The Conviction of Abundant Life Covenant Church can be summed up in three words – Hope , Healing and Health. We call them the Biblical pillars of ALCC. We passionately and committedly chose to reach out with this message of Hope , Healing and Health to as many people as possible in our city of Brampton , across the Greater Toronto Area and throughout the World.
Hope assured
Biblical living hope is neither wishful thinking nor a mere desire for something we’d like to have happen. Instead, the Bible consistently presents hope as a confident expectation, an assuredness about what is to happen in the future, and even an anticipation of that future. In other words, hope is the essence of the Christian life. Our God is a God of hope, for he is the object of our hope. This is why theologian Charles Spurgeon could say to those burdened with guilt and depression, “Mountains, when in darkness hidden, are as real as in day, and God’s love is as true to you now as it was in your brightest moments.” We have hope in God because of the love with which he has loved us. He did not “spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all,” and we can be sure he will give us all things for our good. This Biblical hope is summed up in 1 Peter 1:3-9.
The world’s hope is a “hope-so” but the believers view of hope is a “know-so.” What does biblical hope do for us? It changes the way we live. It changes our perspective about what we are going through today. It allows us to live today with the end in mind. It changes what we think might be important to what really is important. It even changes how we see ourselves, both today and into eternity.
Healing released
Healing is released in the presence of God’s love. The foundation for God’s unconditional love is God’s amazing Grace. God’s amazing Love and Grace is summed up in the scripture passage:
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39 NIV)
The ministry of healing is at the centre of divine atonement and Christ’s sacrificial death. The two sides of the cross are: Christ is wounded for us so that we may be healed; we are wounded for Christ so that others may be healed through us. Our hearts need to be broken by what breaks God’s heart. The ministry of healing is at the centre of the Gospels and the early churches. The Bible is full of references to healing. The Gospel is good news because it gives us hope that we can be made whole again.
The Gospel is about healing the whole person—spiritual, physical, emotional, intellectual, relational and financial. The healing is even extended to the nations (see Revelation 22:2) and the cosmos (see Romans 9:19-21).
The Bible is full of healing scriptures and points to the work of the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Isaiah 61:1).
“He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18).
“He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Matthew 10:1).
Health renewed
Health is renewed when healing is released through the radical, unconditional aspect of God’s love and it is a deeper renewal. God always begins with the individual and when the individual experiences a touch of the Supernatural in the natural realm, they are healed in all aspects of their life. A truly healed individual now becomes a change agent in the community and society around them. They now desire and work towards fostering radical changes in the Socio-Economic, Political, Religious, Cultural and Financial realms in their communities and society around them.