Resourses

Heads up! This message may challenge you but it is necessary. Relationships are more of a spiritual thing than they are a natural thing. The one of the main reasons why you have strained relationships is because your relationship with God may be strained. Relationships starts with God. He needs to be at the forefront always. For example, marriage is a spiritual thing. It won’t work if God is not not the centre of your marriage. You se,e not having a relationship with God has a snowball effect. No relationship with God means your marriage will be strained, then that filters through the way you parent. If you don’t have a relationship with God, there is just no chance of bearing fruit in spiritual things. What destroys relationships and what builds them? In the same way, even though we are many individuals, Christ makes us one body and individuals who are connected to each other. Romans 12:5 It’s inevitable that in the body of Christ we won’t always agree with one other because we are all different. The only people who agree on everything are dead people. If you are alive and alive in Christ, you are going to have disagreements. You won’t always see eye to eye. You should be concerned if you don’t have conflict. You know why? Because conflict is a sign of growth.  One of the purposes of Destiny Groups, is to teach us relational skills. The relational skills you will learn in Destiny Groups will filter throughout various avenues in your life. E.g., work and home.  How do we stay connected? We’ve got to become good at having healthy relationships. Every relational problem comes down to one of 4 negative attitudes.  The truth is it doesn’t always come down to the devil. It’s mostly up to us.  Selfishness – This is probably one of the biggest problems you’ll have in any relationship. Human nature insists that we always think about ourselves first. It’s all about me, myself, and I. If your approach to relationships is selfishness, you are bound to butt heads with people. Often, we put more energy into building relationships than maintaining them. Selfishness destroys relationships, selflessness builds them.  Selfishness only causes trouble. You are much better off to trust the Lord. Proverbs 28:25 Selfishness = “Me, myself and I” Selflessness = “How better can I serve you”  And look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own. Philippians 2:4 Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others – ignoring God! harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.  Galatians 6:7-8 First respond to God, not what others do. My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. Galatians 5: 16 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me. Matthew 10:39 Pride – This leads to conflict Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise. Proverbs 13:10 Pride is expressed in: Criticism  Competitiveness and Comparing Cannot admit when you are struggling/wrong Likewise you younger people submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothes with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5 Grace is unlimited, the access you have to grace is unlimited. But the degree to which you operate in humility will limit the grace extended to you. Whatever relationship you’re in, you need to be humble. If you want grace in your relationships, or marriage be humble.  4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2: 4-8 The attitude that Jesus had was never arrogant because of the favour that was upon Him. Instead, He humbled Himself because he knew he was a servant of the people. So, our question to you is, in our relationships, how much are we serving one another? Not just to feel better about ourselves but really asking how can you serve someone else. If you are going to try and do this on your own strength, it wont work. Because selflessness is not human nature.   We will get to points 3 and 4 of the 4 negative attitudes in relationships next week.

We are better together! We will be sharing with you, how to be connected to the body of Christ. You cannot be connected in isolation. You must be connected to the body of Christ and to other people. We are a society that values independence. The idea of independence is not of God. The Word of God says no man can stand alone. The key to happiness is not independence, it is inter-dependence. This life is too challenging for us to go through it alone. Backtrack to 2020 March/April, for the first few days we were happy to be on “holiday”, but reality sets in and weeks after that we started realising that we actually need relationships and interaction. This is integral. Interdependence is integral. I have something you need, and you have something I need. Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other and of us needs all the others Romans 12:5 We need one another in the body of Christ. To God, community is not optional. We come together for a common unity. The great thing about community is that it is not based on ethnicity. We come together from different backgrounds. We cannot fulfil God’s purpose by ourselves. There’s an African proverb that says “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” If you want to go fast, then please, by all means, but our faith journey is exactly that, a journey. It is a marathon. You need to go on a journey with others. 5 reasons we must be CONNECTED in a COMMUNITY I need others to WALK with me Colossians 2: 6 | Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him We were never meant to walk through life alone. You are meant to go through life with others because you and I were built to require relationships. We are called for connection and not isolation. God created us to want a family. That’s why as New Season we value connecting. So, that you never have to walk alone. Why walking together is better. It’s safer It’s supportive It’s smarter Imagine being so isolated that not one person has taken time to call in and check on you. You need to have relationships so that people can care for you. What happens when you’re in hospital and no one knows that because you are so isolated. Its not healthy. Walking together is better because its safer, supportive and smart. Only fools trust in what they alone think Proverbs 8:26 You are not a fool, because only fools trust in what they alone think Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” I will make a helper who is just right for him. Genesis 2:18 This concept that you cannot be alone is biblical. You CANNOT be alone. God created 2 families. -Natural family: what you are born into -Spiritual family: what you are ingrafted into – you make choice to be in this family. The moment you accept Jesus you become a part of a spiritual family. We encourage you to be a part of a spiritual family. We cannot always rely on our natural family because they are not always Godly. They will not be able to support you in your spiritual journey Hebrews 10:25 | not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching. We encourage you to not give up on Destiny groups and worshipping corporately. Its unhealthy to only go to church every 3 to 6 weeks. 1 Corinthians 14:26 | So here’s what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sin a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide insight. To be a healthy believer you need: -Large group worship – where you are being instructed and being taught in the things of God -Small group fellowship – where you can have meaningful relationships We’re made for relationships. God wired us that way. I need people to WORK with me For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 What God has called you to is your ministry. Its better to have a partner than go at it alone. Share the work, share the wealth Ecclesiastes 4:9 We have a ministry, purpose and calling. The more we work for things of God we are going to get tired. You need someone else to walk the journey with you so that when you are tired, someone is there to build you up. If Pastor Bojan is running the New Season ship by himself constantly, he will eventually get tired, and that would be bad news for us. He has a support system to ensure he doesn’t get completely burned out. Community is God’s answer to fatigue. I need others to WATCH out for me in life Our question to you is, is anyone watching out for you? Don’t be upset when someone who cares about you challenges you. They’re doing that because they care about you. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others Philippians 2:4 Satan cannot hurt God. So, he will try hurt his children. That’s why you need a community around you. To help you, support you and minister to you. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:10 & 12 I need others to