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:

1. You must maintain a daily intake of the Word of God. Matthew 4:4 says "Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit".  So anytime you read the scripture there’s a light that comes into your spirit. You must deliberately make up your mind to give yourself to the Word of God this year.
2. You must pray. In 1Thessalonians 5:17, the Bible says "Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  We should pray without ceasing. Prayer is not an advice but a command from God. There are some prayers that nobody can pray for you so you should cultivate the habit of praying. Your spiritual life is irrigated by your prayer life.
3. You must maintain a fasting life. In Isaiah 40:29-31 the bible says "he gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength". When you fast you are building inner strength. Fasting goes with praying, and it’s being stored so prayer is not a waste of time.
4. You must maintain a permanent hunger for God. In Matthew 5:6, the Bible says "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled".  Never get to a point that you are familiar with God, because there’s a side of Him that you don’t know. Never get to a point where you a satisfied with what you have achieved with God.
5. You must maintain righteousness Hosea 10:12 says

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.
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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.

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.