DIG for Monday the 29th of April…..He came for your abundance and gave you everything that is worth stealing…..John 10 v 10

John 10 v 10 has always been one of my favourite verses; ask the guys at MGF about how I nearly always manage to get this verse into the Sunday message!

There is a significance in this verse however that I did not really see until quite recently.

If a thief comes into your house he can only steal what you own, he can only steal what you already have. If you do not have a laptop he cannot steal a laptop.

Now I’m sure you are saying, well Vic, that is pretty obvious and I would agree.

This verse says the thief (or the devil) comes to steal from you and Jesus comes to give you abundance.

He wants to steal what Jesus has for you in terms of abundance; he wants to steal your joy and peace, your acceptance, your prosperity and your healing.

He can only steal what you already have. His job is made easier because so many of us do not know that the work of Jesus Christ is finished and He has ALREADY provided all we need for a life of power, abundance and godliness.

He has already given you all you will ever need from Him.

A thief cannot steal what you do not have!

Jesus has already given you everything He has for you (Ephesians 1 v 3 and 2 Peter 1 v 3). His work is finished and He is now seated at the right hand of the Father.

A thief can only steal what you already have and Jesus has provided you with everything already. It is a done deal, a past event.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have all I need from you through the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

John 10 v 10…..The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and kill and destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly

DIG for Sunday the 28th of April…..you and your heart decide the course of your life…..Proverbs 4 v 23

I started preaching a new series in church today and really feel that it is one of my most important teaching series to date.

The series is all about the heart; how we can have a hardened heart and how we can soften that heart again.

The cornerstone verse in this series is going to be Proverbs 4 v 23; a verse that is having a significant impact on my life at the moment.

The New Living Translation really “nails” this verse; Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

Can you see how important this verse is?

It says that the course of your life (ill or healed, prosperous or poor, joyful or sad,
feeling acceptance or rejection) is determined by your heart.

Your heart is your core belief system, the things you think without thinking about it!

That is an amazing truth, telling us that our life is going the way we are believing.

The good news is that we can change our life for the better by changing our heart, or changing our core belief system.

There are a number of fundamental axioms that we must hold to in order to build the rest of our belief system upon; that God loves us unconditionally, that we have been forgiven because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, and because of our faith in Him and His work we are made righteous.

The love of God, our forgiveness and our righteousness are the foundations that we build our heart on; build on these foundations and the course of your life will improve.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you love me, that I am forgiven and that I have been made righteous”,

Proverbs 4 v 23…..Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life

If you are interested my sermon is at following address……http://mgf.podbean.com

DIG for Saturday the 27th of April…..God accepts you and loves you independent of you and your performance…..John 3 v 16

I was saddened today to read a Facebook status from a young girl who has been treated rather harshly by some of her church “family” after admitting to being gay.

To be told by a fellow follower of Jesus that you are “going to hell” because of your sexuality is not very nice; and you know what, that judgement is just not true.

People will go to hell because of their rejection of Jesus and nothing else!

Jesus came and dealt with the sin of the whole world (1 John 2 v 2) and sin is not an issue for God anymore; He has actually chosen to forget about it (Hebrews 10 v 17).

And before anyone asks, yes, that includes what we regard as the “bigger” sins such as adultery, fornication and homosexuality.

Sin is sin is sin, and God does not grade some sin worse than others. Remember he has forgotten it anyway!

Now, read carefully what I write next; I am not writing this to give anyone a licence to sin, however we need to be aware that sin has been dealt with and God does not deal with us with regards to our sin anymore.

He deals with us according to His love and mercy and grace because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

He loves everyone in the whole world independent of their lifestyle or their performance, that is what John 3 v 16 means.

He loves the whole world; the Greek word here is kosmos and means the whole world and every single person in it.

God does not excluded anyone from His love, it is open to all; so what gives religious and legalistic people the right to exclude people they do not deem fit from it? Who made them God?

Do you know that God loves every single person in the world, be they straight or gay, alcoholic or teetotaller, loving husband or wife beater, saint or sinner.

You may not be comfortable with that truth, but it is the truth!

There is no “them and us” with God as He loves everyone; let’s see if this is a model that we can put in place in the church.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you love me and will always love me”.

John 3 v 16…..For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life

DIG for Friday the 26th of April…..knowing in your heart that you are righteous will keep you on the “straight and narrow”…..Proverbs 17 v 20

At first glance you may think that Proverbs 17 v 20 has nothing to do with you needing to understand that you are already righteous, however a little knowledge about Hebrew is a great aid to bible study.

Froward means to be twisted, distorted or crooked. If your heart is crooked it finds no good and the condition of your heart impacts directly upon the direction of your life (Proverbs 4 v 23).

So if we want our life to go in a good direction and see good things it would seem that we should have to ”straighten” our heart.

Did you know that straight is one of the root meanings in Hebrew for the word righteous?

Did you know that the heart in this context is your fundamental core beliefs, the truths that you believe without even thinking about it.

If you want to see good in your life you need to know as part of your core belief system that you are righteous.

When you were born again your new spirit was created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4 v 24).

This is a spiritual truth that you must know and understand and believe; if you do it will change your life for the better; you will see good things if your heart is straight rather than crooked.

The Word tells us that if we are aware of this spiritual truth about righteousness we will sin not (1 Corinthians 15 v 34); that is good, and you will find this goodness if the truth about righteousness is in your heart.

In the words of today this truth about righteousness will keep you on the “straight and narrow”.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that through the finished work of Jesus Christ and my faith in Him I have been made righteous”.

Proverbs 17 v 20……He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief

DIG for Thursday the 25th of April…..God loves you beyond your wildest imagination…..1 John 4 v 9 and 10

I want to share with you a vision I had this evening; I do this not to show you how spiritual I am but to encourage you and tell you how much God loves you.

We were at Nunsy’s ladies meeting and singing “This is our God”.

As we were singing the lyrics “I will fall at your feet” I closed my eyes and saw a vision of Jesus in front of me.

In the vision I did indeed fall at his feet and lay in worship. He lifted me up onto my feet and then told me to sit in my seat. Once I sat down He proceeded to wash my feet.

I felt His love wash all over me and I felt Him touching my feet; I cannot explain how awesome this felt I can only relate what I saw.

We are just back from a conference where the main thrust of the teaching was the love God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit has for us. This vision hammered home the depth of this love for me. He washed my feet!

In the Gospels we see Jesus washing the feet of His disciples, showing His servant heart and His love for them.

The Word tells us that the Lord is no respecter of persons (Acts 10 v 34); that means that He has no favourites.

He loved His disciples, He loves me and He loves you. He loves every person every created. He loves us all.

My vision is a picture of His deep, deep love for us and of His servant heart. He came to serve in order that we might be adopted into the family of God and be accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1 v 4 and 5).

Meditate on the truth that you are deeply, deeply loved by the Lord. He loves YOU.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you love me; help me towards a deep revelation of this truth”.

1 John 4 v 9 and 10…..In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be propitiation for our sins

DIG for Wednesday the 24th of April…..Jesus was always the plan; planned before the beginning of time…..Ephesians 1 v 5 and 6

I have been at a leadership conference for the last couple of days and have been in awe at some of the teaching I received (if you have never heard Arthur Meintjes preach you need to check him out).

Arthur used Ephesians 1 v 3 to 6 to show what we as believers have through Jesus and also what our true identity is, and maybe I’ll try and write about this in DIG shortly (I am still working through the awesome revelations from these verses).

Let me quickly share one such revelation for you to meditate on today.

Did you know that Jesus coming to earth was not planned after the fall?

In other words Jesus did not come to deal with your sin.

Yes, you read that correctly, God did not decide to send Jesus in order to deal with the sin of man after the fall.

The plan was always for Jesus to come, and this plan was in place before the creation of time; the plan has always been!

Ephesians 1 v 5 says the plan was for man (that includes YOU and ME) to be adopted into the family of God through Jesus.

Jesus came in order for us to be adopted; yes, He dealt with our sin on route; but the plan always was for us to be adopted.

This is an awesome truth if you stop and really think about it.

This should shout out to YOU that YOU are special.

As an integral and unique part of the human race YOU were on the mind of God before the creation of time, and He planned for Jesus to come to the earth as a human being to allow YOU to be adopted into His family.

Wow, that is amazing.

As an adopted child YOU are now accepted in the beloved as a gift of grace through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Meditate on that and let it soak into your heart.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am adopted into Your family and that I am accepted in the beloved”.

Ephesians 1 v 5 and 6…..Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved

DIG for Tuesday the 23rd of April……Jesus warns us about 1 thing; can you guess what it is…..Matthew 16 v 6

Are you aware that Jesus only ever warned His disciples (and you) about one thing?

This was not the devil; it was not the evils of alcohol or hard drugs; it was not about sexual sin.

Jesus warned His disciples about religion and legalism; in Matthew 16 v 6 he told them to take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

If you think about this, we have an astounding piece of scripture here.

Jesus warns us about legalism; yet this is what passes as sound doctrine and teaching in the majority of the body of Christ today.

Grace and legalism cannot mix, much like oil and water. Mixture is not conducive to growth and maturity in the believer.

Grace is the only answer; understanding and trust in Jesus and His finished work is what we should be looking for.

Legalism and religion (striving in your own efforts to please God) will not result in growth, but instead will bind you in condemnation and guilt.

Look to Jesus today (grace) and stop looking at your works and your efforts and requirements from other men (religion and legalism).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am accepted by You and blessed through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

DIG for Monday the 22nd of April…..knowledge of forgiveness is essential for growth…..1John 2 v 12

1 John 2 v 12 to 14 is a picture of the fact that we mature in our Christian walk.

John writes about “little children”, “young men” and “fathers”; these are descriptions of stages in maturity for the born again believer.

It is very interesting that in verse 12 John tells the “little children” that their sins are forgiven because of Jesus (and His finished work).

The understanding of forgiveness is an essential axiom (fundamental truth that other doctrines are built upon) that younger or less mature Christians need to know.

This truth, along with having been made righteous, is a foundation that the born again believer must build upon.

If a young believer does not understand and accept forgiveness they will not have an understanding about the true nature of God and will not grow and mature in the faith.

Forgiveness is an essential truth that must be understood by “little children” before they can progress or mature into a “young man”.

You have been forgiven, actually you were forgiven 2,000 years ago through the finished work of Jesus Christ. When you became born again you accepted that forgiveness and moved into the blessings waiting for you.

You must understand that you are forgiven for all your sins (past, present and future).

Then you will mature in your walk with The Lord; if you do not believe this you will stay in condemnation and guilt and never progress.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been forgiven and right now live in a constant state of forgiveness”.

1 John 2 v 12……I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.

DIG for Sunday the 21st of April…..grace; the way to show people Jesus…..Philemon v 6

As a pastor I have been asked many times about how to show people Jesus or how to express to them our faith.

The answer is an understanding of grace.

Philemon v 6 is a wonderful verse explaining how to show Jesus to a needy world.

By grace through faith we have our ticket into heaven and every good and abundant blessing from God; trust in the finished work of Jesus gives us that amazing sozo package.

This to me is one definition of grace, “every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus”.

We need to know and understand or “acknowledge” what we have through His finished work.

Once we know what we have and who we are in Christ we will be changed or transformed (Romans 12 v 2).

This transformation into a more holy and Godly lifestyle will be noticed, people will see that Jesus has and is making a difference in our life.

This is what Paul means by sayings that the communication if our faith will be effectual.

Our lives and the way we live will be the message, showing people Jesus rather than telling them about Him.

Paul says that this process starts with an understanding of grace; knowing what Jesus has already done for us and what we have freely as a gift.

This is an awesome and powerful verse.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that your goodness and abundance is free through my faith and trust in Jesus”.

DIG for Saturday the 20th of April……grace means freedom, religion and legalism means bondage…..Galatians 5 v 1

Paul warns the Galatians (and us) about the dangers of legalism and religion in Galatians 5 v 1.

He clearly warns believers about returning to the rules and regulates and self righteous works required by legalism.

This will not result in blessings; Paul says it will result in bondage.

Trying to attain God’s blessings and abundance through religious acts just does not work, it will always result in failure which leads to guilt and self condemnation (and that is bondage).

For the Galatians Paul was talking about Jewish religious requirements.

For us he means the traditional religious requirements of today, that is prayer, tithing and good works for example.

Now, prayer for example is not evil and I (and Paul) am not saying do not pray. I am saying do not pray a certain amount each day to please and therefore receive from God.

Receive from God as a free gift of grace through your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

That will result in freedom or liberty; freedom from sin and freedom from a life of striving and religious performance, freedom from guilt and anxiety.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the freedom from religion and legalism through the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

Galatians 5 v 1……Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.