Life Matters

Romans 8:9 “If the Spirit of God lives in you; you are not controlled by the sinful nature but by the Spirit. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” 1 Corinthians 6:17, “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.”Before Jesus returned to glory, He told His followers that they would feel destitute like orphans (John 14:18). Therefore, He promised that He would not leave permanently but would be with and in them as the Spirit of Truth (John 14:16,17). Jesus told the worried disciples: “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter [parakletos], that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). The word "another" is from words meaning ‘more of the same’ – not ‘different’.

According to the Bible, we are made in the image of God, the Creator of the universe. Our being is modelled after His divine existence. Through logic or intellect, we cannot see or identify God. Unless God chooses to reveal Himself we cannot know Him. Why is this? If God made the eyes, ears and mind of humanity, how would we know whom the creator is unless the Creator reveals Himself to His creation?The Bible teaches that we are made in the Creator’s image, yet we lack the ability to know God apart from His willingness to reveal Himself to us. This is our predicament, how can fallen humanity know God? We cannot! That is the point; it is impossible for us to know God, unless He reveals Himself to us. Does God choose to reveal Himself? Yes, He does! The Creator of the universe wants to communicate with you!

James 4:2,3 – “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”Many Christians don’t receive from God simply because they don’t ask Him for anything! These people ask (or expect) to get their needs met through other channels. Here in these verses we see that even in the act of ‘asking God for it’ such people were self-centred, and focused on the wrong motives.  James says, “You do not have because you do not ask.”  This is clearly a reference to personal prayer. Therefore, to many of people it does not even occur to them to ask God for help of any kind.

Luke 15:11-32… Here is the story of the Prodigal Son (or, as the real hero is the Dad, it could have been called The Parable of the Yearning Father). This is probably one of the greatest short stories ever told (and re-told).Every one of us has encountered the four distinct relationships brought out in the parable of the Prodigal Son - self, things, others and God. It’s a story that encompasses all four. The youngest son comes to his father and says (in effect): “I wish was somewhere else. I can't find happiness hanging out with the people around here. Give me one-third of your goods and property, as it’s coming to me anyway! And also sell a portion of the land we've inherited from our forefathers. I want my inheritance now! Only money can make me happy.”

How do you receive your healing? The same principles apply today that applied 2000 years ago. We can all live in perfect health and Jesus actually did tell us how to do it! There is no expiration date for divine health. God’s healing power still works today as it did when Jesus walked the earth. But a key is to not give up! Pray fervently and be persistent. Yes, keep praying and keep asking! If you genuinely want to get better - don't stop - don't give up. God is ever faithful to honour His word in the area of healing. Therefore, be persistent. Luke 18:1-7 - Jesus gave us this parable as an example of how to pray and ask God in order to make things right. Jesus was comparing the widow to "us" and the judge to God the Father. He is telling us to literally ‘keep asking’ God for what we need. To ask until He gives it to us! Many of you have probably been told at one time or another, "Ask God only once for what you need, for if you ask Him more than once, you are not exercising your faith correctly".

By going to the cross and shedding His blood, Jesus not only purchased the salvation of our souls, but His sufferings also secured our physical healing. In fact, the word "salvation" (so frequently used in the New Testament), comes from the Greek “soteria”, which means ‘wholeness and healing - both in the physical and spiritual’. Years before Jesus came to the earth, the prophet Isaiah described the sufferings of the coming Saviour and gave this reason. He wrote, "Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:4-5). The stripes mentioned by Isaiah were the awful lashings inflicted by the Roman soldiers upon Jesus’ back. Thirty nine stripes were the traditional punishment for a condemned prisoner. And according to the scripture, these stripes upon Christ’s body were borne to

If God is our source, then we must be able to receive from Him. In this series we will be examining the various ways we can apprehend the blessings of God. Here is the first: "Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" - Matthew 6:33. The Jews were greatly mistaken in respect to the nature of the kingdom which their Messiah was going to set up. They expected a kingdom like the kingdoms of this world, infused with earthly splendour. But Jesus sought to change their view. He told them that His kingdom did not come with outward visibility - that it existed within men. He wanted them to understand that it was spiritual, and not temporal. The simple idea of this kingdom is that Christ himself reigns in the hearts of his people, securing the perfect submission of the human will, and the setting apart of every power to Himself. Therefore, His kingdom is within; it is invisible. It puts on no outward expression. In the hearts of men God writes His laws (by h

Hebrews 11:17, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received (accepted) the promises, offered up his only begotten son.” If God is your source then you must be able to receive from Him. In this series we are going to examine the various ways you can receive the blessings of God. How many of you simply accept God’s promises? If you were tested as Abraham was, would you respond the same way? Notice, according to this verse of scripture, there’s something that had preceded Abraham’s faith, “By faith, he offered up Isaac.” But notice, he had already accepted and received God’s promises! “…He who had received (past tense) the promises of God offered up his son.” You can never operate in faith until you have first accepted and then received God’s promises. Bearing in mind that this does not have anything to do with simply ‘accepting that the promises are true’, as this is “belief.” Faith has to do with intentionally accepting God at His word and receiving all His promises. I

The Day of Pentecost in the modern charismatic church has to do primarily with the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon all flesh (as prophesied in Joel 2:28). But to fully comprehend how this takes place we must become totally familiar with the various workings (“operations”) of the Holy Spirit. We must also understand exactly how He has chosen to manifest Himself 'in' and 'through' us. God's will for you is to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:17,18). Because the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s work in the church (and through God’s people), has to do with being constantly filled. I have found six operations of the Holy Spirit, and each one brings glory to Jesus Christ: • There are two operations that are concerned primarily with 'authority' - the various manifestations of power from on high or Gifts of the Spirit. • There are two which deal with the 'equipping of the Saints' - equipping for ministry and equipping for duties or service in the church. • There are two that deal

Pentecost Sunday is a day to celebrate hope, a hope evoked by the knowledge that God through His Holy Spirit is mightily at work among His people. It is a celebration of newness, of recreation, of renewal of purpose and of transformation. It is a celebration of God’s ongoing work among all the nations in the world. But most of all, it is a recognition that God’s work is being done through His people - as He pours out His Spirit upon them (Joel 2:28). This focus on the church’s mission to the world, and the enabling presence of God through the work of the Holy Spirit in the church (to empower that mission) should provide a powerful impetus for churches today, especially those like Cornerstone. Pentecost gives us a tremendous opportunity to use this time to see people transformed through the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

“…And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses” (Exodus 33:9). Moses prepared a special place where he could meet with God and the Lord honoured this by speaking to Moses “…face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (verse 11). If you wish to meet with God face to face, or if you would like God interrupt your life (as and when it pleases Him), then you too must prepare a special place for His presence to manifest. Under the Law of Moses, God’s divine presence could never take up permanent residency in the human heart. But under the Law of Grace the God Almighty abides in all believers. Therefore, the tabernacle of meeting you must prepare is in your heart.

Corinthians 2:13 (Literal Translation) - “When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human intellect. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.” Too many Christians are confused or misguided regarding their spirituality. The need to experience the supernatural (to be “spiritual”) often causes people to get involved in practices that are not authentic and do not agree with God’s word. Note, human intellect and spirituality just don’t mix. False spirituality is one of the most dangerous traditions in church life today, mainly because it can effect so many people.

Verse 1 – The Jews considered 70 to be the number of the Gentile nations and therefore, this may have been the Lord's way of deliberately and dramatically emphasising the universality of His mission. The next thing we notice is that Jesus "sent" them out into every city "two by two". The Greek word for "sent" is 'apostello' which means 'to commission or set apart for a special service'. However, there are other notable uses of this ancient word. For instance, it is used when one is 'sent out with a mission to fulfil', and when one is 'dispatched with the full backing and authority of the sender'. Also, we see that the Lord had sent out these disciples "two by two", which I believe was for protection, strengthening and encouragement. Verse 2 – Today, the harvest is also great and the labourers are still few! Therefore, you too should continually pray that the Lord of the harvest sends out labourers into His harvest field. The heartbeat of our heavenly Father is to harvest every lost soul, and according t

Salvation provides all the necessary qualities. Salvation is by faith, and faith is given to us by a sovereign God. A measure of faith was given to us as part of God's gift of salvation. Our salvation brings us into the true knowledge of God and of His precious Son, Jesus Christ. Salvation provides everything necessary for godly living, which we see in 2 Peter 1:3, “...His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness...” It is this salvation that has enabled us to become partakers of the divine nature. Verse 4 says: “...having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” The two go together. We've become partakers of the divine nature, and God's character is manifested in us, because we have escaped the wickedness that is in the world.

The information age in which we live is so full of rationalism, mental sciences, and analytical thought that most people choose to mock when they hear of someone claiming to be able to actually hear the voice of God. However, no one should scoff, for several reasons. Firstly, men and women throughout the Bible heard God’s voice. Also, there are some highly effective and reputable men and women of God alive today who regularly demonstrate that they hear God’s voice. Finally, there is a deep hunger within us all to commune with God and hear Him speak within our hearts.