Crc London - Pastor Thabo Marais

Living a life of More Than Enough is a deep desire of many of God’s children. However, there is a process that God takes us through, so that we may cultivate a heart of compassion and resist the nature of instant gratification. From identifying needs around us, to accepting and believing that we are blessed, God prepares His willing children for a journey to the More Than Enough; He teaches and reminds us to bless, break and give, even in our most desperate seasons, so that we may step into the season of More Than Enough in every area of our lives. In this sermon Pastor Thabo Marais shares the seven stages of living in the More Than Enough that God has for us. As we progress from one stage to another, God molds us into who He has created us to be; children who are indeed created to live in the season of More Than Enough.

We should never underestimate the power of small beginnings, for it is a single word, thought or action that can influence a series of other events to occur. Whether we want it or not, choose it or not, we are all caught up in an event that happened almost 6000 years ago. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo defines the Ripple Effect. There have been two significant events that have impacted mankind for the last six millennia. The first was a single act of disobedience when Adam and Eve ate from a tree they were forbidden to touch. The result was a curse set upon the generations to follow; to live in death and destruction. The second ripple in time was an act of one man’s complete obedience to sacrifice himself on the cross. In that single moment was the gift of eternal life and reconciliation with the Father. Two stones have been thrown, and each of us are living in the ripples created by both. Now we need to make a choice as to which ripple we ride.

So many people today, whether they are Christians or not, are simply going through the daily motions; directionless and following what the media and society tells them they should want or need. They are defenceless against the negative influences of the worldly and the world. However, Jesus doesn’t want His people to live dependant, disinterested, directionless or defenceless. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo speaks on the topic “From Sheep to Shepherd.” When Jesus came to us, He came as the lamb of sacrifice and through death and resurrection became the Good Shepherd, leading God’s people to truth and freedom. There is a difference between following Jesus as one of His sheep and following Him as a shepherd. As children of God we need to make a choice to accept the commission Jesus has given us and become a leader that gathers, guides, teaches and protects our fellow brothers and sisters.

As children of God, we must learn to become faithful and wise. A life characterised by faithfulness and wisdom is pleasing to God and, therefore, we must pursue these two things very readily. However, to increase in our wisdom, we must learn to learn, and increase in our learning. By staying teachable and open to learning new things and heeding to wise counsel, God is able to relay new ideas to us, which makes us wiser. On the other hand, our faithfulness is shown by our multiplication. When we are faithfulness with this, God makes us even more faithful and wise. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais teaches the importance of being faithful and wise, as these are intertwined to become the children of God that He has created for us to be.

Living in the world, it is easy for us to get Disinterested, Discouraged and Dissatisfied with our lives. When it comes to the things of God, we delay and procrastinate in building His house before our own. Yet, with correction God always offers a great solution. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo takes us through the book of Haggai to show us the way back to God, and to offer the encouragement needed to follow His will. It is time that we took a look at our own lives, think hard about it and realise that to, once again, be fruitful means we must sacrifice and give of our time and money for the kingdom. We must understand that it is Jesus’ presence among us that produces the glory in the end.

The most important relationship a person will ever have in their lives is the relationship with Jesus Christ. After the fall of man, God has not given up His pursuit to reconcile that lost relationship and has created many opportunities throughout history to reach us. It is the day of Pentecost and, in this sermon, Pastor Thabo takes us back to the deliverance of God’s people out of Egypt. He explains how each step, from Passover to freedom, is a direct reflection of the harvest of His church today. God’s law has always shown us how we fall short of heaven’s standards, and it is Jesus Christ who has provided the only way to reconcile with our Father. To become born again means we have become clean on the inside. Now, we are prepared to meet God and receive the greatest gift He gave us after salvation – the Holy Spirit.

We are all called to be game changers to this world that we live in. Whether it be changing the game to your work place to changing the game in your own sphere of influence, Jesus showed how He was the ultimate game changer by dying for us. It is through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus that we are able to stand here with confidence in God. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais, emphasises how Satan introduced sin into the human nature. We are all born into this sinful world therefore sin is innate in us. But Jesus was the solution to the problem. Through Him death is eliminated and eternal life is now available to those who choose it. We were created to have an intimate relationship with God to become exactly what He has created us to be.

When we become born again we expect our lives to change and the situations we find ourselves in to become better, but with little effort from ourselves. We are told, “Ask and you shall receive,” yet have very little patience or perseverance to see our prayers manifest. We have heard in the previous sermons that, in order for our lives to change, we must be the Game Changers. We need to create a purpose within ourselves and we must lean on the foundations to build strong lives within the kingdom. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo takes us deeper into what it means to be a Game Changer. God is a spiritual being and when you become born again you are reborn into that spirituality with His DNA. And,like Him, you are reborn with an extravagantly generous heart. Generosity is an attitude that shows what you are made of, and who you are part of. Jesus came to exemplify the Father, who is the very essence of extravagant generosity and compassion. It is this part of us that makes us the Game Changers, not just in our own

We know that in every society and every community there are those who struggle and those who prosper. Many times we find ourselves on the side of those who struggle and constantly wonder how to change our situation to be the one who prospers. If we look closely we see that, quite simply, those who prosper focus on the basic foundations and build upon those. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo speaks about the importance of God’s foundations. When Jesus came He did not come to do away with the principles that God created, but to restore them and then build upon them. Many of us have grown comfortable with the way the world is, but God wants us to change our mediocre situation to a prosperous one. To do that we must embrace God’s word, trust it as the truth and be obedient to the principles. God wants us to be ‘Game Changers,’ and that means to value the fundamentals and build on the ultimate foundation – Jesus Christ!

So many of us go through life surviving our situation, maintaining the status quo and missing opportunities to be part of something bigger than ourselves. However, we need to realise that God did not intend for us to live mediocre lives. We have an anointing and a God who speaks to us continuously with new ideas and opportunities to change the landscape around us – to be Game Changers! In this sermon, Pastor Thabo MARAIS speaks to us about Jesus as the ultimate Game Changer. He came to us with a game-changing purpose, a game-changing message and a game-changing commission. As children of God, we also have that DNA and were meant to be the element in our current situations that create such a significant shift that takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary. To become a great leader we must not only become self-aware, but be aware of the needs and emotions of others. We need to create a purpose within ourselves that serves, improves, helps and inspires.

It is God’s desire for His people to live by activated faith, not just their knowledge of faith. In order to to activate our faith, God brings us to the heat, in the form of our leaders and challenges that we face as Christians. Since faith is what you believe put into action, we must believe in our God who is bigger and stronger than any circumstance. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais, speaks about the importance of activating our faith in God and releasing the power of God in our lives. It is essential for us to live by activated faith to face what is to come.

We all dream but sometimes we have to ask ourselves of why we dream. Joseph, a significant character in the Bible, was known for dreaming in a way that showed supernatural visions. It was amazing to see how God used Joseph's dreams to put him in a place where all he could do was depend on God. Even though Joseph was put in a pit and prison, God still took care of him and made sure that Joseph was not harmed. Within this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais, emphasises how important it is for us to stay faithful and true to our Father despite the fact that we may be put in our "pits" or "prisons". Every dream shall come to pass if it is in line with God's will. Dream a new dream as we serve a big God.

Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, as He took our sin and died on the cross for every person. Every person is already forgiven and has the choice to have eternal life through repentance. Due to Jesus’ sacrifice for us, He allows us to make a demand upon His blood so that we may be set free from sin. In this sermon Pastor Thabo Marais shares the good news for everyone to hear. There is power in the blood of Jesus, to save mankind and to heal any sickness and disease. Jesus’ blood can still bring restoration and breakthrough, if a personal demand is made.

God wants his people to have His grace and peace multiplied in their lives, yet so few Christians live fully in either. We still struggle with the hopelessness of sin, moral conflict, passion and other fears that violate God’s perfect will. We speak negativity into our lives instead of praising and giving thanks for how God has taken us from where we were. We try to build a relationship with God through a church service or through what others say. However, a truly deep relationship can only be built when we spend time with Him in prayer and in reading the Word. In this sermon Pastor Thabo explains how God’s grace is given to us through His son Jesus Christ, and that in accepting this grace we also receive His peace. Therefore, in order to have grace and peace multiplied and increased in our lives we need full, personal, precise and correct knowledge of who Jesus is and who the Father is. We find encouragement in that we are in the right place to find that connection with Him, rest is up to us.

An attitude can portray many things about us as individuals, especially when it is positive or negative. When we have a certain attitude, it can be revealed through our physical body language and mental attitude towards the things we do. Therefore, it is vital to have a positive attitude and know that God is for you. Never let a negative attitude cloud your ability to change that attitude into a positive one. God has created his children to be positive and diligent, and only a great attitude towards God and His Kingdom is able to transform us into who we are called to be. In this sermon Pastor Thabo clarifies the importance of maintaining a positive physical and mental attitude, so that we may pursue a life that pursues Jesus and His Kingdom with the right attitude.

It is essential for every Born-Again Christian to know and live the will of God. However, when our flesh encounters the will of God, it conflicts with our minds and can be encountered as an enemy. In spite of this, God wants us to seek His will just like His Son Jesus did. Jesus had to bear the pain and glory of the encounters that He had with God and therefore, we must do the same. An encounter with God lends itself to a godly transformation in our lives so that we may live for God and to our full potential in Him. In this sermon Pastor Thabo delves deeper into the will of God for our lives. Since God has made us for Himself, we ought to live for Him too, like Jesus did on earth.

Throughout our walk with Jesus we become doctors, teachers, nurses, mothers, engineers and even start our own businesses. Yet, as Christians we need to reaLise that this is only part of our identity. Much of who God made us to be doesn't just rest in our profession, but in the circle of influence that profession allows us to inhabit. As children of God, we are called and empowered by Him to become soul winner’S and to use each of our situations to reach out to others. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo speaks about how in our walk with Jesus we in fact are in a partnership; working with Him to change our hearts and mindsets to that of a servant, and to ovecome the obstacles that hold us back. As our love for people deepens, we BECOME fishers of men and reconnect the lost with the Father.

God wants us to give people the undiluted truth and be unashamed of the gospel. He also wants us to be unashamed of the things that we do for Him, so that Jesus will not be ashamed of us. Not only are we called to be loud and unashamed about His Kingdom, so that people can know about the glory of God, we are also called to be edified by Godly authority that He himself places in our lives. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais encourages the believer to become unashamed about Jesus and celebrate what He is doing in the church. In spite of the persecution and opinions of others, we are Jesus’ unashamed church!

God loves it when His children make an effort to please Him. However, it takes ‘killing the flesh’ to make this effort. Although the flesh tries to overpower our souls and Godly desires so that we are forced to operate in our carnal nature, the Word of God is mighty and more powerful; able to overcome any ungodly desire. In this sermon, Pastor Thabo Marais teaches the importance of killing the flesh by the Word of God, which never leaves us ineffective but empowers us to flee the desires that oppose the Holy Spirit.

God has always called His people to draw close to Him both spiritually and physically. It is on the mountain of prayer where they can touch, speak to and hear from Him. Today, in Jerusalem, God’s children are obstructed from being able to the travel up the holy mountain to pray at the temple. Those occupying the mountain force His people to pray in the valley where physical closeness to God is minimal. It will always take great effort and a willingness to fight the natural to obtain that which God has set aside for His people. In this sermon Pastor Thabo Marais teaches the importance of not allowing the enemy to occupy your mountain. It is impossible to have a relationship with Jesus Christ unless you live a life of prayer. It is the effort in reaching the top of the mountain of prayer that reveals the true depth of our devotion. In sacrificing the comfort of our wants, our schedules and our personal time, He reveals his secrets and plans to us. In prayer, we deepen our relationship with God, and through tha