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Leviticus 26:3-13 says You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.
The above verse tells us about the terms and conditions to appropriating the blessings of God. God has His own part to play and we have our own part to play. The first thing is to believe in the price that Jesus paid for us. This is important because what you believe is what you become. The second thing is that we should recognize that God has already empowered us. Stop having a victim mentality, God has given us power as seen in Luke 10:19. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. The third thing is sacrifice. In Hebrews 9:6-9 the bible says these preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age) According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper. So you can see the importance of sacrifice. Also in Psalm 50:5 the bible says "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice! So we need to make a sacrifice and sacrifice doesn’t mean killing of animals or offering blood sacrifice but it’s a sacrifice of praise as seen in Hebrews 13:15. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. At all times we should bless the Lord in-spite of the challenges we face. Stop holding grudges against God, whether or not you feel He didn’t answer your prayers yet, still praise Him. Another level of sacrifice that is acceptable to the Lord is the sacrifice of your time, resources and anything that improves God’s house. This is seen in Hebrews 13:16 which says Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. So, whatever you do for God, He will not forget your labour of love. In Romans 12:1-2, the Bible says I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of you mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. The greatest sacrifice is keeping your bodies holy, living right for God. Jesus was slain to give us power, blessings, riches and so much more; it is called the great exchange. 2Corthinans 8:9 & Isaiah 53:5 confirms this. For you know the grace of our LORD Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. The opening scripture is from 1Timothy 4:6-16
There is no school for you to learn how to be a father, it’s something you learn on the job. You have to learn how to be a father by being a father. God has given us the Word to be a guide on how to be impactful fathers. The system here is designed to emasculate men. If you’re going to build your values on the values that the system gives you’ll be frustrated. So build your values on the Word of God. In Titus 2:7 the bible says "Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us". Every man is a king, prophet and a priest In 2Chronicles 34:1-the bible says "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem". We can see from the scripture that Josiah walked in the pattern of David, this is the kind of impact the Lord wants fathers to have. A fatherless generation will always do what is right in their own eyes. Therefore, it is important for every father to take responsibility so their children will do what is right in the sight of God. As we have positive patterns we also have negative patterns as seen in 2Chronicles 28:1-5. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done, but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. JUDA DEFEATED- Therefore the LORD his God gave him into the hand of the king of Syria, who defeated him and took captive a great number of his people and brought them to Damascus. He was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, who struck him with great force. Be an example of a believer in love, purity, positive communications so your children can follow after your positive patterns. Genesis 26-28 covered the life of Isaac, he was a father of impact. Isaac was a person of faith, he never wavered when his wife, Rebekah was barren. Isaac was a man of peace, there is no record of Isaac fighting a battle. Isaac was a man of diligence and finally he was a child of obedience. When you are a man that is conscious that you are a seed of Abraham, you will not loose your crown. So ensure the study the Word of God, follow the examples of men like Isaac and you will definitely be an impactful father Agents of latter glory are wanted. The Bible says in Haggai 2:7-9 "And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, And I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts". The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD OF hosts". This passage makes every right thinking believer stand on his feet. The greater story of this church is not behind but it’s in front. What God has done with you is introductory it’s small compared to His wholistic plan for your life. God is leading you to a place greater than what you have ever experienced.
What is glory? Glory is the overpowering presence of God. There is a difference between present and presence, we are in a generation where people go to church for God’s present not His presence. Whatever you are looking for is in His presence. God is looking for acute seekers for His presence and He will be ever present so even when the present expires he can give a new one. Ask yourself, Why are am I here? Is if for His presence of what He can offer? In 1Samuel 4:5-21 the bible says As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, All Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting they said, "What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?", And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, "A god has come into the camp". And they said, "Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. Take courage and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight". So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. The Death of Eli A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, "What is this uproar?" Then the man hurried and came and told Eli, "I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today". And he said, "How did it go, my son?" He who brought the news answered and said, "Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured". As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years. Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son". But she did not answer or pay attention. And she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured". God was interested in the relationship and not the structure. From this passage we can see the tragedy of the absence of God. They are: 30,000 soldiers were lost, the ark was taken away by the uncircumcised philistines, two sons of Eli died, Eli died and his daughter in law had an emergency labour. What was important was the relationship with God, so ask yourself do you have a personal relationship with God? 2 Samuel 6:11 says "And the ark of the LORD continued in the house of Obedeoom the Gittite three months; and the LORD blessed Obedeom and all his household. Therefore, you must fully surrender to God instead of surrendering full-time to the devil. Remember to be a committed believer so you can receive God's Glory. In our generation, we need to bring back the ark, we need to move beyond routine services and worship. God has a standard and it is uncompromising. As we look forward to greater revival, we must use God’s standard. It doesn’t matter where you are coming from, your case is different because you have a covenant with God. For every young person this is the time of your madness for the Kingdom, to do the work of Him that sent you. You cannot be facing a full time devil while you’re a part time Christian. Come up full time for God you will never regret it! 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 3:3 the bible says "Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes". Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you". 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 "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light". 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 "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he mediates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers". 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 " No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it". So temptation will keep coming but if you make up your mind to live for God you will escape it. |
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June 2023
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