Galatians 3:23- 4:7



The Law (Old Testament commandments from Moses) was our “guardian” until Christ came – we learnt from the Law, we remember our lessons from the Law, but we no longer live UNDER the Law.  The main goal of the Law is to lead us to Jesus and show us why we need him.  Jesus seeks to transform our hearts, guiding us to change our heart posture from one of slavery and fear to one of freedom and maturity. 



Under the Law, our standing before God was measured by our obedience to the Law (i.e. not good…).



But Paul says we can be considered children of God in a completely different way – we can have right standing before God through faith in Christ Jesus.



So, we are baptised INTO Christ, and we put ON Christ.  When we live as followers of Christ, fully immersed in Him, our individual selves fade into the background, allowing Jesus Christ  to shine through. We “put on Christ” and we have His identity.



And because of Jesus, the separating lines between all believers are gone… Jesus died on the cross to erase those lines; and we should not be putting them back in place!  In our standing before God, we are all one in Christ Jesus.



And if you belong to Christ, then you are part of Abraham’s promise…. you have been adopted, you are now heirs with Christ and everything in God’s kingdom has been made available to you.  

In his letter to the churches of Galatia (part of modern-day Türkiye), the apostle Paul expresses great alarm at how some of the gentile Christians are being persuaded to obey Jewish religious customs and going back to a kind of Christianity that is based on earning forgiveness by obedience to religious laws and commandments (typified by circumcision as a mark of belonging to God). The result is that the gospel (“good news”) is no longer good news at all! If we try to earn forgiveness by our own efforts at being righteous, we are doomed and destined to failure!



It is imperitive that we understand that the gospel is a message of salvation and forgiveness that comes to us as a free gift through Jesus Christ. We can’t add anything of our own efforts to somehow impress God or make our salvation more effective; Jesus has done it all and all we must do is to trust and believe in him! This is the freedom that we have through the true Good News – free from guilt and condemnation because Jesus paid the price for all our sin, and freedom to live in right-standing with God because in Jesus we become God’s children, his heirs.



Brian Simmons (author of The Passion Translation) writes in his introduction to Galatians:




‘Heavens freedom! This “grace gospel” brings heaven’s freedom into our lives—freedom to live for God and serve one another, as well as freedom from religious bondage.’

In this message, Luke takes us on a very personal journey of uncovering the ways in which we fall into the trap of believing lies about ourself. Satan is a liar who wants to keep us from living the life that God has for us – the life of peace and joy that Jesus already paid for by his own blood.



Instead of believing those lies from the devil, we have God’s Word that gives us the truth that sets us free in Jesus Christ! Instead of living according to the ways of the sinful nature, we can live by faith in Jesus in the freedom that the Holy Spirit gives.

Jesus offers an invitation to the first disciples to leave their nets and follow him. There is a sense of great risk in exchange for great reward in God’s kingdom. This invitation doesn’t arrive in a ‘vacuum’ but follows a process of revelation, bringing a measure of confidence and faith. Nevertheless, choosing to accept Jesus’ invitation to become his disciples, to leave the livelihood behind and put their trust in Jesus was a costly decision. But they believed it was worth it, worth the risk to leave it all behind and follow Jesus into whatever calling and plans he had for them. They dared to believe that what Jesus had for them was better than the life they could gain for themselves.



What are the things in your life that feels like a big risk or a big step of faith to leave behind so that you can follow Jesus and receive the life he has for you?



Note: Unfortunately the recording for this week’s message was cut off prematurely due to a technical glitch.

From time to time, prophetic words are spoken in church, sometimes to individuals and sometimes to the whole meeting. In the case of a recent word that was shared, some people were not sure what to think of what was said and few had questions. There are principles given in the New Testament about the healthy use of spiritual gifts and especially prophecy which are important for all Christians to understand. In this short message, Pastor David outlines these principles for embracing a healthy prophetic culture in the church, and goes on to bring clarity to the prophetic word that was spoken the previous week. (Unfortunately, there was a fault in the recording so we do not have a copy of the original word).



The backbone of understanding prophecy from a New Testament church context is given in 1 Corinthians 12-14 and especially chapter 14. Every believer receives the gift of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38), and we are encourage to pursue the gifts the Spirit gives, especially to prophesy within the church family (1 Cor. 14:1-4).



Alongside this instruction, we must humbly acknowledge the imperfection of our sensitivity and obedience to the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 13:9) and therefore our need for everything to be tested against the written word of God. Every prophetic word given in the church must be “weighed carefully” by mature believers with a sound knowledge of scripture (1 Cor. 14:29). Paul writes again in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 that all prophecies must be tested against the standard of the Bible. Our response ought to be that we hold on to the good, and treat such words as worthy of attention, but let anything else “fall to the ground”.

The recent assassination of Charlie Kirk has triggered a lot of discussion around the interactions (or intersections?) between politics, faith, freedom (gun ownership rights). It’s been a turbulent time with a lot of media commentary. It is perhaps easy to miss how prominent the word ‘peace’ is in the message of the gospel and throughout the New Testament.



A shining moment amongst it all was Charlie’s widow, Erika Kirk, publicly declaring forgiveness for the young man who shot and killed her husband. That is really the point to grab hold of – that Jesus came to proclaim peace and forgiveness, not vengeance.

In the absence of a clear explanation, it is understandable that some people might think that “Christ” is Jesus’ surname or family name, like his parents were “Mr and Mrs Christ”. The truth is that “Christ” is a title that means “Anointed” (in Greek). It carries the same meaning as “Messiah” (Hebrew). In ancient Israel and Judaism this meant “God’s anointed leader”, which covers a lot of ground from priests, prophets and rulers. Ultimately though it refers to God’s appointed ruler over all things, not just the king but the King of Kings. This is why Jesus is THE Christ – The Anointed One.



This stands at the core of the gospel message – that Jesus is King, that his resurrection declares he is “the son of God in power” (Romans 1:2-4) and all people everywhere are called to trust in Him through acceptance of his rule.



The question for each of us is, will I accept him as my/your King.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church begins by establishing that it is God who has called and chosen his people “to be holy and blameless in his sight”. The good news of salvation in Jesus Christ begins with God calling us to repentance and obedience to Christ, to a new way of living from a completely “new self”.



Around the middle of the letter Paul switches from speaking about the eternal truths of the gospel to the practical outworking in our response to God’s gracious gift of life. He writes, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Eph. 4:1). Such a high calling demands an all-or-nothing response to God’s invitation.



Queue the bad analogy of a “Mr Fusion” powered DeLorean.


In practical terms though, it’s not just about an external change of behaviour patterns, but an internal renovation of heart and mind that lays a new foundation for how we live. The beginning of a new creation, that Paul calls “the new self”.




You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (NIV)

God is Holy, He calls us to be set apart, and by the power of His Spirit, to be made Holy like His Holy Son, Jesus. 



Hebrews 12:14 (AMPC) says:  “Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no-one will (ever) see the Lord.”



This is not works, but it is posturing ourselves to allow the Spirit to train us and transform us to be holy; set apart for God.



We look at Isaiah’s experience of God’s holiness and take some lessons from that. We cannot make ourselves holy, but we can choose to pursue a consecrated, set apart life for God and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us in the process. 

God is calling us to a life of holiness, a life that is fully set apart for Him in every way and in every area. God also hates sin, and we see from scripture that disaster trails the heels of sin.  God calls us to become Holy as He is Holy (Leviticus 20:26) – he calls us to be set apart for a life lived for Him.  When we choose that, there is good fruit seen in our lives. 

Referring back to Liz Pullin’s message from last week, David teases out what Jesus means when he talks about “living water”. When Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar that he would give living water to those who believe in him, he was not making up a new analogy, but was actually very consciously and deliberately referring to himself as the subject and fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies in which God refers to himself as the source of living water, and that God would make those who believe and trust in him to also be like springs of water that would never dry up or fail.

When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well in Sychar, he told her some things that are totally life-changing! He spoke of the gift of “living water”, which can quench the ever-present “thirst” that resides in the soul (in other words, our deepest needs and heart-longings that only God can satisfy). Not only that, he wants and is able to create a new well, a new source of life within you. His promise is that “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst … the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life”. (John 4:1-26)

David was anointed to be king long before he actually became king of Israel. In the time of waiting he had to learn how to honour and serve under Saul, the current king, even though Saul at times tried to kill him. God had rejected Saul because of his disobedience to God’s instructions through the prophet Samuel. But David still had to be shaped by God in the process of waiting and holding on to the words spoken over him by the prophet.



What can we learn from David about stewarding God’s anointing upon our own lives, no matter what “season” we’re in?

What does it mean for us who are in Christ to grow into the sonship in God’s family which is given to us in Christ? The gift of the Holy Spirit brings us into sonship in God, but he is also our mentor and the power by which we overcome sin, endure suffering, and learn to live in the power of God, the power that enables us to know his indescribable love.



Romans 8:12-23



Ephesians 3:10-19

The apostle Paul wrote about the incredible greatness of God’s power for those who believe in Christ. He describes God’s power at work in us as being the same power that raised Christ from the dead and elevated him to the place of highest authority and power over the entire creation!




I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 1:19-20 (NLT)



And yet, our daily lived experience being in the age of “now and not yet”, in which the kingdom of has come and is being manifest through the rule of Jesus Christ and through his people here on earth, is that suffering, sickness and death still exist. All of us are touched by it. That tension is never more present than when someone who knows the Lord and has faith in him suffers with sickness and dies. The Bible says that “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27), but also that the same resurrection power that raised Christ is now at work for us!



How do we reconcile these things with the promise of God’s presence – the Holy Spirit’s power and presence given to us, living in us, dwelling in our midst?What according to Scripture is certain, and what is possible but not necessarily promised as being for all believers all of the time?

In John 15, Jesus speaks about himself as “the true vine”. The image of God’s people represented as a vine or a vineyard was very familiar to the Jewish people, as it occurs numerous times in the Old Testament prophets. Sadly, Israel had failed to produce any good “fruit” for the Lord. But now Jesus comes as re-orients the image around himself. He is the True Vine, and our job is to be branches that stay connected to Him, the true source of life and nourishment. He is firmly and deeply rooted in the life of God and from that place, our fruitfulness flows. Our job is simply to stay connected – just BE A BRANCH!



A brilliant message by guest speaker, Pastor Jodie Elliott. Jodie is our national CRC Generations pastor and part of our national executive team. She and her husband Scott recently moved to Sawmill NSW to begin a new church.

Pentecost Sunday is a major celebration on the Christian calendar each year, although there exists some different perspectives amongst various streams of the Church regarding the role and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. No matter what, we celebrate God’s power at work within us, as Paul declares in Ephesians 3:20, that is, the personal presence of God indwelling everyone who believes in and trusts in Jesus Christ.




Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…
Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)



On this day above others, we are reminded that while the Holy Spirit is the agent of God’s working in the “inner life” of all Christians – to bring revelation of who Jesus is and empower saving faith in the heart, to transform and renew the mind, to give a new heart and bring holiness. But we are also reminded that the baptism Jesus spoke of in Acts 1:5 is one of power for mission and witness (Acts 1:8), to be “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). This is not an either/or option but as the Bible shows, God wants BOTH for us – His Holy Spirit working in us, but also through us.

It is the potent desire of all Christians to know and experience the living presence of Jesus Christ personally. Sometimes we may feel that God is near and other times perhaps the opposite, like “God, where are you?” The truth is our emotions and natural senses are not very helpful in sensing things that are spiritual in nature.



In Luke 24:13-32 we read the story of two disciples who had an encounter with Jesus on their long walk home to Emmaus. In so many ways we can identify with their journey from sadness, grief and disappointment, to “burning hearts” as they listen to Jesus (still without recognising him!), and finally to wonder and amazement as their eyes are finally “opened” and they know him for who he is.



We may long for a similar encounter in which we see Jesus with our own eyes. And yet, that is not the normal experience of most Christians. The bible tells us that Jesus is now glorified in his resurrected body and situated in heaven with the Father. And yet, at the same time there are numerous places in which he promised to always be with us. In his short booklet “Jesus Himself”, Andrew Murray (1828-1917) wrote




“…just as Christ upon earth was able to keep those people with Him for three years, day by day, so Christ is able in heaven now to do what He could not do when He was on earth—to keep in the closest fellowship with every believer throughout the whole world.”




God has given us the Holy Spirit as his living presence to be with us, in us, now and always. More than that, the Bible tells us that through faith in Christ we have been raised up with him and are actually “seated” (situated) with him in our spiritual reality. So the real question is not whether I sense Jesus here with me, but whether I sense, and know, myself with him and in him.

“He is Not here. He has risen. Just as He said.” (Matthew 28:6) These are the words of the angel in the tomb when women came looking for Jesus’ body on the morning when he was resurrected.



“…Just as he said.” Jesu had told them on numerous occasions that he would be handed over to the religious leaders and killed, but also that he would rise again.



What Jesus says goes. “Just as he said” – His word is true.  He can be trusted!



What promises have you received from God out of His Word? What are you carrying in your heart waiting for God to fulfil his promise to you?