Gideon looked closely at his men as they laid down their gear by the river.  He was looking for those who cupped their hands to drink. Having laid down their natural way of fighting and washed their hands in the river, they had empty and clean hands.  God enlists people by their character and their thirst at His River.

Now down to 300 men, God told Gideon to go to the enemy’s camp and listen to what they were saying.  While eavesdropping on Midian’s camp, he heard one soldier telling another of his recent nightmare. In the dream, a barley cake hit their tent and wiped out 30000 men. The Midianites knew that this represented Gideon and God’s army. Gideon was encouraged and told his men “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand." Judges 7:15  

The enemy knew God’s people were coming and they were worried!   We listen too much to what the enemy is saying to us instead of hearing what they are saying to each other. If we knew what they were saying about the Church, we would fear less and move forward more. The devil knows an outpouring of the Spirit is rolling in.  He knows fully who the Church is, so he seeks to keep us from knowing who we are. We can only live the life of the person we think we are.  If he can keep us from realizing the strength that even 300 have in corporate prayer, he thinks he’ll be ok.

A man in our Church wore a tee shirt which said, “I am the devil’s worst nightmare” and that certainly should be true.  (Let’s not put that tee shirt on while we’re still arguing with our family, not praying or thinking daily about Jesus and His Word) but that is what we are meant to be. 

Friend, we are living on a battleship, not the love boat.  We have a victory won by Jesus that must be enforced by faith-filled prayer and enjoyed by action - personally and corporately as the church in our city. Then if we listened in on the enemy’s camp, we'd hear that they are worried. Let’s increase their nightmare.

I can't understand atheists, but I admire them for their type of faith and courage. Neitzche the famous atheist who proclaimed “God is dead” is himself long dead and now knows better. He at last realises that only man’s foolishness and pride could claim to have absolute knowledge about things that are invisible or that cannot be empirically proven. But some things can be..

Rodney Stark is one of the world’s leading authorities on the sociology of religion. This Pulitzer Prize nominee was a sociology professor at the University of Washington for many years. He spent much of his life studying religious people vs nonreligious people. After he researched thousands of people, Stark concluded that religious people: are much less likely to commit crimes at all ages; are far more likely to contribute even to secular charities, volunteer their time to socially beneficial programs, to be active in civic affairs and enjoy superior mental health – they are happier, less neurotic, and far less likely to commit suicide. They also enjoy superior physical health, having an average life expectancy of more than seven years longer than that of the irreligious; and express a higher degree of satisfaction with their marriage and are substantially less likely to abuse their spouses and children. They even perform better on standardised achievement tests and are far less likely to have dropped out of school, which is especially true for ethnic minorities; and were therefore far less subject to being on unemployment benefits or welfare.

 So parents, politicians and everyone who has breath should think about how much we are losing as a society by becoming less religious.

Not only that Dr Caroline Leaf, quotes research by Dr Gail Ironside, professor of psychology and psychiatry who found that the most significant factor in recovery for those with HIV, was their belief in a benevolent and loving God. Over a 4 year trial, those who did not believe in God lost their healing “T cells” three times faster than those who believed in God. Their viral load also increased three times faster along with higher stress levels and damaging amounts of cortisol. Her conclusion was a belief in a benevolent God, was way more protective and if you believed that Jesus loved you personally, that protection and recovery were even greater.

It turns out that when it comes to the enjoyment of life and health, you have to be quite brave to be an atheist. We were just not created to be unbelievers. That is living against the grain of life. So dear atheist, I admire your courage, but I still wouldn’t want to be you!

Though he never started an organization he left a legacy far beyond the effect of his ministry to a few thousand people in ancient Palestine.  His ministry to the deformed, diseased, demonised and dying was beautiful.  He attacked everything contrary to the kingdom of God in the lives of those he was led to by the Spirit. Jesus was an exemplary minister, but he was also a model leader.

He led His disciples by example in devotion and lifestyle, but He also cast vision, planned, set goals, mentored, delegated and built a team. He was a minister and a leader.    Teaching and training of the disciples became more important than ministry, as the time of entrusting the message to the twelve, becomes closer.  For instance, there are only six instances of miracles after Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, compared with at least thirty, in His early Galilean ministry.

Jesus understood that the world would not be changed by ministry alone, or by what He alone could accomplish.  It would take direct leadership of the 12 and the 70 to achieve His purpose.  Ministry is whatever we do to help and bless people in need.  Leadership is whatever we do to facilitate other people doing ministry or leading. Ministry is about meeting needs that you see whereas leadership comes from a belief in something yet unseen and moving toward it.

Friend, lead and lead well.  Leadership maximizes your life. Ministry builds individuals, but leadership builds the Church.  Through ministry you can build a reputation but only by leadership can we leave a legacy.

 Esther hurried away from the meeting with her uncle and she already had a plan in her mind. The young Jewish woman had recently been selected as the gentile King’s new wife. In a previous episode, the king’s governor Haman had convinced the king that the Jews were his enemy and had gained royal permission to write a decree, that every Jew should be robbed, killed and destroyed. When her Jewish uncle Mordecai heard about the decree, he asked her to intercede on behalf of their people. The king didn’t know that Esther was one of the now-condemned Jews until she exposed Haman’s plot to the King. God gave her favour with the king and Haman was hanged on the gallows.  Even though Haman was destroyed, according to the custom of the day the first royal decree allowing the attack on Jews could not be changed. But the King wrote another decree, giving the Jews full authority to fight back. They had a great victory which they still celebrate at the feast of Purim.

God made His first decree that mankind would be delivered to death if they chose to rebel against Him. God then defeated Satan on the cross, (as the king destroyed evil Haman on the gallows in Esther’s story). However, while Satan is stripped of legitimate authority, he still works against us whenever we drift into his dark kingdom through wilful sin and even ignorance of His Word. There, his minions seek to steal, kill and destroy God’s people. Therefore like the king of old, God has empowered us by a second decree, to fight and defeat the devil and all his plans in the name of Jesus.  What the enemy means for evil, God has already planned to use for your good. God is using him to make you stronger and to teach us to make war. God is using us to destroy the enemy’s plans against you and your family.

Friend, never fear what the devil can do to you, but in the decreed authority that Jesus has given you, live in a way that makes him fear what you can do to him.

The people of Israel stood on the edge of Canaan but even after being told of the beautiful, promised land, they couldn’t rise to the opportunity God gave them. They still saw themselves as powerless slaves, even as grasshoppers.  We also can see a Promised Land before us but if we don’t see ourselves as those able to enter it, we won’t be able to.  Corinthians tells us that we are “new creatures” in Christ; a brand-new species and our future is as bright as the promises of God. God can do exceedingly abundantly above what we can ask or think. (Eph 3:19 -20). But we need to think about ourselves differently. 

It’s not your haircut or clothes or address that changed, but you; you're now God’s child. Your potential, your future and the impact of your past upon you, have changed completely. Certainly, our perception of God has changed but how you see yourself is more important than how you see your future. We might even have ignored ministry or work dreams and opportunities because we never saw ourselves as able.

Friends, people don’t necessarily grow into their potential; they only grow into what they think they deserve or what they believe they are capable of. God has made you more than able by putting Himself within you! The most important vision is not what you see ahead of you but who you see inside you. If you see yourself rightly, a new future will appear.

No wonder Easter is still the premier celebration in the universe. And no wonder the devil seeks to deceive the masses as to its consequences. “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2Jn 1:7)   

Christ means Messiah. God come in the flesh to be our Saviour. This is such good news because it means a number of fabulous things.

1.                If Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, then God has revealed Himself! That means that we don't need to look for any other saviour. The gospel just needs to be told to all nations, races and religions.  It means we can all give up our false gods with false hopes and turn to Jesus Christ.

2.               If Messiah has come in the flesh, then God has spoken to man.  That means we can put away every other religious book, every other philosophy and ideology and give allegiance to the Word of God.  God’s Word is the standard by which every other book, every thought and every word is to be judged and weighed for truth and justice.

3.               If Jesus the Messiah has come in the flesh, then Jesus has modelled righteousness and right living. That means that we can judge all our behaviour, speech, and moral life based upon the teaching and example of Christ.

4.               If the Messiah has come in the flesh, then God has shown us the only way for us to be forgiven.  On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for the sin of all mankind, so we can give up our pride-filled efforts to save ourselves and call on the Lord.

5.               If God came in the flesh, died and rose again, then allegiance to Christ alone is desirable and reasonable. Putting our trust in His word is life-saving and necessary. The Bible is not outdated. It matters not whether a man rides a horse or a helicopter, the Bible is always relevant and offers him hope.

What a fabulous Saviour! If we were saved by His death, how much more shall we be saved by His life? Romans 5.10.

In 1909 the Olympic runner from Tanzania, John Stephen Akhwari, fell as he was running.  He hurt his head and legs but dragged himself along to finish the marathon. When asked why he forced himself to endure unnecessary agony, he replied “My country did not send me 10,000 miles just to start the race but to finish it.”  Learning how to overcome adversity is important today because, while learning to parachute is optional and learning to macramé is a choice, learning to face adversity isn’t!  “In the world, you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).  

Every believer has troubles, even your neighbour.  They might be different from yours, or they may not even appear to have them, but believe me they do. Troubles are part of life for believers and nonbelievers.  Trouble is normal, but the big advantage is that we have Gods help and presence to empower us through it.  Knowing that troubles are normal, helps us persevere. Even while Elijah was chilling in the desert, he had challenges. First abundance, then famine, then ravens, and then lack and death in the home. It was an intense couple of years.  God was not trying to make great difficulties for him, but he was seeking to make him great.  God was growing Elijah for his tomorrow and us for ours. He was making a man of God who could pray down a revival, confront kings and turn back nations. A man who could pray earnestly and see the heaven opened over his nation.

Friends, our troubles are to make us more dependant and therefore stronger. God is developing conquerors, not survivors.  The hard thing about being a Christian is living on the earth; being a Christian in heaven, will be easy.  Expecting to have heaven now, where there is no sickness, no trouble, no sadness or trials, will only cause the pain of disappointment. There is a sure way to get into the blessing of God and there is a certain way into our destiny but there is no easy way. However Gods training in your life up till now, has made you more than strong enough to finish your race.

The sound of the rooster had hardly faded  from his ears, when Peter was gripped by remorse.  Embarrassed by his past, he wished he could have his time over again. How could he have been so weak and fearful?

Of course, Peter would felt bad after denying Jesus, but Satan seized the opportunity to condemn him terribly.  The devil seeks to sow lies into our hearts after we have failed.  Lies like, “Jesus will not want to meet with you; He’ll never want to work miracles for you; you have annoyed God too much; you have lost your call” and “you don’t really love God at all.”  

But look how Jesus restores him.  First, He comes to him. God always initiates and is never put off by our failures! Then He calls Peter and the other disciples children, affirming their family relationship with God. He then helps them with a miracle showing that God is not offended and still wants to bless him. Next, Jesus arranges for the fire and the coals to bring Peters past memories and shame to mind, only so He could speak over them with truth. He renews Peters call, and finally He gets Peter to affirm three times that he still loves Jesus.  By doing that, Jesus is undoing the lie the devil had been telling Peter. “You don’t love Him so how could be love you?”

Friend, it matters not what we think of ourselves or what the devil wants us to think, but it does matter what Jesus thinks.  Let Jesus have the final word, He loves you, believes in you, His plans for you are still good and is forgiveness of our failures just increases our gratitude and devotion to Him.