CGMi CHURCH AMAZING

How to walk in the Spirit - Part two

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 22:49:00 +0000

Aim: To understand what it means to walk in the Spirit and how we can walk in the Spirit

Text: Galatians 5:16–17; 25,

INTRODUCTION

Last week we learnt about what it means to be in the spirit, to be in the flesh, to walk in (being after) the spirit, and to walk in the (being after) the flesh. We discovered that it is possible to have the Spirit of God dwelling in us (be in the spirit) and still not walk in (be after) the Spirit. In this study, we will be looking at a few steps on how to walk in the Spirit.

DISCUSSION

A Summary of "Steps to Walking in the Spirit" by Dr. Creflo A. Dollar

· You have been called to liberty, but you should not use your freedom as an incentive to sin (Galatians 5:13).

1. When you intentionally sin and rely on God’s forgiveness, you defeat yourself; what you practice doing determines what you become. Don’t fornicate or curse someone out just because you know you’re the righteousness of God and are eligible to receive forgiveness.

· Your born-again spirit is in competition with your flesh for control of your life (Galatians 5:16-24).

1. Every work of the flesh, as well as every fruit of the Spirit, begins with a thought.

2. Your mind is the control center, or central processing center, of your human body.

3. Your life is the sum total of how you think.

4. Walking in the flesh is a mindset aligned with the world; walking in the Spirit is a mindset aligned with God’s Word.

5. When you walk in the Spirit, you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh (verse 16).

· You can’t be spiritual without the Word of God.

1. You can’t walk in the Spirit without the Word, because the Word is Spirit and life (John 6:63).

2. Any way of thinking that doesn’t align with the Word is walking in the flesh. This includes traditional religious doctrines.

3. Daily study of the Bible is vital—your potential for walking in the Spirit is directly linked to your understanding of the Word (2 Timothy 2:15).

4. If you never read your Bible, then the only potential you have is to walk in the flesh.

· Within your mind, God’s Word and the Devil’s words battle for influence and control.

1. The Devil tests you with sinful suggestions to see if he can control you; he knows that your thoughts govern your life. He uses words in songs and images in the media to influence you, gain access to your thinking and use your body to express himself through you. He wants to see if you will accept and nourish his thoughts or cast them down. Although Christians can’t be demon-possessed, they can be demon oppressed if they allow their thinking to be influenced by the Devil.

CONCLUSION

You must be aware of the conflict that you are in. Your born-again spirit and your flesh are battling for control of your body. You can use God’s Word to cast down Satan’s words, because God’s Word is mighty (2 Cor. 10:5). We must train our minds to stay on God; we must be renewed in the spirit of our mind (Eph 4:23).

YOUR PERCEPTION ABOUT CHRIST

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 06:28:00 +0000

Matt 16:13-20

Our perception is how we see or perceive things; how things appear to us; our conscious understanding of things. Our perspective is our opinion, view, or outlook about something and in our text above, we see Jesus inquiring about these two very important things; Perception and Perspective. Interestingly, He asked His disciples first "who do men say that I am?", before He asked them "who do you say I am?". This is very important because perspective is enhanced by perception. Jesus was telling His disciples that men's perspective of Him is enhanced by their (His disciples') perception of Him; that the way men see and whatever they say about Him (their opinions and views) is based on what His disciples perceive and say about Him. Jesus had ministered to the twelve and through them He had ministered to the people. The people had heard about Him through the twelve, and so their opinions about Him would be based on what the twelve had taught and portrayed about Him. So He asked them first "who do men say that I am?"

The answers His disciples gave are quite interesting; some said John the Baptist, some said Elias, others said Jeremiah, and still others said "one of the prophets". These answers are considered by some to be correct and by others to be incorrect. But one thing is sure, they were based on the people's perception of Jesus Christ. Scriptures tells us that Jesus came in the spirit of John the Baptist, and so when His ministry started, the people saw John in Him (Mar 6:14), meaning that He reflected some of the characteristics of John the Baptist. Of course John's ministry is similar to that of Elias and so it's no surprise they also saw Elias in Him (Jesus Christ); and then Jeremiah (one of the new covenant prophets)and one of the prophets. In essence, their perception of Him is kind of correct and ok, but when it comes to perception and what we perceive to be true, we must be very careful because sometimes, what appears to be real, is really not real. The spiritual is more real than the physical and what is seen is not as real as what is not. So we cannot base our decisions sometimes on just perception.

So Jesus turned His attention to His disciples and asked them "who do you say I am?". When Peter gave Him an answer that is not based on flesh but on revelation (Matt 16:17), Jesus said to him "blessed are thou". This means that there is a blessing in looking beyond the physical/ordinary. Jesus said "blessed" to an answer that is not based on "flesh and blood". Many a times, what gets us into trouble is "flesh and blood". What we know about God is "flesh and blood" (what we've read from books, heard from our pastors, etc.) and not what has been revealed to us by the Spirit; but God is only interested in what He has to say. The church of today is so filled with info, lacking insight; today's church has a lot of head knowledge but lack revelation, and just like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus has lots of info but are strangers to Christ and were trying to explain Christ to Christ; their eyes were opened when revelation came from Christ (Luke 24:13-32). The only way to receive revelation that will enhance our perspective of God is by communicating with Him.

Matt 16:18-19

Jesus said to Peter "you are Peter and upon this rock, I shall build my church". He had been speaking to Peter all the while, so coming definite to Peter and saying "you are Peter" could only mean that He was talking to two Peter. The Greek word for Peter is Petros (small rock, stone), but Jesus said upon this rock (Petra - large rock) I shall build my church. The problem with the church is that we have always emphasised the small stone and neglected the Rock. We focus on ourselves and branches and denominations (small stones) and forsake the Rock (Christ). Small stones also refer to revelation in progress (revelation of God's word in bits); prosperity, healing, breakthroughs and the likes that the church has formed doctrines out of and has emphasised. Today we speak of healing churches, deliverance churches and the likes, all small stone churches. Christ is the Rock, and in Christ is all small stones. The church has turned Christ to a means to an end, but He is the end; and in Him we have all things. Christ is our focus, and not the things He brings.

It's not about the small stones, it's about Christ. We are unmovable and unshakable because we are connected to the Rock. We are constantly being refreshed because we are connected to the Rock. David always spoke of refuge as connected to the presence of God. Our refuge is in the Rock; He is big enough to house us all. The devil cannot chase the Rock; the reason he has been chasing you is because he has been seeing you. It's not about you, it's about the Rock. It is the mountain of the Lord's house that will be set above all other mountains (Isa 2:2). It is about lifting up Jesus and not ourselves. The basis of our message and our lives as Christians is lifting up Christ. It's not about us (the small stones), it's about Christ (the Rock).

How to walk in the Spirit - Part one

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 07:56:00 +0000

Aim: To understand what it means to walk in the Spirit and how we can walk in the Spirit

Text: Galatians 5:16–17; 25,

INTRODUCTION

When we experienced the new birth, we passed from death to life (from condemnation of the law to justification unto life); which marked the beginning of our Christian walk/faith. Now that we have the life of Christ in us, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, our goal in life must be to manifest this life, so that all may see Christ in us (Matthew 5:14-16). This work of subduing the sinful/lustful desires of our flesh and manifesting the holy and righteous life of Christ that is in us is the work of the Holy Spirit, and this work is the process of sanctification (conforming our experience here on earth to our reality in Christ Jesus).

In Adam, all we were capable of was walking in the flesh, satisfying the desires of the sinful nature. But now, in Christ Jesus, we are capable of walking in the Spirit and not gratifying/fulfilling the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16–17).

In our previous studies, we learnt about the Holy Spirit, His work of sanctification in our lives and how He empowers us and gives gifts for effectiveness in service when we are baptized in Him. In this study, we will be learning more about the sanctification work of the Spirit by looking at what it means to walk in the Spirit and how we can walk in the Spirit.

DISCUSSION

· What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? (Gal 5:25)

Anyone who's born again lives in the Spirit, anyone who's not is in the flesh and those who live in the flesh cannot please God (Rom 7:5, Rom 8:8-9). In Gal 5:25 however, the bible says to us that if we live in the Spirit, we should also walk in the Spirit; meaning that it is possible to live in the Spirit (having the Spirit of God dwell in us - Rom 8:9) and not walk in the Spirit. It becomes clear therefore that we can have the life and the Spirit of God in us, but will never manifest this life and the fruit of the Spirit until we begin to walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:18-23, Rom 8:12-14). So what does it mean to walk in the Spirit? To walk in the Spirit simply means to live according to the Spirit, minding the things of the Spirit (i.e. dwelling/remaining in the habitat/environment of the Spirit) and sowing to please the Spirit - Rom 8:5, Gal 6:7-8.

· What are the advantages of walking the Spirit?

§ It helps us not to gratify the desires of the flesh - Gal 5:16

§ It helps us to manifest the fruit of the Spirit - Gal 5:22-25, John 15:4-8

§ There is no condemnation to those who walk in the Spirit - Rom 8:1

§ Walking in the Spirit produces life and peace - Rom 8:6

§ When we walk in the Spirit, we do not walk in ignorance - John 16:13

§ Walking in the Spirit produces freedom and an ever increasing life of glory - 2Cor 3:17,18

§ Mention Others

To be continued...

PREVALING BY THE PROMISE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 21:12:00 +0000

Rom 4:13, Heb 6:13-15

The way God blessed Abraham was by the promise; when He (God) wanted to bless him, He (God) gave him a promise. There is power in God's promises and when we believe His promises something happens to us. Abraham received God's promise and that was all he needed for his life to turn around completely. They say talk is Cheap, but not when God is talking; There is power in His promise. God has given us exceeding great and precious promises; promises that will always exceed our expectation, and through promises we can partake in His divine nature (2Pet 1:4). Because of God's promises Abraham experienced divine manifestation. He was able to give birth to a son even when it was no longer physically possible. When we receive God's promises, our situation changes. Abraham had dominion over the natural order of life because of God's promise, and God has also given us Exceeding promises so we can partake (share, experience) in His divine nature.

Moving on to the other part of 2Pet 1:4, we see that receiving God's promises also help us to escape corruption that comes through lust. Now most times when we hear the words corruption and lust our minds go to immorality and sexual lust respectively but that's only part of what is being referred to in this verse (2Pet 1:4). Corruption here refers to negative fruit, effect or consequence - Psa. 16:10 (here, the psalmist is prophesying about Christ passing through hell and not experiencing the effects or consequences of hell) while lust refers to feeling angry because one's desire is not being met - Psa. 106:13-14 (when the Bible talks about lust here it was refering to how the Israelites were angry and dissatisfied with the things God was giving them in the wilderness) and lust produces corruption/opens one up for corruption.

God is saying to us that whatever we are going through in life will only affect us negatively (corruption) if we permit it to/if we give in to lust and that if we hold on to His promises, instead of experiencing the corruption in that situation, we will partake of the divine nature. Instead of getting angry, upset and complaining, we will be praising God and declaring His promises and partake of the divine nature.

The glorious liberty of the sons of God - Rom 8:21

Nobody is as free as the children of God on the earth. Because we are children of God, we have liberty/freedom from corruption and experience glory instead of corruption. We refuse to give in to anger and bitterness and we hold on to God's promises.

The perfect Law of Liberty - James 1:25

The perfect law of liberty refers to Scriptures/God's promises; and whosoever looks into it experiences the blessing instead of corruption. We shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free. Jesus is lifted just like Moses lifted up the bronze serpent, and whosoever looks will experience liberty/freedom from the corruption in that situation (John 3:14).

The Spirit of Promise - Eph 1:13

One of the assignments of the Holy Spirit is to help us know and experience the promise (He guides us into all truth). Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty/freedom from corruption (2Cor 3:17). Because of the Holy Spirit, we are spirits in every situations and cannot be held down. In Gal 3:13-14, we see that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law so that we can experience the promise of the Spirit through Faith; the blessing is the promise of the Spirit through faith.

In Heb 4:1-5, the Bible talks about us entering into God's rest. Christ was crucified before the foundation of the earth, and the day we got born again was not the day He died for us. It was the day we entered into His rest. In the same way, God has already fulfilled that desire of ours and all we have to do is enter into His rest and seize from our own struggle. The Spirit of God helps us to recognise the manifestation of God when it comes. God always sends His solution (His word) and by His Spirit we recognise and receive His word and enter into His rest.

God has given us great and precious promises and the Spirit of promise will help us recognise the promise, guiding us into all truth, and as we declare His promises we partake of the divine nature/we experience divine manifestation. Instead of God to lie, the situation will change; we must hold on to the promises and keep confessing until the situation turns around. There's a promises for every situation and if we can recognise it by the Spirit and hold on to it, we will experience divine manifestation.

Walking in the Spirit (The Baptism in the Holy Spirit)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 08:12:00 +0000

Aim: To understand what the Holy Spirit baptism is and its relevance to us as believers

Text: Acts 1:8; 10:44-46; 19:1-6, Joel 2:28

INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit baptism is different from the new birth experience (Acts 19:1-6). When a person gives his/her life to Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells (resides in) him/her (Rom 8:9). Salvation (the new birth experience) is a work of the Holy Spirit (John 6:63), but this work is different from the baptism of the Holy Spirit that empowers the believer for effectiveness in service (Acts 1:8).

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a supernatural endowment with power for the purpose of witnessing effectively and with an initial evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 10:44-46; 19:6).

DISCUSSION

Truths about the baptism in the Holy Spirit

1. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is different from the new birth experience

· The new birth is for unbelievers while the baptism in the Holy Spirit is for believers (Acts 8:14-17; 19:4-6)

· In the new birth the Spirit saves and sanctifies (the Spirit within), while in the Holy Spirit baptism He empowers and gives gifts (the Spirit upon) (Jn 6:63, 2Th 2:13, Acts 1:8 1Cor 12:7)

· In the new birth, the Holy Spirit is the baptizer, while in the Holy Spirit baptism Christ is the baptizer (1Cor 12:13, Gal 3:27, Matt 3:11, John 1:33, 34)

2. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a promise

· The Father promised to pour His Spirit on us and empower us for His service. (Joel 2:28,29; Acts 2:17-18)

· Jesus also reminded us of this promise (John 7:37-39, John 14:16-18)

3. This promise is for Christian disciples of every era (Acts 2:38-39)

4. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is an endowment of God’s power

· This endowment empowers us to witness for Christ boldly (Acts 1:8; 4:31)

· This endowment empowers us to serve Christ effectively (1 Cor. 12:4-7)

5. An initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is Speaking in Tongues (Acts 10:44-46; 19:6)

CONCLUSION

The way to receive the Holy Spirit baptism is similar to the way we got saved as believers. After knowing and believing in the person of the Holy Spirit and His ministry in our lives, we must ask in faith and receive (Luke 11:9-13, Jn 14:17). The Lord wants us to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit, so once baptized we should keep being filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31; Eph. 5:17-19).

GRACE FOR DOMINION

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 16:05:00 +0000

Gen 1:26, 28

The quality of life we live here on earth is a function of the knowledge we have, and this cannot be overemphasized. It is God's will/plan for us to dominate and rule over the earth, but until we know this and begin to act on this knowledge, we will not begin to dominate. The Grace of God is not just restricted to God's unmerited favour, but also God's mercy and His ability that is at work in us. The Grace of God is three-fold; Favour, Mercy, and Ability (Eph 2:4-5, Heb 4:16, Acts 20:32). So when we talk about Grace for Dominion, we are talking about God's divine ability given to us to dominate here on the earth.

In the beginning, we understand that Adam (man) named all the animals and had total dominance over creation; But after the fall of man, that dominion was lost and fear came in. Jesus Christ came however to restore us back to that position of dominion (Eph 1:20-21).

Dominion refers to power to rule and influence, authority, and is not restricted to any area of life. God has given us grace to dominate everything that has before now dominated us; to take our place and rule over every circumstance in our lives (Psa 8:1-6). This is our reality in Christ Jesus, and our attitude, mindset and conversations should be in line with this reality and to know that when God gives us grace it breaks barriers.

There is need for however to remain humble, knowing full well that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (Prov 3:34, James 4:6); we must also continue to grow in God's grace by growing in our knowledge of His word (2Pet 3:18, 2Pet 1:2).

Walking in the Spirit (The Person of the Holy Spirit)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 11:29:00 +0000

Aim: To understand who the Holy Spirit is and what roles He plays in our lives

Text: Gal 5:25, Jn 14:16-17, Rom 8:16, Acts 1:8

INTRODUCTION

To be able to walk in the Spirit, we must first of all understand who the Spirit is as this will enhance our spiritual growth and facilitate flourishing fellowship with Him. So much have been said about the Holy Spirit; Jesus told His disciples the importance of Him leaving, so that the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) can come and gave them some of the advantages of having the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16-17; 16:5-8). He also told them not to leave Jerusalem until they are baptised with Him (the Holy Spirit) - Acts 1:4. But who really is the Holy Spirit and what are His functions in our lives as believers? These are the questions we will be answering in our today's study.

Understanding the Person of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Almighty. He possesses the characteristics that God alone possesses;

· He is Omnipresent - He can be everywhere - Ps 139:7-10

· He is Omniscient - He knows all things - 1Cor 2:10

· He is Omnipotent - He is all powerful - Luke 1:35

· He is the Creator - Job 33:4

The Holy Spirit is not a wind; neither is He a force, nor a fire, nor a dove. Holy Spirit is a person, He has emotions (Eph 4:30), He has a will (1Cor 12:11), He has a mind (Rom 8:27), He speaks (Acts 13:2, 10:19), He teaches (Jan 14:26), He can be grieved (Eph 4:30).

Functions of the Holy Spirit in the Believer's Life

The Holy Spirit does a lot of things for the believer too numerous to write down. A few are listed below;

· The Holy Spirit teaches the believer the way of God - Jan 14:26

· The Holy Spirit gives the believer assurance of his salvation and awareness of his sonship - Rom 8:14-16, Gal 4:6, 1Cor 2:12

· The Holy Spirit guides the believer in the way of Truth - Jan 16:13

· The Holy Spirit is the source of miraculous power - Rom 15:19

· The Holy Spirit helps the believer to pray in God's will - Rom 8:26-28

· The Holy Spirit equips the believer for service - Acts 1:8, Acts 10:38

· He is a Comforter - Jan 14:16

· He releases His gifts upon believers according to the need for the time - 1Cor 12:7-11

· Mention others

CONCLUSION

The Holy Spirit is God and not a lesser figure in the Godhead. He has been since the beginning and was active in the creation of the world (Gen 1:1). His roles in our lives as believers cannot be overemphasized and He treasures the fellowship of God's children. To walk in the Spirit is to know the Holy Spirit and to fellowship constantly with Him

Walking in the Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 11:22:00 +0000

1Cor 1:27, Acts 1:8, Zech 4:6

As believers, we have the Spirit of Christ in us and because of that we can do all things (we can do the things that Christ would do). When we walk in the Spirit, we know the mind of God. When God calls us, He shows to the world that He doesn't do things according to the standard of the world, and so those who walk in the Spirit are always conscious of God's presence and show daily moment by moment holiness; They learn to yield to the Spirit of God and live according to God's standard. Because of Christ, every born again child of God has the Holy Spirit and is qualified to be led by the Spirit. He (Jesus Christ) told us about the coming of the Spirit, and made us understand that the Holy Spirit is for everyone who believes. All one has to do is ask for the Spirit's leading and yield to the Spirit, giving Him the leadership role in our lives.

To walk in the Spirit, is to follow the Spirit's leading; to be led by the Holy Spirit and one way the Spirit of God leads us is through God's word when the word of God dwells richly in us. When we walk in the Spirit, we allow Him to guide our steps and conform our minds to the mind of Christ. We must therefore be careful the things we load our minds with. We must entertain and focus our minds on the things of the Spirit and God's word, concentrating on Christ and not dwelling on the things of the flesh.

Why We need to walk in the Spirit

· Jesus commanded it and promised us the Comforter - Acts 1:8, Jn 16:5-14

· We can only worship and commune with God in the Spirit - Jn 4:24

· Walking in the Spirit brings about liberty (freedom from fear and the activities of the devil) and consciousness of the Truth - 2Cor 3:17, Jn 8:32

· When we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfil/gratify the desires of the flesh - Gal 5:16

· Walking in the Spirit is a proof of Sonship - Rom 8:14

· When we walk in the Spirit, we manifest the Fruit of the Spirit - Gal 5:16-26

Walking in the Spirit begins with our being part of the body of Christ and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. God desires us to walk with Him in close fellowship/communion with the Holy Spirit. Let us therefore make effort to yield to God's Spirit and His word in constant fellowship and obedience, and follow His leading.

How to maintain Peace in your Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 23:02:00 +0000

Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:16, Isaiah 26:3, Psalm 16:8

We must first of all believe that God is committed to giving us peace always by all means, then we must realize that we have a responsibility to keep our minds stayed on him to experience His peace. In John 14:27, the reason why Jesus said we should let not our hearts be troubled is because we can choose to not allow our hearts to be troubled. According to Matthew 14:24-32, Peter had the responsibility of keeping his eyes on Jesus if he wanted to have peace in the midst of the storm and it was when he (by himself) took his eyes off Jesus that he started to sink.

· Importance of Maintaining Peace in your heart:

- God can work only when our hearts are at peace.

- Being at peace is a sign of faith and our faith pleases God.

- Anxiety is not good for our health – there are so many sicknesses and diseases caused by fear and worry, even psychological – Prov.17:22

- Peace guards our hearts and minds – Phil.4:7

· Ways we can maintain Peace in Our Hearts:

- Remember the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord - Lam.3:19-26

- Fix your mind on God’s Greatness and His Great Love for you - Isa 26:3

- Fix your mind on God’s Promises - 2 Thess. 3:16, Isa 54:10, John 16:33

- Sing praises unto God - Rom. 4:20

- Give no room for fear. Tell yourself that He is the God of your salvation (deliverance) and He will deliver you out of this situation - John 14:27, 2Tim.1:7

- Be anxious for nothing /Pray with thanksgiving - Phil.4:6-7

- Confess and declare God’s Word - Heb.13:5-6

- Forgive people and have mercy on them - Heb.12:14

One major reason for lack of peace is confusion; not knowing what to do about a situation. We must believe God will make a way where there seems to be no way; He will make a way of escape and He will open our eyes to see and know the way. The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth.

Because Jesus is in your boat, no storm of life can sink you. Ask Him in faith and He will give you His peace in that situation. Speak to that mountain and it will move, Mark 11:23. Don’t doubt in your heart. You will have what you say.

HOW TO RENEW OUR MINDS (Part Two)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 21:33:00 +0000

TEXT: Rom 12:2, Ephesians 4:23

Memory Verse: “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind” - Ephesians 4:23

In our previous study, we were able to establish certain facts, three (3) of which are given below;

With the mind, we exercise the power of reasoning, conceiving ideas, and judgment, the mind is the center of the soul; the center of our intellect, reasoning and emotions and the place where decisions are made; our minds determine our lives.

Our minds have been programmed with natural attitudes, including beliefs, thoughts, ideas, opinions, convictions that we have concerning us, others, objects, activities, and even God and these have been formed through the influence of parents, educational systems, society (books, television, movies, etc.), religious trainings, personal experience, etc.

When we got born again, our minds did not get born again; only our spirit, hence the need for constant renewal of our minds, to conform to the mind of Christ.

In this study, we will be looking at the effects of an un-renewed mind, benefits of having a mind being renewed, and how to renew our minds.

DISCUSSIONS

1. Effects of an un-renewed mind on (1 Cor. 13, 1 Jn 2:15-16, Gal 5:19-21; 26);

· Mind-set about ourselves - false sense of identity, external orientation (looks, etc), feelings of guilt, attitudes of worthlessness, inferiority, superiority, pride, etc.

· Mind-set about other people - people pleasing, self-conscious, vain imaginations/fantasies, fears, phobias, attitudes of anger, impatience, hate, bitterness, resentment, revenge, suspicion, jealousy, unforgiveness, blame, depression

· Mind-set about things – materialism/love for things, addictions to substances, objects, etc.

· Mind-set about ideas – obsessions for knowledge, desire to be correct, accurate, right, etc

2. Benefits of a renewed mind

· Transformation comes as a result of renewal of our minds - Rom. 12:2

· Prosperity and good success - Josh 1:8

· Life and Perfect peace - Rom 8:6, Isa 26:3

· Mention others

3. How to renew our minds

· Meditate (hâgâh - pronounced haw-gaw' - to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication to ponder: - imagine, mourn, mutter, speak, study, talk, utter.) on God’s word – Josh 1:8,

- You have the mind of Christ - I Cor. 2:16

- Whatever is true, right, pure, etc - Phil. 4:8

- On things above - Col. 3:2

· Avoid evil communications/re-focus your mind (friends, TV, magazines, music, etc) - 1 Cor. 15:33, Col. 3:2

· Live by the Spirit of God (Gal 5:16-22)

CONCLUSION

Our minds direct our attitude, and influence our actions. It follows, therefore, that if we are to act like Christ, we must think like Him. The mind however, does not act on its own, but operates on what it feeds on. Hence, if the people and circumstances that influence our mental processing are Godly, we will find it easier to fix our thoughts on Jesus, and act like Him.

Raising Godly Children

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Oct 2014 11:21:00 +0000

Gen 18:19, Prov 13:24, Prov 19:18

The best legacy every Christian parent should leave for their children should be more than wealth, education, cars, etc; the best legacy for posterity is not stored up wealth, but well behaved and well trained Godly Children in a corrupt generation. God had so much trust in Abraham that he (Abraham) would train his children after Him (God) and Abraham did not disappoint. Good communication is the life-blood of every strong and healthy family, and we must start this process (of communication and chastisement) while it is early (while there is still hope).

Positive steps to Developing Godly Children

All children from zero age to death pass through three (3) stages in life;

· The stage of Regulation – this stage starts from the womb to the age of seven (7), where the parents regulate the destiny of the child by speaking words. Every child is a special specie manufactured by God to be delivered through an earthly vessel to cause a change in his/her generation (Jeremiah 1:10). Therefore at this stage of regulation, the parents must speak God’s word into the child; making sure that his/her life conforms to God’s plan. At the stage the child is likely to say lots and lots of nonsense, but the parents still should give a listening ear and regulate/correct whatever the child says; Learning starts from birth and what of the things we must teach our children at this stage is obedience. If a parent exercise control and bend the child early enough, they can relax later on in life (Prov 19:18).

· The stage of Imitation – this is the stage where children imitate others especially in their lifestyle. This stage starts from age Eight (8) to Twelve (12) and it’s a stage where children are very restless, ask lots of questions wanting to know everything, and it is a stage where we must become role-models to our children and lead them by example. We must be attentive to their questions and not turn them away. We must observe them very well and correct every character or lifestyle not coming from us.

· The stage of Inspiration – this stage starts from the age of thirteen (13) till when the child dies. This is the stage where we inspire the child and put them in the way (Prov. 23:19). Here the child needs to know that he/she is special and we should not rule them out, and where the parent must covert his/her love for the child to time. This is where we teach them by inspiring them, and one of the things we teach them to do is to value spiritual things. Rules, models, and examples must continue in this stage, and we as parents must continue speaking into their lives and set it in accordance to God’s plan.

Every child is special, made in God’s image and likeness. Every child is worth investing our time, effort and money on, and every well trained and Godly child will shape our tomorrow for the better.

HOW TO RENEW OUR MINDS (Part One)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:23:00 +0000

AIM: To help us understand why our minds need to be renewed and how we can renew our minds

TEXT: Rom 12:2, Eph. 4:23

Memory Verse: “and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewal of your mind” - Rom 12:2a

INTRODUCTION

With the mind, we exercise the power of reasoning, conceiving ideas, and judgment. Man is a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body, and the mind is the centre of the soul; the centre of our intellect, reasoning and emotions and the place where decisions are made. The fight between the spirit and the flesh for who gets control over the man takes place in the mind; our minds determines our lives (Prov 4:23; 23:7, Mat 12:34-35, Mat 15:18-19).

Our minds have been programmed with natural "established attitudes", including beliefs, thoughts, ideas, opinions, convictions that we have concerning ourselves, others, objects, activities, and even God and these have been formed through the influence of parents, educational system, society (books, television, movies, etc.), religious training, personal experience, etc.

When we got born again, our minds did not get born again; only our spirit. There is therefore need for constant renewal of our minds, to put off the garbage in our thinking and put on the mind of Christ. In this study, we will look at how we can renew our minds to conform to the mind of Christ.

DISCUSSIONS

· Characteristics of a mind that needs to be renewed – a mind that needs renewing is;

§ A depraved/reprobate mind (immoral, does things which are not proper) - Rom. 1:28

§ A mind set on the flesh and not subject to God’s Law - Rom. 8:5;7, Eph. 2:3

§ Haughty - Rom. 12:16

§ Blinded by unbelief - 2Cor. 4:4

§ Corrupted from simplicity and purity in Christ - 2Cor. 11:3

§ Futile (incapable of producing results, useless, not successful, not worth attempting)- Eph. 4:17

§ Set on earthly things - Phil. 3:19

§ Alienated and an enemy of Christ - Col. 1:21

§ Vainly puffed up - Col. 2:18

§ Defiled - Titus 1:15

§ Mention others

· Characteristics of a renewed mind – a renewed mind is;

§ Steadfast, stayed/focussed on God - Isa. 26:3

§ One that loves the Lord - Matt. 22:37

§ The mind of Christ - I Cor. 2:16, Phil. 2:5

§ One that meditates on Godly things - Phil. 4:8

§ Set on heavenly things - Col. 3:2

§ Contains the laws of God - Heb. 8:10; 10:16

§ Girded for action - I Pet. 1:13

§ Mention others

To be continued.....

The Regenerated Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 22:40:00 +0000

Excerpts from the message

The regenerated Mind – 21^st September 2014

Isa 26:3

Our mind is the centre of our thoughts. Thoughts are very powerful, and they are more than just imaginations; they can either deliver to us a glorious life or keep us on the sideline of life (Prov 23:7). The problems we have in the world today are as a result of our mind/mentality (thought pattern); what we think in our mind is what our lives reflect. The boundary of our blessings is determined by the extent of our vision, thoughts, etc; Success and failure in life starts from our minds (Prov 4:23).

The regenerated mind is one that has been transformed, trained, and programmed to reflect Christ and the victory we have in Him through a constant and persistent focus, meditation, profession and practice of our faith in Christ.

Characteristics of the Regenerated Mind (Isa 26:3, Rom 12:2, Phil 2:5-8, 1Cor 2:16)

· It is stayed and focussed on God

· It sees with eyes of faith

· It is constantly being renewed by the word of God

· It does not accommodate fear

· It trusts in God

· It is always courageous

· It thinks and talks positive

· It births excellence and all round success

· It is creative and produces solutions

· It loves God and hates sin

· It loves unconditionally

· It is lead by the Spirit of God

If our lives must change, then our mindsets about our lives must change. We must take God’s word concerning our circumstances, meditate on it until it becomes a mindset and we begin to live it out. It is our duty to renew our minds and transform our lives by our continued meditation on God’s word (Phil 4:7-8, Rom 12:1); God’s word must form our thoughts (Josh 1:8).

HOW TO WAIT UPON GOD

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 11:06:00 +0000

AIM: To help us understand how to hold on to God and what to do while waiting on Him.

TEXT: Psa 27:14, Isa 40:31

Memory Verse: “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” – Psa 27:14.

INTRODUCTION

There are sometimes that we pray for something and it manifests immediately and there are some times that we pray for something and it may take some time before it manifests. The fact that it doesn’t manifest immediately doesn’t mean you don’t have faith, so don’t be thrown off balance. To wait upon God is not to just sit there doing nothing. Faith is a profession. Faith without works is dead. To wait upon God is to stay in faith. There are things to do to stay in faith and there are things to do because you have faith. We wait by keeping our eyes on God, Psa.123:2. We keep seeing (present continuous) what God is saying to us about our desire. Faith starts with God. We have to be convinced that what we desire is the Will of God for our lives. Desire changes into faith when you are convinced it is God’s Will and you receive God’s Word about that situation. Until you have received God’s Word or His promises about the situation you have not started waiting. We also have to do God’s Will to receive His Will. Do the things you know that the Word of God says about that thing that you desire.

DISCUSSION

1. Reasons God allows us to wait

· To train and prepare us (to get us ready) - Exodus 13: 17

· To test us (our obedience and loyalty to Him) and strengthen our faith - Deut. 8:2, James 1:2-4

· Mention others:

2. What to do while waiting on God: GROW YOUR FAITH

· Be Thankful (count your blessings) and be joyful - Psalms 103:1-5, Neh.8:10, Rom.4:20

· Be Patient (have a good attitude while waiting). God’s Word is like seed that needs to be planted and allowed to grow - Heb.12:1.

· Keep walking in love: Gal.5:6,

· Keep your eyes and mind on God’s Promises: - 2Cor. 1:20, Isa.26:3.

· Remain committed to God (serve Him) - Exo 23:25, Deut.28:1-2.

· Do all to stand (what God Word says), then stand – Eph 6:10-14.

· Mention others:

CONCLUSION

One major sign that you are waiting on God is that you will keep renewing (increasing in) strength, Pro 24:10, Isa 40:31. Keep reminding yourself that you are not alone. Don’t lose your confidence. There is great reward in waiting on God, James 5:11, Hebrews 10:35. Do not Fret (worry, get uptight, stress out) - Psalms 37:7-9, Prov. 19:2. Do not Faint and complain (give up, lose hope) - Num 14:1-4, Gal 6:9, Luke 18:1-8. Do not Forget – Psa. 103:1-5; 106:7-13

Holding Firmly to the Unfailing Promises of God

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 10:58:00 +0000

Excerpts from the message

Holding Firmly to the Unfailing Promises of God – 14^th September 2014

There are indeed a lot of promises from God towards us. God has given us a lot of promises (assurances in His word of things He will do and things He has done) and often times we find ourselves waiting and sometimes even doubting if these promises will ever manifest.

When we talk about the promises of God we talk about the unfailing commitment He has given to us through revelation from His word (Deut 28:1-14). There is nothing we need in life that God has not provided for; everything that we need in life, He has made provision for (2Pe 1:3). The problem is we do not believe the word of God enough so that when we are confronted with challenges we do not run to Him. The first person we consult when we go through anything should be God; whether things are going on well with us or whether things don’t seem to be working and His word doesn’t seem to be finding expression in our lives.

Areas where we need to hold onto God’s Promises

· Security and Protection (Gen 15:15, Jer 29:11, Psa 118:17) – A lot of believers are so much afraid so that any little thing startles/scares them, and this is because they do not know that the very life they live was given and is secured by God. The only way we will not be moved by the circumstances around us is when we hold on to God’s word. God has guaranteed us protection so that when we go through the land, the air, the sea, because we serve Him and because we have a firm hold on His word, our security and safety is assured. We need to align our mind with God’s word and remind ourselves that He is faithful to bring to pass what He has promised. God will do unusual things to ensure the security and protection of His people (Exo 13:21)

· Encouragement (Psa 40:1, Psa 128:2) – God wants us to know that when we are discouraged over the happening of things around us, we should hold on to Him. We should lift up our eyes to Him (Psa 121:1) and wait patiently on Him. No one waits on God patiently and doesn’t get a reply; when we cry unto Him, He hears us and at the right time, He shows up.

· Peace in the Midst of Trouble (Isaiah 26:3; 43:1-4) – When we go through trouble and turbulent times, God has assured us that provided our minds are stayed on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace. God wants us to get to a level where by because we know the God we serve, it becomes impossible for us to be influenced negatively when we are going through troubles. Our boasting and trust should be on Him and Him alone (Psa 20:7); the right attitude when we go through troubles and turbulent times is to trust that God will keep us in perfect peace. Our confidence should be like those of the three (3) Hebrew boys (Dan 3:16-18), so that we are ready to hold on to God until He shows up. He who has called us is faithful (1Th 5:24).

· Stable Marriage (Gen 2:18) – God is interested in our marriages and has promised us a stable home, so that when we experience turbulent times and challenges in our marriages, we should always look up to Him; God understands and He wants us to have peace in our home. There is a blessing of favour that goes with marriage (Pro 18:22), and that is what He has assured us of.

· Healing for sicknesses and diseases (Hos 6:1, Isa 53:5) – It is not God’s will that any be sick in His house, but if any is sick, He has made provision for complete and total healing and all we have to do is hold on to Him and trust Him for our healing.

God wants us to hold onto His promises; He has a lot in store for us and He wants us to cultivate the habit of always running to Him and trusting Him to be true to His word. Be it for security and protection, encouragement, peace, good health, a stable marriage and so much more. He has made provision in His word, and all we have to do is hold onto Him and trust Him to come through for us.

DEVELOPING OUR COMMITMENT TO GOD

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 10:52:00 +0000

AIM: To help we understand different ways by which we can serve and be committed and how we can develop our commitment to God

TEXT: Roman 12:1

Memory Verse:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Roman 12:1 – KJV

INTRODUCTION

If we take a look at our lives we’ll discover that there’s this tendency for us to be more committed to other things than we are to God. Commitment simply means devotion and faithfulness, and often times we tend to devote/spend more time on other things (loved ones, TV, phones, computers, jobs) than we do with God.

Two things drive commitment; they are “Love” and “Duty”. When we are committed to something or someone, it is either as a result of our love for that person/thing, or our sense of duty towards it and in the case of our commitment to God, it is both. This means that though our commitment to God is borne out of our love for Him, it is also our duty.

In this study, we’ll be looking at different ways by which we can serve and be committed to God, how we can develop (increase) our commitment to Him and some of the benefits of commitment to God.

DISCUSSION

1. Areas by which we can be committed (devoted, faithful) to God as well as develop our commitment to Him

· Our personal fellowship (Roman 12:1, Luke 10:40-42) – to be committed to God is to spend time with Him (studying His word, praying, fellowshipping with Him) not just because we love Him but also because it is our duty. To build our committed to God, we must spend time with Him.

· Giving (Rom 12:8, 2Cor 8:7; 9:12-13) – to be committed to God is to be committed to giving for His course. It is a proof of how much we love and are devoted to Him. Giving is also a way we can develop our commitment to Him.

· Service in God’s vineyard (Rom 12:7-8, 1 Cor.12:28) – this includes joining a unit in your local church, having a sense of responsibility knowing that you are part of the body of Christ. Look for a need and meet it, knowing that there is work to be done. To be committed to God is to be committed to the work in His church be it music (1Chr.15:16-22, 6:31-35), Exhortation (Rom 12:8), Administration (Rom 12:8, 1Cor 12:28), Ministering Help (Act 9:36-39, Rom 12:7; 16:1-2), etc.

· Witnessing (Mark 16:15, 2Cor. 5:18-20) – soul winning is our duty; we are called to witness. God is committed to soul winning and if we are committed to God then we must be committed to soul winning. This is another way we develop our commitment to Him.

· Faith and obedience to God’s word (Heb.11:6, 1Sam.15:22) – it is not possible to be committed to God and not trust Him. Without faith we cannot please Him; our service to Him must be based on faith and obedience. To be committed to God is to be committed to His word by trusting Him and doing what He says. The spirit of faith is “believing” and “taking a step” (speaking). To develop our commitment to God, we must learn to trust Him and obey.

· Holiness (1Th 4:7, Rom 6:19; 12:1) – just like witnessing, holiness is also a call and our duty to God. We are to offer our bodies to Him, holy. To be committed to God is to be committed to holiness, and one way to develop our commitment to God is to be committed to being holy. Our bodies must become slaves to holiness.

· Mention others – Punctuality, doing the work and doing it well, gaining knowledge, etc.

CONCLUSION

A few benefits of our being committed to God are seen in the following scriptures; Exo 23:25, 1Cor 15:58, Heb 6:10. God is not unrighteous; He will definitely reward your labour of love in His house.

The Power and the Practice of Faith

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 10:44:00 +0000

Excerpts from the message

The Power and the Practice of Faith – 24^th August 2014

The Sin of not believing God (Jn 16:7-9)

Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes He will reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and of judgement; and He explained further that the world will be reproved of sin by the Spirit because they do not believe. The greatest sin on earth is to not believe God; and what He is saying to us. Perishing and condemnation in life is not just a function of sin (wrong doing) but a function of “not believing” in God and His Word/Jesus Christ (Jn 3:16-18). God hates to be doubted; Zechariah’s punishment was as a result of unbelief (Luke 1:20). God did not allow the Israelites enter His rest because of unbelief; because they doubted Him. We should be afraid of doubting God (Heb 4:1-3).

The Faith Mix (Heb 4:1-3)

God’s word will only benefit/profit those who mix it with faith (Heb 4:1-3). Mixing God’s word with faith (the faith mix) is similar to the “cake mix”. The fact that one has the ingredients for making the cake does not mean it is ready; the ingredients have to be mixed together and put in an oven. The same way God’s word must be mixed with faith (by believing, speaking, etc until faith is stirred up in our hearts). We miss many blessings and the manifestation of God because of our wrong attitude to the word of God; the reason God’s word does not manifest in our lives is because we do not complete the process. We should labour to enter God’s rest lest we make the same mistake the Israelites of old made (Heb 4:11). The reason the Israelites could not enter God’s rest was unbelief; hence our labour is a labour to believe God (looking into God’s word, believing and speaking), and we should not be discouraged by the delay. Our labour is not one of works but one of faith.

The Righteousness of Faith (Rom 4:1-3)

Righteousness is by faith and of faith, not works. Abraham believed God and it was counted to Him as righteousness. Christ became sin so that we can become the righteousness of God (2Cor 5:21). Our righteousness is not of works but of faith; faith in Christ Jesus and it is this consciousness that gives us boldness to come to God’s throne (Prov 28:1, Heb 4:16). There is righteousness without the LAW; it is the righteousness of God which is by faith in Christ Jesus (not by keeping the LAW) unto all and upon all who believe (Rom 3:20-22). The promise does not come by keeping the LAW, but by the righteousness of faith (Rom 4:13). We do not receive God’s promise by the works of the LAW, but by faith in Christ Jesus. There is simplicity in God and His word, and the power is in the simplicity (2Cor 11:3).

The Spirit of Faith (2Cor 4:13)

The Spirit (attitude) of faith is to believe and speak. Moses described the righteousness of the LAW as “failure in one is failure in all” and that it is based on works (what we do); the righteousness of faith however SPEAKS, and it does not speak works (what we need to do) rather it speaks the Word. Salvation (Christ coming into our situation) is by believing with our heart and confessing with our mouth; believing what God is saying and confessing it with our mouth – engaging ourselves in the “faith mix” (Rom 10:1-11). The spirit of faith is to believe and to speak. We are righteous when we believe. Believing gives us “power to become” (Jn 1:12). The way to receive power is by believing, and we release that power by speaking. Whenever we speak God’s word (give voice to His word) Angels attend to it as though it is God speaking (Psa 103:20). We believe and we take corresponding action. Just as works without faith is dead works, faith without works (corresponding action) is dead faith.

We need to know what God is saying concerning our situation, believe it, and speak it (take corresponding action). God has revealed a new way to experience His power and His glory; and it is by faith in Christ Jesus. The power and the practice of faith is “believing” and receiving the power to become, and releasing that power by speaking. God’s word will profit us when we mix it with faith.

THE TRUTH ABOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 10:35:00 +0000

Excerpts from the message

THE TRUTH ABOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS – 20^th August 2014

Prov 28:1

The righteous are as bold as a Lion and God wants us to come boldly to His throne of grace (Heb 4:16). Many times however, we run away from God when we are supposed to be running towards God, and one of the reasons for this is our consciousness of our righteousness/right standing before God. One of the definitions for righteousness is our ability to stand before God without a sense of guilt and one of the things that righteousness does for us is that it gives us boldness before God.

Two types of Righteousness

There are two types of righteousness;

· Human righteousness (Our righteousness)

· God’s righteousness

Human Righteousness (Isa 64:6)

Human righteousness is man’s definition of righteousness which is like filthy rags before God. This means that in God’s sight, even a seemingly perfect man is still very dirty before God. After the fall the man, the natural man became so corrupted that even a perfect natural man is still very unclean before God. If God should count iniquities, then none will be left standing (Psa 130:3) and God wants us to know that no matter how perfect a man is, he/she cannot meet up to God’s standard of righteousness.

God’s Righteousness (Rom 10:1-3)

God has His own type of righteousness and it is different from man’s own. Paul says that because Israel was ignorant of God’s righteousness they were trying to establish their own; they were trying to establish the filthy rag that God wants to get rid of. The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ from faith to faith (Rom 1:16-17), and it is not something we do/work for but a gift to be received (Rom 5:17). A gift is not something we work for or spend money or effort on; rather it is something we receive free of charge. Righteousness is a gift and not a reward for doing right. God’s kind of righteousness is so great that we cannot work for it, so He gives it to us as a gift. Many times, our definition of righteousness comes from our keeping the LAW but many were called righteousness even before the LAW came. In Gen 6:9, the bible refers to Noah as a perfect man, same with Lot (2 Pet 2:7) and Enoch (Gen 5) and these are men who lived without the LAW. There is a righteousness apart from/without the LAW (Rom 3:21;28).

Rom 4:3-5

A man is called righteousness because of his/her faith in God. God’s type of righteousness is so great it cannot be attained; it is a gift that can only be received by believing in God. We therefore need to renew our minds; to stop thinking we are not righteous because we are not obeying certain laws, and to start knowing that we are righteousness because we believe in God. If one works for something, then what he/she receives is no longer by grace but a debt being paid; but if one doesn’t work but believes in God who justifies the ungodly (declares them not guilty), it counted to him/her as righteousness (Rom 4:4-5). God justifies the ungodly (2Cor 5:19) and the reason He does this is because He has changed their nature. He treats us according to what He has done for us already in Christ Jesus. God condemned the innocent (Jesus Christ) to justify the ungodly. God hates sin so much that He allowed His son to die on the cross, but it is also a testament of how much He loves us by allowing Christ to die in our place. We can never attain righteousness on our own. We must believe God and receive the gift of righteousness for us to overcome sin in life.

The Root of our Righteousness (Rom 7:1, 6:5-7;14)

The LAW has dominion over a man as long as he lives; when he dies he is freed from the law. As believers, we have died with Christ and hence free from the LAW. The reason God justifies us is because we have died with Christ. Real righteousness just like sin is not of works but of nature (Rom 6) so the same we became sinners because of Adam, we became righteousness because of Christ. Real righteousness is given by God and with it comes the ability to live right. Until we receive God’s righteousness we will not have the ability to live right; and we are righteous by our faith in Christ. Christ didn’t just pay for the punishment of sin but also for the power of sin to be broken in our lives.

(Rom 4:5-6, 8:3-4)

God imputes righteousness in our spirit (by our faith in Him), and by this righteousness we are able to live right. We have the righteousness of God and we are as righteousness as God (2Co 5:21).

As believers, God will be unrighteous if He punishes us for sins because Christ has received the punishment for sins. But should we decide to continue in sin, we will be destroying our souls, getting mature in sin and trapping ourselves, and the reason we will be destroyed is not because God did not make provision for our salvation, but because we took undue advantage of God’s mercy; using God’s grace as an excuse for misbehaviour. Christ has paid for our sins, all we have to do is receive God’s gift of righteousness and reign in life (Rom 5:17). We are righteous not because we keep the LAW but because we believe in Christ.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 14:02:00 +0000

God Remembers

2 Kings 20:1-7

Hezekiah was a man that knew God: A man who was so honoured by God that he was made aware when it was time for him to die. One of the challenges we have in the present day Christianity is that we have become so familiar with God so much that we do not take God into account in our affairs. Our commitment and service to God has been so much overlooked so that we now compromise God’s time for our personal business. We do not live with a daily consciousness of God in our lives hence unlike Hezekiah, we are not aware of things happening around us. We need to examine our commitment to God.

God does not forget; He remembers. All we have to do is search ourselves and find out what we can challenge God with. When we do not give God our best, we cannot confidently and boldly ask from Him. Hezekiah knew his God; that He is a God who remembers and doesn’t forget. God will hear the cry and fulfil the desires of those that fear Him (Psalm 145:18-19). Things change when we cry out, and we cry out to God because of our commitment. Nothing we do for God is wasted; and we do not need to wait for earthly commendation.

God answers us because He remembers the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That things are not the way we want them to be does not mean that He has forgotten about us, all we have to do is call on Him (Jer 33:3), and recognise Him as the only solution.

Three Lessons from the life of King Hezekiah

1. He has a relationship with God

2. He was diligent before God

3. He prayed and cried

Exo 23:25-26, Deut 7:12-15, Deut 28:1-14, Exo 15:26 – God has given us great promises, but these promises are for those who are committed and diligent in seeking and serving Him. we need to rededicate ourselves to God and recognise Him as our helper and our influence.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 15:08:00 +0000

Excerpts from the message

Faith for Holy Living

If we must have victory over sin or any other thing we need to have victory over (our focus for this message is sin but the principles of this message can be applied to everything we want to overcome or have victory over in our lives), there are things we need to know. The righteousness of works begins with what we need to do, but the righteousness of faith begins with what we say. The righteousness of faith speaks (Rom 10:5-10). So there is something we must know first, believe and then act on. So for our victory over sin (faith for holy living), there are things we need to know which will ultimately lead to the things we need to do (speak) by faith.

Things we need to Know

- We are righteous - Rom 5:19, 2Cor 5:21. To overcome sin, we need to have a righteous spirit and a consciousness of our righteousness.

- We are dead to sin – Rom 6:1-11. We need to take into account (program it into our minds) that we are dead to sin. When we know this, the power of sin is broken over lives and as we declare it we experience the power of it (that we died with Christ).

- We can overcome sin but not by our power. Many people feel it’s impossible to overcome sin, and one of the lies the devil has spread in our generation is that “nobody is perfect” which has given many an excuse to sin. Christ has perfected us (Heb 10:14), and we can overcome sin but not by our power. We have victory over sin, not by our power, but in Christ Jesus. It is by the Spirit of God we put to death the deeds of the body (Rom 8:13). Flesh in the bible sometimes refers to our ability and to fall from grace is to depend on one’s ability (Gal 5:4). In Christianity, from start to finish, it is God’s power and ability.

- The Cross gives us victory over our Lusts. The origin of temptation is our lust (James 1:13-15) and the reason something can tempt some people and not tempt others is because others do not have lust for that thing. Lust is a work of the flesh (same way the Spirit produces gifts in us), and everyone is tempted when he/she is drawn by his/her lust. The reason why even Christ was tempted was because as a man, He had a natural affinity “lusts” for the things He was with but He did not yield to the lusts. The only way we will not yield to our lusts is by the Cross. Jesus said to deny ourselves, take up our Cross, and follow Him; our lust is an opportunity to show God how much we love Him by taking up our Cross and following Him. Victory over our lusts comes in our bid to please God by denying ourselves, taking up our Cross and following Him.

- Praying and Studying the Word of God builds strength into our spirit – 1Jn 2: 12-14. Strength comes from the word of God abiding in us, and with that strength we are able to overcome. Jesus said to watch and pray so that we don’t fall into temptation (Matt 26:41), meaning that watching and praying helps us develop strength (grace) to overcome. If we want to overcome and be strong spiritually, we must study God’s word and pray.

- We need to know what the bible means by the salvation of our souls and the destruction of our souls. In James 1:21, we see that the word of God is able to save our soul; but is our soul not saved already? In Psalms 23, the psalmist said “He restoreth my soul” and in Prov 6:32 the bible says that whoever commits adultery destroys his/her soul. We therefore need to understand what salvation and destruction of our soul means because sin has consequences and one of the major consequences of sin is that it destroys our soul. Sin subtracts the glory of God from our soul (Rom 3:23) especially when we continue in it. Continuing in our lust, allowing it to have dominion over us leads to sin and continuing in sin, allowing it to have dominion over us leads to death (James 1:15). If we sin, we have an advocate with the Father so we repent immediately and retrace our steps; but if we continue in that sin, it destroys us and we walk in darkness. To walk in darkness is to progress in evil while to walk in the light is to progress in good. Knowledge of the salvation and destruction of our souls can provide motivation for us to overcome sin.

Things we need to Do

- To hate sin (Rom 6:23). We need to decide whether we want the wages or the gift. As we walk in sin we receive the wages (death – disconnection from God) and separation from the life God wants us to live. We need to hate sin; it is not enough to love righteousness, we need to also hate iniquity (Heb 1:9). If Joseph had yielded to Potiphar’s wife he may never had known what he lost. That is what sin is doing to people today. We need to hate sin.

- To take positive action like walking or running away (James 2:17). The fact that we have confess is not enough; we must be ready to forsake (Prov 28:13). If we don’t want to sin, we must take necessary steps like praying and studying the word and flee all appearances of evil. It also helps to have someone that we can be accountable to like a spiritual authority, since sin strives on secrecy (James 5:16). We must be ready to take action.

- Lay aside weights (Heb 12:1). Weights refer to the things that put pressure on us to sin. One of the ways to show that we are willing to forsake sin is to lay aside weights; to have personal disciplines. We must leave those environments that encourage us to sin.

- Reach out to God for His grace, strength and wisdom in the time of temptation. We can overcome but not by our own strength so we must come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace (Heb 4:16). We must not wait till the situation is over and come to God for mercy; we must reach out to God in that situation and not depend on our own ability.

- Speak and declare God’s word, and do what God’s word asks us to do. Running away is one of the things God’s word wants us to do and we cannot be speaking God’s word and be doing what God’s word asks us to do. Jesus overcame by saying “it is written”.

- Praying and studying the word of God (Matt 26:41, 1Jn 2:12-14). We must pray and study God’s word before, during and after the temptation.

When we talk about God’s grace people often misunderstand it to think that God is permitting us to sin which is very wrong since we are dead to sin. There is grace for victory over sin and that is our focus. We can overcome sin, but not by our power. by the cross we have victory over our lusts.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Sep 2014 10:34:00 +0000

Excerpts from the message

The Rain of God’s Grace – 31^st August 2014

Different definitions exist for grace, one of which is ‘unmerited favour’. Grace however can also be defined as the kindness of God that brings us mercy, favour, and ability.

Rom 4:16

It is of faith, so that it might be by grace. Salvation through faith is an act of grace in itself. God decided to bless everybody in the world through Abraham by making salvation through faith. Keeping the law was always an issue for man. The law was not meant to make man righteous; it was to show man that he needed God to be righteous. Hence God allowing people to be saved by believing is an act of grace.

Why did God choose Abraham – Josh 24:1-3

Abraham’s father was an idol worshipper, and we can assume that he was possibly worshipping other gods with his father. God calling Abraham therefore was an act of grace; Abraham was called by grace not because of anything he was or he did. The same way God called Abraham, He is calling us also whenever we hear the Gospel. By hearing the Gospel, we are being called to obtain the glory of Christ (2Thess 2:14). God calls us to obtain the glory of Christ; one major purpose of grace is to glorify His name; to give us glory in Christ Jesus and glorify His name. The reason God gives us abundant grace is so that people will thank Him. He wants to manifest His grace in our lives so much that people will glorify His name for it (2Cor 4:15). The purpose of grace is for God’s name to be glorified and this is why He longs to manifest His grace in our lives. He called us so that through our lives people will praise Him for how great His grace is (Eph 1:6; 2:4-7). He wants to use us to show off.

Grace for All

By the grace of God He called Abraham, but He has changed the plan; the call is now to everyone. The initial call was to Abraham and His seed (Christ), but God started with his physical seed (Isaac, Jacob and all his children) and only the Israelites had the blessing. Now however, the call has been extended to everyone and the blessing is for all who are children of Abraham through Christ (Gal 3:13-14). Grace is now for all through Christ, and all is blessed with Abraham through faith in Christ (Gal 3:26-29).

Mercy, Favour and Ability

Mercy is not receiving deserved punishment, negative treatment or penalty, Favour is receiving something good that we do not deserve and Ability is capacity to function beyond our normal ability; Favour is external while Ability is internal. The grace of God manifests in these three dimensions. God does not just have mercy on us; He gives us Ability to overcome sin and manifesting the gifts of the Spirit is also as a result of His Ability. In Gen 20:1-18, we see the grace of God in all three dimensions. Abraham was not killed after he lied to Abimelech because of Mercy; he received what he did not deserve because of favour - Gen 20:14-16, and in Gen 21:1-3, we see divine ability at work. They were able to perform beyond human ability because of the grace of God.

Grace comes by the Promise

Grace comes by promise; Abraham received the grace of God by the promise (Rom 4:13). The promise is God’s declaration of what He wants to do. The declaration of His ability and His will. The fall of man came about by a promise and in the same way the rise of man comes by a promise. Grace came by the promise of God, and in our lives we receive God’s grace by His promises. God gives us grace when we listen and hearken to His promises (Isaiah 55). When God is speaking to us He is giving us grace, and just as rain helps plants to grow and bear fruits, God’s word will build our lives and make us receive our inheritance (Acts 20:32). Grace comes by the promise.

Heb 6:11-19

We get the rain of God’s grace by His love and His promises. His promises are based on His love for us, and the oath is what Christ did on the cross. When Christ was dying on the cross, He was using His blood to sign the contract and confirm the oath. An oath empowers a promise, and the reason why God’s promises will not fail in our lives is because Christ has settled it. If God’s promises fail, then Christ died in vain. Our consciousness of God’s love attracts His promises into our lives. Get into God’s presence and receive His promises. The gospel is the gospel of grace (Gal 1:6, Acts 20:24), and whenever God is speaking to us, He is releasing His grace to us. In 2Kings 3:9-24 God showed great grace to the three kings in that they received abundance of water, and the water also aided in the destruction of their enemy. But if Elisha did not get into God’s presence and received His grace, they would have remained there.

Faith comes by us hearing His word, and as we declare it, by His love and His promises we receive the rain of His grace. By faith we have access into the race of God, and He will manifest His grace in our lives when we hold on to His promises. Because of Christ we are qualified for God’s grace, His grace is already raining. All we have to do is receive.

Removing the barriers to my receiving Abundance of Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 15:11:00 +0000

God expects us to come boldly to His throne of grace, to receive abundance of grace, and to be strong in grace but often times there are hindrances to us doing these three things. This message is about how we can remove these hindrances or barriers to us receiving abundance of God’s grace.

Two major things can affect our boldness and assurance to receiving God’s grace

- Ignorance of God’s great love for us

- Ignorance of the truth that Christ has taken our place

1. Ignorance of God’s great love – Luke 15:11-24

We often refer to this parable in Luke 15:11-24, as “the parable of the prodigal son”, but it can also be seen as “the parable of the loving father”. The focus here is on the father who despite what the son had done, was lovingly waiting to show him (the son) love. In fact if the son knew how much the father was longing and waiting to show him love, he wouldn’t have wasted time to suffer in a strange land. He suffered because he was ignorant of his father’s love for him, the same way we suffer because we are ignorant of God’s great love towards us. There are things we are even afraid to ask God for when He wants to give more simply because we are His sons. One of the reasons we live outside of God’s grace is because we are ignorant of His great love towards us. We are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hos 4:6). Our knowledge of God’s love for us is what makes us receive the fullness of what God has in store for us (Eph 3:19).

The love of God – Rom 8:31-32

If God could give up His own son, which is like committing suicide (allowing Himself to die), just for us, then there’s nothing He cannot give to us. If while we were His enemies He gave us such a great gift, He will even do much more now that we are His children (Rom 5:5-8). When we are conscious of God’s love, we will stop running away from Him when we need to be running towards Him. If He could spare His son, there’s nothing He will not spare just to bless us. That’s how much love God has for us. If God so love the world, then for us who are His sons, He “more than so” loves us. Nothing can separate us from the love of God and this understanding will make us come boldly to receive His grace. The Holy Spirit will reveal and convince us of God’s love for us (Rom 8:16). We must now keep ourselves (stay) in the love of God (Jude 1:21).

2. Ignorance of the truth that Christ has taken our place – Gal 2:16, 3:11, Psalm 130:3

Christ has taken our place so that we can take His place. Every time we feel that we don’t deserve God’s grace, love, or that we don’t qualify or deserve God’s grace, Christ has taken that place. If our eyes are on our works, we can never be justified before God. It is by grace through faith. God does not count our sins against us because Jesus has taken our place; He became so that we can become. He took our negative place so that we can take His positive place (2Cor 5:19, 2Cor 8:9). Christ has taken our place so we must put our faith in Him. He is our advocate with the Judge (who is our father) – 1John 2:1-2. We describe ourselves not by our weaknesses but by the strength of Christ in us. By our faith in Christ we can come boldly to the throne of grace.

Moving From Grace To Grace Via Deep Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 13:25:00 +0000

Luke 7:36-50, Heb 4:16

One of the most striking things we see in Luke 7:36-50, is the boldness with which the woman came to Jesus. She was a sinner yet she came to Jesus with so much boldness as to anoint and kiss His feet, so much that the Pharisee was concerned.

Boldness is a function of consciousness (what we are conscious of determines whether we are bold or timid), and hence it is pretty obvious that this woman was not conscious of herself (her faults, sins, weaknesses, etc). She was conscious of who Christ is; she was conscious of His love; she focused on Christ rather than herself.

She must have had a revelation of Christ and His love similar to the woman with the issue of blood, and the spirit of God is the one who opens up our heart to this revelation. The Spirit doesn’t stir in our hearts our weaknesses and faults, rather He opens up our hearts to fact that we are sons of God (Rom 8:16). That is He stirs in us the consciousness of the love of God for us that is so strong that He made us His sons; the love of God is shared abroad our hearts by the spirit (Rom 5:5). Boldness therefore comes from the Spirit, and the woman in Luke 7:36-50, must have had a revelation of God’s grace that pulled her to do what she did.

In Luke 7:43, we see that he that is forgiven most will love the most; Our love for God that we express, especially in the place of worship, is a function of how conscious we are of how much love God has shown to us. When the bible says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), it is not to make us feel guilty, it is to make us realise that it is everyone that need the mercy and grace of God; and that whatever anyone is today, is by the mercy of God. Jesus therefore was not inferring that sinners worship God the most (Luke 7:43-50); He meant that people who understand how much mercy and grace God has shown to them or is showing to them will express more appreciation to God in worship.

Our consciousness in the place of worship should not be of our weaknesses and faults, or guilt; it should be on how much love God has shown to us. In Luke 7:42-50, the woman’s consciousness of God's love was greater than her consciousness of her sins; otherwise she would have run away. When we are more conscious of ourselves than we are of the love of God, we will always run away from the presence of God. We should always be conscious of the fact that God’s love for us is greater than our condition.

Our love for God is a reflection of our understanding of His love for us; our acknowledgement of how much God has been merciful to us will break us down before God in love and in worship. We should always remember the mercies of God. He that acknowledges the mercies more will express the worship more. The greatest revelation we can ever have of God is that He is love and the amount of love we express to Him is a reflection of how much we understand His love. The reason why people worship God casually is because they think God’s love for them is casual. We cannot experience or have a revelation of God’s love and not react to it. It is the glory we behold that we express in the place of worship (John 1:14). The amount of glory we give to Him is a function of the amount of revelation of His glory we have. Real love always has an expression; impression produces expressions, and the way we take our worship is a function of our impression of God.

What the woman did in Luke 7:36-50 was not a casual thing; it was not faked. It was from within. She was responding to God’s love and mercy. She realised that God is greater than who she was or what she had. She was not ashamed to do a public display of her affection to God, and she received an unusual touch of grace. Her revelation of God's grace made her receive more grace. Many other people (even the owner of the house Jesus was in) were there and didn’t receive that touch of grace. What we get out of God's presence is a function of how much of ourselves we pour out to God when we're in His presence.

The amount of grace and the touch of God we receive in worship is a function of how deep our worship is; whether our worship is born out of revelation.

It’s GRACE - HUMILITY - MORE GRACE. When we acknowledge and are conscious of god’s grace in our lives, it will humble us; and when we are humble we receive more grace. Grace will make you humble, and when you're humble you receive more grace. We miss out on so much grace when we have surface or superficial worship of God. When we express ourselves to God in deep worship, we attract more of His grace into our lives. God wants us to be conscious of the fact that He is the God of all grace, and He wants us to express this consciousness in worship.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:33:00 +0000

CGMI CHURCH AMAZING

Bible Study - 16^th July 2014

Topic: THE EMPOWERMENT AND ADVANTAGE OF THE SPIRIT

AIM: To come to an understanding of the advantage we have in the Holy Spirit and how we can tap into that advantage
TEXTS: Acts 2:3-13, 1Samuel 10:6,
Memory Verse: “Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the spirit” - Eph 5:18

INTRODUCTION

One will wonder why Paul likened the filling of the Spirit of God to being drunk with wine. This must be because both have intoxicating effects when one is filled with them. When a man is filled with wine, he loses consciousness of self and begins to do things that naturally or normally he would not have done. The drink begins to influence Him. The same effect is seen in a man filled with the Spirit. Being drunk with wine can ruin one’s life but the Spirit of God brings out the best in a person. In John 16:7 Jesus said it is to our advantage that He goes so that the Holy Spirit can come. There is a point to which a person must take an alcoholic drink before it will begin to intoxicate him or her. In the same way we can drink of the Spirit to the point where we come under His influence.

DISCUSSION:

· What are the empowering effects of the Spirit? (Dan 5:11-14, Acts 2:14)

§ Boldness (for preaching and other things) – Acts 4:31, Acts 2:14, compare with John 18:25-27.

§ Knowledge and Understanding – Acts 4:13, Jn 16:12-13, 1Jn 2:20;27

§ Excellence, Intelligence, and Wisdom – Acts 6:10, Dan 5:12, Prov 12:26

§ Specific Instruction and direction– Acts 8:29, 10:19, 16:7

§ The power and gifts of the Spirit – Acts 1:8, 1Cor.12:7-11, Acts 3:1-9,+

§ ........List others.

· How can one come under the influence of the Spirit?

§ Consciousness and consistent fellowship with the Holy Spirit – Acts 2:4, Acts 4:31, Acts 13:2

§ Yielding to the leading of the Spirit – Gal 5:16; 25

§ Praying in tongues – 1Cor 14:2;4;14;15;18, Jude 1:20

§ .....List others.

CONCLUSION

God doesn’t want us to be ignorant about the Holy Spirit, 1Cor.12:1. He is a gift. Because of Christ you deserve Him. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, Rom.8:11. It was by the Spirit that God anointed Jesus for great works, Acts 10:38.
If the same Spirit that was in Christ is also in you then you can function like Christ in this world. He will strengthen you were you are weak and He will glorify Christ in your life, John 16:13-14. The greatest hindrance to the filing of the Spirit is your consciousness of yourself.
Keep fellowshipping with the Spirit and be more conscious of Christ in you and who you are in Christ.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 21:52:00 +0000

Excerpts from the Message

GRACE FOR EVERY NEED (WE ARE IN THE DAY OF HIS POWER) – Sunday 3^rd August 2014

Psalm 110:1-3

This phrase – which is also in Heb 1 – refers to God the Father telling God the Son (Jesus) immediately after He had paid the price for our sins and had ascended to sit at His (God the Father’s) right hand until His (Jesus’) enemies are made His footstool.

The way God makes Jesus’ enemies His footstool is simple, Christ is the head and has conquered (exercised God’s power, dominion and victory over) the devil, now God empowers the rest of the body of Christ to have the same kind of victory that the Head has. We are the body of Christ, and God wants the enemy to be completely under the body (not under the Head), to be a footstool, so that the least part of the body would have dominion over the enemy.

We as the body of Christ are commissioned and empowered just like Christ to have the same effect He had on the earth. This is the present ministry of Christ (what God is doing right now through Christ).

Eph 1:19-21

The same power God manifested in Christ is at work in us, and if we do not know this, we will not be able to experience it. We are seated together in Christ far above principalities and power, our spiritual location has changed. Of His fullness, we have received grace for grace – John 1:16, as we increase in our consciousness that we are just like Christ, we begin to experience more and more of that grace in our lives. The more we are conscious of us being just like Christ (raised up with Him and having the same life that is in Him - 1John 4:17), the more we experience his fullness in our lives. This is where our power, authority, dominion and greatness lie. We are no longer in the fallen man; we are now in the risen man.

Back to Psalm 110:1-3,

God is making the enemies of Christ His footstool; that is what He (God) is doing now. Christ is the head to the church. His authority, power and dominion are for us the church. He took our form so that we would take His. God is empowering us – the body of Christ – to have the same authority as Christ, to fulfil His word (Psalm 110:2, Obadiah 1:21). We are the saviours the bible refers to, going forth in the strength of Christ. God is sending us into different fields, mountains, worlds, until the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.

God’s priority is for His kingdom to come, and His will to be done in every field and sphere of life on the earth, and the way for this to happen is for us (the body of Christ) to go into these fields and professions and colonize the people (change their thinking), and exercise the dominion of Christ.

The type of grace God is releasing is the grace for us to do everything we need to do. Grace can be broken into three parts; Mercy, Favour, and Ability, and it is this ability – the ability of Christ – that God is stirring up in the church. Grace to have the ability as Christ, to do His will on the earth; it’s about strength. It is divine ability to carry every duty and responsibility we have. We are in the days of His power, we will manifest the power of Christ and the gates of hell will not prevail against us. Even if the gates are closed against us, we will do what Samson did and pull them up (Judges 16:3), causing people to wonder about the source of our strength. God is releasing the grace of ability; we will not lack strength whenever we need it. The strength of Christ is arising in us as we keep doing his will.

God will anoint our eyes by His Spirit, so that we can see the way God sees (1Sam 17:26, 2kings 6:15-18), He will anoint our ears to hear His voice (Isaiah 30:21), and our mouths so that we can speak like Him.