Who we are in Christ in relation to our divine purpose part 2.

Messages for July 2017: Our Month of Destiny

Message for Sunday the 16th of July, 2017

Theme: Understanding the Pursuit of our Purpose

Topic: Who we are in Christ in relation to our divine purpose part 2. 

Introduction: Last week, we began to look at this topic and we saw what redemption has turned us into so that in Christ, we can boldly conclude that we are new creations and as new creations we are both light and salt of the earth. Also, the new creation life gives us the ability to exercise the eternal life nature of Christ and walk in love just like God and be able to exercise all the powers of God in Christ Jesus to the extent God wants us to. 

Today, we shall be looking at the relationship between our identity and purpose. Meanwhile let us understand here again that identity is who we are in Christ while purpose is the reason why we are who we are. This is why our identities are pointers to our purpose or what we were made and put in this world to accomplish. See Jer.1:4-5; 1Pet.2:9.

Our identity and our purpose: having identified ourselves from the eyes of our maker through redemption, let us now see what our purpose on earth is. Simply put, everyone born of God is entitled to become an ambassador of Christ on earth while they are still here. 

1. As an ambassador of Christ, we carry out the specific functions of representing God to the people on earth who are yet to know him. 

As Ambassadors of Christ on earth, our purpose is to bring reconciliation between lost man and God. We represent them to God in prayer which makes us their priest and we represent God to them through evangelism with proofs. See Acts 10:38 and 2:22; Mk.16:20; Mt.28:18-20 and 1Pet.2:9.

Man sinned and fell short of the glory of God. Since then, man has been looking for God and God has also been desirous to get man back to himself. All the religious attempts of man through all the religions of the earth are man’s vain efforts in trying to reach God his own way. When Jesus came, He taught us in Jn.10:8-10 that He is the only means by which mankind can access God and all the religions of the world are mere attempts of the thief coming to steal kill and destroy [the thief is the devil and he used Cain to found religion in Gen.4:1-16]. Therefore as ambassadors of Christ, we are to fulfill the divine purpose of leading the unsaved to Christ God’s way and getting them rooted and grounded in the love of God so that they would never perish again. See Jn.15:1-5; 8; 16; Col.2:6-7 and Eph.3:16-19.

2. We are the light of the world: As light, our purpose is to provide direction to others. We direct them on how to reach God and walk with him. We also lead them in our areas of specialization for which we have been blessed with the spirit of excellence. See the example of Daniel, Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ and Apostle Paul. In Gen.41:38-44 we see here where Pharaoh admitted that because of the solution Joseph provided because of his light, there was no one as qualified as him for the job of the prime minister of Egypt at that time; we see where our identity as the light of the world qualifies us to fulfill the purpose of providing solution to the needs of the world. Also, in Daniel 5:11-12, we read this testimony of Daniel: “There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar… made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and soothsayers… forasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge and understanding and shewing of hard sentences and dissolving of doubts were found in the same Daniel whom the king named Belteshazzer: now let Daniel be called and he will shew the interpretation.” For more of these kinds of examples see these texts: Jn.18:33-37; Heb.10:5-10; 2Tim.4:6-7 andActs 9:15-16.

3. We are the salt of the earth: As salt, we preserve from decadence and influence positively the quality of life of the people around us. We are identified as salt because salt helps to preserve from decay. If we bear godly fruits as believers in Christ, our life style of praying and living right would influence others around us so that the level of corruption in our environment would greatly reduce and God would be glorified. Further because of our presence in the world, God can still show mercy so that people are given more time to change than they would otherwise have had. See Mt.5:13; Gen.18:17-33; 1Chrn.7:14 and Jn.15:8, 16. See the example of Abraham here where he was interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah. 

4. We are kings and priests called to reign on earth: When the righteous is reigning, people would rejoice because of the blessing they carry. On the other hand, when the wicked is in power people suffer. This explains the calamity in the world today wherever they devil’s agents are in places of authority. If as a believer you excel in your area of calling, you would be a leader there and as such you will reign. The greatest leaders were never politicians even though a politician who walks with God can grow to become a great leader just like Daniel and Joseph. While they were not politicians, they influenced the governments’ decisions to the point where they were able to solve problems for the nations that were humanly impossible to solve. See Rev.1:5-6; 5:9-10; Rm.5:17; Prv.29:2 and Dan.1:17-21.If we take the responsibility of the kingly anointing that the Lord has given to us, we shall reign on earth in such a way as to leave enduring legacies for our generations and posterity. Daniel outlived kings in relevance for a period of seventy years. This is what I call perpetuity in relevance. 

We shall close this teaching here for now even though more can be said about living intentionally to fulfil our divine purpose. Meanwhile, there is someone reading this resource that is yet to commence the journey of destiny because the foundation for actualizing destiny is acquaintance with divinity through the new birth experience. If you are that person and want to make that acquaintance today, you can do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will be born again:

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_nannaand on face book on www.facebook.com/flourishinggirlwww.facebook.com/khmii2015; www.facebook.com/thewellbeingcenter. Or www.facebook.com/kingdomjointheirsfamily email:  jointheirsfamily@gmail.com.    

     

Who we are in Christ in relation to our divine purpose

Messages for July 2017: Our Month of Destiny

Message for Sunday the 9th of July, 2017

Theme: Understanding the Pursuit of our Purpose

Topic: Who we are in Christ in relation to our divine purpose

Introduction: In Ps.82:5-7 we read: “They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

I have said, ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most high.

But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” This text of scripture relays to us the adversity of man as a result of the ignorance of his identity which would reflect on the abuse to which most of them put their lives and as such ending up like mere men and falling like the evil princes of darkness who lost their places to the deceit of the devil due to their ignorance of who they really were. Today, we shall be looking at the above topic to enable us discover our identity from God’s perspective and see how it affects our purpose and enable us to take advantage of this light to become all we have been born again to be.

Who we are in Christ: This truth of who we are in Christ presupposes that before we came into oneness with Christ through the new birth experience we were something else. This is clearly brought out by Apostle Paul in 2Cor.5:17 thus:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; and behold, all things are become new.”

Another scripture that clarifies this truth is Eph.5:6-8 where we are taught among other things that we were once darkness when we were children of disobedience and now the new birth has made us light and we are admonished to walk as children of light.

On the other hand, we are told in Gal.3:13-14 that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us so that the blessing of Abraham might come on us through faith so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit. The curse of the law under which we operated includes the entire curse in the word of God from Genesis 3 when man fell short of the glory of God through sin. We can bring all the curses under three headings of poverty, sickness and death. Since the curse, the mission of the devil has been to steal, kill and destroy and he does it through poverty sickness and death. Our concern here however is what becoming redeemed has made us. When we are redeemed, the following benefits become accrued to us:

1. We become new creations in Christ Jesus in fulfillment of prophecy and we thereby receive a new heart that can accommodate the Spirit of God who begins to lead us from within. See Ezek.36:26-27; 2Cor.5:17; Heb.10:14-17.

As new creations we enjoy the following benefits:

• Our sins are forgiven and God does not remember them again. Isa.43:25 and Heb.8:12-13.

• All our past sins are erased so that like a new born baby we cease to have a past. See 2Cor.5:17 and Isa.43:25. Since God does not remember your past, stop dwelling on it because by so doing you will be living in the past and those who live in the past would pass away with the past because what you dwell on in your thoughts all the time is what you end up creating.

• We are given the power to become the children of God who can grow up into sons of God. Jn.1:12; Isa.8:18 and Rm.8:14-16.

• We become partakers of divine nature through the intimate knowledge of Christ. See 2Pet.1:3-4 and Gal.2:20-21. As a partaker of divine nature, you can walk in the spirit, you can walk in love because God is love and whoever dwells in God dwells in love, you can exercise the power of God as God’s man or woman on earth. Please understand that to truly operate like this, we must grow up spiritually by feasting on the word of God and doing what the word says and praying in the Holy Spirit’s language often to enable us access God and hear His voice and follow His Spirit. See Jude 1:20-25 and 1Jn.3:21-24. Please for a proper understanding of this truth, read the entire 1Jn.3 in your private study and believe God for insight.

• We become ambassadors of Christ representing God to the entire lost human race still searching for him by the various light God gives us to demonstrate him to them. See 2Cor.5:20; Mt.28:18-19; Mk.16:15-18 and Acts 1:8. More would be said on this later.

2. We can now walk in the spirit as we renew our minds with the word of God. Apostle Paul throws light on this truth when he said in Gal.4:1 that the heir as long as he is a child is no different from a slave even though he is lord of all. This is why some believers suffer the same thing the world suffers because they refused to grow up to the point where they can exercise dominion in accordance with God’s original purpose for making man. See Gen.1:26-28; Rm.12:1-2. To walk in the spirit, we must grow up spiritually. The demands are the same as paragraph 1 dot 4 above. If we read the word of God daily with a heart eager to know God intimately, and do whatever the word says, we will gradually grow up enough to operate divine nature and live like God. We will not then need any encouragement to live holy lives we will be holy as He is holy indeed. The secret of success in the kingdom of God is actually the understanding and ability to walk in the spirit because where this is the case in the life of a believer, he or she would not fulfill the lust of the flesh and can therefore maintain friendship with God and eternal life. See Jn.17:3; Jn.5:24; Rm.8:1[b; kjv]; Mt.7:24-27; James 1:21-25 and Lk.6:46-49.

3. We are now the light of the world; a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. This entitles us to be famous in our respective callings for our unique leadership abilities while our life styles show others the way to live. We become enabled to demonstrate the excellent spirit by which we can shine through our good works and glorify God thereby. See Mt.5:14-16; Dan.1:8; Dan.1:16-21; Gen.41:37-44 and Rm.8:28-30. Note here that in the case of Daniel Nebuchadnezzar named him after his god. This was the extent of reverence he commanded from the most powerful man on earth at that time because he allowed his light to shine. Also when God was to judge Egypt after enslaving Israel for four hundred years, He called Moses and made him a god to pharaoh. See Ex.7:1-2. In the same way, when we position ourselves where God wants us through obedience, He makes us gods over all that have been responsible for all the adversities we used to experience. This month, God is set to judge the wicked that have risen against us; He has therefore made us gods over them. This is why we have begun to implement the instruction to praise him. As we do this, He comes to take over and execute vengeance on the wicked including the wicked hiding amongst us.

4. We are now the salt of the earth. This means that our being here adds value to our environment because of our status as believers walking in the spirit. Mt.5:13 – we demonstrate our saltiness by being all we are called to be. For instance, our prayers and praise here brings down God’s presence and in His presence, there is fullness of joy and pleasures forever. See Ps.16:11, 22:3; 114:1-8; Acts 4:23-34.

5. We are now kings and priest to God: By destiny, through the new birth experience, we are kings and priests that are expected to reign on the earth just like Jesus Christ did in his earthly ministry. See Rm.5:17 and Rev.5:9-10

To reign as kings, we must eliminate the corruption brought by sin and live godly lives which in turn guarantee a glorious destiny.

For want of space and time, we shall be drawing the curtain here today on this topic. Next week, we shall continue to look at the second part of this message and I believe that by the time we are done we would have come to the sublime understanding that we cannot truly divorce our identity from our purpose because most of the time our identity gives us a clue to what our purpose is even though not all of us are smart enough to know it.

Meanwhile, there may be someone reading this or listening to this message that is yet to make the choice of Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Saviour and desires to do so right away; please make your choice for him by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you shall be saved:

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.  

What destiny really is in relation to purpose

Messages for July 2017: Our Month of Destiny

Message for Sunday the 2^nd of July, 2017

Theme: Understanding the Pursuit of our Purpose

Topic: What destiny really is in relation to purpose

Introduction: As we commence this new series this month, I am sure that each of us would become more and more aware of what really matters in life. Last month, based on the prophetic agenda of God for us, we were looking at how to position ourselves to reflect the glory of God. The truth however is that without an understanding of destiny, we cannot really position to reflect God’s glory enough. This is because destiny according to Dr. Myles Munroe is the pursuit of divine purpose.

A look at the word of God in Jer.29:11 confirms this truth to us. Our glorious destiny is really rooted in the pursuit of God’s plan for us. If we are to live our lives without abuse, then we must pay attention to God’s purpose for each of us and run with it undistracted. Meanwhile what is destiny?

What destiny really is:

Please understand that destiny is not some soothsayer’s prediction coming to pass.  Also, destiny is not fate against which we have no power. The Oxford Advanced learners’ dictionary of the English language defines destiny as a predetermined course of events. However, this definition is incomplete because the bible definition has an additional element added to it called choice.

Destiny can therefore be defined as a predetermined course of events determined by the choices we make.

Myles Munroe defines destiny as the pursuit of divine purpose. This definition is very to the point because it introduces the element of purpose as it relates to destiny.

How destiny relates to the pursuit of our divine purpose: Destiny relates to the pursuit of our divine purpose in the following ways:

1.     First, the beginning of the pursuit of purpose or chase after destiny is a discovery of divine purpose. Until the purpose of a thing is known abuse is inevitable according to Dr. Myles Munroe. This is why you have people living as thieves or prostitutes or area boys and girls or wayward lives or lives of sin because of the ignorance of their purpose. Consequently, each one must first discover their purpose before they can begin the journey of destiny. If this is not done, they would put their lives to abnormal use. For instance there is no purpose of God that permits a person to be a thief. In fact the curse of God is in the house of the thief and he attaches it to everything the thief owns including his family [Zec.5:3-4; Jos.7:1-26 and Eph.4:28]. The truth about God’s purpose is what Jabez found and became the most honorable in his family. See 1Chron.4:9-10; Also, Apostle Paul found this on the way to Damascus and has become a household name up till today. See Acts 9:1-6; Saul also found his purpose on the road looking for his father’s donkey and began his destiny but only ran for two years in his divine purpose instead of forty due to his pride and other character issues – his choice. See 1Sam.10:1-6 and 15:1-35. All the disciples that Jesus called found their purpose in His call but one blew it and was dropped – Judas Iscariot due to his choice of hypocrisy. See Jn.17:12 and Jn.6:70-71. 

2.     Destiny is a journey. When God discloses his purpose to you, you are said to have received a vision of divine plan for your life. The pursuit of that vision you receive from God is called destiny. To help you pursue divine plan, you are first expected to write out your vision. See Hab.2:1-3 and Rev.1:11.

3.     No man who has not realized God’s purpose for them has a future that is glorious really because our future is rooted in God’s divine plan for us. See Jer.29:11 and Lk.22:28-30.

 When we discover our purpose and run with it, we are blessed with a glorious destiny. The two available destinies are a glorious one and a woeful one. In our subsequent messages in this series, we shall be looking at the two destiny options and how our choices in life can land us in either one of them. Please understand that by the way we live in relation to handling God’s word and our relationship with Him, we are on a daily basis determining our destinations in life.

Whereas destiny is a journey, destination is where our choices cause us to arrive at in time and in eternity. More will be said on this in the course of this series. Meanwhile, there may be someone reading this or listening to this message who is yet to make the choice of Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and saviour and desires to do so right away; please make your choice for him by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you shall be saved:

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.    

Welcome to the month of July 2017: Our Month of Destiny

Welcome to the month of July 2017: Our Month of Destiny

“… wist ye not that I must be about my father’s business?” Lk.2:49 ; “…I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that thou and thy seed may live.”Deu.30:19

Each time I have had to teach about destiny has been very exciting for me because the message of destiny always has a way of provoking me to look at what matters most in life. It is interesting to know that all around us, the majority of people are always running busily around what does not really matter and doing it with such passion due to the darkness of their hearts that even the living among them may become tempted to think that they are doing the right thing.

This month of July, God’s desire for us after the first half of the year is to see us putting our energy in what really counts for our lives. He has therefore graciously named this month to us to be our month of destiny. So many abuse this word because of their ignorance of what it truly means. What then is destiny?

Destiny according to the Advanced Learners English dictionary is a predetermined course of events. While this definition gives us an idea of what destiny means, it does not paint the true picture of destiny in that certain truths are missing in this definition. When we refer back to the manufacturer of man, we would discover that there is a choice element in His definition of destiny which is missing here. The book of Deu.30:19 quoted above fills this gap. So I would define destiny as a predetermined course of events determined by the choices we make.

A look at the Bible which is God’s manual for mankind and his environment would disclose to us that God’s plan for each of us is a good one and that following His plan for our lives would end us up in a glorious destiny. Last month we saw that even though we are glorious beings, we have no glory of our own except we are properly positioned to reflect the glory of God like the moon reflects the glory of the sun depending on its positioning.

Dr Myles Munroe of blessed memory defines destiny as the pursuit of purpose. This definition helps us to see another element in destiny which places a responsibility on us to first discover our purpose before we can begin to talk of destiny. The reason is that the purpose of a thing is only known by the manufacturer of the product. In our case, only God knows why He made each of us and for us to know it we must first go to him to discover it. This makes purpose a product of our discovery and not something we create for ourselves. The means by which purpose is unfolded to us is called vision. When we receive a vision of our purpose from God, we are expected to immediately get into business and start to run with it because indeed; destiny is the pursuit of purpose. As we pursue our God ordained purpose, we are running in our destinies.

Destiny is therefore a journey from the discovery of purpose to its logical conclusion in the plan of God. Believe me; except the plan with which you are running is God’s plan unfolded to you, you are not yet a child of destiny and living like that is living a wasted life. From Jer.29:11 we can understand that God has a good plan for each of us; a plan to prosper us and not to harm us; a plan to give us a hope and a future. From this text, it is clear that the fulfillment of our destiny is rooted in discovering and running in God’s plan and not the plan we make for ourselves.

The question this poses to us: whose plan are you running with? Are you running with God’s plan or yours or the devil’s? This question is what we shall be seeking to answer among other things in this month of destiny. To this end this month, we shall be looking at a series I title: “UNDERSTANDING THE PURSUIT OF OUR PURPOSE”. We shall therefore first find out what destiny is and how it relates to the pursuit of our purpose for living and what we can do to actualize our divine destiny. While we are at this, we shall also see that there are two kinds of destiny choices available to man and which one we are to choose. Then we shall be looking at how our destiny choices can make or mar us forever.

God’s desire for us this month is that each of us would clarify from him if we are running in the destiny He has ordained for us or not and to commence a journey with Him that would see us arriving at His destination of His expected end for our lives.

Once again; I welcome you to the month of July 2017 which God had graciously tagged our month of destiny in His prophetic agenda. Someone may be reading this resource that is yet to be sure of their stand with God as far as redemption is concerned. Today, we extend to you another opportunity of making sure of your stand with God if you will say the following prayer out loud in faith and trust God to make you one of His children as a result:

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.    

Accessing the Glory of God

Messages for June 2017: Our Month of Glory

Message for Sunday the 25^th of June, 2017 (Badagry Church only)

Theme: Positioning for the Glory of God

Topic: Accessing the Glory of God

Introduction: We have used the last three sessions to look at How to reflect the glory of God. Today, we shall begin to conclude the theme for this month by looking at accessing the glory of God. Our main interest here is to get an understanding of the steps we can take to gain access to the glory of God. In other words, how can we come to a place where we can be effectively positioned to reflect the glory of God? The following are therefore steps we can take to get to the place where we can be effectively positioned to reflect the glory of God.

1.     Take advantage of the offer of Salvation and get born again so that you can become a member of God’s family. No person can effectively reflect the glory of God without first becoming a part of God’s family through the new birth experience. This is because sin cut man off from God and therefore man died and fell short of the ability to draw anything from God enough to reflect His glory. Man was first planted in God from where his living was drawn. When man sinned against God in Adam, that experience of man was terminated and man became blind and scared and an insecure wanderer on earth without hope and without God in this world. God in His mercy sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ who through his death, burial and resurrection brought man the offer of salvation and if anyone takes advantage of that opportunity, they were saved and restored to the previous relationship man had with God and more. See Rm.3:23; Rm.6:23; 1Cor.15:21-22; Eph.2:6; 2:12, 19; Jn.3:16-19 and Gen.3:15.

2.     Live a life of gratitude to God especially for your salvation: We are told by the Psalmist in Ps.92:1-2 that it is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord. Therefore not to be thankful is a bad thing. Why is it a good thing to be thankful? I believe the reason is obvious because man without God is hopeless and therefore in constant fear and intimidation and under the oppression of the devil. The only mission of the devil to mankind is to kill, steal and destroy. See John 10:10. On the other hand, Jesus came to give us not just life but life in abundance. When we get to know him, we will receive eternal life and thus be able to walk with God, hear His voice and cultivate a personal loving relationship with him because eternal life is actually a relationship and experience with God; it is not a destination as some people think. For all these we should be very grateful. Gratitude proves that we are positioned to receive more from God and God would always oblige us and never disappoint us. If we are thankful, it protects us from entertaining vain imaginations which lead to a life of vanity and consequently enmity with God.  See Jn.10:27-28; 17:1-3; Ps.100:4; Rm.1:21. To be thankful to God is a commandment that we must keep if we are to really be positioned to reflect His glory. See Col.3:15 and 1Thess.5:18. Also, understand that thanksgiving is the key by which we can gain access to God’s presence where His glory dwells. If we abide in His presence, over time, we would just manifest His glory like Moses did when He spent so much time in God’s presence that He so reflected His glory that natural men could no longer look at him for the blinding light that the influence of God’s glory on him brought about. See Ex.34:29-35.

3.     Embrace the mystery of praising God: we are told in Ps.22:3 that God resides in the praises of His people. When we praise His, we bring down His presence with which comes His glory. All who have engaged this mystery with the right heart have been really specially blessed by God. When praise ascends to God, He responds to it by coming down Himself to receive it. He does not send the angels in answer to praise; He presents Himself to receive it. When God’s presence comes on the scene, Ps.114:1-8 gives us an idea of what happens. The presence of God puts a stop to every opposition of the enemy against us and enforces our victory and rest. See 2Chron.20:1-24. Finally, the presence of God is the release of His glory into a place and the life of a person. When this happens we can enter into a realm of unspeakable joy full of glory. This is a realm of walking in divine energy where we would serve God tirelessly and experience rest on all sides. See 1Pet.1:8; Ps.16:11 etc.

Sustaining the glory of God: Whereas it good to be well positioned to reflect the glory of God, it is even better when this becomes a constant in our lives. In other words, we must go the extra mile of retaining the glory. What is required of us if we are going to retain the glory of God?

1.     To sustain this grace of effectively reflecting the glory of God, we have to first make a commitment to living a life of purity. God is Holy and therefore anyone who is going to keep reflecting His glory must be Holy to do so. What does it mean to be holy?

To be holy is to be wholly all you are seen by others to be. In other words, your private life and your public life must match. What you say and what you do also must match. You cannot say one thing and do another. You must be the whole of what you say you are. In other words, you are also a doer of your word just like you are a doer of God’s word. This is referred to as personal integrity.

How do we grow into maturity in wholeiness?

In 2Cor.7:1, we are told: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” To have a clearer understanding of what the word is saying here, let us see what promises Apostle Paul is referring to here.  A look at the preceding verses in 2Cor.6 reveals to us that God was calling His Church at Corinth to a place of separation from the wrong company and a decision and action for purity as a condition for being received by God as His sons and daughters. When God acknowledges you as his son or daughter that confers divine royalty on you and grants you access to all of the graces of God that ensures you are established in faith and fulfill your destiny. See also Jas.1:21.

2.     Also the Psalmist gives us a key to living this life as the fear of God which the word of God recognizes as the beginning of wisdom and that to really be a person of understanding, one must depart from iniquity. See Job 28:28 and Ps.19:9; 25:14; 34:7; 96:9 and 111:10. Please understand that the fear of the Lord is a choice you make. It is not a gift; it is decision based. For instance Lucifer was in the presence of God and walked in the midst of the stones of fire yet he could not endure because he lacked this essential quality of the fear of God. What enables you to build legacies and maintain sustained relevance with God is the fear of God. The fear of God is actually the desire to always be in God’s presence and do everything required to not lose His presence.

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.    

How to reflect the glory of God Pt.3

Messages for June 2017: Our Month of Glory

Message for Sunday the 25^th of June, 2017

Theme: Positioning for the Glory of God

Topic: How to reflect the glory of God Pt.3

Introduction: We started looking at how to reflect the glory of God two sessions ago and last session we began to look at what to be that could be described as the proper positioning to reflect the glory of God. Among other qualities we saw the requirement of faithfulness, gratitude and meekness. Today, we shall continue by looking at the demand to be diligent, dedicated, spiritual, sacrificial, committed to excellence etc.

Be diligent: The word diligent simply means hard work. One of the qualities required of anyone who desires to reflect the glory of God is that they are diligent. A diligent person is one so committed to their task that the beauty of their assignment makes them win the favour of others around them. It takes diligence to bring out the best in anyone or anything. We are called of God to bear much fruit as a precondition for our discipleship. In John 15:8, we are told that the father is glorified when we bear much fruit. To bear fruit at all would require diligence on our part. A good example of the proof of fruit bearing being tied to diligence is the one talent man in the parable of the talent. In both the accounts in Luke 19 and Matthew 25, we learn that the servant who failed to give the master any return on his investment was judged by the master as being slothful and wicked; whereas the ones who brought him returns were honored. Consequently, to glorify God in the strictest sense of the word would require being positioned by diligence which would make a person productive and therefore bring glory to God. Note that a diligent person would be ready for his time when it comes. See Prov.10:4 and Mt25:1-13.

Be dedicated: To be dedicated means to be wholly committed to a cause. It also means to be zealous in loyalty or set apart for a higher purpose. The truth is that a call to be positioned to reflect the glory of God is a high calling as Apostle Paul puts it in Philippians 3:14. This explains the demand of dedication if one is to reflect the glory of God. In Jn.12:24 the Lord said: “Except a corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone”. Thus dedication is required to bear much fruit which is the means by which we bring glory to God. In addition, it is required in the school of glorifying God that we run our course to the end. Before Jesus went to the Cross, while praying in Jn.17:4, He told the father that he has brought Him glory because he has finished the work the father sent Him to do. Also, it was a common language among the saints of the early Church that passing on from this world after the fulfillment of their God given purpose was to be glorified. In other words, if they do not fulfill their purpose, they had not glorified God. See Jn.21:18-19. When Stephen was to be martyred, the last vision he had was the sight of the glory of God. See Acts 7:54-58.

Be spiritual: The bible teaches us that the major requirement for being taught by the Holy Spirit who is God on earth today is to be spiritual. Unless we are taught by the Holy Spirit, we cannot know the mind of God and therefore, we cannot know how and where to be located to reflect the glory of God. To be spiritual simply means to live your life regulated by the word of God and the counsel of the Holy Spirit. This can be attained by cultivating the right habit of reading, meditating on and doing the word of God to the end that one would always be in agreement with God. The opposite of being spiritual is being carnal or flesh ruled. If one is flesh ruled, he can never be positioned to reflect the glory of God and this is very pathetic because it means such a person would never fulfill his/her destiny. It actually takes being spiritual to bear fruit to glorify God. If one is not productive as a believer, the problem is rooted in carnality. No enemy of God can bear fruit for him and carnality makes one an enemy of God and therefore unable to glorify God. See Rm.8:5-8; Gal.5:16-17 and 1Cor.2:12-14.

Be sacrificial: We are told in Rm.12:1 to present our bodies to God as living sacrifices. This entails that we are actively involved in giving ourselves to God to please Him. This takes commitment and absolute dedication. In truth sacrifice is to give beyound your best to fulfill your purpose. For instance Daniel purposed in his heart to not defile himself with the king’s meat in order to maintain the purity required of him to fulfill his purpose in Babylon. He was later recognized in the entire realm of Babylon as having the excellent spirit. He eventually delivered on his assignment and today, he is one of the greatest names in the word of God and his legacy still lives with us. The Lord Jesus Christ actually came to pay the ultimate price of giving His life for our redemption and up till now his glory has become eternal for all time and eternity because He did nothing of Himself. He always did what He saw the father doing. See Dan.1:8; Jn.5:19; 10:14-18 and Philippians 2:5-11. 

For want of time and space, we shall stop here today. Someone may be reading this now that is yet to make a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ right now. If you want to do so as this is the number one demand for positioning to glorify God, you can do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will be adopted into the family of God:

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.    

How to reflect the glory of God Pt.2

Messages for June 2017: Our Month of Glory

Message for Sunday the 18^th of June, 2017

Theme: Positioning for the Glory of God

Topic: How to reflect the glory of God Pt.2

Introduction: Last time, we saw a few steps you can take to position yourself to reflect the glory of God. Today, we shall continue that message by looking at what to be to reflect the glory of God. Reflecting the glory of God would place the following character demands on us. We are required to be strong; meek; faithful; grateful; dedicated; diligent; determined; committed to excellence and sacrificial among other things.

Be strong: As far as the word of God is concerned, the rating of our strength is determined by the level of wisdom we have a command of. In Jos.1:1-6, 9 God kept telling Joshua to be strong. The strength here is not just the physical strength but the strength that comes with the wisdom of God operating in the life of a person. In Prov.24:5, we are made to understand that a wise man is strong and a man of knowledge increases in strength. Wisdom is responsible for giving us direction that would in turn position us to reflect the glory of God in a manner that would cause us to rise and shine. In fact it is wisdom that feeds spiritual strength to the point that the wise man can scale the city of the mighty and cast it down. This describes glorious exploits which can only come from God. See Prov.21:22; Eccl.10:10 and Dan.11:32.

Be meek: Meekness is being docile where God is concerned so that you place yourself at His command every day and at every time in your life. Moses was described as the meekest man on the face of the earth during his time by God. In Num.12:3, we read: “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” This explains why Moses had such access to God to the point that He actually began to visibly reflect the glory of God so much so that the children of Israel could no longer look at him directly; they had to put a veil over his face because of the blinding effects of the light of the glory of God which his face was reflecting because of spending time in God’s presence. The grace of God upon Moses was undeniable and it showed. We are told in 1Pet.5:5 that God resists the proud but gives more grace to the humble. This was also the lifestyle of the Lord Jesus Christ who said that he could do nothing of himself but depended on what He saw the father doing. The result of His meekness is the eternal legacy He has left us. In fact at the time of his completion of His earthly assignment He was able to say to the Lord that He brought Him glory because he had completed the work He sent him to do. See Jn.17:4; Jn.5:19; Philippians 2:5-9. The Lord was indeed an epitome of meekness and it shows up till today!

Be faithful: Faithfulness is a fundamental requirement for reflecting the glory of God. In the parable of the talents in Matt.25, we see an example of the servant who his master judged faithful for being able to multiply funds entrusted to him to trade with. Every time we are able to labour to increase God’s resources in our care, God judges us as being faithful and He blesses us among other things with His presence. By this we reflect His glory to the world around us. Please understand that God will never judge you based on what He has not given to you but what He has given to you. See Mt.25:21; Lk.19:14-29 and Lk.16:10. The extent of the glory of God you can reflect is rated by the extent of your faithfulness to him in all your ways. Remember God cannot be mocked. People will always reap what they sow. Please understand that it was faithfulness that qualified Abraham for greatness in the magnitude of what God has made him today as the custodian of the wealth of the world. This is glory on display. The same will happen to you if you meet the demand of faithfulness. See His testimony in Neh.9:8.

Be grateful: To be grateful means to be thankful or appreciative. It is your depth of gratitude that determines the brightness of the reflection of your glory from God. The Psalmist said it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. One of the things that position you to reflect the glory of God more than most is your level of gratitude to the Lord. You could even go the extra mile of rendering the sacrifice of thanksgiving. This is when you are thankful in spite of adverse circumstances or for things that are yet to be given flesh in the faith realm of your life. See Ps.92:1-2; Ps.116:12, 17. Gratitude is the opposite of murmuring and complaining which are terrible for a glorious destiny. Nothing robs a person of his position to reflect the glory of God like murmuring and complaining. This vice is why many the children of Israel who left Egypt could not make it to their divine destination. See the book of Numbers 13 and 14 and note especially Num.14:27-33.

We shall stop here today for want of time. We continue tomorrow to look at the other qualities you can have to reflect the glory of God.

Meanwhile there may be someone reading this material that is yet to embrace the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our redemption. Please if that is you and you wish to do so right away so that you can reflect the glory of God, this is your opportunity. You can have your heart desire now by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will be born again and enlisted into God’s 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.