Built for Adversity, Not Comfort: Why We Never Moved to Brisbane

Sermon outline

Everything God has done through their ministry came from His plan and His favour, so the church must stand firm through adversity, give from the heart, guard against deception and live ready for Christ's return.

1. God had a purpose and a plan

   In 1988, sponsored by Pastor Zubeda's brothers, they had residence visas for Australia and were due to land in Brisbane on 21 December, while at the same time he was transferred to Johannesburg on promotion. He went and saw the place but did not emigrate, because God had a purpose and a plan for them here. All through the Bible, when God had a plan He used a man or a woman. He adds that coming into ministry from secular employment teaches you every facet of life.

   Illustration: When he told one of his granddaughters about the move that never happened, she pointed out that if they had gone to Brisbane none of the grandchildren would be here, which showed him how sharp children are.

   “I went, I saw the place, I didn't emigrate, I stayed here because God had a purpose and a plan.”

2. Christianity is built for adversity

   Christianity is not built for comfort, and believers must learn to fight the devil, who fights in the mind. That is why the church has been focusing on the mind as a battlefield: Satan throws fiery darts to tell you that you are worthless, unacceptable and shameful before God, but Jesus says you are free indeed.

   “Christianity, I said to you a long time ago, is not built for comfort. It's built for adversity.”

   • Ephesians 6:16
   • John 8:36

3. We have come a long way

   He thanks every family that has played its part, some still here and some who have moved on. They made the most of the little they had: Pastor Zubeda drove the Kombi to bring people to church, while he and Wesley cleaned toilets and prepared the grounds, as the church moved from a school hall in Constantia Park to Avoca, to the building downstairs and then to where it is now. He estimates that the television programmes reached over 300 million people, and gives God all the glory for the miracles, deliverances and favour along the way.

   Illustration: People in a ministry are like scaffolding: each plays a part, and some are there for ever and some for a season.

   “Some are forever and some are for a season.”

   • Colossians 1:13
   • Psalm 30:5

4. Don't believe everything you see

   Pastors once said television was of the devil, yet God used it for the gospel. Today online videos spread wild claims and attack men of God, especially prosperity preachers, but God has seen fit to bless them, and the children of this world are often wiser than the children of the kingdom. No one is called to speak ill of another man of God: if you don't understand it, leave it, because God hired that person and God will deal with them.

   Illustration: Jerry Savelle went into debt to buy a plane before God's time. God told him He had promised a plane, not debt; He provided the money to pay it off, had Jerry Savelle sell it on to Happy Caldwell, and since then he has been given several jets free of charge.

   “If you don't understand it, shelve it.”

   • Luke 16:8

5. God judges the heart

   Troubled in the early hours of the morning, he got up to study why Abel's offering was accepted and Cain's rejected. Cain brought produce from ground God had cursed after the fall, while Abel brought the firstling of his flock, which spoke of a blood covenant. God judges the heart, not the outside, so give to God cheerfully, not grudgingly, because our life and breath are in His hands.

   “So when you give to God, you don't give God grudgingly. You give him hilariously.”

   • Genesis 3:17
   • Genesis 4:3-10
   • 1 Samuel 16:7
   • 2 Corinthians 9:7

6. We are living in the last days

   Jesus spoke of wars and rumours of wars, earthquakes, famines and pestilences, and he points to the news of threats of nuclear war and of war breaking out in Israel as signs of the end time. He also warns that new technology is being welcomed by young people who don't know what the Bible says about the last days. Even the elect could be deceived, so believers must stay alert, but they are not lost: Christ will return for His church, His bride, and we have a High Priest interceding for us.

   Illustration: One day a family will knock on a believer's door and find that she has been raptured.

   “We know our journey. We know where we are going to.”

   • Matthew 24:6-7
   • 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
   • Hebrews 7:25
   • 1 Peter 2:9
   • Matthew 24:24
   • Revelation 1:7

7. A very balanced word

   Years ago, praying on the staircase of the school before a meeting, he heard God give him two instructions: do not make the church a marketplace, and do not teach one truth of the Bible at the expense of another. So the church has learned about faith, hope, walking in love and overcoming life's obstacles, with prayer as its weapon and the right to use the name of Jesus, our High Priest.

   “You will not make the church a marketplace.”

   • Hebrews 4:14