Everything I need to live my life pleasing to God comes by faith

“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” 2 Peter 1:3

My understanding of faith has been a journey that I’m definitely still on. This verse has really helped me.  From this promise I know that ALL things that I will ever need to fulfill my purpose in God (beyond whatever I could imagine or think [Eph 3:20]) has already been given to me and my receiving comes through knowing God.  Years ago, Dr Lester Sumrall said to me, “People are always looking for more faith.  Their real lack is they just don’t know God!”  Knowing the heart of God then acting in confidence accordingly is faith.

Everything we need to live a life pleasing to God and thus fulfilling our purpose comes through faith… and faith comes through an uninterrupted existence of pressing in to listen to God’s Word with a desire to understand and know God.  I like to take verses like this and against thoughts of opposition that would say, “you don’t have enough wisdom, love, patience, peace, finances, talent, opportunity…  I do what Josh 1:8 teaches… “I don’t let these words depart from my mouth” – in other words, I quote these words as much as I can and I keep all my words in line with this truth… I don’t speak words that are contrary.  ”I meditate on them day and night”… in other words, I’m continually chewing them over in my thinking, seeking for wisdom in how they apply to every situation of my life.  ”So that I can do all that is written and thereby make my way prosperous and have good success”.  Action always follows believing.

I encourage you to take this promise and work it into your belief.  Know the God who has already supplied everything you will ever need to have the absolute best life!  And then, live like it!

Pastor John

p.s. please take a moment to post your comments regarding this verse

Why have a MMA event in a church?

Last night Relate Church hosted our second annual MMA Amateur Championship.  Of course, I fielded a lot of questions like, “How a church could be involved with something so violent?”  This gave me a prime opportunity to teach some simple Truths.

1. There’s a difference between violence and aggressive behavior.  I believe that aggressive behavior in and of itself does not need to be bad… as long as it is controlled and stays under the guidelines of a healthy purpose.  Violence crosses the line from healthy competition where the goal is to become your personal best, to the unhealthy place where your intent is malicious.  Every boy grows up with a dream to be a hero… that means conquering great challenges.  His idea of fun is pushing himself to become his best.  Overcoming fear is a huge motivator… a few cuts and bruises is just part of the package.  MMA in its purest form is very aggressive but not violent.  I have witnessed the great respect the fighters have for their opponents and the fans have for the fighters.  The rules and refereeing are strictly enforced to protect the participants.  Every sport requires a compelling charge of aggressive behavior along with developed self-control to protect against violence.

2. Meekness is power under harness.  Jesus said that the meek shall inherit the earth.  We have misunderstood the word meek.  Many think that it just means weak but that is the farthest thing from the truth.  Jesus was our supreme example and He was not weak!  He displayed great strength but never lost control.  The coaching principles of MMA purpose to teach its participants this very principle.  They are taught to never fight out of anger. The goal is to at all times maintain control thereby allowing the participant to maximize his skills and strategies.

3. Respect will guard against the dark side.  Any casual observer of a MMA event would walk away marveling at the obvious level of respect the participants have for each other.  I believe this is heavily encouraged and taught because of the intrinsic dangers and potential dark side to any fighting sport. Respect will guard you from the temptation to cross over to malicious thinking and violent actions.  This in itself sets up MMA clubs as much needed classrooms for character development.  Anyone who is capable of harnessing strong aggressive behavior while still maintaining control with respect is a candidate for greatness.

The event was a huge success.  We packed our facility and the general comment was that in our area it was the best MMA event ever!  We are glad we could provide a positive healthy environment.  About 80% of the crowd were unchurched and it certainly challenged some old stereotype thinking as to what to expect of church.  It was definitely ‘out of the box’ which is always one of my goals.

“Church, but not as you know it”,

John

I was born to overcome!

1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith”

Christians are overcomers and the way we overcome is by faith.  Challenges are just opportunities to exercise our faith.

I have encountered many challenges along my journey and have witnessed many victories… I once was totally debilitated by a fear of stuttering = Overcome! by faith. Thank You Jesus!

I stepped out of the boat in 1986 and began walking on water as I started what now is “Relate Church” (= a great victory journey still unfolding) – all by faith!

I confronted a myriad of character flaws in me that were causing much pain in my marriage and family (this too is a great victory journey still unfolding) – all by faith.

Faith has become a way of life to me.  I no longer just wait for challenges to come to me, now I look to take on challenges on behalf of others.  Our world is full of challenges and by faith we can serve… every week I use faith to produce and air our TV show, “Relate with John and Helen” that is seen in a number of nations and helps people overcome their challenges in relationships.  My wife and I have taken on the challenge of building the first “Mercy Ministries Home” in Canada to help hurting young women get healed.  It all takes faith.

Faith is a gift and its like a muscle… we must exercise it.  Every challenge is an opportunity to grow stronger faith.  As our faith grows, our capacity grows and we get to tackle bigger mountains.  I believe this is our journey of life… and its not boring!

Please comment on your journey and victories of faith… it will encourage others.

Pastor John

I’m a NEW creation!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:17)

This scripture has been part of my staple diet for the last 31 years!  I have used this scripture to close the door on yesterday and motivate me to a better tomorrow.  When I was full of fear of stuttering, hiding in alcohol and struggling in marriage I quoted this scripture over and over to renew my mind to the fact that I was changed.  ”Old things have past away” to me meant the old me had ‘passed away’ as in died.  Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20) so a dead man no longer struggles with fear or alcohol. “All things have become new” meant there was already a new me and I needed to discover this new identity.  

Jesus said everything hidden will be revealed.  I chose to believe that He meant the Holy Spirit would reveal to me the new creation that I am in Christ… it was hidden because it wasn’t readily apparent to me.  My life since then has been a journey of discovering who I am, what I can do and what I have in Christ… an amazing journey that gets more exciting as I walk with Him.

How has this scripture changed your life?  Please take a moment and add your comment to the blog.

In His grip,

John

Organic Faith: Faith Builder Week 1

We’ve just kicked off a new series at Relate Church – Organic Faith. It’s simple, it’s pure, it’s real. Each week we’ll challenge ourselves to put another key faith scripture in front of us and commit it to memory. Are you in?