Messages for May 2016: Our Month of Divine Presence
Message for the 22nd May, 2015
Theme: The wonders of Divine Presence
Topic: How to Receive and cultivate Divine Presence Pt. 2
Introduction: Last week we saw that we can receive divine presence first by being initiated into God’s family through the new birth experience and then we can start cultivating it by walking in the spirit. Today, we will begin to look at what it means to walk in the spirit and how to do it.
To walk in the spirit: As the term indicates, to walk in the spirit is to be spiritual or to live in a way that one is controlled by decisions made based on the word of God and the Leading of the Holy Spirit. The book of Deuteronomy 30:29 gives us this key when God instructed the children of Israel through Moses to make a choice for life by choosing to be controlled by His word. In the 20th verse of this scripture, God made them understand that His word is their life and the length of their days. This truth is resonated throughout the bible. For instance, in Jos.1:8, God made Joshua understand that the key of good success is to live by His word meditating on it and doing it. In Ps.1:1-3, God said through the Psalmist that the greater life is one that is ruled by the word and God’s counsel. When Jesus walked the sands of time, He also taught that the flesh would bring us no profit but that His word would because the words He speaks to us are Spirit and life. You would find this in John 6:63. Finally, Apostle Paul said in 1Tim.4:13-16 among other things that it is in meditating on the word of God and giving ourselves wholly to it that our profiting would be evident to all.
To walk in the spirit is therefore that key to accessing the presence of God where we can hear His voice, be taught and led by His Spirit. You would have observed so far that the extent to which we can enjoy any relationship with God is our choice determined. This is the glorious life everyone yearns for. However, not everyone can attain to it because not everyone would make the choice. Even among those who make the choice some are going to give more to it than others. The question therefore, is what are the demands placed on us by God’s word that would enable us actualize this grace of walking in the spirit or being spirit ruled as opposed to being flesh ruled?
Live a prayerful life: Prayer is the means by which we speak our hearts to God and rightfully expect and receive His response. The importance of prayer cannot be overstated. The Lord commanded us to pray always and not to faint or give up. See Luke 18:1. He even went the extra mile of teaching us how to pray by laying out a pattern we should follow for us in Matthew 6:9-15. Apostle Paul also teaches us in 1Thess.5:17 to pray without ceasing. He said we should even pray all manner of prayer in the spirit. See Eph.6:18.
Why is prayer so important? It is because it is the legal means by which we can access the supernatural realm to get things done on earth. Prayer is the means by which we get heaven to hear our voice. When this is done, then we can expect to hear God’s voice in response and this also brings us closer to His presence. It is through prayer we cultivate an intimate relationship with God that enables us to enjoy His presence all the time. See Ps.65:2; Hab.2:1-2; Jer.33:3; Mt.7:7-8 and Mk.11:24.
Fasting: The Lord taught about fasting. Interestingly, some people are of the erroneous belief that since the Holy Spirit is now with us, we need not fast because the bridegroom is now with us through the Holy Spirit. Let us see what Jesus really taught. In Mat 9:15, we read: “And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.” We observe here that Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom. This distinguishes Him from the Holy Spirit’s ministry of being our helper in Jn.16:13. As our helper, He would take from the bridegroom and the father and show to us. Therefore, the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth today is to fulfill a different role than the role the bridegroom or Christ on His return would play when He returns.
Further, in Matthew 6:17-18, Jesus said: “But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. …” this presupposes that we must fast; and that fasting is not optional. When we fast means we must fast and not “if we fast” supposing that we may fast or we may not fast. In other words, fasting is not optional; it is a mandatory requirement in the kingdom of God for getting things done God’s way! There are times when the issues confronting us would only respond to fasting and prayer. This is because fasting is one of the principal helpers of our prayer lives. See Mt.17:21 and Mk.9:29.
Why is fasting so important? Certain issues cannot be truly dealt with until the flesh has been thoroughly subdued and fasting is a major means for subduing the flesh. For examples, some devils will not bow to an individual who they consider to be flesh ruled in the area they seek to dominate the devils. In addition, the attitude of pride would never leave a person until the person humbles himself with fasting. See Ps.35:13; 1Kings 21:27-29 – God showed mercy to Ahab here when he humbled himself with fasting before the Lord.
Giving: This is the third part of the requirement for getting things done in the kingdom of God. Jesus taught about prayer, fasting and giving. You will find this in Matthew 6:1-18. To find out why giving is so important, let us visit Isa.58 where God commanded Isaiah to proclaim a message on how to fast and what to expect when we do. In verses 10-11, we learn that giving to the hungry will cause God to hear and answer us and make the cry of our hearts to be heard in heaven guide us continually. No one can be truly great without divine guidance. When God guides, the best of us would come out. This is triggered by giving to the hungry. So you see; it is impossible to get things done in the kingdom without this triplet of a combination of prayer, fasting and giving. In Matthew 6:1-18 when the Lord was teaching about prayer and fasting, He also included giving. A study of God’s word would reveal to us the different levels of giving. The first is the tithe of your income which is also called the first fruits. It is the Lord’s. See Lev.27:30; Heb.7:1-28. The second is offering and we are commanded to bring these to the Lord. See Mal.3:8-12; Deu.26:12; Prov.3:9-10. There are also the giving to the needy which we saw in the previous paragraph in Isa.58, giving to your parents which guarantees that you truly honor them and therefore protects you from untimely death etc. see Ex.20:12 and Eph.6:2-3 and Mk.7:10-13. And so many other kinds of giving. Each of these givings does something good for you. You just need to find out from God’s word what you stand to benefit from giving and do it.
We shall stop here today for want of time. Other steps you can take to cultivate and sustain God’s presence include thanksgiving, praise and worship, obedience to God’s word and service in the kingdom. We would do well to do our personal studies of these demands in the word of God.
You may be reading this material and wondering whether you could take advantage of this grace. My answer to the question of your heart is yes if you are born again. In case you are not and desire to be, you can say the following prayer out loud and you will be welcomed into God’s precious family:
Heavenly Father,
Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.
Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email: jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.
Remain on top of your challenges in Jesus’ name!
Message for the 22nd May, 2015
Theme: The wonders of Divine Presence
Topic: How to Receive and cultivate Divine Presence Pt. 2
Introduction: Last week we saw that we can receive divine presence first by being initiated into God’s family through the new birth experience and then we can start cultivating it by walking in the spirit. Today, we will begin to look at what it means to walk in the spirit and how to do it.
To walk in the spirit: As the term indicates, to walk in the spirit is to be spiritual or to live in a way that one is controlled by decisions made based on the word of God and the Leading of the Holy Spirit. The book of Deuteronomy 30:29 gives us this key when God instructed the children of Israel through Moses to make a choice for life by choosing to be controlled by His word. In the 20th verse of this scripture, God made them understand that His word is their life and the length of their days. This truth is resonated throughout the bible. For instance, in Jos.1:8, God made Joshua understand that the key of good success is to live by His word meditating on it and doing it. In Ps.1:1-3, God said through the Psalmist that the greater life is one that is ruled by the word and God’s counsel. When Jesus walked the sands of time, He also taught that the flesh would bring us no profit but that His word would because the words He speaks to us are Spirit and life. You would find this in John 6:63. Finally, Apostle Paul said in 1Tim.4:13-16 among other things that it is in meditating on the word of God and giving ourselves wholly to it that our profiting would be evident to all.
To walk in the spirit is therefore that key to accessing the presence of God where we can hear His voice, be taught and led by His Spirit. You would have observed so far that the extent to which we can enjoy any relationship with God is our choice determined. This is the glorious life everyone yearns for. However, not everyone can attain to it because not everyone would make the choice. Even among those who make the choice some are going to give more to it than others. The question therefore, is what are the demands placed on us by God’s word that would enable us actualize this grace of walking in the spirit or being spirit ruled as opposed to being flesh ruled?
Live a prayerful life: Prayer is the means by which we speak our hearts to God and rightfully expect and receive His response. The importance of prayer cannot be overstated. The Lord commanded us to pray always and not to faint or give up. See Luke 18:1. He even went the extra mile of teaching us how to pray by laying out a pattern we should follow for us in Matthew 6:9-15. Apostle Paul also teaches us in 1Thess.5:17 to pray without ceasing. He said we should even pray all manner of prayer in the spirit. See Eph.6:18.
Why is prayer so important? It is because it is the legal means by which we can access the supernatural realm to get things done on earth. Prayer is the means by which we get heaven to hear our voice. When this is done, then we can expect to hear God’s voice in response and this also brings us closer to His presence. It is through prayer we cultivate an intimate relationship with God that enables us to enjoy His presence all the time. See Ps.65:2; Hab.2:1-2; Jer.33:3; Mt.7:7-8 and Mk.11:24.
Fasting: The Lord taught about fasting. Interestingly, some people are of the erroneous belief that since the Holy Spirit is now with us, we need not fast because the bridegroom is now with us through the Holy Spirit. Let us see what Jesus really taught. In Mat 9:15, we read: “And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.” We observe here that Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom. This distinguishes Him from the Holy Spirit’s ministry of being our helper in Jn.16:13. As our helper, He would take from the bridegroom and the father and show to us. Therefore, the presence of the Holy Spirit on earth today is to fulfill a different role than the role the bridegroom or Christ on His return would play when He returns.
Further, in Matthew 6:17-18, Jesus said: “But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. …” this presupposes that we must fast; and that fasting is not optional. When we fast means we must fast and not “if we fast” supposing that we may fast or we may not fast. In other words, fasting is not optional; it is a mandatory requirement in the kingdom of God for getting things done God’s way! There are times when the issues confronting us would only respond to fasting and prayer. This is because fasting is one of the principal helpers of our prayer lives. See Mt.17:21 and Mk.9:29.
Why is fasting so important? Certain issues cannot be truly dealt with until the flesh has been thoroughly subdued and fasting is a major means for subduing the flesh. For examples, some devils will not bow to an individual who they consider to be flesh ruled in the area they seek to dominate the devils. In addition, the attitude of pride would never leave a person until the person humbles himself with fasting. See Ps.35:13; 1Kings 21:27-29 – God showed mercy to Ahab here when he humbled himself with fasting before the Lord.
Giving: This is the third part of the requirement for getting things done in the kingdom of God. Jesus taught about prayer, fasting and giving. You will find this in Matthew 6:1-18. To find out why giving is so important, let us visit Isa.58 where God commanded Isaiah to proclaim a message on how to fast and what to expect when we do. In verses 10-11, we learn that giving to the hungry will cause God to hear and answer us and make the cry of our hearts to be heard in heaven guide us continually. No one can be truly great without divine guidance. When God guides, the best of us would come out. This is triggered by giving to the hungry. So you see; it is impossible to get things done in the kingdom without this triplet of a combination of prayer, fasting and giving. In Matthew 6:1-18 when the Lord was teaching about prayer and fasting, He also included giving. A study of God’s word would reveal to us the different levels of giving. The first is the tithe of your income which is also called the first fruits. It is the Lord’s. See Lev.27:30; Heb.7:1-28. The second is offering and we are commanded to bring these to the Lord. See Mal.3:8-12; Deu.26:12; Prov.3:9-10. There are also the giving to the needy which we saw in the previous paragraph in Isa.58, giving to your parents which guarantees that you truly honor them and therefore protects you from untimely death etc. see Ex.20:12 and Eph.6:2-3 and Mk.7:10-13. And so many other kinds of giving. Each of these givings does something good for you. You just need to find out from God’s word what you stand to benefit from giving and do it.
We shall stop here today for want of time. Other steps you can take to cultivate and sustain God’s presence include thanksgiving, praise and worship, obedience to God’s word and service in the kingdom. We would do well to do our personal studies of these demands in the word of God.
You may be reading this material and wondering whether you could take advantage of this grace. My answer to the question of your heart is yes if you are born again. In case you are not and desire to be, you can say the following prayer out loud and you will be welcomed into God’s precious family:
Heavenly Father,
Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name! Amen.
Congratulations! For more information and resources that would help you grow in this new life, please visit our website at www.kingdomheirsministries.org and our blogs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com and follow us on twitter at alero_nanna and on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl www.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email: jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.
Remain on top of your challenges in Jesus’ name!
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