisting uh the the order in the roman empire and once he had labeled them then he was able to stir up them a separation us and then mentality and then a persecution of them putting many of them to death the same thing happened in nazi germany germany was going through financial hardship and uh hitler's message was one of uniting the nation bringing the nation together we're one people one great nation and then he put the problem for their poverty he placed it or blamed it on the jews and created an us and them mentality and once he had done that then he was able to bring uh exclusion to them he's put labels on them and then initiated a persecution against them this all sounds familiar this is history you know if we don't learn from history we just tend to repeat the same things so what i'm wanting you to see then is what lies behind it there's a demonic spirit lies behind separation and division that we see in the stories we've just read and that in the disciples reaction the disciples were under the influence of a demonic spirit not the spirit of christ and not the spirit of grace here's the thing they thought they were standing up to do right to honor jesus they were totally unaware of the spirit they were operating in they just didn't recognize what it was see jesus message in his heart was a message of grace he said love your enemies pray for those who despitefully use you bless those who curse you he carried the spirit of grace so when people react when people treat you badly the spirit that ma that influences your life will then respond so if you're under a demonic spirit it will link into the pride the uh rejection the anger the hostility in the heart and there will be a reaction to divide to separate and then to label and then to find some way to retaliate and notice here the question then would be how do you respond when you treat it unjustly how do you respond when you treat it unfairly what do you do what spirit do you allow to influence you is it the spirit of injustice the spirit of hatred and anger violence whatever is it the spirit of grace and we're going to look and understand what grace is here's the thing the holy spirit is called the spirit of grace hebrews 10 29 he is the spirit of grace who can be grieved he's also known as zechariah 12 10 as the spirit of grace and supplication one who leads us to move and operate in grace to people one who moves and leads us to pray that faithful will come upon people in other words completely contrary to the spirit we see in the world we notice in the passage we've just seen that jesus did not react to his mistreatment he did not react to the dishonor that was given to him he did not impose himself on them he just carried on and stayed focused on his mission and went to those who would receive him so notice he said the son of man has not come to destroy men's lives but to save them this is the core of his message we need to see jesus came to save not destroy when you walk in that same spirit of grace you're walking in a pathway to save people not to judge them and destroy them think about that and uh so very clearly from jesus assignment statement in luke 4 18 this is not the day of vengeance the bible talks of a day of a vengeance of the lord when he will come in power and will judge the nations and he will enforce his rule on them but this is not that day this is the acceptable year of the lord this is a day of grace this is a day of invitation of people into relationship how can you invite people into relationship with god if you yourself are operating under the influence of the spirit of the world and uh and influenced by division so what spirit is influencing you do you extend grace and stay on mission that's what jesus did he was gracious to the people and he stayed focused on his mission his assignment so in the midst of all the turmoil what you see in the media all the things you see around you what spirit is influencing you do you respond to the influence of media the influence of the community the influence of what's happening in our society and in the world right now with fear and anger injustice and wanting to control and retaliate or do you yield to the spirit of god the spirit of grace and the spirit of intercession or prayer and supplication what what is influencing your life you choose that do you extend grace and stay on mission we're here to reach people and bring them into the kingdom or do you start to operate out of judgment condemnation and a desire to exclude divide and retaliate where are you operating what spirit are you operating under so that brings us then we see the spirit of god as the spirit of grace the bible tells us jesus was full of grace in other words he overbounded with grace and with truth they go together grace without truth is very weak truth without grace is very harsh you need the two together but let's have an understanding of what grace is about so if we ask what does the word grace mean for other people the only time you think of the word grace if you're christian you say grace at a meal or you come to church and sing amazing grace and that's kind of the limit of it and if we ask people to define what grace is well most christians will come up it's unmerited favor but when you ask them to say well what does it what does it mean beyond that help me how does this work out in life it's often very hard for people to understand or articulate so i want to help you understand what grace is and what it looks like and if we can understand that then we'll see then the importance of us to walk under the influence of the spirit of grace and truth of course so commonly the the word grace is the c h a word r ice i s and it means loving kindness it means favor it means generosity so the original bible meaning of the word charis grace means it's a favor that is given to you it's not something you work for or earn in fact we've never done anything to deserve or earn the grace in fact if you do something to try and earn grace or favor or generosity from god then it's no longer grace you're working for it so grace to be grace has to be freely given it has to be a gift that you freely give to someone so god is full of grace jesus was full of grace in other words that means he extends favor even when it's not deserved if you think from a human perspective we always think kindness must be deserved so we say things like oh well i don't deserve that so our whole thinking is if they deserve it they can get it if they don't deserve it they don't get it or putting it another way you've got to work to get grace given to your favor or kindness or generosity that is the spirit of the world that is not the spirit of god god abounds and grace he is full of grace full of mercy full of compassion he desires to impart or favor into our lives so let's so we see then grace in the first thing we see about grace is it's the kindness the generosity it's the favor of god given to us that's the first thing without us trying to do anything to earn it it's a gift if it's a gift you receive it if it's a work you got to earn it so it's a gift second thing is grace means this it means you are special and favored to by god it means you are favored so one of the key words uh that is associated with the definition of charis is favor favor gives you access favor is a gift someone gives you that allows access to them so grace gives us access to god it means we are favored it means we are special to him if you have grace on your life you are favored see so so the word favorite the definition of that means literally to be especially loved to to express great approval or affection to us and the western thinking we think well if i'm the favorite you're not so we we make it all personal but that's not how god works god is very very big so so you know so god abounds in favor to all people he offers an invitation to come into favor with him and uh interestingly in the bible that the word favor or great the word grace and the word joy have identical roots to them i'll show you how this connects in a moment see the word grace is the word kara c-h-a-r-i-s karis special favor the word joy is the word c-h-a-r-a kara karis kara grace joy so grace means that you are specially favored and loved joy means someone is glad to be with you so if you just look at what grace then means we realize when someone sees you as someone they favor usually their eyes light up their countenance lights up with joy so if you find someone who's your friend they love you they're glad to see you they're someone that really treasures and values you when you meet them their face lights up they smile they're so glad to see you so you see now then when we look at grace grace then is a gift of god to you that brings you into an unearned relationship as a favorite child that he delights to be with let me better say that again or something like that grace is a gift that god gives you that brings you into an unearned relationship with him like a favored child you are favored by him well i haven't done anything i didn't do so good today no no no that changes it if you have to earn it it's not favor from god's point of view nothing you do changes him so being good being bad being up and down whatever that does not change who he is he is full of grace abounding in grace and favor and opportunity he desires to give favor to you as a beloved child and delight to see you so we see when someone shows grace to us they're happy to see us and they want to bless and help us so grace then also is an invitation into relationship then grace is an invitation we see it's a gift it's a gift that brings us into favor we see that it causes this person who gives us that gift great joy to do that now if you're in the middle eastern culture a gift when you give someone a gift it's an invitation into relationship it doesn't matter the size of the gift a gift small or great is an art it's a an emblem or a sign of honor i value you i value the relationship with you so giving a gift to someone is a indicates they desire to enter into a relationship with you now in the western thinking of course someone gives a gift oh thank you very much it's wonderful we we i we think totally around the gift the object and we don't think about the intention that it's actually an expression of honor and value and within it is a desire for relationship i give you a gift to express i honor you i value you i favor you i actually want to be in relationship with you so so giving a gift in the middle eastern culture was an invitation not just to honor but it was an invitation to relationship if you received the gift it meant you accepted the invitation into relationship so think about that god wants to give to us when we receive the gift it's undeserved but it brings us into great favor with him and it brings us into relationship so let me just put it another way god's grace is given to you without you earning it to bring you into a favored position so you can endure experience relationship with him an ongoing relationship we tend to think it's all one-way street and i'll show you something else about grace in a moment let me give you an example in john 21 verse 9 through to 12 you remember that the disciples had all run away from jesus and uh and they had all left him and abandoned him to die on his own on the cross after he was resurrected they were out in the boat fishing and uh it says they saw him and they came to the land and jesus had prepared a meal for them he had prepared a meal in in the middle east culture a meal the gift of a meal is in placing honor upon you and an invitation to relationship it has a totally different meaning to what we think about in the west so notice there jesus did not raise with them at all the issue of their walking away from him of their failure he didn't bring it up at all in a western culture we would think well now listen we've got an issue we've got to sort out no meals no eating no gifts we've got to sort something out and we'd want to have a face to face and raise this issue and say well you need to now say you're sorry and we need to put it right okay we'll sit down have a meal that's not how jesus works that's not how the kingdom works that's not how grace works jesus said i've got a meal come and have a meal with me his invitation to a meal was an invitation back into relationship he was signaling i desire our relationship to be restored and their acceptance of the meal was their acceptance back into relationship and signal understanding this matter is behind us both now it's all over our relationship is restored that's grace let's go see how different it is to the way we tend to think it's an unearned favor it's something that god gives to us because of a desire to bring us into a favored position of relationship with him where we can be special to him and he's able to delight in us and here's the next thing about grace that you you probably are not aware of it all because the western thinking as i say is grace is one way it comes to me god gives me a gift that's it thank you um but actually that's not how it worked in the middle east culture in the middle eastern culture grace was always reciprocal reciprocal that means it flows two ways it's not a one-way street it goes back and forth it means to interchange and we see that in john 1 16 he said of his fullness or goodness we have all received grace for grace so notice then grace is received and then grace is given in other words grace is like a flow between two people in relationship with one another the person who initiates the relationship initiates gifting and honor and the invitation into relationship the other person in receiving that realizes we're in relationship and responds with grace to the other person now the relationship may be unequal one is far more powerful wealthy influential than the other nevertheless grace for grace in other words grace flows both ways and we don't tend to see that we tend to think of absorbing one way so the response to receiving grace is to return grace let me say that again the response to receiving grace is to return grace in fact in that culture if you fail to return grace you are considered a deeply dishonorable person you've been invited into relationship you've been extended special favor you've been helped out of a situation this is an invitation to relationship if you don't respond you're showing yourself as a taker you're showing yourself as a dishonorable person you're willing to take from someone exploit what they have but you're not willing to enter into a relationship and participate with what you have think about that so in the middle eastern culture the romans the greeks and the and the jews of jesus died they understood that when grace was given when someone extended favor kindness generosity that there was a reciprocation and what was understood was the proper appropriate way to reciprocate involve four things number one to be grateful thank you so every time the person had received grace or received a favor or received a help from someone who had power to help then he would be thankful every time he'd enter his presence thank you for what you've done for me thank you for your gift and likewise god has given much to us through the death of jesus christ we come to him our first thing is to say thank you the second thing that a person who received grace did was they would testify to others about how good this person was in other words they would testify of his grace his generosity is willing to give he's willing to favor his willingness to help they would tell others and and honor his name publicly so in other words grace was not extended just to the one on reaction it was also wherever they went they would honor him and they would extend his honor by testifying how good he was what a contrast so many christians received so much from the lord and failed to testify unwilling to testify and to bring honor to god for his grace his gift his favor they have experienced how does honoring to the one who gave such grace that we would not thank him and not actually share with others that he has done this for us the third thing that was required was the person remain loyal in other words the invitation uh the giving of of a gift the giving of a of a grace gift and the gift itself was called grace the person who gave it was a man of grace and and so that that offering of grace was an invitation to relationship you were expected to be loyal that means don't form friendships with his enemies likewise jesus requires of us having come into relationship with god not to become loyal to his enemies not to form arrangements with his enemies where we receive favors from his enemies he wants us to remain faithful to him to honor the relationship is something special and cherished and of course the last thing was that uh it was and talk about being reciprocal grace for grace so if i've received grace from someone with power to help me get ahead in life how to help me in business helping with my marriage help me in my life help me through a disaster if i've received grace now i return grace i'm thankful i testify i remain loyal to him and here's the last thing if he wants something from me it's yes i drop everything to do it it's a priority for me to extend grace back to him when he desires it so now you see that a grace-based relationship with god is more to it than what you've been that what you've previously thought it's not just unmerited favor a blessing of god and it's helped me on my way it's far more than that this is a an invitation to relationship it's reciprocal i give grace back for the grace i've received so how amazing so i therefore thank the lord constantly i share about what he's done and not only that i remain loyal to him and don't have conflicting loyalties and whenever he wants then i respond to him of course god himself has no need of anything from us but i tell you what he does want he wants us to represent him carry on his mission and extend his grace to others to make his name famous so receiving the grace of god coming under the spirit of grace there is it's totally unearned god comes to us and says i want to give this to you i want to give you a gift of eternal life i invite you into an ongoing relationship with me in that relationship i will treat you as a favored child i delight over you every time i see you i constantly joy over you this is a special place in my heart of favor and what you need i'm going to provide for you however the unwritten expectation is i will be grateful to him i will testify to him i will honor his name i will be loyal to him and i will become a grace person just as he is gracious to me full of grace i will grow in grace and become a grace person in the earth as his representative how does that sound so jesus demonstrated the meaning of grace by dying on the cross removing all obstacles relationship to relationship with god grace now god invites us into relationship because of what jesus did he invites us to become beloved son favorite son and daughter someone he rejoices to be with and not only that grace is a supernatural ability it's his resources to face everything you need in life and finally it's reciprocal i need to respond i need to respond so we did great how many understand now grace is far more in it than what you thought now i want to take you to another a couple of scriptures i'm going to look in a moment in hebrews 12 but before we get there we're looking to peters 3 18 and the bible commands us grow in grace grow in grace here it is 2 peter 3 18 grow in grace and the knowledge of our lord jesus and savior jesus christ to him be glory both now and forever amen so notice that peter commands us to grow in grace in other words the level of grace favor the way of operating and living and flowing with the holy spirit of god out towards people that can increase in your life you can grow from grace to grace to grace to grace you can grow in your capacity to be a channel of god to people and god wants you to grow in that grace and it's connected to the knowledge of jesus christ so the deeper your intimacy and knowledge with the lord and what he is like causes you not only to receive grace but to become a greater grace person gracious do people know you has been gracious or cranky do they know you as being a gracious generous person liberal person or someone who is self-centered selfish and mean what spirit is upon your life the spirit of the world withholding us and them keeping for me what belongs to me or is it the spirit of grace that causes liberality and generosity a desire to empower others so in hebrews 12 where we want to go now i want to open up a couple of things for you in hebrews 12 there's an exhortation concerning grace there's two of them and one of them is found in verse 15 be diligent not to fall short of the grace of god so another saying you need to put in a special effort that you don't fall short in other words you fall out of the flow of god's grace and favor and power and he says very so that tells us it's possible having entered a position of being favored by god for you to act in a way that moves you out of that flow of power and grace and favor and help in life and the second thing he says in verse 28 he says let us hold fast the grace of god let us hold fast the grace of god that word whole fast means to cling on to or grip onto the grace of god which suggests that everything around you will pull you in a direction to cause you to let go of the very thing that brings favor with god and supernatural resources to do life think about that so before i go on to those two things i want to just look at them what it means to fall short of the grace of god and how that happens and i want to look at how you hold on to the grace of god but before we do that i want you just to look at the context what is that what is the framework surrounding paul's exhortations uh concerning grace to be diligent to to be really put in a lot of effort and be very careful make sure you don't fall out the grace of god and secondly uh make sure you hold on to the grace of god so what there are three things that are mentioned in there which all form the background to why he said to do these two things about grace so the background for the two exhortations are this firstly experiences of injustice and hostility towards believers in hebrews 12 3 consider jesus who endured such hostility from sinners against himself lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls and understand jesus himself who was our patent our example experienced hostility against him he experienced injust injustice and and that's what he says is it says you've got to get your focus back on him again who endured these things and overcame those things because if you don't it's likely when you face lots of injustice in life things happening and they're wrong and they're unfair you see them in the news and the media all the time it's easy to become weary and discouraged or literally and king james said to faint literally fall over and give up because the pressure's too much so the word weary means to have your strength exhausted and fatigued by the constant difficulties so he's saying there's a danger that constant injustices difficulties pressures of life disappointment struggles and those sorts of things wherever they're in business or finance and relationships wherever it is it's possible that they will drain your strength they will drain your energy you just become tired of fighting you're lacking grace and uh so in the end times the bible tells us there will be an opening of the gates of hell there will be uh uh outpouring of demonic activity and then daniel 7 25 it says it will be permission given to the to satan to wear out or wear down the saints of the most high god so in other words as we get closer to the end times there will be demonic difficulties and pressures there will be literally physical things happening in the earth and in our circumstances it will be easy to become worn down discouraged and quit we need grace we need to keep our eyes on jesus the word discourage means literally to let go spiritually or to let go in your spirit it means to let go the intimate connection with the grace giver that would help us overcome in the time of difficulty so unless we continue to access god receive his power his ability his favor his help his encouragement then what will happen is our inner man will become weary we will then let go pursuing god and begin to give up on what god called us to do with our life your assignment prepares you for your destiny you can't afford to quit and give up you can't afford to become weary and discouraged your eternal future is at stake in this one god has planned a kingdom and he's planned a realm of responsibilities for those who are faithful to him in this current age this current evil age so we need to constantly access the the presence of god so the first reason he says it's possible come out of the grace of god is because of just injustices and pressures and oppositions difficulties the second is because god is trying to discipline us so in hebrews 12 7 he says if you endure chastening god is dealing with you as sons for what son is there whom his father doesn't chasten so chastening means god disciplining us bringing certain things around our life that are very uncomfortable and discipline's always uncomfortable but it's to bring out the drosonites to bring out the things in our character that are lacking to expose them bring them to the surface and bring corruption so we can grow to maturity we can grow in holiness we can grow up so all discipline is painful but god who is the god of grace will give you grace to change to actually walk through it and change so first thing injustices and difficulties that can wear us down we need grace second it's painful when god's trying to change our lives we need to access the grace of god then as well and grace empowers us to receive the correction and change the third thing that's in the context of this is the certainty of an end time global shaking now i can't develop this much but let me just cover a few thoughts i'll open one scripture i want to get on to the grace part again hebrews 12 25 see you don't refuse him who speaks if they did not escape he refused him and spoke on earth much more shall we not escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven his voice then shook the earth but he's promised saying yet once more i'm going to do this again what i did before shook the mountain now i'm going to shake much more not only the earth but also heaven so yet yet once more indicates the removal of things that are being shaken as of things that are made that the things which cannot be shaken may remain so notice what he's saying here he said don't refuse him who speaks he's saying there is a need for a deep personal relationship with god hearing his voice god's invitation his grace is to bring you into that relationship you need to value that relationship pursue that relationship the instance he's talking about here refers to exodus 19 when the glory of god came on the mountain the mountain shook and the people refused to go up into the presence of god they wanted someone else to go for them this is not the day for someone else to be going for you you need to go into the presence of god hear the voice of god you are favored god has made a way his grace is available he wants to speak with you he wants to help with you run into his presence bible says come boldly to the throne of grace come confidently to the realm of authority in the heavens where grace favor help supernatural empowerment is given to us we can find mercy and grace to help in our time of need it tells us so god wants to help you and especially so in the end times as we get to the carry to the shaking so notice here the characteristics of the shaking the heavens and the earth will be shaken it tells us and it will come in waves like a woman in labor first little and far apart then gradually greater and greater and greater till god births the transition of kingdoms in the earth in matthew 24 8 jesus likened this to labor pains it tells us that all the nations of the earth will be shaken in other words there's no place in the earth you can run to haggai 2 7 all nations will be shaken and it tells us that the physical earth will be violently shaken isaiah 24 19 to 20 and it also tells us in revelations revelation 6 15 that all the governmental and economic systems of the world will be shaken that's some shaking and that shaking is to bring about transition from this age to the kingdom age so i don't know how close we are to that but if you're getting upset by a few of the things that are happening now you won't stand with the other things that are coming right now in the season of shaking this is the time to have grace no wonder no wonder god encourages us to hold on to grace be diligent to keep in the grace of god so we need the grace of god because of things we experience injustice hostility difficulties we need the grace of god because god wants to help us through the discipline and the process of being changed to become like him meaning we'll face difficulties with people that lead us into coming to find grace from god to manage it and we need grace because the end times will be so difficult that if we don't have the power and ability of god to survive we will be overwhelmed by what's coming on the earth we need the grace of god grace will help us overcome so now we get to the verse and in verse 14 and 15 how do you fall from grace how do you fall from grace remember what he says being diligent you don't fall from grace how do you fall from grace so in verse 14 and 15 pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the lord in other words most of the reasons we fall out of grace is because of people and he says now two things pursue peace don't be an agitator don't be a stirrer pursue peace with people now god is the god of peace he's the prince of peace sometimes peace means we've got to deal and address with issues but pursue peace be a peacemaker and then he says looking carefully does anyone fall from the grace of god there's any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble and by this many become defile so notice this being diligent to pursue grace is connected to our relationships with people and reactions to being hurt by them wow think about that so actions of people against us can stir up feelings of anger and height and injustice and i notice there he says be diligent to hold on to the grace of god come into god to experience love and favor and healing and help and wisdom to know what to do so you can represent him as a grace person the alternative is you let go of or you fall from the grace of god and then inevitably bitterness comes up in your heart instead of being able to reach out to the problems that people create with grace and truth we end up becoming bitter reactionary and developing us and their mentality and divide away and separate this is why marriages break up not enough grace this is why relationships break up not of grace we're coming under another spirit we need to realize that god sent jesus to save heal restore back into relationship not to bring punishment retaliation and judgment think about that so what how do you fall from grace oh very simple here's a few things that cause people offences you become offended and don't forgive you'll fall from grace you're refusing to give grace now your ability to access grace diminishes think about that anger you react to people in anger well god will give you grace to manage your anger but if you react in anger now you're not being a grace person you're withholding grace from people in fact you're bringing exactly the opposite then that means grace starts to diminish in your life think about that fear become fearful of people if we let fear dominate us we come under the spirit of fear will stop being gracious to people we will label them and separate from them try to control them suspicion suspicion is rooted in fear suspicion anxiety cause you to dream of all kinds of conspiracies things that might be happening what people might be thinking listen you won't be gracious to people if you let the spirit of suspicion uh to to come around your life you've got to actually come into god and choose to put on the mindset of christ if you receive his love for you and your difficulty love will help you overcome fear and suspicion to continue to love people love believes the best in them think about that not thinks about the worst judging when you judge people you cancel out god's grace to you you you cut yourself off from access to that grace until you repent of that judgment and neglect if we just neglect our relationship with god will fall out of grace so there's just a few things you could probably think of some of your own so he tells us very clearly don't fall from the grace of god be very careful be careful when people offend you be careful when you feel angry be careful when you feel afraid be careful when you feel suspicious and uncertain and anxious be fearful when you you want to judge someone be fearful when your prayer life is going around be concerned about that instead of coming under the spirits of those things lean and come to the throne of grace and receive help comfort for your heart reassurance from god as his favored one as his loved one he's got your back he's with you you're going to need to react and follow the spirit of the world you're bigger than that you're better than that and you're called to be his representative you can walk and minister grace to people and so how do we hold on to grace how do you hold on to it so hebrews 12 28 we're receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken let us have grace whereby we may serve god acceptedly with reverence and godly fear so the word have grace means get a grip on it hold it take hold of it you know just come to you you've got to take hold of it and we access god by faith it's our faith that gives us access to grace here's a couple of scriptures on that and so you notice ephesians 2 8 by grace are you saved through faith so believing god trusting god gives access to the power the grace of god so he extends his goodness shares in his word about his goodness if i believe it it gives me access to access all he's provided in romans 5 1 being justified by faith we have peace with god and through whom we have access by faith into this grace so notice then you can't get access to the grace of god without believing and trusting him so notice also on this it says that we may serve god acceptably so we receive grace because you can't serve god acceptably without it you can do lots of stuff you can be very busy but the grace means the divine empowerment we're receiving the flow of the life of god we're being directed by the holy spirit we're getting wisdom from god we're getting direction from god his power is flowing through a surrendered life the grace of god okay and that comes by faith the bible says in hebrews 12 uh sorry 11 6 it says without faith we can't please him faith gives access to him trusting him and trusting his word so how can you hold on to grace two key ways then we'll finish the message you ready here's the first one you've got to receive grace you've got to believe god access him to receive grace for your own needs to be met another says love the lord with all your heart love your neighbor as yourself so love the lord first of all so receive grace from him and then secondly give grace to others so it's a flow i receive grace from god and i respond with grace it's not just to him it's also to people how can you say you love god who you can't see you can't love and express his grace to the people you can see think about it think about it we're not meant to be in a spiritual bubble of our own we're meant to actually be as representatives grace is given so we can be grace people in the earth so how can i receive grace while vision you need to see yourself especially favored you're a favorite person you're not a failure you're not a weakling you're not somebody of low value you're of high value to god you've got to believe you're of high value to god prayer build a strong relationship with god honoring him and loving him and blessing him truth develop the knowledge of what the word of god says because it's in knowing the word of god building relationship with jesus we grow in grace humility it says god gives grace to the humble darkest race to the hubble hebrews 4 6 so surrender your life surrender your circumstances instead of reacting come into god to receive grace to receive his help to become empowered again and faith i need to come believing the god of lord so that's how i receive grace by grace by grace through faith faith brings me into god's presence i believe his word i respond and he loves me he's happy to see me he loves me he cares about me and he cares about you to be in the grace of god means to be in a place of special favor special relationship privilege and honor and access his resources don't neglect that and fall from that place of favor you need it to overcome a life and then give grace to others how can i give grace to others well a whole number of simple ways don't hold grudges and offences keep your heart clean towards people don't hold bitterness don't hold judgments keep your heart free towards people forgive and release blessing bless those who curse you you know pray for those who despite please you overcome evil with good those are kind of ways you extend grace refuse to live in fear try to control rather step into love and start to love people and believe the best about them here's another thing welcome people smile and welcome people into your world don't be a grumpy old person smile what make people welcome in your world be glad to see them that's what grace looks like grace enjoy it's it's the favorite extended to someone you're glad to see them glad to welcome into your world as god's representative we're called to show grace speak words of minister grace so what a challenge this is it's been a great challenge for me to prepare the message for you a few thoughts come from what is the holy ghost saying to you through this what did you catch what is the spirit of god said to you what response do you need to make how are you responding currently to injustice the media the locals said the situation that's going on is your heart getting more anxious and tense and fearful and self-directed or are you leaning deeper into god to access the throne of grace brethren let us come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy in other words help recovery for when we failed and grace to help when we so desperately need it god bless you i pray this message will strengthen you and that you'll become a pursuer of god accessing the grace of god and give and extend that grace to others you're a great person wow awesome wasn't apostle mike incredible and wow we have got him back tonight as well so i encourage you to tell your friends tell your neighbors share it um on social media that that apostle mike is back tonight and also that he is going to be live on tuesday night and ministering um on our holy spirit night on thursday so we are so so blessed to have such an incredible man of god at our at our fingertips on your screen um so that is awesome but hey have a great afternoon enjoy the sunshine and we will see you back at six o'clock awesome kaketo [Music] in our weakness you were there [Music] you're our strength when it's hard to bear [Music] in our trials you hold the key you're a piece in a troubled sea [Music] in our weakness you are there you're our strength when it's hard to bear in our trials you hold the key [Music] you're our peace in a troubled sea faithful you have always been faithful you will be lord we put our trust in you you are always faithful you have always been faithful you will be lord we put our trust in you you are all we need [Music] [Music] everything [Music] you're our strength when it's hard to bear [Music] [Music] see faithful you have always been faithful you will be lord we put our trust in you you are all we need faithful you have always been unfaithful you will be lord we put our trust in you you are following me [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] we need [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the jesus come to the father of love oh come to the father [Music] come to the father come to the father come to the father [Music] [Music] [Music] the father come to the father come to the father come to the father oh come to the father [Music] come to the father come to the father [Music] oh [Music] [Music] lifted [Music] you are glorified for you are lifted high [Music] forever lifted heart you are magnified forever [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] father [Music] we need [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes is [Music] is is [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] so me is [Music] me [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] forever [Music] [Music] forever [Music] forever [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] remember [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] hello [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

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Published: Sat Oct 02 2021