Gospel Ramah Church Sermon of the Week

Vision always requires action, for you only understand the assignment as do it. If you will show courage you will prosper. Courage is the ability to do something that frightens one, mental and moral strength to venturing . Courage is not the lack of fear but the resistance and mastery of fear. Courage is the ability to control your fear for when you show courage fears disappears. Courage is important because it takes courage to: 1) Fulfill your destiny. 2) Be single minded in following your bible based convictions (Joshua 24:14-15). 3) Abandon man and hold on to the faith (Genesis 14:17-23). 4) Confront the Goliath's (1 Samuel 17:15-16, 45-47). 5) Follow your God given gifts until they are fulfilled. 6) Rise from failure and disappointments. 7) Not allow obstacles to hinder your faith (Mark 10:46-52). Have courage and do not allow people to talk you out of your Godly calling. You must dare to get anywhere.

Building a legacy requires preparation. A legacy is an inheritance or quality handed down from a previous generation. Preparing for a legacy requires forward thinking and following basic principles. Fundamentals of Godly a Legacy: 1) Scripture places a priority on one’s legacy. 2) A Godly Legacy has great value. 3) Legacy is built on how we live and serve. 4) God keeps a Legacy Scorecard. 5) Our legacy is a personal choice.

Building a legacy requires a church to be fruitful. Two prophetic portraits of a fruitful church: Antioch Church and the River of God. Characteristics of the Antioch Church: 1) Radically committed to the power of the gospel. 2) A Multi-cultural Church. 3) They experienced a great harvest. 4) There was an evidence of God’s grace. 5) An Active Five-Fold Ministry - apostles, teachers and prophets. 6) Hungry for God’s Word. 7) Modeled a Christian Lifestyle and 8) A Generous, Giving Church. Secondly, the River of God. God repeatedly used “rivers” as a symbol of His life-giving Spirit. God desires that every church experience the river of God. The River brings blessing and life: 1) The river is a place for fruitful trees to be planted and to grow. 2) The river causes life to spring forth everywhere. 3) The river brings healing and health to everything. 4) The river will be a place for many fish. 5) The river flows out to dry and barren places. There are differing levels and depths for entering into the river. We must Step into God’s River.

Influence is the ability to change the course of someone's future. For one to have impact influence is key. Primary Principles of Understanding Influence: 1) Everybody has influence. 2) Influence can be positive or negative. 3) God expects me to use influence. 4) Our influence is for the benefit of others. 5) If I'm not influencing them, they are influencing me. 6) The greatest contributor of influence is trust. Three key influences: people Trust you, people Respect you and people Like you. The Purpose of our Influence: Influence is for two legitimate reasons: 1) Mission - promoting the gospel and 2) Ministry - serving and helping others. God will judge how I use my influence. Two Images of Influence: 1) We are called to be the Salt (seasoning and preservation) and the Light of the world. Six Ways to Make the Greatest Impact With Others: 1) Our integrity. 2) Our words. 3) Our attitude. 4) Our lifestyle. 5) Our care for others and 6) Our prayers. In summation, increased influence will always require a price to be paid. Influence can grow in four different levels: Modeling, Motivation, Mentoring and Multiplying. Be careful who influences you and how you are influencing others.

Jude (Judas) was the Servant of Christ and a Brother of James and Jesus. What was Jude’s Purpose? 1) Confront and denounce the false teachers. 2) Guard and protect the church from danger. 3) Encourage believers to maintain their faith. What was the Problem? 1) . Christ’s Warnings. 2) Paul’s Warnings. 3) Jude’s Warning and Challenge. Two Errors Jude Addressed: 1) License – Jude 4. 2) Rejection of the Lordship of Jesus – Jude 5. How do we Contend for the Faith? 1) Believe it. 2) Proclaim it. 3) Guard it. Dangers Facing Today’s Church and Leaders: 1) Extreme doctrinal teachings. 2) Exaltation of man – humanism. 3) Abandoning the authority of scripture. 4) Consumerism – conforming to worldly standards to attract people. Remember God’s Word; Jude 17-18. 2) and Build Up Yourselves in Prayer; Jude 20. 3).

"Our biggest struggle in life is to appreciate the life that is truly life as well as our Heavenly Fathers disposition towards us". Religion does not promote relationships. Cause for people to drift away: foolishness, greed, recklessness and rebellion. The course results in people being further and farther in search of freedom and fun. Which leads to crunch time - things beyond human control; hunger and need. Critical steps necessary to head back home: cure, clear thinking (repentance) and concrete steps.

A good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep, he never runs but is always on high alert to save the sheep. A good shepherd has compassion and takes responsibility for the lost. Prophetic shepherd sees the lost and takes action to bring them back home. We need to move from mere evangelism to spirit-led, strategic evangelism. The holy spirit needs people that can move urgently. There are so many man and woman who are ready to come back but need people who can work with the holy spirit to bring them back home.

How we interpret a situation is dependent on our worldview. Hermeneutics is divided into two types - superficial and in-depth interpretation. Souls are valuable to God and so should they be to us. The harvest is plenty but God is need of people that can interpret the message correctly, in-depth interpretation. God is asking where are his people who can reach out to the lost souls. God is looking for people that are filled with his word, full of light, to go evangelise diligently until the lost are saved. When a soul comes home the death of Jesus is justified. The value of souls is invariable , it is permanent, it was set before it all. However usefulness is variable on who is in control of your life, who owns you. All souls are valuable but only those in Gods hand are useful.

Jesus always sees value in his people, whether they are sinners, tax collectors etc. When we draw near to Jesus to hear him, our lives begin to change and things begin to happen, as he draws near to us. The thing that distracts you is less important than what it distracts you from. Serving is important but knowing the God we serve is more important (Luke 10:38-42). Jesus was not focused on the sin of those that draw near to him but their lostlessness. We also have to be worried about those that are lost rather than judge them, be persistent in evangelism.

“People as well as institutions

which dare to be different, not

weird or spooky, tend to make a

difference in society. Samuel was such man!”. Samuel made a big difference on the landscape of his nation. Samuel dared to be different in an apostate society. Three types of people: those who never grow, those who grow imperfectly

those who grow steadily. Samuel continued to grow in four areas: spirit, mind, character and zeal.