MW: So, what happens if I do, do, do, do for my spouse but get nothing in return? Doesn’t he or she also have to play their part and reciprocate?

CW: It’s called the 50:50 principle – you do your part and I’ll do mine. Most people today believe in this principle and at first glance, it makes a lot of sense. However, this 50:50 principle, as beautiful as it sounds, simply does not work.

MW: Why doesn’t the 50:50 principle work?

CW: I can think of at least 2 reasons:

1.    50-50 depends on who’s counting.

Which spouse gets to decide what is fair and what is even? Let’s face it, the things I do always seem to bear more weight to me than what my partner does. It’s so hard to measure 1 to 1 your contribution against my contribution, and most of the time, the person measuring sees their contribution as more important!

2.    50-50 always results in two victims

Many couples today are victims of what we call ‘if-then’ thinking. For example, one spouse says, ‘If only you’d come home on time then I wouldn’t be so cranky’ But the other one is thinking, ‘ If only you weren’t so cranky – then I’d enjoy coming home on time!’ That’s a vicious cycle that leaves you stuck.

MW: That’s probably why in marriage counseling, couples spend a lot of time trying to show why the marital problems are mainly the other person’s fault.

CW: Exactly! ‘The reason we’re in this mess is because he’s always doing this, or she’s always doing that’. It’s their fault that I’m so miserable and our marriage is headed towards divorce. But the result is that both of you have now become victims. You’ve completely lost your power to steer the relationship in a positive direction, because you’re completely dependent on how your spouse chooses to respond!

Read: Philippians.2:3-11

MW: So what’s the alternative to a 50:50 marriage? Paul is saying, “If you want to stay in love, here is what it takes. Stop competing with the other person but instead act as if that person is more important than you are. Every single day, every single decision, live as if, respond as if, react as if, initiate as if that one person is actually, literally more important than you are!

CW: Someone at this point could ask, how can my spouse be more important than me?

MW: Don’t focus exclusively on the things you’re interested in. Learn to focus and show sincere interest in, the things that are of interest to your significant other. Demonstrate an interest even in things that aren’t interesting to you.

CW: To be honest, this sounds rather harsh! What if it’s just not my thing?

MW: The answer is ‘how serious are you about staying in love’? Because that’s what it takes. What it takes to stay in love is a plan and that plan is not to give 50:50 but to give 100% to your partner, whether they deserve it or not!

CW: There are many women  whose husbands are not available for their children and parenting is 100% on the woman. This is not only very frustrating to the woman but also very painful because she can see the children need their father. What would you tell such a woman?

MW: Well, first of all the reality is that this is also a problem experienced by some men – where their wives are so busy with their careers that they disengage with the family. But regardless who it is, what we’ve learnt is that nagging does not help. Apply this principle of taking an interest in his or her passions. If possibly, engage the whole family. For example, if he is into real estate accompany him as a family in hunting for plots. Be interested in what she’s doing at the office and pray together for her. Ask God to give you creative ideas!

You see, if you go for 50/50, you’ll end up with a contract, not a marriage. You may stay together, but when you play that game of ‘I do my part when/if she does her part’, then you are passing a death sentence on your marriage. 50:50 is great for divorce but not for marriage.

CW: Let’s come back to that person who feels their spouse doesn’t deserve it, and is asking, ‘how far am I supposed to take this?’

MW: According to Paul, if you want to know how far to go in love, look at Jesus. Jesus was by very nature God, which meant whenever he showed up, he really was the most important person in the room. But even though he was God, Jesus never used it to his advantage. You are certainly within your rights to demand your rights. But so was Jesus when it came to you. And He didn’t.

CW: So you’re saying we lay down our rights in the relationship. But why would anyone do such a radical thing?

MW: That’s what Paul goes on to explain in verse 7. I call it the God dilemma. God could have chosen to maintain his place in heaven where he got all the respect but in order to have a relationship with you, he had to give up what he deserved.  Think about it – Jesus would not have a relationship with you if He held on to his rights. The truth is, we can’t have it both ways. It’s a choice: either I get all my rights or I get my relationship.

CW: But what if one of the spouses is being abusive?

MW: The bible never condones violence in marriage. Violence against your spouse is evil and the bible says we resist evil. If this is happening to you, we’re not saying you submit to yourself to the abuse, but rather that the most loving thing you can do is to seek help. But in other matters, God asks us to put aside our rights for the sake of the other. Remember, it’s either my rights or my relationship.

You can spend the next ten years making a point. You can spend the next ten years winning the arguments. You can spend the next ten years fighting about who’s smarter now or who’s on the right. Or you can decide that your goal is not to be right or to win or to make a point. Your goal is to serve this person, and to be a blessing to them, and to be the best husband/wife you could ever be whether they’re ready for it or not. It’s either my rights or my relationship.

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. We stream the sermon LIVE every Sunday 10AM GMT+3 here, bookmark and tune in. Sermon videos are usually uploaded to our YouTube chann

This month’s sermon series is delivered by Muriithi Wanjau(M.W) aka Pastor M, co-preaching with a trained psychologist who also happens to be his better half of the last 22 years Carol Wanjau(C.W).

M. W: It’s the easiest thing in the world to fall in love! You don’t have to be a rocket scientist. You could be rich/poor, young/old, outgoing/shy, educated or illiterate. It’s so easy to fall in love in fact most people, if they were really honest, would admit that they have at least at one point fallen in love with someone they’ve never even met

C. W: It could be that TV actor or a famous singer or a news presenter on TV! And you had this enormous crush on them!

M. W: Falling in love today is extremely easy! As of Mar 1^st 2013, there were 2,500 online dating sites in the US with 1,000 new ones opening every year, and another 8,000 in other countries across the world! Social media connects us to many more people than was ever possible before.

C. W: Also, in this day, we’re not restricted to where we grew up but have opportunities to work and travel in many different places, both locally and abroad. With all this exposure, it has never been easier to fall in love.

M. W: But we would also argue, it has never been more difficult to stay in love. Many in the younger generation are extremely skeptical about the possibility of staying in love forever. It feels like a far-fetched dream. And divorce is pretty common today.

C. W: In this country alone, one out of every four marriages end before their 20^th anniversary.

M. W: Carol, you’re the psychologist. Why is it so difficult to stay in love?

C. W: There are many reasons. I can think of at least three common ones. The first is:

1. Our Experience – The truth is, very few people today have grown up around healthy, romantic marriage relationships. Many people have grown up around marriages where people abused and abandoned one another or tolerated one another and stayed together for the sake of the kids.

Some of the unwritten rules of relationships is ‘Do unto others before they do unto you!’ It’s what makes some people so commitment-phobic, let me dump them before I get dumped! Another is ‘Do unto others as they deserve to be done unto’?

A second reason why it’s so difficult to stay in love is…

2. Our Hunger –Sociologists say it takes a child to growing up in a home where they get respect, encouragement, comfort, security, support, acceptance, approval, appreciation, attention, and affection to engage in healthy relationships for life?

A disturbing statistic states that 60% of Kenyan women are likely to be single moms by the time they’re 45. This basically means a huge number of children born in this country this year will be born into homes where there’s no Dad… and most likely no stable male influence. This is not to argue that single parents can’t raise children well; we know many who are. But if it takes all those things we mentioned earlier to equip someone to engage well in a healthy relationship, the fact that many children in our country will never have a meaningful relationship with their father is a huge problem. It’s not their fault but it’s the reality.

The third common reason why it’s so difficult to stay in love is…

3. Our Culture – Our culture has a really low threshold of pain relationally, which means that as soon as things aren’t working well, it’s time to move on! 

It’s not like back in the day where people said “I do” and what they meant was “I’m going to keep doing whether I like it or not, and whether she or he likes it or not, we’re just going to keep doing it”.

People who’ve been married 20 years plus who are still in love will tell you that every good marriage takes a lot of work, requires a lot of patience and endures a lot of pain. But the reality is that our experience, our hunger and our culture actively work against our ability to stay in love!

John 13:34-35 NIV  A new command I give you – Love one another.

It does sound basic. But it is remarkable in the sense that Jesus takes a word that we normally use as a noun and he makes it a verb.

You may have defined love as this thing you feel or as this thing you fall into like a swimming pool. But Jesus wants you to see love not as something you FEEL but as something you DO!”

What Jesus is saying is, if you want to stay in love, then focus on being loving, not on being in love!

You’ll hear married people often say, “She’s always doing this” or “he never does that” and “I just don’t feel like we love each other anymore”. When you dig deeper into what Jesus means, he is saying to you and I today, love is not something you feel, love is something you do! 

Vs 34 As I have loved you so you must love one another

Jesus is saying I don’t want you to take your cue from your experience or your parents. I don’t want you to take your cue from your hunger, how you feel or from your culture. Instead take your cue from ME. So how did Jesus practice love? He made a conscious decision to give up his own life so that we could live.

In the same way he says, “Don’t wait for them to act loving. Don’t wait for them to apologize. Don’t wait for them to acknowledge how wrong they were. Don’t wait for them to reciprocate. Treat them as if they deserved to be treated really well.”

You’ve got to do it before you feel it.

Actively loving the other person, whether they are lovable at that moment or not – that’s what sets you apart as a true follower of Jesus!

Over the next four weeks, we’re going to get really specific. What does it mean, to be loving? What does it mean, love one another? This is amazing life-giving truth that will transform all of us, married or single!

What Next?

1. Do the 15-day ‘Love Stays Challenge’ – every day (5 days a week) do something loving for your partner(if married) or someone God has put in your life that you find difficult to love(if not married) based on 1 Cor.13, the ‘love chapter’.
2. Have the love conversation – we want you to discuss the sermon questions in your LG. For some of you, marriage is a painful thought. Don’t skive LG this month; you have something very useful for others – you know what doesn’t work. Share that wisdom. Some of you single and have few good models of working marriages. LG is where you get to see real couples with real issues yet seeking to be faithful to God.
3. Recommitment – the last week of this month, we’ll have a recommitment of marriage vows. If you’re in a come-we-stay relationship and would want to have God bless your marriage (maybe you’ve found a wedding expensive) we want to do a free wedding for you perhaps during one of our Sunday services, so long as you commit to do the NDOA class.

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. We stream the sermon LIVE every Sunday 10AM GMT+3 here, bookmark and tune in. Sermon videos are usually uploaded to our YouTube channel

This month’s series is Modern Family. We are learning together what it means to be a thriving part of God’s family. In the first week we learnt from Jesus that we can accomplish God’s purposes with a diverse, authentic and missional group. 

Last week we learnt that community happens when commitment wins over convenience. Many great achievements around the world have been accomplished through teams or groups of people coming together to accomplish a certain task. Even the so called solo sports need coaches, doctors, managers etc. Being part of a team is very important. Imagine walking from Naivasha to Nairobi alone?  In fact, when you are a member of a team that works together, we can accomplish more than we can accomplish all alone. . It is important that a business learn to work together as a team, and it is just as important for the church community to learn to work together as a team. Dramatic things happen when people come together.

The first thing Jesus asked of people was to connect with HIM and Connect with each other.” I love that. It’s so simple. Anyone can connect. It doesn’t require anything from us but our time. Jesus said, if you want to find purpose and significance it starts by being with me and other believers. When you connect you suddenly become available to what God is doing. The odds are suddenly in your favor when you connect. But when choose to isolate yourself and disconnect from a community, the odds of success go way down. It’s like this microphone.

Here in Mavuno we urge all our members to connect to a community called Lifegroups (This are our small groups that meet every week). “What’s the purpose of our Lifegroups? What’s the end game?  Why should I commit to LG?

To answer that question we turn back to Jesus and his group of men. We want to take a look at what became of this group of people at the end of Jesus life, and afterwards. Let’s read Mark 16:15-20

Mavuno, God is calling us as a church to an incredible life of risk and adventure to reject that civilized, domesticated faith that can so easily settle in our Lifegroups and to join with Him as He passionately pursues a bride from among the neighborhoods and the nations of the world. It will require risk and boldness and courage and yet I know there is a rumbling inside of us as a church reminding us that who we are is about something more than just “doing church” on a Sunday morning.

May be you are asking yourself, “What is the difference between a Lifegroup on a mission and a ‘kawaida’ Lifegroup? Let me dive into the distinctions…

1.Friendships Versus Mission

Ordinary Lifegroups focus on friendships as their goal. Before I make some folks upset, it’s also important for me to note that One of the greatest needs in many churches is “community.” As we have connected people, I find they’re mostly seeking friendships that will spur them towards Christ. That desire is good and godly . . . I want the same thing! But I long for a community where you get together and go, “Hey, how can we help people? How can we show love?”  The danger in a Lifegroup aiming for community, though, is that it typically becomes the destination. Once relationships have been established, and the need for friends has been met, that’s the way a Lifegroup group stays. Community on this side of heaven isn’t primarily about us though. Community is about God’s love being displayed to the world. Missional Lifegroups see the purpose of their friendship, love, and unity to be testament of God’s love to their neighbors.

 2.Information Versus Obedience

Many of us have been a part of a Bible study at some point in our Christian lives. Typically, these groups read the Bible for a set period of time on a specific day of the week. Bible studies are often great things, but they don’t constitute a missional community in its entirety. So what’s the difference? The short answer is that a Lifegroup on a mission is not a Bible study, but a Lifegroup on a mission studies the Bible. The distinction is primarily in expectations: a Lifegroup on a mission expects that an individual is participating in the community to obey after learning whereas someone comes to a ‘kawaida’ LG to learn without acting out their faith.  Certainly people need to study the Bible, but to study the Bible without engaging in God’s mission is a fool’s errand. The purpose of studying the Bible is indeed to learn about God and conform us to the image of Christ, but it’s also to equip us for the work of ministry in the church (community) and outside the church (mission).

3.Consumers Versus Contributors

Our Lifegroups are primarily groups of around 12 people who gather weekly together to connect, worship, go through the sermons, and pray for one another.  I’ve had great experiences in this kind of group. But I’ve often found there is a significant struggle to invite others to join in, and it’s often difficult to mobilize the group to do something outside the regular meeting to invite others. In trying to balance a number of different objectives, many Lifegroups often struggle to disciple others. Why? I think it is because success is still defined as attendance at an LG meeting, rather than a network of relationships with a common mission to produce more faithful communities over time. One of the most common things I hear, “Oh, you’re a pastor. Well, we’ve been looking for a church for a long time, but we just can’t find one that meets our needs.” I just want to scream out, “Please, if you’re a follower of Jesus, we are not spiritual consumers. We are spiritual contributors.”

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. We stream the sermon LIVE every Sunday 10AM GMT+3 here, bookmark and tune in. Sermon videos are usually uploaded to our YouTube channel

If you want to build the foundation for true and lasting success in 2016 and beyond, you need to realize that you cannot do it alone. Isolation is your enemy in your journey of purpose.

In Gen.2:18, God states during Creation that ‘It is not good for man to be alone’. We often take this verse to be talking about marriage. If it did, then Jesus would be in a state that was ‘not good’.

It is pointing to the fact that humans are not solitary creatures; rather we are created to travel through life in supporting relationships with others. If you want to succeed against the odds in 2016, then you need to pay attention to the area of relationships.

Well, the fact is we live in an increasingly impersonal world. When Jesus was thinking, about how to extend His movement and His dream beyond His own physical life on earth, He did one thing. He gathered a small group of people that met together with a very simple agenda in mind…BE WITH HIM.

READ Mark 3:13-19

Even though he had many followers, and had compassion for the masses, Jesus didn’t relate to everyone in the same way. Below are important principles about friendship from ‘He Motions’ a book about men by popular preacher TD Jakes.

Types of friends: The Pyramid of Friendship

Many of us have the 5000 and the 72, but haven’t taken seriously our top 3 levels; the 12, 3 or 1. For Jesus’ his 12, 3 and 1 were part of His Lifegroup(LG). Here in Mavuno we encourage our members to belong to a Lifegroup because this are the relationships that will truly help you go the distance.

Below are 4 lessons that will not only make our LGs work but will make them great.

1. DIVERSITY: A great Lifegroup celebrates diversity

One of the biggest challenges heard from many small groups is failure to connect with the different members of small groups(LG) because of age, marital status, social-economic status, education etc.

Community is not always the place where you get to be around people who are always low-maintenance or beautiful or influential or healthy or normal! You see, community is where you learn from Jesus how to love people who are as quirky and sinful and messed up and struggling as I am and you are.

Experts in community life say that the number one challenge to small groups aren’t the busy schedules. Instead it’s what is called the EGRP’s… “Extra Grace Required People”. Someone who talks too much; someone who doesn’t get it; someone who isn’t smooth. Every group has one. In fact, Rick Warren says that, “If you look around your group, and you can’t identify the “Extra Grace Required” person, it’s probably you!” 

You are one community away from changing the course of your destiny.

2. AUTHENTICITY: A great LifeGroup is a safe place to get real with people.

Another challenge I have heard is “this LG is not real’. Acts 2:46 says that they “ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” So, when this group of believers gathered together, they did so with sincere hearts… in other words, they didn’t try and cover up their flaws and struggles.

Where did the early church get this idea? From Jesus. He was the most transparent human being they had ever been around.

In fact, we work hard trying to manage what others think of us… we try and come off brighter, stronger, more together than we really are.  And when we do that, in a way, it’s like filling in the imperfections in our life with wax.

You are one Community away from changing the course of your destiny.

3. RECONCILING SPIRIT: A great Lifegroup is place where conflict, which is inevitable, leads to reconciliation and growth.

As one becomes part of an LG, you need to understand this doesn’t mean the absence of conflict and difficulties but the presence of a reconciling spirit. So it’s not that there will be absence of conflict in that new community but instead there will be a commitment to not let conflict go unresolved. A refusal to allow bitterness or resentment to come in between your relationships with one another.

You are one Community away from changing the course of your destiny.

4. MISSIONAL: A great LGs has a mission beyond themselves

Another challenge experienced is the question ‘So what next after LG, we have been meeting for the last 1,2,3,4 years…we are bored’. Lifegroups should make space in their lives, looking for opportunities to bless those outside of their immediate community. Jesus’ plan has always been for Him to be present with His followers and then to spread His presence and joy and love through them to the world. I will be talking more on this in weeks to come.

You are one Community away from changing the course of your destiny.

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. We stream the sermon LIVE every Sunday 10AM GMT+3 here, bookmark and tune in. Sermon videos are usually uploaded to our YouTube channel

On 14th May 2016, hundreds of leaders from across the Mavuno churches congregated for our annual Leaders’ Day. This is a time of commissioning, envisioning and prayer, as we think through the past year (2015), and look ahead to the next ten years.

Below are some of the comments shared by Pastor Muriithi Wanjau, the senior pastor.

__________________________________________________

PART 1: The first ten years of Mavuno Church’s was marked by the following:

1. Life-change: Transformation of lives through the 10 years

2. Social Impact: Bawa La Tumainia and Maono are some of the initiatives that have been started by Mavunites and are impacting hundreds of thousands

3. New Churches: Mavuno Bujumbura, Mavuno Nakuru, Mavuno Thika, Mavuno Addis Ababa

4. Stable Facilities: The move to Hill City, the Hill City grounds

5. Global Impact: We have been moving to global impact by partnering with churches from around the world.

We celebrate what God has done in these 10 years – To God be glory!

PART 2: Next 10 years

The next ten years cannot:

a. Be achieved by human strength,

b. Be achieved alone

The next ten years will be characterised by the following three numbers – 54, 100,500

• 54 – Represents culture defining church in every capital city in Africa
• 100 – Represents 100 churches in the various counties within Kenya and African capitals
• 500 –  represents 500 churches that will partner with Mavuno from around the world

The DNA Within: Inside every single follower of Jesus, is the potential for a world changing movement

The catalyst for this is multiplication in these areas – associates, life-groups, ministries, and churches.

Are you ready to Multiply? This is the commitment God is calling you to:

• Commit to multiply
• Commit to go
• Commit to give

Feel free to include your thoughts and feedback in the comments section.

Many of us agree that it’s easier to start strong than to finish strong.  We start well but then in the process, life happens. We face external and internal challenges that make it very difficult to carry on and in that moment it is easier to give up and let go. We lack the energy to keep going on.  Now that you’ve finished this Refresh journey, how do you ensure your faith fire doesn’t go out? How do you ensure that you finish well – as passionate for God as you are now or even more?

Have you ever been lost when you didn’t get your directions right?

There are three things that I’ve discovered about all of this:

• People who are lost rarely get lost on purpose.
• You are never aware that you are getting lost.
• You always end up where the road you’re on takes you.

The direction you take will lead you to a destination. Where you intend or desire to be is irrelevant for as long as you are on the wrong road. The outcome is that we ask God hard questions like “What’s wrong, God?” Well… what’s wrong is that you chose to walk down a path that would never get you to your desired destination.

In every area of our lives, the direction we take, not our intentions, hopes, dreams, prayer, beliefs…but the direction we take ultimately determines our destiny. To finish well we must be intentional to stay on the right course.

Scripture Hebrews 12:1-3

The author refers to our Christian journey as a race…not a sprint, not a dash but a marathon. One of the basic teachings of Christianity is so simple: It is not how you start that matters; it is how you finish. Not everyone in the Bible stayed in the right course and made it into the Hall of Faith.

The message today is this your direction determines your destination.

These are the two things we must focus on to stay on the course:

1. Lay aside all Obstacles.

The obstacles come in two forms: weights and sins.  I once heard someone say, “If it’s not a wing, it’s a weight.” A weight is anything that hinders us from carrying out our calling, something non-essential to our mission, which consumes time, and energy that could be better used in advancing God’s kingdom. It could be anger, unforgiveness, seeking people’s approval, too much of sleep, social media, procrastination, watching tv and movie etc. that do not help us grow in our relationship with God.

The author also encourages the readers to get rid of “sins that so easily entangle”. This refers to sins which cling to, distract, entangle and cause us to trip as we walk on the right path. Whatever that sin is-lies, jealousy, bribery, gossip, sexual sin, greed, lust, disobedience-it must be stripped off and avoided at all costs.

Remember your direction determines your destination.

Ask God to give you the wisdom and courage to “see danger and take refuge,” because, as Proverbs 27:12 says, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”

2. Choose your Focus

This term rendered “keeping our eyes fixed” is one that has two-fold meaning. It first of all refers to looking away from something and then looking intently on something else. Often times, it’s the things or people that grab or capture our attention that influence the direction of our lives.

But not only do things & people capture or grab our attention, but there are those things or people we choose to give our attention to or pay attention to. Grabbing our attention captures our emotion. Giving attention is about intentionality

 Your direction determines your destination.

 Fix our eyes on Jesus.  Concentrate on Jesus – His Will and Purpose for our lives.  Allow Him to empower and inspire you, as He is your main trainer and equipper for your assignment.

What do you need to begin giving or paying more attention to after Refresh? How do you ensure your faith fire doesn’t go out? How do you ensure that you finish well – as passionate for God as you are now or even more?

Your direction determines your destination.

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. We stream the sermon LIVE every Sunday 10AM GMT+3 here, bookmark and tune in. Sermon videos are usually uploaded to our YouTube channel

If you had special powers, what is one thing you would do or fix?

We all feel limited in some ways. We want to see change, but we feel limited, frustrated and disillusioned. There is always a desire in the human to tap into the supernatural and use the power thereof to fix human and earth’s problems. We want and actually need outside help. We were created with a desire to connect with the divine to overcome the limitations of the natural.

We have been going through refresh. We have talked about dying to self, serving, being good stewards, living in purity and impacting our industry and society. We have a work to do, but we need to be a certain kind of people with a certain enablement to do it. In Mavuno, our mission is turning ordinary people into fearless influencers of society. It does feel overwhelming to fearlessly influence society. Some have tried and succeeded to start an initiative. For others, it didn’t work. Some are struggling.

There is a story in the Bible that speaks to us in these realities 1 Samuel 10:1-11

In the Old Testament, certain people (kings, prophets & priests) were anointed for a purpose. The oil on them signified the coming of the spirit of God on them for the work they have been invited to. Saul is anointed by a prophet to be king.

There are 4 things God sends the Holy Spirit to do in our lives:

1. Purpose:

The spirit comes upon us to lead us into and establish us in our purpose.

What is your calling? Which sector does God want you to become a witness in? What is the path God has invited you to take? What leap of faith will land you to your purpose? Invite the Holy Spirit to help you discover it and pursue it. Remember, you are anointed – set apart, recognized, empowered and accompanied to be and do.

The Holy Spirit is divine help to be and to do.  

2. Power

We need supernatural power to get the job done. Power is the ability to do. The Holy Spirit comes as God to dwell in us and enable us do extraordinary things. Power to overcome limitations, to break through spiritual or generational limitations, experience miracles and establish the kingdom.

It takes more than Good to Great principles to build a God-organization. It takes more than effort to walk God’s path for you. We have worked by ourselves too long, we need the resource of heaven to impact the world.

Imagine walking daily in the power of the Holy Spirit. Imagine weekly stories of victory, marketplace miracles, family and marital healings and financial breakthroughs. Imagine the excitement in our life groups and on social media.

The Holy Spirit is divine help to be and to do.  

3. Gifts 

We need the gifts and enablement of the Holy Spirit to get the mission accomplished.  Gifts are special abilities God gives us to serve his calling and mission in church and the world.

God has made gifts available to build the business he has invited you to, serve in the civil service, mother or father your children, teach in college or school, run an innovative business, start an initiative to empower the poor, set up a transformational mentoring program and fight societal ills as an activist – as well as to serve in church.

The Holy Spirit is divine help to be and to do.  

4. Transformation:

When the power of the Spirit came upon us to change us. A new mission called for a changed man.  We need a change of heart – new character. We need the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The power may be faked, but the fruit cannot.   The greatest evidence of the Holy Spirit at work is Christlikeness in the life of a believer.

The highest achievement of the Holy Spirit is creating the fruit of the Spirit in us – day in day out.

The Holy Spirit is divine help to be and to do.  

So how do we walk a spirit-filled life?

1. Wait – Saul was asked to wait for 7 days until the prophet comes to tell him what to do. The disciples were asked to go and wait in Jerusalem. They went to the upper room and waited. Waiting includes prayer, reflection, silence and expectation. Create time daily and regularly for prayer. Want and reach out for the Holy Spirit.
2. Invite – Open your heart and mind to receive the Holy Spirit. Do not let your fears, pride, worldview and preconceptions deny you of the gift of the father. Clean the house and by faith receive the Holy Spirit and practice his presence daily.

The Holy Spirit is divine help to be and to do.  

Jesus was the biggest story of his day. Wherever he went, huge crowds were waiting for him. For his disciples, this was exciting. It seemed that their gamble to leave all behind and follow this unknown rabbi was paying off. On the contrary, instead of celebrating his popularity, Jesus began telling his disciples of his impending rejection, suffering and ultimately death.

Read – Mark 10.32-45

Jesus taught that true greatness is a paradox. The world teaches us that greatness comes as we step on others and grab positions for ourselves. However, Jesus taught, ‘whoever wants to be first must be slave of all’.

Here is an important truth: In God’s kingdom, service is the route to greatness

God created you to be a representative of His kingdom to impact the earth with the culture of heaven. You are created to impact society with God’s culture, until they look alike. Jesus taught us to pray, ‘may your kingdom come and may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’.

As we influence society thus gain prominence and attention, pride and competition might creep in. We need to remember that in God’s kingdom, service is the route to greatness but greatness is the route to further service. It’s a virtuous cycle. Too many people jump straight into impacting society without learning the lessons of servant leadership. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely! As a result, when power comes, people become corrupted. The job of the church is to prepare you for kingdom impact.

A major reason many Christians stop growing is that they are not serving.  Serving God’s people through gifts and abilities is essential to Christian maturity. The minute you stop serving, you start dying. Pastor Rick Warren puts it this way, ‘what matters most is not the duration of your life but the donation of your life…not how long you lived but how much you served’.

Serving moves you from consumer to contributor, from spectator to servant, from tourist to team member. You don’t just serve at church because the church needs you to serve; you serve at church because that’s where you train to be the servant leader God is calling you to be.

In God’s kingdom, service is the route to greatness.

As the Lord blesses us with promotions at work and families, let us be careful not to retire from serving. Learn how to motivate and lead without stepping on people. Learn to serve the public selflessly and cheerfully. Jesus lived a life of impact that was attractive to everyone around him. He was a go-getter par excellence; he knew what he wanted and went for it. He used the route of humble service and went all the way to the top. God does not condemn your ambition. He only proposes another way of getting there. The route of service will get you to the top, keep you there, and make your life attractive.

Readings:

Matthew 19:28, Mark 9:33, Philippians 2:5-11

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. We stream the sermon LIVE every Sunday 10AM GMT+3 here, bookmark and tune in. Sermon videos are usually uploaded to our YouTube channel

Some people may say they want a boss who makes clear goals and targets that are achievable or challenges them to grow. Others want a boss who would involve them in decision-making.

The truth is most people want a boss who would give them a pay hike whenever they need it.

Today we will look at the greatest leader who ever lived; Jesus. He is considered the most respected and influential leader in the history of the world.

Read – John 13:3-17 

Jesus knew his days were numbered. He chose to spend his last few hours teaching his disciples the most powerful lesson about the servant nature of a disciple, by picking up a towel and washing their feet.

Picture your boss at the office coming in and during the staff meeting, deciding to polish everyone’s shoes? Or a political leader you know showing up in your neighborhood, with no cameras present, and offering to manually do your laundry?

Jesus was about to hand over a great charge to the disciples, and he knew they would shepherd this new global movement, and push it to new frontiers. In his last moments he could have talked strategy with them, devising a master plan for world domination.

Yet Jesus knew that the biggest challenge of leadership is not about competence but character. Not how to lead from the head but how to lead from the heart.

In order to be great, you must serve others.

Read Mark 10:43-44

Do you want to be great? Whose feet are you washing?

Our world is full of dirty feet in need of a good wash. God is raising up an army of fearless men and women who believe that the church is the hope of the world. Driven by this conviction, they passionately serve the needs of their community.

However, there are a lot of barriers that keep us from serving. Here are a few:

 1. Busyness: Life has become a balancing act between a demanding work schedule, school, family commitments and social commitments.

2. Tradition: In the traditional church, the philosophy was carried was ‘I pay my tithe, so the church can hire professional pastors to do the ministry’. In the Bible, we see that every member of the body of Christ is to be a minister.

3. Issues: Most of us think we must get our lives together first before we are qualified to serve others. But we see throughout the Bible that God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.

4. Ignorance: Many confess ‘I don’t know what my gifts are and so I don’t know where I could serve.” Or others may not be aware of the volunteer needs that the church has.

5. Temptation. The temptation to NOT serve is great because when God speaks to your heart to serve, the enemy is right there to try and distract you and tempt you.

John 3: 13

Jesus knew that he had come from God and that he was returning to God. And it is from this assurance of his identity that enables him to serve.

The lie that so many people believe is that you can change the world apart from community. That you don’t need to be part of the local church. Freedom is valued. But the truth is that freedom based on this world’s definition of freedom leads to bondage. True freedom has a purpose; true greatness has a purpose.

 Galatians 5:13

If you want to be great, be the first to serve.

The local church is the hope of the world and God’s design to change the world, to raise up men and women of faith who will be able to impact every sphere of culture.

God is raising each one of us to be global leaders in politics, business, education, and entertainment and so on. God gives us influence and favor not for ourselves but to share with others.

Do you want to be great? Whose feet are you washing?

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. We stream the sermon LIVE every Sunday 10AM GMT+3 here, bookmark and tune in. Sermon videos are usually uploaded to our YouTube channel

Since we began Mavuno, we have taught about money and how to manage money well. This is a lifetime topic that you can never hear enough about, and that we need to keep learning about money for the rest of our lives! When it comes to money we all tend to revert back to our default money habits.Jesus taught so much about money. The management of money does not come naturally to some of us. There are two extremes being taught about money: prosperity gospel & otherworldly gospel. Both teachings have led to terrible consequences for the people in Sub-Saharan Africa who are still on survival mode when it comes to money.

From the passage today we highlight the basic principles about money management. Luke 19:11-27

The story is about a man who decided to invest in his workers with the very clear expectation that over time, he would gain a return on his investment. He gave them each a mina (the equivalent of three months gross salary), and said to them, ‘put this money to work until I come back’. One of the interesting things to note today is that every single servant got the same mina. The lesson here is: opportunity is universal! God gives all of us opportunity. The bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:11, ‘The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong nor bread to the wise nor riches to men of understanding, nor favour to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all’. Opportunities show up numerous times for all of us during our lives but the difference between those who benefit from them and those who are left the same is a matter of preparation. The 10 servants each had exactly the same opportunity, but only two made something out of it. Ask your neighbour this question…Are you prepared for opportunity?

3 Money Management Principles

1.  Ownership Principle: In v.13b tells us, ‘he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. “Put this money to work’, he said, ‘until I come back”’. This is the fundamental principle of kingdom money management.  Every cent we have comes from God and belongs to Him.
2. Retention Principle: In v.27, the master said, ‘as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them – bring them here and kill them in front of me’! We must begin to understand that a consumer mentality turns us into God’s enemies! A consumer mentality means that we increase our standard of living every time we receive an increase in our income.  As a result, we squander what God has put in our hands and are left with nothing for His purposes.  You need to be at least saving 10% of your income each month, but that’s only if you want to survive in the future. To create real wealth, you need to be saving 30-40%.
3. Multiplication Principle. The 3rd servant just retained what he had been given but that was not enough. We read his master’s critique, ‘Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ Some of us may not be consumers but we like having a fat bank account. Money will always leave the hands of those who don’t use it well and come to the hands of those who know how to multiply it! If you have not trained your hands to be skilled in using money, then your money won’t stick to them but will instead flow to others.

Africa is hungry for a holistic kingdom gospel. Romans 8:29 says ‘The creation groans in eager expectation for the sons/daughters of God to be revealed’.  Children need to be educated, poverty eradicated, families reunited and resources to be well managed. Africa is waiting for you! You may be praying that God gives you a financial breakthrough this year. But what are you doing right now with the money He has already put at your disposal to extend His kingdom? Are you a tither? Which poor children are you educating? How much are you retaining? Are you a multiplier? In other words… are you prepared for opportunity? 

Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. We stream the sermon LIVE every Sunday 9AM GMT+3 here, bookmark and tune in. Sermon videos are usually uploaded to our YouTube channel