Family Church Portsmouth

Ps Paula continues the theme of Pathways which began last week.  Sometimes we go wandering or are led to wander off the path we are on by another person. There is a path that Jesus wants us to follow, the path of righteousness.  God’s way, His path is best for us, He has a great track record of providing the best for us. But we do always have a choice! Psalm 23 says (NIV) “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. We can take the path that the Good Shepherd our God is leading us. 

God's ways are totally different when the world screams ‘do whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it’. God calls us to crucify our flesh and it isn't always easy. The path of righteousness is about our actions and our responses. Matthew 7:13 says (NIV) “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”.

Like Zacchaeus, we need to be able to let Jesus into the mess of our lives. When you let him in, he speaks freedom and he speaks restoration and like Zacchaeus, (his identity was restored), so can ours be. 

God we need you, help us, restore us, and bring us back onto your path, in Jesus name, Amen.

Today, Pastor Steu begins a new series titled Pathways, following our thoughts on Kairos. The Bible has a lot to say about Pathways or roads and in the Bible they were many times that God took people on a natural physical Journey, giving them direction as they proceeded. Ps Steu uses many examples from scripture where people stepped out in faith to follow a certain pathway as directed by God. 

There are many lessons we can learn from Abraham, the children of Israel, Jonah and others. For example, the fact that Abraham had to step out in faith on his journey reminds us that when we walk with God, it's a Journey of faith. Doing things God's way takes faith because we are opposing the way of the world. So it's important as we endeavour to live out God's path for our lives that we follow God for us. Without God we can't do anything effective as ambassadors of His Kingdom, we can’t live an effective life without His presence in our lives. We need to make wise choices in order to do this, seeking wisdom from the Bible, Proverbs 4 being a wonderful start!

Pastor Stue continues this theme by unwrapping thoughts about God’s plan for our lives. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 gives us instruction about the offer of life or death telling us to love the Lord our God and walk in obedience to Him, keeping His commands, decrees and laws. The path of righteousness is God’s plan for our lives, the pathway for us to follow.

Pastor Paul McCulloch and his wife Elise visited us today from Hope Unlimited Church, Gosford Campus and delivered a challenging message. Following the outbreak of Covid, many churches experienced some people leaving whilst others joined. God continues to do new things! It's so easy in the world that we live in to think that we have control over our own destiny, that we have control over everything in our life. But in reality we dont! We need to understand that there is this dependence on God and also recognize that dependence on His truth. It's not just about a belief in an eternal God, but it's the truth of His word that it is life to us that as we obey what God puts in His book, He gives us every principle that we need to get through this life abundantly. The challenge isn't whether the word is truth. The challenge is whether we can receive it, or would love it.

Ps Paul continues to speak on three aspects - God's plan for us as individuals, His plan for us corporately and His plan for us programmatically.

Listen to this engaging message!

https://hopeuc.com/au/location/gosford/

Today Pastor Andy dismissed his prepared massage following a massive outpouring of God’s Spirit in church after worship inspired by the song titled Champion (Bethel Music).  The words

When I lift my voice and shout

Every wall comes crashing down

I have the authority (yes, I do)

Jesus has given me

When I open up my mouth

Miracles start breaking out

I have the authority

Jesus has given me……

…caused the whole congregation to shout Jesus name with many strongholds then being broken. Ps Andy then spoke that we have the same authority as Jesus had from His Father. When we begin to  speak with the authority of Jesus Christ,  the enemies stood in front of us begin to flee, the situations that seem irreversible begin to turn. Ps Andy believes that this was more than just a nice moment, more that God restored a shout to his house today. Also, we have got to put a shout in our personal prayer times. 

Andy continued to speak around Isaiah 35, how wastelands became floodlands, how our hands will become strengthened for worship and service, how our knees may be strengthened to sustain our bodies and how fear be banished. This was a message and a service not to have missed!!!

Today, Pastor Andy continues the theme of Kairos – for such a time as this. A Kairos moment, a moment of divine, God orchestrated favour and happening is most often to do with the Holy Spirit doing something new on the earth. Ps Andy references the outpouring of the Spirit in Asbury recently. When we see God moving around in different parts of the world it’s amazing, but the good news is that we can be assured in our hearts but the Same Spirit that's moving in those different locations is the same Spirit that lives in us!! Pastor Andy believes we are seeing a Kairos moment now with God pouring out a fresh touch of His Spirit. He is hungry for God to do what he wants to do because whenever there's a Kairos moment or a moment of revival people come back to life with all revived. When the Spirit of God begins to blow in a fresh way, rusty Christians get revived.

The story of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37 is an illustration for us now, says Pastor Andy. Here, God tells the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy over the valley of dry bones which then become alive after skin, sinew, tendons and eventually the breath of God is breathed back into them. Surely, this was a Kairos moment. This was a picture for Israel, but is also a picture for us, but when we look at what's going on in the world today, it looks like chaos. It looks like the ship is going down. We read reports for Christianity, people don't want it anymore. People don't want religion, they do want God. They want God but what is the answer? God's church is the answer. The church is already on the earth, but too much of the church is dry bones, too much of a church once lived, but went dry and died in their faith, gave up on God, but kept coming to church and fell asleep. Pastor Andy believes we are in one of those moments. A Kairos moment where God is breathing on his church, putting fresh breath back into the church.

We need to be positioned correctly and hungry for the Spirit of God to blow new breath into our beings.

Pastor Sean speaks about our response to God in the Kairos moment. One of our Church Values is that we are all responsive people and responsive to God. Also, that the moment we are is all about being able to react correctly to what God is asking us to do. Ps Sean takes many examples of how people responded to God from scripture, perhaps the most notable being that of Nehemiah who led the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.  In 52 days, the city walls were rebuilt, the gates were rebuilt, and the doors were rehung…an amazing feat. Nehemiah brought many people, some from high up positions or perhaps seemingly no relevant trades to come together and undertake this task. For such a time as this Nehemiah responded by saying, ‘here I am’, ready to serve the purposes of God’s Kingdom. So it is with us in our community. Romans 12 tells us we all have different gifts, each can bring something to the house of the Lord. We all need to ensure we are using our gifts for the purposes of God – even if just to speak words of encouragement perhaps. It is vital we carry on doing what we do in the body of Christ, only this way we can be ready for what is next to come our way. God's house needs to be alive and working, functioning as it should.

We are all called to serve for His purposes – this is our response to the time such as this. 

Pastor Stue continues the theme of Kairos this week speaking about “Our Position and Purpose” in this Kairos moment. 

In Matthew 24, Jesus speaks about end times, of many earthquakes, natural disasters and signs in the heavens and on earth. Also that darkness will increase wickedness on earth. We do live in a world that is pretty broken, according to Jesus - the acceptable year of the Lord or the season of God's grace. Luke 4:18-19 speaks of the acceptable year of the Lord of the season of God's Grace - beginning when Jesus died on the cross and ending when Jesus returns. In this season that we live, every single person who calls out to Jesus can be saved.

If anyone calls upon Jesus, turns their heart to Jesus, they will be saved because Jesus took the sin of the world upon himself so that we could be made perfect in the sight of God. This is the Gospel message. This season of God's grace is the season of God's favour. The Bible is very clear that we are going to see an outpouring of God's spirit upon the church His people that will be mobilised and empowered to live for the purposes of God's kingdom and bring the good news of God's kingdom to this world. God set us apart and He has a purpose for our lives. The only way we can accomplish the purpose of God in our lives is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Each of us has been positioned in God's Kingdom for such a time as this.

Even though we go through storms in our lives, the key to being used for God's Kingdom purposes is to make ourselves available to Him. When we are available to God, positioned in this moment for God's purposes we can then walk in His purposes in our lives. We do not need to be perfect, just available. 

Maybe we need to spend less time worrying about how we failed, how we didn't make perfect choices, how we wasted our time, how we hurt others, or perhaps how we ourselves were hurt, or how we suffered, and maybe we need to spend more time, being set apart now, for the purposes of God.

Pastor Andy continues the theme of Kairos, this week focusing on knowing the time we are in. Kairos is about this being a God moment, a Divine moment of opportunity for us individually and as a whole in the church. Andy speaks of us being in God ordained moments just as Noah, Joseph and others saw themselves in. 

God creates specific moments for specific things that he's doing on the earth. We need to have a correct world view of the moment we are in and also an equally good spiritual view. In Luke 12:54-56 Jesus talks about the foolishness of not being able to interpret present times from a Godly understanding. God doesn't want us to be foolish!  We need a healthy balance of how God wants us to respond and what God wants regarding what is happening in the world. Every season serves a purpose under Heaven (as Ecclesiastes 3:1) and God wants us to be able to interpret his Seasons.

When Isaiah spoke of this (Isaiah 60), he said ‘Arise and shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.  For Behold, the Darkness shall cover the earth and deep darkness’. This is a good description of a ‘now’ moment, isn't it for many? But the Lord will rise over you and His glory will be seen upon you and the Gentiles shall come to your light. Obviously, this was speaking to a Jewish people then, but it's speaking to us now, as the people of God. Paul said the same thing often in the New Testament. Specifically in Romans 13, 11-14 (NKJV) it says “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts”.

So this moment is a time to wake up, cease living any life of compromise we may have and be alert (1 Peter 5, 8). Jesus will return to this earth like a thief in the night without warning. In Acts 2:17 (NKJV), Peter speaks to men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem saying  “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.  And on My menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapour of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.”

There is no reference to gender, race, age, rich or poor in this passage. The Bible is a signpost telling us to look out and be ready. Are we ready? Do we know the time?

Today is Vision Sunday across all congregations of Family Church.  Pastor Andy speaks about the vision for the church for the whole of this year 2023. Naturally the church’s mission is to reach, grow and empower people and reach those who do not yet know Jesus. However, Andy has specific words for our Vision during 2023. We are in a moment, perhaps unprecedented, where God is about to move by His Spirit, through His church, in a way people have never seen before. Pastor Andy perceives we are in a Kingdom moment; this is a moment where His Kingdom which cannot be shaken will be experienced by those who live in kingdoms that can be shaken - viewing the world. 

The Bible says in Hebrews 12 we are a part of a Kingdom which cannot be shaken. We are in a world where everything is currently shaking. There will be revealing of a Kingdom and a Kingdom people which cannot be shaken because their God is God. This is a Kingdom moment, a moment when God is about to move. We must be ready for what God is about to do – a continuation of the theme of encounter.  

Pastor Andy defines this as a Kairos moment – a God ordained moment in history, as opposed to Chronos (sequential and quantitative). Alternatively, view Kairos as the most opportune moment for action. Andy refers to many scriptures as examples of God ordained moments of time but perhaps the best example comes from the book of Esther. Esther was positioned to prevent destruction of the Jews, although she did have to use her influence with the king in order to do so.

As we walk through this year just maybe we also have been positioned for such a time as this. Where we have congregations in England and the Philippines with any favour that we are walking in just maybe we have been positioned in life for a time such as this for a moment that God did long before any of us were born. God says there is a year called 2023, that's the Kairos, there is a moment in that year where the world is falling and in that moment, the church is going to stand on our feet, and begin to be my body, my hands, my feet, my whole life.

Esther could have shrunk back, she could have said “I like my life, I am the Queen, I could lose everything….” She knew when she appeared before the king, he would either extend his sceptre or not. If he didn't extend his sceptre, she would have been put to death. If he extended his sceptre, she could ask for up to half of his kingdom – quite a lot of pressure! She prays and fasts and walks in before the king presenting her request. A God moment follows resulting in a complete change of the circumstances saving the Jews.  

This is a Kairos moment.  Esther 4:14 (NKJV) says “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” We need to awaken our hearts and say, God use me. If we are a prayer warrior, it's time to pray; if we are a giver, it’s time to give; if we are a server it’s time to serve and so on. The Kairos moment is upon us….for such a time as this.

Today is week three of the series on Encountering God afresh. Pastor Andy speaks with fresh zeal for our encounter with our Lord God. Encounters with God change lives. God never wanted us to have a religion about him, He wanted us to have a relationship with Himself - these are two completely different things!

Many lives were changed as a result of encounters with God and many are recorded in scripture, particularly in the Gospels. In Luke 19, we read about Zacchaeus, someone who had experienced religion, but wasn't satisfied. Being a short man he climbs a tree to see Jesus.  Jesus passes under the branch of a tree, looks up and says “today I'm coming to your house”.  Zacchaeus jumps up and says “I've been robbing everyone, I've been handling my finances wrongly”, and in a moment changes the way he managed those finances and the way he treated people. One Moment, one encounter with Jesus changed everything. 

Pastor Andy speaks about the story of Nicodemus, a religious man; then the story of a woman caught in adultery. He follows this by examining in detail the story of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well having a discussion with a man about giving her living water. The woman is unaware she is speaking to Jesus the Messiah until later. Afterwards she races off to tell her whole township about Jesus. Her life and that of the others referenced in the bible were changed by their encounters with Jesus. Interestingly, in the story of the woman at the well, Jesus takes no notice of the divides between Jews and Samaritans, or the fact she had many husbands. He tells her just to live a new life.

In the same way, Jesus can and will change our lives now……if we let him.