Bangor Community Church

27/04/2023

Isaiah 49:23b “I Am the Lord; those who hope in Me will not be disappointed.

Greek mythology tells the story of Epimetheus and Pandora. As a wedding gift, Pandora was given a beautifully carved box by the god Zeus with an explicit warning that she must never open the box. Of course, curiosity got the better of her and legend has it that when she unlocked the box and lifted the lid, everything evil that would plague mankind, was released into the world. Distraught, she quickly closed the lid only to hear a small voice asking to set free into the world. That voice was hope.
�This is just one of many folklore stories passed down through generations centred on this four-letter word hope.

Biblical hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. Hope in God, has moral certainty and is a powerful force that can inspire us to overcome even the most difficult challenges in life. In Romans 15:13, the apostle Paul wrote, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit"
�This verse reminds us that hope is not something we can conjure up on our own. Rather, it is a gift from God that we can receive through faith and trust in Him. When we put our hope in God, we can experience a sense of joy and peace that transcends our circumstances.
�However, hope is not just a passive feeling. It has the power to transform our lives and inspire us to take action. When we have hope, we can persevere through difficult times, knowing that there is a brighter future ahead. We can make bold decisions and take risks, knowing that if God is for us, who can be against us and He is with us every step of the way. We have His promise that He will NEVER leave us.
�Hope can also inspire us to be a source of encouragement and support for others. When we share our hope with those around us, we can help them to see beyond their current struggles and embrace a future filled with possibility and promise.
�So if you are feeling discouraged or overwhelmed, remember the power of hope. Trust in God and allow His Spirit to fill you with joy and peace. And as you overflow with hope, share it with others and watch as it transforms lives and inspires others to believe in a brighter tomorrow.

21/04/2023

NEVER BE MOVED BY WHAT YOU SEE

“So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often
looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever” . 2 Corinthians 4:18 The Message (MSG)

In 2nd Corinthians 10:3 Paul reminds us that although we walk in the flesh we do not war in the flesh. We are a spirit who has a soul that lives in a body. We are spirit first and this is where we directed to wage war. You cannot win a spiritual war by operating in the realm of the flesh. You will only end up wounded, discouraged and eventually defeated. The spirit realm is where we should be living. Paul has much to say about this spirit life in Galatians 5:16-26.
Satan cannot hurt God. The only way for him to hurt the Father is to hurt the Father’s kids, you and I.
Satan cannot attack your spirit so he must do everything in his power to get you to step out of the spiritual realm into the flesh. This is his territory. In Satan’s flesh realm, Paul cites anger, hatred, contentions, jealousies and selfish ambitions to name a few. Not a nice place to be living is it. Yet for many born again believers, this flesh realm is where they seem to spend most of their day simply because they are not aware of Satan’s devices.
If Satan can get you into his territory, then you are well and truly beaten. How does he do it? Here is an example.
You are driving along the road one day; you have a worship song on, you’re loving God, speaking in tongues, doing warfare when all of a sudden a car pulls out in front of you and you have to slam the brakes on. Right at the very millisecond, you have an opportunity to walk in the spirit or be lured into the flesh and have an outburst of road rage. How subtle is that?
He’s lurking about just for every opportunity to get you to take your eyes of the promises of God. He will try sickness, family disagreements, marriage conflicts, work disputes, the list could go on and on. Whatever it takes to get you to focus on what you see and not what God has promised. Jesus stated in John 10:10 Satan’s mission is to steal, kill and destroy and he is more than able to achieve this if we let our guard down and step in a realm not purposed for God’s kids. We are in the world but not of it. Every day you wake up, let it be you dictating your day according to God’s Word and not your circumstances. Never ever, give up no matter how hard your life may be at this minute in time. You are not alone.
GOD’s your Guardian. GOD guards you from every evil; He guards your very life. He guards you when you leave and when you return, He guards you now, He guards you always. Psalm 121:7-8 the Message

16/04/2023

Join us for our Praise Service tonight 6:30pm at Kingdom Harvest Church Belfast! All welcome lets come together and worship the Lord, one church, one body flowing together! 🙌🏼

15/04/2023

Happy Birthday Clementine ❤️

Clementine is a big 5 today! Happy birthday beautiful girl!! 🥳🥰

Let’s pray God’s riches blessings on her and her family today.

13/04/2023

Have a lifestyle of loyalty

In today’s world of broken promises and double- dealing, it would seem that loyalty has long been the forgotten code. Not so in King David’s day. 2nd Samuel 15 reveals a beautiful example of both honour and loyalty. Here we read the story of Ittai the Gittite. The story begins with the treachery of David’s son Absalom. After spending three years in exile, he returned to Jerusalem and spent the next four years carefully plotting his father’s downfall. He was devious, calculating, and a master manipulator who deceived even the most learned of men with his gentle and sympathising words, while all the time he “stole the hearts of the men of Israel”. His rebellion continued to spread and in time, he declared himself king and marched to take Jerusalem from his father King David. To save innocent lives and the possible destruction of his beloved Jerusalem, King David made hasty departure. Along with his entire household bar ten concubines, they left Jerusalem. As well as his servants there was a band of 600 gentiles whose heart was to follow David. Among this group was a man called Ittai the Gittite. David notices Ittai straight away and urges him to return to Jerusalem. David counsels him to “go back and stay with the king (Absalom), since you are a foreigner and an exile from your own land and you only arrived yesterday”. David was concerned for this man and his family, because David didn’t even know where he was going to end up. He had no specific direction from the Lord but he knew he couldn’t stay. Ittai replied “As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely whatever place my lord the king shall be, weather in death or in life, even there also your servant will be”. What could have possibly led this man Ittai to put his life and the lives of his family on the line to follow a deposed king? He had just gone through the major upheaval of being exiled from his own land, never being allowed to return. He had to move his family and entourage to Jerusalem and when they arrive they don’t even get time to unpack before he moved them again, only this time the destination is unknown. What does this tell us about Ittai the Gittite? Firstly he called God his “Lord”- Ittai followed God. He was a man of principal and integrity. When he had heard that David was leaving he made a decision to follow the truth (David) instead of living with a lie (Absalom). He had an understanding of authority and was willing to place himself under David’s leadership. He recognised that although things looked bad, God’s hand was still on David’s life and most importantly Ittai commanded his household after him. Not one of them complained about moving. We read on in chapter 15 that there was much weeping as the company of people headed towards the desert. Deserts are dry hot places and because they left quickly, food and water probably were in short supply and it is possible that they left without adequate shelter. Not once do we read of Ittai having second thoughts and returning to Jerusalem, even though he had women and young children with him. This gentile, who also was from the same tribe as Goliath the giant, was now following the very man who killed the Philistine champion years before.

Things looked so bad for David. His own son stole his throne, his friends turned their backs on him, and he had to endure verbal abuse and stone throwing from his subjects. Rumours and lies were being circulated throughout the land and beyond, yet through it all Ittai and others remained loyal. He made his decision based not on what he saw but what he believed. The question is what decisions are you going to make this week, this year that will require you to follow simply because you trust those whom you follow? Loyalty can often be misinterpreted by others as foolhardy and risky, it can divide and separate, but read Ittai the Gittite’s story and be reminded that although loyalty can sometimes come at great cost, to your reputation, God will always honour you when you honour Him and those who He has placed over you.

09/04/2023

BECAUSE OF THE RESURRECTION……..��God disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it, the cross. Colossians 2:15 Amp��Today we celebrate with millions of believers around the world, the single greatest event in the history of mankind - the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This most defining of moments changed history forever. Way back in Genesis 3:15 God had predicted this "disarming of rulers and authorities" He prophesied directly to the devil, that "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel."

When Jesus conquered death by rising again, He fulfilled this prophecy. In Colossians 2:15 when Paul was searching to put into words the utter shame and defeat of the enemy one time, for all time, he didn’t need to look much further than the Romans and their victory Triumphs. This technical term was well understood by those alive in Paul’s day and it had some very significant meaning in the Roman world. The Roman Triumph was the highest honour and ultimate accolade that could ever be paid to a victorious Roman General. Before any Roman General could be granted a Triumph, he must have achieved certain things. He must have been the actual commander-in-chief in the field and not a secondary leader and the campaign that he engaged in, must have been completely finished; with the region conquered, fully pacified, and the victorious troops brought home. Furthermore, according to Roman history, a minimum of 5000 enemy troops must have fallen in one engagement so that it fell into the category of a slaughter.��Moreover, in the Old Testament, when a king and kingdom were defeated, the winning side would cut off the thumbs and big toes of the captives, including those of the defeated king. They then would strip them down until naked and parade them around from place to place announcing their defeat, thus letting them soak in their shame and humiliation along the way. This parade accomplished several things. Firstly, since they did not have thumbs they would never be able to hold a sword again. Secondly, since they did not have big toes, they would never be able to stand and fight again. Lastly, they were discredited. After being marched around naked, they were humiliated and shamed in front of everyone who might have previously been intimidated by them.��When Jesus rose from the dead, there was a parade of defeat such as no human eye had ever seen. No Roman Triumph or Old Testament battle celebration comes anywhere close to Jesus victory Triumph. When He rose from the grave, Jesus made a public spectacle of the defeated enemy. He marched Satan, death and his entire dominion through the streets in shame. He defeated and discredited them in every way imaginable. They were so defeated that there would never be a hope for them to recover. Death had no dominion over Jesus because He completely defeated it.��In the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, God the Father achieved the ultimate victory over the evil powers of this world, making “a public spectacle of them.” Paul wants us to understand that though the evil powers still exist, they are a defeated foe. Believers need no longer fear the outcome of their battle with evil. Christ has conquered!

The resurrection is a giant receipt stamped across history that reads “PAID IN FULL” Timothy J. Keller.

07/04/2023

THE COST OF THE CROSS


Isaiah 59:2 amp: But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

John 3:16 For God so love the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believed would not perish but have everlasting life.

After his disastrous defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon met with some of his leading Generals to analyze the battle's flawed strategies. In the course of their discussions, Napoleon pointed at England on the colored map before them and said bitterly, "Except for that red spot I would be master of the world." Satan could say the same thing today except he would point to a cross on a hill outside the walls of Old Jerusalem. That was the place, the time, and the contest that settled the destiny of planet earth. Satan has been a defeated foe ever since. It was at Calvary that he met his Waterloo and suffered a decisive defeat from which he will never fully recover.

Today as we remember Good Friday, it’s sad to say that not enough Christians fully understand the real meaning of Christ's suffering and death on that cross except maybe from what is portrayed in movies and books. Take the time to read a medical account of the crucifixion of Jesus and you will be shocked. There is not an illustration in all the vast reaches of time or space that could properly portray what Jesus did.

Sometimes it can be so difficult for Christians to grasp the atonement. So many treat casually the events of the cross because they do not understand what their salvation cost. It is only when we know the cost of something that we begin to appreciate it. Like most things in life, we value most highly that which requires the greatest investment.

Our heavenly Father suffered equally with His Son. God, in His mercy allowed wicked men to torture His Son to death. This is the ultimate proof that He loves us with the same love that He loved Jesus. The choice He faced was very simple. He could spare the Son or He could spare us. There was no other choice. The law had been broken by Adam & Eve and it could not be changed or destroyed. The penalty had to be paid. The Father loved those who had broken His law, but He also loved His Son.

Look again at the scene around that cross. God looked upon those wicked men as they spat upon Jesus and hit Him in the face with their fists. They were unworthy even to touch the hem of His garment, and yet, they were mauling Him to death. He held the power in His hand to smash them into oblivion. He could save His Son from cruel taunts and blows, but if He intervened, not one human being would ever live again. Adam, Abraham Joseph, Daniel, and every other child of Adam would be lost for eternity. Their resurrection depended wholly upon the death and resurrection of His Beloved Son. In His omniscience God must have remembered every individual face and name, even of those who had not yet been born.
The quality of that love which brought Jesus to His death on the cross was such that He would have made the same sacrifice for even one soul. You need to remind yourself every day that God not only "so loved the world," but He so loved you, that He gave His Son. With these glimpses into the real costs of Calvary, how could anyone lightly esteem His mission to planet earth?
By a single step of faith we may exchange the deadly birthrights of the first Adam for the unsearchable riches of the second Adam. In a moment of surrender and acceptance we begin to share the life He deserved, because He was willing to bear the guilt, condemnation, and death we deserved. What an exchange! "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" Hebrews 2:3.

01/04/2023

What a fabulous morning we’ve had! Big thank you to our kids ministry team and to all the boys and girl who joined us today. The gospel was shared and lives were changed! 🙌🏼✝️

30/03/2023

God’s timing is always perfect……………

Galatians 4:4 – But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law.

God is big on timing. Everything He plans works according to His perfect timing. Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds us “There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time”.

Next week, beginning April 2nd, we enter into “Holy Week or Passion Week”. This is the week preceding the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Way back in Genesis 3:15, God spoke about these very events to Satan “And I will put enmity, open hostility between you and the woman, And between your seed /offspring and her Seed; He shall fatally bruise your head, And you shall only bruise His heel.”

Satan had deceived Adam and Eve and as a result, they died spiritually and were separated from God’s presence. But God had a plan set to His timeframe which was recounted by Paul in Galatians 4:4

The coming of Christ was a precisely planned event by God. From God’s promise to Satan in Genesis to its fulfillment mentioned here Galatians, God was busy behind the scenes. “In the fullness of time” Jesus came. He came in God’s perfect time.

There was 400 years of silence between the Old Testament and the New Testament, between Malachi & Matthew. There were no Prophets, no Scripture was written, Heaven seemed silent, but God was preparing for the coming of His Son, Jesus. God was preparing the earth, so that when Jesus came, the Gospel could be spread throughout the whole world.
God spent the “silent” 400 years preparing history for Jesus.

How did God prepare the world for the birth of His Son, Jesus?

God used The Greeks. Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, thus ruling over the Jews in 333 BC. When the Greeks conquered the world, the Greek language became the universal language. Everybody knew a little Greek. They read and wrote Greek. All legal documents were in Greek. The New Testament is written in Greek. When it was time the Disciples could take the message of Jesus to the whole world because there was a universal language

Then God used The Romans. In 63 BC, the Romans conquered the Greeks. When the Romans took power, there was one government over the entire world. There was no need for passports, no fear of going into enemy territory, and no fear of wars to avoid. The Disciples were free to travel the world with the Gospel, because there was only one regime.

The Romans were famous for pioneering a road system. Travel became easy. There is a phrase that says, “All roads lead to Rome.” Roman roads were everywhere so that their army could easily transport from one spot to another. God uses the roads, however, not for war, but to make it easy for the disciples to spread the message of peace.

God had used the Jews for 4000 years to spread the idea that there was only one God. At the time of Jesus’ birth, the world was a Pagan world. The Greeks had their many gods & goddesses. The Romans had their many gods & goddesses. The Romans even brought to the world the idea of worshipping a man. Caesar said that he should be worshipped as a god.

In the midst of 1000’s of petty gods, for 4000 years God had been preparing the world, through the Jews, that there was only ONE God, Yahweh. The Jews proclaimed to the world that the Messiah would come, to save the world from their sins. God had spent 4000 years planning to perfection the timing of the birth of His Son, Jesus . That’s why, when Jesus was born, the blueprint had already been drawn. A universal LANGUAGE, a universal PEACE, a universal ROAD SYSTEM, the concept of ONE GOD, the MESSIAH. The world was ready for Jesus.

Like everything in life, timing is crucial. Just because we can’t see evidence of God at work in our circumstances, we continue to trust Him and take Him at His word for He is not a man that He would lie. God is ever true to His Word and His promises. If you’re holding onto a promise and have yet to see it fulfilled, continue to hold on. Delay is not denial to any one of His promises, it’s a time factor and He will make all things concerning beautiful you in His time.

28/03/2023

Only 4 more sleeps until our Easter Party! Tom is ready and waiting for you all! 🥳✝️