Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that built it.”
South Africa is in a changing state right now. Important decisions are constantly been made. If there was a time for trusting God and know His will for our nation, it’s right now. Without the knowledge and wisdom of the Almighty as a foundation for the future of ZA, nothing is going to work out. God is changing and rearranging things around us; He is lining up the past, present and future in preparation for the end-time move of His Spirit. Year ago a well-known evangelist said that South African was unto a sleeping giant waiting to wake up by the Spirit of God (That was in the 70’s). I believe the time has come for us as a nation to rise up to the challenge and re-instate God to His rightful place so that once against we may be called “a Christian nation” as it once was. The winds are changing and for a while it might not be comfortable for many, yet if God is involved in EVERY ASPECT OF THIS NATION’S DECISIONS, we will succeed. I am encouraging you to begin to join other believers in ZA to pray each day and ask God to lead and guide us. How many time do we pass the opportunity to pray? Think about all the time we spend gossiping about what is wrong with this nation…now it we prayed as much…just think! This is what I have learned as a pastor: If I pray for someone and believe God answers prayer, then I find it difficult to gossip and speak badly against the ones I am praying for.2 Timothy 2:4 “No soldier in active service entangles himself with the affairs of everyday life, so he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” Thoughts for the day: The shortest distance between you and God is the distance between your knees and the floor. Sin will keep prayer away, likewise prayer will keep sin away. Rom. 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect. God's desire and intention in creating man is to have a full-grown corporate man who is filled with His life and accomplishes His purpose to express Him with His
image and represent Him with His dominion (see Gen. 1:26). The first man Adam fell, but God Himself became a man to bring in a new race, the God-man race, who can fulfill His purpose by His life. In order for us as the many God-men, the believers in Christ regenerated by His life, to arrive at a full-grown man that fulfills God's purpose, we need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind (see Eph. 4:23). The key to putting off the old man and putting on the new man is in being renewed in the spirit of our mind. Our mind is a battlefield, and whoever gains our mind gains the victory. At the time of our regeneration Christ as the life-giving Spirit came into our spirit, and we received God's life in our spirit. Now day by day the life-giving Spirit mingled with our spirit wants to spread into our mind (the leading part of our soul) and become the spirit of our mind. We need to cooperate with the renewing Spirit with our spirit and allow Him to spread in our mind, saturating our mind with the mingled spirit, and making our entire mind and being part of the new man (1 Cor. 6:17; Eph. 4:22, 24). The Way We Think Affects the Body and the New Man There is a close relationship between arriving to maturity, being the corporate full-grown man, and our mind. In Phil. 3:15 Paul tells us, Let us therefore, as many as are full grown, have this mind... - our maturity is a stage, and as we grow in life we are relatively mature. Someone who is full grown has "this mind" - the kind of mind that we have is an indicator of our maturity or the lack thereof. The footnote in the Recovery Version on, "this mind" is very enlightening, In this book the dealing with the Philippian believers is focused on the mind, the leading part of the soul. This book charges them to strive together with one soul along with the personified gospel (1:27), to think the same thing, to be joined in soul, even to think the one thing (2:2; 4:2), to let the mind that was in Christ be in them (2:5), and to have this one mind, a mind focused on the pursuing and gaining of Christ to the uttermost. When our mind is thus occupied, we have the same mind, thinking the same thing, even thinking the one thing — the fullest gaining of Christ — being joined in soul, like-souled (2:20), and made one soul. In Rom. 12:3 we see that we shouldn't think more highly of ourselves - no matter how much the Lord transforms us through the renewing of our mind (Rom.12:2), we need to think as so to be sober-minded, as God has apportioned to each one of us a measure of faith. The way we think affects the Body life, and the kind of mind we have affects the life of the one new man! We may think that we just have some concepts and views, and we won't express them....but because our mind is unrenewed, we are causing trouble in the Body of Christ and in the one new man. Your mind, when it comes out, affects the way you view things, and if it is not the mind of Christ, we cause problems. We need to have our mind renewed, and we need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind for the Body of Christ and for the one new man! We Need to be Renewed in the Spirit of our Mind We need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind Not many believers today speak about the matter of the mingled spirit spreading into our mind or about our need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind. But Eph. 4:23 is a vital verse, giving us the key to put off the old man (in v. 22) and to put on the new man (in v. 24).It is in this spirit that we are one, and when we live according to this spirit we are the one new man in practicality. We need to ask the Lord to strengthen us into our inner man so that our spirit would become strong (Eph. 3:16-19), and then we need to let the mingled spirit spread into our mind and become the spirit of our mind. Whenever we exercise our spirit and pray over the Word of God, read the life-giving ministry words, and enjoy the Lord in spirit, our mind is being renewed a little more. When our mind is being renewed, our whole being is being renewed, and we will have the proper living of the one new man. By our birth and growing up in our family and society we have a certain way of living, makeup, education, and mind. Some people are rough, while others are quite polite and kind. Some people have a quick temper, while others are more "chilled out". Some nations are more loving and welcoming, while others are cold and distant. The British may have a certain politeness, while the Americans are more quick and somehow more superficial. It's all in the mindset, the mind frame, that we were born with and grew up with. There are strongholds in our mind, no matter what race, culture, nationality, social background, etc. By regeneration, the one new man was born into our spirit, causing our spirit to become the inner man. Now daily we need to be strengthened with power into the inner man so that Christ may make His home in our heart, thereby becoming our person. This means that we need to be renewed in our mind. Any high thing needs to be torn down, and only God needs to be exulted (Isa. 2:11-12). All the reasonings, the thoughts, the high things, the national and cultural characteristics, etc - they all need to be torn down. We no longer need to walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the vanity of the mind - NO LONGER (Eph. 4:17). We may have walked like they did for many years, but now in the church life our daily living and walk needs to be no longer natural, cultural, or national. It is a disgrace and a shame to be a child of God, someone who loves the Lord, and yet live according to your natural, national, and cultural way! In your spirit you're a child of God, but in your concepts, way of thinking, and way of living you're just like any other unsaved person! We need to be renewed in the spirit of our mind so that we may have the mind of Christ and our living would be Christ living again on the earth corporately. We can get our mind renewed by allowing it to be filled, possessed, and taken over by the Spirit of God. We need to daily be in touch with the Lord, pray, fellowship with Him, call on His name, and make a thorough confession of our sins. Then we will be renewed in the spirit of our mind, we will be transformed, and this is for the practical expression of the one new man in our daily living. Actively Responding to the Lord's Word What should our response and reaction be when the Lord shines on us and exposes us of how much we live in our natural man and according to our national culture and makeup? Just as David received God's word concerning his son being the one who will build God a house and he prayed it back to the Lord, so we need to take God's word back to Him in prayer. May we not be those who unknowingly have slowed ourselves down through a "passive positive acceptance" of the ministry and God's word. That is, may we be those who don't merely accept the Word of God and agree with it in a passive way. We need to have an active positive response to God's word by agreeing with Him in our prayers! We need to practice contacting the Lord so that under His dispensing daily we can be renewed in the spirit of our mind for the one new man! It is good to tell Him again and again, Lord Jesus, save us from being a shame to You and to the name of a Christian by living in our natural disposition and our national makeup. Lord, we open to You, and we come to You to be renewed in the spirit of our mind. Renew our mind, dear Lord, and saturate our mind with the mingled spirit. Keep us in fellowship with You by calling on Your name, praying, pray-reading the Word, and confessing anything that You shine on with Your light. Lord, train us to take You as our person. Renew us in the spirit of our mind. We open our thoughts, opinions, ideas, and views to You. May the mingled spirit enter into our mind and saturate our mind. We want the mind of Christ for the one new man! References and Hymns on this Topic Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ron Kangas’ speaking in the message for this week, and portions from, The One New Man (chs. 3, 5), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Entering into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life to Arrive at a Full-Grown Man for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose, week 8 / msg 8, Arriving at a Full-grown Man (2) Growing Up into Christ in All Things, Learning Christ as the Reality Is in Jesus, and Being Renewed in the Spirit of the Mind (you can buy this morning revival book here). · Hymns on this topic: # Now we’re learning to turn to our spirit, / Now we’re learning to take Christ as life; / Now we’re learning to feed upon Jesus / And be freed from all struggling and strife. # We’re renewed and revived by the Lord day by day; / He is grace upon grace and refreshing as dew. / Shining brighter and brighter, our path’s a clear way, / As morning by morning His mercies are new. # Little by little, / The Lord is cutting off all our natural life; / As we grow in Him, / He replaces us with more of His life divine. / It is our destiny, / To live a normal life in the divine dispensing, / It is a blessing, / To be satisfied with ordinary days / in the divine dispensing. “...I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life,
that both you and your descendants may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:19, NKJV) Did you know that with your words you can either bless your future or curse your future? Your words have creative power. If you want to know what your life is going to be like five years from now, just listen to what you’re saying about yourself today. Too many people go around saying, “I’ll never get well.” “I’ll never get out of debt.” “It’s flu season. I’ll probably get it.” “This marriage is never going to last.” Then they wonder why they don’t see things turn around. It’s because they’re calling defeat into their future. They’re calling in mediocrity. Don’t let that be you! When you get up in the morning, no matter how you feel, no matter what things look like, instead of using your words to describe your situation, use your words to change your situation. Make a declaration of faith by saying, “This is going to be a great day. I have God’s favor. He’s directing my steps.” When you do that, you are choosing life for your future. You are calling in favor, increase and opportunities. Your words are coming into alignment with God’s Words, and when you align yourself with God, He’ll lead you into victory and blessing all the days of your life. Father, I commit my words to You today and choose to bless my future. Thank You for directing my steps. I keep my heart and mind focused on You in Jesus’ name. Amen. Joel & Victoria Osteen Ever think that living a healthy lifestyle is out of your grasp because your sweet tooth keeps overpowering your good intentions? Maybe your battle is with time and you feel like you'll never achieve a life where everything is harmonious. I have one little tip that can help improve your life tremendously—in all areas.
Commit to the 80/20 rule. Focus on your 80%. Leave 20% for flexibility. Here's how it works: 1. Go for the 80/20 rule with food. With this rule in mind, you can stay motivated and realistic. Choose healthy foods 80% of the time, or most of the time, and only indulge that sweet tooth 20% of the time or less. It's a good place to start. When you make the majority of your food choices healthy ones, your body will begin to crave the healthier choices. By thinking about the 80/20 rule, you can give yourself some freedom and flexibility to be human, but you'll be reminding yourself that most of your choices should be healthy. 2. Go for the 80/20 rule with exercise. Only skip exercise 20% of the time. If you want to take a day off from exercise, that’s OK, but commit to exercising most days of the week. 3. Go for the 80/20 rule with your precious time. Follow Stephen Covey’s advice and “Don’t prioritize your schedule, schedule those priorities.” Devote 80% of your day to your most important priorities. What things, if you accomplished them, would move the dial for you on your big goals? Sometimes we can entangle ourselves in the little stuff, but at the end of the day, we don’t feel like we were truly productive. Start your day with the major stuff, and let go of the minor stuff until your more important priorities are accomplished. 4. Go for the 80/20 with your mind. Work on that voice inside your head this year. Are most of your thoughts positive? While it would be fabulous to be 100% positive, 80% is a good place to start. Practice making your mind a positive place the majority of the time. Your thoughts determine how you feel—so why not choose the positive? 5. Go for 80/20 with your life. Do yourself a favor this year and toss out that life balance concept, it can make you chase perfection which is unobtainable. Lean your life toward what matters to you most. Make sure the majority of your time is spent on what you value most. Doing so will make you happier and you will feel a sense of calm because what you value internally will match the external. Think 80/20 this year. It’s a rule you'll actually enjoy following! Pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. Philippians 4:6
Heaven knows no difference between Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoon. God longs to speak as clearly in the workplace as he does in the sanctuary. He longs to be worshiped when we sit at the dinner table and not just when we come to his communion table. You may go days without thinking of him, but there's never a moment when he's not thinking of you. Knowing this, we understand Paul's rigorous goal: "We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). We can fathom why he urges us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), "be constant in prayer" (Romans 12:12) … and "let heaven fill your thoughts" (Colossians 4:2). The Great House of God (Max Lucado) "Do not judge lest you will be judged. For in the same way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2
Do you ever wish that certain people got what you felt they deserved--especially people who have wronged you? Do some people seem to get away with murder and not face any kind of punishment or repercussion? You may have seen the cartoon where the character prayed to God to smite his worst enemy, but got struck by lightning himself. Be careful what you pray for because sometimes you might find your own worst enemy is yourself. Jesus Christ says, "Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge others you will be judged as well." Don’t be so hard on others, because one day the gavel may fall on you. God doesn’t create anything without value. He is the ultimate craftsman. And He designed you specifically to fulfill a unique role in His ultimate plan to establish His kingdom on earth. Even though each of us has made mistakes, we are still a special work of the Creator’s hands. He even takes time to know about our day-to-day lives. In fact, He is smiling right now, rejoicing as you seek to discover the masterpiece you are to Him. The Bible says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). This verse helps us understand that if we want to discover our mission or purpose in life, we first need to look at the masterpiece God has made us to be. While self-Help books tell you to look within, I’m saying the key to living the life you were meant to live is to look to God and ask him to Help you discover your uniqueness. Once you discover who you are, then you can start figuring out what God has planned for you—the specific way He designed you to make a difference in the world for him. Another version of Ephesians 2:10 uses the word workmanship to describe our uniqueness. It’s a translation of the Greek word poiema, which means “work of art” and is the root of our English word poem. You are a work of God—and nothing but the highest and best comes from His hand. Your Unique Ministry God created you as a unique masterpiece because He has a purpose for your life—a specific and unique contribution that only you can make. What does that mean? Your contribution is the unique service God created you to make, a ministry only you can perform. It is the specific mission God has given you to fulfill for Him on earth. It is what I like to call your unique Kingdom Service. I define Kingdom Service as “your specific contribution to the body of Christ, within your generation, that causes you to totally depend on God and authentically display His love toward others.” Your Kingdom Service is way more than a career. It is a special commission from God to make a significant difference on this earth. I have discovered that most people, myself included, tend to define their contribution in life by one of three things: trends, what others tell them, or truth. When we let trends guide our life, we are simply living to fit into the current styles of the world. When we let others tell us what we should be doing, we are living to please them and win their approval. But when we let God’s truth define our Kingdom Service, submitting to His authority and desiring to please only Him, we are able to lead a life of lasting significance, fulfillment, and Kingdom impact. With this encouragement, challenge yourself to invest in God’s kingdom in a way that will last long after you are gone. Be a contributor, not a consumer. For some people, that means trading a career for a full-time ministry. For most of us, however, finding and fulfilling our Kingdom Service means discovering how God wants us to minister in the paths and relationships of the daily lives He has given us. For all of us, it means determining that we will let God use us to impact eternity and leave a Heavenly legacy on earth. Have a splendid day!!!! Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour ...... floods upon the DRY ground! - God wants to pour His plenteous, divine blessings into your life. - But He is looking for a vessel that needs to be filled. - So if you feel dry or a little empty, you're an ideal candidate. - Lift your empty hands to Him and let Him fill them. PRAYER: Lord, as I hold my hands towards You, would You come and fill me. Amen. GENESIS 15:12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram… In business, sleeping or silent partners don’t work but still take home huge profits. They are like the wife of the boxing champion. He gets badly beaten up to win the prize money. But when he gets home, his wife takes it from him and says, “Thank you very much, darling!” Do you know that in your covenant with God, you are like the boxer’s wife or the sleeping partner? When Abraham asked God how he would know for sure that he would inherit the land that God had promised him, God made a covenant with him. (Genesis 15:8–21) But instead of cutting the covenant with Abraham by walking in between the animal pieces with him, God put Abraham into a deep sleep and cut the covenant with Jesus instead. Jesus, the light of the world, appeared as the pillar of fire and cut the covenant with God the Father who appeared as the pillar of cloud. In other words, Jesus took Abraham’s place. He was perfect Man representing Abraham when He cut the covenant with His Father. By substituting Abraham with Jesus, God was being gracious because if Abraham had done it, he would also have been responsible for keeping the covenant. And Abraham, being a mere man, would fail. But God the Son can never fail! Abraham’s blessings were therefore guaranteed because they did not depend on his performance but Jesus’ performance. Abraham was literally a sleeping partner, a beneficiary of the covenant. Today, God has also made a covenant with you, called the new covenant. And like Abraham, you are a sleeping partner because the new covenant was also cut between God the Father and God the Son at Calvary. You are simply a beneficiary of the new covenant. You enjoy all its benefits without having to work at keeping it. Jesus, your representative, has already fulfilled all the conditions on your behalf. And because His obedience is perfect and His work is perfectly finished, the covenant blessings for you are guaranteed! My friend, there is nothing left for you to do, but everything for you to believe. Don’t try to work for your covenant blessings. Rest in the Son’s finished work and receive them by faith! My kingdom does not belong to this world. John 18:36
Unhappiness on earth cultivates a hunger for heaven. By gracing us with a deep dissatisfaction, God holds our attention. The only tragedy, then, is to be satisfied prematurely. To settle for earth. To be content in a strange land… We are not happy here because we are not at home here. We are not happy here because we are not supposed to be happy here. We are "like foreigners and strangers in this world" (1 Peter 2:11)… And you will never be completely happy on earth simply because you were not made for earth. Oh, you will have your moments of joy. You will catch glimpses of light. You will know moments or even days of peace. But they simply do not compare with the happiness that lies ahead. When God Whispers Your Name (Max Lucado) |
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