The fatal human trait of blaming others for the things that go wrong in our lives, will always leave us at the mercy of others. Blaming others is not empowering; it traps us in failure rather that building our character. The solution is short term and often painful... we need to take responsibility for our life and the outcome of our choices, especially when they go wrong! The Bible offers a perfect solution and with lots of help along the way.

Fasting is a form of self discipline... exercising personal humility. Prayer is a form of self discipline... exercising spiritual humility.

There are two main identities that God reveals about himself when dealing with us on a personal level. The first identity he takes on is "Father" and the second main identity he takes on is "Friend". God takes on these identities so he can be better visualised and easily understood. These identities make it a lot simpler to know how to approach him and what to build our expectations upon. The salvation message of repentance, water baptism and the receiving (anointing) of the Holy Spirit gives us new status, or a fresh start.

The world is full of fake news and fake gospels. We can't always fact check the news, but we can always fact check the salvation gospel and its content: by comparing the Bible with the works God is doing with his people.

It should not be surprising that the church of God is structured on the same principles as the family unit. Almost all the benefits and challenges of a family are also part of church life. The Bible offers some wonderful insight.

The differences between King Saul and King David can teach us a lot about ourselves. Having good intentions and actually performing them require different approaches. Thus, the salvation and overcoming message in the bible, teaches us how to make better spiritual choices, because it shows us how to think, then how to act.

Many people get confused over the method and principles by which God saves his people from their human shortcomings and sins. We are not subject to a balance sheet of good verses evil every week to see if we are passing or failing. Just as our clothing covers our nakedness, the indwelling Holy Spirit, covers our spiritual on an ongoing manner. Thus, Jesus not only protects us from the powers of sin and temptation, but from the penalty of such weakness... every minute of the day.

The world is on the brink of a disaster that will eliminate almost all forms of human and animal life. This is the second time that the bible has recorded such far reaching disasters... the first time was the great flood and the next and soon to come calamity relates to the fiery death for almost all forms of life. God had Noah build an ark to save those who believed the prophecy of the coming flood and Jesus Christ is building another ark... called the church; which will also deliver those who prepare for the coming fire. Both destructive judgements are the result of human rebellion against the principles of God.

Our memory is a very unreliable keeper of the truth. Due to a variety of reasons we forget things... we forget facts and truths. When something is forgotten, then those memories are unable to be shared with others and that particular truth can be lost forever. Mankind has consistently forgotten the things that God has done for them; hence many are unaware of His promises. Just as the passing of time assists us to forget historical facts (allowing it to be rewritten); so to has mans potential relationship with God been distorted. God keeps us in touch with the truth through the continuous working of the Holy Spirit; always prompting us to offer the truth of Eternal Life to others. God's memory doesn't dim or change with the passing of time. Now that we are filled with His Spirit, we should never forget who we are, or what we stand for.

This talk is part 2 of a series, part 1 being titled Chasing The Wrong Dream (18th October 2020). It is suggested that you listen to that talk first. This talk was delivered to the Fresno Fellowship on 29th October 2020. It is further noted that Pastor Brad also delivered this talk to the Brisbane Fellowship on 1st November 2020. There are slight differences in the talks but the notes are the same.