New Creation Church Loughborough

So much has been written about the infamous 1000 years of Revelation 20:1-10. But what does it mean, and how does it help us today? Far from scaring us, this passage should be a tremendous encouragement, producing confidence in the power of the gospel and the authority of the believer in Christ, assuring us of God's victory (and ours), and providing reassurance to persevere, knowing that the struggles we presently face will one day come to an end.

It is easy to lose the sense of God's abiding presence - not that he leaves us, but we can crowd him out or forget he is personally with us. But God is calling you to another level, where you live in the unbroken sense of his intimate presence. The Holy Spirit then will not be merely an occasional influcence, but an abiding comforter and guide, and you will experience not just the visitation but the ongoing habitation of God in you.

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice" (John 10:27). You can listen to the voice of Jesus! But he also wants to hear your voice. The way this works best is when you thoroughly devote yourself to him. In this message, Samantha suggests four ways we can all do this - through prayer, by being devoted to other people, by earnestly desiring spiritual gifts, and by pressing on regardless of the cost, not out of duty, but out of devotion to God.

We need a touch from Jesus that enables us to see clearly with the eyes of our spirit, to discern good from evil, to distinguish the positive from the negative, the healthy from the unhealthy. The gift of discernment is so important for living and serving God in a noisy and contested world. Like the blind man in Mark 8:22-26, we may need more than one touch to be able to see everything clearly. So, ask Jesus for his touch today on your spiritual eyesight!

If you are a follower of Jesus, you have been invited to his marriage ceremony! Revelation chapter 19 tells us that a great and glorious wedding supper awaits, when his Bride (the Church) and Jesus, the heavenly Bridegroom, will be forever united on his return to earth in glory. But there is another supper mentioned in the same chapter of Revelation - and that one you do NOT want to attend!

Have you ever felt "backed into a corner" by God? This is how the ancient Israelites felt at Pi Hahiroth (Exodus 14:1-18). God wanted them, and sometimes wants you, to experience this, so that they/you would learn to live by faith in God, not trusting in human ability. When you adopt a posture of faith it will allow you to overcome what you are facing, and you will see God in a new way.