The opening scripture was from Luke 16:19-31.
This story wasn’t given to us so that we think because we have a lot of money we won’t make heaven. The love of money is the root of evil not money itself. Life does not start or end in this terrestrial sphere, there is a great beyond; eternity. There is a place called eternity which is one of the reasons Jesus told the parable so we can get ready for it. The second reason is to know that you can only be saved by the name of Jesus. God doesn’t punish people but punishes the devil and demons so whoever is a child of the devil suffers the punishment also. We can see this in Exodus 12:12. 1Samuel 6:4, the Bible says "The Philistines asked, "What guilt offering should we send to him?" They replied, "Five gold tumors and five gold rats, according to the number of the Philistine rulers, because the same plague has struck both you and your rulers". so, everybody has a God and it’s inside that God and you are entitled to the judgement of your Lord. Colossians 2:10 says "And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority". Psalm 91:1-9 says You will not fear the terror of night, nor nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling-"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust". Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Even the LORD, who is my refuge so when you are dwelling in God no devil can molest you. Hell is real and if you’re not a child of God you’ll go to hell, so how can you escape hell? Change your God to the real God. 2Corinthians 5:17-21 says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation". We are therefore making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. This Makes the child of God escape hell. We have a commission to tell people about Jesus so they can escape hell. We are ambassadors of Christ and have been given the mandate to ensure that the gospel is preached to everyone. Your constant mindset should be how to impact your community. Ecclesiastes 11:6 says "Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. So we should keep sowing seed. The seeds will eventual be yield results and be fruitful. Proverbs 24:10-12, says "If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this", does not he who weighs the heart perceive it Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done? So preach so that God will not require the blood of any man from you The opening scripture was from Ezekiel 34:1-16
God has given to every Christian the ministry of reconciliation. In 2Cor 3:5-6 the Bible says "Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God". "He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life". So from the scripture we can see that we are ministers of the New Testament. God empowers and enables us to be ministers. You don’t have to be ordained into the office of a Pastor for you to spread the message of redemption. In 2Kings 5:1-3 the bible says "Now Namaan was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant solider, but he had leprosy. Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy". the Syrian had compassion for Naaman and because of that encounter him and his family knew God". It is a great privilege to be called a Minister of the living God. Everyone that has the spirit of the Lord is a Minister of God. The question is where is your ministerial credential, is it impacting anyone? Your past must not define your future. Philippians 3:14 says "I press on on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus". In Psalm 119:46 the Bible says so we are not to be ashamed of preaching the gospel. The gospel doesn’t only guarantee salvation but also secures a place for you in heaven. In Luke 9:26 Jesus said, so if you’re ashamed of Jesus now he will be ashamed of you when He comes. Galatians 4:4-7 says "But when the time had fully come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba Father". So you no longer a slave, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir". We are sons of God not servants, so spread this good news. Your testimony is a weapon of transformation to the people around you. In John 4, Jesus met with the woman at the well and told her they worship what they do not know but we know what we worship. Jesus was saying in that passage to awake spiritually not for ourselves but for the plight of people around us. Our responsibility is not just for ourselves alone, we are blessed so we can become a blessing. We are blessed to be relevant in God’s agenda for the generation
2Cor 2:14 says God causes us to triumph in our business, career, marital and every area of our lives. People must be able to see the hand of God in your life so it challenges them to want to know your God. When Jesus is not your love and saviour the devil becomes your master. 2Peter 1:3-4 says "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires". So if you’re not a partaker of the divine nature then the devil will be. The evidence of the love for the people around us is to give our lives for them to hear the gospel. If we are loving people we are patterning our life like that of Jesus. You are not exhibiting the love of God when you see someone hooked up on drugs or in a toxic relationship and not bring the Word of God to them. In 2022, do not be concerned about only yourself but also about those that God have placed in your life. Every expectation that is selfish in nature will not be as endorsed as those that include to be a blessing to those around them. God wants our compassionate nature to be available to help other people. When you go about the Father’s business you will not lack anything. The only weapon God has given to us to help people is the power of the gospel. The gospel must be your priority. If you want a multiplication of favour just go about the Father’s business. Opening scripture: Romans 12:11 and Leviticus 6:12-13 We live in a world that makes it easy to run out of spirituality. In 2Timothy 3:1-4, the Bible says But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Spiritual awakening is keeping the altar fire burning. The ways to sustain the spiritual fire are:
So, be deliberate this year to sustain your spiritual life by studying God’s word, praying, fasting, knowing God more and being righteous. We’re talking about God’s definition of sexuality today and the opening scripture is from Romans 1:19-32.
Choice is one of the basic rights. You have to choose whether you want to subscribe to God’s idea of sexuality or what the world defines as sexuality. Matthew 5:14-15 says "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let you light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven". So those who walk in darkness are supposed to come to the light. God expects the church to preserve the values of the kingdom and impact the world with godly values. 2Timothy 3:16-17 says "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work". So when we preach in the church we are not preaching for condemnation but for reproof. The purpose of God from the time of creation has always been one man and woman. This is seen in Genesis 1:26-27. Also in Genesis 6:19 you can see that it has always been male and female. Leviticus 18:22 says "Do no lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable. Also in Leviticus 20:13 "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. The Bible also calls it an abomination. In 2Peter 2:4-8 shows how Lot felt about what the men requested to do because it is against God’s word. " For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgement; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued to happen to the ungodly; and and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless man (For that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by lawless deeds he saw and heard) In Jude 1:7 "In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion". The interpretation of strange flesh in this scripture means when people of the same sex are attracted to each other. So God’s definition of sexuality is between a man and a woman, this is how it should be anything outside of it is an abomination. The Word of God is so simple so get a version of the Bible that is easy for you to read and understand and study it! The opening scripture was from Romans 6:11-23. Please take time to read it.
One of the reasons why God demands purity from us is because it secures the maximization of the blessings God has in store for us. In Zechariah 3:1-8, here Joshua was filthy but it was the grace of God that bypassed his filth and blessed him. When grace speaks for you every other voice gets silenced. If you make yourself available to God, 2022 will be a walkover. When we live in a righteous way we make the Father proud. 1Peter 2:9 says from this passage we can see that we have been called to show the excellence and glory of God, so ask yourself are you a good representation of Jesus here on earth? Are you showing forth the excellence and glory of God? The kind of relationship that you cultivate also determines how your life will turn out. In Psalm 1:1-3 So, avoid relationships that will not improve your spiritual life. In 2Chronicles 18, we see how Jehoshaphat almost lost his life from wrong association with Ahab. When he cried out to God, God delivered him. We are ordained kings and priests so the devil guns for us, but when we cry out to God, He delivers us. 1Cor 10:13 says so temptation will keep coming but if you make up your mind to live for God you will escape it. The theme of this year, 2022 is Spiritual awakening and the theme scripture is Ephesians 5:1-14.
The significance of looking up is in two fold. One is repentance, conversion, getting back to the relationship with God. This year is a year for us to anoint our eyes and visions. We have to be constantly conscious of what the Lord is saying. In 2Cor 15:5 the bible says the faith in this verse means whether you are still a child of God. You have to examine your life to be able to answer that question. If we let God have His way there will be refreshing seasons for us this year. In Philippians 2:12-13 the bible says "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose". we can see from this passage that God has His own part to play and we have ours as well. We are looking at people who treated grace with levity but with the spiritually awakening of certain persons, God stepped in. The first person is Elijah. In 1Kings 18:21; 30-33 the bible says But now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, do not know about it. He has sacrificed great numbers of cattle, fattened calves, and sheep, and has invited all the king's sons, Abiathar the priest and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. My lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to learn from you who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise, as soon as my lord the king is laid to rest with his fathers, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals" I will surely carry out today what I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place. Then Bathsheba bowed low with her face to the ground and, kneeling before the king, said "May my lord David live forever!" King David said, "Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada". When they came before the king, he said to them: "Take your lord's servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. This scripture shows the importance of not faltering and having divided beliefs but believing only in God. If you’re going to enter into the fullness of the blessings of God for your life, your spiritual altar has to be repaired. Spiritual awakening is what will trigger divine manifestation. The second person is Samuel. In 1Samuel 7:3 the bible says "And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel "If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then rid yourself of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines". the enemy has access to you when your life is not right with God. When you are a part of God’s team, He fights your battles for you. The third person is Jehoshaphat 2Chronicles 17:3 the bible says The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because in his early years he walked in the ways his father David had followed. He did not consult the Baals but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel". The first thing he did was to introduce the people back to God. Our knowledge of the word of God must go an inch higher than what it was in 2021. If you read the Bible like a newspaper you will not be able to fully grasp the blessings of the Lord. You have to go into the Word to know what the plan and purpose of God is for your life in every situation and your expectation will not be cut off. We also have to take prayer seriously as prayer is the Christian’s vital breath. Always remember that everything answers to spiritual awakening. Isaiah 60:1-7 says
Gods wants us to shine in spite of the darkness across the the land. When light appears darkness does not have a chance but to disappear. You cannot shine or make an impact to the people around you when you live like them. God wants us to shine in the midst of darkness but when you want to do it your own way He will let you. We will look at the lives of Esther, Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-Nego on how they were able to shine in the midst of darkness. In the book of Esther, the King on the prompting of Haman made a decree that all the Jews be killed. Esther fasted and prayed and was able to step in for the Jews. The decree was reversed and Haman was the one who ended up being killed. Many people then became Jews as a result of the Jews being delivered. So from the scriptures we can see that light will always bring multiplication. Therefore, be the light wherever you find yourself, be it your workplace, school or neighbourhood. In the book of Daniel chapter 3, Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-Nego refused to bow before the man-made god. They were thrown into a fiery furnace but they were not consumed rather the people saw a fourth man in the fire with them. The King, Nebuchadnezzar, blessed God and declared there was none like Him; he also promoted Shadrach, Meshack and Abed-Nego. It is important to stand for what you believe and what God has instructed. If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for everything. When you pass through the water or a fiery furnace, God is with you. God will always be with you so do not be shaken. You can only invoke the manifestation of the power of God when you decide to be a light in this dark world. You however have to be consistent, consistency matters a lot, do not waver in your faith. So keep the faith because God never fails. Every human set up is designed to move you to a new level. Do not hide your Christian identity whether at work or school. Expose your light to the world and see what God will do. As we go into 2022, make up your mind to worship God because of who He is and not what He gives you. Thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude for favour received. Gratitude is the feeling of sentiment of kindness. We are living in a world that does not give God glory; self love is replacing God love. There is a sense of ingratitude in the world today.
Glory is honour, praise, worship and thanksgiving to a deity. Philippians 4:6 says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. Whatever you focus on magnifies so focus on thanking God. The ultimate description for thanksgiving is sacrifice that’s why the Bible says in Hebrews 13:15 "Through Jesus, therefore let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise- the fruit of lips that confess his name". When you see pain as punishment it will be painful but if you see it as a process to your promotion you will endure it. So, have an attitude of gratitude, in that challenge give God thanks and you will definitely come out victorious. Learn to appreciate what you are, who you are and the God you serve; and He will reward you. Three things that thanksgiving does:
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AuthorPst. Paul Omonua Archives
January 2022
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