Good morning. It really is, because God is for you! Here’s breakfast. Don’t forget your keys! Matthew 16:19 (NIV) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. The promise Jesus made to Peter was a promise not just for the Church that was around then, but for the one that is still alive and well today: us! After Jesus rose from the dead, He delivered on the promise and gave the keys of the Kingdom to the Church, and we hold those keys and have the power to open and close things on earth and in heaven. They are keys with a great purpose which enable and empower us to close (bind) things on earth and in heaven, and open (loose) things as well. My challenge this morning is simple: are you tolerating stuff that you don’t need to, simply because you won’t pick up your keys and use them? If so, pick up the keys today, my friend, and begin to use them effectively. Jesus restored our right to rule and reign and have righteous dominion on the earth. God originally gave that right to Adam, but Adam sold out through His disobedience. Jesus, two thousand years ago, through His obedience won that right back for us and has delivered it to us. He gave those keys to us to use and not to sit on the sideboard, so pick them up! Those God-given keys that are in our possession have the power to release things from heaven to the earth and to your life. Read how The Message puts the verse we read: "And that's not all. You will have complete and free access to God's kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven." Don’t leave home without your keys, and have a great day. Andy
Friday, 29 October 2010
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Take control of your heart activity
John 14:27 (NKJV)
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
When walking by faith you have to control the activity of your heart. When you are walking towards a God-given promise, as we said, most times without a clue how God is going to do what He has promised, a lot of different emotions can happen in the internal world of your life. Your heart is a very important part of your life – naturally if it fails then nothing else really matters. So it is with our unseen heart: that place of emotions where reasoning occurs, that place were either faith or fear can reside.
This verse is all about peace – more specifically, the peace of God. That peace which is more powerful and superior than any other. Notice Jesus said, like His righteousness, He gives it – which means we do not have to fear that its continued presence is down to our performance. It is a gift given to remain. Notice what Jesus says next: because you now have His peace you can and should now take control of the activity of your heart. Make sure the activity is not fear-based but rather faith-based. When there is faith-based activity in your heart then you ward off the side effects that come with such things as fear, things like anxiety and worry that actually have the potential to shorten your days.
Jesus specifically speaks of not letting your heart do certain things. Wow! That means that you actually have a controlling role concerning it's daily activity. Okay, firstly Jesus says, "Don’t let your heart be troubled or upset". Remember, we walk by faith and not by sight, which means we should not be moved or distressed by what we may see. Rather we should be stable, despite the changing landscapes, because of what we believe. Secondly He says, "Don't let or allow your heart to be afraid or scared". Again, according to Jesus, you have the right to chose this, not your circumstances. Choose to banish the things that strive to produce fearfulness – you cannot afford to be full of fear, rather full of faith.
Okay it’s down to you! Christ is in you, which means your peace is going nowhere on your journey of faith. But now you must choose what are you going to let your heart do during the journey.
God bless,
Andy
Monday, 25 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Good morning, Champion. Faith leaves the how to God! Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. When learning about faith, with the desire to let it further develop in your life, you soon discover that it is simply a matter of trust; not a matter of trust when you know how everything is going to happen, rather an issue of trusting when you have no understanding or idea of how God is going to make what He has promised you come about. Being human we always want to know the how or, put another way, the specific route to the destination that God has promised us. But most of the time that is not how God operates because He is wanting us to operate in faith. Faith itself is the substance and does not need to be accompanied with physical evidence (Hebrews 11:1).When you study the life of Abraham you see how God operates in faith. When you gain the understanding of this it enables you to understand how to walk by faith with Him. At the start of Abraham's journey, God steps into His settled, secure world and says, “I have so much more for you”. When Abraham enquires concerning the route to this great destination all God says is, "Leave where you are at and go that way". No map, no sat nav, no co-ordinates, no idea of what was around the corner, or where the next corner was! Yet Abraham chose not to lean on his understanding but rather trust the promise and the Promise Giver. As he stepped forward toward the promise the route began to be revealed: at every bend he experienced the favour and goodness of God, and one day he arrived at the place God had promised. If you are waiting for the route, a map or for that moment you fully understand what God is asking you to do, my friend you may have a long wait. God is looking for those in this generation that will receive the promises He gives and walk in accordance to them, even when the how cannot be understood or does not make sense to your understanding. That’s faith.What has God promised you? What is delaying you setting off on the journey towards it? Are you waiting for God to release the how: how is God going to make that happen, how is God going to provide, how is God going to open those doors we would need open?There are never any shortage of hows with the faith walk, but faith is to entrust the hows to the God who has promised you a greater destination.God bless,Andy
Friday, 22 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Good morning, Champion. Bread to eat and seed to sow 2 Corinthians 9:10–11 (NIV) Now he who supplies seed to the Sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. Here we see a two-fold promise for those whose hearts are set on sowing in life. God will provide bread to eat and seed to sow! God does not want to just provide for you what you need for your daily life (bread) but He wants to entrust you with seed so that you can: 1. Sow for your future: like a wise farmer you do not need to be subject to others determining what your harvest in life will look like, but rather you can plan what your harvest will look like yourself by using your God-given seed with wisdom and faith. 2. Sow into the purposes of His kingdom and the lives of others to create a harvest for kingdom purposes, not just your own benefit. Believe God today not just for bread (daily provision) but also for seed to sow (future harvest). He gives seed to the sower God is not fooled. He can see when the heart of a person is set on sowing, and He promises that He will provide seed for that person to sow. Make sure today that your heart is set on sowing, not just getting daily bread. Then you can, with faith and confidence, wait for a delivery of seed from the Divine Supplier. It is very important to remember when God gives you seed that its purpose is different in your life than bread. Make sure you do not eat it or treat it as daily provision, but rather you view it as seed and get it into fertile ground as quickly as you can so that you can get that future harvest started straight away. Never eat your seed! If a farmer was to eat his seed you would call him a fool because he would be sentencing himself to a future of lack. He gives bread to eat and seed to sow. Today, with a grateful heart, thank God for both the bread He provides, for your provision today, and the seed He provides for you to sow, which is all about your future. And remember, God promises that He will increase the store of the sower so that he can be positioned to sow on every occasion. What occasion do you want to sow into? Thank the One who gives seed to the sower today and wait for that delivery. Have a great day. Andy
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Good morning, Champion. Give us our daily bread Matthew 4:3-4 (NIV)
The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' Remember today that we do not live by natural bread (food) alone, but it is God’s every word coming into our lives that causes us to grow in our true strength and potential.Natural bread (food) profits the natural man but is unable to give the needed nutrition and fibre that your spirit craves for. Only God’s Word will satisfy that inner appetite. That Bible you own contains the living words of God. Each sentence, thought, and principle is power-packed and able to produce in you, and through you, incredible things. Make sure you take time to daily eat the bread of God, not just the bread of man.Don’t try and live by natural things alone. Jesus said that a man cannot do that because he needs the words of God to be all that he was designed for and destined to be.Ever heard the term “GIGO”? It stands for “garbage in, garbage out”. Listen, when you make sure you have a daily input of divine bread – which is God’s Word, the Bible – you change that principle to a more positive reality, which is “God in, God out”. You will experience life and power coming from you at every corner, and not garbage.Jesus demonstrated the power of the Word of God when He was tempted by Satan in a time of physical weakness. In times of trouble or temptation you too will have the answer because you would have digested it earlier. Champion, take time to regularly eat the bread that God has given, and when you do you are fit for life.I pray you ever fall in love with the Word of God and may God give you today your daily bread!Andy
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Life is a Garden
Genesis 8:22 (NIV)
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
This verse is a reminder of the timeless promise made to Noah after the flood, on that first morning of a whole new beginning. As we read it let us remember that it is an eternal principle that is still very much in motion today and not a momentary promise exclusive to Noah.
I want to inspire you today by reminding you that the eternal principle of sowing and reaping affects every area of our daily life, and when we remember this it can help us to cultivate harvests in our future that we can look forward to.
Life really is a garden and when you treat it like one, being mindful of what you are sowing, it can be a great place to be and call home.
"As long as the earth remains" – tap your foot on the floor: if it is still there, then this eternal principle established for our good is still in motion.
Another earth day is waiting for you to join in with it and yesterday you joined in even without thinking about it. As with gravity, there is no choice and no day off for this planet; and what a man sows, that will he reap!
Many experience the negative harvests produced by this principle because what they sow is not good seed; but we, the believers, should understand the workings of this promise and daily use it to produce harvests that are worth having and fun to run through when grown.
Seed-time and harvest affects every border and lawn of the garden of your life. If you want to bring some changes somewhere in the garden then consider what you are sowing there, and if you want carrots then plant carrots. What you sow into your relationships each and every day will determine what you harvest from them. This is a sobering thought for anyone who has a dream of greatness in the relationships of their life.
This is just one part of your life so take time to think what you’re sowing. Will you want the harvest of your actions? Hopefully most of your responses will be "Yes"; but if not, then do something about the seed you're using today.
Bless you,
Andy
Monday, 18 October 2010
Next Generation: Breakfast of Champions
It’s about the next generation, too
Matthew 21:1-3 (NIV)
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.
We have been looking at this great account of Jesus sending His disciples to loose a donkey for the purpose of carrying Him into Jerusalem. We saw how He chose a donkey over a stallion as he is looking for faithfulness, not ego. We also considered how, like the donkey, we have not just been loosed to be free but rather that we would also have the privilege of carrying Him to all the places He now wants to go.
One other thing that I notice when I read this account in Matthew is that Jesus sent the disciples to loose and bring to Him not just the donkey but its young colt also. When I thought about this I saw something very significant relating to us and the next generation which is following us. God is not just looking at releasing faithful carriers for this generation through us but He is also passionate about the next one too. I believe true success is when we allow Him to loose our lives and use them for His kingdom purpose but also that we bring the next generation to Him too; that we take the time to raise them up to love and serve Him as we have decided to do. Again, it’s that principle of 'monkey see, monkey do' – when we allow the next generation (colts) to watch us carry and serve the Lord we will inspire them to do the same: we raise up an army to follow in our tracks.
Jesus wants us and them. It’s our responsibility to let the children and young people in our world find Jesus and His purposes while they are young, raising them up in the way they will go so when they get old they don’t depart (Proverbs 22:6). We should be protecting them from all the religious cobwebs we had to beat our way through to find Him, carrying them on our shoulders so they can see further than us.
Whether you are a parent, grandparent, children's or youth worker, remember and be inspired today that your influence over those 'colts' in your world is powerful. Make sure that you are influencing them toward Jesus, just as you are running after Him for yourself. We are God's masterplan for this moment, they are His masterplan for the moments that follow ours.
God bless,
Andy
Friday, 15 October 2010
Breakfast of Champions: Andy Elmes
Good morning, Champion – time for your Friday fry-up! Loosed for a purpose Matthew 21:1–2 (NKJV) Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me". Let's stay on the theme of the donkey. Notice what Jesus said to His disciples when He commissioned them to go and get Him a vehicle for entering the great city of Jerusalem: “Loose it and bring it to me”. The story records that the disciples found the donkey tied up just as Jesus had said and indeed loosed it and brought it to Him. That day everything changed for that donkey – probably all it had known up to that day was walking around in circles tied to a pole, stopping every now and then to eat hay and look at a world he could not go into because of his captivity. Here’s a thought: Jesus never loosed the donkey because He liked donkeys and wanted to release it so it could enjoy its freedom – He loosed it for a purpose. It was given its freedom so that it could carry the presence of God (Jesus) where He needed to go. Wow! What a day that was for that donkey; from being bound to a pole to being a carrier of a move of God (Jesus). You have probably worked out my comparison, right? Each of us are like that donkey. We were tied up to sin and stuff, bound and not free, then Jesus sent His message of freedom and liberated us from the captivity we knew. But you need to understand that, like that donkey, it is not just about your freedom. It’s great that you're set free but what now? The best bit is that Jesus wants to ride upon your life, as He did that donkey, to bring His message of freedom and spirit of life to the other places where it is so needed. I don’t want to be a free donkey, running around a field doing my own thing. I am so grateful for the freedom He has given me, grateful enough to offer that freedom back to Him for His plans and intentions. How about you? It was for freedom that Christ has set you free, but that freedom also had a kingdom-transporting purpose to it. Will you be freed, or freed and brought to Him for His purposes? Andy
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Breakfast of Champions: Andy Elmes
Good morning, Champion. Wanna increase the size of your world? Proverbs 11:24 (The Message) The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. Here’s some great wisdom for those wanting a life that just gets larger and larger as the years go by, ending up somewhere incredible and blessed. The key is real simple too: choose to live generously! Do you want your world (life) to get bigger and bigger, or smaller and smaller? How are you going to choose to live to make your desired life a reality? Today's verse does not say 'your finances', it says 'your world'. Obviously your world (life) is more than your financial success, right? Your world involves your health, relationships, influence and so much more. In every section of your life you have the opportunity daily to be generous; the choice to be generous or stingy belongs only to you! Generosity can be manifested through every bit of who we are and the life we live; with our words we can be generous – encouraging people – or stingy – never speaking words life or hope, but rather gossip and critisism. With our time we can be generous or stingy: we can spend it on ourselves or choose to spend it on and for others too. With our finances and the resources of our life we can be generous, giving and lending where we can, or we can be stingy and live a self-benefiting, self-preserving existence. In every section of what makes your world unique to you you have the choice to be generous or mean. I dont know about you but I don’t want the inheritance of the stingy, with a life that gets smaller and smaller. Finally, this really isn’t a matter of faith but one of choice: it may take faith to be as generous as you really want to but the choice to be generous, rather than stingy, is the daily first step. Hey Champion, give something away today, I dare you! Imagine if everyone that reads this devotional deliberately gave something special away to someone else today – that would be a fun wave we would create together and send into the ocean of life and need. Money, time, encouragement: you choose, one or all of them – but be generous, knowing that as you do God promises your world will get bigger. God bless! Andy
Monday, 11 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Good morning, Champion – welcome to a new week!
Live shameless
Romans 1:16 (NKJV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Make the quality decision today to live without shame concerning who God is to you and what He has done for you.
I have been ashamed at times of certain things in my life, such as my behaviour, the missing of key moments, hypocrisy, etc., but I am not ashamed of Jesus and His Gospel (good news).
I am sometimes ashamed of some of those who call themselves Christians in our nation, who seem to love compromise and foolish behaviour. They endeavour to try and make a holy God fit with a sinful lifestyle, and that can never be a perfect match; but I am not ashamed of Jesus and His gospel (good news).
When it comes to Jesus and what He has done, I want to live a life that knows no shame: a life that declares His power – how about you?
Christianity is not a religion to me, but a person and a message; a person, and a message, that has the potential to save absolutely anyone who dares to believe, independent of what culture or background or ethnicity or position they are from.
Let’s not be ashamed of the message, or a shame to it. Let us always remember that it is not a message of law and performance but one of grace, mercy, and faith. It does not leave those who believe condemned and guilt-ridden but saved and righteous (justified).
Let us stand up again today for the One who stood up for us: Jesus.
Live shameless concerning your love for Him and the truth of the good news He brings.
Andy
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Good morning, Champion. The grace of the Father qualifies the undeserving Luke 15:21–24 (NIV)
The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. Here we see the powerful moment of reunion between the child who went astray and the father who had eagerly awaited his return.This was a parable (story) that Jesus used to reveal to the pharisee the true heart of His Father towards those who had gone astray or lost their way. On the son's return, instead of walking back into extreme discipline, judgement and deserved punishment which when you read what he had done was a valid entitlement, we see him walk back into the welcoming arms of a father whose heart was set on restoration and reinstatement.Notice the son is not deceived or deluded concerning what he deserves. He flat out says, “I am not worthy, I deserve nothing, not even what was mine through birth”. Now notice the father's response: he totally ignores his son! Why? He knew the needed work had been done in the life of his son and that the son's humble return confirmed the reality of this. Instead he turns to his servant and orders that his son be re-clothed with a robe (righteousness), a ring (authority), and sandals (evidence he was a son not a slave, like he had set his heart to be).Think about it: the son deserved nothing, all he had done had disqualified him of any right or inheritance. Yet the father showered him in grace (undeserved, unmerited, unearned favour), and grace was what had restored the boy's life and given dignity back to the one who was not worthy.This is our common story – we all like sheep had gone astray yet, like this returning son, when we approached God the Father, desperate for help, we also did not receive what we deserved – that’s mercy – but rather what we never dreamed possible – grace. Remember, Champion – you being established and repositioned as a righteous heir and son or daughter is all about His grace and mercy, not your ability. Make sure you love Him for that.Enjoy His grace again today, because by it we all stand!Andy
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Worship is a lifestyle we live, not an event we attend
2 Samuel 12:20 (NKJV)
So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.
What a great account of David worshipping not from a mountain top, but from a valley!
Worship is something we choose to do in every season of life and most of us, when we were first saved, learned to worship when everything was going well but often we would stop when it looked like things were not going well. When we grow up in God we learn to be all-season worshippers.
You have to fully understand what had just happened in this verse for you to see the power of David's worship on this occasion. This is moments after the child he had had by his affair with Bathsheba had died. He had spent a long time fasting and crying out to God to save the child he had produced in sin, but the child died. The servants were scared to tell him of the child’s death, fearing his reaction, but they were surprised by his response when they did. He did not go into a rage but rather rose, washed, and went to God’s house and worshipped.
He was an all-season worshipper. Even though things did not go as he wanted, he still worshipped; and that’s a big challenge, isn’t it? What do you do when things don’t turn out like you think they should?
David worshipped because his trust was in the Lord. He fully trusted God even beyond what he knew or could reason. When you trust God, worship flows through every season – when things make sense, and when they don’t.
When my mum passed away I couldn’t understand why. It was not the result I wanted but one thing I did was take David’s example and, when I left the hospice, I went to the Lord and worshipped. Why? Because I trust Him and, like David, I know that it is in the place of worship that my heart and life are made strong again.
Everyone of us will go through the seasons of life, but don’t be a good-time worshipper only; resolve in your heart that, like David, you will worship Him on the mountain tops, in the valleys, and even in the wilderness. Worship displays your trust!
Have a great day,
Andy
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Good morning, Champion. Shine your light 1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV)
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. It’s good to remember and remind ourselves of who we are because, at the same moment, we are reminding ourselves who we are not any longer! Remember, we always live out of what we think. We first think, then we feel, then we behave; this is great if our thinking is correct and based on God’s word but if our thinking is wrong or warped that will always affect the behavior or output of our daily lives. Let’s look again in the mirror today and see our true identity: Chosen, Royal, Holy and His own special people. We also need to remember we have been called out of darkness and into His marvelous light! • Our lives are no longer darkness but light! We are no longer in the darkness that we once were, so we should never live like we are still there. • Our post code/zip code is now “marvelous light”; don’t let your enemy try and trick you to pilgrimage backwards to former darker places, but rather set your face ever forward, deeper into His brightness! • You were called out of darkness, so ever let darkness be a thing of your past (old creation). You are now a citizen of the light, so let His marvellous light shine through your life again today; whether in the work place, community or home let your light shine, be that city on a hill! Shine bright for God today in a dark world – the darker it gets the brighter our lives should become. You are called to shine, so SHINE! Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, that I am no longer a child of darkness but a child of light; You have delivered me from the power of darkness and translated my life into the Kingdom of the Son of Your love. Today, let Your light shine through my life; I do not want to live to blend in but to stand out. Help me to remember that the former ways of darkness are no longer my ways, they are the ways of a place I once knew but not the place that I now call Home; thank you that You have made me a child of the light. Amen Bless you – have a great day, and shine! Andy
Monday, 4 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Good morning, Champion – welcome to a new week!
Deep-rooted confidence
Hebrews 10:35-36
Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
Jesus revealed the devil as a thief (John 10:10). He was and will always be a stinking thief, intent on stealing from God's people. What do thieves do? Steal things. What is he ever wanting to steal from you and me? The answer is simple: everything that God has given us which is good.
• Our peace (that peace that passes all human understanding and guards our hearts in Christ)
• Our joy (that force beyond mere happiness that keeps us strong in even the hardest of times)
• Our revelation of righteousness – Oh how he ever longs to get us back into the grind of performance and works.
But I think the one he really, really wants is our confidence – why? Because Hebrews says it is of great reward.
He wants to snatch from under you your confidence in:
• Who you are – your God-given identity (he is the greatest identity thief of them all)
• What you can do – your God-given potential
• And what you can have or expect – your God-given expectations.
Your godly confidence is of great reward, because when with confidence you endure (just keep on going) you will inherit (come into possession) what God has promised you. If the devil can get you to cast away your confidence then he can stop you inheriting all that God has for you. Don’t let him!
Have you ever watched people walking around the shops? You can tell by how they hold and carry themselves those who have confidence and those who don’t. Those with confidence have their heads lifted and their shoulders back, and they walk with steps that say “I belong here”. That’s how God wants you to walk through this day; His word should cause you to lift your head up, put back your shoulders and face the day and all it holds with courage and boldness because, as with Joshua so it is with you, GOD IS WITH YOU!
Confidence does not need to be loud – it needs to be silently and deeply rooted!
Often quiet confidence has more power than loud confidence; that confidence that you have deep down that says, quietly yet firmly, "I know God is for me and His promises over me are yes and amen, I know that things may seem strange now but THEY WILL TURN AROUND FOR MY GOOD!"
Isaiah 30:15
For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: in returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
The world can only take away or take back from you what it gave you – that is why we do not live by worldly-given confidence but God's, because then when the world or the devil try to take or steal it we can say, “Get stuffed, you did not give it so you cannot take it away!”
Hold tight to the confidence you have from God today, be that hero He has called you to be because 'the Lord thy God is with you'!
Have a great weekend, Hero – live confident, get your head up, you’re a child of God not a pauper.
Andy
Friday, 1 October 2010
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
ood morning, Champion.
God’s three-part life restoration plan
Zephaniah 3:20 (NIV)
"At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes," says the LORD.
What a great restoration promise!
God made this three-part promise to His people many, many years ago; we read in the Old Testament that it was a promise originally spoken under an old “law-based” covenant. I believe that it is still a valid promise for you and me today and we should be even more excited about it than those it was original spoken to, because we receive it knowing we have a new and better agreement (covenant) with God, one based on faith and grace.
There are three distinct promises of restoration in this verse:
1. I will gather you and bring you home (redeemed and restored).
2. I will give you honour and praise in the earth (re-established).
3. I will restore your fortunes before your eyes (prospered).
Wow – this is a three-part plan you do not want to ignore! This is one of those promises that are worth learning inside out and upside down – make it such a part of you that you can recite It in twenty different translations, and even Hebrew!
Notice what the first step is: God says He will bring you back to Him. Listen, if you want the other two you have to first experience this one because it is the most important one to God.
If you have been away from Him, or drifted a bit in your relationship and seen stuff in your life go wrong, realise that first God restores “you and Him”, and then He will restore everything else. Don’t try and bypass step one, let God “bring you back to Him”, then see Him re-establish your life and name and then, as it says so well, you will watch as He restores your fortunes or, as it says in the amplified, “reverse your captivity”. The reverse of captivity is freedom and that is God's intention for your life. But remember, first He wants you back!
God bless,
Andy
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