Good morning everyone, my name is Carlos Corado and I am ‘…Just a Simple Preacher!’
Welcome to Christpoint Church Melbourne -Online.
Thank you again for allowing us to come to your home and be able to share God’s Word with you on our very first Online Service as:
Christpoint Church Melbourne.
It has been 5 years since this Ministry was put on hold on, as I was taken on a different path which thankfully and by God’s grace, came to an end late last year.
Today, I am extremely excited to the fact that God has brought me back to this original Ministry, which has been 5 years in the making and in which you can be a part of.
Simply by joining us online, liking and following on social media as you are right now.
So, I want to welcome you to the Christpoint Church Melbourne family.
Let us begin:
I’ve come to remind you all to: ‘Keep It Clean!’.
So, tell the person next to you: Keep it Clean! And if you have no one with you. Just say it with me. ‘Keep it Clean!’
Especially during this forced quarantine that you may be going through as the world struggles with the current COVID19 pandemic.
What do we need to keep clean?
Apart from our hands and clothing and surfaces, as we know that COVID19 lives on hands and surface for long periods of time whilst it finds a host to feed upon.
So the question again is what do we need to keep clean?
If you could open your Bibles to the book of Psalms 139:23-24
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24 and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” Psalm 139:23–24
I’m sure you’ve noticed the health departments of the world telling everyone to practice extreme measures of cleanliness due to the Corona Virus.
Look, I am in total approval of these measures as it will help prevent a contagion (more of it) during this Pandemic.
These measures indicate how serious we, as people need to take this matter; washing our hands constantly as well as maintaining the wrongly worded “Social Distancing”.
I believe that we were already socially isolated in these world.
I strongly believe that the best term world be “Personal Spacing”, but that will be a topic or sermon for another Sunday.
Washing your hands is a good hygienic discipline, when done correctly your hands become clean, fresh and 99.9% bacteria free.
God however, makes everything new and fresh and 100% pure.
If followers of Jesus Christ are to experience the fresh dynamic of God’s work within them, we must learn early in our Christian walk that there must be times of cleansing, or we will discover the sadness of powerlessness, emptiness, bitterness and anger.
We need to experience the washing of our hearts on a daily basis.
Cleansing!
Deep Personal and Spiritual Cleansing takes time because we are all prone to deny or minimize our own sins.
We tend to see other’s sins and not ours. We’re quick to point other’s faults but we are blind to see our own ones.
We also tend to “Justify” our sins:
“I did it because they did it to me.”
“If they can do it, I can also do it”
“I wanted to hurt them just like they hurt me.”
How often have we prayed?
“Lord, whatever is wrong in my life, please show me, then forgive me…oh, by the way I need this…I want that…”
We’re too busy wanting a quick fix and then move on to verbalizing our list of requests.
It would be better if we were honest and prayed:
“Lord, I am so shallow. Please forgive me for…My wayward ways and hardened heart….my rebellious behavior and contempt towards You.”
We need to spend time confessing our stubborn attitudes and hardness of heart, our rebelliousness and our contempt.
Dr. Greg Frizzell from Prayer and Renewal Ministries says it this way:
“The depth and power of your prayer life will never be greater than the depth of your daily confession and cleansing.”
Keeping Clean:
Once we start experiencing God’s cleansing in our lives, we as individuals begin to ask questions like:
“What steps can I take to keep my heart clean?”
Life is filled with plenty of moral distractions and intellectual traps to lure us away from a pure heart.
The old processes and desires of the flesh are still with us and will be until we leave these decaying bodies.
That’s why it is important that we endeavor to allow God to cleanse us and for us to remain clean.
If we don’t, it won’t take long before our shields are down and the enemy entices us to believe the lies of the world.
We need to build and keep some key practices into our lives to keep us true to our confession and our walk with God.
Practicing the following keys does not justify us—or make us guiltless before God.
Only through repentance and faith in the complete work of the Lord Jesus Christ do we find our relationship with our God.
But what can we do as Christians to maintain a pure and clean heart?
What can we do to avoid the appearance of the old me, of the old ways of the heart?
1. Act like who you are in Christ:
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9–11
“For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:20
“Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18-19
Remember, as a follower of Christ, you are not your own; you were bought with a price, and that was the precious blood of Jesus.
This means that we surrender our rights to Him.
Everything we know about walking with Him is revealed in the Word of God. If the Scriptures speak directly about something, that settles it.
If we are unclear, then we ask for wisdom.
Surrendered rights is central to our identity as a devoted follower of Christ.
We too often indulge ourselves in wickedness because we convince ourselves we have a right to it. Scripture gives us several lists of wicked behaviors.
When believers practice those, it means they are choosing their own rights instead of a life of full surrender to Lord Jesus.
Let us focus our lives on being who we are in Christ and take the initiative to reveal who Christ is through us in every sphere of life.
2. Run from temptation
“But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” 1 Timothy 6:11
“Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” 2 Timothy 2:22
Running is an activity which my shirts and pants tell me I need to do more of.
So, if running is an activity; it requires for us to actively move and use energy. This involves some type of sacrifice and effort.
Being passive about temptation sets a person up for failure.
If a believer spends enough time alone with temptation, the enemy can have a field day.
That’s one of the dangers of computers and smart phones for believers and their family members.
Believers must take the initiative to remove temptations and place safeguards by inviting accountability.
3. Be honest
No one is above temptation! Raise your hand if you have ever struggled with Pride?
I can’t see you, but I assure you that you, just like me, at one point or another have struggled or is struggling with Pride.
Pride will trap you, it will trap me, and it will trap all of us if we are not careful!
“But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
The dumbest thing about the old me or the old flesh is the thinking that we can overcome things with our best efforts.
We all have a way of exalting self-reliance — making a god of our abilities.
“I can deal with it!’
“I can take care of it!”
“I’m the man for it!”
“I’m the woman for it!”
And other statements like those ones, are an obvious sign that Pride has taken over our hearts and minds.
It is a delusional way of thinking.
Who relates to this?
It’s ok, even though I can’t see you…I can assure you that I can relate to those statements.
Self-reliance can easily become the trap of the enemy, and pride becomes a stronghold.
“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
4. Remember those who morally failed.
“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.” 2 Timothy 3:6–9
One report of someone’s moral failure is too many, especially when we do it with malice or because we have our own hidden agendas.
We must be in prayer for the believers who have lost their witness due to misconduct or worse still when they are hearsay or half truths
The landscape for too many families is filled and littered with broken relationships precipitated by moral failure.
5. Take your spiritual pulse each hour.
Many people are wearing digital devices to monitor their physical health.
Wouldn’t’t it be great if we had a tracking device that monitored our hungering and thirsting for God?
Pause and take a breath and whisper to the Lord.
Ask yourselves:
“Am I revealing your glory with my words and attitudes?”
“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.“ Colossians 3:16
6. Guard the window of your mind.
“but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:28
Pay attention to what you do with your eyes.
With the internet we have a powerful tool to use it for good. But also a dangerous enemy to use it for bad. So, be careful out there.
It’s simple: if you look with lust, you sin. By being alert to what we are looking at and thinking, we are guarding the window of the mind. We do this by being careful what we look at.
7. Treat every moment as a witness for Christ.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19–20
The reason why Christpoint Church Melbourne – Online has been deployed is because of these verse.
In particularly NOW when the freedom of gathering to worship our Lord God has been taken away from us.
Please don’t get me wrong, I understand and encourage people to stay home in the midst of this COVID Pandemic.
But it should not stop us from going forth and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, presenting not the the plan of Salvation but The Person of Salvation, who Christ Jesus is to those who do not yet know him.
‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8
I mentioned earlier that the church is not a building but a people who believe in Jesus Christ, those who have received Him as our Lord and Savior.
Those of us who call ourselves children of God, choose people, disciples and other adjectives.
One thing is to call ourselves those adjectives, another thing is to show that we are who we say we are.
We need to reach out from here in Melbourne to the ends of the earth! And we are now doing this as we use Social Media to help us.
Every moment is an opportunity to reveal His glory by practicing His presence.
This one thing is so simple and so powerful. It alone keeps believers focused on their purpose in life. If we stay on mission, we are fortified to resist the subtleness of temptation.
Remember, it is the potential for believers to live a life of spiritual and moral cleanliness.
The way of God is for us to experience His Holy Spirit overflowing every area of our lives so that He is Lord of all, absolute Lord of everything.
Will we choose to cooperate with His work in us and through us?
Will we allow Him to Cleans us and will we Keep It Clean?
You choose, the ball is in your court!
What will it be?
Come to Christ Today!
Amen.
God bless you all.
Carlos Corado
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Jeremiah 33:3
“…Just a Simple Preacher!”
Excerpt From: Corado, Carlos / CarCor© and Biblica©, Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible, My Light & My Salvation Devotionals®. Photo: Google® & CC’s MMDs HQ, Melbourne, Australia, “MMD 05.04.2020 “CC’s Monday Morning Devotionals: “Keep It Clean!” 2020. In Touch Ministries. Shared & reposted in Melbourne, Victoria, Focus on the family, Australia, by Carlos Corado, iBooks for IOS iPhone 8 Plus, iPad Air 2©®, YouTube. Wisdom from the Bible. Preachit.org. Church Leaders. Preachers Magazine, 31DGF, rev. Exerpts, This material may be protected by Copyright. Published by:
“…Just a Simple Preacher!”
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