Fully Alive in Christ

Let's talk about this strange mystery of worshiping Jesus together in a gathering. Which in case you were wondering, is not perfect, or the best model, or style, or format. We could travel the earth at this very moment and hear and see the nations worshiping God in a million different ways together.

Intimacy, identity and inheritance are pillars that true worship is built on. In this teaching, Niesja will be talking mainly about individual worship. Your own expression of worship between you and God is something you don’t need worship band for. Did you know that You are your own worship leader? The Holy Spirit is the BEST worship leader- He is always confirming and affirming who Jesus is in us. John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers “ 2 Chron 16:9” For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” He’s looking for friends to share His heart with.

All that God is, accessed by faith in Jesus Christ, and made manifest in us AND around us by the indwelling and empowerment of the Holy Spirit - which we steward for His purposes and glory. We have been made right with our Father through Jesus. And because we have a father? We have an inheritance. One of the most PROFOUND things that took place at the cross, and then in Jesus' resurrection and ascension into Heaven, is the fact that we become joint-heirs with Christ.

In order for us to walk in our God given identity, we must FIRST have an understanding of who He is. Identity is the EXPRESSION of our INTIMACY with God, and the revelation we carry of who He is. Our beginning point is a REVELATION of God and INVITING HIM into our reality - messy, broken, whatever - And discovering a God of LOVE.

When intimacy is the root, identity becomes the visible and internal structure of your life. A tree that grows from healthy roots. Who you believe you are will determine how you think about yourself and consequently, how you interact with others. You may struggle to take hold of the reality of being made perfectly new, entirely whole, completely righteous and lacking nothing through Jesus. We pray that struggle ends now! God desires that you would grow to full stature and maturity in your identity, knowing and living out who and Whose you are.

Our (broken) idea of prosperity is the accumulation of things, and a “better” life. Biblical prosperity that the life of Jesus brings us into is to prosper in the fruit of the Spirit. "This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." - Jesus (John 15) To prosper is to grow HEALTHIER (mind, emotions, spirit, body) BY ENCOUNTERING and BECOMING more like Jesus, not to grow a larger bank account. Kingdom finances isn’t about ACCUMULATION, it’s about APPROPRIATION of RESOURCES and STEWARDSHIP!

THIS ADVENT SEASON IS A REMINDER that through all the repetition of life, the repeated mistakes, the habits of brokenness, the high places, the thin places - Jesus is the GOD who is continually coming towards us. He has promised the proximity of His presence AND He will not control us, instead He has sent the advocate to help lead us into daily practices that help us navigate all the channels of life, the high and lows, even the mundane and ordinary.

In the midst of the Christmas Season where seems to be a commingling of both joy and grief, we are reminded that God alone is our hope and our redemption. Let's settle that God is always working in our behalf and that there is not a detail that He is not mindful of and orchestrating for our redemption.

Throughout Scripture, Jesus is revealed as the promised One who would rescue and redeem humanity - our past, present, and future! This Christmas, we will be celebrating, remembering, and inviting Jesus to be revealed in and through our lives and circumstances as the true God who is WITH US in everything we are walking through this season.

When Jesus said in John 14:18 – “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…” He was speaking of the coming of God’s Spirit to abide with us and be in us. Why did the Spirit of God come on all flesh? So that we could be reconciled to our true Heavenly Father, healed and sanctified, experiencing what it’s like to LIVE as a son or daughter, fully aware of the Father’s Favor over us.

Jesus demonstrated love tangibly, clearly, and boldly. He has formed a unique and diverse people into a tangible, clear and bold demonstration of His love. Able to cross all borders, boundaries and divisions. The Body of Christ is a gift and a mission all at once.

The fruit that comes out of your life is a by-product of the vine you are connected to. Join us this Sunday as we talk about Abiding in Jesus and remaining in Him as our main source of life and wisdom.

From Community of Transformation to Kingdom Hospitality.

We finished our “Communities of Transformation” (Acts series). It was a powerful series that challenged us to be transformed in Jesus and carry the transformational reality of Jesus with our lives and within our communities. God met us profoundly throughout this series, and while we came and went from it a few times, I am so thankful for the opportunity we took to study the Book of Acts!

We talked about Paul living out what he wrote to the Philippians church: Phil. 4:11-12 - “... I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” Despite beatings, arrests, untrue accusations about his character, intentions and message…despite imprisonment, and being removed from a community of people he loved…despite prophecy (both corporate and personal) that nothing but trouble and death awaited his life…PAUL MANAGED DISAPPOINTMENT…and continued to live out the PURPOSE God had PLACED on his life.

Paul heard and was directed by God, and how that impacted how he carried himself through opposition, riots, physical attacks, arrests, trials and imprisonment. Hearing God clearly doesn’t guarantee smooth sailing and it does't insulate us from disappointment but it is about trusting God with the His timing and how it comes about. Let's see what we can learn from Paul in how he navigates this reality.

What are we looking for in Acts? Principles we can pull into our present as we observe what a transformational community looked like, and how it grew. They were transformed, to carry transformation. This movement was more like a seed that grew. There wasn’t a cultural or political revival or turning. It was a small “boom” (Acts 2) within a certain community but off the radar.

You can't be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. Most of us avoid conflict in the name of Christianity; ignore our anger, sadness, and fear; use God to run from God; and live without boundaries. In this series we will learn biblical integration of emotional health and the spiritual practice of slowing down and quieting our life to experience a fully alive relationship with Jesus, with ourselves, and with others.

You can't be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. Most of us avoid conflict in the name of Christianity; ignore our anger, sadness, and fear; use God to run from God; and live without boundaries. In this series we will learn biblical integration of emotional health and the spiritual practice of slowing down and quieting our life to experience a fully alive relationship with Jesus, with ourselves, and with others.

You can't be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. Most of us avoid conflict in the name of Christianity; ignore our anger, sadness, and fear; use God to run from God; and live without boundaries. In this series we will learn biblical integration of emotional health and the spiritual practice of slowing down and quieting our life to experience a fully alive relationship with Jesus, with ourselves, and with others.