CityLight Church

Did Jesus really know what He was saying when He told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel? I mean, there are issues we have to face today that people just didn’t have to face in Jesus time… aren’t there...? If you think about it, the disciples had it pretty easy compared to us today. They were only  confronted by the religious leaders, rioting crowds, soldiers, imprisonment, beatings, whippings, stonings, threats of death. Yep, they sure had it easy… 

In reality though, so many people worry when it comes to evangelism. Many of us feel ill-equipped when it comes to witnessing to others. Our fears can include things like, I could lose a friend, I’ll look stupid because I won’t know what to say, or what if they get aggressive? Here’s a thought - What if they get saved? There is a possibility that those things may happen, but the reality is that they probably won’t. Most people are happy to talk on some level. We don’t need to Bible bash them. All we need to do is look for each opportunity to introduce God into the conversation and allow Him to lead the direction from there. If they ask a question that you don’t know the answer to, that’s fantastic. You can say, “I don’t know but I’ll try to find out for you”, and it will the give you an opportunity to meet with them again.  

As for the boldness part, don’t worry. If you can accept the fact that through Christ God sees you as righteous, then Proverbs 28:1 is for you. “The righteous are as bold as a lion”. God has equipped you with boldness, His Holy Spirit and His Word. The rest is up to you. He’s given you the boldness of a lion. Now you just need to go and prove it.

Start roaring, you might have fun.  
Adrian Nyhuis    

What will you believe for in 2012? 

Everyone makes choices in life and we all know that every choice we make has a consequence. That being the case, it is of the utmost importance that we make choices that are directed by the Word of God and confirmed by the Holy Spirit. This week, let’s look at the case of Rahab the prostitute who because of choices she made, came into the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

She heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red sea and how the Nation of Israel defeated 2 kings - Sihon and Og (whom they utterly destroyed) and she makes the statement, “I know that the Lord has given you the land and that the terror of you has fallen on us and all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.” (Josh 2:9-11). 

What an amazing statement of faith based on what she had heard (v10). She made a choice for the rest of her life on what she heard for herself and the rest of her family, ignoring the possibility of death if she was found out to have hidden 2 spies sent out by Joshua (Josh 2:1). If the king found out about the spies and sent a detachment of soldiers to Rahab’s and if they had been found, she and her family would have suffered the consequences of her choice. As it was, God looked after her and she became King David’s grandmother and David became the greatest King Israel ever had.

The choices you make this year will affect generations to come either in a positive way or a negative way - and you will be responsible.  

With much love, Ps Bernie. 

The promises of God are Yes and Amen because He is faithful (2 Cor 1:17-20). So where and how do we become discouraged? By putting time frames on God’s promises.

God’s promise to Abraham was, “I will take you to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Gen 12:1-2) WOW!! How amazing! No children; getting old; and God says, “I will make you a great nation”. Abraham must have thought, “Lord, a child would be a great start…”

Many blessings came and Abraham was on the way to fulfillment. They had a son from their own bodies, but had to wait 25 years, but they made a bad mistake in the middle - Ishmael.

Over 400 years years go by before the promise comes to fulfillment and I wonder what he thoughts and confessions were of the many people that lived in that interim period of waiting as they talked about Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the promises that had bee made to the Patriarchs about “a promised land flowing with milk and honey”.

I hope and pray that we can learn from these stories in the Old Testament and see the faithfulness of God to His Word and all these things that were written for our learning (Rom 15:14-16. Let us trust in God for all the promises He makes about you and I as we walk with Him in love and obedience. 

With much love, Ps Bernie.  

Trust God at all times!. That’s easily said, but as the trials of life come our way, what will be our response? We all know that he Scripture says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5-6)

A Scripture that we all love is Psalm 23, where the Lord is our Shepherd… I shall not lack. He provides every need that I (or you) have and even in the midst of my enemies He provides for me.

Ps 91:1-2 - Dwelling under the shadow of the almighty, where He is our God, in whom I trust.

Jesus rebuked Peter for having ‘Little Faith” even though He was the only one who was game enough to get out of the boat.

Trust your heavenly Father to take care of you. Look how He cares for the flowers and the birds, and you are of more value than them (Matt 6:25-34)

Is 26:3-4 says, “You will keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. 

Find rest in God alone. Trust Him at all times, under any and all circumstances (Ps 62:5-8)

And finally, God’s people were rebuked and judged for not trusting in the Lord (Deut 1:26-36; 1:32-33)

Let us be found trusting Him in every circumstance whether good or bad in 2012.

With much love,

Ps Bernie.    

What amazing love Father God has shown to the world that He willingly gave His son to die (Romans 5:7-10)
Even when we were enemies of God, He sent His son to give His life for you and I. How is it that mankind doesn’t accept this free gift of eternal life and then in thankfulness live the rest of their lives loving Him and serving Him
God spoke of this amazing event in history 700 years before it happened. Is 7:14; 9:6; Micah 5:3-5;Matt 1:22-23. Behold a young woman who is unmarried  and a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and His name shall be called Immanuel (God with us). And it gets better! In Isaiah 9:6 it says that not only was a Son to be born and given, but the government shall be upon His shoulder and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father (of eternity), Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end.
For His Kingdom is  the everlasting Kingdom which will last forever and ever. This earth we live in today will be destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:10) and seeing that is true, how should we live our lives? In thankfulness, giving glory to God all the days that we live upon the earth, loving God and loving each other just as He has commanded us (Matt 22:37-39)
May you all have a blessed Christmas with Christ at the fore-front and a happy, safe and prosperous New Year.
With Much love, 
Ps Bernie.

I remember as a child, at one stage one of my favourite toys was the magnifying glass. I would do all sorts of things with it - some not so productive things (which I won’t go into) but also some very interesting things.
One of the things I noticed was how we can look at things in much greater detail. I could focus on an ant… and see how much detail I could see... before…
Anyway, I noticed that through a magnifying glass I  could see things that I couldn’t with the natural eye. I noticed that the detail increased. The object not only looked larger, but clearer. The further away I took the glass the more detail I saw, until I took it to a point where it became blurry, and I could no longer focus on it. I also noticed that I needed to be close to the object in order to see it. Looking at the world as a whole through a magnifying glass, depending on where you hold it, does nothing more than blur the image, or turn it upside down. 
It’s interesting that as we get older, we never really put away the glass. We don’t physically hold onto one, but we do regularly use an internal glass a lot more often than we realise.
The question we need to ask ourselves is, “What am I focussing on? The things we focus on are what become magnified. It’s really quite simple: Focus on problems, they will only get bigger. Focus on Jesus, and He will get bigger. The things you ‘focus’ on will be the things that you will focus on and they will ultimately control the direction of your life. 
Have an awesome week, 
Adrian Nyhuis.

The Mustard Seed Myth 
Many people are familiar with mustard seeds, but what many people aren’t aware of is that the seeds Jesus spoke of that were common to his area were not the size we are familiar with today, but were as tiny as a grain of sand.
Many people can identify with being told by others that they need more faith, or that their faith is small. You may have been told that. Unfortunately, mustard seed faith is what many people believe they have. In addition to that, they often believe that they don’t have enough faith to believe for something significant.
That belief is a myth! Do you need more faith? In Luke 17:5-6 the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you”. In Matt 17:20, Jesus said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
The key word in both of these verses is “If”, and it means “provided that”. Jesus was saying, “Provided that your faith is the size of a mustard seed, you can do… and nothing will be impossible for you…” but He never said that the mustard seed size was the amount of faith any of us actually had, he only said that was all you need! The limit is one we put on ourselves.
Don’t limit yourself to believing little. After all, the results don’t depend on you, they depend on God.
Have a faith filled rest of the year, 
Adrian Nyhuis.

God at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers (over the history of the Old Testament) by the prophets.
The prophets had an amazing influence into and over the lives of the people of Israel and other nations.
2 Chron 2:20 says, “Believe in the Lord and you shall be established, believe His prophets and you shall prosper. Moses said, “Oh that all the lands people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them” (Num 11:29)
The prophets were the servants of the Lord who dud the will of their God and King.
But now He speaks to us through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ Who died for you and has a plan for you. He will help you reach that plan or destiny with greater love than anyone can offer you because He shed His blood for you. That is how much He wants you to become all that He has destined you to become for His honor and glory.
And if that is not enough, the creator of the universe prays for you constantly (Heb 7:25), interceding for you and sending angels to encourage you. I am amazed by God’s plan for you and I that angels are sent to minister (to serve like a deacon) for your well being (Heb 1:14).
Saved by His blood; speaking into our lives by His Word; interceding for us; sending angels to minister to us. Oh what a Saviour! (Ps 91:11; Dan 6:22)    
With much love, Ps Bernie.

Another week has whizzed by. Oh how the time flies faster than any airplane. So many things to do and so little time to do them in. No wonder Jesus said in John 4:34 my food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work. And He did these things while it was day for He said when night comes no one will be able to work (see John 9:4).
Paul says, “Behold now is the accepted time. Now is the time of salvation.” There is such urgency in His writings. It is as if he is saying, “Do it now, because you may not get another opportunity.” That is why he says, “Now is the day”.
The Apostle John write, “My little children don’t sin and stay in the light. Do not love the world and the things (stuff) in the world”. ( John 2:1-15) The Apostle Peter says, “You are a living stones (not a rolling stone) being built (now) a spiritual house a holy priesthood offering up spiritual sacrifices (the fruit of our lips (Heb 13:15), that being praises to God.”
We see it so clearly throughout the Word. Now is the acceptable time. If there was so much urgency in those days, isn’t it a good idea to have even more urgency in the time that we find ourselves in - 2011 and almost 2012. Will you please pray for the eldership and the leadership that God has established in this place and the need for increase.
With much love, Ps Bernie.

In the business of life where our attention is being pulled in every direction what will be our constant focus?

It is said that, “In Jesus Christ I stand, everything else is sinking sand”, which makes me think of Matt 7:24-27 Not for a minute do I think there is a shortage of the teaching of Gods word, but it is in the doing of God’s Word where the church of the Lord Jesus calls being wise and what will cause the house of our life to crumble and fall - destruction being the result.

So how can we be focused on Jesus and His word? By acknowledging and doing what Ps 62:5-8 declares and waiting on God expecting from God verses being opposed to expecting from people (verse 5); He only is my rock and my defense and with confidence we can say I shall not be moved (verse 6) and verse 7 goes on to say that He is my salvation my glory The rock of my strength and my refuge is in God. Wow! That is not founded on sand but in the Rock and verse 8 tells as what to do - Trust in Him. When? At all times. Pour out your heart before Him Him and Him alone for He is our refuge.

With much love, Ps Bernie