What Jesus Says to a Complacent Church

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This letter gives us another secret to growth and change to those of us who are feeling a little bit complacent. Maybe we feel a little more bored than blessed when we connect with church … Perhaps we feel a lot more attached to this world than we’d like - (who doesn’t struggle with that?) and looking us straight in the eye Jesus says - “I want you to see your need as you never have before. Then I’d be able to meet your need as I never have before.” John writes this way to the church in Laodicea - “To the angel of the church of Laodicea write, ‘These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds that you’re neither cold nor hot … I wish that you were one or the other … But you don’t realise you’re wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you get from me gold refined in the fire so you can become rich and white clothes to wear so you can cover your shameful nakedness salve to put on your eyes so you can see.” (Revelation 3:14 ff) Not easy words from Jesus but they end with his remarkable promise - “Look! I am standing at the door and I'm constantly knocking. If anyone opens the door I will come in and I’ll fellowship with him; I’ll relate to him, I’ll dine with him and he’ll fellowship with me.” (Revelation 3:20 – Message)

Episodes

May 1, 2017

30th April 2017 - IS IT RIGHT OR WRONG TO BE AMBITIOUS?

May 1, 2017

34 min

We live in a world in which the winner takes all. Consider the Olympic swimming. As little as one hundredth of a second can separate gold from silver in the final.

But we only value the gold medal. We only remember the gold medalist.

Yep, it’s definitely a winner–takes–all world we live in, because the one thing that this world values above everything else, is success.

And who doesn’t want to succeed at whatever you turn your hand to. You start a business, you embark on a career, you enter into a marriage relationship, you bring children into this world. Is there anyone amongst us who doesn’t want to succeed at those important things?

Of course not!

And yet there’s something about ambition that can get real ugly, real quick. There’s something in each one of us that wants to shy away from ambitious people.

Think about it, how much do you value the quality of “ambition” in other people. It’s not up there in your top ten is it? Even in your top 20?!

In any case, didn’t Jesus say that “if you want to be first, you have to be last?”

So now, we have a dilemma. We all value success, yet we don’t much like that “ambition” label. But don’t you, at least to some extent, need to be ambitious in order to be successful?

Well, this Sunday, we’re going to take a look at the rights and wrongs of ambition.

From a different perspective. From the Bible’s perspective. From God’s perspective.

May 1, 2017

34 min

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