THERE IS SURELY FUTURE AND HOPE FOR YOU
___________________________________________________
CREATED TO BE IN CHARGE
The starting point is to acknowledge your present situation. Acknowledge that, while everything look good in your life, your heart is full of fear, doubt and uncertainty. Step forward and confess before God that you feel a certain discomfort about your relationship with Him. Tell Him you feel disconnected to Him and your love is cold. He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all your unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Friend, it is not over yet. I want you to know that; “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Proverbs 23:18) Allow Him to rearrange and balance your life today. Yes, He can.
Maybe you have never humbled yourself in the presence of God and pour out your heart to Him. There is no formula to do this, but this prayer maybe helpful to launch you;
Pray this prayer and say;
Dear God in Heaven
I call upon your Name
Just to tell you
How sorry I am about my life
You love me so much and;
I did not care
Yes, it is true
My life is in darkness
I need your light today
I believe that Jesus is the Light
I receive Him as Saviour and
Light of my life
I say with my mouth; Jesus is Lord
I believe He died to save me
I put my trust in Him today
Thank you for listening to me
I believe I am now saved
Thank you
Amen.
CREATED TO BE IN CHARGE
God’s love for us is inspired by the plan and purpose He has for our lives. We get some clues when we read in the first book of the Bible - Genesis where it all started. The Word of God tells us about His feelings when He created the first man. We read in Genesis 1:26; “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Man was created to be in the image of God, in the like of God, and man must rule the earth; in other words, man must share these attributes with God. All human beings are like God in form and likeness. You and I are like God. We were created to be in charge.
In simple terms, man must be like God and represent God on earth. This is the purpose why He created us. We are created to rule the earth. “Then God blessed them, and God said to them; ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” (Genesis 1:28)
This is a faithful saying and God always remembers it. It pleases God when human beings rule and subdue the earth for, for this reason they were created. On the other hand, God is displeased when He sees us down-trotted and reduced to subjects on the earth we were created to rule. Man may forget, but God will never forget why He created man, in the first place. It may escape man’s mind but God will always remember. The Bible tells us that Israel forgot and was carried over to Babylon as slaves. For seventy years they were there in the house of bondage, but God never forgot His declaration. He instructed Jeremiah the prophet to write to them a letter. Hereunder is a snippet of that letter; “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Sometimes we drift so far away from God we lose sense of His presence. Our conscience become so numb we can walk straight into danger without any filling. But even in this state, God remains committed to His plan and purpose for man. He wants man to rule and subdue the earth. His thoughts towards us are thoughts of peace and not of evil.
Your life may have grounded to a halt; but God says His thoughts are to give you a future and hope. God says there is a future and hope. You can still come to your senses and; like the prodigal son, rise up from the ashes of your defeat and one step, two steps, three steps back to your father’s house. Brave it through and come to the gates of your Father’s house and tell Him; “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” He will pardon you and throw a welcome party. (Luke 15:17,18) Instead of making you one of His servants as you requested, He will restore you, for He created you to be in charge.
__________________________________________________
WHAT MANNER OF LOVE!
The world we live in is full of hatred, anger, pain, and misery; so much that some have completely lost the taste of love. Love has become a rare attribute to find in people these days. In some instances when you find it, it is fake and insincere. It looks like dogs love human beings more than human beings love one another.
Man has tried almost everything to restore love among people. We have tried philanthropic organisations, annual national days, valentine's day, periodic family gatherings, parties, and many other come-togethers, yet the rift is deepening - things are disintegrating. It seems the one thing that aggravates things is that, man cannot admit that his plans are not working. If they do, the centre cannot hold for long. Man cannot initiate love; only God can, since God is love. Love outside God has no force to hold things together.
What shall we do when the world has turned so ugly and people so cold towards one another? What shall we do when human effort to uphold relationships melt under the heat of life challenges?
Friend; in the midst of all these uncertainties, there is a glimpse of hope, a ray of silver line around black clouds. When people are hostile and your circumstances ready to grill you one more time; there is a message that can turn things around. When all hope is gone, there is a God who gives hope and understands love. Real love emanates from God to mankind and from mankind to mankind. There is no love without God the same as there is no light without the sun in this universe. Man cannot manufacture love. Love is a product of heaven produced by God Himself.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
God’s love reaches out to all the nations of the world. His love is not determined by our circumstance. He loves us without considering our skin tone, our social standing, our academic achievement or lack there of. God loves all people everywhere. Although some openly hate Him and may even curse Him without consideration; He loves them too. Others, deliberately pay no attention to Him at all, yet His love for them is uncensored. What manner of love is this?
Is there perhaps something that compels God to love us? Is it maybe that we are found blameless and, thus, deserve His love? Is it something we did that’s applying pressure on Him to act in this manner? Who is compelling God to do what He is doing? No, my friend! God is not under any obligation to love us. He is a Sovereign God and answers to no one. He does what He does out of His own volition.
God loves us out of His own free will. He loves us generously; every one of us the same: Those who pay attention to Him and those who pay no attention alike. He demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
“ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) NKJV
“But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.” (Romans 5:8) The Message
WHAT MANNER OF LOVE IS THIS?
_____________________________________________
SOW A SEED AND IT WILL GROW AND GIVE YOU A HARVEST
Giving is like sowing. When you give to God's work, you are sowing a seed in God's field. Satan knows this and he tries by all means to hinder this principle. He does this by sowing tare, in the same field where a good seed has been sown. He plants misunderstanding and opposing thoughts in people’s minds. Satan is aware that once the principle is hindered, the blessing will be delayed, and, in some instances, blocked altogether.
Secondly; Satan knows that giving is a spiritual law that releases God's resources to those who give. How can we make this point clearer? When the devil discourages you to give; know from today my friend that He is not doing it to help you – no! He is doing this to keep you at a disadvantage point. He is subjecting you to the system from where God intends to set you free. The devil does this to guarantee that you are trapped in a survival mode and never come to the fullness of the resources God promises His children in His Word.
According to the world and how its systems operate, giving is loss. It decreases your assets. It makes you remain with less. This is how the world views it. On the other hand; with God when you give you gain. Giving increases your assets. God says giving is like sowing a seed. One seed sown in the ground brings forth in multiples. Jesus said; “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 10:38)
Here's another thing to note. Everything produces after its kind. Apple tree will always produce apples; mango, mangoes; lion, lions; monkey, monkies; etc. This is how God instituted it. “And he said, Let the earth burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant, and fruit trees with seeds inside the fruit, so that these seeds will produce the kinds of plants and fruits they came from. And so it was, and God was pleased.” (Genesis 1:11,12)
Make sure you never miss an opportunity to sow your seed. Do not let your season pass by. “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22) Every time it is summer time, every time it is seedtime; sow your seed, for the next season will be harvest time. Every time you are presented with an opportunity and you are able; sow your seed for in due time you will reap in multiples of hundred.
To avoid doing it God’s way, we’ve tried hard work
The problems we are going through at the end of the month cannot be solved by working hard. My friend they cannot be solved by working two jobs at a time. You will work day and night but still not come out of debts. You will never get out of your financial problems by your own strength or ability. You need God’s help. You are making a big mistake when you think you can do it on your own. Your own strength or wisdom will make you come out of debts only to get back sooner than you anticipated. Today you are out, tomorrow you are in again; for earnings are never meant to be enough to keep you out of that trap.
Earnings are calculated to make you survive. Judge for yourself; anyone who is on a salary or wages is barely surviving. It does not matter how much you earn; you are just surviving. You say what do you mean Pastor? Okay; let’s see if this is true. Can you miss your month’s salary and manage the next month without swiping your credit card? If a salary was meant to make you rich, why are big earners in debts? Why are big earners always guilty of white collar crime? Who misappropriates million in government departments? Tell me; big earners or small earners? Judge for yourself and make your own conclusion. This is a system no one can break except God Himself.
My friend; the devil knows your exit gate out of your financial problems. That’s why he guards it day and night. He knows that, once the light of this truth shines in your heart, you will be free from this bondage. God created you, He also created money (silver and gold). I am convinced, He knows how the two should relate.
Quit screaming; WHERE IS GOD AT THE END OF THE MONTH and start saying WHERE DO I SOW MY SEED AT THE END OF THE MONTH and this will activate the promise in your life.
GOD’S VIEW OF FINANCE v/s THE WORLD'S VIEW FINANCE
"But seek first the kingdoma of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33)
The principle Jesus is teaching here is; TAKE CARE OF GOD’S BUSINESS AND HE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR LIFE. Make God’s business your business and He will make your life His business. We need to grow out of the world’s orientation. We have always been taught contrary to what God is saying in His Word concerning our lives. You see the world system is a system of survival. But God’s system is a system of abundance and progression. The difference in our lives is going to depend on which system we choose operate;
THE WORLD SYSTEM
or
GOD’S SYSTEM
The world system is about ME and MINE. It is about my money, my property, my car, my wife, my children and many, many other ‘MYs.’ God’s system is about God and His Kingdom and this is how it operates; God and His Kingdom comes first in my life i.e. God’s work occupies the first place in every area of my life, money included. “Oh Pastor; How possible is this?” It is possible if you know that your money is, in fact, God’s money. As long as it is still your money, it will not be possible; but as soon as you turn it over to where it belongs – with God, all things will be possible.
God can do better with your ten percent than you
When you serve God (with everything; your life and your money) He takes care of you. God can do more with that ten percent than you. The devil wants you to believe that, that ten percent can make a big difference if you keep it. Haven’t you realised that when someone gives you an amount equivalent to ten percent of your income, not much change is done on your finance?
God’s system multiplies by hundred. When you give Him your money, He promises you a hundred fold return. Hundred fold means what you give multiplied by hundred. This is what God does when you trust Him with your money. GIVE IT TO GOD AND IT WILL BE MULTIPLIED BY HUNDRED; KEEP IT AND IT WILL BE DIVIDED BY HUNDRED and you cry out “WHERE IS GOD AT THE END OF THE MONTH”.
Jesus continues to illustrate His point. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28-29) Life is more important than the clothes we wear. It is good; we must wear nice and look presentable. God is in no way denying us this. What He is saying is; clothes are here today and are gone tomorrow. We can’t build our lives around the kind of clothes we wear, in as much as we spend our lives working for clothes. When our priorities are right and God comes first in our lives – God first and not the other way round; then what we wear will be God’s responsibility.
I have heard some people say; “clothes maketh man.” Some people are make by the clothes they wear. Well, I say, wise people make clothes; average people are made by clothes.
Are you saying we should not work?
I hear someone say; ‘Pastor, come clear on this point. Should we work or not?’ My straight answer is; we must work and earn as much as we have prepared ourselves. It is not sin to work. It is, in fact, a noble thing to work. Man, work is good. There is dignity in working and earning an income and affording good life. In fact, Satan wants you to stop working as soon as you leave him - as soon as you turn your life to God. God wants you to continue working and be a resourceful citizen.
God’s Word must dominate our thinking
However, God’s Word must dominate our thinking for it is He who gives us power to earn a good income. “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” (Deuteronoy 8:18) God gives us power to create wealth. He gives us ability, means and capacity to be resourceful. Why is He giving us power to create wealth? In order that He may establish His covenant in your lives.
Then, what is His covenant?
His covenant is a Promise. God wants to establish this promise in our lives today “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus,” (Galatians 3:14) The promise that God made to Abraham is; “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2,3)
Although this promise was first made to Abraham, we who are Gentiles (not Jews by nature) are included in this promise through Jesus Christ. He died and hung on that cross “that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus.” “In Christ Jesus” means, we are included in the covenant when we believe in Jesus as the Son of God and the Author of our Salvation. “He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9) God is blessing us by giving us jobs; some of them real descent with good salaries, so that we should finance the promise. He blesses us with good business ideas which enable us to write our own cheques to finance the promise.
Some people say, it is not easy to give to the work of the Lord when the economy is misbehaving like it is today. Well, Jesus said; “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) What is the truth? The truth is the PROMISE. To know the truth is to know the promise. You see, if you know the promise; you will finance it for you know how it will pay back at the end.
________________________________________
THINGS THAT CONTROL HOW PEOPLE VIEW LIFE
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!” Haggai 1:5-6 NLT
People’s view
The prophet here lists down things that control our lives namely;
Harvest
Eating
Drinking
Clothing
We have come to believe that life revolves around the acquisition of the above items; hence we spend all our lives chasing after such things. We measure our success through the amount of money we make i.e. harvest, the kind of food we eat and what we drink; and the kind of clothes we wear. Throughout the Bible we are reminded that, much as these things are important; they are temporary. They do not have a lasting value and should, therefore, not dictate how we spend our lives.
Look at Adam and his wife, Eve: As soon as they realised that they were naked, they took fig leaves and made themselves some covering. But, their newfound fashion outfit dried up in no time. These things, be it money, food, drinks, and clothes last but for a moment. Solomon says; "it's vanity of vanity."
God’s view
But God sees things in a different way. Listen to what Jesus said concerning the same matter; “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” Matthew 6:25 Jesus is in the above verse putting things in their right place; He is putting things right side up. He elaborates by using natural things to illustrating His point even further.
Look at nature
Birds don’t work, yet they are being taken care of. The message here does not suggest we quit our jobs and stop taking care of ourselves and families. The message is rather that we should have God as number one in our lives. As we work and earn our income; God should have the first share of our income.
This is possible when we trust God and are fully convinced that He will take care of us. Jesus brings in the picture of birds of the air which are in a worst state than any of us. They neither sow nor reap i.e. they have no job; yet our Heavenly Father takes care of them. Wouldn’t He do even better with us who are more valuable to Him than bird?
When we trust God we can depend on Him. David says in Psalma 37:25; "I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the rightous forsaken. Nor his descendants begging bread."
GOD'S BUDGET RATION
We face a very big problem when we take God’s money and make it ours. The end of the month syndrome that typifies our experience is nothing but someone robbing another for what does not belong to him. We control God’s money instead of Him controlling His money. We sit down and budget as couples – some go as far as including children but the owner is kept a-bay. How do you draw up a budget on someone else’s money without considering Him? You see? This is where the problem is.
God’s budget is 10:90 ratio. Not 90:10 or 0:100. We may reason it many other ways but His ratio will remain 10:90. What does this mean? Simple! Ten percent of your earnings is the Owner’s Equity. Ninety percent belongs to the steward. This is a generous offer no one other than God will be willing to settle for. How on earth can a steward get more than the owner?
This is not how things work here on earth. Here owners get more and stewards or workers get less. But remember that with God everything works different. God says; “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord.”
Our problem emanates from the way we view money and how we spend it
What are we saying? In simple terms my friend; our problem emanates from the way we view money and how we spend it. We view money as our own and spend it the way we want. The godly way is; when you get your income, first give God His ten percent and then spend the rest in a responsible manner. This is the solution; God first, then you. Give God what belongs to God and keep what belongs to you.
I know from experience that the tendency is always to spend on your “so-called” necessities first and see what remains and then postpone. Friend; how long have you been doing this and with what results? How long have you been disregarding what God says in His Word by counting yourself first?
Listen to what God is saying; “Look at what’s happening to you!” You work hard with the hope of getting more, but look at what’s happening to you; “you have planted much but harvest little” You go to the best restaurants to give yourself or your family a treat, instead “you eat but are not satisfied” You spend most of your time in taverns indulging in exclusive drinks yet “are still thirsty” You down a lion but do not get satisfied - so to say. You are the best dressed person in your area “but are not kept warm.” What does this mean? It means, even your best wardrobe cannot make you happy. Your wages disappear as though you were putting it in pockets with holes. You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" Haggai 1:9.
The problem is in how we view money. It is our attitude towards money that causes all these. It is our love for money that makes us spend our money selfishly and deny God a say in it. It is when we spend God’s money (10% of our income) on ourselves when God has said it so clear that the first fruit belongs to Him
Where is God at the end of the month?
When we say; where is God at the end of the month? God says; check where your money goes at the end of the month and you will see your god right there. When we say where is God at the end of the month; God is saying, where is your OBEDIENCE at the end of the month?
________________________________________
WHERE IS GOD AT THE END OF THE MONTH?
Part 2
ME, MONEY AND GOD
ME, MONEY AND GOD
Friend, there is a big problem you’ve been putting off for so long, you can no longer afford to ignore any longer. It’s no use screaming your frustration at God; “God! Where are you! Where have you been when everything around me fell apart?”
Do you want to know where God was when you go through all this turmoil in your life? Well, you asked for it and you will get it. He is right where He was when His Son hung and bled on the cross. He is right where He was when everything fell apart around His Son that afternoon. He has not changed positions and He will never at any time. You say; where is God at the end of the month? He is right where He was at the beginning of the month. Maybe the right question should be; “where am I with God at the end of the month?”
“Look at what’s happening to you!” These are tough words. God is calling our attention to what is happening to us. The problem is deep – deeper than what we go through at the end of the month. The good thing is that God is ready to intervene. He is not happy about it and be rest assured, He wants to turn things right side up in our lives; not only at the end of the month but always.
UNDERSTANDING MONEY
Let us take this moment and unpack the above Scripture verses. There are five things God is mentioning that strike straight between our eyes. He says;
- You have planted much but harvest little
- You eat but are not satisfied
- You drink but are still thirsty
- You put on clothes but cannot keep warm
- Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes
The first thing we must come to understand is that; though we work and earn our income, it belongs to God. All the money that we earn at the end of the month or any other time belongs to God – all of it. We are just stewards. “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:8.
Silver and gold represent money. All the money that is there in the world belongs to God. It belongs to Him before we earn it and after we have done so. It doesn’t matter whether we understand it or not. Things don’t change just because we don’t understand. We need to get the Bible revelation that money belongs to God. What we have in our pockets, what we have in the bank, wherever it is; it belongs to God.
Second; we must know that everything including ourselves belong to God. Our houses, our cars, our food, our clothes, our businesses, you name it; belong to God. We have nothing. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1. My spouse and my children belong to God. The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. MY MONEY BELONGS TO GOD.
For everything to fall in place, God who owns everything must be in control. The owner must always be in control. Things that he owns should not control Him or stray out of His control.
WHERE IS GOD AT THE END OF THE MONTH?
Part 1
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! You have planted much but harvest little. You eat but are not satisfied. You drink but are still thirsty. You put on clothes but cannot keep warm. Your wages disappear as though you were putting them in pockets filled with holes!” Haggai 1:5-6 NLT
THE WORD OF GOD AT THE END OF THE MONTH
This is what the Lord is saying today as we’ve just received our salaries or wages; “look what’s happening to you!” The end of every month or week is supposed to be a day of joy and thanksgiving to the Lord for He has given us yet another harvest. But God says something different. He says something that needed our attention as early as yesterday.
There are some unpleasant things in our lives that God is pointing at and we need to pay attention. He says;
- You have planted much but harvest little
- You eat but are not satisfied
- You drink but are still thirsty
- You put on clothes but cannot keep warm
- Your wages disappear as though you were putting it in pockets filled with holes
Do I identify with one of the five points above?
Is the Word of God telling the truth? Do I identify with one of the five points above or more? Isn’t this time to be honest with ourselves and pay attention? How long have we been ignoring this? How long have we been brushing this off with the hope that things will sort themselves out but…? Oh my!
Our own effort
You tried to put up more effort - moonlighting, weekend piece jobs and some kind – but it is as though you are walking the escalators in reverse. Why is everything working in the opposite direction in your live? Why do you hope for more but end up with the least?
The bible says “in all labor there is profit” Proverbs 14:23. So where is my reward? Where is my profit? Why am I giving it all but still end up miserable? I hear preachers talk about prosperity and I get interested but come end of the month; everything makes a right about turn – a 180 degrees turn around.
LEARNING HOW TO OPEN YOUR WINGS AND FLY
Part 3
“As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings.” Deuteronomy 32:11
In the past two teachings we learned how important it is for one to learn to fly and be responsible for one’s life. I think it is the right opportune time for us to move to the next level – the how part of it. We are attempting, not only to teach you how to ride a bicycle, but also to show you how to do so. Remember; you can only learn to ride a bicycle by riding a bicycle. There are two important things we are going to deal with in the two subsequent teachings and I wish to have your undivided attention. This is the foundation upon which a successful Christian life is going to be built, without which many have already made a shipwreck.
To learn to fly you must give the word of God first priority in your life. You’ve most probably heard or read once or twice about this in the past. We are not attempting to come up with something that was never said before because there is no such thing as a new revelation. All revelations are based on what was revealed before. What God says today always develops on what He said in the past. It is an amplification of what was said before. Many people got astray in their quest for new revelation. New revelation is the mother of all deception.
To learn to fly you must anchor your life in the Word of God. There are quite a number of other things one can suggest but we will deliberate on the following today.
Read the word of God daily
Reading is like feeding. God calls His word bread – He calls it food. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. Reading the word of God is like eating. We are spirits; we have souls and we live in bodies. My body needs food to grow, keep healthy and remain alive. My mind which is part of my soul needs information and problem-solving tasks to keep shaped up. My spirit as well needs its food to grow, keep healthy and keep attached to God. The food of the spirit is the Word of God. Let me reiterate; the Word of God is our spiritual food.
I think I must explain some things here. When I say ‘read the word of God’ I mean just that – READ; not study -read. When we read, we let information into our minds. The mind is the entrance point through which all external information gets through. Every time we expose ourselves to external information either by one of our sensory systems (see, hear, smell, taste, and touch) we open the gate of our mind and feed on that information. This information will remain in our minds; but if we choose to believe the information, it will pass from the mind into our spirit. Our mind is like a RAM in your computer and our spirit like a hard drive. Like with computers, information that is in your RAM will remain there for as long as your computer is on. If you don't save it you may lose it. But, once you save it, it drops into your spiritual hard drive. This is the same with your mind. What is in your mind is temporary until it is saved on your spiritual hard drive.
The problem in many cases is when what comes into our mind is not allowed down into our spirit. How does this happen? This is how it happens. Every time you hear the Word of God or any information, it goes through a sifting process. This sift is like an antivirus in your computer. Every time this antivirus has sufficient reason to doubts the validity and safety of the information, it closes the bottom gate that allows the information into your spirit. It treats it as spam. But if the information is perceived to be non-threatening, it is allowed to pass through, down into your spirit. For the purpose of understanding we will call this sift an antivirus. Whenever new information comes into your mind, the antivirus is automatically triggered; to scan and allow or disallow entrance.
How does this antivirus function? First, we must understand that this antivirus does not operate on its own set of rule. It operates on rules you provided it with. These rules form from the kind of information you allow into your mind. The environment we live in, the people we live or interact with, the stuff we read, the language we listen to; all of these help arrange some set of rules which will tomorrow be used to censor any new information that tries to come into your hard drive i.e. your spirit. If the information satisfies the set of rules, it is allowed to pass through; if not, it is denied entrance.
What has this got to do with the reading of the word of God? It’s got everything to do with it. You see when you read the word of God, especially when you do it daily; you are providing your mind with material needed to change your set of rules. The more your mind is bombarded with the word of God, the Bible says it is the more you “receive … the … word, which is able to save your souls.” James 1:21 The Spirit through James says the word of God is able to save your soul. The word of God is able to change your mind. Paul writes in Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Do not be conformed to this world means, do not allow the world around you to shape up your thinking. Do not allow what’s going on around you to determine the set of rules through which future information (the Word of God included) will be censored. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In other words, change your set of rules by changing your mind. Change your mind by changing the kind of data you allow into your mind.
When you feed on the word of God, your thinking pattern will change, and when this happens; your set of rules will change too. Your set of rules are now formed and shaped around what the Word of God says. This, the Bible calls the renewing of your mind. How did you do that? Well, the same way you created your first rules – by listening. In the past you listened a lot to what the world around you was saying and you developed set of rules that conformed to the world. But now you changed your source of information. In the past the world was your source but now the Word of God has become your source. You cannot put your hand in a tin of paint without some of it sticking to your hand. You see? You have been sticking your hand in a tin of the world’s information and the world’s way of doing things has stuck to your hand. Now when you stick your hand into a tick with the Word of God; guess what will stick to your hand – true; the Word.
You cannot read the world’s stuff without part of it sticking to your mind; and as it sticks, it reshapes your mind. In a way, it affects your set of rule. I better read the Word of God and have it stick to my mind until it renews my mind. A renewed mind is an asset. It is familiar with the word of God. This familiarity helps make the mental antivirus permit the word of God to pass through into the spirit. Once this is achieved; the believer becomes “a good man (who) out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things” Matthew 12:35
We pick up a serious problem when the antivirus functions as the antigospel. There are people who’s minds are loaded with an antigospel software. How do we know this? We’ve been like that before. When you operate this kind of antivirus application you become negative to the Word of God. You become defensive, argumentative, arrogant, hateful, and rebellious. You despise anything that has to do with the gospel. You stand opposed to the Word. For example: Suppose you read this message and verses of Scripture are quoted. You feel so angry you would rather pass them without reading them. You would rather have man tell you what to do and not God. You would rather listen to man than listen to God. When you are fitted the untigospel software you remain opposed to everything that has anything to do with the Word of God.
This is the problem when one operates with antigospel set of rules. But how did it happen? You fed your mind with what the world trashed on you and in the meantime your values changed. You can reverse this process my friend. Yes, you can. By just reading the word of God as regular as time allows you.
This is how you learn to open your wings and fly. I encourage you to keep to it; read the Word of God as regular as possible. Without effort, your mind will be renewed as you daily receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your soul. The way you think will be transformed as the Word of God daily renews your mind; getting rid of old values and replacing them with new values, new set of rules that are progospel and not antigospel.
You say; Pastor Maselo, how do I do that? I will give you my suggestion. It is not a set of rule; it is just what I say it is, a suggestion. I’ll do you two.
First: Read the Bible as a letter.
We don’t read paragraph one and jump to the third and then to the seventh when we read a letter. Read your Bible like you are reading a letter. That is, read from paragraph one to the next; so on and on. Read from page one through to the last page. Start in Genesis and end in Revelation. Everything works when you’ve got a goal. Set yourself a goal to finish the Bible within a specific period – six months, one year, or two. I prefer one year. Start over again when you finish reading through the whole Bible.
Second Suggestion: Have a daily reading programme
Read two chapters from Genesis through to Job, two Psalms, two chapters from the prophets starting with Isaiah and two from the New Testament. If you keep to this programme you will finish your Bible in one year. When you finish start all over again. Do this for as long as you are a Christian.
We are not talking about studying here. We will talk about it in our next teaching. Just read through. Your goal is just to eat i.e. to feed. It is no time to worry about the ingredients my friend; just eat. Like a baby, just eat and rest and when you wake up just continue eating.
In our next teaching we will talk about STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD.
Are you ready to fly? How high are you willing to fly?
___________________________________________LEARNING HOW TO OPEN YOUR WINGS AND FLY - Part 2
You learn to fly by flying
“As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings.” Deuteronomy 32:11
The greatest enemy of progress and development is comfort. The greatest mistake we ever make in our lives is to be comfortable with bare necessity. Someone many years ago coined this statement; “necessity is the mother of all inventions.” We are forced to change when we are faced with uncomfortable circumstances. This is how all great inventions came about.
Unless the nest we are sitting in is stirred, we sit there and tolerate. I like what the four leprous men said at the city gates of Samaria. The story is related in the book of 2 Kings 7:3, 4. “Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.” The city of Samaria was besieged by the armies of Syria. The siege lasted for a long period; in fact it lasted until there was no more food left in the city. It was hard. Read the rest of the story in your devotional time. By virtue of the fact that they were leprous, they were not allowed to live in the city because leprosy is infectious. They lived outside the city. Now if there was famine in the city; think about what it was like for these four leprous men for they depended on the people in the city to bring them food. The Bible says famine was so hard in the city that people were already eating donkeys.
The four leprous patients said to one another; “why are we sitting here until we die? If we say, ‘we will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also.” You can imagine the situation; death in the city, death outside the city and sickness at the city entrance. My man, their nest was unruffled.Hunger provides no comfort – it challenges every bit of complacency in you. “Why sit we here until we die?” they said to themselves. “...now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians.” My Bible says; “And they rose at twilight to go to the camps of the Syrians” (verse 5). When their nest was unruffled, they did not sit and moan, they arose. Did you see that? They arose in the middle of the night and went to the Syrian camp. God multiplied their footsteps into thousands and there was such a frightening rumble as the noise of their footsteps echoed against the surrounding mountains. The Syrian army thought the Samaritans formed alliance with other nations and they’ve come to attack. They fled and left everything as it were in the tents. When the leprous men arrived, there was no one in the tents. Not only did they eat to their full; they saved the city from starvation. Imagine; three patients putting the entire Syrian army to flight.
King Solomon in Proverbs 6:6 say, a lazy person should enrol at the university of ants and learn. What do we learn from these four patients? Four sick people who refused to succumb to their condition conquered the entire army of the Syrians. Have you stopped to think what turned them into overnight heroes? What do you think it would have happened to them had they not suffered leprosy? Yes, you are right; they would have been in the city with everyone else and died of starvation. What turned them into deliverers of their people? Discomfort in the nest caused it. The unruffled nest was the reason.
Many people’s weakness is to complain and blame when their nests are stirred. Friend, there is no Canaan without the wilderness. There is no throne without the valley of the shadow of death. Ask David, he’ll tell you. There is no ‘sitting at the right hand of God the Father’ without Calvary. In fact, the road to glory passes through Calvary. James, the brother of our Lord says these in chapter one verse two of his epistle; “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Stop complaining when your nest is unruffled. Stop complaining and start learning. When your boss seems to be hard on you; it’s no time to complain and curse. It’s time to learn how to fly. It’s time to learn to do your job even better. When your department or your company is taken over by a new boss; it’s no time to gossip and organise a resistance march or a go-slow. When the company changes from its conventional way of doing things, it’s no time to influence people against the new visionary. It is time to learn how to fly my brother, my sister! Count it all joy when your nest is stirred and your furthers are unruffled for it is the best time for you to stretch your wings out and flip flap once, twice, thrice and fly into the territory of complete freedom. Why sit you there and complain until you die?
The four leprous men faced themselves and talked to themselves eyeball to eyeball. They did not complain about their health condition. They did not complain about the war. They refused to sit there until they die. Are you? Maybe things are still working well for you in your place of employment and you relax. The Bible is warning us in the book of Exodus chapter one verse eight; “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” Your buddy boss will one day be promoted, transferred or fired. Soon a king who knows no Joseph will come to power and stir your nest. Don’t wait there until this happens. Arise and learn to fly. How long are you going to keep that position because you are being favoured by your senior or political system? When are you going to be on your own? It’s time to learn to fly.
You may have being favoured by the BEE programme: well and good. But learn to fly on your own my friend. You see favours are like jump starters. You’ve got to start and move on your own. Favours are like hospital drips or a life-saving machine in the hospital. You’ve got to learn to breathe on your own; if you don’t; the machine will soon be switched off and you die.
Some of you are staying not far from your parents. Every time you want to be on your own with your spouse or friends, you take your children home. Your parents baby-sit for you free of charge. My friend; your parents cannot baby-sit you and your children as well. Learn to be on your own. Learn to fly on your own. If you need a baby sitter, employ one and pay her. Simple things but they hinder you from learning how to fly on your own. Eating at home when you feel a bit lazy to cook is refusing to leave the nest and learn to fly on your own.
Do you live with pensioners and you count their grants as part of your income? Have you gathered all the children in your family around you in order to augment your income with their grants? It’s a sad thing that we see in our communities these days. Some don’t work. They cash on failing marriages, some on orphaned children. How do you find it right to be taken care of by children? I mean if you are not working and have no income, do something about it. On the other hand, if you are working and your income is not enough; rather than depending on children’s grant, do something about it. Refuse any form of comfortable.
When Israel left Egypt, God became their teacher. Remember, they had no skill at all other than as beasts of labor, making bricks and carrying heavy burdens. God stirred up the nests and forced them out of Egypt. Don’t be fooled by their complains in Egypt. They were already used to their hardship and were comfortable; hence they mentioned the pots of meat and fish when they failed their first flight lessons in the wilderness.
I urge you my friend; refuse to settle for bare minimum. Refuse to be comfortable with uncomfortable circumstances. Learn to fly and fly away. Learn to be the best in what you are doing and become a hot property. Why sit you there until you die? Quit thinking of pension. You are too young to wait for pension to give you the first taste of money. Why sit you there until you retire? You can improve your education or acquire new skills and fly away. If you want to pension at your present employment; good. But improve your resume and climb the corporate ladder. You cannot enter that company as a clerk and retire as a clerk. Learn how to fly and fly into the next position. You were being created to release all the faculties God endowed on you. How do you do that? You do that by learning how to fly.
God bless you as you refuse to be angry with me and stretch your wings and learn to fly.
REMEMBER, YOU LEARN TO FLY BY FLYING___________________________________________________
Part 1
HOW EAGLETS LEARN TO FLY
HOW EAGLETS LEARN TO FLY
“As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.” Deuteronomy 32:11-12
Let us examine this beautiful and expressive metaphor employed by the Spirit of God in the Song of Moses as recorded in the above Scripture verses. Moses spent one-third of his life on mountains; first tending his father-in-law’s sheep and thereafter consulting with God on their way to the Promised Land. These; especially the first, must have afforded him a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of how eagles teach their young ones to fly.
The mother eagle would stirs up its nest.
When the young ones are old enough to take flight lessons, the mother eagle would stir up the nest. It would unruffled the nest, turn the thorns right-side up making it intolerable and unbearable to sit in. You will imagine that the young eaglets; since they were hatched, never had to move out of the nest. The nest was their only known place to stay. The mother eagle would therefore stir the nest and make it prickly and uncomfortable for the young ones.
The mother eagle would spread its wings
As the thorns prick and the young ones feel uncomfortable, they look around for a better place to relieve themselves from this unusual and unbearable discomfort. At that time the mother eagle would spread its large wings availing itself for the young ones to jump on. This is an opportunity they would most probably welcome and receive with both hands. They would then quickly jump on, competing for a better place on the mother’s back. What’s in the minds of these little creatures? Another nest perhaps. Those that fail to understand the message; the mother eagle would pick up with her beak and put them on her wings.
The mother eagle would fly out in the sky
With the young ones on her wings (I don't know how many at a time - one or two; I am not sure) the mother eagle would fly out into the open sky soaring high in her native territory. When in its imagination the height was sufficient for the lessons to begin, the mother eagle would release them up there and leave them to survive on their own. The lesson is to encourage them to open their wings and start learning how to flip them and fly. You will realise that all the time the young eaglets had their wings hanging on their sides; never knowing exactly what they were for. They tried, I assume, many things to do with them but never just realised what they were actually meant for. They would sometimes try them on one another, especially when the food brought home by the mother eagle was not sufficient. Sometimes just to stretch themselves out of boredom and all of a sudden fold them back again.
Here now they are faced with danger. To survive they must do the unusual. They look at their mother soaring with such ease; and they imitate. Every time one fails, the mother would be there, ready to rescue it by flying underneath and allow it to land on its back or wings again. The mother eagle would then fly higher again and release the young one. The lessons would continue until they learn to fly on their own.
Moses uses this metaphor to express the love of God for His people. He is like He was saying the children of Israel were comfortable in their nest in Egypt when God stirred up the nest - when God unruffled and made it prickly. When the king who knew no Joseph came to power He stirred up the nest. He turned the nest into a house of bondage and it became so uncomfortable for Israel.
When that happened, God took them on His wings and flew into the wilderness where there were no food supplies as was in Egypt. He left them without fresh water at Mara and no water at all at Meriba. They complained to Moses demanding that he takes them back to the nest. They mentioned the comfort of Egypt to Moses such as; meat, fish, onions, garlic, watermelon, spices, and graves. “Were there no graves in Egypt that you brought us here to die in the wilderness?” They said to Moses. But God picked them on His wings again and took them further towards the Promised Land. When they became comfortable on His wings He would leave them again; and so the lessons continued. God wanted them to learn to trust Him but they were such slow learners. A course that would have taken them forty days took forty years.
Is this not what is happening with us today believers? Every day God takes us out for a lesson yet we come back angry and twisted out of shape. How long has He been trying to teach us how to let go and use our wings of faith and fly? How long has He been trying to say I am the Lord who heals you? How many times? How many times has He been trying to say I will meet all your needs according to my riches in glory by Christ Jesus? How many times? How many times has He been trying to say take no thought for your life; what you shall eat, what you shall drink, nor the clothes what you shall wear; for I know that you have need for all these?
Unless God allows an amount of discomfort we won’t learn. We seem to be satisfied with the status quo. How many times has He been saying I am God, I change not. Bring all the tithes and offering in my storehouse; test me and see if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing so much you will not have room enough to store it?
Will we ever learn to fly? Young eaglets finally learned their lesson and flew and enjoy the freedom of being far above everything that has breath. Will we ever learn? Will we ever learn to receive whatever we need by faith? How long is it going to take us to believe that God is in charge and knows what He is doing?
No wonder we experience problem after problem. We pray but we never seem to be making progress. Problems seem to be sharing a stage in our lives though we’ve been born again for so long. We exchange one problem for another. What is the problem? The problem is; like the children of Israel in the wilderness, we are slow to learn. A slow learner is stubborn in many instances. Is this not what God said about the children of Israel? He said “you are a stubborn nation.”
What we should realise is that unless we learn, the lesson won’t stop. We will be carried on the back or wings and flown to the heights point – the riskiest and be left there until we learn to open our wings of faith and flip flap; once, twice, thrice. Yes, yes, yes; I can fly! I can fly! May God help us!
No comments:
Post a Comment