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. 

Mark of Human Being

A few years ago, Odon gave us a message about birth marks.  Today I am summarising that message and including my own examples.

God gives us a mark (like a birth mark) and those marks define us and are signs of our natural abilities.  Some people can do 3 things at once while others must think 9x before doing just one thing.  Some people fear exams and others just joke with exams.  These are physical marks but there are also spiritual marks which are more important than physical marks. 

For example, I watched Will Smith hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars and I was shocked.  This made me feel sick.  Then the award ceremony continued and then he won the award and to make things worse, Will Smith justified his actions.  I know he has since apologized but at the time, it was incredibly shocking and there didn’t seem to be any consequences for hitting someone.  I thought, if Chris Rock had been a woman, how differently it would have been handled.  I wondered, is Will Smith always this angry?  Is Will Smith mentally ok?  Is this who Will Smith really is?  Will Smith has natural abilities (marks) of acting, singing, dancing and comedy.  What are his spiritual marks?  Which then made me ask myself, what are my spiritual marks?  Am I any better than Will Smith?  Just because I don’t physically hit people, does it make it any better when I talk about others behind their back or when I feel angry or impatient in my heart against people?

The soul of Abel complained to God.  God gave a sign for a dead body.  Although our bodies die, life continues.  God asked Cain, “Why did you kill your brother?”.  God put a sign on Cain so no one would kill him.  In Genesis 4:15, it says, “But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him”. 

 

Sometimes God comes to us as sinners and He realizes that if He thinks about those sins, He will kills us or others will kills us so He puts a sign on us.  It’s called grace.  That mark of grace is more important than anything, more important than my life.  We don’t deserve grace but it is given to us.  It is priceless and can’t be exchanged.

 

The first mark of being a human being is seen in Cain where he didn’t use the mark of grace properly.  Cain didn’t say sorry.  Like us today, when we are wrong, we don’t say sorry, we struggle with humility.  This was the same with Will Smith, at first he struggled with humility (we’ve all been there) but later he apologized in a written statement.  It doesn’t justify what Will did and he is still accountable for his actions but that’s how grace works.  God still holds us accountable when we sin (we reap what we sow), but grace means that we are saved from the wages of sin which is death.

Moses was also given a mark.  When Moses came down from the mountain after meeting with God, his face was shining.   Moses covered his face so people could look at him.  When you were born again, the love you have for God shines through you.  After a while Moses’ shining face disappeared and that is the same with Christians.  We first shine brightly but after a few years, we lose our love for Christ.  Does Jesus still shine in my heart?  Does He still shine in your heart?

People knew Jesus was from God because of the miracles.  How do people know if you are from God?  What is the difference between you and fake Christians?  Your fruits, the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, and faithfulness.  If Will Smith had just one of these fruits, he would not have reacted the way he did.  I’m not judging Will Smith because I’m definitely not any better (I don’t hit people or yell at them but I can lack self-control when it comes to my thoughts or kindness when it comes to gossip or peace & gentleness when I’m feeling stressed). 

 

Nicodemus asked God how to be born again and God humbled him by reminding him that at his level, he should know.  Humility is a good sign and we must all keep it.  It’s pride that makes us act badly.  Will Smith was offended by the joke and anger rose up and he lashed out.  Stay humble, keep the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  These are the marks of Jesus in us.  The signs that we belong to God.

In Luke 15 we read about the prodigal son.  His sign/mark was money.  This kept him from being with his father.  What keeps us from our Father?  Money, family, job? 

Envy has a distinctive mark.  What is your spiritual birth mark?  Is it your actions, your praying, your gifts?  Whoever has the seal of the Holy Spirit can’t remove that seal.  Why did God save me, why did God give me grace while others deserve more than me?  God is making us to be members of His family.  God wants us to take a role in His family.  We must first know who our Father is and what He likes and doesn’t like.  We have been invited into God’s family and we must spend time with our family.

Questions to ask ourselves

• 1.     Does God have room in my life?
• 2.     How shall I make God happy? Do I give God the first place in my family?
• 3.     How is my conversation with members of God’s family?
• 4.     What’s the sign/mark on me?  Does it prove that I belong to God? 
• 5.     Remember your first love, when you first become a Christian.  What did you tell God?  That is your birth mark.

In summary, the mark of God on us is grace.  Grace can’t be bought, can’t be exchanged and can’t be deserved.  If I have grace then I need to remember that I have grace despite what I have done (not because of what I have done).  I can’t judge others and think they don’t deserve grace but instead give them God’s grace.  I must be grateful everyday for God’s grace and use the gifts and talents God has given me for His glory.  I must also share God’s grace with others and bring them into God’s family also.

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”.  

God Our Father

We are going to praise God because we were all born, including Adam.  As we sang and as we heard from the communion message, we are all sons of God.  This has nothing to do with gender.  We are children of God and it’s not a matter of being a boy or girl.

In the book of Mathew 6:9, JESUS was telling us how to pray and He started the prayer with “Our Father who art in heaven”.  JESUS’ advice is to start prayer with “Our father”.

Who is the father?  God is big, powerful and someone we fear with supernatural power but when talk about a father it is different.  JESUS told us to be like children to enter the Kingdom of God.  A child in front of a father will say, “Daddy hold me, daddy carry me, daddy I want this”.  A father can be in the middle of a meeting and the child can come in without reason and the dad will pick up the child and make sure he is safe.

God wants us to treat him like a father taking care of his children.  Do we really behave like children of God or like teenagers?  To be a child is good.  When I was a child, if I stepped on something dirty, my dad would clean my feet. Children are fed and the parents look after their children 24/7.

God is sufficient. God is Everything.  God is man and woman at the same time.  For that reason God created a human being in His image.  What is the image of God?  God has existed for eternity.  Genesis 1:7, God created Adam and Eve and then later in chapter 2 He came down and using His hands touching the dust, He then made Adam’s body.  The eternal life met with the temporary life. 

God decided to come down and meet with us and decided to create something that He will call son.  Adam and Eve were created on the same day spiritually before God created Adam and Eve physically.

If you look at our prayer that Jesus gave us in Mat 6, many people who speak Aramaic will start with Abwoon  which is a blending of Abba (Father) and Woon meaning Womb (Mother) because God is mother and father at the same time. 

When God created Adam He breathed into that body.  Eve was inside Adam.  As Adam was taking care of all creation, he saw that God created male and female animals but not human because the human being was given everything they needed in them.  God saw that Adam was lonely and bored so God decided to go down to separate Eve from Adam so that there could be companionship.  Woman was separated from Man.

Adam was the first man to give birth, from his side God took out Eve.  Adam wasn’t born and reflected that divinity and eternity.  He didn’t have mother or father.  This is another part of the image of God on earth.  When Adam woke up, he saw Eve and he said, “Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh”.  He knew that he was the image of God and therefore the self-sufficient and knew God had separated from him what was inside of him.  You can only be a child of God if you reflect God’s image in you.  Jesus taught us you must be born again.

On earth, mother and fathers will teach us principles.  E.g. this is not a Kiwi way, this behaviour is unacceptable but for other families, it will be acceptable.  Families will teach you how to behaviour and what is considered normal but this might not be considered normal to other families.  When you marry, the husband will come with his own education and the wife will also have her own education.  Now they stay together, there is a battle.  What one believes is not what the other believes.  Therefore, God says, if you want the right education, read the Word of God and that is the perfect way to live, not what your mum or dad taught you.

If I go from the Word of God, I go astray.  Therefore, God wants us to be self-sufficient with Him and not separate from Him.  The day He separated Eve from Adam, Adam could not give birth anymore, he had to go to Eve.  Even if Eve wanted a child, she can’t without Adam.  They had to complete each other.  When we are trying to complete each other, there is a danger because the devil will try to destroy. 

Leah and Rebekah, they are children of Ange, who can separate that?  No one can separate it even if Angela is sick in hospital, she will still be mother of those children.  Nothing can separate them.  When satan came to meet Eve, he lied to Eve and mislead her.  Why did he mislead her?  Because God gave a big responsibility to Eve to be the one to produce life.  God said to both Adam and Eve, “You have to multiply,” but he gave Eve the capacity to hold life in her. 

You can see a very small lady can hold a baby in womb.  The baby can move around but the lady will hold that heaviness.  God has given hips to women to hold baby.  It would be a disaster if men got pregnant because we are careless.  Men can be stupid.  I’ve seen men going to jail because they have put children in a washing machine or something stupid like that. 

God trusted a woman and gave the job of giving life to women.  Satan realised by Eve having the ability to give life, he will lose.  The devil didn’t want women to conceive only life, he wanted them to also conceive sin.  Satan brought temptation.  The church is also a picture of women.  The church starts to stray from God.  We start to walk a life that we used to think was not a part of Christian life and it becomes a character of and part of our lives because we have walked away from will of God.

Adam and Eve stayed in the garden for a time but left when God put them aside.  Jesus came as a second Adam miraculously as well.  For God to produce a new woman, Jesus was pierced on the same side as the rib that was taken from Adam to create Eve.  This reflected the notion of God removing a rib from Adam and creating Eve.  By being pierced, the curtain ripped and a new woman was seen (the church) and through Christ, we have salvation.

The church treats God as God rather than our father so we don’t come close to Him and we don’t have time to come near Him.  I used to call my father sheriff because he had no jokes and if he sees you playing around, he will have a look and if you see him, you knew you would be punished.  We had rules and we weren’t allowed to do some things.

When I was around 8 years old, he asked for a cotton ball but he called it a name that I hadn’t heard of before and I had no right to ask what he meant.  If I came back without it, it will be punishment.  I couldn’t even check a dictionary.  Sometimes human beings can treat us harshly and let us down but God is telling us, you have to be born again, “You have learnt a lot of rules from your parents, you have been disappointed, come to Me and I will be your father and your mother, I will take care of you”.

Life has seasons as we all know.  In summer we wear light clothing but in winter you see people preparing for cold with warmer clothing.  Today the church doesn’t look at the seasons, we are just as we are. For example, if we have a nice top for summer, we wear it for winter because others like the top.  When the seasons are changing, we need to change and not stay in the same place just because others said we look cool.

Last year’s spring is different to this year’s spring.  Never put your trust 100% in other people but only trust in God our heavenly father.  If you put your trust in someone who is next to you like Adam put his trust in Eve, you will be misled.  How many times have you fallen into traps because you didn’t want to disappoint someone?  How many times did you sin because you didn’t want others to think you were different? 

Pride can make you become a fallen angel.  Arrogance can make you become someone who is not a child of God.  Sins come like a suggestion and you have the capacity to say no.  According to the education of God our father, you have to say no.

When Leah is at home she feels free but she won’t feel free at my place.  Leah can walk freely into Ange’s room but she won’t come into my house and go freely into my room.  Why do we limit ourselves to not access rooms of Gods Kingdom and all the corners of God’s Kingdom?   We try to reject God and consider more our friends.  Leah will have secrets she won’t tell her mum but she can tell her friends.  Friends with friends will mislead each other and do wrong things.

In 1 Cor 4:15 it says that you can have 10,000 of guardians but you don’t have many fathers.  My biological father is my guardian.  The people who surround us are just guardians and they can teach us but they are not our fathers.  We can go to church and listen to the pastor and read books, these people are guardians but not fathers.  Jesus reminded us in Mat 5, call no one your father but the one in heaven.

When there is a danger or challenge, children will go to their father but today we prefer to make our guardians our fathers and put our fathers aside.  We need to pray and ask God for direction.  If you are a child of God, you are not a boy or girl, you are self-sufficient with God because God completes you.  If you look at our blood, there is not feminine or manly blood.  A man can take a women’s blood and it won’t harm (provided they have the same blood type).  Women are not weak, in front of God, that is not true.

In the Kingdom of God we won’t have men or women in heaven.  We live like angels.  Why to make yourself look weak or think you don’t deserve because of your gender.  We need to move with God.  When you pray remember to call God your father.  Anything you wanted from your father, get it. Even when our fathers are wrong, they continue to be our fathers.  They can have rules which can be tough, they can have mistakes but they continue to be our fathers.

God our father has never made mistakes, He is sinless.  One time my father smacked my face because I didn’t notice a lady walking past and he thought I looked badly at the lady.  When he realised that I didn’t do wrong, he said sorry.  God will never punish you but encourage you not to sin.  Imagine if God could punish you like our court system, maybe every day you will be in jail and the list will be a long list of crimes.  From birth to now, how many mistakes have you made?

Easter

What does Easter mean?  Jesus was arrested on the Friday night, crucified and today He is alive.  Why was He arrested?  Why was He crucified?  Why did He come back to life?

The cross at that time was the maximum penalty, there was no worse punishment, it was the maximum pain.  Jesus accepted to go through that for us to be saved.  We believe in Jesus because He died for us. 

While on the cross, He said a few words and then at the end He said, “It is finished”.  Someone came with a spear and stabbed Him in the side after He’d already died.  Water and blood came out.  Usually only blood should come out.  The water was separated from the blood.  Miraculous.  This is only seen when a baby is born. 

When we trust in Jesus, when we go to the cross, we see our new birth, we are born again.  Repent, ask for Jesus blood to wash you and with that blood, we are born again.  Jesus accepts us as new children. 

One day we will die or Jesus will come back for us.  We need to be ready for that.  To be ready we need to:

1. Accept to know what is sin and try your best to live without sin and if you do sin, repent.  If you know how to repent and ask for forgiveness, this is a big step.
2. Feed your soul.  Read your Bible daily.
3. Actions.  On the day of judgement, Jesus will sit on the throne and you will be judged only by your actions.  If your actions are not good, fix them.  If you have a problem, fix that problem with that person. Mark 11:25, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”  Don’t wait for the person to come to you, go to them. 

Jesus died for you to be saved and we can be children of God.  We must prepare our way for heaven.  The only thing you will take with  you to heaven is your soul and your actions so be careful with your actions.  Do you treat yourself as a Christian or not?  Am I a good Christian or not?  If Jesus comes back now, will He take me or not.

Wait on the Lord

 There are lots of verses that say, “wait for the Lord”.  We have discussed this many times before and all agree that it is not waiting “for” the Lord but rather waiting “on” the Lord.  There is a big difference.

If we go to a restaurant, the customer sits down and the waiter comes to the customer to “wait” on them.  The waiter asks the customer, “How can I help you? Would you like something to drink? Would you like to order your meal now?”  The waiter waits for the answer and then does what they are told.  It would be a disaster of the waiter came back with fish when the customer asked for lamb, especially if the customer was allergic to fish.  Everyone would wonder whether the waiter doesn’t listen or if they are careless. 

It is the same with God.  He is sitting on His throne and we come to Him to wait on Him.  Sometimes we might have to wait a while before He tells us what to do.  Sometimes we might ask questions, “Shall I do this or that?”  God gives us directions and we must obey.  We obey because we know it will be a disaster if we don’t.

It’s different with a café.  When we go to a café, the customer stands up and orders their meal at counter.  The customer goes to the shop assistant rather than a waiter coming to the customer.  The shop assistant waits for the customer.  God doesn’t work that way.  We don’t wait for God to come to us.  God is on His throne.  He doesn’t leave His throne to wait on us.  We have to come to Him.  “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (John 4:8).

We sometimes think that we can do what we want and God will come down and intervene.  We sometimes think that we can sit down and wait for God to come to us.  God won’t.  We have to make an effort to go to Him like a waiter.  We are His servants not the other way around.  We have to make the time for Him, to pray, read His Word, to listen to His voice.  He is the King above all kings.  We wouldn’t expect the Queen of England to come to us, we go to her.

In Ruth 1:1, “In the days the judges ruled”.  In the days that the judges ruled, “everyone did as they saw right in their own eyes” Judges 21:25.  Sometimes we do what we want instead of waiting to know what God wants.  Imagine a waiter at a restaurant bringing you something and you didn’t even ask for it.  You won’t be happy if the waiter brings you something you can’t stand to eat and then demands you pay for it.

In Ruth 1:1, Naomi and her husband left Bethlehem.  Bethlehem means the house of the bread of God.  Naomi and her husband left God’s house to do what was right in their own eyes.  We have to be careful not to leave God because that’s where we are fed spiritually.  We have to be careful not to do what is right in our own eyes but to seek God and wait for Him to lead us.

Once in Moab, Naomi’s sons married Moabite women which is against God’s law to marry a non-Israelite.  When we leave God’s house of bread (Word of God) and His presence, it is easy to make wrong decisions that are against His law.

Once Naomi’s husband and sons died, Naomi had to go back to the Lord’s house of bread.  The Lord’s bread didn’t come to Naomi.  She had to go back to the Lord.  We must always go back to God.  We must always be in His presence waiting on Him.  When we make the mistake of leaving and doing what is right in our own eyes, we have to make a decision to come back to God.  He won’t come after us.  Just like the prodigal son.  The father didn’t go after him, the son had to come back to the father.

Let’s wait on God.

Preparing to Hear the Message of God and Pray Together

 

Apollos

Acts 18:24-28, Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more accurately.  When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. 

Apollos was might in scriptures.  He had been instructed in God’s ways and was fervent in spirit.  He was speaking accurately in the things concerning Jesus.  He spoke boldly in the synagogue even though he didn’t know everything.  Then Priscilla and Aquilla heard him and took him aside and explained to him God’s ways more accurately. 

Then Apollos wanted to go to Achaia and Christians encouraged him and helped him by writing to the disciples and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who believed and he demonstrated using the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ, the Savior/Messiah.

Tonight we are meeting together and we all are mighty in scriptures because for many years we have been dedicated to reading the Word of God, meditating on it and using it to worship God and pray.  Although we don’t know everything, with the little we do know, we have been speaking accurately about Jesus to each other and to our family, friends and work colleagues etc.

Tonight we will have a message and I trust that this time that we have taken aside will be used by God to teach us more about His way.  It will be a time to encourage us.

Achaia means grief/trouble and most of the time we want to avoid grief/trouble but as Christians we can’t avoid it, it is part of the journey that God has for us.  Tonight we are going to be like Priscilla and Aquilla and the other Christians who encouraged Apollos.  We will encourage each other tonight through being together, praying together, worshipping together and hearing God’s Word.  This encouragement is vital and will greatly help us to pray for other tonight and will give us the boldness to keep sharing God’s Word.

Let’s begin our night by praising God for His Word and His encouragement to us.  Let’s thank God for each other because we can’t go through grief or trouble without God and each other.

Now let’s pray for God’s Spirit to full us with fervor, encouragement and help us to have a greater understanding of God’s ways so we can pray accordingly.

Grief or trouble can be a temptation for us.  Pain, suffering, tiredness and difficult relationships can all lead us to sin.  Let’s pray that God will help us to overcome temptations.  Let’s take some time now to repent from those times we have fallen into temptation this week and let’s decide to not fall again.  Let’s pray against evil spirits that will try to tempt us tonight.

Communion - John 1:29 - The Lamb of God

 John 1:29, The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’

When we take the bread and juice, this is what we are to remember, that God came down from heaven, took on the form of man and became the lamb of God, the sacrificed lamb to die on a cross so that our sin can be taken away.  He did this for us.  God Himself paid the price.

Imagine Bill Gates, billionaire, accepting to go to jail for you.  Not even dying for you, just jail.  He won’t.  Bill Gates isn’t even as powerful or as rich as God and yet God Himself died for you. 

Are you aware that if the top richest people in the world pooled all their money together we would end poverty and sickness and they would still have $40 billion dollars each but they can’t sacrifice their money for others.  Yet Jesus, God Himself, didn’t just sacrifice money but he sacrificed Himself.

Isaiah 53:5 says He was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace [peace with God] and with His stripes we are healed.

As we eat the bread, let’s remember his body that was wounded for us and crushed for us and chastised for us.  As we drink the juice, let’s remember His blood that flowed so we might be forgiven.

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.