Why am I here? Part 1

Many of us know why we have taken up a job or why we have relocated to certain parts of the country or nation or why he have married our spouses, but many still don’t know why we are here in this world.

God has put us here so that his purpose will be fulfilled in our lives. Many who are not aware that God exists will find it difficult to believe that he placed man on the earth for his own pleasure and glory. The only way that we give God pleasure and glory, is when we are fruitful and take dominion over all the works of his hands.

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Genesis 1:31a “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."

God takes pleasure in the works of his hands and also when man is in dominion. When he sees you living in dominion, God says it is very good. The world however is now in a fallen state because of sin. Dominion and fruitfulness only comes through Jesus Christ the saviour of the world.

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

To be in Christ, is to identify with him in his death and resurrection and continue living and walking in him. This is known as salvation from sin, bondage, sicknesses and poverty. Jesus Christ is an overcomer and when we remain in him, we also overcome. He described himself as the vine of a tree, whilst those who believe and trust in him - he described as the branches. The same life that flows through the vine also flows through every branch that remains in him. As he is, so are we in this world. (1John 4:17)

John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

You will not move into the purpose of God for your life on earth, until you become born again by believing in your heart that Jesus is the son of God, that he died for your sins and rose again to make you have a right standing with God. The book of John 10:10 clearly state the devil’s job description. He is a thief, a murderer and a destroyer.
Abundant life through dominion only comes through Christ Jesus. When you are in Christ, you receive the power to become a child of God and you receive the authority to have dominion over all the works of the enemy.

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

God does not derive any pleasure from sin, sickness, slavery and poverty. He only takes pleasure in people who stand in Christ by faith and overcome in all circumstances.

1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

We are born again when we remain in the risen Christ who is the first born from the dead. Anyone who is born again is born of God, and he is an overcomer. Our God given purpose is fulfilled here on earth only by faith. I pray that we begin to use the measure of faith that the Lord has given us, so that more faith will be multiplied unto us to live in this world as an overcomer.

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Total Victory in God’s presence. Part 2

In the presence of God is the anointing and this is his power. I heard Benny Hinn talk about the sheep in Israel being rubbed with olive oil to keep the bugs off. Bugs can be likened to demonic activity or enemies of man. Fire goes before the Lord and consumes all his enemies. Anointing keeps the bugs off your life. If you are a child of God, then all your enemies become his enemies and they are consumed by God’s fire as you learn to be in his presence.

Galatians 5:1- "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage".

Many people want solution to their problems but not necessarily God. They want God only on their own terms. Many go from one deliverance service to another but instead of their problem getting better, it gets worse. It is only the presence of God that gives total victory.

Luke 11:24-26 - “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

We need to be completely full of the Holy Spirit so that the enemy will have no place in our lives. We need to be more intimate with his word, meditating on his word until his word becomes part of us. We must stop using the word of God as “chewing gum” because chewing gum is not swallowed and so does not become part of the body.

James 1:21b - "Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls".

Until the word of God is planted in our hearts, we will not benefit from it. It is the word of God that has already become part of us that can deliver us in hard times. If you are still struggling in any area of your life, then you need more of the presence of God.

1 John 4:17-18- "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love".

If you are still living in fear and condemnation then you need more of God. Wounded hearts are healed, word curses are destroyed, and evil ties are broken in the presence of God. The bible says that as Christ is, so are we in this world. If we are not as Christ yet even though in our spirit man we are like him, then we need more of him. Time spent with God is not wasted time but it is sowing time and we will reap in due time if we do not give up.

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Total victory in God’s presence. Part 1

The Lord God of heaven is mighty. In his presence is fullness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore. You cannot experience God’s presence and be the same again. John the beloved beheld the glory of God and his life was not the same again.

Revelation 1:17 - "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last".

When John saw the Lord, everything carnal in him died. His life changed, his heart was transformed and the Holy Spirit was in total control of his life. It was after this experience that he wrote the epistle and the gospel of John.

It is a good thing to desire the Lord and be conscious of his presence. In his presence is the knowledge of him and everything that we need for life and godliness. We become partakers of his divine nature the more we encounter him and this makes us godlier.

2 Peter 1: 2-4 - "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust".

The power to live a godly life is obtained in God’s presence. The bible talked about a certain man who had an infirmity for 38 years. Jesus healed him but then he did not recognise Jesus and he did not make any effort to find out about the person that showed him this great compassion until the Jews started questioning him.

John 5:8-14 - Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.” He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.” Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Jesus told this man to go and sin no more. The power to sin no more however lies in the presence of God. Jesus had to warn this man seriously about going back into sin because he failed to seek Jesus who has the power to make him live a godly life.

I heard that about 90% of those who are healed in healing services ultimately lose their healing. This I believe happened because they did not continue to seek God. When the enemy came back they did not have the power to resist him. Blind Bartimaeus followed Jesus after he was healed (Mark 10:52). The Gadarene demoniac’s heart reached out to Jesus after he was healed (Mark 5:18). Certain women followed Jesus after they were delivered of demons (Luke 8: 1-3). In the presence of God there is total freedom from sin, sickness, slavery, poverty, and religion.

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Levels of relationship with God

God is the creator of heaven and earth. He created man in the beginning to have an intimate relationship with him. This relationship was going well between God and Adam in the Garden of Eden, until sin was found in Adam. Even though physical relationship with God continued, Adam could not relate with God again with his sprit and so found it difficult to comprehend the things of God. God however, continued to seek relationship with man. If you study the bible, you will discover four different kinds of relationships that people can have with God.

1. The first level is when man relates with God as Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth. Man perceives himself only as one of God’s creatures - his workmanship. He is aware of God’s sovereignty, might and power. Man believes that he can only worship God from a distance and he is only familiar with the thunderous voice of God saying “thou shall not do this or that.” This kind of relationship is usually with great fear.

2. The second level is when man relates with God as his Lord and master. You obey him because of his royal position and you perceive him as the head. In this kind of relationship, there is usually conversation between man and God. Most of the prophets in the bible had this kind of relationship with God. You don’t really know much about the master’s business; your duty is to follow instructions. In this kind of relationship you have the perception that God loves you according to your performance.

Exodus 6: 2-3 - And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them.

God appeared to Moses as Lord, but to Abraham he appeared to as God. You will however discover in Genesis 18 that when Abraham continued to grow deeper in his relationship with God, he eventually knew God as his Lord.

3. The third level is man relating to God as his father. In this kind of relationship all God has is yours and all you have is his. This father and son relationship has been made possible by our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the first born son of God and he has brought us into his inheritance as adopted children of God when we believe in the gospel. In this type of relationship, there is no fear and so we have boldness to come before God. Children of God are being led by the Spirit of God. The father loves you not because of your performance but because you are his son.

Romans 8:14-16 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Some children are only after what they can get from their dad and they don’t have their dad’s interest at heart. The story of the prodigal son in the book of Luke 15:11- 32 is a good example. I believe that for many years, the prodigal son had a servant mentality. He then woke up one morning and realised that he was a son. The first thing that came to his mind was the entitlement to him as a son. He did not take time to process the father and son relationship and what is expected of him as a son. The only thing that attracted him was what he could gain from that relationship. The elder brother to the prodigal son also had a servant mentality, because unconsciously he was rendering service to his father to gain his father’s love and favour. He was not aware that all the father had was his and all he needed to do was ask. Luke 15:29-31.

4. The forth level is man relating to God as his friend. I believe that this is the deepest kind of relationship you can think of. God revealed himself to Moses as Lord but Moses continued seek God until they became friends.

Exodus 33:11a - “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.”

Abraham also eventually become a friend of God because he continued to seek God and their relationship became deeper.

Isaiah 41:8 - “But you Israel are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.”

John 15:14-15 - "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you".

The relationship between David and Jonathan was stronger than the relationship Jonathan had with Saul who was his father. Friends of God are often in the secret place with Him. That is the place where God shares His heart with them. We need to go deeper in our relationship with God. The God of heaven and earth wants to be our Lord in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died to reconcile us back to God so that we can become adopted children of God. Hence, as children of God we receive the Holy Spirit who is our comforter, helper and teacher. He invites us to walk with him (Romans 8:4-5) because he wants to be our friend. The Holy Spirit has some many things in stock that he reveals to his friends. Are you ready to be one of them? Begin today by seeking him in the secret place.

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Hallowed be Thy Name

Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray and this model of prayer is found in the book of Mathew chapter 6.

Matthew 6:9-19: “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The will of God for the earth, is to be as it is in heaven. He wants the reign of his kingdom in heaven to extend to the earth. This happens when man cooperates with God by coming into agreement with him. When man begins to hallow the name of God and lift him high, very soon, God shows up and reveals his glory. His glory is revealed in so many ways especially in miracles, signs, wonders, peace, joy, pleasures and blessings. I believe that the manifestation of the kingdom of God depends on the extent of how much his name is hallowed. How much is God’s name hallowed by our thoughts, words and actions? How much regard or respect do we give to him? Do we esteem him higher than everything else?

The level of our reverence to God depends on how much we know him. If we don’t know that something is of value, we tend to pay less attention to it. Things that we know are of value are usually greatly treasured by us. Look at the examples given in the bible.

Matthew 13:44: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

This man knew that what he found in that field was a treasure and that is why he bought the field. Many people had the opportunity to buy the field, but they did not because they failed to identify the treasure in it.

Matthew 13:45-46: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

This man wouldn’t have found anything had he not searched. He searched, he found and then was able to identify what he found as very precious and he gave all he had to have it.

We would know how precious and wonderful God is when we begin to seek him. The bible says that when we seek God, we will find him. He wants us to come to him with all confidence and without fear. That is why he wants us to be reconciled back to him through Jesus Christ his son, who was crucified on the cross for our sins. Jesus Christ has reconciled us back to God, who has adopted us as his children. We can only know much about God when we identify him as our father. In this kind of relationship, there is no fear and we are being led by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14-16: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

In this relationship, all God has is yours because he is your father and all you have is his. You honour him as God; respect him as your master but also you are free to approach his presence because you are his son. You have the confidence because his spirit in you is bearing witness that you are his child. “Our Father in heaven hallowed be thy name.” As you hallow his name, expect his kingdom to manifest in that situation or that circumstance in your life. In God’s kingdom, impossibilities become possibilities, disabilities turn into abilities, tests are converted to testimonies and obstacles turn out to be stepping stones unto the next level in your life that will bring great honour and glory to God.

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The Power of God’s Love

The love of God for man has been before the existence of man. In fact, God’s love has been before the foundation of the world. God has loved you even before you got inside your mother’s womb. He has loved you before you knew right from wrong and also when you began to make the wrong choices. The love he has for you is the same love he has for Jesus Christ. God can never cease to love you because he can never cease to love Jesus.

John 17:23-24 (New King James Version) “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

The love of God is unconditional. It does not depend on what you have done but on what Jesus Christ has done to save you. He will always love you even when you don’t love, or acknowledge Him as God. This is because love cannot be separated from God. If this happens then God ceases to exist and you know that this is impossible.

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they were in constant fellowship with God. When they sinned against God, their spirit became separated from God and the continuous fellowship that they enjoyed ceased. This separation then placed man in a spiritually dead position. This spiritual death has been inherited by the human race because of the sin that Adam committed. There is no person on earth that can rescue man from this problem because everybody is a sinner.

Romans 3:23 (New King James Version) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

The love that God has for man before the foundation of the world continues to prevail after the sin of Adam. He continued to long for fellowship with man. God is a spirit and the bible says that those that worship him must do so in spirit and truth. The spirit of man needs to be alive in order to have a continuous relationship and fellowship with God.

John 4:24 (New King James Version) “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

God had to look for a way to bring man back to continuous fellowship with him. God knew that Salvation cannot be achieved by man, so God came in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived a sinless life. His death on the cross put him in the position that man is in the spirit - which is spiritual death. He however rose from the dead. Whosoever believes that Jesus Christ died on the cross for his sins and that His resurrection makes him justified before God, will also receive resurrection of his spirit man. This is what is known as being born again.

Once you believe in the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross, nothing else can hold you down. Your dead sprit will be revived and you will start to enjoy a continuous fellowship with God. You are no longer under the bondage of sin, sickness and slavery. It was not possible for the chains of death to hold Jesus down and so He was raised from the dead. Likewise it is not possible for the chains of death, sin, sickness or slavery to hold you down. All these happened as a result of the power of God’s love for you.

Acts 2:23-24 (New King James Version) “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”

The power of God’s love will continue to bring victory to you if you believe in His love and you are fully persuaded that nothing can separate you from God’s love. The love of God has overcome death. His love has overcome sin, sickness, diseases, bondage, slavery and everything that is not of God that might be manifesting in your life. If you are fully persuaded of His love then you will believe that He is always for you and not against you. This makes the faith in you to begin to work because faith works by love.

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The Best Religion that pleases God

There are many religions in this world. To name a few we have, Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Rastafarian, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, Wicca, Zoroastrianism, and Druidism. It shouldn’t be a surprise to know that every religion including Christianity is manmade. Christianity is based on the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. The disciples of Jesus were called Christians for the first time when they were in Antioch. They were called Christians by people who were not Christians themselves. They were called Christians by men and not by God.

Acts 11:25-26 (New King James Version) “Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

The Christian religion has grown so large to the extent that there are now more than 30,000 denominations. Which of these denominations is God pleased with? I will define religion as man’s way of reaching out to God. Man does this by following rules and regulations. They add a bit of the teachings of Jesus, a few add the teachings of Moses, and some include a bit of the word of God that suits them.

These principles are good in themselves because they discipline the flesh but they do not have the power to change the desires of man. Sets of rules and regulations cannot please God. The Christian religion began according to the move and the will of God. However, within a short period men began to add their own ideas and methods. Religion is the work of the flesh and by the work of the flesh, no man can please God.

Romans 8:8 (New King James Version) “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

When man ties himself down by religion, he is unconsciously putting himself under the law. If the law given by God to the children of Israel was difficult to keep, how much more the law imposed by men to reach out to God? The children of Israel were under the law for thousands of years and God was not pleased with many of them.

Romans 3:20 (New King James Version) “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

The Law was given by God so that man will eventually come to the understanding that he needs help from God, to live a life pleasing and acceptable to Him. The law was given as a deflection to the saviour and this is Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:24 (New King James Version) “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

Man’s effort cannot be acceptable to God until man comes under the grace available through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is God coming down to man and not man trying to reach out to God. There isn’t complete truth in any religion. Religion is like adding yeast to dough. The yeast mixes with the whole dough and changes its consistency. God is divine and so we need divine ability to relate to Him. Grace can be defined as the divine ability given by God to do things outside our ability.

John 1:17 (New King James Version) “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

There is now no religion that can locate God. God can only be located by his Spirit. Who knows what is in your mind except your spirit that resides within you. Likewise the things of God can only be discerned by the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 2:11 (New King James Version) “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.”

How can we connect with the Spirit of God to reveal the things of God to us? The spirit of God comes to dwell in whosoever believes that Jesus Christ died for their sins and that Jesus Christ rose from the dead so that they will be justified before God. We are only justified through faith in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:38-39 (New King James Version) “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

To conclude, when the Holy Spirit resides in you then he begins to guide you and reveal the mind of God to you even as you ask Him. You will then be led by the Spirit of God and not by the dictates of your flesh. The Holy Spirit cannot be contained because he moves freely according to the will of God. It is a constant flow and you receive from Him as you learn to rely and depend on Him.

1 Corinthians 2:12 (New King James Version) “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

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