This week Josiah gave part two of Foundation 5 from Hebrews 6, the resurrection of the dead. He is the God of resurrection and He wants to resurrect things that are broken and hopelessness in our heart. He has resurrected us by the cross, He continues to resurrect things in our life as we walk with Him and He will resurrect us in the day to come. He is the resurrection and the life, He desires to breath His life into you.

He resurrects us and gives us life then there is an expectation to steward these gifts He gives us. The parable of the talents in Matt 25 and Luke 19 speaks to this heavenly reality, where how we live today will determine how we live in eternity. This shouldn't lead us into striving and comparison but towards Him, abiding in the vine.

Josiah began Foundation 5 from Hebrews 6 today - Resurrection of the Dead. He began by unpacking the story line of God preceding the Resurrection of the Dead. When Jesus came the Israelites were offended because they were expecting Him to come like a warrior King and physically take down the empire, but we know He came with humility and mercy. Although, the bible talks about a time when He will come with a sword and He will take down the unrighteous.

This is a hard concept for us to grasp, but there is an invitation to see Him as righteous King, and see His holy anger against that which is wicked.

This week Josiah spoke on God's redemptive plan for when people reject Him and His Lordship. Throughout scripture we see a God who through His mercy leads His people back to Him through repentance. There is a pattern of steps that God makes to give His people chances to turn back to Him, these steps tend to look like removing His presence, rebuking or removing people out of leadership or sometimes out of fellowship. Again and again we see God's redemptive plan to restore, heal and transform people from rebellious and broken to healed and shepherds that do the same.

He always wants to cleanse us of everything that hinders His love and takes our eyes off Him

So that His church ministers first to Him, always living out of intimacy with Him to then minister and love the world.

Last week we talked about the authority Jesus has given us through His blood and how it is released through the laying on of hands, this week we focus on the spiritual battle at play for us to release His Kingdom and see His eternal life flow through us. Like it says in Isaiah 52 we need to be awake to spiritual realities and fight to the age we are living in, John 17:2 you have given me all authority of all flesh that I may give eternal life

Our calling as follows of Jesus is to give eternal life to those around us through this authority Jesus has given us.

Two spirits we need to be awake and cautious to are the spirit of fear and the Jezebel spirit that commonly go together.
This is the process we need to look out for: Fear leading to control through emotions, leading to lust for the things of the world then chaos in the mind.

God's plan against this cycle is the fear of the Lord and a holy reverence to trust Him with surrender.

Then He not only saves us but gives us His power and word to bring restoration just like the spirit of Elijah!

Josiah began Foundation 4 from Hebrews 6 - Laying on of hands. He shared that Laying on of Hands in relation to spiritual authority and the purpose of our authority in Christ to give eternal life - knowledge of the Father and the Son.

He is the most important person, all powerful and all glory goes to Him, yet still by His mercy and grace gives us authority to show His goodness in the earth. Let us not forget the authority He has given us through the power of His blood, to move how He leads so we can lift His name high in everything we do.

This year is a year to go all in for Jesus, to lay down any place in our hearts that is hard from past seasons or trials, receive His healing and sow into His Kingdom from a place of praise. We see in the book of Ruth what happened when they left the land of Judah, which means place of praise, that suffering and trials came. When we experience these situations it can be easy to let them pull us away, but there is an invitation to see what happens then we give Him glory in this place.

It says in Psalm 26:8 'Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house,

And the place where Your glory dwells'. Also in Isaiah 26:3 'You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You'. May we not forgot these truths and be a people that keep our heart soft before Him, let His living word be our daily bread and sow from a place of praise.

The Christmas season can be a busy season with many events and things to do, although at the heart of Christmas is an invitation to remember and celebrate the gift of Jesus's birth. When we remember the story of His birth we don't just honour Him, but we also connect with Him as the beautiful gift that He is to us and the world.

In Luke 1:67-79 we find the incredible prophecy from Zacharia saying what his son John the Baptist was going to set out to do, yet in the last two lines he switches to talk about Jesus and we find a powerful statement of Jesus mission and purpose. Verse 79 beautifully sums up the purpose of Jesus coming as, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death to guide us in the way of peace.

Christmas, like all the different Jewish feasts, is to remember all that Jesus has done, that we would experience what is said in 2 Peter 1:19 as the Morning Star rising in our hearts, that we have a deep awareness of who Jesus is in our inmost being.

For He is our blessed hope

This week we had the pleasure of hearing Angeline share on seeking out the joy of the Lord in different seasons. Sharing from three bible stories of waiting, Ange invites us to ask three questions to find the joy in them. Who has the joy, where does it come from and how is it being expressed?

With the story of Mary visiting Elizabeth we find joy in the expectation of Jesus' birth even in the midst of chaos around them. In Acts 2 we find joy in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, when the disciples were faithfully waiting after Jesus' ascension. Then lastly, in Acts 3 we see joy in the manifestation of healing with the lame man at the temple gates, the joy of an answered prayer after many years of waiting.

Whatever story you find yourself in, be encouraged that God wants to reveal His joy to you, to excite you, infill you and strengthen you.