Here we want to share with you a worship song that has had an impact this week:
‘Agnus Dei’ by Michael W. Smith
If you like the track please buy where available: Agnus Dei – Worship
The miracle of God’s Divine Love is a MYSTERY unexplainable and is unparalleled. How does one so love another, that he sacrifices Himself to save them? It can only be God.
This is the GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD and it must be true otherwise it would not have lasted this long. If the crucifixion of Jesus did not have an Infinity purpose, it would not be commemorative and celebrated today, over 2000 years on and counting. It is for our sakes that Jesus as the WORD of God was made flesh, that HE may die the painful death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. The bible tells us that he took upon himself the iniquity of man and he that was sinless became SIN for the purpose taking our place in death – (The wages of sin). His death and Resurrection thus enabled Him to present us pure, acceptable and justified to bring about full reconciliation with the FATHER, sanctified unto Eternal life in RESURRECTION
I love this analogy from an unknown author describing his perspective of what Jesus did on the Cross of Calvery for humanity. I must say this Author was truly inspired – “Try and visualise a convicted criminal in a Court of Law. “The Judge sentenced the the criminal to death by hanging. However, just when the executor was about to enforce the judgment order, someone else decided to step forward and offered to take the place of this convicted man; to be killed in this cruel manner, just because he loved him”.
That man who offered to die in the place of the common criminal, is JESUS – Alive today and forever. He could not bear to see the GOOD work of God’s Creation in THE LIKENESS OF HIS IMAGE, get destroyed through the FOOLISH ACT OF DISOBEDIENCE of Adam; who believed the lie of the devil in the garden of Eden. Jesus saw the pain of the Father, in the separation by sin from man. Through this despicable lack of wisdom to choose right by Adam, man died in the spirit. This is the death acquiesced by every human at birth, from which you must be ‘born again’ and be Resurrected. Displaying a show of selfless love, Jesus offered to be the Bridge through which man may return to God. 1 John 4:10 says “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins”.
Jesus was the Lamb slayed before the foundation of the world and He is the Fulfilment of the Passover. By the BLOOD of His sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary, the PERFECT EXCHANGE WAS MADE. Man was made good again and by that Precious Blood, Death is exchanged for Life, Sorrow for Joy, Sickness for Wholesomeness, Hatred for Love, Failure for Success, Captivity for Freedom, Sin for Forgiveness, Separation for Relationship with God and Hell for Heaven Eternally.
Dearly beloved, Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He says – “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” – Revelation 1:18
If you are reading this and you are not living in the Resurrection God has made available, this is the time to accept the Love of Christ that is reaching out to you today. Jesus paid the full price for sin, purchased your soul with His Precious BLOOD, so that you may receive it FREELY by Grace through Faith.
It is the Greatest Love Story ever told. JESUS IS THE LOVE OF GOD REVEALED. GOD is LOVE, He LOVES UNCONDITIONALLY. His Love for man predates Creation itself. His Love is ETERNAL.
HE DOES NOT CHANGE.
Blessings
The Lord is faithful in His ways even when we are unfaithful. He deals with us according to His predestined Will and purpose for each one of us. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. His Sovereignty is beyond questioning. Great indeed are you Oh LORD my God. Thank you for your loving-kindness towards me daily.
I encourage you to surrender to the LORD today and enjoy His ceaseless compassion everyday. He is faithful.
Blessings
“Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre”, – John 20:10-11
Mary Magdalene was recorded in the Bible as a woman that was loyal, who loved the Jesus passionately and was radical in her expression of love. She did not care what anybody else was doing, she wanted to do right by the Lord. When you have a conviction about what your faith, there arises in your spirit, a stubborn resolve to OVERCOME against all odds.
When the disciplesarrived at the tomb and found the body of Jesus was no longer in there, they went away. But Mary would not leave until she knew exactly what had happened to the body that laid in the sepulchre. Verse 11 tells us that she wept for she did not know where they had taken her lord. Her persistence paid off when she stooped to look inside the tomb. There she found the two angels who told her about the Resurrection our Lord Jesus. Mary would not give up on the Lord and guess what, when she stood up from looking down into the tomb, the Lord showed up. She was the first person that Jesus appeared to after He rose from the dead on Resurrection morning.
That is what happens when we find ourselves in situations that defies human interpretations and understanding. We need to dig deep, stoop down to inquire of the mind of God in such matters. Science may not be able to explain it, logic would not cut it and common sense now begins to make nonsense.
When your circumstance fails man’s intervention, that is when the miraculous manifests. God will not share His glory with anyone, when we persevere, God’s timetable kicks in. He never fails to respond to love, trust, faith, hope and diligence. He never fails, He always shows up on time
Beloved, step out of the box and surely, the Master will show up.
Blessings
Romans 6: 1-23 – Apostle Paul teaches:
1: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2: God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3: Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4: Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5: For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7: For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8: Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10: For in that he died, he died unto sin once:but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11: Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13: Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14: For sin shall not have dominion over you:for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15: What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16: Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17: But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18: Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19: I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20: For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21: What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22: But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – (KJV)
Beloved, we therefore cannot frustrate Grace, buy continuing wilfully in sin. He that the son of man sets free, is free indeed in all realms and dominions. We have the power to live above sin and death by the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us through Christ Jesus.
Blessings
Just before the children of Israel entered the promised land led by Joshua, Moses instructed them about the dangers hidden in prosperity. “Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day”. One of the greatest dangers in Prosperity, is that a person can easily forget the days of small beginnings after they have prospered. The true character of a man is revealed when they no have money or substance.
Pride is an inwardly directed emotion that carries two common meanings. With a negative connotation, pride refers to an inflated sense of one’s personal status or accomplishments,
With a positive connotation, pride refers to a satisfied sense of attachment toward one’s own or another’s choices and actions, or toward a whole group of people, and is a product of praise, independent self-reflection, or a fulfilled feeling of belonging.
Prosperity is defined “as the state of flourishing, thriving, good fortune and or successful social status. Prosperity often encompasses wealth but also includes other factors which can be independent of wealth to varying degrees, such as happiness and health”
The LORD God spoke to Moses about the children of Israel disobeying His commandments after they would have come into the wealth of the land. We can see His concerns in Deuteronomy 8:10-14 “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage”
My focus in treating this topic is to address general behaviours when God’s people enter into the season of abundance that He opens unto us. Since January 2014 – The Word of prophecy and revelation that has come forth in my local Church is Marching Forward. We sought the Lord in fasting and prayers according to His instructions. The Lord confirmed clearly that we have entered into a season of Manifestation. In marching forward, you have to see God and step out in Faith, trusting Him. It brings alive the Scripture in psalm 119:89 – “Forever Oh Lord, Your Word is settled in Heaven”- true to God’s nature, all that has been settled in the spirit as a matter of protocol, He establishes in the surface at the appointed time.
Dearly beloved, when God speaks about manifestation of prosperity, you had better be ready, pay attention to details and be careful not to make the same mistakes made by the Israelites of old. As children of the New Covenant and thus the “New “Israel”, we are under the benefit of the Grace embedded in the Blood of Jesus. We have been inputted with the Righteousness of Christ, making us priests and rulers and joint heirs with Christ Jesus our LORD and Saviour. Furthermore, there is the precedent of the well chronicled response by God to the folly of the children of Israel in their disobedience of His instructions. Therefore no Christian ought to make same foolish mistakes today.
I am very mindful of the dangers that line the path of prosperity. Like “land mines” they are usually not obvious to the ordinary eyes. Unless you have a prior knowledge an area or site is littered with land mines, one can easily become a casualty of their wicked purposes. I would like to refresh your memory with regards to the objectives of this deadly weapon of war – land mines are designed to cause maximum damage to the victim. So also is the little/big issue of the hidden enemy – PRIDE. There is an old adage that says “pride goes before a fall”. The Bible puts God’s perspective clearly on the issue of pride – ” For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased ; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” – Luke 14:11
God is very concerned about His people falling prey for this old enemy – which was the downfall of Lucifer, which resulted in him being cast down from heaven and manifesting into his present status – Satan. He attempted to exalt himself above his Maker – The Creator and Almighty God. The GREAT
I AM.
Isaiah 14:13-14 – reminds us of the magnitude of Satan’s pride –
“For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the most High”.
This is a classic example of what success can do to people. The pride issue is by the way not peculiar to unbelievers.
Success breeds
– Pride
– Confidence – may I say over confidence
– Insatiable Appetite
– Self glory
– Arrogance
– Feeling of Untouchable
It is a sad fact that, pride or prosperity without Christ gives a false sense of security, believing that “I can be whatever I want to be” – in other words you are a god unto yourself. This by the way is the whole message of the New Age Movement. The deception that you can attain godliness without God. After all, God said to Moses, “I have made you a god over Pharaoh”. In a twisted way, you start quoting Scriptures to justify your actions.
It grieves the heart of God when His people fail to acknowledge Him, to ascribe glory unto Him alone, for He is the One that created our hands to get wealth. Remember, He already created the wealth, so our business is to “get” that which is already settled in heaven and give Him Glory. In Deuteronomy 31:20, the LORD forewarned the Israelites saying, “For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant”. There is nothing you have, that has not be given, so give thanks to the one that supplies all our needs in Christ Jesus.
Pride is the mother of arrogance
Humility is the antidote to the virus that is called Pride.
Prosperity without Christ is vanity and provokes God.
God is glorified when His people prosper. His covenant is everlasting when we keep His commandments.
Blessings
