God's measure of success is not worldly achievement but humble obedience and openness to His working. From Moses' mixed record of faith and failure, through Ananias and Sapphira's tragic deceit, to Paul's call to walk by the Spirit, the message urges believers to live under the New Covenant with sincerity and surrender. Where hearts are quick to repent and yield to the Spirit, divine grace brings renewal both personally and corporately, what Scripture calls revival.
The Holy Spirit speaks through the Word of God, guiding believers in decisions, convicting of sin, and bringing renewal to those who listen. The Old Testament reveals many lessons about the Spirit's work, how His light directs our steps, how Scripture exposes disobedience, and how obedience unlocks the Lord's response. The Word of God, living and active, never returns empty but brings real change to those who honour and trust it. True spiritual life and power grow quietly yet surely where God's Word is read, believed, and obeyed.
Being filled with the Spirit requires not just a matter of emotion or human effort, but of surrender, allowing the Holy Spirit to take control so that what flows from us reflects His will rather than just our skill. In Acts 6 and 7 we see how ordinary believers, chosen for practical service, became instruments for extraordinary purposes when they were full of faith, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit. When we trust God's leading and obey even in small tasks, He often expands His work through us far beyond what we plan, providing what is needed and directing events for His glory.
Jesus calls us to enter His Kingdom as helpless dependents, like infants in arms. This challenges our notions of self-sufficiency. Wealth often hinders our ability to come to Christ in this manner, as illustrated by the rich young ruler. True faith isn't about what we bring to the table or our level of commitment, but about recognising our complete dependence on God's grace. This understanding radically alters how we approach salvation and our relationship with Christ.
The transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant brought a shift in emphasis from trust in the system of temple worship and sacrifices to a faith in the efficacy of the death of Christ on the cross. In the going past the emphasis on the temple sacrifices, God was teaching that sin still required a payment. While obedience remains important, the heart of Christianity is simple faith in God’s provision to overcome our sins. Faith is required everywhere throughout the Bible. This faith-centred approach doesn't negate the need for righteous living but recognises that our acceptance is based on belief rather than perfect conduct. The shift to the New Covenant is a time when God’s ultimate provision in the death of His Son bearing our sins has been made visible in the Gospel message. Jesus, having paid the ultimate price, is the rightful owner and most devoted lover of His Church. As believers, we must be cautious not to let worldly pursuits or self-reliance draw us away from our faith, even while our salvation remains secure in Christ.
"Not only in terms of physically, economically, in terms of your development of job and whatever. Do we have that same desire to be established? But I think it's true of us all as Christians, the part of what the Scriptures tell us in the book of Romans, the whole of the idea of the book of Romans is about not only coming to Christ, but also getting established."
"The judgement of God falling upon a particular place, two towns, Sodom and Gomorrah and their sin had come up before the Lord and so in the way the Bible expresses God to us God says let us go down and have a look or let us go and make a visit and there is a way of using language in the scriptures that talks about God coming and doing a visitation."

