The messages in this section are essential elements to help you grow as a child of God. While it's true we are God's children, He doesn't want us to remain as babies. Instead, God wants us to grow up and mature in Him (Heb 5:12-14) and then work in union with Him to reach the lost and the broken.
Living in the balance of Grace and Faith
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More on Spiritual Growth
Balanced Christian Life
Life is all about staying balanced. Whether it’s socially, financially, vocationally or in our families, balance ensures that we stay healthy. Consider children: they often get unbalanced in what they do. When they receive a new toy or discover a new friend or a new game, it’s not unusual that they become obsessed in playing with that one toy, friend or game to the exclusion of everything else. As parents, we need to step in and provide some boundaries so that there remains balance in their lives. What would happen if a parent allowed their child to eat lollies and ice cream everyday? It would eventually lead to problems because such a lifestyle is not balanced.
Just like children, we too as children of God can get out of balance in our Christian lives. We can neglect some activities and overdo others to our own detriment. There needs to be balance in the Christian life. But how can we maintain spiritual balance if we don’t know what elements bring balance into our lives? What does a balanced Christian life look like?
There are five elements that bring balance into our spiritual lives. All of them have to do with relationships because God is BIG on relationships. He made us in such a way that the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our relationships. So what are the relationships that bring balance to our spiritual lives?
They are:
- Your relationship with Christ
- Your relationship with the World
- Your relationship with Believers
- Your relationship with your Spiritual Leaders
- Your relationship with your Gifts
If any of these is missing we will find ourselves living an unbalanced spiritual life. An unbalanced Christian life is like a car tyre that is not aligned properly. You can continue on and not feel like anything’s wrong but if it’s not corrected, it will cause wear and fatigue on one side more than on other sides of the tyre. How many believers feel worn out or experience fatigue because they live an unbalanced Christian life?
The audio recording below goes into much more detail with each of these elements.
The Balanced Christian Life
Recorded at Transformers Christian Church
Walking With God
Walking with God is one of the greatest privileges given to mankind. Amongst other things, it sets us free of all inhibitions, brings assurance to our present circumstances and gives us confidence to face the future. But what exactly does it mean to walk with God and how can we implement it?
Seeds of Greatness - Joy Gomes
Seeds of Greatness
God has placed seeds of greatness in all of us. Find out how to discover and develop these seeds in this powerful message by Joy Gomes.
Perspectives in Sharing Your Faith
Perspectives in Sharing Your Faith
The greatest experience a person can ever have is receive Jesus Christ as saviour and Lord, for that's the moment they become a citizen of Heaven. Therefore, it follows that the next greatest experience must be helping someone else receive Christ. Why then do so many believers struggle to share Jesus with others? Because of a lack of understanding of the grounds, qualities and eternal significance in being involved in such a project.
This message will help you recalibrate your approach to evangelism and in so doing you will become more effective in sharing your faith.
How to handle Pressure
How to Handle Pressure
We live in such a pressure filled world. The pressure of meeting deadlines, the pressure of keeping promises, financial pressures and health pressures just to name a few. Is it possible to live above the pressures of life? Is it possible to live in such a way that pressure has little effect on us? Learn to get a handle over pressure before it gets a handle over you.
Part 1
Part 2
Level Up - Joy Gomes
Level Up - Joy Gomes
As a child of God you are in the world but not of the world. You are not subject to the limitations and boundaries of the world system. You should be living on a higher level but in order to do this you need to ‘level up’.
When we level up we are operating on the level God designed us to be – above the problems of this world. It doesn’t mean we don’t have problems but it means that we can move through them into victory because we’re operating on a higher level than the problems.
The secret to levelling up is to become God minded. Becoming God minded brings God’s results. Want to know more? Listen to the audio file and Level Up!
Change Your Way of Thinking
Change Your Way Of Thinking
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. (9) "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts." Isa 55:8-11 NKJV
God's way of thinking is very different to our way of thinking. Most of our thinking has been influenced by our interactions and experiences in this world. Our failures, our successes and the people we spend most of our time with influence the way we think. The problem is that much of what the world thinks and values is vastly different to what God thinks and values.
For example, the world teaches us that you have to see it in order to believe it. Consequently, we hear many people claiming that unless they can see God or a miracle they won't believe. This type of thinking has crept into many churches also. There are vast numbers of believers who can't believe that God is with them unless they have some sort of vision or supernatural experience.
God's way of thinking is completely opposite to the world's way. The world says 'you have to see it in order to believe it'. God says 'you need to believe it in order to see it'. You'll never see a miracle unless you believe in miracles. You'll see very little of God's blessing flowing in your life unless you believe for them first. You'll never see supernatural manifestations unless you believe they're coming your way. You must believe before you see.
- The world says 'live for yourself' but God says 'die to yourself'
- The world says 'hate those who hate you' but God says 'love those who hate you'
- The world says 'leaders should be rulers' but God says 'leaders should be servants'
It's so important that we change the way we think. Our wrong thinking is the major obstacle that prevents us from experiencing greater victory in our lives.
There's a story told about an Indian merchant who was selling doves in a market place. The merchant didn't use a cage; instead he fastened one of the birds' feet to a pole by a piece of string. The doves could move around the pole but the string stopped them from flying away. Consequently, all of the doves just walked around in circles determined by the length of their strings.
One day, a Brahman (Indian holy man) came through the market and when he saw the doves just walking in circles he felt tremendous compassion for the imprisoned doves. He complained to the merchant that it was cruel to keep the doves imprisoned and that he should set them free. The merchant replied that it was his trade but if the Brahman felt so strongly he could buy one and set it free. The Brahman then asked how much for a dove and when he was given the price, he paid the merchant the total amount to purchase all of the birds.
Once the transaction was completed, the Brahman ordered the merchant to untie the birds and set them free. The merchant did so but the birds, having been bound by the string for so long, continued to walk in circles – even though they were no longer tied to the pole. The Brahman then waved his arms and stamped his feet to try to startle the birds and make them fly away to enjoy their new freedom. But they only fluttered away a small distance and when they landed they began walking in circles again.
- How many believers make little or no progress in their lives even though Jesus has purchased them with His blood and set them free?
- How many walk in circles encountering the same problems periodically because they've never learnt how to move in the freedom that has been granted them?
The only way we can see our lives change in a positive way is by changing our way of thinking to line up with God's way of thinking.
If you want to learn more about this then checkout the messages below.
Part 1: The Importance of Changing the Way You Think
Part 2: How to Change the Way You Think
A Life That Matters - Joy Gomes
My biological parents gave me up for adoption when I was born and my new family was dysfunctional to say the least. My new mother was violent and abusive and my new father was almost always drunk. This was 'normal' for me because it's the only thing I knew growing up. Every Christmas when the extended family gathered, all of the children would receive an envelope with money. My envelope always had the least in it because 'you're not a blood member of the family' I was told. Feelings of abandonment and rejection were festering in my life. To further compound the problems, I was sexually abused by a trusted friend of the family between the ages of 11-13 which resulted in two mental breakdowns at that time.
It was very clear to me that I had no place in this world and was so angry that I had been put on planet earth. My life had no value at all. It seemed to me that my life didn't matter. Things went from bad to worse as I transferred from adolescence into adulthood. By the time I was 21, I had four children and not long after that my youngest one died of SIDS. I knew it was God's fault and He was sending me a message that my life didn't matter. This made me so angry; I was determined to show God that He would never break me nor defeat me and I purposed in my heart that I would do everything I could to oppose Him.
Of course my life has turned around dramatically since those days and I came to discover that God wasn't my enemy but my friend. You're going to have to listen to the audio recording below to know the rest of the story. It's well worth the listen to understand how someone who was a sworn enemy of Heaven became an agent of the Kingdom of God. The key was that I discovered that my life did matter, and so does yours.
You are a life that matters. God's plan is to see you walking in freedom from the inside out. Free from the hurt and pain of the past and for you to be free from the inside to enjoy your life. There is absolutely nothing He won't heal you from because you are "A life that matters"
The following audio recording goes into greater detail.
You Are A Life That Matters
Developing A Sensitive Heart
Developing a sensitive heart toward God is one of the most valuable things we can do in all of life.
- How beneficial do you think it would be to know the truth when buying a used car or purchasing real estate?
- What price would you put on having the answers to the problems that your child may be experiencing at the hands of an unfair teacher or the wrong group of friends?
- How handy do you imagine it would be to gain insight into getting that dream job or landing that promotion?
There are an innumerable number of situations where a sensitive heart toward God could really help us in our personal lives, business, work situations, families, neighbourhoods etc.
A heart that's sensitive to God is a heart that's tuned into what God thinks, feels and desires. This is the opposite of how most people live. Most people are primarily concerned about themselves; what they think, what they feel and what they want. But the more we come to realize that God loves us unconditionally and has an amazing plan for us that will lead us to a fruitful and fulfilling life, the more we will desire to cooperate with Him. A person with a sensitive heart toward God chooses to set aside their thoughts, emotions and desires in preference to God's thoughts, emotions and desires. Developing a sensitive heart toward God takes time; it's a progressive experience. It's a journey rather than a destination but there are certain tell-tale signs that reveal its development in our lives.
You can tell when someone is developing a sensitive heart toward God. For starters, they get less and less daunted by the size of the problems they face. Everyone will encounter problems, difficulties and even challenges that will seem 'impossible' to resolve. It's during the times that we face difficulties and challenges that we see what a person really believes. If we believe that God loves us then we won't be afraid or worried just because we're facing a difficulty or challenge – regardless of how big that challenge may appear. A person with a sensitive heart toward God learns to refuse to be afraid of bad news. They have confidence in God's ability to care for them (Ps 112:7-8).
There is much more to know and understand about this vital topic. The following messages bring out the points in greater detail. Listen to them several times and let the Holy Spirit give you greater understanding. Begin the journey to develop a sensitive heart toward God and experience the benefits that come from that.
The Amazing Benefits of a Sensitive Heart
The Dangers of A Hardened Heart
The Symptoms of A Hardened Heart
Developing a Sensitive Heart
Christian Basics
Christian Basics
Heb 6:1-2 NKJV Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (2) of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
This passage from Hebrews identifies six principles which are described as the elementary principles of Christ. Other translations call it the basic teachings about Christ, the first things about Christ, and the first lessons of the Christian message. It’s no surprise then that these six things are regarded as the foundation of our faith. This fact came to my attention recently, as I was reading through Hebrews.
‘If these are the foundation of our faith,’ I thought to myself, ‘then why have I never heard anyone preach on these six things?’ In all my years as a believer (over 30 years) I’ve never heard of any church exploring the items on this list. Maybe there are churches that have done so, but I’ve never heard of any.
This was more than a little concerning for me because if these are the foundation of our faith and we don’t understand what they are and how to walk them out in our lives then we have an unsure foundation.
The six principles are what I call The Christian Basics. They are:
- Repentance from dead works
- Faith toward God
- Doctrine/ Teaching of Baptisms
- Laying on of Hands
- The Resurrection of the Dead
- Eternal Judgements
Not only are these six principles vital for every believer but they’re also listed in learning order. In other words, you need to understand and implement the principle of Repentance from Dead Works before you can consistently and effectively release Faith toward God. Furthermore, as you adopt a lifestyle of Faith in God, you will be empowered to receive the outworkings of the Teaching of Baptisms and this teaching will prepare you to experience the fruit that comes from the application of Laying on of Hands etc…
1 Repentance From Dead Works
2 Faith Towards God
3 Doctrine of Baptisms
4 Laying On Of Hands
5 Resurrection of the Dead
6 Resurrection of the Dead - Part 2
7 Resurrection of the Dead - Part 3
8 Eternal Judgement - Part 1
9 Eternal Judgement - Part 2
Recorded at Transformers Christian Church
What to do when life doesn't play fair
What to do when life doesn't play fair
If you’ve been a believer for six months or longer, you’ve more than likely experienced it. A prayer failure; a faith project that did not turn out the way you imagined.
Sometimes it seems that we can do all the right things and get the wrong results. Even worse, sometimes it seems that we’ve done nothing wrong but we’ve been wronged. For example, consider someone who was abused as a baby or a child. What wrong can a baby or child do that necessitates abuse? Nothing. And yet, there are many that have suffered wrong at the hands of those that should know better.
It seems at times, life just doesn’t play fair. Whether it’s failing to get the new job or promotion you were sure was yours, the relationship that shattered, a business venture that turned pear shaped, the loss of a loved one, or even a traumatic event. From ongoing health issues to workplace bullying, most have suffered times in their life where something went terribly wrong. Life didn’t play fair.
What do you do when that happens? What do you do when life isn’t playing fair? Your answer to these questions will determine whether you recover or remain defeated.
In May 2017, my beautiful bride of 28 years went to Heaven. Joy had been diagnosed 6 months earlier with stage 4 metastatic lung cancer and was told that there was nothing the doctors could do. We knew God was more than able to turn a terrible situation into a terrific situation and so we began to apply the principles of faith. We saw many notable things turn around and expected a complete recovery. Her departure was totally unexpected and devastating in many ways.
What I’m going to share with you are some principles that the Lord revealed to me since that time. They have not only brought comfort to a distressed soul but also empowered me to overcome when life didn’t play fair. These principles are equally applicable for anyone that has experienced a traumatic event.
What do you do when life doesn’t play fair? The first thing you do is keep ‘Why me?’ out of your vocabulary. You are not the only one that has experienced tragedy, setback or injustice. The universe did not align itself against you. Sometimes life just doesn’t play fair and asking the question ‘Why me?’ will lead you into a dark slippery pit called self-pity. Self-pity can have a strong pull – particularly if you’ve experienced a terrible wrong but you must resist it!
I was not the first person to lose their spouse and I will not be the last. It was not God’s fault that Joy died; He was trying to push the healing through. But there was something that we missed; something important that we were overlooking. We couldn’t see it because of our imperfection. You see, as believers, we are all growing and developing which means we don’t do things perfectly. Not a single believer has a 100% success record in prayer. Why? Because we haven’t matured in every area; there are still areas in our lives that we need to grow in or areas that we need to soften our hearts toward God.
Sometimes you can be doing everything you know to do and you fail to receive. This is not God withholding from us; it’s just our inability at times to perceive what He’s trying to show us. We don’t need to condemn ourselves in this. The more we grow, the better we’ll get. But as we grow we will experience failure in prayer from time to time and this is not God’s will. What do you do when this happens? The first thing is: keep ‘Why me?’ out of your vocabulary.
There is much more to say on this topic and the two audio files below go into far greater detail. They are free of charge and they will empower you to comeback from every setback.
What to do when life doesn't play fair - Part 1
What to do when life doesn't play fair - Part 2
Recorded at Transformers Christian Church
Matters of the Heart
Matters of the Heart
The heart of man is the interface between the spirit, soul and imagination. The things that dominate the heart will crowd your life and determine your destiny (Mark 7:20-23). If fears, worries and frustrations dominate your heart then your life becomes crowded with fears, worries and frustrations. And if these are left unchecked then eventually they will lead to an unfortunate end.
David was known as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). What does this mean? It means that David allowed God to do a work in him so that the heart of God resonated with his own. These matters of the heart are issues of Christian character and they reveal the nature and image of Jesus in us. Examples of matters of the heart are honor, sacrifice, kindness, courage, servanthood and they are of far greater importance than anything you can do for God.
Character and obedience are the only two things you can take into Heaven with you and your obedience is worthless unless it is visible through the lens of your Christlike character. That’s why a person can stand before Jesus on Judgement Day and claim to have done many wonders in His name and still be denied entry into eternal life – because their obedience was not tempered with Christlike character traits such as humility and compassion (Matt 7:21-23).
As a born-again believer, you are identical to Jesus in your spirit (1 Cor 6:17). You are just as holy, righteous, blameless, victorious and sinless as Jesus in your spirit (1 John 3:9). But unless you can find a way for what’s inside to flow out to your soul and body, you will look and act like an unchurched person. But when we find a way then the life of Christ flows out and heals our bodies, changes our thinking and transforms our lives.
There is so much more to say about this issue and the following audio files go into far greater detail:
Matters of the Heart - Part 1: Integrity
Matters of the Heart - Part 2: Humility
Matters of the Heart - Part 3: God's Love
Matters of the Heart - Part 4: Experiencing God's Love
Recorded at Transformers Christian Church
The Power of Faithfulness
The Power of Faithfulness
There’s a word in the English language we don’t often hear but it’s a big word in the heart of God. It’s the word ‘faithful’.
The bible says ‘A faithful man shall abound in blessings’ (Prov 28:20). The Message translation of this verse says ‘Committed and persistent work pays off’. Faithfulness is being committed and persistent. A person who is faithful can be counted on to do what they said; they are reliable and trustworthy. They just keep turning up.
You can’t actually identify faithfulness quickly; it’s only visible over an extended period of time. You don’t know how faithful someone is until some time has passed and you notice they just keep turning up to do what they said they would do.
When Jesus appears on a white horse at the end of the ages, the bible says that He who sat on the horse is called ‘Faithful and True’ (Rev 19:11). Why didn’t it say He is called Jesus, or the Son of God or the Christ? Why did it say He is called ‘Faithful and True’? I believe it’s because faithfulness is a big concept in the heart of God.
In the parable of the Talents, what is the Master’s response to the servants that multiply their talents? ‘Well done good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.’ (Matt 25:21). Faithfulness is always rewarded by God with promotion and increased authority.
Faithfulness has many benefits. It will draw you into a more intimate place with God, it will develop strength of character, it brings divine protection in your life. If your life was represented by a house then faithfulness will help to build it on a solid foundation. (Matt 7:24-27). There is so much more to be said about this important topic. The two audio files below go into much greater detail.
The Power of a Faithful Life - Part 1
The Power of a Faithful Life - Part 2
Recorded at Transformers Christian Church
Managing Your Moods
Managing Your Moods
How to stay on top of the blues.
Managing Your Moods
Recorded at Transformers Christian Church
Fulfilling My Life Mission
Fulfilling My Life Mission
The Secret to personal fulfillment
Part 1: The Importance of Fulfilling My Mission
Part 2: The Seven Mountain Mandate I
Part 3: The Seven Mountain Mandate II
Part 4: Essential Truths Of Mountain Climbing
Recorded at Transformers Christian Church
Igniting Your Passion
How To Ignite Your Passion
Allowing the Holy Spirit to fan the flame within
Igniting Your Passion - Part 1
Igniting Your Passion - Part 2
Recorded at Transformers Christian Church
The Joy of the Lord