One of the strongest tests we all have to face is what Abraham faced from the King of Sodom.

Genesis 14:21-24

²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.” ²² But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

People or goods?

These tests will come in such a way that you would stand to gain financially if you treat those in your opposition in a non-Christlike manner.

Abraham was tested with these 3 things.

1. Will he rescue Lot (The I choose my way guy)?
2. Will he covet the wealth of the king of Sodom (Everything that Egypt could offer)?
3. Will he take revenge on Lot (by declaring himself ruler over him)?

Anger. Discontentment. Selfish agenda. The same things Joseph was tested with before he could be promoted to be Pharaoh’s adviser.

If we are struggling with revenge then we should, tear down the altar of revenge and build the proper altar of redemption.

At this altar, you will stretch your hand to rescue your enemies and next, stretch it towards Heaven giving glory to the God Most High.

Everything in the law must be fulfilled. The entire law is summed up in this: Love your Neighbour as yourself. Galatians 5:14

If we love, we have nothing to fear. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world, we are like Jesus.

1 John 4:17

The strongest temptations will be

• to just give up on them
• expose what they were doing against you
• seek justice at court
• seek to separate and start your “own thing”

The truth that sets you free is – Changed lives are our true treasures.

See how these verses go.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV

[17] Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

God gave us everything to enjoy. So, it looks like we should go into consumer mentality. God gives; I take it and enjoy. But next verse he says –

[18] Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

It cuts short all our worldly pursuits. It says

• Do good
• Be generous
• Be willing to share
• It’s all about giving.

[19] In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

So, the enjoyment is an eternal joy for our future. In this world, we run with perseverance this race marked out for us

• we endure cross

• endure shame
• endure opposition from the world
• endure God’s discipline

This demand is reflected in these verses.

Hebrews 12:1-3, 7, 12 NIV

[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

[2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

[3] Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

[7] Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?

[12] Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.

If our lives don’t reflect Christ in an increasing measure to them, we would just fade into dull, flickering lamps of the foolish virgins that fade into the world’s darkness.

But if we are sold out for Christ, then our lamps are like those of the wise virgins; bright and shining light of the world.

Is it necessary to live our lives in contrast to the worldly standards? Yes.

Read Hebrews 11

What we concentrate on building here will condemn the world on judgment day.

Hebrews 11:13-16, 35, 37-38 NIV

[13] All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

[14] People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.

[15] If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return.

[16] Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

[35] Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. (!!!!!!!!) (Emphasis mine)

[37] They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—

[38] the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

This isn’t a rosy picture of enjoying all that God gave us, right?

That is why walking by the Spirit is vital. Our spirit is willing to endure it all but the flesh is weak.

Romans 8:13-18 NIV

[13] For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

[14] For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children (this word means mature Sons who represent Christ’s nature) of God.

[15] The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

[16] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

[17] Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 

[18] I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Amen

A building is only as strong as its foundation

Check your foundations with these 8 statements

1. God is our Father
2. Christ suffered and died for our sins
3. We stay IN HIM to remain fruitful
4. Jesus is coming back
5. Resurrection of the dead
6. He has given the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth
7. The latter glory will be greater than the former glory
8. He will deny you if you deny Him

Statement 1: God is our Father

1. God is NOT a “prayer answerer” alone. He is our Father
2. We don’t go to Him only when we have needs. We go to Him to have a relationship
3. We don’t pray for blessings. Blessings pursue us
4. We pursue after His purpose for us
5. His purpose is that we love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. This is reflected in us loving His creation
6. The earth belongs to our Father, and we are called to rule here
7. Wherever we are placed it is to checkmate the enemy’s work in our area of influence
8. God’s heart is to bring in the lost and the church to mature
9. Psalm 103:13 The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust
10. Romans 8:26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example. We don’t know what God wants us to pray for but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
11. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us every day out of our former way of living. This is a journey
12. God’s desire is for us to become like Jesus
13. Romans 8:29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
14. Three things attract God: Hunger, Whole heartedness and Consistency.
    He watches for these 3 things in our heart, whether we are consistently desiring to become like Jesus in every area of our lives or we are just simply making emotional decisions or religious decisions
15. Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the Spirit of Bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Statement 2: Christ suffered and died for our sins

1 John 2:1-2 If anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins – and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.

Statement 3: Jesus is coming back

Romans 2:16 The day is coming when God through Christ Jesus will judge everyone’s secret life

Why is He going to judge the secret life? Usually in the natural the judgment is between two people. The original command was to rule the earth. So, to exercise authority they had to be under God’s rule.

Judgment comes when we sin against God in our thoughts. 

In the garden the only two people were a couple, and they came under judgment. Who did they sin against? God. By their thoughts and disobedience.

Even if we are not actively harming anyone we sin by our thoughts and in our secret life. Unless our thoughts are replaced by the Bible we will keep sinning in our thoughts. 

The day is coming when Christ Jesus will judge everyone’s secret life.

So, when the word comes, you may just brush it off and lose it. (Highway Heart) Or you may take it and hold until something in you has to break, and you don’t hold it further. (Hard Heart) Then you allow the Word to break you but then worry (loss of worldly things you already have or would like to have) and deceitfulness of riches (yearning for more than what you already have) can choke up the word. Other things take priority over God. A craving for all you can see and experience and boasting about these things. These are going to block off the word from taking root and bearing fruit. (Thorny Heart)

If you and the Word become one natural response is to bear fruit. (Fertile Heart)

To read more on the four types of hearts, Click here.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 You are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from Heaven. Jesus whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming Judgment.

1 John 5:1-4 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 

Statement 4: We stay in Him to be fruitful and to live like the children of God (to represent Him accurately)

John 15 Remain in Me and let my words remain in you. For without Me you can do nothing. Those who remain in Me and I in them will produce much fruit and anything you ask in my name will be granted. (Paraphrase)

God did not love Jesus unconditionally.

There is a price to pay to remain in God’s love as a human being.

John 15:10 When you obey My commandments you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

1 John 2:3 We can be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments.

Statement 5: Resurrection of the dead

John 5: 24 – 30 I tell you the truth, those who listen to My message and believe in God who sent Me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death to life. And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear My voice – the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in Himself, and He has granted that same life-giving power to His Son. And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment

Both good and evil people will be raised again from the dead. What happens after that depends on whether we allowed our sinful nature to guide us or we lived according to the Word of God guided by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Statement 6: He Has given the Holy Spirit to guide you into all the truth

John 7:38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’

John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

• When we are on the throne of our hearts, we make the Holy Spirit Lord like a PA who should do or tell us what we need and who should stay out when we want to do our own thing
• How to know the difference between His voice and other voices?
• His voice will always glorify Jesus in you. It will bring forth Christ-likeness in you
• His voice will always set you free not bring you into bondage (back into living like your former self)
• We come to God through the Holy Spirit
• Ephesians 2:18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
• As we obey the truth we are being made into the masterpiece of God
• Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
• If God is dealing with us continually, we are His masterpiece.
• God created Humans in His own image
• Genesis 1:27 So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
• Christ is the visible image of the invisible God
• Colossians 1:15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
• God chose us to become like His Son in every area of our lives. He should become more and more visible in our lives than our old nature
• Romans 8:29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
• Holy Spirit’s guidance helps us not do what our old nature dictates. We must develop a relationship with Him so that He can speak into every aspect of our lives.
• Galatians 5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Galatians 5:16-18 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

A plan of action from Master Life series (A wonderful resource for Christian Discipleship)

• ACTION plan
• Acknowledge the wrong emotion/thought you are feeling
• Consider why you have the emotion (what right of yours has been violated?) or what thought from your past is trying to take hold? No one holds onto something that hurts them. We hold onto some stuff we must let go because we have secretly come to enjoy it
• Thank God that He will help you master it (Every temptation has a way out)
• Identify the Biblical response to that trigger situation
• Obey the Holy Spirit’s leading. Humbly accept His guidance
• Nurture the appropriate fruit of the Holy Spirit

That is the plan of ACTION from the Master Life series to help us develop a meaningful relationship with the Holy Spirit.

• Statement 7: Latter glory will be greater than the former glory

You will not be the same person who began your walk with God. You will move from strength to strength, glory to glory. God will be dealing with you consistently in some area of your life. Every time you wander off, identify what takes God’s place in your heart. Is it love for comfort? Love for self? or Need for control?

It is a journey of dying to yourself and allowing more room for Him to take over in your heart.

Our heart is more deceitful above all things. It has to be led consistently back to the Lord.

1. We can be weak but our desires can be pure. We can desire to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and cry out to the Holy Spirit to help us every day. This we can do with full assurance that God will strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
2. It is the weak who need to be strengthened. So, our desire can be set here. We may fall but Holy Spirit will ensure that we make it till the end. He will lead us in sanctification; that is to break the power of sin over our lives until we become like Jesus.

I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,

John 14:30

There was no area in Jesus’ life, the enemy could exploit.

• The only way the enemy can do anything in our life is he must find a way in our flesh, in our mind, in our emotions; somewhere he must find a way to come in. If all that has been surrendered to the Holy Spirit of God, he has no access to do anything in our lives.

2 Timothy 4:3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

• Their struggle was with their own will because it is their heart that desired all these things, and their ears followed what was already in their hearts
• That’s why we need to learn how to harness our heart
• And the only way, there is no other way, the only way to do that is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.
• Three things attract God: Hunger, Whole heartedness and Consistency
• He watches for these 3 things in our heart, whether we are consistently desiring to become like Christ or we are just simply making emotional decisions or religious decisions
• It is important to set our desire right – I want to conform to the image of Christ
• We may be weak and do things that hurt the Holy Spirit. We may grieve Him
• When the Holy Spirit is grieved, He will first look at our attitude and heart. Is there a genuine desire to change? Are we making an effort to change? Are we truly repentant and not just regretting. If we are, He will help us in the process of restoration

Proverbs 16:2 People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.

• He looks for what is actually our desire. So, if the desire is right then if we are struggling and we are falling, struggling, falling He will definitely meet us
• He will surely carry on the good work He began us to completion as we yield and cooperate with Him

• Statement 8: You are saved by grace. Redeemed by the blood of the lamb. He was slain in your place. If you deny Him, He will deny you.

There are two mindsets in following Christ – Building mindset and Blessing mindset.

Blessing mindset is introduced by the way we are brought to Jesus. “Come to Jesus and be blessed.”

Building mindset focuses on growing into Christlikeness.

In the blessing mindset we can easily get confused because we see absolute sinners prospering and being happy while we are enduring the cross, enduring opposition from others, facing shame and ridicule for being Christians and enduring God’s discipline too.

Our journey to becoming God’s Masterpiece involves all of this.

If we focus on blessing, these are the lies the enemy feeds us with when we go through tough situations

• God doesn’t care for you
• You got to figure your way out of this
• Take what He forbids and satisfy your need

These will cause us to deny Him.

In the building mindset we have an attitude to endure. Like in a gym, we go through hard training that breaks us but we endure knowing there is a purpose for our pain.

Matthew 10:22 And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.

Endurance is vital to finish the race.

Through every situation we have a choice to stay calm and rejoice. The situation is set up by God to train us. We have full rights to come into His presence, ask Him for what we need, trust Him to provide and protect, live boldly on earth.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

In any situation what are we seeking? To be blessed? Or to be built? If we are built, blessings will eventually follow. But if we concentrate on blessing, we lose everything eventually. Be wise master builders = wise virgins = good and faithful servants who don’t betray the trust the Master places on them.

2 Timothy 3:5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. 

2 Timothy 3 talks about Christians who love God but love other things more than Him. We need to move from this to being wise virgins who are sold out for Jesus.

2 Timothy 3 These are Christians who love God but they love other things more. They never allow the Holy Spirit to lead them more into Christlikeness	Wise virgins. These are Christians who allowed the Holy Spirit to do a deeper work in them. They were sold out for Christ. They loved God and loved His Word above everything else.
Lovers of self	Move from selfishness to selflessness
Lovers of money	Treasure Jesus in increasing measure
Boastful	Move from pride to humility
Arrogant	No confidence in flesh. Spirit led
Revilers	Speak only to build up others
Disobedient to parents	Honour their parents
Ungrateful	Thankful in every circumstance
Unholy	Set apart for Christ. No more selfish agenda
Irreconcilable	Forgive and pursue peace with all men
Malicious gossips	Aim to lead a quiet life, mind their own business and work hard at whatever they do
Devoid of self control	Move from disobedience to explicit obedience
Brutal	Gentle
Haters of good	Lovers of good
Traitors	Move from trusting God to God trusting them
Reckless	Fear God
Conceited	Move from pride to humility
Lovers of [sensual] pleasure	Endure hardship as a soldier of Christ
A form of [outward] godliness Religion	Focus on inward transformation   Focus on relationship
Denied its power to live godly lives	Fully led by the Holy Spirit

For a plant to bloom the seed and the soil should become one.

When the Word of God comes to our heart it has to be a fertile field to take it in. A heart that is immediately responsive to God.

There are so many instances in the Word where God came and did supernatural miracles, sent help and even fire from Heaven. Still people kept wandering away from Him.

Why?

God is unchanging. His Word is unchanging. Then why are lives not changed?

The only reason people wander away is because of what is in their hearts.

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

The four types of hearts

The highroad heart – This type of heart receives every message. Once received the Word is not treasured. It continues to hear from every source. It continues to look wondering if there is anything better. Eventually, God’s Word gets swallowed up by the enemy. Nothing grows in this kind of heart. There is no time for the seed to take root. It is busy in all comings and goings.

The rocky heart – It has some moisture from a previous night’s rain. There is a certain interest in God’s word. But once the moisture / easy growth dries up everything stops and the plant dies and is forgotten. Short term obedience, quick growths and quick deaths of God’s word imply the person has a hard heart.

The thorny heart – The soil is fertile enough for plants to grow. But there is no discernment in what grows in the heart. There is no guarding of the heart. A discerning gardener removes the plants that can kill the fruit bearing trees / useful trees. Here no such work takes place. Known killers like worries and money-worship are allowed to take over. The Word of God is sown in between restless work done to put out real and unreal fires and the hard pursuit of wealth/security. There is no conducive atmosphere for the Word to grow. Such a person has no disciplined prayer life or a disciplined Word life. They don’t understand – “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all things shall be added unto you.”

The fertile heart – This type of soil is prepared to receive the Word. Every stone is removed, thorns are burnt, scarecrows are in place to scare away the birds. This type of person, loves the Word, endures the ridicule from unbelievers, persecution, hostility and opposition. He endures discipline from God. He tills the soil of his heart and keeps it at the right condition to treasure God’s Word. He loves God and obeys His Word. He prays for his needs and does not look for mammon to fulfil it. His work is also an arena to send forth God’s word and not his bread-winning zone alone.

Remember, people run after what they like, what their heart is set on or what makes them feel spiritual.

Guard your heart.

Sermon by Pastor. Alex

Hebrews 7:15-16 This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 

So, Christ was a priest in the order of Melchizedek not because of lineage but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed; an indestructible life.

Now how was Jesus able to get the indestructible life?

From conception to resurrection Holy Spirit was heavily involved in His life.

What is the meaning of indestructible life?

It means mind, will, emotions, feelings, desires all submitted to the Holy Spirit, to the will of God. Unshakable foundation of faith. 

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

We are living in times when Romans 8:19 will come to pass. 

Romans 8:19 (KJV) For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 

These mature sons mean mature believers raising to fulfil everything that God has planned for their lives. This is the end we are heading towards.  

So how did Jesus arrive at this? 

Hebrews 9:14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 

How was Christ able to offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice? Is it because He was God or He was the anointed one? No. It was by the power of the eternal spirit. (Holy Spirit)

What do we understand about the role of Holy Spirit in Jesus life from Hebrews 9:14?

• By the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself. He received grace and strength to lay down His life
• By the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice. He was able to overcome all temptations by the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 4:15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testing we do, yet he did not sin.

He faced all the temptations we do as humans and overcame them by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.

We were saved by the penalty paid by Jesus. That implies justification.

Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

Next comes sanctification. Sanctification is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives from the moment we give our lives to Jesus until we break the power of sin over our lives and are built into the image of Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 [Amp] But we should and are [morally] obligated [as debtors] always to give thanks to God for you, believers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through the sanctifying work of the Spirit [that sets you apart for God’s purpose] and by your faith in the truth [of God’s word that leads you to spiritual maturity].

There are two kinds of sanctification.  

1. Positional sanctification means set apart for God and in some instances set apart for God’s purpose
2. Practical sanctification is a progressive process and means growing in righteous living. This is dependent on a person’s reliance on the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:21 – 23 You who were once alienated with a hostile attitude, doing evil, he has now reconciled by the death of his physical body, so that he may present you holy, blameless, and without fault before him. However, you must remain firmly established and steadfast in the faith, without being moved from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

The 3 warnings in Colossians 1:23

• Remain firmly established and
• Be steadfast in faith
• Do not be moved from the hope of the gospel

Remain firmly established

In all the areas of our lives, we should be built according to the Word of God. Word should become convictions in us. Convictions are a set of values we have developed based on the strong opinions we have of God. Sometimes we may feel that God is not with us but we have to have a strong conviction that he will never leave us nor forsake us. 

1 Corinthians 15:1,2 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Colossians 2:6,7 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Be steadfast in faith

We face a lot of facts every day, but we have to hold on to what God has promised as our portion. God knows every challenge and every struggle we are ever going to face. When we connect to Him, He will teach us to overcome every challenge and struggles we face.

Hebrews 3:14-19 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So, we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. 

Do not be moved from the hope of the gospel

Titus 3:5-8 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

2 Corinthians 4:17, 18 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So, we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

The prayer of Paul for the Ephesians Church in Ephesians 3:14-19 gives us an insight as to how the Holy Spirit strengthens us to walk in obedience to God.

Obedience to the Word of God is an important part of sanctification.

Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason I bend my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.

As we surrender and submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit, He will anchor us in the love of Christ and love for Christ. How does He do that? He deals with things in our lives daily. He uses the Word to convict us (which is more important). The moment we choose to obey the Word (because we love God, we obey the Word) we grow in His love. Remember, love is not a feeling it is a choice. To read more about this process please go through the sermon on Spiritual Formation.

The whole process of intimacy with the Holy Spirit must produce a surrendered life, where the Holy Spirit has full access to our lives. When we grow in different degrees and measure of surrender ultimately it would produce an indestructible life in us. This will continue until enemy comes and finds nothing in us.

John 14:30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,

There was no area in His life, the enemy could exploit.

The only way the enemy can do anything in our life is he must find a way in our flesh. In our mind, our emotions; somewhere he must find a way to come in. If all that has been surrendered to the Holy Spirit of God, he has no access to do anything in our lives. 

That’s why it’s called sanctification that is to break the power of sin over our lives. 

Holiness leads to intimacy with God. The actual definition of holiness is to live a consecrated life. That means to set our life apart and live in such a way to please God.

In Romans 7 Paul explains to us about his struggles. These struggles he was having after he had become a Believer. In Romans 8 Paul gives us a strategy to overcome – by setting your mind on the Spirit. When we get saved the Holy Spirit comes and dwells with us. That is the indwelling Holy Spirit. When the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes, we receive power. The Holy Spirit was already there in Paul but why was He not able to help him overcome? Paul loved the word and he was trying his best to do what it says but he could not succeed. Then he explains in Romans 8:5 To set your mind on the things of the spirit and he goes on to say why it is necessary to do this. Then in verse 13 he explains through the Holy Spirit you are able to overcome your weaknesses.

Romans 8:6 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 

The way Paul overcame his struggle in the mind is in Romans 8:5

Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 

A good example of setting the mind on the flesh is 2 Timothy 3.

2 Timothy 3: 1-5 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— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

They were Christians and they loved God but they loved other things more. They never allowed the Spirit to deal with their lives. That’s why they were Christians, they were in Church and they had a form of Godliness but self was still king in their lives. 

So how do we set our minds on the Holy Spirit?

Romans 8:13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.

Romans 8:14 (KJV) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

• It talks about mature sons. The more we allow the Spirit to work in us, the more we become like Christ. Then overcoming the flesh becomes easy. We must allow the Spirit to put to death, the things of the flesh. We must make a deliberate decision that every time the Holy Spirit speaks, we obey. We have to set our mind on what He says and make a decision to obey (whether we like it or not) because He knows what He is doing. His main job is to form Christ in our lives. 
• Things of the Spirit also talks about things of eternal value. What are we going to bring beyond our graves? We have to evaluate our lives in this way. Of all the things I do what is going to last me beyond my grave, beyond my lifetime? Identify what is only a short-term benefit. Especially, if we are in the last days and we are the last generation we need to be very specific and sharp. Whatever we build internally lasts beyond our grave. 

So, for the Holy Spirit to work deeper in us we must live our lives in a certain way. We must set up our lives in such a way that facilitates the Holy Spirit to have free access in our lives. 

We can try to overcome our struggles with our will power, but it will fail because will power is simply resistance but to overcome, we need something divine. Paul was explaining to us that for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives we must have a divine structure.

Ephesians 4:20-32 That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Let’s focus on corrupted by deceitful desires. The root of every inaccurate life pattern is desire.

We can try all that we want but at the end of the day we must start from our desire to become like Christ, to become into His image. If desire is not there, the right reasons are not there, then somewhere along the way our desires can get corrupted, and we get diverted into other things.

For the Holy Spirit to work He needs to deal with our desires, first. We are weak but our desires can be pure.

In our weakness we can cry out like David in Psalms 51.

He said: God desired truth in the innermost parts. So, cleanse me but take not your spirit from me.

His desire was not because he would lose his fame or power. His reason for saying take not your Holy Spirit from me is because he knew he cannot live this life godly without the Holy Spirit. It starts with desire. Our desire must be pure. In every area we are facing weaknesses and are unable to overcome our desire must be accurate. Why does God want me to become like that?

The right desire: I must be conformed to the image of Christ; I have to be conformed to the image of Christ.

This desire to become the image of Christ starts with the decision which involves your intellect. As a man thinks he becomes. As a man thinks he forms habits and lifestyles which facilitate the Holy Spirit to come and begin to move in our lives. The name of the game is consistency.

Three things attract God: Hunger, Whole heartedness and Consistency.
He watches for these 3 things in our heart, whether we are consistently desiring to become or we are just simply making emotional decisions or religious decisions.

All the other things are what we should put off; whatever will grieve the Holy spirit.

When the Holy Spirit is grieved, He will first look at our attitude and heart. Is there a genuine desire to change? Are we making an effort to change? Are we truly repentant and not just regretting. If we are He will help us in the process of restoration. But, if there is no genuine desire, effort, and repentance He will just wait in the “background” for the day we truly call out to Him. In the process, He will continually remind us of His Word to bring us to repentance. We can continue to function in the gifts but there will be no peace or joy within. There will be a dryness in the spirit. His gentle nature won’t allow Him to force Himself on us but to wait patiently for our repentance.

Proverbs 16:2 People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.

He looks for what is actually our desire. So, if the desire is right then if we are struggling and we are falling, struggling, falling He will definitely meet us.

He is looking for consistency, wholeheartedness and hunger. This will facilitate the Holy Spirit to work deeper and deeper in our lives. The rest of the verses is all about what will hurt Him and prevent Him from manifesting, what you need to put on that will attract Him; which means holiness by living a consecrated life. All this will help in creating a life structure, a habit, a lifestyle that will allow the Holy Spirit to increase in measure to move in our lives.

We must understand the role of the Trinity. The father has a role in our lives, the son has a role in our lives, the Holy spirit has a unique role in our lives.

The father is our Creator, Sustainer, Provider and He is our Father. Where is He? He is in Heaven. What is the role of Jesus? He is our Redeemer, Saviour, He is interceding at the right hand of God for all of us. He is our Lord. He is the lover of our soul. Where is He? At the right hand of the Father. Where is the Holy Spirit? He is in us representing Him. He is another helper exactly like Jesus. His role is to help us become intimate with God; reveal to us Jesus, heal our lives, help us finish the task we are called to do on earth. He is also God. He is not lesser than any of them. He is the creative force of God. 

What is the difference between intimacy with God and the Holy Spirit?

Intimacy with God

1. To be intimate with the Father we got to pursue a wholehearted sincere love relationship with Him. In order to do that, we need to seek time with Him.

Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’

We must seek time to be with Him. We are commanded to be intimate with God.

Ephesians 1:15-17 Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 

2. Set aside times of intimate adoration with Him 

Psalms 63:1,2 O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole-body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.

3. Prioritising, seeking to know Him and His ways

Psalms 25:4 Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths.

Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

4. When we are intimate with God we will walk in total obedience, trust and commitment 

1 John 2:3-6 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

The Spirit is put into us to follow the decrees of God. So, without the Spirit it is impossible to live the Christian life. 

2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Fellowship – The Greek word is Koinonos. The key meanings are intimacy, union, partnership.

Partnership with the Holy Spirit

We see the example for partnership in the book of Acts.

Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements:

Acts 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.

They partnered with Him in making key decisions.

Intimacy with the Holy Spirit

Intimacy is more than just becoming one. How does the fruit of the Holy Spirit manifest in our lives? When He has dealt with one area in our life; For eg., One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is love. When He has dealt with all the hurts and bitterness then we receive capacity to love unconditionally. What is manifesting in our lives? The fruit of the Holy Spirit. It means the Holy Spirit is manifesting His nature through one aspect of our lives. Intimacy means to allow the Holy Spirit to have full expression through our lives. 

What happens in the journey of sanctification when He begins to deal with all other areas of life (we need to become Christlike right?) our nature is being dealt with and His nature is shining through us or oozing through us. So, what has happened? The body is ours but His nature and our nature have become one. There is no more struggle of desires, mindsets and all other aspects of our life. What He thinks we execute. That’s why we are called manifest Sons of God.

That’s what happened to Jesus.

The Word says Jesus gave up all His divine privileges. In Greek, this means He ’emptied Himself.’ Meaning, there was nothing of His divinity helping Him in going through the cross or accomplishing God’s will. He was fully human. The only way He could do it as a human, was through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 2:6-8 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

He emptied Himself. He also had to go through a process to arrive at total obedience. Even at the last moment at the garden of Gethsamane, His will was struggling with the Holy Spirit. Take this cup away from Me. Take this cup away from Me. Twice He struggled. Third time He made a decision – Not my will but yours be done. After that there was no more struggle. Then the Holy Spirit supplied grace to strengthen Him after He made the decision.

Hebrews 4:16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

That is the whole process of intimacy.

We are always focused on hearing from the Holy Spirit. We may Hear but we may not be walking in union with Him.

That is why it involves surrender; surrender of different areas of our lives at His pace. We don’t decide the pace.  At His pace, He begins to expose, He begins to deal, and we make a choice to surrender. The moment He gives us victory that area is under His control already. The enemy cannot exploit anymore.

That is why we must create the infrastructure for Him to work deeper in our lives. Infrastructure means healthy habits that will facilitate Him to help us grow. We have to create that infrastructure.

Galatians 5:16, 25 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. walk in step with the Spirit. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 

Basically, through the power of the Holy Spirit we have intimacy with God and manifest the nature of Christ.

How do we start this?

We see many people fasting 40 days many times a year. But we don’t see the fruit of the Holy Spirit manifesting. We see power because when we fast, we stir up the gifts. We see power but we never see the manifestation of the fruits. What has happened there? 

1^st condition to walk in intimacy with the Holy Spirit is – It’s not about fasting and all that. It’s about our humble admission that we need Him.

David is a good example. He verbally expresses his need for the Holy Spirit. We must always admit our inadequacies, that we are weak, our mind is limited.

Psalm 51: 1-11 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Admission and acknowledgement do not come without brokenness. 

David was broken. That is why he was able to recognize who he is, where he is, where he was etc., Basically, it is a picture of humility, repentance and recognizing his need.

He could have said all this without mentioning the Holy Spirit. It still would have sounded repentant. But he understood the key thing that if God took the Holy Spirit from him, everything would crumble.

We must have the attitude and heart of surrender to Him, acknowledge our need of Him. Sometimes intellect can take over.

Some of us have a very strong will power, resilience, tolerance level. Sometimes we depend on all these things to overcome challenges. But these things don’t bring in permanent victory. Only divine power can break the power of sin and inaccurate behavior patterns in our life.

James 4:5 ISV Or do you think the Scripture means nothing when it says that the Spirit that God caused to live in us jealously yearns for us?

The Spirit God caused to live in us is the Holy Spirit. Why is the Holy Spirit jealously yearning for us? Because He understands His assignment. He is sent to help us. He is waiting for our cooperation. He is waiting for our partnership.

So, every day Holy Spirit is waiting inside us. He is waiting for us to come and spend time with Him so He can help us. That is why He is yearning jealously. He feels, “When I am here having the solutions for all the challenges you will face in this world, why are you running here and there?”

When we don’t understand the role of the Holy Spirit we go into arguments, comparisons and worldliness.

How are we going to develop an intimate relationship with Him? We have to find ways. We only pray to the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have to understand He is dwelling within us.

Ask yourself:  How aware am I of the indwelling Holy Spirit? Do I sense His moods? We are praying in tongues and so our spirits have been sensitized. We must involve him in our conversations and everything we need to do. Like in the book of Acts, they said “It felt good to ask the Holy Spirit.” It sounds like they had a discussion; they involved Him in decision making. 

Because Holy Spirit is in us, He is facing the same thing we are facing. We can involve Him in our challenges. The more we do this consistently, the more tangible and real He becomes in our lives.

Dr. Paul David Yonggi Cho did this in his own way. He put an empty chair to train his mind to understand “Holy Spirit is always with me. In office He is with me; when I am preaching, He is with me.” He did it until his mind was programmed to understand the Holy spirit is always with him. We all can do different things.

The important thing is we learn how to communicate and build a relationship with Him.

Pastor Benny Hinn and Katheryn Kuhlman spent time talking with Him on a daily basis; developing a relationship with him. Pastor Benny Hinn mentioned in his book “Good morning Holy Spirit” on how he developed such an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. He was such a tangible presence in his life; like a real friend.

Why do we need this? Why do we need to have indestructible life? We already know what’s coming. Without divine help we cannot overcome. Start this process. You must focus on this.

Another confusion to clear is – Paul is telling that we need to grow intimate with Christ. Does that mean we worship them individually?

There are a few scriptures that tell us the connectivity between them.

John 14:7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

When Paul says he longs to know Christ it also means he longs to know the Father intimately. It is a very complex relationship to understand. All three are one but because of the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives the way we develop and walk in intimacy with Him is different. For eg. Holy Spirit works in us and helps us be intimate with the Father. How do we become intimate with the Holy Spirit?

It is a whole other dimension because He is within us. We need to communicate with Him. We need to involve Him in every decision of our life; important decisions, everyday decisions, decisions regarding our self, decisions regarding family. We need to verbalize our needs to Him. It is not only about hearing Him. He should freely be able to express Himself through our lives; not just in one area but every area of our lives.

So that we can truly say – Every word I want to speak should be His word.

In Acts 5 Peter asked, “Why did you lie to the Holy Spirit?” It was actually Peter asking the question, right? But who was speaking through Him? Holy Spirit Unhindered; there was no processing through Peter’s mind to add on his own opinions. There was nothing of him to contaminate or add on. Remember Paul said, “No longer I but Christ lives in me.” Of Course, there were areas of his life he had to let the Holy Spirit deal with. We don’t know how long it took for him to deal with all the areas of his life. But at some point of time the Holy Spirit took over.  His mind, will, emotions, desires everything was surrendered to the will of the Holy Spirit who is the architect of our lives.

He knows our pace. We all have different paces in our walk with Him. We just have to consistently, wholeheartedly walk with Him. We know the nature of the Holy Spirit. He is our comforter. He is an expert in all things. He is the Spirit of Truth. All this we have access to through Him.

We have the most potent weapon living inside us; if we know how to tap; if God allows us to tap because in the days coming ahead, we need to live in a different dimension.

It starts from here. We must become more aware of His presence inside our lives. Start communicating with Him. Whatever spiritual things you are struggling you will see you are quickly breaking through.

So, learn to communicate with Him and then you need to honor Him with your body. Glorify Him through your body.

1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body.

We must be conscious. You know the plaque that says Christ is the unseen guest at every meal? He is listening to every thought of yours. Devil can only hear what comes out of your mouth. Holy Spirit can see what you think, see, everything He can observe. This body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. But we behave as though it is our temple. So, in every aspect we need to glorify Him. He comes to glorify Christ but we need to give Him freedom.

Focus on the intimacy with the Holy Spirit. When day to day this becomes consistent then everything will fall in place there are no more struggles.

Why is it important to build your family altar?

An altar is a place of sacrifice where we allow God to deal with us; the place where we come together to draw strength and wisdom. We don’t just pray for one another we pray for others who are also connected to the altar in any way. As parents you begin to pray for your children’s future prophetically to set their destiny in line to the altar. It is not an activity that we need to do because we are Christians. It defines destiny and defines our lives. 

As we develop intimacy with the Holy Spirit one of the things that we must see growing is our love for one another. Even Paul said right? Even if I have all these extraordinary things happening around me if I don’t have love, I am poor. One of the ways to measure if we are growing in Christ is, our love will grow. It is the Holy Spirit who works that within us. Without Him it is impossible. Even God Himself says in Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

There is no way we can live the life that He wants us to live without the Holy Spirit. He didn’t leave us as orphans, He gave us His Holy Spirit. Engage with Him, walk with Him, listen to Him all other things will fall into place.

Distinguishing voices is important

When you are confused whether you are hearing from the Holy Spirit

• Don’t rush into anything. We can take as much time as needed to find God’s heart in a situation
• You can continue to seek God. You can let it “simmer”
• You can pray with your prayer partners. You can put it through peers
• Seek what His Word says about a particular thing. What Holy Spirit speaks will never contradict the Word
• Go by the principles you understand from the Word. No Word, no absolutes
• Don’t always go by inner peace because a thief while he is stealing may have inner peace too because he is getting his heart’s desire
• Whenever God speaks whatever is reigning inside you will rise up to challenge the Word. Are you sure this is what God said? Voice of intellect may raise up and ask, is this going to work? If you have a bad experience in the past, the voice of experience might go, “Are you sure this won’t muck up again?” If the devil could challenge the Lord Himself using the Word, how much more us. Learn to discern these different voices
• It is an acquired skill to partner with the Holy Spirit
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because that is how you learn
• As you wait for Him, He will communicate. God is not a bad communicator. He says in Isaiah, “Come and reason with Me.” Isaiah 1:18a “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says, the LORD. God wants us to reason (have a conversation or dialogue) with Him. He is always ready to listen and guide us
• Jesus’ mind was always on what the Father’s will was. What is your mind set on? The things of the flesh? Things of the Spirit? Choice is yours

Focus on building intimacy with the Holy Spirit. After a few months you will first see the change in your spiritual life. How you are becoming more accurate. Compassion will increase as He becomes more involved in your life. People will be drawn to you. Never shy away from asking Him for help. He is the best encyclopedia of life, you can have.

Sermon by Pastor. Alex

The heart of the Father in these last days is for 2 things.

1. The lost
2. The Church to mature

1 Corinthians 3:1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you, I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ.

Paul is disciplining the Corinthian Church saying by now you ought to be mature, but you are babes. What has happened in the Church now is they are more focused on cosmetic behavior change; that is, they tell you don’t do this, change your behavior in this way etc., but they are not focusing on internal formation or spiritual formation.

As a result, you see a Church that is strong in other things like gifts and evangelism, but they are weak in spiritual formation.

What kind of Church is Christ coming back for?

A Mature Church.

If we turn our focus to

Romans 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

The mature sons of God. So, the last days generation will be the mature Church and a mature company of people.

Maturity is not a suggestion.

Hebrews 6:1-3 So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

Some versions say God willing we will move forward to maturity.

What is maturity?

• The definition of maturity is this – one whose character, words, actions emulate the character of Christ.

Romans 8:29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 

• One who is in complete control of his emotions

Proverbs 16:32 Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.

• One who is able to discern between right and wrong

Hebrews 5:14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

• One who is transformed in how he communicates, reasons and perceives the world. As we mature, it will change

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

• One who is manifesting the fruits of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22, 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

• One who is not choked by worries, riches or pleasures of the world

Luke 8:14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.

• One who is growing in the grace and knowledge of our God

2 Peter 3:18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.

• One who is completely surrendered and submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit

Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

How do we define spiritual formation?

Spiritual formation is the intentional process of nurturing a spiritual person into the likeness and image of Christ by the power of a spirit-filled life, to fulfil the will of God.

Key thing here is a spirit-filled life. Which is, Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

In that process of surrendering and submitting to the leading of Christ what is the Holy Spirit trying to do? To anchor us in the love of Christ. How does He do that? He deals with things in our lives daily. He uses the Word to convict us (which is more important). The moment we choose to obey the Word (because we love God, we obey the Word) we grow in His love. Remember, love is not a feeling it is a choice.

Ephesians 3:16-19 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

In order to talk about spiritual formation, we must understand the aspects of inner life.

Inner life means – our heart, soul and spirit man. Soul is mind, will and emotions

Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

The biblical understanding of the heart is, it is the control room of our spirit. It controls mind, soul, everything. Mind is controlled by analysis and logic but the heart dictates to our mind on what to focus. That is why the Bible focuses so much on the heart. The heart is the seat of our affections, motives and worship. The mind is stimulated by our heart. So whatever problem we have in our life stems from our heart.

Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.

We are trying to establish where all these are birthed. Everything stems from here.

Luke 6:45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

All our lives’ actions, choices, decisions spring from what is within our hearts. We can love God but in the case of 2 Timothy 3 other things like love for money, love for pleasures, love of self-indulgence, all these things can override our love and priority of God.

We also need to see the importance of dealing with our hearts because the Lord searches the hearts of the people.

Proverbs 21:2 People may be right in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their heart.

Whatever happens in our life the Lord weighs our motives and what takes place in our heart.

Proverbs 23:26 O my son, give me your heart. May your eyes take delight in following my ways.

What is the demand He gives? Give Me your heart.

Of course, in the New Testament if we do comparative study

Matthew 23:27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.

As long as He rules supreme in our hearts all the other things mentioned cannot come in.

Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Matthew 5:8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

Whatever happens in our lives boils down to whatever is in our heart. The heart is the one that directs the mind. Even in 2 Timothy 4:3 we can see whatever was in their heart was what was causing them to run behind these things. Even though they were Christians, and they knew the Word and everything.

2 Timothy 4:3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

In our journey to maturity in Christ it is important we need to know how our heart operates, the decision-making mechanisms of our heart and how to harness our heart.

4 Decision making mechanisms in our heart

1. Inner impulse

What drives us to do things?

Inner impulse is a reaction to situation and words. It can arise out of our emotions, feelings and desires. It is always directed by some trigger points.

Example: King Saul’s jealousy and obsession of David. Saul’s jealousy of David became an obsession. The moment he heard David killed ten thousand, Saul only thousands, something happened in his heart. The decision he made was an impulsive desire to go after David. What was the trigger point? His fear and insecurity. It was triggered the moment the people declared he’s much better. So, fear of losing his throne, insecurity of losing his position all led to the impulsive choices he made. He knew David was God’s chosen because he went through the same process before. As a leader (a so-called leader), he could see God’s hand upon David’s life. The fear, jealousy and insecurity triggered him to do certain things. This is one of the reasons we need to learn to harness our hearts.

Other examples include, Samson’s behaviour throughout his life. He always made impulsive decisions. Cain’s impulsive murder of Abel in Genesis 4:1-8. He was driven by jealousy and anger because God favoured his offering. Then Esau selling his birthright.

Genesis 25:29-32 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”

He wanted immediate gratification.

The problem with our generation: Immediate gratification. If they can get anything immediate, they will compromise.

Herod’s promise is another example.

Mark 6:21-26 Herodias’s chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. Then his daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.” He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!” She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!” So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!” Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her. 

When Herod was pleased with his daughter’s dancing, he impulsively promised something that resulted in John the Baptist getting beheaded. So, there is always a trigger point for impulsive decisions. Sometimes fear of future or fear of something that forces us to make decisions. So, we need to learn the art of harnessing our heart.

At the end of it all, it will come to only one thing – how to harness our minds. Who is completely ruling our heart?

There is a reason why God said love me with all your heart, mind and soul.

If He is ruling every aspect, then there is no chance that something else can come in and override your love for Him.

• Inner Convictions

This is the 2^nd mechanism that helps us take decisions in our heart. Convictions are different from beliefs.

A belief is what we hold on. Our convictions reflect our core values. Convictions can be shaped by good or bad experiences or Word of God.

The primary conviction that helped Paul face whatever he went through – “I consider everything rubbish compared to knowing Him.” His contentment was in Christ alone. All his convictions were rooted in this.

2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

Paul gives us an insight into core values. Here it says control; other versions use compels us. Meaning, the moment they understood the work of Christ for their lives, that He died for my sins, He ensured my freedom, they decided they will not do something beyond what is pleasing to Him. That is why He says now whoever lives must live for Him, no longer themselves.

So, it became a core value in his life: Christ is everything. Then when he realized what Christ had done for him, his core value became: Everything I now do in this life, my priority must be Christ. When all these core values added up his decision-making process became easier and easier because his boundaries were well defined.

Romans 8:38, 39 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What is the core value here? Unconditional love of God. God will never leave you, nor forsake you. God will always love you.

2 Corinthians 1:6-10 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.

We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.  In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. 

Past tense – He did rescue us. Present tense – He will continue to rescue us and Future tense – He will rescue us again. Where did this confidence stem from? His core value, that the unconditional love for God will never forsake him.

For Paul all these sufferings, for us, the daily challenges, whatever happens in our lives, if the core value is there, that unconditional love will never forsake me, then we will not fear anything.

He understood it is the grace of God operating through him that enabled him to do what he did.

1 Corinthians 15:10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favour on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

1 Corinthians 3:10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.

If our core values are not clear then our ability to face challenges is diminished. We can easily be shaken by a lie if we are not sure. Core values must be clearly defined.

When we study the Word, it must become a boundary for us.

Core value means something we live by, something by which we make decisions. We need to define our core values, so we have boundaries to live by. That is why we need to have pre-determined course of action.

Since love is a choice if I want to love God more then, what are the other areas that I need to adjust. The Word of God will highlight and illuminate that you need to adjust in this area.

What action am I going to take for it to become a lifestyle in me?

Inner convictions rule our heart. That’s why to some Christians drinking is not wrong. To some Christians, drinking is wrong. They say why you need to subject yourself to something you don’t need. It all depends on convictions.

If our convictions are very loosely based on the Word of God, then we are living on half-truth. If we are living in half-truth then we are leaning on a foundation that is not strong. That gives the enemy an opportunity to exploit. We are giving him 50% space in our mind and in our heart. Then he has chance to exploit us, confuse us with, ‘did God really say’ because he operates on half-truths. That is why our convictions must be clear so that our heart is harnessed properly then it understands the boundaries.

• Conscience

This is the 3^rd mechanism of decision making. Conscience is our God given faculty to discern what is right or wrong.

Conscience is the God given moral compass within us.

1 Timothy 4:1,2 Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

1 Timothy 4 talks about seared conscience. What does a seared conscience mean? Conscience has become insensitive to the voice of God and the Word of God. A good conscience discerns between right or wrong and is free of guilt.

How does our conscience become seared?

Repeated applications of sin.

That is when we are in a continuous cycle of doing the same thing, we are also in a continuous cycle of resisting the voice of the Holy Spirit. When that happens gradually our sensitivity will deteriorate because we are rejecting Him over and over again. For eg,. A habitual liar. When you start lying once or twice you may feel guilty but after a while you don’t feel anything. Why? Because the sensitivity to God has gone already. So, if they remain there slowly, they will go into deception. Voice of the Holy Spirit is cut off already.

Ephesians 4:18, 19 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

Why does the heart become hardened? Because the moment they choose to continue in the cycle and they refuse to listen to the voice of God, first the light of God is cut off. So that is why there is no more strength coming in, no hope coming in, no more conviction there. Then the life of God is gone. There is no revelation, no understanding, no insight, that is why their minds become darkened. This happens when the sin becomes habitual. They get separated from the light of God and the life of God stops flowing. They lose all sensitivity and understanding and they feel no fear, guilt and shame. That is why we see these ministries fooling around with God’s money and other things. The reason they don’t feel guilty is they have walked clear already. They have lost all sensitivity.

In Jeremiah 8 we see they went outside and did Baal worship and everything and they came back to God’s house. God did not do anything. So, they assume since He is not doing anything He approves it and they continue in it. Later on, He tells them I will remove My Presence from you.

God punishes somethings immediately like Aaron’s sons but other places it happens gradually like Eli’s sons. God gives us chance to repent.

How the cycle comes is first we do careless mistakes, then we realize that we are wrong, then we get back. After that we start compromising because we had a foretaste. First time I did, God never did anything, so we compromise. After that we become complacent. This is what happened with Judas.

So, the process of deterioration begins with carelessness, compromise, complacency, finally they go back to carnality because life and light of God is no longer there.

And we will be thinking I am good, I am praying and sensing the presence of God. It won’t be an immediate down. It will be more of an up and down. So, you will get familiar with this feeling of going up and down. You accept that as a reality. Slowly, gradually you are actually away from God, but you are not realizing.

Everything is decreasing:  your consciousness of God, your fear of God, everything is decreasing until one day you find you have lost completely everything. There is no God, and your decision making is completely by your own desires even though you read the Word, and you have quiet time and all that you have lost God sensitivity. So, what happens you manufacture. Your brain is powerful enough to make you believe you are sensing the Presence of God.

Of course, the true way to measure if we love God is by our obedience

But the brain can make a fool of us also because we want that, but we are not walking in that order; we are not ready to pay the price. So, the mind can manufacture experiences. It is creative enough to do that. Sometimes, we cry, we think its God, but it could be other reasons also.

The enemy aims to make us familiar with the territory first. God sets a standard. Then Satan comes. He makes you careless, he makes you compromise and become complacent. Then we become familiar with that level of living and then slowly you come to complacency, you have let your guard down already.

2 Timothy 5 talks about a form of Godliness; external cosmetic behaviour but they have lost all connection with God. If conscience is lost then we have lost all sensitivity and then we are manufacturing our own experiences. That’s why it’s very important. That’s when all the fear of God goes off. When the thief steals money he thinks I am doing it to meet my needs but that doesn’t mean God approves of it.

When people are stealing from tithe money, they think God understands. I need this money to pay these bills. Is this core value according to biblical standards? No matter what you cannot touch God’s money. Do they feel guilty? No, because they reason that God understands. Complacency has already set in.

Conscience is tuned by consistently sitting in God’s presence. The light and life of God comes into our conscience every time we come into the presence of God.

Isaiah 6. He was a Prophet in the King’s court. He did not feel anything until he went into God’s presence. Then he said, “I am a man of unclean lips.” He realized all that he had been doing had not been right before God’s eyes. So, the light of God will shine and reveal everything that’s wrong.

• Composure

Composure basically means a steadiness, a calmness, a quietness in our soul when the storm is raising outside.

Composure is a place of rest, calm and peace inside us no matter what happens on the outside. And we respond rather than react. Respond is an informed decision. We have thought through before we respond. We have inner peace.

2 Corinthians 4:8,9 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed but not driven to despair. We are hunted down but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.

In the midst of all that trouble, how did he have the clarity to understand God is trying to teach him something? It is not possible unless there is peace inside, composure inside. In the natural, you will try to get out of the situation, how to escape and all that. When we go through tough times our natural response is to stop moving and find a cave where we can hide.

That’s why when people go through problems they find a comfort zone. They don’t want to do anything more. They just want to sit there because comfort zone is familiar, and they don’t feel threatened or pressured in that environment.

So, how to define composure? Composure again comes from decisions we make. Did Daniel go screaming into the lion’s den? When Stephen was stoned, was he very composed? Paul’s life also we see many times through all trials he was very composed. What secret did they carry to be so composed in their hearts?

Some principles we can draw from Philippians 4:6-7

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Basically, it is teaching us how to subdue anxiety and worry. So, the first thing he says, submit everything to Christ. Second thing he says, subdue anxiety by giving thanks. By giving thanks, we are trying to reprogram our minds to positive thinking. We are dealing with the mind.

To submit means to let go off the need to control the situation. We worry because of two things – we are not in control of the process or situation, and we cannot control the outcome but submit is to let go off the need to control.

The root of anxiety is the need to control.

The moment we let go off the need to control we let go off anxiety.

Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Where is your focus on? If the focus is on letting-go and letting Him take control then this is our portion: Perfect Peace

2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.

This is a prayer, but it is also a promise. Paul is praying what God will do, what He is able to do. It is the nature of God. He is able to give us peace in all things, at all times.

If God on His part offers peace as a promise, then why are we not receiving it? We on our part we need to keep the focus, we need to let go of our need to control, so the peace of God can deal with the anxiety in our heart.

I mean there are times when God takes control of the situation and supernaturally His peace comes.  But most times we have to make decisions. That is why we have scriptures like

Psalms 37:7 Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

Psalms 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honoured by every nation. I will be honoured throughout the world.”

Isaiah 40:31 But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

In Ziklag when David’s own men wanted to stone him, David strengthened himself in the Lord. How did he find the peace and composure? He went into the presence of the Lord; he probably submitted and surrendered the whole situation to the Lord.

God is always willing to give us peace in all situations, at all times but we need to make the right response.

The situation is not going to go away but we need to fight that anxiety to make a decision. That’s how God trains us for battle. So, in the process of maturity and spiritual formation why is this important?

Our greatest enemy is our own will; our greatest contention is against our own will.

2 Timothy 4:3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. Their contention was with their own will because it is their heart that desired all these things, and their ears followed what was already in their hearts.

The contention is actually with their own will. That’s why we need to learn how to harness our heart.

And the only way, there is no other way, the only way to do that is to love our Lord with all our heart, mind and soul.

Revelations 2:2-4 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!

Jeremiah 2:2 “Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the LORD says: “I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness.

In Verse 2, we see Israel followed Him like a new bride but by verse 5 they followed worthless idols because their contentment was not in the Lord.

Jeremiah 2:5 This is what the LORD says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves.

If we look at Revelations 2:2

• they were hardworking
• they were enduring, which is a fruit of the Spirit
• they could not tolerate evil people, meaning they were very righteous,
• they knew how to discern between true and false people
• they endured and suffered because of His name
• They have suffered for the sake of Jesus and they have not grown weary
• and yet Jesus says you have lost your first love.

What happened? Along the way one of these things has taken priority over Him. They love Jesus but they do not love Him with all their heart, mind and soul.

So, the only way we can harness our hearts which also directs our minds is to make a decision, a predetermined course of action, like Daniel. Daniel decided: I will not defile my heart and then he took action: I will take only take water and vegetarian food. The next verse says God gave him grace and favor with the authorities.

What is God expecting from us?
You love Me with all heart, mind, soul and strength all other things will fall in place. That’s the simplest definition of our relationship with Christ.

So, we have to make that decision. Love Him means you won’t betray Jesus. You deeply love Him you won’t do the wrong things. If He is the lover of your heart you won’t go for another lover. As long as we are in the flesh, we still have a chance to change. God’s heart is open. So, even if we are on the decline only thing we need to do is go back and repent and we can start walking with Him. But the problem is we don’t know when what will happen to us. So, why wait for another day?

To build something into your life you have to desire, decide, determine and stay disciplined.

So, why not determine to love Him? Then all other areas will automatically fall in its place.

Like, Paul and David, our first priority is to love Him then our heart will be ruled by love for Him. Paul says my heart is compelled by the Love of Christ. His love will constrain me from doing all other things that will not please Him. His love will drive me to do what pleases Him. That is why the Holy Spirit establishes us in love and helps us understand the love of Christ.

Matthew 24 says the love of many will grow cold. 2 Timothy 3 says Watch out! Love for money will increase, love for self-indulgence increase, love for pleasure will increase. We need love for Christ.

When we stop in our love for Christ then other things will over ride. So, conscious decision needs to be taken on a daily basis. How do we know what to change? Holy Spirit through the Word will direct us to the areas in our lives we need to deal with.

We don’t become a mature person in one day. It’s a journey. We have to desire, decide, determine and stay consistently disciplined. We need to make decisions. God will not make decisions for us.

In this time, maybe God will accelerate certain things in our life as long as we remain connected because when we remain connected light and life of God comes in. Light gives us understanding. Life of God gives hope, strength and determination to go on.

by Pastor. Alex

We are our greatest enemy. We cannot blame anything or any situation if we are not moving forward or growing in the Lord.

Matthew 22:37- 40 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.

All is a measurement.

If we do not understand that our primary purpose for living is this then all our decisions can be wrong. The whole purpose of our lives is growing into the fullness of loving God.

To love God with all our heart is to intensely pursue Him as the No. 1 priority in our lives: to love Him sincerely and genuinely.

All our strength means love is not just words but must be seen in actions we take that show Him that He matters to us. This must be the basis to every decision we make.

What are the challenges we face towards this?

Esther’s life holds 3 key warnings that are relevant for today.

Esther 4:14-16 If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.” 

It’s essential we understand the power of divine placement

Acts 17:26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

God intentionally plans the time and place for us to be born, and He has strategically placed us where we are.

Esther recognized a strategic deployment and took the right posture in the spirit and became an instrument that nullified the plans of the enemy in her sphere of influence. If she did not take that right posture in the heart, she might have missed what God wanted to do through her.

In the same way, the place we are in is to checkmate the devil in our own sphere of influence.

Who knows you are brought to the Kingdom for such a time as this?

The first warning for the last days’ church: The danger of not living circumspectly.

Ephesians 5:15-17 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Understand the season in your personal walk with God and the season we are living in. Ephesians warns us to live our lives with discernment.

1. Be careful how you live. We cannot live carelessly. We must be focused and understand our season
2. Make best use of our time. This means, we must be productive and effective where ever God has placed us
3. Understand the will of God. Understand the personal will of God and also understand the demand of our generation

David served his generation well. What is God’s expectation on us for where He has placed us?

God’s heart is for the lost and for the church to mature. One of the things, we cannot afford to be careless in this season is to build a consistent walk with God.

Power of Consistency

If there is no consistency we don’t move forward. Without consistency there can be no growth or progress in our lives. The closest scripture that comes to it is

1 Corinthians 15:58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Consistency is being steadfast, committed and unwavering in faith and obedience to God even in the face of challenges

Be strong, immovable and consistent in all that you do. Consistency helps us develop a routine, bring momentum and form habits. If we do something consistently it becomes a habit and that brings momentum in our spiritual walk and forms a routine for us. This helps us in our spiritual growth. It helps us grow deeper in our relationship with God.

Colossians 2:6, 7 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

In another version it says just like you received the Messiah, continue to live dependant on Him. This produces a lifestyle of consistency. It will help us be rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in Him. Without consistency we will grow up to a certain measure but there will be loopholes which can cause us to falter because the building or pillars are not strong enough.

1. When we come to a place of consistency means everything is strengthened. We are no longer struggling in that area
2. It gives us strength during trials and temptations. We will still be standing after the battle

Ephesians 6:12,13, 18 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

The Armour of God is a lifestyle. It is not something we declare.
A lifestyle is built by consistency.

The helmet talks of salvation which means protecting your mind. You know how to be in control of your thoughts. Breastplate of righteousness talks about the heart. Belt is the most important thing. If everything about us is not based on the truth, then all the rest is ineffective. Everything will come loose when you are fighting the battle.

It’s a lifestyle. As we grow more and more in this lifestyle, we gain strength to fight back. That is why we must not be afraid to make mistakes because it is part of growth. God allows us to make that mistake because He wants to help us overcome and not to condemn us. Through that He will teach us as we continue to walk with Him. Our love for Him will help us overcome all this. Remember, the reason we live is to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Pray in the spirit at all times means a consistent walk and a consistent prayer life that prepares us for spiritual battles.

If we just have knowledge of the Word but no formation is taking place it means we have no mindset for spiritual formation. We don’t think that spiritual formation is an important aspect of my life. Then we have knowledge but we don’t know how to use it to fight our battles in our mind and in the heart. Without the Word and the Spirit, we don’t know how to battle. Our emotions will be stronger than the Word and the Spirit. Then we take emotional decisions.

John 15:10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

As we continue to walk in obedience, the degree of our obedience will produce a degree of intimacy with God

John 15:5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 

Consistency will make us fruitful. Remaining in Him requires consistency. We need to be consistent in holding on to His words.

John 15:7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 

Consistency brings in favour of God. God’s love is unconditional but His promises are conditional. God sees whether we are consistent; that means we are giving Him priority and we are serious. Then we don’t have to beg or ask it becomes a part of our life.

Consistency builds character.

Galatians 6:9 So, let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 

Let us not be tired of doing what is good. It is not just the fruit of the work we reap but also the fruit of the Spirit.

Consistency requires perseverance especially during challenging times. It is at moments when our progress is slow or stagnant that God is shaping us. This is because it develops endurance and perseverance. All this is part of character development. Character is not built in good moments. It is not built when we are happy and relaxed. Character is built during the everyday decisions we make to remain faithful. This shapes our character, produces fruits of the Spirit and shapes our life.

Luke 16:10 If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.

Consistency in small things leads to greater opportunities. Faithfulness in doing small things is also consistency. Whatever responsibility God has given us, our stewardship areas, when we do it faithfully, consistently that opens doors for greater opportunities. When we are faithful in insignificant things then He promotes us to the next level. He rewards perseverance.

Hebrews 10:36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

God recognizes every little effort we put in for His sake. When we stay on course even though we don’t see what we want to see God will reward us for the perseverance. Whether the fruit of the work is seen as intended by us or not but the work of endurance God will reward. We are doing it for His sake. We are staying consistent for His sake so He will reward.

Practical ways to remain consistent

1. It’s not due to availability of time. It’s a decision we make

When we say we don’t have time it is our decision. It is not the devil.  It is us. We need to put God first. It is a check on where our priorities lie.

Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

• Develop habits that will help us be consistent in our walk. Set yourself up for success

1 Timothy   4:7,8 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.

What is training yourself to be godly? What is building spiritual discipline? They are practices that promote spiritual growth in us. Prayer, worship, fasting, service, giving, study and meditation of the Word.

2. Stay accountable

In case, your family is the Church, hold each other accountable.

Hebrews 10:24, 25 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Our nature is if we are not answerable to anyone, we won’t have the demand on our lives to do something. That is our human nature. Accountability is important. We must be open to those kept above us, must be open to each other, so we know where we each are struggling and what is happening in our lives.

The most important question in this season is what is God doing in our lives? How am I moving towards my end goal? What areas of my life am I not able to become like Christ as the Word says? What is the obstacle?

Is there stubbornness in me? Bible says stubbornness is idolatry. It means I am resisting and rejecting the Word of God. Why is it there in me? Problem could be ego or unbelief. How to deal with that? Why do I have ego? Why do I believe so much in my intellect? A lot of walking with God requires faith. We have to humble ourselves to receive what God is saying.

In everything that involves growth in our lives the Holy Spirit is involved. We must be determined to follow His promptings and stirrings.

Galatians 5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

Basically, this is a battle of the flesh and spirit. To form this lifestyle, we don’t need faith; we need determination and discipline.

Common obstacles we face to consistency

1. Distractions

Luke 10: 39-42 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Martha was distracted. We have to ask ourselves what daily occurrences cause us to be distracted. If we don’t take any strategic actions these things will continue to happen. We will be going in the same cycle. We must always work around our obstacles and find a solution.

2. Discouragement

Delays and challenges can lead us to discouragement.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Sometimes we don’t understand the situation, but God always works for our good. Maybe the delay is producing patience, perseverance and endurance. We don’t understand but we must keep the momentum going. When distractions to our schedule happens, we must still keep the momentum going. To keep the momentum going we just need a touch. Try to squeeze in a time where you can be in His presence. Whatever works for you, for some people it is Word, some people it is praying in tongues, some people worship one song. You give Him that time and you must connect; not just sing the song but connect with Him.

If you can connect the quota for the day has come into your spirit. We receive something fresh from God for that day. God will sustain you for the day until you find the time to give Him back the same kind of time as before.

But don’t go a day without connecting then you lose the momentum then when you want to start again you will find a struggle. Make sure, every day, even the busiest day of your life at least find that pocket of time to connect and receive something into your spirit. If not, then you have to start all over again and all kinds of excuses will come. Be careful here.

3. Lack of discipline

1 Corinthians 9:27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

The greatest enemy will always be I didn’t have enough sleep. I was tired. I had a busy day. That’s where priority, discipline and determination come in. It comes back to loving the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Am I showing by my action that I am doing it with all my strength? We have to ask ourselves.

The 2^nd warning to the last days’ Church: The danger of remaining silent

If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Esther 4:14

The context here is the danger of remaining silent. If you remain silent, God will eventually get His work done through someone else, but we have to give account when He comes because we have been strategically placed in that sphere of influence. We have to give an answer to why we did not respond to the situation He has placed us in. The Bible talks about many things like seeking justice for the oppressed, for the orphans and for the widows.

But the most important thing for us is end of the day we have to bring Jesus into people’s lives. No matter how we build the bridge depends on situations, may be through prayer, counselling but end of the day we must bring Jesus into their lives because our concern is where their soul is going.

Few reasons why we may keep quiet

1. Fear of man

Revelations 21:8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

First word is cowardly. This applies to both Christians and non-Christians. If we don’t raise up and we hold back due to fear, we are cowards.

Matthew 10:28 Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

If we are afraid, we have to allow God to help us overcome. God is not going to condemn us, but God wants to help us. God is always looking to restore or reignite us.

He never condemns us; only the devil does that. Learn how to work with the Holy Spirit of God or the Word to overcome our fears. That is progressive.

Most of the time we have fear of what people might think, fear of man and all that. But ultimately, we have to overcome. Certain things we don’t need God to speak to us specifically. These are our responsibilities. God doesn’t have to tell us to pray, read the Bible, share the gospel, pray for the sick, all this is part and parcel. But the way we may do it is different because God has put us all in different situations.

2. Spiritual Apathy

2^nd Reason we don’t share is because of lack of intent. We call it spiritual apathy.

Haggai 1:9 You hoped for rich harvests, but they were poor. And when you brought your harvest home, I blew it away. Why? Because my house lies in ruins, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, while all of you are busy building your own fine houses. 

They started building the house of God but after a while they got fed up and they started to focus on their own work. But the more relevant verse would be

Philippians 2:21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.

Paul is referring to his own disciples – all others look for their own interest but only Timothy has the interest of Christ. Among his disciples itself there are those who have self-interest and those who have interest of Christ. So, we need to continuously check what is our interest?

Self-interest or Christ interest? If Christ interest means what does that mean?

3. Lack of Conviction

2 Corinthians 4:13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”

Most of the times we talk to our loved ones because of the convictions we have developed in our relationship with Christ. I know this is true and it has happened in my life so I want to share to my loved ones so that they also may get to know Him.

4. Lack of connection with God

Jeremiah 20:9 But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!

We know Jeremiah is a well-connected man with God. What does he say? Even if he wants to keep quiet his spirit is on fire, it cannot hold back. His spirit wants to release. What happened to David when he went to the battlefield? He heard the enemy speak and something arose in him because of his connection. All the others were listening but nothing happened but when David came because of his connection with God something happened.

What were his first words? Who is this filthy giant to defy the living God? Something arose within him. When our spirit is dull due to lack of connection what will happen? Nothing will happen.

The 3^rd warning to the Last Days’ Church – The danger of not stepping out in faith

The danger is fearing to step out in faith. There is a price to pay – If I perish, I perish.  A lot of things that God tells us requires faith to move. Sometimes we may feel we are not up to the task; who will listen to us, we may feel small.

Esther took a strategic action. She organized a prayer and then she had to risk her life to talk to the king. If she didn’t step out in faith; since there was death penalty for those who entered the king’s presence uncalled for, God would have used some other person. Like, Katherine Kuhlman was God’s 3^rd choice. She moved in signs and wonders before Benny Hinn. She moved in a greater measure than him. God told her one day that she was His 3^rd or 4^th choice. That means 3 other people had the opportunity to move in that mantle but since they had no faith to step out, she got the mantle.

God wants to use us. When we fear, somehow God will get the job done but we have to answer Him when we meet Him. There is a price to pay whether it is humiliation, rejection, accusation, ridicule, people calling us religious nuts or cookies, betrayal of our religion etc., But this is nothing compared to what the early church faced. They were crucified, fed to lions, whipped etc.,

We have not faced to that extent of the early Church but as the last generation we will face all kind of hardships in the coming days. Our faith will be tested. That’s where when we don’t love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength anything we love above it will cause us to stumble.

It is interesting that Jesus said you can either worship God or mammon. He could have said you can either worship God or the devil. Why mammon?

The last test of our faith, if we are going to go through tribulation is to take the mark, that’s also mammon. Once we take the mark we are under judgment. If money and riches are not under our control and they are controlling us that means it is an idol in our hearts.

All these signs Jesus already said in the Bible; either mammon must rule you or I must rule you. So, you must be careful how you manage money. If you don’t budget your money, your expenditure will control you. Money will control you because you have to fit to the lifestyle you have subscribed.

Whenever God has to prepare us for something He equips us.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

If we should break down Acts 1:8 it simply means we are going as His representative. We are not going on our own strength. We are going in His power. He has given us His gifts. He teaches us what to speak. He gives us boldness. All this meaning He will supply our lack. In Peter’s case it was boldness. All of us have different lacunae.

When God places us somewhere He gives us a sphere of influence. He always equips us. We have to be consistent; we cannot keep quiet, and we need to step out in faith. Even now as He is building us in this level, He is also preparing us to go to the next level. We will make mistakes, but we should never be afraid to make mistakes.

These are times of grace. He is building us making us better and better. When the future battles come, we will already be equipped and built. God’s desire is for us to be strong in every area. It only happens when we allow Him to deal.

So, whenever He deals, we must recognize and our question must be what must I do? Not why it happened to me?

Every correction of God, we can choose to wallow in self-pity, or we can ask God what I need to do, what do I need to change, what do I need to cut off?

If we choose to walk in a certain way, is it called stubbornness? For a long time, we have not broken through something even though God is continually speaking to us who is the problem. We are. Is that stubbornness? We are rejecting, rebelling the Word of God.

1 Samuel 15:23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So, because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.

Rebellion is witchcraft. Stubbornness is idolatry.

Revelation 22:14, 15 Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. Outside the city are the dogs—the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie.

One is inside the gate and the other is outside.

Verse 14 talks about people who walk according to the Word.

In verse 15 are

• Dogs: Dogs in the Jewish context is us. They call the gentiles dogs. But in Philippians 3 Paul talks about false teachers. They are outside no matter how big that pastor is.

Philippians 3:2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 

• Sorcerers: Sorcerers is not just about witchcraft but those who rebel against the Word of God.

• Idolaters: Idolaters are those people who put other things before God.

2 Timothy 3: 2-5 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

Ephesians 5:5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

• Immoral people we know.

• What about murderers? Jesus redefined a murderer. Those who cannot forgive. Those who hold onto unforgiveness and they hate their brother. Like, 2 Timothy 3 Lovers of money, lovers of self, lovers of pleasure. And also, those who are stubborn.

• Liars: Everyone who loves and practises falsehood. Somewhere along the line somebody created white lie, black lie, grey lie, big lie and small lie. A lie is a lie. When you know the truth and you don’t speak the truth that is also falsehood. When you twist the truth (because the devil always operates on half-truths) it’s a lie. Sometimes pastors twist the truth to gain from you.

This is how strict the entrance is. The Jesus of the Bible requires absolute obedience to enter into His Kingdom.

But as long as we are alive, we have a chance to change our lives.

We must be aware of where we are continually struggling. Humility is the key word.

James 1:21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

Difference between a broken heart and a broken ego. Broken heart is one which is repentant and wants to find a way out of it. Broken ego blames everyone else and is only sad it got caught. Sooner or later, we can see from the fruit whether it’s a broken ego or broken heart.

For growth to take place, God has to break us because He has to break the old and build a new pattern.

This season, focus on consistency. The pace of God’s progress in your life is determined by Him. You don’t determine your pace. What He is speaking to you now, you faithfully do your best, cooperate with Him and allow Him to build you in that place. He will pace us because He knows our capacity and our limitations. As long as we do that faithfully we will reach our destination. He will hold our hand and take us.

But if we resist, He will still wait for us because from first breath to last breath He will never give up unless we choose to ignore Him and walk away.

Keep the connection because the moment something is not coming in it dries out. Even in the midst of busyness and all that; squeeze that pocket of time to keep the momentum. Every day we are facing all kinds of opposition. It really drains us. We have to acknowledge that we are living in the middle of a spiritual battle. Whatever we see physically happening to the Jewish people is happening to us in the spiritual sense for now. One day it will come into the natural. We got to be aware of this, how negative words come, how certain people are trying to irritate us, rub us in a wrong way. All kinds of things are going on. So, we must recognize spiritual battles. It actually drains us. It takes energy to subdue, push back these things. End of the day if we are not receiving replenishments the next day, we don’t have enough energy and power to push back. We must take time to pump fuel in for your battles.

1 Timothy 4:16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

We want to make 6 declarations over your lives from Psalms 16.

David’s confidence and trust was in the Lord in the midst of great distress.

Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge. Psalms 16:1

We declare in Jesus’ name your faith will overcome your fears and doubts this year.

Every fear and doubt that has delayed your progress will be overcome this year.

David’s desire was for the Lord.

I said to the LORD, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.” LORD, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. Psalms 16:2,5,8

We declare in Jesus’ name your heart will relentlessly pursue God this year.

He will become your passion and priority.

The lines have fallen in good places, yes, I have a good inheritance. Psalms 16:6

We declare in Jesus’ name; God will bring stability in all areas of your life.

He will give you a good inheritance this year materially and spiritually.

What is your portion will come to you.

I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. Psalms 16:7

We declare in Jesus’ name; the counsel of the Lord will be with you, and you will have a sensitive heart that hears and obeys the instructions of the Holy Spirit.

I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalms 16:8

Same scripture is quoted by Peter about David, but here it says “I see that the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” Acts 2:25

We declare in Jesus’ name; May the Lord’s presence fill you, surround you, abide in you in a greater measure in 2025.

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalms 16:11

We declare in Jesus’ name; may you have clarity and direction in the will of God and every decision you will take in 2025.

May God’s wisdom prevail in every situation.

We declare in Jesus’ name; peace and joy will be your portion in every challenge you will undergo this year.

Remember, your greatest enemy is not the devil but you. Your greatest battle is with your own will.

May God’s will be done in your lives in 2025.

May the God life (Zoe) manifest in you, this year, in Jesus’ name!

Amen! Blessed New Year!

From Pastor Alex and Pastor Clariss.

Sermon by Pas. Alex

We know the last-days Church will face challenges of intensity never seen before. We can see some of the examples in Matthew 24. We also know that the last-days Church will be the most glorious and most powerful church that ever existed.

Haggai 2:9 The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place, I will bring peace. I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

Isaiah 60:1,2 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the LORD rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the LORD rises and appears over you.

God’s glory will rise upon His church. This is our destiny. The decisions we make now as a leader and a believer will determine whether we will be overwhelmed by the coming challenges or we will rise to be the
Most Powerful Church.

What do we need to do? Build our lives well because if we don’t mature and grow in stature we cannot walk into what God has prepared for us in His plans. After Covid, now when things are almost back to normal people find it hard to imagine that things are about to get worse. If you want to imagine how it would be. Think back to covid times and imagine how uncertain and fearful you felt and multiply it by 100 times. There will be great pressure against our minds, wills, and emotions and anything or anyone righteous or godly. So if we are not built well we will crack and collapse. Matthew 24 says the love of many will grow cold.

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 

Matthew 7:24,25

Bedrock implies the foundation of what we build. We need to be clear about our stand and doctrines because they will determine how we live. E.g., If we are waiting for Rapture then our mentality would be – “Just survive until we are raptured.” If we believe the Church will go through tribulation then we will build our lives strong so we won’t be swept away. Scripture talks about the winds and waves that test the strength of the structure we build. The waves come slowly to erode the building. What we are going through now is like small waves that beat against the house. We may feel a bit of shaking but we can still stand. But, what’s coming ahead is a Tsunami. It will be sudden, fast, and strong. When we visited Sri Lanka after the Tsunami we saw concrete buildings reduced to rubble. We have to build our lives to last what’s coming our way. 

For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

1 Thessalonians 5:2,3

We want to zero in on the statement – the disaster will fall on them suddenly when they think everything is okay. These are the words we will keep hearing in the coming days – Unexpected, unexplainable, uncertain. The pandemic was a God-given chance for us to start building ourselves well. It was a foretaste of how things can change suddenly and affect us. There is a higher force behind all these things working towards its agenda. But we as a church know, no matter what happens we win in the end.

Mathew 24:13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 

The key is mentioned here – Endure. For this, we need inner strength. God never sends us out into battle without preparing us unless we run out on our own. That’s why we must know our battles well; when to pursue, when to let go. We want everyone to reach Zion in their journey. That’s why we studied the journey of Israel in the past. We don’t want to stop at Mount Sinai with our activities and experiences. We want to move on to where God wants us to be. We don’t want to go through the same cycle every year; certain times high, certain times low and certain times dry. We have to move forward. 

How do we measure if we are progressing? 

If we were to ask any believer this question – What is your duty as a believer? This would be the common answer – “I need to follow the word. I need to follow the Holy Spirit.” Although this is true, it is too general a statement to evaluate whether we are growing. 

Seven areas we measure growth in a person 

(i) Aspects of the heart

a) Integrity – Having unchangeable convictions amid a changeable environment. Does the person have convictions of steel that do not compromise on Kingdom values? Compromise causes us to shift the operational principles of our lifestyle

b) Righteousness – This is not being self-righteous but living and operating with an honorable code of ethics

c) Peace – Ability to walk in peace in all situations 

d) Joy in the Holy Ghost – Ability to express their hearts unashamedly to God in His presence. Having a buoyant spirit in all circumstances; having the inner strength to rise above every need, fear, every negative thought, and emotion

(ii) Spiritual aspects

a) Devotion towards God, His Word, and His work – Is it the foremost priority? 

b) Growing in undivided attention for Him

c) Growing in the ability to sense the flow of the Holy Spirit

d) Growing in the ability to rightly divide the word 

e) Growing in the understanding of the word

f) Flow of accurate revelations 

g) Growing in the passion for all things holy

(iii) Mental aspects

a) Ability of mind to reason and conclude an issue or matter

b) Ability to navigate through stress/pressure and make wise and accurate decisions

c) Ability to filter and discern truth and see things from a biblical perspective 

d) Is the mindset, mental framework, and thinking patterns evolving, changing, and governed by the Word of God?

e) Is there a flow of revelation & wisdom to navigate through life’s challenges? 

(iv) Social aspects

a) Ability to interact with people

b) Ability to be at peace and full of graciousness

c) Ethical and moral in all dealings with people

d) Leading and winning others for Christ through our lives

(v) Strategic aspects

a) Ability to chart the way forward

b) Ability to use resources wisely for the project

c) Ability to plan for growth

(vi) Economic aspects

a) Ability to generate resources for ourselves 

b) Ability to manage resources wisely

c) Not driven by need or money

(vii) Health aspects

You are only useful as long as your body is healthy & functioning

We have also been studying 

1. Seven areas we need to break through and mature in

2. Who is a productive Christian leader?

All these should lead us to 

1. Manifesting Christ in our lives 

2. Growing in stature and maturity

3. The body of Christ coming in unity

4. Life in the dimension of the Spirit

In the Old Testament, this was Zion (Jerusalem) and now for the New Testament Church, it is the Spiritual Zion.

With this in mind what are you going to do differently?

Nothing changes unless you change. Don’t end this year like you did the last. Evaluate what you need to change. Change starts in our daily habits. 

Proverbs 4:18 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

Continuous change and growth mark our life. To move from glory to glory there must be a change in our walk to go to that next level.

Ask God – Where is the next level? And move there. 

Think of change only in terms of – What have you become? 

Do you have more ministry opportunities now than before? Great! But what have you become?

Did you get more blessings this year? Great! But what have you become?

Do you have more experiences in the presence of God this year? Great! But what have you become?

Do you have more followers on Facebook? People are responding to what you write? Great! But what have you become?

God rewards us for our work. Whatever we do wholeheartedly for Him there is a reward waiting. But we are judged based on what we have become.

Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

This is what God wants us to become. 

Don’t run in blind faith but have clarity and direction in whatever you do. We have to build a life that sustains what God fills us with. 

Let us understand a few things before we talk about Revival

 1. What is the anointing of the Holy Spirit? 

It is an empowerment of the Spirit to do something. It is a gift. It is resident in us. E.g. You may be anointed to teach, prophesy and heal. It is an expression of the Holy Spirit’s power.

 2. What is the in-filling of the Holy Spirit?

It means God pours a new measure of His Spirit into our spirits. Sometimes in a meeting, God pours out a new measure of His Spirit into us and for that period, we keep crying and praying; there is an excitement and buoyancy in our spirit for a while. 

 3. What is the Indwelling Spirit ?

The Holy Spirit.

In John 7 He is described as a river that flows from our belly. He is the power source placed within our spirit.  

John 7:38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ 

1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Holy Spirit. 

The Bible warns us that we should not quench the Holy Spirit. When we don’t allow Holy Spirit to express and function freely in our lives we are quenching Him. We could do this because of our fears, our doubts, or some other mental blocks. 

Ephesians 4:30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. 

Inaccurate lifestyles, sin, and disobedience grieve the Holy Spirit. These cause the vessels (our lives) to leak what God has poured into our spirits. Leaks prevent Him from functioning. 

For example – This Sunday you go to church God pours out a fresh measure of His spirit. During the week by carelessness / careless lifestyle, you can suppress all that God put into your spirit. Every time we walk in disobedience we contaminate what God has poured into us. Imagine you are a clear glass container and God pours crystal clear water into you. Your sin/disobedience is like putting a pinch of mud into that water. The water becomes contaminated. The Holy Spirit moves away from whatever caused the contamination. 

Ask yourself this – In 2000 years of Christianity, how many Revival meetings have happened in India? If the Holy Spirit was in control why did those movements not continue? The probable reasons are – sin and disobedience. Do we want this to continue in our generation? 

Temple of the Holy Spirit

Think of the Holy Spirit building our lives in terms of a natural building. A building has a blueprint and a skeletal framework. The skeletal structures of our spiritual temple are

1. Foundation 

– The cross is the one that clears our land for building. When we say we cannot become the Tabernacle of God without Jesus, it means we have to be born again

– We must understand our identity in Christ

– We need to identify our inheritance. Many of our fears and doubts are a result of our not understanding our inheritance

Ephesians 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 

We are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Do we believe this? Do we have full conviction about this?

2 Corinthians 2:14 But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.

In Christ, we are led triumphantly. Do we believe this?

Philippians 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

It says in Christ we can do everything. Do we believe?

Ephesians 2:6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

It says we are seated with Christ; we have authority. Do we believe this?

2 Peter 1:3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.

Bible says everything we need for a life of godliness has been provided. Do we believe this?

The test will come when we are going through challenges. Are these scriptures just knowledge or are they convictions in your heart? Our foundation is only as strong as your conviction.

We can pray all we want. We can quote these scriptures. Declare these scriptures. We can do everything! End of the day, what will bring us through or what will carry us through is our conviction about what the Word of God says. That’s why some temples are collapsing, some lives are collapsing because every time they build something happens, and the foundation is broken and they have to rebuild again.

Picture your life and see where you are failing. Where are you constantly breaking down? You have to find a way and a strategy to overcome.

A strategy is a plan that cannot fail. 

Next, we see the pillars. 

The first pillar – Holiness 

We don’t have to be holy to come to Jesus. That’s true. It is true for non-believers. But once you are in the kingdom there is a demand to live a consecrated and holy life. The confusion comes in when pastors teach that ‘Jesus accepts all.’ Another confusion is ‘Jesus was a hundred percent man and a hundred percent, God. That’s why he was able to be temptation free.’ This is not true. Philippians 2 says He emptied Himself. If He overcame sin by His divinity then He has no right to demand that we grow into his image! But Jesus was a prototype sent by God to show how to live a life that is pleasing to Him, fully led by the Holy Spirit. It says in Hebrews 3, He faced all temptations just like us and yet He did not sin.

2 Peter 1:3 – 5 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to Himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 

Make every effort – He has already given us everything for us to lead a godly life. He has given His precious and wonderful promises. By living according to them, and clinging to them we participate in His divine nature. What is our job? We must make every effort.

By our own effort, we cannot become what God wants us to be because the architect of our lives is the Holy Spirit. The builder of this temple is the Holy Spirit. We simply need to listen, obey, and partner with the Holy Spirit so that He can build us.

It is important to mention that as long as we are in the flesh we are subject to temptation but we don’t have to keep falling.

Proverbs 4:18 The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

This means our strength and resolve are getting stronger and stronger.

Holiness means to live a consecrated life. It is bringing in the nature of Christ; that is growing like Christ. Christ’s nature is God’s nature. No matter how long or how often we fast it is not a measure of our holiness. These are important disciplines but they are not a measure of our holiness. What we become as a result of that fasting is what we will measure. How has it changed our nature?

Isaiah 58 talks about true fasting. God mentions what they have become. So it is not about activities like – I stopped smoking, I stopped this and that. You can stop but what makes you holy is what is inside, your nature, your character, your attitude; what you become. It is what is seen in our lives.

The second pillar – Love

It is not how much you profess your love for Jesus. That’s between you and God and only God can measure that. It is also not about sentiments or prayers or emotional crying.

The outworking of love in our lives produces a nature; Christ’s nature. He was submissive, led a surrendered life, was sacrificial, and had a servant’s heart and a selfless heart. That is how we measure whether we are growing in the pillar of love. 

For instance, if I just come and talk to you lovingly, I call you ‘my child’ and all, that doesn’t mean I’m full of love. What is produced in my life? Am I submissive? Am I sacrificial? Am I having a surrendered life? Am I able to forgive people quickly? All these are measures of the outer working of love in my life.

The third pillar – Faith

It is not what you declare in faith or pray in faith. Your growth in faith is seen by the decisions you make and how you navigate through your life. The outworking of faith always produces action. 

Even when you read Hebrews 11 about the heroes of faith, you see by faith they went out and did something. So you don’t have to look at how people pray or speak to measure their faith. You just have to look at their lives – how they live, how they make decisions, what they do. 

I once had an interesting experience. A friend of mine was trying to teach his four-year-old daughter to swim. She was sitting at the edge of the pool and he was in the pool. He was asking her – Do you trust Daddy? She said “Yes!” Do you think when you jump into the pool I’ll hold you? She said “Yes!” Do you know Daddy will not let anything happen to you? She said “Yes!” Do you believe I will teach you how to swim? She said “Yes!” Then he said – Ok! Are you ready to get into the water? She said “No.”

Just like us. We know the theology of things. We know everything we need for life, His divine power has provided. 

Psalms 139:16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

It says every day of our lives God already knows. He knows what’s going to happen; He knows every temptation, every challenge, and every problem we are going to face each day of our lives. He says I have a strategy ready for you. 

Now if I ask you – Do you believe that God will help you in your life? You will say “Yes!” But when you go through that specific challenge of your life you will be like that little girl who said “No.”

Think about it. Your foundation is only as strong as your conviction. Whether we are growing in the pillar of faith will be seen in the way we make decisions and the way we live our lives.

The fourth pillar – Power

This pillar consists of us growing in our gifts and anointing.

The Walls of Wisdom

The walls of wisdom protect us from the things of the world and the devil.

James 3:13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, and doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.

How do we know a man is walking in wisdom? – By his conduct and actions.

The walls of wisdom protect us from the schemes of the world and the schemes of the enemy. When Queen Sheba visited King Solomon she observed how everything was done in his kingdom. She saw that he operated in the wisdom of God by the way he did things. So the outworking of wisdom is seen in the works we produce and the decisions we make. 

Education gives us a certain level of wisdom and so does experience. Age can also give us a certain level of wisdom but it depends on the individual. It is not necessary the older we are the wiser we become. Beyond all these, God has given us wisdom from above, the Spirit of wisdom – the Holy Spirit. So how we manage our lives and make decisions will show whether we are led by the Spirit of Wisdom or our wisdom based on our education, experience, emotions, etc., 

The Roof of Truth

Everything we do in our lives must be undergirded by truth; the belt of truth. So if we see the Spirit of Truth is the Holy Spirit. Spirit of Power is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Wisdom is the Holy Spirit. Spirit of Faith is the Holy Spirit. Spirit of Love is the Holy Spirit and Spirit of Holiness is the Holy Spirit. That is why He is the architect of our lives. We must make every effort to listen to Him and obey. 

If we are not built well in holiness, the devil will trap us in immorality and cause us to move into falsehood. If we are not built well in faith he will enslave us to fear and worry. If we are not built well in power we will have no breakthroughs in our lives and we will feel powerless against the workings of the enemy. If we are not built well in love, the self will override our hearts, and so on. 

In 2 Timothy 3 , we read about people who love money, self, pleasure, etc., They all love God but they love money, self, personal gratification, and indulgence more. These are Christians; they have a form of godliness. 

1 Kings 3:3 Solomon showed his love for the LORD by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense in the high places.

Solomon loved the Lord. He was the wisest man. But what happened? He fell into immorality. It was not a problem of lust. He married all those women as a strategy to expand his kingdom. But it was still immorality because he disobeyed God.

If you are not built well in wisdom you get into unnecessary troubles. You do not know how to navigate the challenges of life. Sometimes pastors face this problem. They think they must live by faith. Their understanding of faith is that they do nothing. They keep praying and praying and they go through the same cycles of trouble but God has also given us wisdom. Sometimes when you keep praying God is our Father, His heart melts and He grants us our desires. Remember with the Israelites, God did not want to give quail but they kept on asking and He granted their request. Sometimes because of His mercy, He closes one eye and lets us have it. But that doesn’t become a principle or a value you live by.

A non-believer who was in huge debt came to our church. In his simplicity, he prayed to God and bought a lottery ticket. He won the prize and settled all his debts. God did something unique in his life because He is God and He decides how He wants to help His children. But we cannot make that a principle saying – Anybody who is in debt, pray to God and buy a lottery ticket. 

for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

1 John 5:4

He is training us to overcome everything in this world through our faith. By listening to what He has to say and having faith in Him we overcome this world. That’s why He wants us to develop in a wholesome, complete manner; well-built in all areas. 

Remember we need faith in God but we need wisdom to live. We know countless ministries that are strong in gifts but fail in different things. In a building, the pillars cannot be lopsided. In the same way, we need to ensure we are growing equally in every area. On our own, we cannot become what God wants us to become. The architect of our lives is the Holy Spirit.

If we want to become a temple of revival and carry His presence in the coming days, we have to take these things seriously. 

When God does something there is always a purpose behind it.

Why is God bringing this final outpouring or the last days’ revival?

First, He is going to start a cycle of the last days’ harvest.

The second is to empower and revive the Last Days’ church – The Most Powerful Church.

Some focus on harvest alone but we must remember that those who are harvested must be built into maturity. There are different understandings of revival. For some, revival is simply a manifestation of gifts and the harvest of souls. 

According to a study on the Templates of Revival starting from Acts to Revelation, there are certain markers. 

Revival means to revive awaken or restore. Every revival will bring the church back to the wholeness with which it started. We only revive something dead or dormant. So it means to revive the church back to the original template of the New Testament Church; back to that vibrancy of Spirit in their lives.

Matthew 16:18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock, I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.

Jesus describes the Church as unstoppable and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. For the first 200 years of its existence, the church was unstoppable. Then false doctrines and false leaders came up and messed up the whole thing. Even after that, a remnant continued when you study the Church’s history.

Templates of Revival

Everywhere around the world, there is anticipation for Revival and the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The past revivals fizzled out. We must learn from their mistakes. When you study the different revivals that happened you will see that God was faithful to pour out His Spirit but in the sequence of events, it is the man who messed things up and stopped the Revival and allowed it to fizzle out.

Joel 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

We are all waiting for the Latter Rain; revival. When you say revival this is how you measure whether it is a revival. There were four key things. 

 1. It brings fear of God back into the life of the people

For instance, in the Brownsville Revival, bars shut down. Prostitute parlors shut down. Nobody went to any evangelistic meeting but they all ran to the Church because the fear of God and the holiness of God captured them. Different revivals may happen in different ways but the key thing is it brings back the fear of God into people’s lives. There is a desire to live our lives holy.

 2. It restores intense passion for God and love for souls 

That is why you will see a great harvest of souls. You will see believers with radical obedience. They will have no problem obeying God in anything. You will see great things done by ordinary believers.

 3. Powerful transformation of lives

 4. Mighty demonstration of power

You will see mighty signs, wonders, and miracles on a consistent daily basis. 

What kept the New Testament church going? What kept the Church going for 300 years in a thrust of revival?

Revival is a condition of our spirit. Because all the above points mentioned are what happens internally. 

John 7:37, 38 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

The festival they were celebrating at that time was God’s provision of water in the desert for the Israelites. At the same time, He rose and spoke about the spiritual provision for the people who are going to enter His Kingdom. With the Samaritan woman near the well Jesus talks about the water which He gives that will cause the receiver to never thirst again.

John 4:13, 14 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

This water, the Holy Spirit will satisfy every spiritual thirst there is. Whenever the Bible talks about rivers, it talks about refreshing, renewing, and reviving. He is the fountain of a Revived Life within us. Holy Spirit wants to establish a lifestyle of Revival in us. The river is not to be quenched but it’s meant to be flowing and flowing.

What kept the Church going in a Spirit of Revival is what was within them. If the same Spirit is within us then why are we going into cycles of dryness, disappointments, and discouragements? Why are we not bursting forth, going forth, and growing in the measure of our Spirit? What is stopping the flow?

Ezekiel 47:1-5 In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.

Four levels of the flow of the living water in our temple

Take the current of the river as the flow of the river from within you.  

Level 1: Ankle deep: It is the beginning of our journey with the Lord. We have a foretaste of the things that the Spirit can do in and through our lives.

Level 2: Knee deep: At this stage, we are learning dependence on the Holy Spirit. We know a bit of His power and we can feel a certain bit of His power working over our lives. But we are still standing on our own feet. We are still in control of our lives.

Level 3: Waist deep: The waist is an important part of the body because it coordinates many things in the body. It gives strength to whatever you want to do. At the waist-deep level, you can feel the current coming in, you can feel the current moving but you still have the power to resist and go away. You are still in control of your own life and decisions.

Level 4: Water deep enough to swim in

Ezekiel says the river is a level he cannot control anymore. What does it mean on a spiritual level? Ezekiel has come to a place where the river takes Him wherever it pleases. He has no power over his destination. He’s fully led by the river. It is a beautiful picture of how the river of life can flow through our bodies.

When we reach this level we reach a level beyond our ability. It becomes supernatural. We come under the command and control of the Holy Spirit. We are no longer striving but we are just carried by the Spirit. We have surrendered our will to the flow of the Spirit, or the flow of the current in this context. This is what we mean by moving from just hearing from the Holy Spirit to giving Him full freedom to work and express through our lives. This is what happens when He keeps working in us continually and we obey continually and one day He will overwhelm our lives and He will begin to express freely through our lives. 

We have delved in the past here about the river within.

All of us start at ankle level but where are we now? The power source is within us – the Spirit of Revival is within us. What is stopping the measure of flow in our lives? 

What is the meaning of a sovereign act of the Lord?

It doesn’t mean He will take over our lives. The greatest gift God has given mankind is the freedom to choose. God is all ready to give the best. The Holy Spirit is all ready to give the best. It is our response and obedience that will determine the measure of the flow of the river in our lives. Don’t wait for meetings for Revival. What you do day to day is very important because it builds us for what God wants to ignite in our lives.

These things must be done daily. Develop these habits

1. An awareness of the activity of the Holy Spirit in and around us

Discern what cuts the flow. How the measure goes down and when it comes up. You need to recognize what pushes Him back and what draws Him into our lives. Remember Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead. Commune with him and involve him. Appreciate His presence, acknowledge His presence, invite Him, and involve Him in everything. By invite, I don’t mean a prayer. Communicate with Him, talk to Him so that you develop a direct relationship with Him.

2. Rise in spontaneous worship and spirit language

You must learn to use this to lift yourself because not every day you are going to wake up feeling “I’m God’s servant!” or “I am a child of God!” You must know how to utilize spontaneous tongues and spontaneous worship in tongues to lift yourself. We have also talked about the five sensations you will feel when praying in tongues. 

(i) Worshipful sensation –

While praying in tongues, the moment you connect to the ‘flow’ in the Spirit, it switches to worshipful mode; you start worshipping in tongues or spontaneous worship keeps breaking out.

What does this mean? 

God’s presence is drawing near. He wants to bring God-consciousness to your mind.

(ii) Violent sensation

As you start praying in tongues, the moment you connect to the ‘flow’, your spirit becomes very aggressive and strong. It feels like you are in warfare. 

What does this mean? 

A demonic presence is manifesting in your area. Spiritual warfare is going on in your area and you have been enlisted. There is an impending attack, scheme, or ambush against you. The attack may be coming through temptation, interpersonal relationships, or circumstances.

(iii) Oppressed sensation

You find it difficult to pray in tongues. You feel heavy in your spirit. The vocabulary of tongues does not form easily. You feel physically exhausted when you keep trying.

What does this mean?

There is a direct attack on your spirit to cripple your spirit flow. The attack is to reduce spiritual strength and sensitivity; to prevent your spirit from launching into your gifts.

(iv) Empty sensation

When you start praying in tongues you feel hollow. You feel like your prayer is hitting the ceiling and falling on your head. There is a lack of God-consciousness; a lack of freedom and liberty.

What does this mean?

There is a direct attack on your mind to reduce God-consciousness. Your mind is preoccupied with certain problems. A demonic spirit is trying to stop fresh guidance from coming into your mind from your spirit. There is a seed of negative thought that has lodged itself in your thinking. 

(v) Grieving sensation

When praying in tongues you feel sorrowful, and grieved in your heart; sometimes with tears

What does this mean?

You are receiving a spiritual burden that will lead to intercession or you have grieved the Holy Spirit in some way.

Use tongues to detect the condition of your spirit and build yourself up. If you do these things daily it will be helpful for you in discerning what is happening in your spirit. 

Anything in God if you want to go deeper or forward you must have a holy dissatisfaction first.

If you are satisfied with where you are in the current situation of your life or your spiritual life and there is no desire to pay the price to go to the next level then you will stay within your comfort zone.

Phil 3:12-15 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 

Despite all that Paul was going through, the difficulties and trials, he was never satisfied with where he was. He was pushing himself continually and moving forward. He was not satisfied until he achieved what he considered God’s heavenly calling in his life. We remain in our comfort zone because we have no desire to move forward. 

Paul says – Those of us who are mature must think this way. What way? We must never be satisfied with where we are until we reach where God wants us to be.

God did not deliver you to call yourself a Christian, just to do ministry, just for you to attend church, just for you to do activities in the church. There is an assignment and a position that you should attain. That position is to become mature and manifest Christ. The moment you are satisfied with where you are you will settle into your comfort zone.

Some pastors are happy with their fan club. I have 10 people calling me spiritual father and who respect me. I’m getting invited here and there. I’m happy. I have my fan club. I have my ministry. This is all I want.

Exodus 33: 11 Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward, Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.

Even after Moses left the Tabernacle the presence of God was still there and Joshua used to sit there because there was a hunger in his heart and a desire in his heart – “Lord there must be something more than just this.” That is how our attitude must be. You know the angels and the seraphim and cherubim before the Father’s throne keep shouting – “Holy! Holy!” because every moment they’re seeing a new aspect of the Father that our human minds cannot understand. So we can never arrive at a place where we can say we know God fully.

The moment we are satisfied. We stagnate.

That is why holy dissatisfaction is important. We have a lot of lessons to learn from Paul. He had an insatiable appetite for knowing God. 

Philippians 3:8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.

The Holy Spirit delights in taking us closer to Him and Christ. Hunger is the momentum that will keep us going.

Matthew 5:6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

The context here is righteousness but the principle is – those who are hungry will be filled. So if we hunger for knowing God more and more we will be filled. There must be a holy dissatisfaction with where we are. There must be an intense hunger in knowing Christ even deeper.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you into a deeper walk in the coming months. Give your church back to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Even if you are part of the 5 fold you are still under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Don’t override the Holy Spirit. Give your ministry back to the Holy Spirit’s leadership. Give your family back to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Give your work and whatever you are doing to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. 

Whether your ankle level or knee level or overwhelmed all depends on your response and the decisions you make. When He flows freely, He will refresh, He will renew, He will revive, and He will bring life into everything when you rely on him. Revival begins in you. It begins within you.

Sermon by Pas. Alex

True deliverance is by the life of the spirit. This was a statement made by Papa Jonathan David during one of his upper room series. This message is a series of meditations from that. 

It is a very profound statement. Deliverance is not only being set free from our habits and bondages and from demonic influences or anything. But to be truly set free from the old man and come into the things of God we need total deliverance. And that comes when there is an increase in the Life of the Spirit. 

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

John 14:30

Jesus was able to say the enemy is coming but he will find nothing in Me. That was not because He was God but because He was totally yielded to the Holy Spirit so He had nothing in the flesh that could succumb to the temptation of the enemy. Thus He was able to make this statement. 

What is the life of the spirit? 

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Galatians 5:16

If we live by the spirit the flesh has no place. We will easily be able to overcome the temptations of the flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:13

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:24, 25

• Living by the spirit is a condition or a state of being

• Walking in the spirit is a daily decision, a deliberate intentional decision every day to walk by the spirit

• Keeping in step with the spirit means living in the continual Presence of God

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 

John 15:5

It says if you abide in Him all other things will be added to you.

We need to create a life of God-consciousness. How?

1. We pray, we worship, and we have dialogues and monologues. So we deliberately create an atmosphere in and around us where we are continuously God-conscious
2. Christ must be the foremost of every affection because love is what motivates us in everything we do
3. Total reliance on him 

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

How do we measure if we really have this Spirit-filled life?

1. Christ will be glorified in our lives

In everything the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives, His supreme aim is to glorify Christ by whatever we do. One of the ways to judge ministries is where is the focus going?

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 

John 16:13, 14

Anyone can operate in the gifts but if the Holy Spirit is really behind it, the glory will always go to Jesus. The focus – It’s not on the ministry platform. It’s not on the gifts. It’s not on the person. It’s only on Jesus. So one of the ways to measure if the Spirit is really leading us is whatever we say, hear, and do will always glorify Jesus

 2. It will produce fruits

There are 4 different types of fruits

a) Fruit of repentance

Matthew 3:8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,

Repentance will be a continuous event in our lives. Our heart is so broken and contrite that anytime we realize we have sinned have no problem in humbling ourselves and accepting what God is dealing in our lives. 

b) Fruit of the Spirit 

Galatians 5:22, 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

c) Fruit of good works 

Colossians 1:10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

To understand this (Scripture must interpret scripture always), we go to Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

It means the assignment He planned for us. One of the ways we measure whether we are spirit-controlled is if we have a focus on our assignment. We will be progressing in what God has called us to do. There is such clarity. We will not easily deviate because it’s a spirit-controlled, spirit-filled life.

d) Fruit of righteousness 

There are two types of righteousness. We are made righteous in Christ but we also need to walk in righteousness. 

1 John 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Those who belong to God practice righteousness. 

Romans 6:13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

We need to use the instruments of our bodies for righteousness. 

Mathew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

We have to hunger for righteousness. Righteousness means right before God, right before man, right before the devil, and right before our conscience. 

These are the four fruits that will be produced whenever our life is spirit controlled.

3. Supernatural power to minister to others

Power will be in increasing measure.

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Acts 1:8

It will be visible because the power of the Holy Spirit is something tangible and visible.

4. Supernatural power to live a victorious life

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Galatians 5:16

If we live by the spirit, if we live by His power, if we allow His power to manifest and work through our lives then we will have supernatural power to overcome everything that is pulling us down.

5. The life of God will come forth so Christ can begin to manifest 

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3: 16-19

The primary work of the Holy Spirit is to produce the life of Christ in us until we reach the full measure of Christ and verse 19 says, the full measure of God. 

6. Ability to overcome challenges

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:18

As we face challenges in life our own understanding would be to look to the problems but a spirit-controlled life gives understanding and resilience to make the right decisions according to destiny. The Holy Spirit will always lift us up to see that all the sufferings that we go through are nothing compared to what we are going to gain in the future. The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom and clarity. 

Bible says we are filled with the Spirit. What will determine whether we live a victorious life is not in the filling but in the yielding. 

It’s not in the content but in how much control He has over our lives. It’s how much we give in to Him that gives Him free access to our lives. Whatever we don’t give in is what will rise in the flesh to challenge what He wants to do because we are holding on to that area. 

That area is what we call my right to my rights

Eg. My right to happiness, my right to living my life on my own terms, right to entitlement. 

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.

So we crucify ourselves and the life we now live, we live for Him.

It’s a deliberate decision

2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

This talks about priority. 

Philippians 2:3 – 5 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

We need to put the needs of others first and we need to consider them better than ourselves. This is the attitude of Christ. 

Mathew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Some examples of these principles being outworked 

1 Corinthians 9:1-5 Am I not free? Am I, not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?

Paul says as an apostle, I have a few entitlements but I am choosing to set them aside to be an example. 

Nehemiah 5:14-16 Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also Lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.

Nehemiah had an entitlement to the governor’s allowance but because it will put more pressure on the people he decided to forgo it. 

Philippians 2:6-7 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Christ gave up His right as the Son of God to serve us all.

Let us look at some more of our rights that we need to give up

1. Right to justify

Matthew 5:38 You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.

So if we hold on to the right to justify, or take our revenge whatever the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives will come to an abrupt stop.  

2. Right to dignity

Luke 6:29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.

This is talking about our right to dignity. When we have these issues we will be fighting – Why should I allow someone to do this to me? This hinders the Holy Spirit from creating in us the image of Christ. Remember what he says about Christ? He was so meek that when people cursed Him, He did not respond, people kicked Him he did not respond. All His rights He had surrendered to God. God brings us into situations where if we are very dignity conscious something in us will spring up to defend ourselves and justify ourselves. Even with God, we will struggle. 

3. Right to justice

Matthew 5:40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.

Sometimes in life, people will cheat us, and take advantage of us but God is the one who decides. Our natural instinct is to fight for our rights. When God says – “Let go” what will rise up in us is the right to justice. God is more interested in changing our hearts and making our hearts more like Christ.

4. Right to freedom of choices

Matthew 5:41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.

Why should I go the extra mile for someone? Why should I do so much for someone when I myself am in need? I must have the freedom to make my own choices. 

We no longer live for ourselves.

5. Right to control of our resources

Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Why should I release my resources? I work hard, and I deserve to enjoy it. I deserve to bless those whom I love. Why should I release it?

We must do nothing out of selfish ambition.

6. Right to hate

Matthew 5:43, 44 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Right, to hate our enemies. Sometimes we justify that this person deserves to be hated because of our own experience and our own imaginations. All these are blocks to us from becoming Christ-like which is the ultimate goal of every Christian. 

7. Right to recognition

Matthew 6:1 Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Especially when we are helping people or we are putting more effort and others are getting the glory or they steal our glory. This happens in the office as well as in Church. Do we fight for it or do we just surrender? 

8. Right to bear a grudge

Matthew 6:14, 15 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Right to bear a grudge. God I know you say this but these are the 17 reasons why this person deserves to not be forgiven. We all have gone through these situations. We need to forgive and let go. 

9. Right to judge

Matthew 7:1,2 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

We do not have the right to judge others. Finally,

10. Right to everything in our life

Luke 14:33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

This sums up everything. It simply means giving up and yielding our spirit to Him.

How much we yield to the Holy Spirit is how much He can build in our lives. We need to ask the Holy Spirit – What are the areas I am still holding on to as my right, my privilege, and my entitlement? What is not allowing you Lord to work deeper in my life?

We need to think from the perspective of the Word. We know from the scriptures, it is God’s desire for us to become Christ-like. For that reason, He sends the word. The Word comes to transform us into Christ-likeness. That is the purpose of the Word.

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10, 11

He first used the natural example. When water and snow come, the plants spring up. Similarly, when the Word comes it will accomplish its purpose. What is the primary thing He wants to accomplish?

The seed wants to establish the nature of the One who sent the seed; the nature of Christ.

Then He sent an Architect the Holy Spirit into our lives to build us into that image. God has done three-quarters of the work.

What is the one quarter that we need to do? Give up our rights

So in our lives, different areas the Holy Spirit begins to press in, we justify, we say these are our rights, this is our entitlement, this is not fair. So our struggles are because of what we think are our rights. Actually, when we become disciples of Christ or we call ourselves servants we have no more rights.

Easier said than done.

One of the things we need to measure is what kind of honor we give to the Word in our lives. 

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.

Isaiah 66:2

What does the word ‘tremble’ mean to us? It simply means that we give the Word the highest honor in our life.

What is our attitude towards the word? Is it the highest authority in our life? That will determine how we respond to the Word. 

The Thessalonian church, due to persecution, Paul had to leave alone. They grew up with whatever teaching Paul gave them and with the help of the Holy Spirit. That was the only Church Paul called a model. He talked not only about their works but their nature, character, and fruit of the Spirit. 

How did it become a model church? One of the secrets in their lives is revealed in 1 Thessalonians 2:13. 

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

1 Thessalonians 2:13. 

They accepted the Word as God speaking directly to them. So when the Word comes, what is our response? In that response lies the power to go to the next level. Believe and it begins to work in you and transform you into the image of Jesus.

James 1:21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Why is James deliberately using the words ‘humbly accept’? If we don’t recognize what the Word is convicting us if we don’t accept it we will continue in the same cycle and the Holy Spirit will come up against a wall whenever he wants to deal with us.

The spirit behind this whole thing is a spirit of self-indulgence

2 Timothy 3:1-5 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— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

The last days’ church is made of people who are lovers of self, money, and pleasure. If you sum it up it just implies self-indulgence.

The greatest idol in our life is I, the self. This has to be broken and replaced with love for God. 

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

The greed of the mind, the longing of the mind, the cravings of the flesh, and the quest for recognition. All this is about self-indulgence with “I” as the center. 

What rights are we still holding on to? Where do we not allow the Holy Spirit to come in and deal?  

The time is coming – Dr. Tunde Bakare calls it The Exodus, Papa Jonathan David calls it The Separation and Theologians call it the Harlot church and the True Church of God. Everything will be the same between these two except for the quality of life. 

Remember the Sardis Church? They have a reputation for being active. Reputation comes from what others observe of you. That means on the outside you look active, you look alive but inside you are dead. Only a few can enter, those who have not soiled their clothes. They will wear white garments. We know garments always talk about our life. 

The only thing that is preventing the seed that He sent us from manifesting into Christ is what we hold on to as our right. So let’s ask the Holy Spirit to shine light in these areas even deeper. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to work even deeper in our lives so we will come to a point where like Jesus we can say the enemy cannot find anything in my life. 

By Pastor Alex

Making disciples of this generation is our job. Serving our generation well is our call. 

Challenges we will face while making disciples in this generation

1. Culture of Individualism: They want their space; control over their lives and they have a high sense of self-achievement

2. Culture of Immediate gratification: To them, the Christian life is what benefits they will get. So they are always looking for immediate material benefit or immediate answers to their prayers. That is their concept of relationship and walking with God. As a result of that anything that demands a price to pay, they will pull back. That is why this “Grace message” is so strong now because it is all about receiving. God is graceful. God will do this for you.  

3. Culture of Self-fulfillment: Bible commands each and every believer to be a disciple-maker. But many people in Church look only for self-fulfillment. There is no active discipleship in the Kingdom of God. If within the Kingdom of God, there is no proactive discipleship means no need to say about the new people that are coming in and unbelievers. Definitely, if there is no discipleship here there is no discipleship there. 

There is a lack of people willing to give their time, gifts, and sacrifice for the sake of building lives.

So as we disciple people we must help them understand the responsibilities of being a Christian. 

What did God command us? 

Mathew 28:19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,  baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Responsibilities of a Christian

1. Go and make disciples

2. Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit

3. Teach them to obey everything

We have to bring believers back to God’s basic commandments. We are not saved for ourselves but we are saved so that we can disciple other people into walking in integrity and truth. Every believer must become a disciple and make disciples.  

The definition of discipleship is one life impacting and influencing another. It is more than just teaching, more than just counseling. It is how we live impacting other people. 

Philippians 3:17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine and learn from those who follow our example.

Paul’s instruction to them is to focus on those who have a pattern of lifestyle. 

So the key component is more than the words we say, our lives must speak for God. People change by what they see in our lives than what they hear from us. More than what we teach or speak people are observing our lives. Impart patterns. There is nothing extra you need to do. You don’t need to project yourself as something. Just be who you are, and let people observe and learn the patterns. You can only impart what you live. That is active discipleship.

There must be an ongoing building of lives that God is bringing to you. Not necessarily just a gathering because you can gather but if you don’t disciple them then there is no point in coming together. The focus must be on making disciples of households. Ask what is happening in their lives and then you can start with prayer. Then they will know something is happening because the results are there. 

Discipleship is important for the spiritual growth of the church. 

It is a command, not an option.

Ephesians 2:20-22 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. In Him, the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him, you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in His Spirit.

We see this in Jesus’ life. The 3 ½ years He spent how he impacted the lives of the disciples. John the son of Thunder became an apostle of love. Peter the loudmouth became a humble man of God. 

Heart of discipleship – it must produce a certain kind of lifestyle. Eg. Components of a Godly marriage, How to raise your children in a godly manner. 

1 John 2:5,6 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

How did Jesus live? 

Jesus was simple, humble, and obedient. 

Jesus impacted everywhere He went.

What was the reason for His impact? Obedience was a key aspect. From conception to crucifixion it was the Holy Spirit who led Him all the way. What gave Him the great impact? He came as a model for us to live a life of obedience. The impact He caused was due to the access the Holy Spirit had in His life. Jesus, Himself said you will do greater works than Him. So the more access Holy Spirit has in our lives, the more it will impact the people in our lives. 

When we disciple others there are 5 stages of surrender they go through. 

Stage 1 I am going to do what I want I don’t care what God wants. My Life! My Choices!

Stage 2 If God gives me what I want I will do what He wants. Many times we face people who say –“If your Jesus can heal my daughter then I will follow Jesus.” But that’s a wrong reason for following Him

Stage 3 I will give God what he wants and believe in faith He will give me what I want. They are doing a barter trade with God

Stage 4 I will give God what He wants in full surrender because He knows best and desires best for me. Still, the “me” is there

Stage 5 Total surrender. I will give God what He wants because He knows best and does what is best for His glory. This is true biblical surrender because we surrender our body for His glory

Two terms in theology

1. Theocentric: To live in a way that puts God at the center of our lives. He is the main focus.

John 14:31 but I will do what the Father requires of me so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.

Jesus says “I will do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” His whole life was Theocentric.

2. Anthropocentric: To live in a way that puts man at the center with the notion everything revolves around us. ‘Jesus is just there to meet my needs. Do I have anything I need? I go to Jesus. Do I want happiness? I go to Jesus. Do I want internal security? I go to Jesus.’ Jesus is like an insurance policy but we are Christians! The focus is on a different place. Whether He is a service provider or the preeminent one of our lives determines whether we have a Theocentric outlook on life or an Anthropocentric outlook on life. 

The focus of discipleship is the inner life.

Three aspects of inner life

1. Convictions

Ephesians 3:16,17 I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 

It talks about being rooted in love. Our foundations are only as strong as our convictions. Like how deeply we believe in the word. We know things but sometimes we struggle. It depends on how convinced we are about that scripture. Our convictions are our moral and spiritual compass. That’s why Jesus said if you love me you obey me. Conviction of what he says is our moral compass. Convictions will result in Christ-like thinking and Christ-like actions. How we Christians live is a direct result of what we believe with all our hearts. Convictions enable us to successfully resist the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

Titus 2:12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age,

2. Capacity

Bible says to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength, and all your soul. It talks about capacity. So we measure the increase in our hunger, appetite, maturity level, tolerance level, and resilience. It can be measured as we grow. 

Psalm 119:32 I will pursue your commands, for you expand my understanding.

As we grow in obedience He will increase our capacity. 

In Philippians, Paul said he has learned to be content in plenty and little. His capacity has increased to deal with all kinds of situations. 

3. Content

That means character, knowledge of God’s word, and wisdom.

Matthew 7:16 you can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way, they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 

You can recognize people by their fruits. 

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 

Our perspectives will be revealed by the way we talk and by the way we think. They reveal the content we carry. 

3 Cs – Conviction. Capacity, Content, When we disciple others this is an easy way to measure whether they are growing

Some can memorize scriptures but their life is off; they find it difficult to obey. So from the strength of their conviction, we can see whether they are growing. We can measure their capacity to resist, tolerance level, etc. We can measure content based on knowledge and wisdom. One of the marks of walking with Jesus is our wisdom will grow. How they manage their lives will show their growth in this area. Cannot be that they are walking with Jesus and their lives are a mess. Then somewhere along the line one of these three is a problem with their conviction of God’s word, their capacity, and their content.

For example, one of the believers in our church is the village sweeper. He faithfully obeyed God and we can see the visible blessings of God being poured out on his life. Most of them are masons. We can see how God change their house from a small room to a bigger place. He gave them many material things. They found peace. In their life, you can see a total change. 

Let the Word go in, work it out in your lives, then you will see the results.

Teach this to people and measure whether they are growing. We have to face these challenges of self-sufficiency, the culture of individualism, and immediate gratification. This culture is created by how we share the gospel. Come to Jesus and be blessed. So they want to be blessed they don’t want to pay the price. 

*When you seek to disciple people remember that the innate need of every man is a Savior. In the process of counseling individuals and families find the route to their hearts and connect them to the highway of heaven.* 

Just make sure they are walking in the right pathway. From time to time we take a hockey stick and ensure the ball is rolling in the right direction. 

In the coming days, we don’t know what type of people we will get to meet. Some may never come to church but they want to walk with Jesus. We just find other ways to disciple them. Don’t measure your success by the number of people that gather in your church but measure it by the number of people you disciple. 

Stretch out your hand in boldness and expect God to move and do something in their lives.

Set them free, and delivered. Now is the time to move. We got to snatch as many as possible out of hell. We are not responsible for everybody. We are only responsible for those in our “Oikos”. For those who don’t respond, we keep them in view, and keep praying but focus more on those who respond.

Dr. Jonathan David

Say this – 2023 is a Redefining Year, the turning point of my life, the tipping point where the Church will build and make a difference.

2023 is a Redefining Year. It is a turning point for many things. It is going to be the tipping point. The place where you and I will have an unfair advantage over the devil, over all his plans and all that he has sown among God’s people.

For that reason, God has given us a special area where we need to touch this year – Increase our territorial influence in and through the Church family and the last word I saw was – We are family. We are one.

That’s why in All Nations Sanctuary

• Prophecies are declared
• Prayers are answered
• Healings are demonstrated
• Truth is proclaimed
• Demons are defeated
• Circumstances are changed
• Minds and lives are transformed
• Communities are influenced
• Cities are impacted

Muar will never be the same again. Nations will be taken. Taken from corruption to righteousness. So, it’s an amazing year. God has given us an important domain through which to touch God’s people – Families. That is God’s strategy for us. If you look at our Mission Statement, the Prophetic word for the year 2022 to 2024, this year is a Redefining year. We are going to increase territorial influence in our assigned domain in and through our families – the Church family, your family, my family, and our grandchildren’s family. God is going to use us. In our seed, all the families of the earth will be blessed. There is a seed of God in us which is a victorious seed that will bruise the head of the serpent even though the serpent will bruise His heel. There is a price to pay for that seed to be manifest. But after having said all this, I want you to remember – 2023 is a Redefining Year.

• Things will become clearer and clearer
• The revelation truth will come simpler and simpler for us to understand
• What was difficult before will be easy
• What was tough before will be easy

It is easy for us because God has done a deep work in the seed, and that seed is Christ. That seed is a violent seed. It cannot allow the enemy to continue as he wants. We often say enough is enough. But the devil does not know what is enough. It’s time to get rid of him and see the seed in us become a star seed. The promise of God for the nation of Israel was three types of seeds. One was the dust of the earth, the other the sand of the seashore, and finally the star seed. So we are not part of dust, we are not part of sand, we are part of the star. The star seed is a special seed. It is fixed in heaven. Its position cannot be challenged. You know it is up in the sky. When your mother gave birth to you, I am sure she sang this song to you – Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Because we don’t realize this – every child is a gift of God; you are a gift from Him so you can be a gift to society. God doesn’t make spare parts.

This is a special year; a year like no other. It is a tipping point. At some point, the outcome will change. When you are at the turning point then supernatural things begin to happen because you are at the right place at the right time, meet the right people and hear the right message. Bible says – when she heard about Jesus, she said to herself – If I only touch His garments, I will get well. But she had been seeing the doctors for 12 years. The old message is going to keep you in the old ways. You live by the old instead of living by the new. The new is inside us. In you, all the nations of the earth will be blessed. So you will be a source of blessing to society. But each child is a gift of God. No matter how young your son may be or your daughter may be, it does not matter. God has put His potential inside them. Something is inside them that will make a difference.

Over the last 2 ½ – 3 years, the Covid 19 and the aftermath of tragedies happened after that. The Church was the last one. People began to be shaken. Pastors began to be shaken. Unsure. Uncertain. This is a Redefining year for us. It is a tipping point. You will do significant things that will change the environment. You won’t be normal. Forget about normal life. We are not going back to the norm. The world has changed. So must the Church! If as a Church we want to make a difference, it is important for us to agree with God’s word. No matter how you read the matter, it is not right because you read with knowledge. Knowledge will increase, but the knowledge we want to see an increase in is the knowledge of the Glory of God that covers the earth like the waters cover the sea. Knowledge of the glory and that glory is in you. That’s why this year is a special year. We are redefining every aspect of our lives.

Redefine what family is – not man and man, man and woman. God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. So we have to understand every aspect of our lives will change. This is the turning point of our lives. No matter how much the devil has taken out of your life, it is time for restoration. Time for God’s release and the Church will be making a difference. That’s why we got to rebuild the domain of families. When we talk about families and Church we are talking about a strategy; the domain that God released for us. People ask me what is the Word of the Lord for 2023. I say we have two dimensions. This year is very special. We are not only defined by the prophetic word that God is saying throughout the world but also by the prophetic word we hear on the ground. That means, he who hears what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches. What you hear must be in line with what God is saying throughout the world because there is only one world.

I am going to give you things that will change the position of the church and give you the tipping power. The tipping point is the point of change where you start, where you break forth. The tipping point is also the place where the weight of Glory rests on your side, devastation, and destruction on the enemy side. I want to make our Church a strong base so that Jetliners and Jets can come and refuel. That’s why ANS is different. It’s not a mega Church. It’s an Omega Church. Alpha and Omega. We are different. There are things I would like you to hear from God yourself to build a church that will make a difference. At a certain point, you have an unfair advantage over the enemy. And you have an unbelievable abounding grace of God.

1. The Church will have to be intensively feeling passionate in heart and spirit

If the Church is going to make a difference, if the Church is really going to see a turnaround, see your circumstances change, something must happen in your heart.

There is no change without you changing

That is why our spirit has to be passionate. We have to pursue what our God-passion is. Some people have a passion to be a doctor. I don’t have that passion. I don’t even want to be a patient. I feel that it is important for us to know that no change means no victory. The change is inside. You know intensely passionate. Lust is a passion gone wrong. You know you can love somebody and lust for other people. Love is pure, love is precious, love is holy, love is passionate. Sometimes we think everything is supernatural and miraculous and we don’t have to do anything. In fact, it was plain water in 6 empty jars that Jesus turned into wine.

It takes the natural to bring forth the supernatural

Now you must be prepared to leave the old and pursue the new. Why do people have great lives? Because they see a great God inside them, in their hearts, in their lives just like in the families all the earth will be blessed. The Church will have to be intensively passionate in heart and spirit for worship. This God factor will separate the true church from the false because God’s presence will come down when there is passion.

What is passion?

It is a needed dynamic for continuity

It is the engine that keeps going on when everything else stops. This is the one that gives you the power to finish strong. Passion! Without passion, every job will come to a standstill. “With passion”- will become the advantage point. God wants us to be clear so that when there is passion in our hearts, the work will not stop. The Bible talks about God’s zeal. It does not talk about God’s passion. It says in His zeal he is watching over His word to fulfill it. When your passion becomes stronger and stronger your task becomes easier and easier. Do you believe that?

The difficult things become easy
The impossible things become possible

That’s why it is a special year. But for this to generate a supernatural power in our Church you must have a company of people who are passionate. If you are doing gardening you are passionate about gardening. You cannot continue if other people are passionate and you are not. Give you free vegetables? No! That’s not our idea. It’s that you will grow your own and multiply it. We show the example.

2. The Church will have to be accurately built to become God’s habitation

We must treat this place with holy respect. The power of placement! God always made a place first before He made people. He made a garden. Then he made Adam out of the garden. So He put you in a certain place so that you can grow and mature and become a habitation for God. Why do people have idols? It is supposed to attract spirits. Have the right things in our hearts? God can come and live inside. God can not only put His passion inside but live inside you! The favor of God! The Church must become a holy habitation. When we gather on Sundays, we must be able to draw God’s presence so that Heaven and Earth become one. So that what is there in the heavens will come into your family. When God is there, there is no lack. I remember one of the years the Holy Spirit was working in our church, dealing with the fear of lack where people think, “Oh! I won’t have enough! Oh! I don’t have enough steam! I don’t have enough strength!” We must not have a fear of lack. Jesus said you follow Me all the while, have you lacked anything? They lacked nothing. Because we become a Holy habitation, God will come and reside inside of us. It’s essential. It’s not just a meeting place. That’s why you must love to come to Church. Whether I speak or not speak, it doesn’t matter but being in the presence of God does. I thirst like a thirsty deer. As a deer panteth for the water brooks. We want to capture the Presence of God. Your house must have such an environment that the Holy Spirit can come in. Welcome the Holy Spirit! If you desire your body to become the temple of the Holy Spirit then you will build well. If somebody very important is coming to your house, somebody that you really love, you will give them the best of the house, you will clean the house and prepare the house. In the same way, welcome the Father who lives within us. We can capture the Presence of God. His favor is for a lifetime.

We got to build the house so that the God of the house can live inside what we build

David wanted to build God a house. He made plans. Finally, God said to him – you are not the one to build the house, your son will build it. Many times we have built it for the people, the meetings, for needs but what we need to know is that we are building for Him so we can attract the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit comes down to Muar where will He go to? Which institution will He go to? It better be us.

3. The Church must be baptized in the Spirit of Truth

If the Church is going to make a difference and become the tipping point and the turning point in the Redefining year, the Church has to be baptized in the Spirit of Truth. In the area of politics, in the area of health, in the area of wealth, there is no shortage of lies. Everything that you see is not what it really is. You see politics and how fast it changes behind the scenes. Love truth with all your heart, soul, and strength because truth sets you free. It not only makes you intelligent, but it also makes you free. That’s why the freer you are, you can do the work. If you are not free how are you going to do the work? If you are not well how are you going to serve? That’s why no matter what it is if I can stand stable, I’ll be here.

4. The Church will have to be a prophetic voice of hope for a better future

In these uncertain times, we have to overcome the crisis and the catastrophes that come along the way. Those who know their God will do valiantly. That’s why in the midst of all of that, we were always hopeful. Mum is the most positive person I have met in my life. There’s never a time that she doesn’t have joy on her face; always hopeful. Anything can happen. Impossible can become possible. She is always there. Listen to her more so you can put hope in people’s hearts. People are devastated after the Covid 19 pandemic. People are broken mentally. People are broken emotionally. People are broken financially. You must put some hope in their hearts. Put hope in your friends. Nothing is impossible. I believe this sickness of mine will be removed in due time. Amen! Because part of my body, my lefthand side recovered so fast. It’s unbelievable even the doctors are surprised.

5. The Church must have a restored voice in national affairs

The Church doesn’t want to be the first one to be persecuted. We believe our voice will be sought after. Politicians will look for the right help. The danger is we are the last one consulted but the first one to be attacked. Hate speeches and negative speeches are all part of the same mess. We must have our voice restored. The first thing you can do is pray and break through in the spirit realm. And when you touch the spirit realm great things will happen because it’s not by might not by power but by His spirit that this mountain is removed. We must put our voice up in the heavens. You see how technology works. The more you use it, the more it becomes stronger. Our voice must be heard. They will consult us on how to do this, and how to do that. In the 1900s in Los Angeles, Hollywood actors watched this preacher because of how she conducted the service and learned from the Church what to do. People accused the dominion theory of trying to push the Church into politics. But we are not pushing. I had a dream and in the dream, I apologized for being late to join the fray. They say Christians should not be involved in politics. But that’s not true.

We have the Kingdom Mandate

Whenever we talk about the Kingdom Mandate we talk about expansion and influence. That’s why the Church has been the last one coming in. Only now we are thinking about this area. We left this area to the world for so long. Now you got to take back what is yours. We got to take back our inheritance. That’s why this year our Church must change. Our thinking patterns have to change. Our commitments have to change. Our Covenant must be understood so that you really know what you should do.

There are a lot of things to thank God for. We must see the good side, the God side. That’s why things in this world will begin to change if you begin with some hope. You wake up in the morning you hope to live. You don’t hope to die. You want to live. So there’s more good talking about life than death. Death is not the final. It’s just the beginning of a new life. Death is like 31st December. You have seen the whole year. Now you get to see the beginning of a New Year. Let the old pass.

Our families got to get together so that we become stronger and become a restored voice in national affairs

I believe one day the people in this world. kings and priests, nobles, young men, and young women, will come into the house and learn from here because the law shall go forth from Zion and his commandments from Jerusalem.

Sermon by Pas. Alex

“In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.

Acts 4: 27

All the people mentioned in this verse played a part in what was happening there. In the same way, in the last days, the evil man will rise and many things will happen around us. We must focus on what God has worked in our hearts and what He has called us to do.

There are specific trials reserved for the last generation. The God who called you and me by name knows that we have the substance and capacity to outlast and overcome these challenges. Two parallel paths are going on now. One is the
pathway of the world, and the other is the pathway of God. We know that the path of the world or the devil will end in destruction, but our path will end in complete victory. We as a church must continue to stay on course and finish the work He has given us. Even if the Antichrist manifests, everybody will fulfill only God’s purpose. Our job is to stay connected and finish the race with Christ.

People are at different levels of spiritual maturity. The journey of Israel in the wilderness is a picture of the spiritual journey of an individual and the journey of the church. We must each look at the internal things preventing us from crossing over.
A simple 11-day journey extended to forty years of going round and round in the desert. If we are going round and round with the same troubles and challenges, then we are going through our wilderness experience. Externally we may be very active, but internally we may be going around in cycles. We are not progressing into what God has prepared for us. The ten trials faced by the Israelites are the same as we will face in our journey. Only we can decide to deal with and overcome all these.

Sometimes we look at the lives of good people. They are sincere, yet we don’t see them progressing into what God has prepared for them. Is God unfair? Every year you see them trying to overcome the same struggles. They seem to overcome for a short time, only to repeat the cycle the following year. Why does this happen?

Every trial God brings into our life is a stepping stone to the next level. Our response to the situation determines whether it is a stepping stone or a stumbling block.

The Israelites were tested for their response to various trials in the wilderness.

Trial 1 – The opposition of the world. This trial came through the Pharoah coming up against them to bring them back into bondage. The type of friends, the temptations, and the persecution that comes up to our accepting Christ. These are our modern-day Pharaohs. Demas started well with Paul but when problems came he ran away. Paul said he went after the world. When everything including the law of our land comes up against us, how are we going to respond? Our first reaction is to pray. The Bible says that we have to go through certain things. For instance, many years ago, America went into Afghanistan. Just before the attack, 20 missionaries were held hostage by the Taliban. Many prayed for their release including me. God asked me – “What makes you think this is my will?” When I learned God desired something different I changed my prayer. Later I came to know that special forces went in and rescued them. When we hear about or experience persecution, we should ask God”What is your will in this, your intent in this Lord so we can pray accordingly”
Trial 2: The bitter water of Marah. Hurts, disappointments, and bitter experiences are all part of life. We have to rise above and move on. Only God can change the bitterness in our lives to sweetness. Pouring out our hearts to Him, receiving comfort and healing and being made whole is our birthright.
Trial 3: Hunger. Hunger represents economic trials. Whenever we encounter financial challenges does our loyalty and commitment to the Lord shift?
Trial 4: Thirst. Thirst represents dry and boring experiences – Ritualistic religion. In some churches, they know Jesus is God and that he can heal but they have never really encountered him. Their walk with him is very dry and boring.
Trial 5 : The Golden Calf. It implies idolatry. Anything that takes up the place of our reliance on God and our love for Him is an idol. It can be a
ministry, position, role, skills, and abilities we have, or it can even be a person.
Trial 6 : The sixth testing came in their habit of complaining about everything. An attitude of complaining implies doubting the faithfulness of God.
Trial 7 : An ungrateful heart. They did not appreciate what God had given them freely.
Trial 8 : Gluttony. They began to ask God for quail and when He gave them quail, they began to gorge upon them. This represents excessive and ungodly desires.
Trial 9 : The ninth area they were tested in was criticism. They were constantly criticizing God, their leaders, and their situation. A critical spirit will destroy our destiny.
Trial 10 : Unbelief. When they finally reached the border of the promised land, they expressed unbelief influenced by the ten spies. They doubted God and did not think He will fulfill what He said to them. As a result, they never entered the promised land.
God wants us to have complete victory in all these areas. Then why do things continue? Evaluate cycles of defeat in your life. Take one area and work on it. When we consciously and intentionally work on one area we will find a way out of it.

What did God speak to me last year? Did it come to pass? Why did not come to pass? Did I hear wrongly? Is it my wrong desires? If it is a prophetic word, did I position myself accurately so that the word can come to pass in my life? (When God sends a prophetic word He also begins to work in our life.) Did I create space for him to work in my life, or did I just hang on to the word and do nothing and hope that something will happen? Are there patterns in my life that need to be changed? Patterns of thought? Patterns of behavior? Patterns of speech? What needs to change? What needs to become better? As a leader, we must ask ourselves in which area our leadership skills have grown. Is the depth of revelation of scriptures growing? Is my perspective growing? Is my understanding growing? The most important question we need to ask is what have I become? That will be the measuring stick of how God has worked in our lives.

Many times we go by feeling. When we pray for other people, we feel the presence of God. We pray for healing. We preach a great sermon, and we minister to people. We feel we have done something. We feel we have experienced God.
We use that feeling to measure our spiritual condition. All these things happen because we are just a vessel used by God to minister to his people. But the real measure is what he has built inside us. In the working world, they have a term called KPI (Key Performance Indicators) to assess how we have performed over the year. In our churches in Singapore, at the end of every year, all the leaders have to have a KPI evaluation with Senior leaders because they want us to become wholesome and be all that God wants us to be. If someone were to do a KPI over our lives how would that go? We tend to be very kind to ourselves because we consider ourselves spiritual. But if we were to allow someone to evaluate our ministry and our life, how will that be?

Busyness and indiscipline are not part of kingdom culture. We must continually look to improve and become more effective. That’s why we must do a KPI on ourselves, and allow others to do a KPI on us so that we become better believers.
If you want a Christian life that is constantly progressing, there must be constant evaluation. The wilderness experiences that God takes us through are for evaluating our lives. It is where God teaches us to have strength and authority by being alone with him. That’s where he trains us to fight our battles alone.

Psalms 84:4-7 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage
As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
As we work through all the valleys of challenges and struggles, we move from strength to strength until we arrive at
Zion, where God dwells.

When God takes us through the desert we go around in circles. Then having nowhere to turn we finally look up. That is when our heart becomes a Highway to Heaven. Now our heart is open to receive Him. As our hearts begin to open little by little to God, He teaches us to draw strength from Him and overcome our battles. That is why Bible says – consider it pure joy when you go through trials because God is going to teach you how to overcome. You will be moving to the next level.

Exodus 4:1-4 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

The principle here is whenever God asked Moses to do something he is not familiar with God first asked what is in his hand. Staff is all the things we are familiar with and we hold on to. God said to throw it down. When he threw down
the staff it became a snake and Moses ran away. And when God told him to pick it up again it became a staff. Many times we do not move forward because we are holding onto our staff. We are so comfortable with the way we do ministry, the way we are Christians, we decide this is how normal Christian life is and we hold on to the familiar. We don’t want to walk into the next level that God wants us to go to. The snake represents the fear of the unfamiliar. We fear things that are new and unfamiliar. God is saying throw down your staff and pick up the snake because I am going to bring you into places you have never imagined. This year face your fears directly and deal with them. Deal with things that are preventing you from going to the next level.

Let this be your prayer – “Lord. Bring us across. We want to cross over and walk into everything that you have prepared for us. In the next level, we want to stop wandering in the areas we are not supposed to be in. We want to move forward into destiny and the place that you have prepared for us. Help us, Oh Lord to cross over to the next level. Help us to see victory in all our battles.”

God is waiting for His Church to mature and His sons to mature.

Be set apart or be set aside.
Set-apart means – consecrating yourself or sacrificing yourself. We are not going to talk about the basic requirements of sanctification; that is being holy and being set apart for ministry. We are going to talk about dedicating one’s life in an intentional way for a specific time and season.

Psalms 4:3 You can be sure of this:
The LORD set apart the godly for himself.
The LORD will answer when I call to him.

In Ezekiel 44 we see two groups of ministers. One group is allowed to work in the temple but they are not allowed to enter the inner chambers of God. Another group is allowed to fully serve the Lord. The context of this is, God is watching our lives. He is watching who is preparing their lives diligently. He is watching for those willing to pay the price. God is setting them apart. If we want to be part of the latter group, we have to live our lives intentionally. It is not what we feel. For example, we feel we are holy because we are doing all these godly things. It is not that. It is what we have become or are becoming. We must develop a strong belief system. Our convictions from the word of God should be strong and clear. These convictions will become our core values that dictate how we live, how we make our decisions and what our boundaries are. If we just know the Bible, it remains as knowledge. If we take the Word of God and make it a core value and decide this is how I live, then it becomes a life principle.

For example, we may want to help the poor whenever we hear a message about helping the poor or we come across scripture where we suddenly remember to help the poor. So it only happens at moments when we come across the word or when a message convicts us. It has not yet become a core value. But if we have decided that even if it is my last 100 Rupees I have decided to give 10% of it because it is something I have chosen to live by. Then it has become a core
value.

In the Christian world, we have believers and leaders who are not disciplined in their walk with God because they do not have core values to live by. They have the Word but they don’t have the core value to live by which is why they continue to walk in an undisciplined way. When we want to build a building we do it meticulously but when it comes to building our lives we are careless.

Nine signs of an unshakeable belief system

1. We don’t live our lives for ourselves but God.
   Romans 14:8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

• What does this mean in your context?
• What are the changes to be made in your attitude and priority?

2. We are people of praise. We give thanks in all situations and we live above our emotions.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18 Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
We have an attitude of gratefulness towards God in all situations.

3. We are people of prayer. We never stop praying.
The above 3 attitudes successfully cover our emotions from being contaminated.

4. We invest resources like our time and money for the advancement of God’s Kingdom. Luke 12:13-34

5. We understand contentment
Phil 4:10-13 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

When we establish points 4 and 5 in our lives we have covered our hearts.

6. We live life with a clear purpose
Acts 13:36 Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.
We live to serve our generation well and to focus on our assignment.

7. We have the ability to press on, no matter what trouble or bad experiences come our way, even when our prayers are unanswered, even when we feel God is not with us, we press on until we finish.
Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside
God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.
You are focused, and you have the power to persevere. These two points cover your mind.

8. Growing into maturity is God’s primary purpose for me
Romans 8:29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
Colossians 1:28,29 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship with Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard,
depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

9. I will not move unless the lord speaks
John 10:27,28 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,

If these two are covered then your spirit is covered. These are simple things that will form structures in our life

• It will help God express himself through our lives

• It is not how many scriptures you know, or how deep you know the scriptures. It is what scriptures you live by

• If you start living by them, you will not compromise, and you will see your life becoming stronger

• This will allow God to move more freely in your life
  
  “Lord! Help me build my life with understanding and the right core values. Let there be no room for the enemy to ambush. In this season let my life become a vessel that is easily available and willing to do your work. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
  

2 Cor 10: 13-16 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. 14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, 16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to
boast about work already done in someone else’s territory.

We need to know our territory. It is important to know our territory because outside this sphere of influence given by God, we are open to the ambush of the enemy.
First, we have to define territory. Our territory also includes our personal life, our family, our church and the area god has given us, and our assignment. Can we do ministry outside of our territory? Yes, we can.

Judges 17:7-10 A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim. 9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?” “I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.” 10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father and priest, and I’ll give you ten shekels of silver a year, your clothes and your food.”

Judges 18:18-20 When the five men went into Micah’s house and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 They answered him, “Be quiet! Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest. Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” 20 The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people.

So we all know the levites were given certain cities to function in but this young levite wanted something else and he found Micah and he became the priest to Micah’s household. When the tribe of Dan came to attack Micah. they offered
him a bigger ministry and he thought “Praise the Lord. God is expanding my ministry.” He went with them. When we read the story we understand God’s hand was not upon him but he was just doing the works of the ministry. So you can do ministry outside of your territory.

Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
They all did their ministry, but God did not recognize them because it was not according to His will. Will of God could also mean they were not in the place that God had assigned them to do. We rule and reign with Christ in our territory
because God gives us authority over that area where he has sent us.

As we mature and grow in stature, our influence and governance over the spirit world will begin to increase. This is why it is important to know our territory. We are designed to fulfill our potential and have the greatest impact within our territory. We find favor of God and favor with men within our territory because we are God’s men in the territory. You don’t measure your success by your numbers. You measure your success by your obedience to what God says to you. Sometimes we are called into one area and we start wondering why we have so few people and nothing is happening or moving. Your job is to obey god. Just obey the last thing He spoke to you. Keep obeying until He speaks again. We can find the resources to finish our assignment within our territory. Whether it is manpower or finance it will come from within the territory God has assigned to you because God does not send us as beggars, He sends us as His sons and daughters. The grace God is building inside you is for your people and your territory. We need to understand what are
the boundaries of our territory, the sphere of our ministry as a minister, and our influence as a believer. Our priority is to build our base well. That is why it is important to decipher God’s will accurately. Did God ask you to go or did you go by
yourself? So are you “I went” or “He sent”?
As a believer are you doing that thing because YOU think it is the right thing to do or did God ask you to do it? Even when the devil was trying to confuse Eve he used the word – Did God really say? So he used the spoken word. So this spoken Word of God is very important. The most accurate way of moving with God is what He said to us; not what we feel but what we sense He is speaking to us. One of the ways the enemy will ambush pastors (is because pastors are naturally very loving, with a very pastoral heart, they want to help everybody.) He will stretch you until you become dry.
What happens when you are stretched, the first thing every pastor will do is he will adjust his time with God. His heart will be – “I am a pastor I must serve the people more. People are more important. They need me.” He compromises his
time with God. His connection is cut and that’s where the enemy begins to work on his emotions, on his mind, trying to confuse him and destroy him The other aspect is to make him so busy that he is not only physically tired but it affects his family relationships. He has no time for his family. You must know who is your priority, who are your children, who are your acquaintances, who are people who just come by for advice. You need to measure yourself and prioritize who you should give your time to most and balance your life. If you don’t know your territory and you are running around here and there you operate with the mindset of ministry. We must
operate with the mindset of what is my territory and what is my area of influence.

Mark 4:28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
In Kingdom, the principle is systematic – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. God will build you and increase you systematically.

Luke 16:10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
So when we are faithful with little we will be faithful in much. We will begin to increase when we are faithful to whatever little God has given us.
Many years ago, there was a craze over the prayer of Jabez – “Lord, extend my territories.” A book came out and everybody started praying – Enlarge my territory. Enlarge my territory. When you are not ready and when you are not built how can God enlarge your territory? In heaven, there are no different places for Mega Church Ministries people or ministries of international reach and local Ministries and village Ministries. Everybody is judged based on their faithfulness and the quality of their life, not on measure of their ministry. Be proud of the people God has given you. Be proud of the work that God has given you no matter how small or big and do it with all your heart. Your identity is not based on the size of your ministry. Your identity is based on who you are in Christ. You are a son. The man with 5000 people is also a son. There is no difference between you and him. Only measure is faithfulness.

“Lord show me clearly my boundaries and territories. Help me rise and rule in my territory. Let favour from God and man be my portion. Let every resource needed to build flow unhindered to me. Let everything that has been stolen by the enemy over the years come back to me manifold so I may finish the assignment. Give me clarity in my relationships. Show me who my sons are, who are my acquaintances and who are my covenant partners. Show me clearly so I can align myself and be accurate in the way I live. In Jesus’ name, Amen”

Life in the spirit
Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.

One of the miracles that happen when we are born again is that we have access to both the physical and spiritual realm.

Ephesians 2:22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. We are being built up to be a dwelling place for the Lord. To dwell is to live and abide. Dwell is to have freedom of expression. Dwelling is more than speaking in tongues. It is more than hearing guidance from God. It is more than expressing and moving in the gifts. It is more than moving in the anointing. Dwelling means only one thing – the expression of His life through our life. So life in the Spirit is not doing something mystical. It is not going to Heaven in the spirit. Jesus and his disciples were naturally supernatural. The spirit realm and the physical realm were so intertwined in their lives. They were able to switch easily from one
dimension to another.

Theosis. This was a term used by the early orthodox churches. It simply meant transformation into the likeness or being in union with God. If you look at the other side it is your spirit becoming completely synergized with the spirit of God
when we become Christlike. It is like a hand in glove. When He moves, we move. We know what He thinks. We know what He feels. This is where we will have the power of “knowing” because our spirits are so synergized and connected we don’t have to ask what His thoughts are. We simply know. The power of knowing is having the insight of God, having revelation of God, having awareness of God.

John G Lake, was a mighty man of God. In 1910, when a pandemic
happened (the bubonic plague), the government was looking for paid volunteers. He volunteered to carry all the dead bodies out. He had no fear and didn’t contract the disease either. They placed some of the bacteria on his hand and the moment it touched his hand it died. All this while I was thinking this is a special anointing he carried. Recently I read about a conversation between him and a doctor working with him. The doctor enquired about this miracle, and his reply was – It is the Law of Spirit of Christ. Romans 8 Talks about the law of the spirit. It is like the law of gravity. If you throw something up, it must come down because the power of gravity pulls it down. The law of the Spirit of Christ is when the Spirit works in you and produces a certain dimension of life. Is it Biblical? When Jesus was walking with the woman who
had the issue of blood, the moment she touched His cloak, power flowed out of Him. Even if He was not aware still power was flowing. Peter, while he was walking through only his shadow power was flowing. Before Acts 2 he was still
going around doing some healing but this happened after the baptism of the Spirit.
When Covid started some pastors in Indonesia took John G Lake’s story and tried to do what he did. They eventually died. It is not simply going out in faith. It is about living in that dimension. That dimension is available if we allow the Spirit to do a deeper work in our lives. That is why we move from praying for healing to living in
health. In the coming days, pestilence will be rampant. How is the church going to function then? Are we going to touch a supernatural dimension where we can live above all this and reach out to people or are we going to do what is happening now – Shut down, lock down, and wait for a savior to come? Church in the coming days must move to the next dimension; church in the next level.

2 Kings 6:15-17 When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. 16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

This was not a vision. He just switched from the physical realm to the spirit realm. Such a dimension of life is available to us. Anything in God, we must hunger and desire, willing to pay the price.

“Father open our eyes to the deeper dimensions of the spirit. Teach us to tap onto higher dimensions of life you have already made available for us. Holy Spirit, we surrender to you, you lead us into all truth. Let our minds be set free that we will not reject the truth of the dimensions that have been made available to us. Open
our hearts, minds and spirits to the dimensions of life you have prepared for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

The dimension of Prayer
Psalms 149:6-9 Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands— 7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, 8 to bind their kings with shackles and their leaders with iron chains,
9 to execute the judgment written against them. This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones. Praise the Lord!
Right of the believers – authority to shut down principalities.
Rees Howells was a missionary intercessor who lived in Wales. He ran a Bible school from there. He died in the 1950s. After 60 years, a pastor from Singapore bought the same Bible school. When he went into the room Mr. Howells used to pray, the Presence of God was so great, that he fell to the floor. To cut a long story short, he played an instrumental part in WWII. God downloaded how the battles should be fought and they fought by their prayers. Normally people hear what is going on in the war zone and they pray against it but here it was different. God showed him how to pray and when he prayed, it came to pass.

If you are casual about prayer. you will be a casualty.

Rees Howells said there are two types of prayers in the church. One is from prayer warriors and one is from intercessors. Prayer warriors pray with great intensity but they don’t pray until they see things through. Intercessors on the other hand take responsibility until they see things through. God left us examples and
glimpses in history of dimensions that are possible if you are willing to pay the price. The key thing is he learned how to download from God and pray it through.
When we grow in stature, our power to govern in the spiritual landscape will increase. That’s one level. But don’t despise the days of small beginnings. Prayer is warfare and we must come to the prayer room with the attitude of war. It’s not loud or soft voice. Aggressiveness is not shouting. It is an intensity of the spirit and
conviction of the heart. Rees Howells was highly disciplined. The Bible school he ran looks like a small castle and he bought it for 14 shillings; a very small amount. Everybody rejoiced over the miracle but the actual price paid was 11 months of prayer, 12 hours a day until he heard the mind of God in that issue. It’s not the time but the hunger to persist and the discipline to wait until God speaks. When God speaks, everything will fall into place.
Many know about John Knox. The queen of England feared his prayer more than even the army of Scotland. He lived with this attitude – Give me Scotland or I die. When we pray for India do we have a burden – Lord you have to do something for our generation? One day we will govern the spiritual landscape when we grow in stature but till then we need warriors in the spirit. When you receive prayer points, ask God if is there something more He wants to download. Put in that effort. God will begin to respond. Jesus, who represented the five-fold ministry in his lifetime, was a man of prayer. Paul, the great Apostle was a man of prayer. He prayed with tears for the people he was building. Whenever there are a few unsolvable issues we enter into a season of prayer. We pray until we hear from God and then we declare. We pray until we are clear that God has spoken through the problem for us. God knows who is struggling so we as leaders go into battle for a believer in our church. That’s how God gives us strategy to break things in people’s lives – in the prayer closet. When God calls us to pray this way He will give us what to pray, the words, everything He will provide but when we go ourselves we will run out of prayer after 5 or 10 minutes.

“Lord take us into a new dimension of prayers and prayer life. Teach us to war in the spirit. Let us not become weary and discouraged but pursue aggressively till we see your word coming to pass. Let there be a fresh impartation of prayer and intercession into our spirits Oh Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.”

Every great move of God until now started with a small group coming together to pray. When they started they didn’t know what they were praying for. Along the way God hijacked the prayer movement, He began to rebuild them with His spirit and they began to flow with His Spirit and move in the things of the Spirit and began to
move nations. May this become true of each one of us.

From Pastor Alex and Pastor Clariss

This is our prayer of blessings over each one of you for this season

Your life is God’s Strategic Weapon in Your territory*

You will RECEIVE fresh grace  for this season’s battles

You will begin to RULE in your territories

You will begin to REAP everything that has been apportioned for your life

God will begin to RESTORE everything that was lost in the past

You will not RETREAT but will RISE above every challenge and adversity

You will RESTORE & REBUILD lives in the territory assigned to you

Don’t settle for anything less. REDEEM everything that is your portion

REMEMBER you are God’s strategic Man/Woman

If God is for you, who can be against you!

* Territory- any sphere you exert influence 

Sermon by Pastor Alex

We are building proper foundation for what is coming ahead. Understanding and growing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit is an important aspect of our preparation.

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God.

1 Peter 4:10

Everything God gives has a purpose. He has called us to be stewards of the different gifts displaying His manifold grace.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware , 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

1 Corinthians 12:1,5,7

Concerning spiritual gifts

• We should not be unaware
• There are varieties of gifts, varieties of ministries,varieties of effects
• Given for the common good

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

1 Corinthians 12:8-10

Types of gifts

• Word of wisdom 
• Word of knowledge
• Faith
• Healing
• Effecting of miracles
• Prophecy
• Distinguishing of spirits
• Various kinds of tongues
• Interpretation of tongues

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

1 Corinthians 12:11

Each one is given by Holy Spirit to strengthen the body of Christ. Differently gifted people act as different parts of the body functioning together for the common good of the Body of Christ. All gifts are equal and useful to serve one another.

When we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit we can begin to function in any of the 9 gifts. This happens according to the Holy Spirit’s direction based on a situation.

Then each of us receives one dominant gift we must function in consistently. This is our responsibility – to recognize and nurture it. This is our role. In everything God does there is a partnering between Him and us. There is our role and God’s role. Believers functioning in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit add the supernatural dimension to the Church.

And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and various kinds of tongues. 

1 Corinthians 12:28

Apart from the above mentioned gifts Paul further describes the ministry gifts – Apostles, Prophets and Teachers and Gifts of Service – helps and administration

The gifts can be segregated into 3 categories

• Revelation gifts – What you need to Know

Word of wisdom, Word of knowledge and Distinguishing of spirits

• Vocal gifts – What you need to Say

Various kinds of tongues, Interpretation of tongues, Prophecy

• Power gifts – What you need to Do

Faith, Healing, Effecting of miracles

Revelation Gifts – What you need to know

• Word of Wisdom
  • Word of wisdom brings answers to difficult situations
  • It’s always directive
  • It gives direction and clarity to a situation
  • It is not common sense or what you learnt from experience
  • It is a direct revelation from the Holy Spirit

In ministry, sometimes when we are counseling a family and trying to sort out a marital issue and both partners are stubborn, God begins to drop a Word of Wisdom that brings clarity and solution to the problem.

Example: In Acts 15 An argument was going on about bringing gentile believers into the church. Some of the Jewish believers wanted them to be circumcised. Peter said about the vision God gave. Paul and Barnabas shared what was happening in their ministries among gentiles. But there was no solution until James stood up and gave a Word of Wisdom from Scripture that he received from God to sort out the issue once and for all. That Word gave direction and clarity and the argument was settled there.

Acts 15: 5..31But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to keep the Law of Moses.” 6The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. 

7After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. ..10Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? 

12All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.

13After they stopped speaking, James responded, saying, “Brothers, listen to me. 14Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles. 15The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:

16‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return,

AND I WILL REBUILD THE FALLEN TABERNACLE OF DAVID,

AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS,

AND I WILL RESTORE IT,

17SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD,

AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’

18SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS known from long ago. 19Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols, from acts of sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21For from ancient generations Moses has those who preach him in every city, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

22Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, …

30So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 

• Word of Knowledge
  • It is a knowledge (about a fact or situation) imparted or revealed by the Holy Spirit
  • You have no previous information. No opinion. No idea about this person through gossip
  • It is suddenly imparted and revealed by the Holy Spirit

Sometimes when you are interceding or praying for someone God can give you a Word of Knowledge or Word of Wisdom on how to pray accurately for them.

Example: Lord Jesus had a Word of Knowledge about the woman of Samaria that she had 5 husbands and the same word brought the whole city to Him

John 4:16-19 – He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” 17The woman answered and said to Him, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true.” 19The woman *said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 

• Discernment of Spirits
  • It is a supernatural enablement to see into the Spirit World
  • Gift of discernment is not intuition or sixth sense. Generally women are more discerning than men because they have stronger intuition. Intuition is a response of the human spirit
  • Gift of discernment is an operation of the Holy Spirit. It has to do with the discerning of things in the spiritual realm
  • Discerning of Angelic beings, demonic spirits , spirit of man (the nature and heart’s content of the man), evil spirits working through men
  • Holy Spirit reveals to us by impressions(visions), inner witness or inner voice
  • You are able to see into the spirit of the man and the spirits working through the man
  • Normally people with a very sensitive spirit function in this gift

I have a friend who operates strong in this gift. When he is talking or ministering to a person suddenly as a flash he will see into their spirit. Sometimes he sees in the form of visions, sometimes in the form of a photo snapshot. He once went to a meeting of a well known preacher. He had watched him on TV before. As my friend saw the preacher praying and performing miracles he discerned that he was performing the miracles through the spirit of Witchcraft.

Example: Paul discerned and drove out the spirit of divination from a slave woman

Acts 16:16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave woman who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling. 17She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” 18Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.

Attitudes to adopt in operating in Revelation Gifts

• The Holy Spirit determines when and how He wants to use a person
• But on our part we must have our spirit tuned to His voice while talking or chatting or emailing
• Pray – “Lord is there anything you want to reveal to this person?”
• We must be ready to receive what He wants to work through us
• This posture is important
• Remember we are here to benefit others
• Revelation gifts are dependent on whether you can see and hear what the Holy Spirit is showing and saying
• We are at great loss in the church because we are so dependent on what the ministers are saying and not being alert to receive from the Holy Spirit
• We are not developing these gifts

Process of growing in Revelation Gifts

• In everything God does there is a process
• He will start with small things and He will see how you function
• He will watch for your faithfulness, alertness and then increase your capacity to receive
• For those who have, more will be given

Example: in the case of Jeremiah God showed him a vision. Then tested his ability to see, hear. After that He began to increase what He revealed to Jeremiah

Jeremiah 1:11-13 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” 12Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”13And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 

Vocal gifts – What you need to Say

• Gift of tongues (languages)
  • “Tongues” is translated as “different languages” in old English
  • A language you have not learned or had any knowledge of before
  • It includes utterance by the Spirit

There have been cases of missionaries going to spread the gospel among tribal people. The moment they went to that place they supernaturally began to speak that language. I have a friend who went as a missionary amongst the ‘Jungle People’ in West Malaysia. For the first 7 days he was using a translator. But on the last day after his translator left, he had a meal with them and was about to leave the place. As he started praying in Tongues his language became different. He did not shift to pray in English as he had intended instead he continued on in Tongues. When he finished, the pastor informed him that he had just prayed in the local language.

Example: On the day of Pentecost the people gathered in the upper room were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the mighty deeds of God

Acts 2: 4 & 6 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out. 6And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and they were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. 

• Interpretation of tongues
  • Interpreting a message or prophecy in tongues into a local language.

This happens often in our church during worship. Someone may start prophesying strongly in Tongues and another person would immediately interpret that into English by this gift of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the same person may interpret the prophetic message spoken in Tongues into a known language.

Example: Paul exhorts the use of this gift when someone starts speaking in tongues in a corporate setup. Purpose is to edify the church.

1 Corinthians 14:2, 27, 28For the one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. If anyone speaks in a tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to interpret; 28but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God. 

• Prophecy

In this there are 4 dimensions.

• Spirit of Prophecy

In a church, during worship or prayer when the environment is charged up the Spirit of Prophecy can come upon anyone and they can speak a word of Prophecy.

Example: Saul was among the company of prophets and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he began to prophesy.

1 Sam 19:18-24 Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied. 21When Saul was informed of this, he sent other messengers, but they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, yet they prophesied. 22Then he went to Ramah himself and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23So he proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; but the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

• Gift of Prophecy

When you pray or worship you will feel a strong flow in your inner man flowing to your lips. God may speak to you through one word or a character in the Bible or a picture or a scripture. If it is a scripture then you have to take it and start proclaiming. Then the Spirit of God will take over the words. You must not use your mind with what God is speaking. It is a spirit to Spirit connection. As you begin to speak the flow of the Spirit will take over.

1 Corinthians 14:3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification, exhortation, and consolation. 

• Every believer baptized in the Holy Spirit has access to this gift
  • It is a resident gift given to you
  • This gift operates to
    • Encourage
    • Edify
    • comfort
    • give direction (personal prophecy)
    • confirmation (God confirms what He has been speaking to you through another person operating in this gift)
  • If it is your dominant gift it would operate on a consistent basis
  • Else if you are alert God can use you in a particular situation to function in this gift
  • If it is your dominant gift then when you pray or worship you will feel a stirring in your spirit, you will feel a strong flow. At that time you need to be alert
  • If it is not your dominant gift simply ask God for a word for them as you pray and minister
  • If God wants to say something He will reveal it to you
  • If you receive nothing then continue to simply pray
  • This also takes practice and nurturing

• Office of prophet

Ephesians 4:11 And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers,

The prophet is called by God and it is a ministry calling. It is a function not a title. (Further explained under 5 fold ministry)

• Prophecy of Scripture

Jeremiah 29:10 For this is what the LORD says: ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

Jeremiah prophesies that they will be under captivity for 70 years in Babylon.

Daniel 9:1 – 3In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3So I gave my attention to the Lord God, to seek Him by prayer and pleading, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 

Here Daniel takes what Jeremiah prophesied and begins to pray and proclaim and declare that scripture. This is the Prophecy of Scripture. It is the written will of God.

Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

A strategic word came to Daniel as He was reading Jeremiah’s prophecy and his prayer created a people movement. The Prophecy of Scripture set things in motion.

Power Gifts – What you need to do

• Gift of Faith
  • It is a supernaturally imparted faith
  • Normally associated with miraculous healings, raising the dead and miraculous provision of needs
  • It is for a specific task and specific time

During a mission trip to Indonesia we were a group of young believers in our early 20s accompanied by a pastor in his 50s. He was a very mature believer. We were approached by a group of people who asked to pray for their relative who had just died. We youngsters started shaking in our pants but our leader said – “Let’s go and pray.” After a few hours of prayer the man came back to life. Later on we asked our leader where he got the courage to go and pray. He said, “I was also shaking in my pants. But God said ‘Go, I will heal’ and from somewhere I got a supernatural faith to go and pray.” I emphasize we prayed few hours because even though he received the word from God he could have given up after an hour of prayer. But he prayed until what God said came to pass. When we asked our leader if he would do it again, he folded his hands and said – “I don’t think I can do it again. This was a supernatural touch of God for this occasion.”

Example: In Paul’s journey in a ship an angel came and spoke to him that he had an appointment with the emperor. So he was confident that everybody would make it in spite of dire weather conditions. If you read the whole chapter the sailors would be about to jump from the ship and Paul would stop them. Then later even when the snake bites him he simply shakes it off and walks away unharmed. He had the word that he will meet the emperor. That faith sustained him.

Acts 27:23-25 For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I also serve, came to me, 24saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has graciously granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told.

Acts 28: 3,5 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. However, Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.

The gift of faith should not be confused with any of the following

• Faith for Salvation

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

• Fruit of Spirit – Sustaining faith

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

• Mustard Seed faith

Matthew 17:20 And He *said to them, “Because of your meager faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Here Jesus is talking about the progressive faith that grows from the mustard seed size to the size of largest plant in the garden. As God begins to stretch your faith it will progressively grow from faith for small things to bigger issues.

The Gift of Faith on the other hand is supernaturally imparted faith for a particular situation

1 Corinthians 12:9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 

• This is the miraculous faith – an imparted faith
  • For instance, Smith Wigglesworth saw a man without a leg. He went and bought a pair of shoes for him and when he put the shoes under the man, the leg began to grow. Where did he get the faith to do that?

• Gifts of Healing and Miracles
  • Healing is associated with healing of body, emotions and mind
  • It moves to the level of a miracle when things happen like a whole body part grows
  • Miracles include signs and wonders in the physical environment
  • Deuteronomy 26:8 and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, an outstretched arm, and with great terror, and with signs and wonders; 
  • Anyone of us can be used to perform healing as the Holy Spirit deems fit
  • If you have a ministry of evangelism this will be your dominant gifting
  • If your dominant gift is healing then 80 % to 90 % of the time you pray healing will take place
  • Sometimes God uses different methods to bring about healing. It may not just be prayer but He may give you hints

For example, when I was a young believer I used to feel pain in different parts of my body during prayer. Sometimes I would feel intense heat in my hands. I didn’t know what they were because as a new believer I was a bit “blur”. Then an experienced believer explained it this way – “When you experience a pain in any part of your body which you never had before just be courageous and ask if anybody has any problem in that part of their body. This is a way God shows you how to minister to people.” Then later I also learnt that when I felt heat in my hand it meant God wanted to perform healing. Sometimes God gives a Word of knowledge about a particular problem in a person. He may indicate just their name, other times just an alphabet and still other times just the dress color. We must be aware of various ways God can operate through so that we are a faithful vessel.

God is amazing. There are people who can pray for Migraine headaches alone. God creates even specialists in His healing ministry!

The main thing is to be alert and aware. You also need courage to just step out and pray. The first person I prayed for healing was an old lady in a hospital. She later died. Not exactly a confidence booster. But God gave me mature leaders who encouraged me, prodded me and nurtured my confidence in praying for healing in people. Now, whenever there is an opportunity I choose to become an instrument of God.

What God wants to do for that person is His job. Choosing to become a vessel for His use is my job. I choose to be the channel that connects God and His children.

So go out there and pray! If you only pray once in a while over others you will never find out if this is your dominant gift. Even if it’s not your dominant gift God may use you in that situation to heal that person. Even if nothing happens they are still blessed because prayer always blesses. It is a win-win situation anyway!

Service Gifts

Rom 12:7,8,13 if service, in the act of serving; or the one who teaches, in the act of teaching; 8or the one who exhorts, in the work of exhortation; the one who gives, with  generosity; the one who is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

1 Corinthians 12:28 And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and various kinds of tongues. 

• Gift of Hospitality – people who have the ability to show hospitality. It is a grace that someone carries. In some cultures this comes in naturally. The clear sign of those who carry this grace is – they love to serve people and they find fulfillment in that. It’s what makes them joyful and satisfied. Makes them feel they are doing something fulfilling. They are always looking for opportunity to bless people, feed people, to help people. Their heart is always on the people
• Gifts of Encouraging, Giving and Leadership are self explanatory
• Gift of Mercy or Helps – These are people who are compassionate for the poor or underprivileged. Their heart is always for those in society who have a need. If you want to start a social work program in your church you must look for these kind of people because they would carry the project through
• Gift of Administration – These are people who bring order and structure into things they do. In my local church there is a sister. Whatever ministry you put her in she will structure it very nicely, plan it into steps demarcating what she wants to achieve; what the ministry wants to achieve. Everything is clear cut in her work. They are very systematic in the way they work. So if we put her in Evangelism ministry she will plan what to do when a person comes in, how you share the gospel, how you bring him from one level to the next, what classes you need to bring him through, every step is planned clearly.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND DEVELOP YOUR DOMINANT GIFT

• It is the gift you flow in regularly, consistently
• It will normally be related to the ministry God leads you into
• Once you discover your dominant gift, use every opportunity to function in it, as you do you will become sharper and stronger in your gift
• Don’t shut yourself from operating in other gifts, keep yourself open and available. An important attitude of heart should be – whether dominant gift or not we must make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit for Him to move through us as He deems fit.Be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit wants to do

FIVE-FOLD MINISTRY

Somebody gave an example of how the five-fold ministries work together: We know about the wedding banquet mentioned by Jesus. The Evangelist goes out and invites people for the wedding. The Prophet is the one who plans the whole program. The Apostle is the one who organizes and brings that plan into reality. The Pastor is the guest relationship officer. He meets everyone and makes them feel at home. The Teacher is the one who teaches them how to behave in the wedding celebration and teaches them table manners. This is how the different functions work together.

Every church does not have the 5 fold inside them.

Titus 1: 5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 

• The team of elders comprised of people operating in the five fold ministries
• Deacons will oversee house churches
• Elders will oversee all the deacons in the house churches
• Paul instructs Titus to set elders over the cities

OFFICE OF A PROPHET

• It is a ministry calling
• It is a function and not a title
• There is confusion in people that when they operate in the gift of prophecy they are a Prophet. This is not right.

Key difference between gift and office of prophet

• Anyone can move in Gift of Prophecy as Holy Spirit deems fit. Only those called by God to function in the Office of the prophet can move in that office
• Gift operates to encourage, edify , comfort, direction (personal prophecy), confirmation of what God has been speaking to you. When you operate in the gift you are limited to these 5 things – encourage, comfort, edify, personal prophesy and confirmation of God’s word for them
• Office of prophet includes all of the above but you move to the next level and give directions for the corporate body of Christ – national or international depending on the grace you carry as a prophet
• You are able to Impart, Correct & give Warning
• Prophet not only gives warning of the coming situation but also gives the blueprint on how to avoid or come out of that situation
• In the Book of Acts the prophet gave the warning that a famine is coming but also gave provisions on how to tackle it

Acts 11:27 – 30 Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. 29And to the extent that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30And they did this, sending it with Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

OFFICE OF AN APOSTLE

• It is a function not a title
• Function of an Apostle is to build foundation in a ministry
• They have a personal encounter with the Lord. The original Apostles met God in person. Present day Apostles have a personal visitation from God or Jesus in their calling to this function
• Pioneering ministry – breaks into areas to start churches
• When they teach or speak there is an authority they carry that brings order and discipline in the church
• Always strengthens the Church
• When they go into the church they can recognize what needs to be built and they build the church in that area and strengthen it
• They operate in wisdom. Wisdom in building, communicating and everything
• They have a Fathering Heart. They are always looking for leaders to raise up and teach for Kingdom work
• They are sound in doctrine. Their doctrine is clear and accurate. Whatever topic or issue they will display a clarity and understanding of what God thinks of that subject. They have the full council of God
• They operate in signs & wonders 
• 2 Corinthians 12:12The distinguishing marks of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs, wonders, and miracles. 
• Paul’s own definition of an Apostolic ministry; operating in signs and wonders
• I have a friend in Jakarta who has planted 23 churches and he calls himself an apostle. So he only shows one sign of the ministry. And there are others who travel around the world, visit churches and teach people and they assume they are apostles. In some parts of the world, they have redefined every ministry because they are title conscious. They have redefined apostolic and prophetic ministry based on what they carry but they have not qualified with what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:12. Their ministry is not followed by signs and wonders

OFFICE OF TEACHER

• Teaching ministry is used by all the callings
• What makes a teacher different?
• Teaching ministry is characterized by Knowledge , Wisdom & Understanding
• Knowledge means knowing the full council of God
• Understanding means how they interpret the truth
• Wisdom means how they teach us to apply the truth
• Teacher focuses on life application not knowledge
• Knowledge of the Word does not change lives
• A person called to the Office of Teacher always plans to teach with the focus on how to break things down so people can apply it in their lives
• You can see the unction of the Holy Spirit evident in the presentation & illumination of Scripture
• Even if I have a PhD in Theology and study Greek and Hebrew it does not conclude that I am a teacher
• It is a calling of God and it has come with the unction of the Holy Spirit

God has given you a gift to strengthen your church you must utilize it. Be a faithful steward. Ask the Lord to help you understand what your dominant gift is. Ask God to help you be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

It is time now to move from ordinary to extraordinary; to move from the natural to the supernatural.