2014 messages - summary
JANUARY 2014 MESSAGE: Where
the church missed it
Sub-Topic 1: What the church is to be:
The book of John 1 opens up with a clue – the light that lighted everyone who comes to earth. Roman 3:23 explains the reason why many could not experience the peace that characterised this light. Matthew 5:16 explains that what ensures that we have a place in the hereafter is when our light shines to give God glory. In John 3:16 this was further explained as having eternal life. What then is the duty of the church to God. So, we would see that there are many clues, enabling us to know that the entire Bible and what we would see as the will of God is to ensure that we live here on earth, to be able to tender God’s garden – and then being rewarded to live in a place of care, and then we would start to function in a new duty call, where there is no retirement. In the physical we have all these embedded in our contracts of employment, and we have a pension plan. Heaven is our ultimate pension plan. Just as those who don’t have a good pension plan suffers looking for means to live when they are old, so also those who depart this earth would have no resting place when they did not do the will of God. If you serve your master faithfully, then there is the hope of a reward.
Sub-Topic 2: Who is your God?:
Who is your God? Why do you come to serve and worship Him? These and many more questions must be answered before we would be able to function as the church of Christ here on earth. In most cases, we have sliced God into parts as we do to meats or the bread we eat. We have reduced the personality of God to what we perceive Him to have done in our lives. When we need provision and we received after prayers we call Him Jireh. When we want to fight war we call Him El Shaddai – the Almighty God. When we need healing we call Him Rapha. Is this actually how God wants to be known? When He revealed Himself to Moses, He calls Himself “I am that I am”, which means He is ever present in our will, thoughts and truth. Jesus told Pilate that those who hears the truth hears God. Can we say that we live in truth? This will be affirmed by the several reasons why many throng to the building we call church every Sunday. The Lord spoke to me some few weeks ago, “When people gather in multitude, they have never gathered because of me.” What have we gathered here for today? Daniel 11:32 says that those who know their God shall be strong and shall do exploits.
Sub-Topic 3: Going Spiritual:
Last week we understood that many of us have a wrong perception about God. We only see His relevance at the point of our needs. This has made it difficult for us to grow and walk the path of perfection which brings the ultimate presence of God to us. It is God’s intention that we learn of Him daily and do the things He does, so that we can fully represent Him here on Earth. The only way this can happen is when the Church goes spiritual. This is God’s concern as espoused by Jesus in John 4:23-24. Going spiritual explains the whole essence of worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth. In today’s message we shall be exploring what the Church of Christ worldwide need to go spiritual and bear the kinds of fruits that God will be proud of. Our life on earth depends on it, knowing that when we die we would be with the Lord Jesus. But to be with Jesus, our Spirits must be made perfect (Hebrew 12:23):…. and to the spirits of just men made perfect. We must become “Just” in all we do as it relates to the service of God, and during this process, the Lord will be perfecting our spirits for the great beyond – Life after Death. We need to exemplify the life in Heaven here on earth. God is a Spirit, the Angels are spirits, and the Holy Spirit has been given to us so that we can go spiritual.
Sub-Topic 4: Serving in a Covenant:
Your Christianity is not complete until you render service to the Lord. Your service to the Lord is not complete and properly accounted for until you serve in a covenant. We would see the Lord leading Paul after his conversion to Ananias. We would see Peter being sent to Cornelius. We also see after Abimelec repented of taken Sarah before God that God sent him to Abraham to pray for him. No church should operate without being in a covenant with Jesus because every Pastor is supposed to be an angel of the Lord Jesus, who feed the pastor with the secrets of the kingdom of God (Revelation 22:16). Before Jesus was taken to heaven, He appointed Peter as the foundation rock of His church, based on his level of sanctification with the word(John 15:3, 17:17), but later we would see Jesus giving Peter the responsibility that will enable him fulfil his own part of the covenant – Feed my sheep (John 21:17), and we would see that over time Peter was called upon to minister the Holy Spirit (Book of Acts). If one is serving under a pastor who have entered into a covenant with a servant of God, where they also sends a tithe of their tithes to, one should ensure that the overseer is still in a covenant with God, else every of your service in such a place is not recognised by God. If we are not building with God then we are not gathering for posterity but for the winds.
FEBRUARY 2014 MESSAGE: MIND WORKS
Sub-Topic 1: The Essence of the Human Mind:
The human mind receives impulses from the human soul and also transmits impulses to the human soul. The human mind is affected by the conditions and situations in our environment. Apart from being in direct communication with the human soul, the human mind is also in direct communication with the human senses. The messages generated or received by the mind either from the human soul (subconscious state) or the human senses (conscious state) are packets of “thoughts” we have daily. These packets of human thoughts are converted into streams of spiritual energies or waves that are transmitted by the human soul into a particular spiritual circle of influence which you subscribe to in your subconscious state as a result of your spiritual inclination and your desires. The importance of the human mind stems from the fact that it is one of the layers of human perceptive powers mentioned in Matthew 22: 37-38: And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. The human mind controls our daily living here on earth. It is the home of human intelligence.
Sub-Topic 2: The Act of Thinking:
How is your mind working right now? The easiest way to know that our minds are working is when we think. Now, we have both shallow thinking and deep thinking. The difference in the two is in the results that each of them yields. A shallow thinker forgets things easily while a deep thinker does now. The shallow thinker is also called passive thinker, while a deep thinker is also called an active thinker. Deep thinkers stores their thoughts in their hearts while shallow thinkers are more concerned with perishable things – foods, clothing, etc. on the other hand, deep thinkers are result oriented people and they think for posterity. They ensure every second of their time is spent wisely. You would hardly see them making worthless phone calls. They only tune to their radios or TV sets when there is an important information or news they want to get. Nothing is fun to them. They make sense out of every senseless situation. They are the leaders and movers of the society. They hardly complain, even when they are dying. They see every situation as spiritually motivated, and would go spiritual to unravel what is behind every stagnant situation in their lives. Deep thinkers seek knowledge from God. Shallow thinkers seek solutions from non spiritual sources. Deep thinkers meditate. Shallow thinkers forget easily so there is nothing to meditate upon….
Sub-Topic 3: Factors Affecting Thinking:
Thinking has to do with a measure of the faith and knowledge residing in us. Various factors affect how we perceive events around us, and this perception is what affects the way we think. In Ephesians 3:20, we are made to understand that our thinking is affected by the level of the power that works in us: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. There is nothing that we do that does not involve asking God for a direction. We are told here, that our asking, thinking, and receiving answers is a measure of the knowledge, and wisdom that live in us. The world belongs to God, and anybody who wants to think productively, must be in tune with the power of God, which makes all things perfect on earth. Thinking requires your entire mind, heart, and soul which represents your whole attention; and God requires them before you can say you love Him. This is why thinking affects the kind of relationship you have with God.
Sub-Topic 4: Living with a spiritual mindset:
What we don’t give attention to can never become a part of us. What we see as important is what takes the centre stage of our thought process. We have been talking of thinking for the last two weeks, and today we would now focus on how we can use the knowledge we have gotten since we started this series to help us to live with spiritual mind-set. Mind-set refers to: Attitude, belief, frame of mind, outlook, mentality, approach, etc. How we approach issues on earth depends on the mind-set we have and how we see issues to have played out for others. What we see as the works of salvation in our lives have a lot to do with how we understand the spiritual realm and the purpose of God in our lives. We should be more concerned about Jesus than worldly challenges – 1 Cor. 2:2. In John 1:51 – Jesus says that the heaven shall open and we will see Him; how many of us have attained this level of spirituality. So instead of searching for miracles from one place to the other, why don’t we pray to see this open heaven in our life time. If someone comes to tell us that we have a father somewhere in the world, we would certainly desire to visit someday, how many of us desire to see beyond the visible cloud, to have a vision of heaven? Have you seen Jesus before (John 14:19)? What is the proof of your relationship with Him?
MARCH - JULY 2014 MESSAGE: coming soon
Sub-Topic 1: What the church is to be:
The book of John 1 opens up with a clue – the light that lighted everyone who comes to earth. Roman 3:23 explains the reason why many could not experience the peace that characterised this light. Matthew 5:16 explains that what ensures that we have a place in the hereafter is when our light shines to give God glory. In John 3:16 this was further explained as having eternal life. What then is the duty of the church to God. So, we would see that there are many clues, enabling us to know that the entire Bible and what we would see as the will of God is to ensure that we live here on earth, to be able to tender God’s garden – and then being rewarded to live in a place of care, and then we would start to function in a new duty call, where there is no retirement. In the physical we have all these embedded in our contracts of employment, and we have a pension plan. Heaven is our ultimate pension plan. Just as those who don’t have a good pension plan suffers looking for means to live when they are old, so also those who depart this earth would have no resting place when they did not do the will of God. If you serve your master faithfully, then there is the hope of a reward.
Sub-Topic 2: Who is your God?:
Who is your God? Why do you come to serve and worship Him? These and many more questions must be answered before we would be able to function as the church of Christ here on earth. In most cases, we have sliced God into parts as we do to meats or the bread we eat. We have reduced the personality of God to what we perceive Him to have done in our lives. When we need provision and we received after prayers we call Him Jireh. When we want to fight war we call Him El Shaddai – the Almighty God. When we need healing we call Him Rapha. Is this actually how God wants to be known? When He revealed Himself to Moses, He calls Himself “I am that I am”, which means He is ever present in our will, thoughts and truth. Jesus told Pilate that those who hears the truth hears God. Can we say that we live in truth? This will be affirmed by the several reasons why many throng to the building we call church every Sunday. The Lord spoke to me some few weeks ago, “When people gather in multitude, they have never gathered because of me.” What have we gathered here for today? Daniel 11:32 says that those who know their God shall be strong and shall do exploits.
Sub-Topic 3: Going Spiritual:
Last week we understood that many of us have a wrong perception about God. We only see His relevance at the point of our needs. This has made it difficult for us to grow and walk the path of perfection which brings the ultimate presence of God to us. It is God’s intention that we learn of Him daily and do the things He does, so that we can fully represent Him here on Earth. The only way this can happen is when the Church goes spiritual. This is God’s concern as espoused by Jesus in John 4:23-24. Going spiritual explains the whole essence of worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth. In today’s message we shall be exploring what the Church of Christ worldwide need to go spiritual and bear the kinds of fruits that God will be proud of. Our life on earth depends on it, knowing that when we die we would be with the Lord Jesus. But to be with Jesus, our Spirits must be made perfect (Hebrew 12:23):…. and to the spirits of just men made perfect. We must become “Just” in all we do as it relates to the service of God, and during this process, the Lord will be perfecting our spirits for the great beyond – Life after Death. We need to exemplify the life in Heaven here on earth. God is a Spirit, the Angels are spirits, and the Holy Spirit has been given to us so that we can go spiritual.
Sub-Topic 4: Serving in a Covenant:
Your Christianity is not complete until you render service to the Lord. Your service to the Lord is not complete and properly accounted for until you serve in a covenant. We would see the Lord leading Paul after his conversion to Ananias. We would see Peter being sent to Cornelius. We also see after Abimelec repented of taken Sarah before God that God sent him to Abraham to pray for him. No church should operate without being in a covenant with Jesus because every Pastor is supposed to be an angel of the Lord Jesus, who feed the pastor with the secrets of the kingdom of God (Revelation 22:16). Before Jesus was taken to heaven, He appointed Peter as the foundation rock of His church, based on his level of sanctification with the word(John 15:3, 17:17), but later we would see Jesus giving Peter the responsibility that will enable him fulfil his own part of the covenant – Feed my sheep (John 21:17), and we would see that over time Peter was called upon to minister the Holy Spirit (Book of Acts). If one is serving under a pastor who have entered into a covenant with a servant of God, where they also sends a tithe of their tithes to, one should ensure that the overseer is still in a covenant with God, else every of your service in such a place is not recognised by God. If we are not building with God then we are not gathering for posterity but for the winds.
FEBRUARY 2014 MESSAGE: MIND WORKS
Sub-Topic 1: The Essence of the Human Mind:
The human mind receives impulses from the human soul and also transmits impulses to the human soul. The human mind is affected by the conditions and situations in our environment. Apart from being in direct communication with the human soul, the human mind is also in direct communication with the human senses. The messages generated or received by the mind either from the human soul (subconscious state) or the human senses (conscious state) are packets of “thoughts” we have daily. These packets of human thoughts are converted into streams of spiritual energies or waves that are transmitted by the human soul into a particular spiritual circle of influence which you subscribe to in your subconscious state as a result of your spiritual inclination and your desires. The importance of the human mind stems from the fact that it is one of the layers of human perceptive powers mentioned in Matthew 22: 37-38: And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. The human mind controls our daily living here on earth. It is the home of human intelligence.
Sub-Topic 2: The Act of Thinking:
How is your mind working right now? The easiest way to know that our minds are working is when we think. Now, we have both shallow thinking and deep thinking. The difference in the two is in the results that each of them yields. A shallow thinker forgets things easily while a deep thinker does now. The shallow thinker is also called passive thinker, while a deep thinker is also called an active thinker. Deep thinkers stores their thoughts in their hearts while shallow thinkers are more concerned with perishable things – foods, clothing, etc. on the other hand, deep thinkers are result oriented people and they think for posterity. They ensure every second of their time is spent wisely. You would hardly see them making worthless phone calls. They only tune to their radios or TV sets when there is an important information or news they want to get. Nothing is fun to them. They make sense out of every senseless situation. They are the leaders and movers of the society. They hardly complain, even when they are dying. They see every situation as spiritually motivated, and would go spiritual to unravel what is behind every stagnant situation in their lives. Deep thinkers seek knowledge from God. Shallow thinkers seek solutions from non spiritual sources. Deep thinkers meditate. Shallow thinkers forget easily so there is nothing to meditate upon….
Sub-Topic 3: Factors Affecting Thinking:
Thinking has to do with a measure of the faith and knowledge residing in us. Various factors affect how we perceive events around us, and this perception is what affects the way we think. In Ephesians 3:20, we are made to understand that our thinking is affected by the level of the power that works in us: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. There is nothing that we do that does not involve asking God for a direction. We are told here, that our asking, thinking, and receiving answers is a measure of the knowledge, and wisdom that live in us. The world belongs to God, and anybody who wants to think productively, must be in tune with the power of God, which makes all things perfect on earth. Thinking requires your entire mind, heart, and soul which represents your whole attention; and God requires them before you can say you love Him. This is why thinking affects the kind of relationship you have with God.
Sub-Topic 4: Living with a spiritual mindset:
What we don’t give attention to can never become a part of us. What we see as important is what takes the centre stage of our thought process. We have been talking of thinking for the last two weeks, and today we would now focus on how we can use the knowledge we have gotten since we started this series to help us to live with spiritual mind-set. Mind-set refers to: Attitude, belief, frame of mind, outlook, mentality, approach, etc. How we approach issues on earth depends on the mind-set we have and how we see issues to have played out for others. What we see as the works of salvation in our lives have a lot to do with how we understand the spiritual realm and the purpose of God in our lives. We should be more concerned about Jesus than worldly challenges – 1 Cor. 2:2. In John 1:51 – Jesus says that the heaven shall open and we will see Him; how many of us have attained this level of spirituality. So instead of searching for miracles from one place to the other, why don’t we pray to see this open heaven in our life time. If someone comes to tell us that we have a father somewhere in the world, we would certainly desire to visit someday, how many of us desire to see beyond the visible cloud, to have a vision of heaven? Have you seen Jesus before (John 14:19)? What is the proof of your relationship with Him?
MARCH - JULY 2014 MESSAGE: coming soon