Sunday Service 24/09/12. Sermon Topic: The New Man

Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17

“For the love of Christ constrain us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead. And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.”

The above passage talks about believers in Christ, who have received the nature of God and become a new man. The new man ceases to live for himself but starts living for God because God puts his Spirit within him. The Spirit of God begins to bear fruits and one of the fruits of the spirit is love.  God himself is love. The God kind of love gives sacrificially without expecting anything back. 

John 3: 16: “For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

The nature of God begins to develop in the new man the more he comes into an intimate relationship with God. The new man takes on the divine nature of God. This divine nature of God constrains the new man to love people unconditionally. It becomes easy to love the unlovable and to forgive those who have offended him. This Agape love makes the new man go out of his way to help even when it is not convenient. The divine love of God flows freely from within him. The love of God within the new man also makes him to believe in the promises of God because faith works by love.   

Galatians 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor circumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”

Since the flesh of Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross and rose from the dead with a new body, God no more recons with the flesh but with the spirit of man that is resurrected with Christ. God expects us to identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our flesh must be crucified with Christ because whatever is done in the flesh is not acceptable unto God. As far God is concerned the flesh does not exist, it is crucified. That is why the bible says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. God does not evaluate us from a human point of view; but looks deep down into the spirit of man.

Galatians 2: 20. ^“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

God also wants us to evaluate people from his perspective. If we continue to view people according to the flesh we will fail to perceive the real person that God has created in his own image. God deposits his gifts in the spirit of man. We must not evaluate people from a human point of view. People must be viewed the way God sees and values them. Any work of the flesh whether good or bad is no value from God’s perspective.

 Jesus did not give up on Peter because Peter later became the Apostle to the Jews. God did not view Saul from a human perspective and he later became an Apostle to the Gentiles. Jesus Christ was viewed by many from a human point of view. Many people did not have the revelation of the glory of God that was residing within him. This glory was revealed to Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration.  

Luke 9: 28-29. “Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.”

As a new man in Christ, the old way of life is passed away and things have become new.  The old man lived without God. Without Christ we are on our own even though we try to live as best as we can. However as a true Christian, Christ himself comes to reside in us and we are led by his spirit as we learn to rely on him.  Christianity is supposed to be a way of life and not a religion.

2 Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.”

We must allow the Lord to occupy the driver seat of our lives while we seat beside him as the passenger. The Lord himself will take us to places we have never imagined. Many Christians prefer to be the driver. They feel comfortable having God as a front passenger. Some only allow him in the back seat of their lives while they allow their friends and family in the front seat. The Lord is however faithful to his word because he says “I will never leave you nor forsake you. When you have made a mess of your life and cry unto the Lord, he will answer you and show you where you have missed it. You then need to go back to that place and surrender completely to Christ.

Prayer: I ask O Lord that you enlarge the capacity of my thirst and hunger for you.

Enjoy the blessings of God. 

Sunday Service 16/09/12. Topic of Sermon: Waiting upon the Lord

Isaiah 40: 27-31 (NKJV): “Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God”?  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Waiting upon God can be described as waiting and looking out for God. When we begin to sense his presence, we must follow him according to his leadings. We should become fully focused on God like a waiter in a restaurant waiting on the customer. During the time of waiting the first thing to do is to share our feelings with God. We can then begin to spend more time in the word of God and more time in heart to heart fellowship with God. You will then begin to hear his voice. Waiting upon God draws us to the heart and mind of God in order to know what is in his mind and for us find out what he wants us to do. Waiting upon God brings us to a state of surrender where God takes over and we begin to move in his strength and wisdom.

The book of John 8: 1-11 tells the story of the woman caught in adultery. The men had picked up stones and ready to stone her to death according to the Jewish law. They however wanted to know Jesus’ view about their intention.  Jesus had to wait upon God for instructions. He was not distracted by the situation, but he focused on God for direction. He received a word of wisdom from God and said “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” All the men with their stones became powerless and subdued. They dropped their stones and walked away in shame. The wisdom of God gives power and strength.  

Many Christians are not ready to repent and come back to the heart of God. They want God to bless them at the place where they are. They are not willing to seek the heart of God to find out what God really has in stock for them. Though they identify with the cross, they have moved far away from the heart of God to the east and west of the cross seeking the hands of the Lord. However the heart of the Lord remains in the centre of the cross. Every time we are far away from the heart of God, our minds become polluted. It then becomes difficult for the Lord to hear our prayers not to talk of answering them. Imagine a visitor at your door. You can only open the door if you hear the door bell or a knock on the door. God is love but if he does not hear us when we pray how can he answer us.

Psalm 66:18:  “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.”

When we begin to wait on God and seek his face, be starts revealing himself to us and slowly our minds become renewed and our perspectives begin to change. His desires become our desires and his will becomes our will. We begin to pray according to his will and we have the confidence that he hears us. Once God hears us he would always answer. There is no mother that would hear the cry of her child that would not answer.  

1John 5:14-15: Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

 A snail walking around without its shell will soon die of dehydration. Likewise a Christian who does not seek the heart of God is like a snail without its shell. That Christian will soon be dry up spiritually. When we begin to follow the Lord as a sheep following the shepherd, he leads and guides us. Goodness and mercy begins to follow us when we follow God. This happens automatically even when we don’t ask God for it (Psalm 23). The Lord wants us to watch and rely on him and surely he would strengthen us. We must learn to communicate and pour out our heart to God instead of complaining and murmuring.

Philippians 4:6-7: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Prayer: Lord help me to wait on you at all times

Enjoy the blessings of God.

Sunday Service 9/9/12. Topic: The presence of God makes the difference.

Bible reading: 1Kings 18 &19.

 The presence of God makes the Christian life exciting always. This is why the angels in heaven cannot do but praise God always because they are in his presence. The presence of God prevents us from becoming weary as Christians. This is because we are totally dependent on God and not only on the anointing.

In the book of 1Kings 18&19 we read a story about Prophet Elijah. There was drought in Israel because there had been no rain for 3 years. The Lord then asked Prophet Elijah to present himself to King Ahab and then He will send rain (1kings 18:1). Meanwhile Jezebel the Queen was killing the prophets of Israel but Obadiah who was a governor in the palace had kept 100 prophets in a cave and was feeding them with bread and water. When Prophet Elijah eventually met with the King he did not wait for God to send the rain but instructed the king to summon all the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel. On Mount Carmel Elijah was able to demonstrate the power of God because fire came down from heaven to consume his sacrifice. The prophets of Baal could not demonstrate any power and they became a laughing stock.  Everyone in Israel feared and honoured God, they respected his prophet Elijah.

If you observe closely you will see that the Lord God instructed Elijah to show himself to the king and then God will bring rain. You will be surprised to know that by the time Elijah was summoning the prophets of Baal it was the anointing on God on him but he had lost the presence of God. This is because the idea of summoning the prophets of Baal to a contest was Elijah’s idea and not God’s. Even though fire came down from heaven at Elijah’s request, God was not in the fire. It was after the big show that Elijah remembered to announce the second part of God’s message of bringing rain. Elijah then had to pray fervently and struggled before the rain finally came. If he had done it God’s way, God would have sent the rain and Elijah wouldn't have struggled. (1Kings 18:1).

Moses was a prophet of God. He did not have to struggle before the red sea parted into two; he only did what God asked him to do and God took care of the rest.  God himself turned bitter water into sweet water when Moses followed God’s instruction. God performed many miracles in the wilderness when Moses followed instructions. He even delivered Moses from all his enemies. When we follow God’s instructions, definitely his presence will be there to back us up. We struggle when we do things our own way. Miracles signs and wonders are good but God’s way is better.  

When Jezebel heard that Elijah had slaughtered the false prophets she threatened to kill Elijah. Elijah the great prophet suddenly became afraid and ran into the wilderness. He then became lonely, depressed and suicidal. He finally lodged in a cave (1Kings 19:9) and the Lord asked what he was there. This implied that Elijah shouldn't have been hiding in that cave if he had followed God’s instructions. Elijah then complained to God about the people’s idolatry and how he was the only prophet in Israel who had not worshiped Baal. He had forgotten that about the 100 prophets were kept alive in the cave by Obadiah. God then made it known to Elijah that the manifestation of His power does not necessarily imply the manifestation of his presence (1Kings 19:11-13). In a sense God was saying “Elijah, fire coming down from heaven revealed my existence and power but my presence was not with you because of your disobedience.  

1Kings 19:11-13: “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The life of John the Baptist is another example that we can study. John had prepared the hearts of the people of Israel for the coming Messiah. I believe that John the Baptist should have terminated his ministry as soon as Jesus Christ started preaching the gospel. (John 1:19-26). He however continued preaching and baptizing people. For example when a guest speaker has been introduced, the person who made the introduction is expected to sit down and listen to the guest speaker.  I believe that even though John was anointed, the manifested presence of God was no longer available to back him up. John later exposed the adulterous behavior of King Herod and Herodias his brother’s wife and he was imprisoned. In prison John became depressed, he lost his faith and he started doubting Jesus as the Messiah.

Mathew 11:2-3:”Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?”

 It is not possible to be in the manifested presence of God and be depressed. Peter  was also in prison (Acts 5:1-11) but he was not depressed because he was in the will of God. The manifested presence of God was with him and so he had peace. In prison he slept so deeply that the angel had to smite him on the side to wake him up.

The instruction of God is the most vital to us Christians and intimacy with God will make us follow God as he moves. Seeing him, hearing him, knowing his ways brings peace and joy. When we follow the Lord as a sheep following the shepherd he leads and guides us. He provides for us and restores our soul. He protects us from danger and in hardships he strengthens us and sees us through. He gives us victory over our enemies and we have favour everywhere we go. The sheep does not have to struggle; all he needs to do is follow the shepherd. We cannot understand the ways of the shepherd if we do not have an intimate relationship with him. We cannot have intimate relationship with God if we don’t desire it. We cannot desire it if we are not hungry or thirsty for it. God himself puts his thirst and hunger in us when we begin to ask him. Will you start asking the Lord today to create his thirst and hunger in you?

Enjoy the blessings of God

Sunday Service: 2/9/12: Topic of sermon: Seek first the Kingdom of God

Mathew 6:31-34: “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

All the parables of Jesus are about the kingdom of God. This is because his mission was to preach the kingdom of God. Seeking God’s kingdom implies that we seek the reign of God on the earth. Every soul created by God has been called to seek the kingdom of God. The reign of God on earth brings salvation, healings, deliverance, miracles, and relationship with God, and submission to the will of God.

Once we have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God it is very important that we continue to seek God’s kingdom for more revelation and insight into the heart of God. This is what God has called us to do if not it will be difficult for us to be his ambassadors and representatives on earth. Jesus Christ knew what was going on in the kingdom of God and did exactly what he saw God the Father do.  Jesus never prayed for anyone to receive miracles but rather he performed miracles; doing exactly what was revealed to him by God the Father.   

John 5:19: “Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”

Seeking the kingdom of God is seeking the heart of God. David was described as a man after the heart of God. David was seeking the kingdom of God without being aware of it and he eventually became the King of Israel.

As heavenly citizens we must understand the language, the culture and how to make heaven manifest on earth. This is to our advantage if we must access and enjoy the blessings the Lord has freely given to us. When we begin to seek the kingdom of God, our perspectives will change and we begin to have the mind of Christ.

When we seek the kingdom of God we are submitting to God’s authority. The kingdom of God must be established in our lives so that we can be in authority over every works of darkness. If we do not submit to God then we cannot expect the devil to submit to us.

James 4:7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

When we begin to seek the kingdom of God we soon discover that we have no worries. Our circumstances begin to submit to the reign of God because the kingdom of heaven is our focus. In the kingdom of God there is no stress, no depression, no worries, no sickness, and no sorrow. In the kingdom of God there are no impossibilities.

Seeking the kingdom of God is usually accomplished daily through prayers. As you do this the Lord begins to reveal secrets of the kingdom to you. There are many things that are going on the God’s kingdom that we might not have access to until we ask.

Mathew 7:7:  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Mathew 13:11: He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.”

The kingdom of God is from one real of glory to another.  The kingdom of God is not stagnant. That is why the angels in heaven cannot stop worshipping God because God is always revealing a new realm of His Glory. Any Christian who is not continuously seeking the kingdom of God will soon find out that he is being left behind because revelation of the kingdom is progressive.

The book of Ecclesiastes 3:11 say God has set eternity in the hearts of man. Eternity or eternal life is defined in the book of John 17:3 as knowing God. There is no satisfaction or fulfilment outside the knowledge of God.

Benefits of seeking God’s kingdom

• Ability to receive revelation of the things of God.
• Ability to move like God.
• Ability to operate in faith. Revelation strengthens our faith because we are not ignorant of God’s agenda. The bible says my people perish for lack of knowledge.
• Ability to exercise authority over the enemy.

 Enjoy the blessings of God