NEVER GIVE UP SEEKING THE BREAKTHROUGH
Pastor Ian Johnson Papatoetoe Elim Church 20:04:2004
Every advancement in the way people live has come about because someone saw what could be and was no longer willing to accept what is!
All Inventions
All breakthroughs in science
All social change
Came about because they refused to accept that there wasn’t a better way.
A lot of them had many failures along the way. Many often worked many years to find the answer but in all cases the change came because someone refused to give up.
People like:
Abraham Lincoln
Mother Teresa
Winston Churchill
The Prophet Jeremiah
As a result of people never giving up, Millions of people have benefited from their breakthroughs.
I want to relate the story of a very rich man who was travelling through the countryside of Scotland heading toward a very important meeting when His can became stuck in the mud and he was stranded in the middle of nowhere. A poor Farmer came to his aid and rescued him and gave him bed for the night. The rich man was so grateful that he promised to pay for a full education for the poor farmer’s son. True to his word the rich man paid for the education. The young man was Alexander Fleming the man who discovered Penicillin. The story doesn’t end here, the rich mans son was wounded toward the end of the First World War and he was saved by Penicillin. The rich mans name was Spencer Churchill, and his son saved by penicillin was Winston Churchill who went on to be the Hero leader of 1939-45 England.
Can you see that one act of breakthrough can change the course of History.
People who don’t put up with the status quo change things.
The same is true in the spiritual
Every revival started because someone wasn’t happy with the status quo.
The Bible is full of declarations about dramatic change.
Even when our attitude is causing the problem Jesus still reaches out to bring change.
For instance in REV 3:16-17 Jesus is saying the Luke warm church is so repugnant to Him that he will vomit them out of His mouth, the 3 verses later in Rev 3:20 He says behold I stand at the door and Knock, if any man hears my voice and opens the door I will come into him and fellowship with him and he with me”
How wonderful Jesus is, even when he is ready to spit us out He still reaches out to rescue us! Praise His wonderful name.
I used to have a sticker on the dash board of my car which said “If you don’t feel close to God guess who moved” I loved to pick up hitch hikers and have them sit there with the big sticker speaking to them. Jesus is alway reaching out its not him who moved its us.
The Lord is full of compassion
The enemy however is full of hostility toward:
our success
Our breakthrough
Our blessing
Our healing
Our Church
Our walk with God
Matt 2 tells us that Herod attacked the babies because he knew that if the baby grew up He would be King. He was trying to destroy the future.
Acts 11 talks about the Church in Antioch. It was started by unknown people - the church reached both Jew and Gentile – was persecuted and yet grew to be the biggest New Testament church for 50 years
Why was that?
Acts 3:11 “Barnabas was sent out from Jerusalem to Antioch, when He arrived “He saw the evidence of the grace of God”
He saw that one touch of the Holy Spirit can change a generation. He saw that when men catch a vision of what God can do then massive change occurs and Heaven touches earth. He saw the evidence of some men and woman who wernt happy with the status quo and sought the Lord for change.
This is our main call as well.
1) To live in fellowship with Christ
2) To Labour with Him to extend His Kingdom.
Satan knows the critical role of the Local Church in extending the Kingdom. In fact He suffers much loss if Congregations connect with the living Christ. When a vision is a baby Satan will do all he can to destroy that baby. But God has called us to breakthrough and bring the vision to maturity.
Satan knows the local church is His no1 enemy so the Local Church is the no 1 target.
He starts by attempting to deceive Christians concerning the importance of the local Church.
He wants them to think Church is a place you only visit on Sunday and then only if you have spare time
He tries to stop you from praying He brings strife, division, gossip & fighting. Church splits have the footprints of demons all over them! Pastors –Leaders and Church members come under constant attack because Satan wants the Local church to fail.
If God could bless the Church in Antioch then he can bless the Church in Papatoetoe.
But there will always be opposition – God wants us to breakthrough! That which Satan means for evil God will turn to God if we persevere.
We must never be surprised when the vision comes under attack.
Remember Joseph.
The lesson is Don’t quit! Believing in what God has made real in your heart but push for the breakthrough and the baby will come to maturity.
Phil 1:6 “He who has begun a good work in you, is well able....”
