Psalm 37:23-24 - Climb the steps

 Today we are going to talk about Psalm 37:23-24

If a person who trusts in God walks around, God watches their steps and controls those steps.  It doesn’t mean you won’t stumble but He is there to hold your hand.  Life is about steps and every day is a new step in your life.  Most of the time steps are challenging.  Before I go to the next stage, I must go through the steps and if the steps are deep, I might have to press my body to go higher.

It's for a good reason we have steps to go higher and if you don’t want to climb those steps then you won’t reach the highest level.  Climbing steps you must start with one step after another.  You can’t jump from the first level to last one. 

Only your feet can climb the steps.  Your arms cannot do it and your legs must accept to carry the entire weight of your body.  If your legs don’t accept to go up, your body can’t do anything.  What is the importance of legs in your life?  They have a role to play.  That role is not small compared to the hands.  There are things that legs can do but hands can’t.  Your legs have 3 parts:

(11. Feet which helps you to balance your legs

(22. Joints (knees and ankles) that make your legs move in different directions and help you to climb. 

(33. Sometimes your legs can tell you that they can’t do it alone and you need the help of your brain, eyes and the support of whole body.  When you fall downstairs, your hands will try to stop your fall. 

God has been teaching us about steps and they are very important to understand.  We as human beings love everything to be easy so we can enjoy life.  I want money, a big house, I want joy without difficulty, I want these things just coming to me without working hard.

When you climb, you feel pain in your muscles, joints and some people are attacked by sickness that attacks their joints so their body feels heavier than their legs can support.  Because it is a matter of life and we all want to be happy, successful, and we just want a good easy way.

When Jesus came, they wanted to crown him king but Jesus did not accept that crown of being a king at that time, “I’m a King, yes but I have to go through some steps of life first and I will only accept my crown after my crucifixion and then I will become the redeemer and saviour of the world”.

The same Jesus that was born didn’t perform miracles from day one, He took His time and at the right time He did things.  Do we like to wait for the right time or do we try to impose on God our time?  Do we accept God’s plan and accept to go through the steps first?

We have stages so people who are seated can see us who are on the stage.  Those on the seats will follow you who are on the stage with their eyes and ears.  When there is dark, everyone (even insects) follow the light.  We must ask ourselves, “Am I the light of this world?”

Jesus was supposed to be crucified before obtaining the crown.  You can’t know the importance of health until you have been sick.  When you are hungry, you can appreciate food.  Back home, there are families that have turns to eat so some will get to eat on a Monday but not on Tuesday while others in the family eat on the Tuesday.  Many families don’t have water and we must walk many miles to obtain water and that water is very dirty but to boil the water it is many miles to obtain wood to create fire.  Many people die from the dysentery.

Children suffer as in world vision advertisements and they have to go through those steps in life.  This beautiful country we live is a step in our lives and it is a blessing.  Many others don’t have what we have but many New Zealanders complain, “Oh this government, oh we are suffering”.  Many people from other countries are desperate to live in this country.  This is your step, a privilege to live in this blessed country.

Sometimes I take the pride to give my New Zealand passport when I travel.  Do you know the value of your country?  We have one of the most powerful passports and nationalities of this world.  You have this big step that God has given you where bribery is not possible.  Go to other countries and you will see that laws don’t respect justice because of corruption.  Students must bribe to get their grades.

God continues to raise up New Zealand and take care of us and gives us what we want.  What don’t you have here?  You have everything.  You eat when you want, sleep when you want, no restrictions, no fear.  That is one of the steps of life physically that God has given you.

The prodigal son asked for his blessing, his inheritance to enjoy life.  Blessings were with the father and the father said, “You should wait for this you are too young,” but the son said, “No I want it”.  Sometimes I think, can I give my car keys to Eden to drive my car?  I can’t because Eden is only 10 years old and she will crash.  She must wait for the right age even if she cries, I will tell her, “No you must wait and then learn to drive and then pass a test”. 

Once Eden passes the first test, she must drive with someone next to her and then after the next test, she will be able to drive with restrictions, she must only drive to 10pm and with no passengers.  Then she must go through another test to get her full licence.

Where are we in the Kingdom of God?  God is asking us to learn first before He gives us what we ask.  Do we read the Word of God to know the rules of driving to heaven?  Do we move on?

I met with a person in Hamilton who has been driving on learners’ licence for the past 30 years.  One time the police asked for their licence.  The police said, “You don’t have the right to drive”.  He justified it saying he didn’t have time or money to sit the test.  For 35 years he didn’t stop and think, “This is important for me and I need it”.

Another member of my family wanted an international licence and he gave the testing station his restricted licence.  We came here together and he’s been driving forever.  He wasn’t able to get the international licence because he didn’t have a full licence.

God has given us everything that you need and now it is for you to make a step to learn what is coming after this life.  If you want to enter Kingdom of God, go to church, read bible, learn about the steps to enter the Kingdom of God.  We prefer to watch Netflix or YouTube or Facebook but not even 3 minutes to thank God.  We are in a journey, we must move forward and climb the steps.  If we don’t we will stay in the same place and others will pass us

Are you waiting there expecting God to come you or are you moving forward?  Our strength as human beings is being intelligent which means we can even kill a lion before it can reach us with a gun and it will die with only 1 bullet.  Human beings can make a lion to sleep with a dart.  We use our intelligence mostly to create material things.  Why don’t we use our intelligence to come closer to God?  Our time on this earth is very short.

We are going to face eternity.  Where are you going to live in eternity?  Many talk about retirement and where they will live but what about after life on this earth.  That is why God is telling us that He will hold our hands because we stumble sometimes.  We must accept to raise up our hand and ask for God to hold our hand.

Sometimes children try to take the child’s hand and the child refuses.  Once we saw a child refused to take the father’s hand so the father left the child there.  We sometimes do that to God.  He is ready to move forward but we stay behind.

How often (like the prodigal son) do we tell God, “This is what I want to do with my life, God bless me”.  You take it and when you come back to God, what are you going to bring back with you?  He gave you everything so when you come back, what will you present? 

If your brain doesn’t tell your legs to move, they won’t move.  Make your brain to communicate to your legs.  How good are you in managing your intelligence and making good decisions for your eternal life and deciding where you want to be tomorrow?  Some people are smart in reaching money or in maths but not smart in searching eternal life.

Are you smart to tell God you are His child and proud to come back home to God?  When you are in your home, you feel free.  When you have a shower you won’t be ashamed to be naked in water and you are free to sing or dance.  In the water of life, are you free to present yourself naked and sing to God or do you feel it is a burden for you?  Do you feel like postponing the Bible study even though you have nothing else to do? 

Should we take a break when we are planning our eternal life?  We sometimes disappoint our God.  My young boy a few days ago went out and a person rang me and said, “Ken is here”.  He didn’t come home for 2 days. 

I rang him, “Where are you”.

“I’m on my way”. 

“Where were you?”

“The police stopped me on my way home”. 

“Did the police tell you not to go home?” 

He was mumbling.  “I was given a warning and they took me”. 

Meaning that sometimes, those that are young spiritually do silly things but keep moving up the steps and holding onto God.  Someone holding your hand can pull you up to renew your strength but they can’t pull you up unless you are willing to hold their hand.

The police in New Zealand are very good.  You can joke with them and they will reason with you.  In my country if the police tell you to stop and if you joke, they will stab you and if you keep joking they will shoot you.  No one will ask what happened, the body will just stay there and even dogs may come and eat you.

The police in New Zealand are even afraid to touch you.  Someone can do something wrong and the police will beg you to come into the station, “If you cooperate, we will make it less hard for you”.  For us in Congo, that does not exist.

The Holy Spirit lives like the New Zealand police, it will ask us nicely, “Don’t do this”.  The New Zealand police have power to take you to jail and press charges.  The Holy Spirit will tell Jesus, “You told me to stay behind with them and this is what Hayley did, Collen did this” etc. The Holy Spirit is policing us and on the day of judgement the actions will follow you. The Holy Spirit is pure and honest and right, He will be trusted by the judge.  What will you say in front of God that day?

“God guide my steps”.  Do I accept his guidance or not?  If not, why not?  What am I going to become tomorrow?  Those who have the privilege make all your steps with God, at work, at home.  When challenges come in your life, do you make steps with God?  Tell God, “This step is so hard, please hold my hand and pull me”

We built a house for my mum.  Someone sold that house by forgery and the new owner said, “You must leave my house”.  This is like our lives.  God has given our lives and all we deserve but we give it to satan and he claims our lives.  When you give place to satan to control our lives, it is like someone who is addicted to alcohol.

On judgement day, you will have to come on the stage, “Angela come before the throne, what did you?” and the whole world is watching you.  You won’t be able to blame others.  Present your problems to God and remember that this is only one step and it will pass.  Don’t make permanent decisions for a temporary situation. 

Let Your Speech Always be with Grace Seasoned with Salt

 

Colossians 4:6, “Let your speech always be with grace seasoned with salt”

 “Speech”

Every time we talk we have always to be mindful.  Every word we say is heard by others who will judge us and then judge God.  If our words are kind then others will believe God is kind.  If our words are complaints or negative, people will believe God is negative.  If our words are angry, people will believe God is angry.  If our words are mean, people will think God is mean and not only will they run away from us but also run from His church and God Himself.

 “Always”

Always, always, always speak with grace.

 “Grace”

Can you give examples of speaking with grace?  For example, someone wrongs you and you say, “I forgive you”.  When I’ve been on the phone for 2 hours with Spark and they don’t help me, how do I speak with grace?  When your children, husband or work mates annoy you, how do you speak with grace?

 Mathew 12:34-37 reminds us that what is inside us will come out.  If we have a heart of grace, then gracious words will come out.  If we have peace, then peaceful words will come out.  If we have joy, then joyous words will come out.  If we have anger, then angry words will come out.  If we have bitterness, then bitter words will come out.  Unforgiveness will always show its ugly head.  Patience gives kind words.  Love produces loving words.  Hatred produces hateful words. Impatience produces mean words.  A negative attitude produces negative words while a positive attitude produces positive words.  Being stressed can lead to regretful words being said.

 One time when I was working in the laboratory, it was very busy and a girl in the team destroyed hours of work by not fastening the lid of the centrifuge.  She looked at me and waited to be told off but I said, “It’s ok”.  I had peace so I had the ability to speak with peace which meant my speech was seasoned with grace.  Because God is in my heart and He is peace, I knew that if I spoke badly, she would never discover God in me and could be put off forever.  We must remember that our words have consequences, they can either produce life or produce death.

 “Seasoned with Salt”

Salt is tasty but only as a seasoning (you can’t eat salt by itself).  We must season our words so people will listen to them, eat them, take them inside their heart and through those words be changed. 

 Food is good for us and doesn’t need salt to be good for us but salt makes it palatable.  For example, when giving advice to someone, we have to find ways that are palatable so they will take the advice.  Rather than pointing fingers take time and help the person slowly slowly.  Don’t throw a bucket of salt over them.  If we put too much salt, the food is inedible.

 For example, I knew someone who would greet people (non-Christians alike) with “Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”.  People would run away from him thinking he was crazy.  Start slowly and season your words.  For example, if someone is complaining, instead of saying, “Stop complaining” we could find the right time to talk to the person and can even say something like, “I keep complaining, I am wondering your thoughts on how I could stop”.  This might open them up to realise they also complain and together you could suggest to keep each other accountable.

 James 1:19 “Be quick to listen, slow to speak”.  

Make a Plan

When we wake up in the morning, we wonder what we will do today.  Parents usually don’t have to shake their children to go to school and intervene unless the children a slow but children usually know how to get ready for school. 

Even if you didn’t plan yesterday what you will do today, you will make a plan for your day.  Why do we have to plan what we will do?  Because that’s the nature that God gave to us.  Our body, mind and soul tells us we have to plan and we have to work.  Do you sometimes feel like you don’t want to go to work but you are forced to go? 

We make plans and then it is our responsibility to fulfil those plans.  2022 is a new year, what is your plan for the year?  For today?  Although we have our plans, if we are not committed, we will fail our plan.  Have you thought about what you will do for 2022.

Proverbs 16:1-3, “To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.  All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.  Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans”.

God encourages us to have a plan.  In your heart, what do you feel like doing this year?  You must have a plan that is good for you, good for God, and good for others and not a plan that leads you to sin.  Then you need to commit to your plan to God.  Take your plan to Jesus and tell Him, “In February, I plan to do this, in March, this…”

When you plan and pray for something in the name of Jesus Christ and when it is accomplished, it will be a miracle and will only happen by faith and committing it to God.  2021 had a lot of challenges but God stood with you.  You cried and He was with you and pushed you through that plan to be fulfilled.  When things go wrong, that’s a path you have to go through to reach the next step. 

For example, Paul was proudly persecuting the church until God spoke to Him and he realised he was wrong to enjoy persecuting others.  Sometimes we are told by God to speak to our friends and tell them that they should not enjoy what they are enjoying.  Maybe someone you know persecutes their soul or the souls of others but you are afraid to tell them.  You may pray and ask God to talk to them because you fear to talk to them. 

Sometimes panic will hit your mind and body and you don’t know what to say anymore.  It’s not about your abilities, it’s about satan versus the Holy Spirit.  In your spiritual life, when you panic, you lose concentration and everything will be wrong and whatever others do will be negative.  Don’t let 2022 be a year of panic.  Let my fears be victory this year.  What I failed last year, let it be fulfilled this year.  Let your plan be there in 2022 and the rest will follow.

Before to go on a journey, I ask myself if I have all that I need and I check before leaving.  I check the oil and water.  I check the petrol.  I check I have my wallet, sunglasses etc.  Sometimes I have to wash my car before I go anywhere even if I am late.  One time I had to borrow a friend’s car and it was so dirty that I was obliged to spend an hour cleaning it before I could start my journey.  Sometimes we need to help others what they are not able to fulfil and to do it with them. 

If others discover you are dirty it will be a shame and that is why I cleaned the car of my friend.  My son once told me that he tried smoking once because a friend offered him a cigarette.  Don’t accept to sin just because a friend is encouraging you to.  Whatever God has put around you, use it.  As you get older, you use up things.  For example, you may lose up all your hope or you may lose up the fruit of the Holy Spirit and gain wisdom.

In summary, make a plan for 2022, commit your plan to God, complete your plan, use what God has given you and don’t fall in temptation.

 

Nothing is Impossible for God

 

Nothing is impossible for God.  When you know that nothing is impossible for God, it means you trust God and you believe that no matter what happens, you will be a winner because God is there for you. 

We all like miracles and we all want to see miracles, even when we pray we keep asking God to see changes to get something we don’t have. “Lord protect us, heal me, give me peace, joy, money, job, salvation for my family, I trust you God, you are the only one who can give this to me”.  No one prays to God and says, “I don’t need anything from you”.  God created those needs in our life so we can always go back to Him and remember that nothing is impossible for God.

Before Jesus left, He shared bread and wine and the message, “Do this for remembrance, remember me, it is a symbol of remembering me”.  What do you remember about God in your life?  What pushes you to stop and think about what God has done for you.  Have you stopped and thought about all that God has done for you throughout your life? 

We must first remember from our creation, when God created a human beings it was on the 6^th day and everything was beautiful.  He created just using His words.  In my tribe we believe that if you have eye problems then look into the sun at 5:30am and then you will see a change in your eyes like a miracle.  When you have pain in your eyes let the fresh air from the river to heal your eyes.  We don’t wear glasses in my tribe because we use the nature that God has created.

On the 6^th day, God took the dust and made a body.  He was an artist that day.  He gave the mud a shape and it looked good but the difference was that He didn’t want to speak as He created the rest of the world.  God didn’t make a tree from dust or the sky or the sun or even a lion.  He preferred to use His hands to make a human being and He gave you and I life.

He said, “We are going to make a human being that will be like us”.  He decided to take a portion of Himself to make something new that will look like Him.  That portion is not my body but our soul.  God is eternal and only a soul is eternal.  Our body can easily die but the soul doesn’t die.  He chose the nostrils of Adam and breathed.

When you try to breath, you breath in and out.  For someone to feel your breath, you have to push it out and when you feel it, feels like a wind.  When it reaches you, it rests on you.  God took a soul that is you and me and divided in 3 parts.  First part came out of his lung, mouth and lips.  The second part is the wind that left his lips and the 3^rd part is where the breathe rested.  From those 3, the human being has life.  If one of those steps is missing, there is no life. 

God put that in you.  By putting that in you, it means that you become someone who resembles God.  Do you believe that you look like God?  Most of the time we don’t think so because God is maybe rich and I am poor or He is handsome and I am not or because He has everything and I don’t.  What we see outside is not what He looks at, He looks at our souls.  Does your soul they reflect God?

One day God will take back the soul He gave us.  The body will go back to dust but the soul will come back to God.  He didn’t hide it, it was clear.  The most important thing to God is that when He breaths out and you breath in, you will have to one day breath out the soul and He will take it back.

How can you explain the soul and how it works?  Nothing is impossible to God.  When our mothers become pregnant, something will start to grow in their bodies, the baby.  The baby has eyes but can’t see, they have nostrils but can’t breathe, they have ears but can’t understand, they have mouth but can’t speak until they come out.  When they reach this world, breathing starts, eyes open and ears open and they can start to eat.

The life in us is like a pregnancy.  There will be a time when there will be a rebirth and everything will be open in heaven to us and we will understand everything.  Although God has given us the soul, He said you have to live on the earth where you will face challenges and problems. 

God, you created me in your image but you don’t face problems.  We all like miracles but remember a miracle will only happen when there is a problem.  If you want a big miracle then accept also a big problem.  Once the problem doesn’t find a solution that is when miracle comes.

For example, someone can tell you that they want to be healed.  God says yes, I will open the path.  First step, your pain will be multiplied by 3 and you will go to the Dr and they can’t help.  You might be disappointed and find it so hard, “Lord heal me”.  During that time, you may see someone coming to you and praying then you are healed.  If you did not accept the problem, you could not accept the miracle.

The storm comes into every person’s life.  The devil is here and storms don’t choose what foundation you have, you can be a believer or not, the storm will come and you will face it.  As children of God, we know that problems are there but we forget most of the time that nothing is impossible for God.  All your problems are temporary and nothing is there for eternity.  If you are sick, that sickness has an end.

Remember whatever storm you are facing, will only be there for a short time but you must prepare your soul for eternity.

Luke 1:37, the angel came down and said to Mary, “You are going to conceive and give birth to a child,” and Mary was confused, “Who are you”.  “I am the angel of the Lord, God has sent me to you”.  Imagine someone walking in here, “God has sent me to you, I am an angel of the Lord”.  We will not believe them.  “Don’t be afraid, I am an angel of God and I have a message for you.” We might doubt because the angel didn’t come to Mary with wings but as a human being.

The angel said, “Nothing is impossible for God”.  You can’t exclude even small things.  Your biggest problem, your heaviest one, it is not impossible for God.  When you have no money, it’s not impossible for God.  When you say I want to go to heaven, that is not impossible for God.  When you say, I want my family to be saved, nothing is impossible to God even when they are dying as a sinner.

That day on the cross, the man next to Jesus said, “You are the son of God, why are you crucified next to us, if you are son of God do something”. The other one said, “Don’t forget me when you go to your kingdom”.  Jesus said, “Today I will be with you in paradise”.  Who could believe that man could be saved and in paradise the same day.  He didn’t go through repentance, He just told Jesus that He recognised who He was and don’t forget me.

When was the last time that you said to God, don’t forget me?  When I am in pain, do I tell God to not forget me or do I forget?  A lot of problems surround us.  The first thing you see is problem, maybe your body is in pain.  The first thing those who need glasses do is to find their glasses. Others who are smokers, must have a cigarette as the first thing they do.  If they don’t, they will feel sick. 

Others sing and praise God.  Others don’t have time to praise God, they have to eat first.  Maybe we bring all our problems so God as the first thing.  We start with all our issues before starting our day.

Once we have the answers, we often forget to come back and say thank you to God.  I was lucky to get there on time.  I woke up early and I was the first person in the shop and everything was 70% off and my credit card was approved.  We feel like we are capable but we couldn’t without God.

Once you have solution to your problem, do you thank him or do you just think it is your right.  Once you believe that it is your right, God will tell you no, that is not your right.  Come close to me.  by coming close to God you have to carry all your burdens.

1 Peter 5:7, cast all your anxiety on God because He cares for you.  All your problems, whatever makes your anxious cast them on God, not on a person but all your burdens to Jesus, not to a counsellor or doctor but tell Jesus first, “Here are my problems Jesus”.  God created everything by words meaning our words are also powerful.  I prefer to pray out loud because my words have power and I can change things.

Moses blessed his kids using words.  God blessed us with words.  Jesus used His words to heal.  We need to use our words to tell God our problems.  He wants to hear from you and hear what you will say.  If your problem is big, keep talking about it. I’ve seen people cry in front of others and tell them about their problems but they don’t have 4 minutes to spend in front of God to cry to God.  They quickly pray and then leave it so they can watch a movie.

God is saying, “Come close to Me”.  The father saw the prodigal son and he welcomed him back.  It was up to the son to come close to the father.  When you bring your burden to Jesus, He says, “Come closer to me”.  For that reason, I gave you the example of the man on the cross next to Jesus.  None of the crowd shouting to Jesus met with Jesus in paradise that day only the one close to Jesus who expressed Himself came to Jesus.

You have to carry your own cross and talk to Jesus about your situation.  You can’t leave it to others to pray for you.  Your first enemy is your body.  Your body will push you to become angry, steal, commit mistake, and you feel bad but praise the Lord for reconciliation.  How often do you reconcile with yourself, God, and your soul?

Life is short and none of will live for 160 years.  Yesterday it was someone’s turn and tomorrow maybe mine.  You won’t know the time.  My father used to say, even if you are wealthy, when death comes it won’t accept to take your money to leave you alive.  Your soul will say hallelujah it is my time now to live in eternity.  Your body can fight and they don’t want to leave but the soul will say no, I must go back to where I came from.

We prefer to be in this world to suffer but Jesus wants us to rest in heaven.  If your burden is too heavy, is there no solution to your problem, if yes, now is the time to pray to God and remind him that nothing is impossible to God.

Your body is the enemy of the soul - 2 Cor 20:17

2 Cor 20:17, “ You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.”

The battle you are crossing has two faces, one that belongs to me and the other side belongs to God.  When things don’t belong to you, before you touch them, you ask yourself if they really belong to you.  You can’t walk into a bank and take money from the counter or just take Tyrone’s car.  It is the same way for God. He puts us in a battle field and tells, “Remember that you have your portion of the battle and I have mine”.   

The first enemy of your life is your body.  Behind this body, satan acts and influences the body and that is what God calls battle.  I’ve never seen satan tempting a dead body.  He doesn’t need to.  As long as you are alive physically, then your body becomes a part of your battle.

You must know that your body is your main problem.  Because of our bodies, most of us will not enter the Kingdom of God.  That is why Paul said, “I want to do good but my body lets me down”.  Most of the time we pray, God protect us against satan.  What many Christians do to solve their problems, they try to protect their bodies through justification, defending your body, your feelings, your wrong doing so you can please your body.  We forget that the body will return to the earth.  If you already know that your body is a loser and isn’t worth it, why defend it.  Tell your body it is wrong.

Once you know that your body is wrong in a way, remember your problem is bigger than you.  Your body sometimes makes you feel so useless, how miserable is my life.  Your body will push you to believe you are miserable while your soul doesn’t suffer.  You will see someone crying and wishing they could be like Queen Elizabeth.  Do you know how much she suffers?  On one side, we want to appear like big people because our body likes glory and we want people to bow down.

I had the chance to talk to one of the most valuable men on the planet and he said that he only sleeps 4 hours because he has so many problems with people coming to see him and calling him and he must see the doctor all the time.

Michael Jackson also, had to have treatments because he was trying to make his body look a certain way and he had to see the doctor every day and now he is dead.  He was once great but now the young people don’t know who he is.  He forgot that the first enemy he had was his body.  The secret for salvation is whoever wants to gain his life will lose it, surrender all to Jesus then you will win the battle.

God is bigger than your problem.  When I don’t get what I want, what do I do?  Nothing.  If I want to buy this hall and I don’t have money, I just have to accept it.  But your body will tell you, it is time to break a bank, sell drugs and then you can afford the drugs.  Your body will not tell you that you will be caught.  If that thought comes up, the body will tell you a way around it.  Your body will have plans and strategies.

The body which is your enemy will tell you that you must win this battle.  What do you gain if you gain the entire world with everything it contains, gold, houses, money from the banks, aeroplanes.  What will you do with it all?  Good or wrong, you don’t need all of it but what you need most of all is your soul.

You should know that the most important thing for you is your soul, not what is in this world.  When I look for things that give me joy, ice cream, chocolate, I believe that this will help me.  Levi will tell you when you give him food, “mmmm that is yummy” and he talks like poetry because he is full of joy.  If only I could do that kind of poetry for reading the Word of God and joy from reading Word of God.

I can buy shirts. I once saw a bottle of wine for US$17,000.  I saw this man coming and asking for 6 of those bottles.  He paid with his card.  The man was rushing quickly and packing it with respect.  My heart was pounding.  The man gave bottles to different friends.  He gave the remaining 3 bottles to the man that served them.  More than $40K in wine.  Who is going to buy it from that man?  Where is he going to sell it?  He won’t drink it and he will fight day after day for a customer.  He won’t be allowed to sell it in the shop.

Our bodies will give us something that will give us more problems.  For example, you can feel like you are thirsty.  You search for water.  For those that drink alcohol, they can drink bottles of beer but can’t drink one glass of water.  Some need to drink alcohol or they start to shake.  He asks for money, and if you don’t give he starts to lie, I need money to take my mum to hospital.  He lies to get money and then once he has the money, he drinks and then he starts to swear and kick people.

I once saw him stumbling home, shouting, “Open this door you dog”.  He came inside.  Another day, he jumped into the back seat of his car and thought someone had stolen the steering wheel.  How do you try to drive your soul when the priority for you is your body?

If your daughter doesn’t respect you, you feel bad.  I feel shame on me.  It is the same with God, when we don’t respect what He says to us, we let Him down. He is disappointed, “I gave you everything for free and in return you tell your Father God that you don’t respect Him”.  We respond by saying, “I’m tired of you, I quit,” and you become rebellious.

We forget that our bodies lie to us.  God can turn off our breath at any moment and our body can’t stop that.  Then God will ask you, what did you do during your time on this earth.  Did you look after your soul?

Adam was given the job to take care of the garden of Eden.  Your soul is your garden of Eden. When someone talks to you wrongly, you feel you need to fight.  When you become angry, it is a simple battle.  Don’t fight back.  Tell yourself, this is not my battle.  If my eyes see something that I don’t like, automatically I become angry.  Why did you put this here?  We must consider God’s position.

Once we open the door, our soul will be the first thing that suffers.  By serving your body, you are killing your body for eternity.  When I watch boxing on tv, it is a battle, a fight.  With boxing, people fight each other for others to watch, they fight for the glory and for the prize money.  They give up everything, including certain food and time and they train to win. How often do you train your soul to feel fit?

Do you hate to put on weight physically, do you also hate to put on spiritual weight?  When you don’t want to go to work, maybe people will call you lazy.  Life is about working and we need to do something but when it is about your soul, how often will people tell you to do God’s work? Children will tell you they are too tired to go to school but the parent will push children to go to the school.

Regardless of how good your sleep is, you have to get out of bed.  That is your side of your battle.  Now spiritually, how often will people tell you to wake up?  Many people will try to please others. E.g. singing for others.  Once I was invited to join a gang.  They encouraged me by saying they would protect me.  I told them I’m not strong to fight other gangs.  Many young people feel pride to belong to a gang and when they walk on the streets they feel like they are something.

Have you tried to join or make this connection with God to feel a part of God’s army where you can stand up and fight against evil and against those who try to destroy God?  When the battle comes, fight your part and let God fight His part.  E.g. “My thoughts, I will not give in”.  “My desire for wrong, this is not my part, what you are asking me to do is the battle of God”.  When you live such a life that you don’t have to respond to all temptations but give it to God, you will be a winner.

When you are tempted to steal, say, “No this isn’t my battle to possess this, God this is your role to get this for me”.  As adults we fight against our parents because we have our own way.  Sometimes we try to prove to God that we are grown up children and He can’t tell us anymore what to do and I will come back to God when I want, read my bible when I want and deal with my own problems.  The problems of my body are my own problems.

When someone dies the corpse remains but the soul has gone. So the dead body is not me. I should remember that when I’m tempted that this is not me, my body is not me.  I just have to decide, I don’t want to do this.  For example, we all know someone who decided to stop smoking.  She just quit.  She didn’t need a counsellor.  She didn’t cut down slowly.  It didn’t kill her.  It was a matter of decision.  God told the king, take your positions, and stand firm and see the deliverance.  What position do you take in life?  Do you stand firm?  Or do you go left and right and try again tomorrow.  How often do you stand firm in order to protect your soul?  When you stand firm, the battlefield belongs to God now and he will act for you.

A friend of mine, he was someone who always wanted to get everything.  One time he borrowed money and he was told he had to pay 40% interest per day.  He wanted to buy something to make him appear special.  After a few days he couldn’t afford to pay it back.  The lenders gave him a job to steal from people’s houses until the day that he finished to pay back the money.  If it was $10, 40% was $14 so it kept getting bigger.

In Congo, when someone is caught stealing, they will burn you alive.  When he was caught, people asked, “Where is the tyre?”  That is how they kill you.  They were punishing the body.  How often have you been influenced by people?  It will be good, just for today.  That is the time to tell God, “The battle belongs to you, I stand firm God, intervene.  I’m shaken by what I see, please God intervene”. 

In the gang, they were telling me that the longer you stay with us you will get a title.  I responded, “I have title in heaven that is bigger than yours and I can’t sacrifice what I have in heaven”.  Do you remember that at any minute you can die?  Where are you going to go?  Last time Ange was planning a trip and that trip was planned for many weeks ahead.

Usually people don’t just decide to go somewhere without planning.  If you do, you may not find a place to sleep.  We must plan our journey to heaven.  If not, you may find yourself in hell.  You can only plan by asking God to fight for us.  Please God do this battle.  When God fights, we have the victory.

Trust in God - Proverbs 3:5-6

Has anyone ever asked you, “Do you trust?”  Fathers, sometimes we don’t trust our children.  Dads sometimes don’t trust mums and vice versa.

Is trust important in life?  Why do we need to be trust? Why should we be trusted?  Have you thought about trusting in God?  When the Bible tells you to trust in God, what does it mean to you?

I’ll give you an example, this man was so fearful to fly high and on his 23^rd birthday, his father said, “Do you trust me?” He answered, “Yes”.  The father being a skydive trainer said, “I will fly with you and we will sky dive together.  If you do this one time you will never fear again the sky and you will see the beauty of above and how down here looks from the sky”.

The boy prayed to God for help the night before.  In the morning, they took the plane.  The son told the father, “I trust in you, you are the only one who can save and secure me”.  The father said, “I am an expert”.  After jumping, the parachute didn’t work.  The boy was screaming and then he said, “Jesus”, and then the parachute worked.  The father said, “You should never trust in man but only trust in God”.

Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”.

Trust God with all your heart, not just part of our heart and we should also submit to him.  What kills the world today is that we don’t trust in God 100%.  We only trust in God when we fail, that’s when we think of God.  Many people’s trust in God is very limited.  People can walk through the tunnel in the mountain that human beings have made without doubt but when we walk through Jesus, we don’t see the beauty of walking through Him.

To start our journey with Jesus, we sometimes don’t think it is good enough and we quit.  I have been going to the gym for 20 years and look at me, I am fat with no muscles while others do it only for 3 months and you see a change.  Because you see me going on Monday and then I eat heaps and don’t go back for 2 weeks.  I want to gain something and get in shape but I lack discipline.  To trust in God requires a type of discipline.  You should be committed. You need to understand if you don’t do it now, tomorrow you will see.

I saw a lady at the gym that was so large she couldn’t even walk on the treadmill she was struggling but now she is very slim and fit and I look so weak and fat compared to her.  By putting discipline and determination, she has changed her life.  We need to be disciplined with God, push yourself to ger up early and exercise and after a few months, it will be a part of your life.  When you don’t go, you will feel something is wrong in  you.

Instead of disciplining ourselves, we ask God for help.  We don’t need the help of God or others to stop stealing when I already know stealing is wrong.  It is up to me to decide.  People think it is better to sin than go back to God and ask for help.  People prefer to go to a counsellor for help and they trust in them more than God forgetting that a counsellor has their own problems.

I was once told to see a counsellor.  He was telling me about Lebon coming back from Africa.  I said to him, “You are the counsellor true but do you have problems?” and he started to tell me his problems.  He gave me a CD because he said that it was his solution to his problems.  I asked “Why can’t you pray to God?”  He said, “For counselling we believe we need relaxation”.  Relaxation doesn’t exist in this world.  Relax in God yes but if you try to relax using music or listening to birds, the relaxation won’t last.

In case of a problem, I go to my friends who are lawyers or doctors and trust in their promises more than God’s promises.  When you are searching for a job and your friend says, come, you will put all your trust in them.  God, who is a jealous God, will look down on you and ask, “Where is My glory in all of this, do you trust me or not”.  You may end up finding a wrong job.

Sometimes we lose trust in God because we feel like we are far from Him.  Although God was far from Job, Job never left God far from him and every time said, “I trust in God”.  No matter what you face, keep trusting in God. By doing so, you will become a winner.

One thing that makes us to not trust in God, is worry.  Worry is the enemy number one.  Although the Bible says more than 365 times do not worry, but we keep worrying.  “I don’t have money, what can I do, I should go and find it”.  No matter how much money you have, you will continue to look for money.  Bill gates still looks for money.

Bill gates earns $20K per second.  One day he saw a $100 bank note on the street and he stopped the car to pick it up.  By stopping the car, he spent 2 minutes.  He earns $20K per second.  Why not leave the bank note for a poor person.  Every person is after money.  If you could trust God as you trust money and if you could love God as you love money, how good you would be with God.

You protect your money in your bank account and check their accounts, “When did I spend this money?”  Sometimes people can call the bank, “Explain, $1 is missing from my account”.  The bank must find out. 

Last year, a sports group took double the money from me that they should and I keep asking for a refund.  If someone said to me, “Collect money from my house on 22 February 2022 next year”, I won’t forget but if it’s a prayer meeting, I will forget.  When we cancel a meeting, we feel happy.  We are happy when we don’t go close to God. 

We often don’t worry about yesterday.  Worry will never change the future.  When I was baptised and I accepted Jesus in my life, I said, “I trust in You and I give everything to You so I can get eternal life”.  That is the number priority of my life, to enter the Kingdom of God.  We all want to go to heaven.  That is priority number one.  We don’t worry about going to heaven but we worry about things that are not important, e.g. what will I wear, what will people say.

Birds don’t’ worry about where to buy food.  Flowers don’t worry about how they will look attractive.  We often worry about the useless things.  God looks at us and asks us, do you trust in me? I have a friend in Australia who has been working hard there for 15 years.  Then suddenly he was able to buy a house and he was so proud of the house he bought and he put it on Facebook, how he came to Australia as a refugee and has a house without mortgage.  Many congratulated him. 

One month later a fire came from the bush.  He couldn’t fight against the fire.  He broke in tears.  He took photos and videos of the fire.  His wife said, “Do you trust in God?”  He said, “Stop that, we have lost everything”.  “Yes, but do you trust in God?  Better to be alive and let everything get burnt.  God provides and will give something to us tomorrow”.  The husband wasn’t happy.

The fire fighters came and told them to leave.  When he came back everything was melted and burnt to ashes.  He said, “What is the purpose for me to live better to die”.  How many people because of lack of trust in God can easily finish their lives for material things.  After death you will be judged.  You will go to hell for love of things?

The wife rang me, “Talk to him, he wants to commit suicide”.  He said, “This is unfair”.  God is not fair.  I answered, “Yes, God is not fair but now you have to trust in Him and don’t take your life but trust in God”.  He replied, “How to trust in God when He didn’t protect my house, where will I go with my family?”

When we are in trouble, where do we go?  Count what God has done for you in your life, look back.  If a danger is coming, tell danger before you, God did something greater.  Trust in God and you will do something great. 

I told him, “Why destroy what doesn’t belong to you, you already gave your life to Jesus.  Sometimes you hate people, hurt people, and those people are not yours.  What you took without permission is not yours”.  He was quiet.  3 days later, someone passed away from the church and in his will, he gave everything to the African family.  The size of the house was 2x the house my friend previously owned, he had a farm, cows and he gave everything to him.

God asked him, “Did you trust in me?” For 3 days he was crying, how weak I am and how I betrayed God.  If you fail, He is capable of picking you and putting you higher than before.  Trust in God and see how God works.

Do what is written in the Word of God, trust in God.  My prayer every morning, I go back to Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd.  That is what I tell God, “You are my shepherd, take care of me”.  No matter what happens in the day, He will protect me.  He will take me to the proper place to eat and drink.  When you pray in the morning, what do you tell God?  Do you ask God for blessing so that people will be happy with you, protect me God today.

Not a long time ago, Sylvie told me, “Odon I’m at work here and everyone looks at me differently.  I want friends but I don’t find any.  I need people to come close to me and they don’t come”.  I told her, sometimes we must integrate ourselves.  When we reach a place where no one knows you, approach them.

One friend of mine is in Belgium.  He was sent to a village there to claim for asylum.  You must go to the office to be interviewed.  The office opened at 9am but you need to wake up at 3am to stand outside to line up.  The temperature was minus 3 degrees which is freezing when coming from Africa.  He had to walk 6km to be there and when he reached there, there was a que of 200 people.  He was cold.  He waited for hours.  The people in the office went inside and slowly drank coffee.

One by one, the refugees were interviewed, why are you here.  He gave his explanation.  They told him to go back home and the result will come back for 5 years.  I have my wife and children I left behind.  They gave him a small financial assistance and put him in village where he knew no one.  He knocked on the first door.  The first person said, “What?”  “I’m new here”.  “Why?  Are you selling something?” “No”.

Every person in the area rejected him.  Finally he picked up a chair and sat outside and believed someone might feel sorry for him.  No one came.  He became depressed.  He found he was rejected and the world was against him.  I told him, remember that you have a good friend Jesus.  Trust in God.  Don’t trust in what people think or act in front of you, trust God.

One day, he went to a catholic church, “I need you to help me”.  The priest said, “We need to love even our enemies and help them”.  After 3 or 4 months, people can now interact with him.

Find your place where you fit in the Lord, even if you feel Jesus is far from you.  “God no matter what has happened, I trust in You and wait for You”.  We can easily fit ourselves in a rugby stadium to watch a game.  I have spent hours watching Americas cup.  I’m happy for that.  Do I spend time reading the Word of God and praying?

I remember the day that Ange married Pete, we went to church on Cate Street and many people were there and everyone looked flash.  It was very clean.  I came late and there was no carpark.  Once in church, there was nowhere to sit.  Because I didn’t have a place, I took my camera and started taking images not because I was a camera man but because I had nowhere to sit.

Ofa came to the piano and everyone was quiet.  She was so good.  Pete was young and slim. That day was a special day where no one wanted to miss that opportunity.  We should also make sure not to miss being in the Kingdom of God.  You have burdens, bring all (all) your burdens to me and I will take care of you.

Why do we refuse sometimes for Jesus to take care of us?  We say it is hard, God is saying, come to me with your burdens but we prefer to go to someone else.  God is saying, I am here for you, come.  If the Lord is your shepherd, who leads you.  We try as the flock to tell God what to do.

We were driving in the country and saw cows walking by themselves.  They knew it was time for milking.  When we don’t see Jesus with our eyes, do we continue to follow the path made for us and know it is the time for milking and know what the farmer wants to do for us.  There was one cow as a leader and without question the other cows followed because it was time.  We are living a time where Jesus is coming back soon, are you ready to meet with the Lord.  Are you in the que ready to enter the Kingdom of God?

If you don’t trust God, who else will you trust?  I used to trust my father, “Daddy can I have a dollar?” and he would give it to me and I didn’t worry if he didn’t have it.  Don’t worry, live as a child of God, trust in Him.

Pentecost

The Word hides eternal life.  Through the Word of God you discover life and without that Word there is no salvation.  I encourage people to go back to the Word of God and don’t rely on what people say or write.  Go back to the Bible yourself and read it.

Today is Pentecost.  All corners of the world celebrate the day that the Holy Spirit came down and the first church started.  This dream day, the day that the disciples of Jesus were waiting for the promise of Jesus.  He told them to be in one place and wait for the power of the  Holy Spirit to come down.  He didn’t tell them to gather to eat, party, laugh or to enjoy but to wait for something that is going to take place. 

God left Adam and Eve in the garden and in the evening, He would come back.  God said, “I will send a redeemer “.  Then people waited years for Jesus to be born.  Without waiting, we live without hope.  Our hope builds its foundations in waiting.  When we wait, we must know what we are waiting for.  The people of that time were waiting for the messiah but when He came they did not recognise him.  They missed the point.

Jesus left and said He would send the Holy Spirit, you have to wait.  That day in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit came down from heaven.  Remember before Pentecost the disciples had the Holy Spirit because Jesus had breathed on them but this day the Holy Spirit would act outside the box.  On the day of Pentecost God opened the doors. 

People from Africa and Asia came on that day and on that hour at 9am, all those people were gathered there and suddenly they started to hear the disciples speaking in their own languages.  These people are not from our country but they can speak our languages.  How intelligent is the Holy Spirit.  He brought those people there and then let them hear messages in their own languages.  Acts 2:12, amazed and perplexed they asked one another what this means. 

What does Pentecost mean to you?  Penta means 50.  50 days after Jesus resurrection.  What does 50 mean to you?  To remember that the Holy Spirit came down?  We will see the disciples talking about salvation.  Peter preaching.  All those who came before and after Jesus have been talking about the gospel and salvation.  Why is this day special?  If someone asks you about Pentecost, what will you say?  Pentecost was not only for Christians but for the worst in the world to come back to Jesus and repent.  Why was Holy Spirit sent down?

John 14:26, to teach us things about God.  Do you want to know about God? The main reference will be the Holy Spirit.  If you want to understand the teaching, go close to the Holy Spirit and tell Him to teach you.  Don’t ask for another human being but the Holy Spirit.  Put aside my personal opinion and only learn from the Holy Spirit.  The world is confused because many people listen to good speakers and think everything they say must be true and we become fans of that pastor rather than Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2: 10, but God has revealed it to us by His spirit.  The Holy Spirit can search things that are hidden, things of God, not only of human beings.  If you want to know about God, the best person to go to is the Holy Spirit.  Today we try to limit the Holy Spirit to the power He has but the Holy Spirit is more than power.  It is also more than normal intelligence because He can go deep into knowledge of God.

In New Zealand we have intelligence services and someone can read all that is on your computer.  Although Kim Dotcom was so intelligent and could use the computer properly but the intelligence services had access to all his information. Likewise, the Holy Spirit knows everything, your mind, your spirit, your body.  The Holy Spirit will be there to help you and He is not there for you to run from.  He is in us because He wants us to know Him and understand Him deeply.  We tell God that we want to understand Him, then the Holy Spirit says, “you have Me in you”.

If the Holy Spirit is in me, how do I live with him?  How do I let Him operate in me?  Before He left, Jesus said, “I will send you the Holy Spirit.  He will be there to guide you” (John 16).  If the Holy Spirit guides me, how often do I ask Him to guide me and in what do I ask for guidance?  To guide means to show, how and when.  You can’t guide someone who already knows.  If I know the way to Huntly I won’t need a guide.  The Holy Spirit is there to guide us in the things we don’t know, step by step, explaining to us how it works and how things should be, how to eat and sleep etc.  That is the role of the Holy Spirit.

King Solomon wanted wisdom and intelligence when God asked him what he wanted.  Our wisdom and intelligence today is the Holy Spirit because he searches even the mind of God.  Tell him, help me to understand things and He will take you step by step through the ways you should live.

1 Corinthians 2:11, who knows your thoughts?  Only your spirit.  My intelligence knows what I am thinking.  The spirit of human beings is only one role to manipulate.  You can see a 2 year old child trying to manipulate their parents.  That is the human spirit which is opposite to God’s spirit which is to teach us and guide us and show that Jesus is the true God.

Pentecost means 50.  What do you think when you see 50?  What does it mean for you?  A small 5 and a zero.  What does 50% mean?  Half.  This is a half: you must know that this half belongs to x and this half belongs to y.  Your life is not yours.  Although you can make a decision, remember you don’t have to make the decision by yourself.  Consult the Holy Spirit. 

My mother used to say to me at the 50^th minute of this hour, what did you do?  At the 50^th day of this year, what did you do?  After 50 minutes, it will soon be end of the hour, what will I do with remaining 10 minutes?  “Holy Spirit step in because I have been doing things for myself for the last 50 minutes”.

We only want the Holy Spirit to see miracles or to speak in tongues.  The Holy Spirit is always with you but you don’t have time to talk to Him.  It’s like me having my phone sitting next to Anna and I can be busy on my phone while Anna is there, can we talk?  Today, the world, the nature, our bodies distract us a lot and we forget about the presence of the Holy Spirit in us.  We work like people who don’t even care about Holy Spirit.  We sing for the Holy Spirit to come, “let it rain” and He will say, “I have rained already, I am here and everything is wet, it’s now up to you”.

You see people at work, university, and church, and driving using social media (texting, Facebook etc).  Tyrone wants to be a friend of Prasad and Prasad ignores him.  How will Tyrone feel?  You may give up.  God has chosen you and saved you and given His Son to die for you and the Holy Spirit is living in you but you ignore God for 20 years of him running after you.  He may give up on you too.

On the day of Pentecost, the gate was opened for the rest of the world.  This is the first church.  You and I are the church of God, how often does the Holy Spirit guide us?  If you want to know how to be guided by Holy Spirit, then read the Bible.  To know how to make Holy Spirit and Jesus your friend, all is written in Word of God and it’s just a matter of us reading it and concentrating. 

Pentecost is a wakeup call for the church.  The prophet Micah said, “at end of the day the spirit will come upon humanity”.  The Spirit of God is in our lives and we are living in the end of the days but I prefer to go to Asia to see a prophet to know about my life instead of getting guidance from the Holy Spirit (we seek human beings instead of the Holy Spirit).  You have the message from the Holy Spirit but many people are now choosing the wrong path and being misled because we put our faith and hope in human beings while that spirit can only control the intelligence of human being.

The Holy Spirit will live in you so tell Him yourself your situation then you will see God coming closer to you.  If I give my prayer requests to others, I become lazy.  We need to pray for each other but we also have the responsibility to talk to the Holy Spirit who is with us.  Asking others for advice is fine but we need to ask the Holy Spirit too.  “Holy Spirit teach me, tell me God’s plan in this situation”.

We shouldn’t take the Holy Spirit for granted.  Other religions don’t know the Holy Spirit.  We have that privilege to be Christian. The best gift God gave us is Jesus and the best gift Jesus gave us is the Holy Spirit.  Our Pentecost should be to tell Jesus, teach me how to understand the Holy Spirit and how to follow Him.

Only those that are sealed by Holy Spirit will go to heaven.  You have the visa to go to heaven.  Only those sealed by Holy Spirit will enter Kingdom of God.  If Ange is the one to guide me to Auckland and I tell her leave me alone I will do my own things, when it is time to drive to Auckland and I come back to Ange after 10 years pushing her away, Ange will refuse because the time has passed.  This means that we keep good friendship with Holy Spirit so on day that the Lord will come we won’t be surprised, we can easily go to meet with Jesus.

To live a normal life is fine but to live for eternal life is better.  Everything you do, prepare for eternal life not just this life that will finish soon. 

Let us pray and ask God how to live with the Holy Spirit.