Family Church Portsmouth

We have all been reconciled to God through Christ and the message of reconciliation has been committed to all believers, to take to the world around us. We all have a responsibility to share the good news with others, so let's be deliberate about this and let's build this into our everyday lives.

Today Pastor Andy preached the next message in his series ‘Commissioned’. The title is literally ‘The Next Step’! This amazing message is another of those absolutely must hear messages in the exciting time leading up to the regathering and rebuilding of the physical church as we move out of the lockdown we have been in this past year.

Andy speaks in a captivating manner to further unwind the meaning of the scriptures in Matthew 28 where Jesus gives the great commission. Making disciples has to be part of the culture of whom and what we are as a church, daily not just Sundays. Andy speaks of disciples being ‘learners’ - everything that God could do for us is given us at the moment of salvation but we spend our lives ‘learning’ what that means and living in the reality of it. Christianity is simply a walk with Jesus.

Andy speaks of the heart changing moments of conversion giving rise to the born again experience, he mentions Matthew 11 where Jesus is saying to people to come to him all who are laden with their past and effectively be learners in a new life. We commit to walk with Him all the days of our lives.  Andy speaks significantly of the two baptisms – of water and also of the Holy Spirit. Our water baptism representing our own death, burial and resurrection with Jesus in newness of life and the then infilling by The Holy Spirit to guide us, empower us and lead us on our way henceforth. These are two necessary experiences for us in our life of discipleship!

This is indeed a most challenging and exciting message!

Our desire is for Family Church to be a place of welcome, where people feel loved and truly valued. Paula shares, from her heart, how we can achieve this when we all embrace a culture of welcome in our hearts

Today is Pentecost Sunday and saw the beginning of a new series ‘Commissioned’ with this week’s title being Outward Looking. Pastor Andy speaks of us having our marching orders from Matthew 28 and how Family Church is going to be a flourishing Church coming out of lockdown, stepping into the next season. Key points from this Great Commission will be our focus in this series – Go; Make Disciples and Teach Kingdom ways of life to people and how they can walk in obedience to the ways that Jesus has taught us to live. Those three key aspects are our focus as a church coming out of lockdown into a time of flourishing that God has got for us.

To begin, we must be a people of “Go”, sitting doing nothing will not get us anywhere and certainly not see any disciples made! The Great Commission isn't a commission alone? It's a Go-Mission. It's the great Go-Mission. We need to be outward-looking.

When you watch our lives, it seems often we don't believe in Him. When we're outside the church, we stay quiet, we don't tell others and we’re not outward looking. But believe the power of the Holy Ghost is coming (even on this day called Pentecost Sunday!) to shake us up to a fresh awakening to be an outward-looking people, not a ‘stay’ people. We are all entrusted with a message; all are ambassadors to carry a message that has the power to take a person from Death to Life. Every believer, every follower of Jesus has been entrusted with a message, not just to be evangelists in the church, but everywhere we go. We have the power and the authority so how can we stay quiet?

This week Pastor Andy threw away his notes so he could preach the inspired word of God, titled ‘Get Ready’. This rip-roaring message was to stir our hearts as we gently come out of lockdown. Pastor Andy spoke about the church corporately and each of us individually coming out of our various lockdowns as Peter did in Acts 12 – story of his miraculous escape from prison. Andy likened Peter’s situation to that many of us find ourselves in (lockdown can be financial, emotional, relational, physical etc.) and then looked at how the bible spoke of Peters situation and how this is relevant to us.

In Acts 12, the Angel of the Lord told peter to get up, get dressed and come, then the Iron Gate opened by itself and Peter was able to walk back into Jerusalem (the prison was outside the city) as God had more in store for him. But Peter knew how Jesus had spoken to him earlier – Matthew 16; 17-19 (NIV) - Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

The “gates of Hades” was in fact a cave entrance leading to underworld of false worship at that time in Caesarea Philippi, so Jesus revealed to Peter that His church would be built on the rock of the revelation that the Holy Spirit had enlightened Peter with and that this was not able to be overcome even by the worst of falsehood….this applies today as well. So as Peter slept in prison (Acts 12), the church prayed for him and he knew in his heart that although chained and guarded, he would not be overcome by Herod and his schemes.  Peter knew he had Christ in his heart. Out of chaos, God brings glory, turns graves into gardens. Individually we also must look to Christ as our Messiah, be ready to get dressed, stand up and walk away from our lockdown with faith and authority that our God is unstoppable. 

When a person's heart is set on fire for Jesus they desire to serve Him. We serve Jesus by serving His body. Family Church is an "all in" church - everyone doing something, not a few doing everything. As you listen to this teaching you will be inspired to be faithful in the small things, which is a prerequisite to being entrusted with great things.

The message this week is titled Heavenly Hope and is the third in the series Heavenly Minded by Pastor Andy Elmes. The essence here is based on what Paul says in the book of Colossians that we are to set our mind & affections on things above not on things below. There is a very real life here and now for us to be involved in but we need to be conscious of what's happening in heaven right now but also that our true home is heaven one day.

We live in an uncertain world, especially in the hopes it offers, but we need to understand as believers children of God, we have a Heavenly hope which is a certain hope which we have in this current world of uncertain hopes. Philippians 3:18-20 (NIV) says “For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”. Pastor Andy explains how this verse colours in his point! If we only set our minds on earthly things we shall only ever have earthly hope.

Hope is the simple belief that things can and will change. What is our hope built on - the fickle promises of man, our own intentions, our own ability or something of much greater strength, which is what God is speaking over our lives in our situation and eternity to come? We need to build our lives on that which is unshakable. The Bible says (Hebrews 12:26-27) that everything that can be shaken will be shaken to reveal that which can't be shaken - which is His kingdom and His Kingship. Faith is for the moment. We have what God has promised in the moment we live in. Hope believes that you will have the things that the Lord said you will have.

Faith is for the moment, “in faith” is believing. We have what God has promised in the moment that we live, but hope is believing we have the things the Lord said we will have. Hebrews 6:17-20 (NIV) states “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek”. God is unchanging and all His promises stand true. Pastor Andy ends with many scripture verses relating to Heaven. Let us keep our hope on God’s Unfailing promises.

There are many great causes in this world, but none greater than the cause of Christ and the Kingdom of God. In this session Pastor Sean shares three points that will really get you thinking - (1) His Cause over my cause; (2) united in the Cause; (3) the joy of serving the Cause.

This message is titled Heavenly Treasure and is the second in the series ‘Heavenly Minded’ by Pastor Andy Elmes. Andy recaps on last week’s message about Heavenly Rewards before again looking at scripture starting with Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV) “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God”. Are we as Believers as aware as we should be about the ramifications from our life here on Earth for God? Paul says quite adamantly in Colossians 3 that we are to set our minds and hearts on things above Heavenly things, but do we? Are we as believers consumed with the life that we're living now? This life isn't the be-all and end-all. There really is an eternity. How we live now affects how we shall find rewards in heaven and also what treasures are stored for us there.

Jesus openly talked on the ability to store up in heaven, a treasure. We must understand we are sojourners here. There is a life to come and it's wise for a believer to have Heavenly mindedness in their thinking. Matthew 6:19-21 says (NIV) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.

We learn from these teachings of Jesus - He recognized and openly taught on the two very real realms. Yes, there's the possibility of storing up treasure here, but He also taught that while we live here we can be storing treasures there in heaven. Jesus is also saying that our hearts will be where our treasure is stored!! If our minds and our attention and our affection are set on His kingdom, the treasure that our life produces will be there. By the life we live will be located our treasure. 

The church is described as the 'Household of God' and we are each members of that household, each with an important part to play. Pastor Andy shares a superb teaching on this subject, reminding us that we are the family of God, called to love God and love each other.