THE HEARING GOD IS THE SPEAKING GOD

Tonight, we will be starting a new series (from today till October)

Title of the series is Divine Communication

In this series we will be focusing on communication, what it means for us as believers, God's love for it, basic principles towards effective communication, types and finally, the Prophetic.

Before we go on to the first topic in this series, I'd like us to share what communication means to us as believers

Communication is the process where feelings, thoughts, desires are passed between God and us, his children. - Samson

Pouring my mind out to God and hearing his thoughts concerning them. - Tebs

To me communication is a father to son or daughter interaction through diverse strategies in the kingdom such as..
-prayers
-worship
-meditation etc. - Kenneth

Communication is wording out our feelings infact our total mind to God 
It could be through prayers, our worship n singing - Dasi

From our definitions of communication earlier, we see that it is a two way street. It is not just us talking and pouring out to God but rather talking with God.

We pour our heart out to Him and He pours His heart out to us.

It's amazing how we sit for hours talking to God, laying it all bare before Him and we believe so much that God can hear us.

Yahweh, the one who is invisible to us but our hearts strongly believe He can hear us, so we go ahead and speak.

We do not just speak, we ask and expect a Him to answer our prayers.

Where a lot of us get it wrong is this, we believe so much in the God who hears so much that we speak non stop for hours daily but we are yet to 100% dig the God who speaks.

We hardly can sit waiting long hours to hear Him speak as we'd stay to speak with Him.

I'd like to ask, if you sit for 2 hours waiting to hear from God and you do not hear anything, what will you do?

Waiting....
Honest answers please

Move on o😂
I've found that I don't always get my answer on the spot. It could just come from listening to a song after waiting for a while. The answer could be in someone's random statement. - Tebs

Ill stop waiting for a reply - Dasi

Here is what I've come to notice in many Christians, we have poor communication skills.

If you and I talk everyday for 2 months, and I'm always opening my mouth like parrot talking every minute not allowing you to land (And this happens repeatedly), my communication skills is bad.

Though I speak a lot but if I do not listen well, then communication is Zero.

I found out at some point that i was in this place both in real life and in my prayer life.

Twice tragedy 😂😂😂😂😭😭😭😭

How can you be suffering from one problem in different angles?

Is it only me that waka come?

I tried to change the physical aspect but it did not.

Infact, I did not notice a change physically until it started with God first

It is a very good thing to talk to God, to pour our heart to Him. First, it shows love and trust, I believe. It's really so difficult to discuss with one person for a long period daily without seeing them physically..

Yet, this is what we do as believers.

Why?
If we don't love God, we won't care enough to be marking daily attendance and gisting.
A lot of relationships end when one partner changes location because they can't keep up but somehow we try to keep up even when it is difficult.

I want us to know that God loves us so much and it's such a sweet thing that we are keeping this relationship alive

Even if it's just 5 min we are able to do daily. God knows that it is only love that brings us (even when we do not know it ourselves).

Also trust.

We do not just come to Him, we come with our secrets, things we'd not tell any other person.

Such a beautiful relationship

But it doesn't end here.

The same way we want to pour out to God out of love and trust is the same way God wants to pour out to us out of love and trust.

Love because that is the bedrock of our relationship

See, it is the nature of God to speak, not just to speak but to communicate His thoughts to others.

God actually has thoughts just as you do.

The same way you want to share yours with Him is how He wants to share His with you.

Communication is a big deal for God.. It is built in the very fabric of His Divine being.

Remember creation when God was going to make man, He said, "Let us make man in our own image"

He communicated His thoughts to the trinity

We see it in His relationship with all His children in scripture.

He is a communicating God. Not deaf, not dumb.

If God had this relationship with the trinity then surely man who was created in His (their) image was created with this same specification, to relate, to hear Him and speak with Him.

Proverbs  20:12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them.

The hearing ear, God made it.
What is the ear hearing?
God


He designed us - His prime creation--to hear Him.
He wove it within our very nature and being just like it is woven into His..

Look at this before us:

* God spoke and Noah heard and responded.
* God spoke and Abraham heard and responded
*God spoke and Jacob heard

Same has David, Jesus, Paul etc

The story of the bible is a story of a Speaking God and a hearing people.

Again the verse in proverbs says: God made the hearing ear.

See, if you have ears, then you can hear God because this is how God made our ears, to hear.

The only way you cannot hear God is if He is not your creator

Is there anyone here that wasn't created by God?

If the answer is no, then everyone here can hear God.

Not faintly, audibly.


He doesn't have to shout it in your ears like that mama no network woman in Nollywood (please Google if you don't know her)

So tonight, I want you to know it and believe it very well, that You can hear God, everyday, for as long as He is speaking. You have ears that hear.

Please if you need to add it to your confession daily, do so. It is important first to believe this, if not every other part of this series will be difficult for you.

Please take this home tonight

The God that hears is the God that speaks

If I have mouth that can speak to God for long, then I, Olúrèmí, have ears that can hear/Listen to God for long

I'm going to stop here tonight.


Next week we continue with The Speaking voice and The Spoken Word

GOD'S PLAN ARE BLESSED

1. When God guides, He provides
What God directs, He protects.
Blessings untold are waiting for you,
As God guides and directs the things that you do.

2. Trust in the Lord with your heart, I say,
You will hear His voice, "This is the way."
Desires from Him, they will come,
Your heart bears witness, this is the one.


3. Vision accomplished, desire achieved,
Results of a heart, willing to believe.
God's plans unfolding as a dream in the night
Your acceptance guarantees His power and might.

4. The struggle is over, the battle is done,
When you've waited in prayer, to hear from the son.
His voice is clear, the captain has spoken,
'Go forward now! - the enemy's power is broken!'

5. Rest - for you a way of life.
Gone are the days of worry and strife
You've come to the place of knowing His way,
God's plans are blessed, for you to believe and obey

Today, with this confession as a guide (it was actually shared as a poem or so, not as a confession but it became by confession), we will be talking on God's plan with the reminder that His plans are indeed blessed

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV

Sometimes we are in doubt of the plans of God for us, but here is a reassurance from God. He is very sure of the plans He has for us, He knows definitely that they've not changed.

They are of Good and not evil. They are blessed and aimed towards a future filled with Hope

 We all know that truly God's plans are blessed. We know our papa loves us so much. This is so easy to agree with when things are going well and visible in accordance with what we know about God's plans for us individually

But what happens when everything is not looking like the plan and it is repeatedly so.

The vision we've been given and our current realities are so much far apart.

We are even beginning to question if we are truly running with the right vision or we missed something along the line

you've just been diagnosed of this life threatening disease and it's changing your whole life

You got to work last week only to meet a dismissal letter

Your parents' health just went from 100-0. You might need to crowd fund to take care of them. Chances of survival are still slim

You've been searching for a job tirelessly, yet nothing

So much debt hanging on your neck but inside the plan that you've been told God has for you, you are the one lending to nations

Your friends have progressed in life/left you behind  and it seems like everyone is deserting you

You and rejection mails have been 5 and 6 for a while

The partner you've been praying with for years just worked out on your relationship

For someone, the Lord has said do xyz. You've been so faithful to it but it looks like nothing is coming from it.

You wrote down the vision. You are sure you heard it clearly.

You've been running by it but things keep going wrong.

You take 1 step forward and it feels like a win only for something to happen and drag you 10 steps backwards

Any spiritually minded person sees you and immediately they tell you: you are such a great person. God's plans for you are amazing. He will use you so much for His glory

It's sweet to hear but you've heard it so many times, it is becoming tiring. For decades, messages like this have come but nothing has come out of it.

Truly, life has a way of throwing challenges, so much that we are trusting o but we are not really trusting.

We are "frustratedly trusting"

Don't know if anyone can picture this or understand what I mean

I can relate to these things.

I've been here a lot of times

I get really tired and I'm wondering, when exactly will this thing happen

Especially when it feels like I'm close to something and everything scatters. I look at the vision and I wonder again, did I miss anything?

Because at this point, local man is tired.

I don't know where you fall in all of these. I don't know what is going on in your life. But the Lord has sent me to you, He has sent me to me. He says His plans are blessed, they truly are, even with all of these plenty challenges.

I'm reminded of Joseph. At 17, he dreamt of becoming king. He was sure of the vision, so sure that He even told it to his brothers. It took 22 years for this dream to come to pass (His brothers coming to bow before him).

First, he had to be a slave then next a prisoner.

This was not in the outline he received.

All he saw was his family  bowing before him.

I wonder if Joseph ever thought of his dream  while in prison. How did it make him feel? How much of an irony that'd have been.

Some things happen to me and I'm just there like, God we didn't discuss this part. Is this one supposed to be part of the t & c too cos I'm tired.

God's plans are blessed

Let's look at the story of Daniel briefly. The King had gathered young men in the city to learn the language of the Chaldeans. Daniel and his friends were part of these young men.

(Daniel 1:17).

If we read the chapter fully, we see that God gave Daniel and his friends special ability that others learning did not have.

In the second year of the King's reign, he started having dreams.

None of the Chaldeans and wise men the king was training people to be like could tell him his dream or interpret.

But Daniel and his friends prayed to God who revealed to them.

This led to Daniel becoming the Chief Magi. He was to train all magis in the reading of stars, interpretations, dreams, vision etc since the wise men and Chaldeans were not up to the task

Daniel began a new "school" sort of for training magis (of course he'd have done it as God wished)

600 years before Christ but all of these was a setup towards the acknowledgement of Christ as king and the visitation of the magis. Magis trained in the ways Daniel had laid down would someday see a star in the sky and know exactly what it means.

They'd leave all and come in fulfillment of scripture to bow before the one born king.

Did Daniel know this? No!

Was it part of God's plan? Yes

We see that truly God's plans are blessed and even they span over time.

When God guides, He provides

 What God directs, He protects.

Blessings untold are waiting for you,

As God guides and directs the things that you do.

When God guides, He provides

We see the story of Abraham. God asked him to satisfy his only son, Isaac. Abraham didn't question, not because he was not sad but he had been in God's plan for a while. He had walked in it and he understood that there were blessings in it no matter how absurd the instruction is. No matter what the next step took from him. He knew that regardless, God had a plan and whatever it was it'd be to his advantage.

Then Abraham noticed a ram whose horns were caught in a bush. So Abraham went and took the ram. He offered it, instead of his son, as a sacrifice to God. So Abraham gave that place a name, “The Lord Provides.” Even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord, he will give us what we need.”

Genesis 22:13‭-‬14 ERV

The ram was not provided at the point where Abraham got the instruction. He was already on the move when the ram came.

He did not know who was bringing it before time. Abraham was not busy trying to figure it out. He went out with the instruction.

Also, I believe the ram had been there before Abraham got to the place.

He just did not see it. The bible says "Then Abraham noticed a ram.. "

I don't know what God has asked you to do and probably it is looking like there is no resources.

God has told you xyz but no provision to accomplish

Know this: On the mountain of the Lord (Inside the plan of the Lord), there will SURELY be provisions

The Lord will give all that you need, when you need it

(not one minute late)

When God directs, He protects.

We see that Elisha was following God's direction. Even the people benefited from the protection that came from following God's directions

But the man of God sent a message to the king of Israel. Elisha said, “Be careful! Don’t go by that place, because the Aramean soldiers are hiding there!”  The king of Israel sent a message to his men at the place that the man of God warned him about. And the king of Israel saved quite a few men.

2 Kings 6:9‭-‬10 ERV

Because of the directions God gave Elisha, the king of Haram sent an army to surround and kill him.

But God protected Elisha still

Elisha’s servant got up early that morning. When he went outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?”  Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the army that fights for Aram.”  Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, I ask you, open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.” The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and the servant saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. They were all around Elisha.

2 Kings 6:15‭-‬17 ERV

Sometimes, we are like these servants, crying : "Lord, what shall we do"

But the Lord is telling us to look around, we are protected

For the remaining days of this year, our eyes are opened to God's protection that is always around us.

Amen

Trust in the Lord with your heart, I say,

You will hear His voice, "This is the way."

Desires from Him, they will come,

Your heart bears witness, this is the one.

Like Abraham, put all your trust in God. Knowing that He will provide, that He will lead, guide and direct

Knowing that truly the vision is for an appointed time. Though it tarries, surely it will come to pass.

Though everything happening is not looking like the vision, trust that God's plans are truly blessed

March 2018, the Holy spirit showed me something.

I was sitting on a stool, no handle or place to rest my back.

The stool was placed at the edge of a cliff.

The Cliff was very high, like really high and tiny.

All around it, deep waters.

Then the Spirit told me to rest my back.

Me: on what?

He told me to lean backwards

On what?

I'm already so scared sitting on that cliff, now I should lean completely as if there was a chair I'm relaxing on?

I'm going to fall inside the deep waters, that was certain.

I couldn't even look down properly cos I was scared. Now I should lean.

Then the Spirit told me, that this is what it is to depend on God, trust in His word and know that His love will not let me fall inside that water waiting to swallow

This is what it means to trust.

You know that leaning is the end of you but you also know that the one you lean on will not allow such end

It is very difficult to allow ourselves fall back with hope that someone will come and hold us.

From personal experience, I've come to know our trusting in God is our last resort

Like we've tried other cards that didn't work and it's just the God option left. Just like the woman with the issue of blood, she had exhausted all resources before Jesus. 12 years of carrying that problem.

Sometimes, we prolong some phases inside of this blessed plan of God for our lives, because we refuse to trust completely.

Our realities, natural senses, situations etc tilt us to walk by sight.

But you see God's plan, as blessed as it is, human sight cannot catch a glimpse of the process..

It takes trusting the one that gave the plan

Ignore your reality

Ignore the doctor's report

Forget the economy and absence of "provision"

Leave yourself at the complete mercy of God.

It's sweet to talk about o but very difficult. I know this because the decision to trust is daily. Even I sometimes forget to.

I know I'm to trust God but a problem comes up and I'm worried. I'm springing into action trying to fix or work it out.

Hmmm. God's plans are blessed but you need to trust Him to work it out. And you will hear Him when you do. He will show you the way. You will be certain of the steps to take.

I will leave verse 3 & 4 for us and jump to the last.

This is the most beautiful part of this confession for me. 

Rest - for you a way of life.

I changed the you on the paper at some point to "me".

When we learn to believe that truly the plans of God for us are blessed, that He will provide, protect and all we need do is trust, we experience peace.

We come to a place of rest.

Gone are the days of worry and strife

We are not worrying or struggling, not because there is nothing to worry about but because we are at the complete mercy of God.

The plan does not belong to me. If it looks like it is not working? The owner of the plan should do the worrying 😁

You've come to the place of knowing His way,

And when we stay here, we already have expo. It becomes easier. Struggles are no longer struggles. We are almost cruising through it all.

People will look at you and wonder how you have it all together but you know you don't have it all together, only God does.

God's plans are blessed, for you to believe and obey

Hmmmm..

Indeed, God has plans for you. God has plans for me.

And they are really blessed plans

Regardless of circumstances, please believe this. Never ever doubt it

Life will tell you otherwise o. Things will not make sense but don't ever doubt

God's plans are blessed, first for you to believe then obey the instructions He gives.

If you do not believe and obey, you can't walk with the plan talk less of enjoying the blessings from it.

I will like us to google William Cowper. This man had life deal with him seriously. He was heavily depressed. Nothing made sense to him. He had experience a whole lot of pain, a whole  lot. Life had no meaning. He became a believer through John Newton (author of amazing Grace) and it was John who encouraged him to write poems to be Sung by the church.

God moves in mysterious ways was written by William Cowper. He didn't write this song when everything became rosy.

If we look at this hymn from the pain Cowper was going through, just maybe we will understand the hymn better.

(funny enough, my dad sent same hymn to me 2 days ago)

“God Moves in a Mysterious Way” by William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform; he plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines, of never-failing skill; he fashions up his bright designs, and works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, the clouds that you much dread, are big with mercy and will break in blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace; behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan his work in vain; God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain.

The verse 4 says to judge not the Lord by feeble sense

The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours. Your ways are not like mine.  Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8‭-‬9 ERV

Whatever is going on in your life, God's purposes will ripen very fast. Don't forget to trust God's plan and His wisdom to see it through.

God's plans are blessed. He is the interpreter of His plans and He will make it plain.

Let us Pray

Spirit of the Living God, we thank you for teaching us so much in such little time. 

Lord, we thank you for your blessed plans concerning our lives.

We thank you because we know that despite all that might be going on, we are safe inside of your plans.

Help us to always knows this

Help us to trust in you be at your complete mercy.

Help us to follow your lead and rest in your promises.

Help is to never forget that truly we are inside of your blessed plan

Amen

HAVING SEX IN DREAMS, WHAT IT MEANS AND HOW TO STOP IT

If a person is having sex in the persons dreams what does it mean? 

And does it automatically mean the person is under attack?  What is the remedy?

Having sex in dreams
Getting married
Eating (I'm currently game if it's amala with gbegiri, ewedu and egufe 😭😭😭)
Somebody pursuing you
Seeing yourself in the past everytime etc

Bad dreams, good dreams. I've seen different interpretation for dreams Like so many.

You can literally type a dream online and you will see different answers to it. First, I will like us to clear what dreams are, where they are from and why we even dream in the first place

So what are dreams?

Dreams are images and imagery, thoughts, sounds and voices, and subjective sensations experienced when we sleep.

Our subconscious acting film kinda

Where are dreams from?
How are they planted?


2 things

*God
*Our mind

God can communicate with us through dreams.

We see this in the bible, especially in the old testament.
God speaking to so many people in their dreams.

But maybe God does explain what he does but speaks in ways that people don’t understand.  He may speak in a dream, or in a vision at night, when people are in a deep sleep lying in their beds.

Job 33:14‭-‬15 ERV

When the Lord speaks to His people through dreams, is it for our amusement or for dreaming sake?
No.

There is always a purpose. Answers to prayers, revelations, warnings, confirmation/affirmations etc

We also have a lot of people he spoke to in the bible through dreams. Abraham, Joseph, Nebuchadnezzar etc

Dreams coming from our mind

This one is very common. Our brain kind of has a mind of its own. It takes in all the information we give it, randomly and stores somewhere.

What we watch, what we talk or think about, all of these things are being stored somewhere.
Our subconscious works on this information and produces proper season movie while we are asleep

For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
Jeremiah 29:8 KJV

There is a part in scripture that says our dreams come from multitude of activities. All the things we feed on. All activities we indulge in.

I'm having a dream where someone is having sex with me or beating me and I'm waking up with marks on my body. Is it God planting that one too or my mind?

Definitely, God did not plant this dream. And your mind did not carry cane to beat you.

Which brings me to something else...Dreams can be influenced by Demonic entities. Not just dreams now, all aspects of us. On one condition sha, access

When we let the enemy in, we cannot determine to what extent he works. What he does and how he does it

While the enemy cannot plant dreams directly, he can perform his activities inside of us if given permission/access. Because this is still activity (physical or spiritual), our subconscious sometimes takes them while our mind is at rests and produces a dream.

We wake up and realise its actually not just a dream, it's like it happened for real

I used to bedwet while I was growing up. I will dream that I wanted to urinate then I stood up and go to the toilet and peed. Only to wake up to see that I did not stand up to any toilet, I peed on my body. Felt like a dream but it was reality

For this mind part, My younger brother likes football very much. He will play and play throughout the day then when he is sleeping at night you will be hearing. Emmanuel pass the ball, pass the ball

Or is it my elder brother that likes head of fish and while he is sleeping, you will be hearing:

Mummy ori eja ni mo fe. E ma fun Keji o

Mummy I want head of fish, don't give Keji

Will be breaking down
Dreams coming through our minds and Dreams as a result of activities of demonic entities.

How do we stop these things? Do I have a control over them? Answer is YES

1. Since dreams can come through our mind, then we have to watch what we feed our mind.
What do you expose yourself to? We can't be watching porn all day and expect to not have wet dreams? For some of us, we are more sensitive. Just a movie scene with sex in it and you will start dreaming all sorts

What kind of conversations do you have?
What kind of books do you read?
What kind of movies do you watch?

Start by decluttering your mind. Anything that has appearance of evil or filth, first of all clear them.

What are you always thinking about? Man, how your husband will carry you and pin you to the wall?
But boyfriend you don't have yet.

Why are we bothering with such information that do not concern us yet? Information that we can't act upon and because we can't do anything about it, our mind will help us do things about it. It will process well.

Please, declutter

Rid yourself of these things. Empty your mind of anything that is not profitable to you, the man in Christ.

Now, some of us might probably say:
Remi, I don't think about such things. I don't do all you said but I still have bad dreams that seem real

This is still very possible even with the absence of those things we mentioned.

Before I explain further, for those that really do not believe these things happen, let's go back to the story of the man with legions

This man would cut himself with stones, throw himself on the floor, in broad daylight. All thanks to demonic influence.

If the enemy can do as he likes during the day without fear, then he can operate even while we sleep as long as he is given access

A lot of people are being oppressed and influenced by Demonic entities today but they don't know what they've done wrong.

How did the enemy get access?

The answer is this: EMPTINESS

You see, when we are asked to declutter our mind and stop taking in contents that are bad for us, this doesn't hinder the enemy in any way.


There is still accommodation for him in that space

Then the evil spirit goes out and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself. They all go and live there, and that person has even more trouble than before. It is the same way with the evil people who live today.” Mathew 12:45

I like how the ERV tagged this part, The Danger of Emptiness. That is the access we give to the enemy, emptiness

We don't need to chant for demons to come or specially invite them with words

Emptiness is password accepted for them

See what the last part says, when the evil spirits come and meet emptiness, the individual is troubled/oppressed even more than before

The heart of man has to be filled always. If we empty our heart from evil without filling it with something that the enemy cannot withstand, worse evil will rush back in

In essence, Jesus was telling these people that the purpose is not just to empty the house but to fill it with Himself.

I know somebody is about to shout, I have Christ so I can't be oppressed by the enemy.

Calm down 🙄

The filling here is Knowledge of Christ and all that He has done


You cannot rely on what you don't know/believe.

The Word of God

An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
Proverbs 11:9 KJV

The just is delivered through Knowledge. Through Knowledge of what? Christ, his righteousness!

Where do you gain this knowledge? The word.


Nothing can be revealed to you outside of the word. Nothing

Fill yourself up with the word. Not just basic reading now, meditate on it. Let the word dwell in you richly till it is all that your core system believes.

Another thing that works is Worship


We see this in the story of Saul.

Do you have really terrible dreams often?

1. The Word (We can never bypass this o). Spend time studying and meditating daily. Even while you do other things, let the word of God fill your heart


2. Worship (especially before you go to bed)
Don't joke with this one o. And when I say worship, I don't just mean singing (that's expression of worship not worship itself). True worship, deep intense one. Soak yourself in it

I assure you that all of those dreams and influences will stop.

Please if you have any kind of bad dreams, do put this to trial. And if you need help with anything or accountability, you can reach out to me privately.

I BELIEVE

As an Anglican, I grew up reciting the creed every Sunday. Same as almost all things I was taught growing up, I didn't understand the full implications of the creed I proclaimed every Sunday at that time.

Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

Every Sunday of reciting this and it took a while for it to hit me.

Same with Psalm 23, most of us knew it since we were kids but some Christians are yet to understand fully what we are saying when we read these things

Today, if you ask me to introduce myself, I will most likely mention I'm a believer..
This will be part of my description of me. I believe most Christians will also

"Oh! My name is Olúrèmí, I'm 19 and the most beautiful person you know. I'm a believer in Christ Jesus"


Sounds so sweet and cliché

I've come to realize most people don't exactly know what they are saying when they tag themselves believers.

 Tonight, we will be talking on I BELIEVE.

What exactly does it mean to be a believer, in Christ Jesus?

Our opening scripture is John 3:16.

This is one of our earliest study of believing growing up as Christians.

John 3:16 "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

John.3.16 - For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

The AMPC

Trust, cling, rely on.

To cling is to hold on to something strongly

To have a strong dependence on something/someone

Every Christian is familiar with this particular scripture.

Most tend to read or translate this verse as :
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that everyone who recognises and believe He is saviour will never perish but have life everlasting. The word believe used here means more than simply agreeing that Jesus, is truly saviour.

I believe that Donald trump is the president of the US, does that mean I believe in Him?

I believe and accept Paul Biya is the president of Cameroon, does that mean I believe in Him or accept him as my own president? No.

If we go by this analogy, even the devil believes

Let's read Mark 1:24 - “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Here is what demons had to say.

I know who you are

You are the Holy one of God!

If the devil knows and accepts that truly Christ is the son of God and this doesn't equal salvation to him, then it doesn't for us.

Knowledge and acceptance that Christ is the son of God is not all that our belief entails

This is where it begins though

Another instance is in the miraculous feeding of 5000 (John 6:5-13)

After the people saw the sign, the verse 14 says :
"After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.'"

This is in reference to the old testament's foretelling of the coming of Christ

These people even planned to crown him king (that's how much they recognized who he was) but Jesus left quietly.

The next day, they sought christ out.
They had to cross to the other side of the lake sef to find Jesus

They found him and a conversation ensued between them (we can read the full chapter for understanding)

This came up in their conversation:

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”  Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
John 6:28‭-‬29 NIV

They already believed Christ was sent from God.

Christ's reply here shows that though the statement above is true, it is not what is required.
They had to believe IN the one that was sent

After all the explanations, long story short, this happened:

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
John 6:66 NIV

They believed Christ was the Messiah sent from God but they did not believe or accept fully His words. Don't know if the picture is getting clearer

For many people, the concept of their belief is like accepting an applications terms and condition (without reading or knowing it). Just scroll down straight and click the I accept part. All I care about is my need for the software. For most, all they care about is to sha be counted as those who are saved. So let's just head over to the I agree part of the contract

Doesn't work this way.

Suppose a person of weight, let's say 100kg, sees people walking on a bridge made of tiny ropes.
Even some other people of weight are passing through. And this person believes that he can pass and the tiny ropes won't break or give way. He even goes ahead to tell other people of weight to pass.

How do we know he truly believes he can pass and nothing will happen?.

When he actually walks across it! When he walks his talks!

Another instance,

I believe Seun can finish 10kg of rice at once. I make mouth to everybody on Word Alive

"Ehn? Seun? I trust him die. E go chop am finish. Person wey fit chop dead body. Forget. Na my guy. I know wetin u dey talk. E sure me dieeeeee"

I'm not merely bluffing, i do truly believe Seun can finish the food

Usually, what goes on next is action.
Not action to make me believe
Action produced from my believe

I will put money down for the rice or bet sef

 If Bimbo says
 "ah! Remi you are lying. How can Seun finish 10kg rice? Oya buy the rice let's see"

And my reply is refusal to buy the rice. Everyone on Word Alive automatically assumes I don't believe what I'm saying myself


Do we get what I'm trying to point at?

I'm trying to use as much relatable terms as possible

Believing IN someone brings a special kind of stanning.

Look at those that believe in the ministry of Pastor Chris, most actually model his dress style.

Look at Kim Kardashian stans, they are getting surgeries to look like her.

We tend to model the lives of those we truly Stan and believe in. We tend to obey such people (Bey hive as example here)

Take note of these words, Follow, model, obey

Let's open to Acts 16:30-31

Acts 16:30-31 New International Version (NIV)

30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

This is the jailer asking Paul, what must I do to be saved.

Believe IN the LORD JESUS Christ

It is really this simple.

Believe IN Christ (Saviour), who is also Lord (Master) and you are saved.

A lot of us like Christ as Savior but not as Lord. There is a problem here

Trust that Jesus is truly saviour makes us rely on His death as the full payment for the debt of sin
This further translates into us depending on His own resurrection as the guarantee, that we would also be raised

And because we totally depend on Him up till life eternal, we follow His every lead as our Lord and Master

This is a brief sum up of I believe


The direct implication of I believe is that my believe is trust and dependence in what He has already done. To depend is to let Him lead

Christ is saviour - Fact!

I believe that Christ is my Saviour is me embracing the fact of Christ being saviour and all that it entails

Seeing Christ for who He really is. Embracing all that we see and allowing Him lead us in His path.

If we say we believe:

1. First, we truly know that Christ is Saviour

2. We accept Him as our own saviour and Lord

3. We accept His words and obey

4. We appropriate His works and rely on it completely.

5. We follow His lead

All of these produces the very character of Christ in us. Apostle Paul defines Faith, the one that saves as a decision to not trust in ones own works but rather in Christ who justifies us.

Our dear brother James, explains this (Saving Faith) further:

My brothers and sisters, if a person claims to have faith but does nothing, that faith is worth nothing. Faith like that cannot save anyone. It is the same with faith. If it is just faith and nothing more—if it doesn’t do anything—it is dead.
James 2:14‭, ‬17 ERV

But someone might object and say, “One person has faith and another person has works.” Go ahead then and prove to me that you have faith without works and I will show you faith by my works as proof that I believe.
James (Jacob) 2:18 TPT

The author of Hebrews also had this to say:

And after being proven perfect in this way he has now become the source of eternal salvation to all those who listen to him and obey.
Hebrews 5:9 TPT

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Luke 6:46 NIV


Christ explaining what it meant to say He is Lord

Let's note that this doesn't mean we have to do to be saved


Rather that, our faith in Christ, that truly He saves us, produces these things, naturally.

If I want to know the man that believes in Jesus, how? It's in His obedience to Jesus. I don't know this by His words but by what his belief produces.

Do you believe?

If your answer is yes, then this is what it means for you:

You believe in who Jesus is (Saviour and Lord)

You trust in all what Jesus has done and rely on it completely

You obey Jesus and follow His lead

For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.
Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 TPT

I will end with this reminder, that it is only Christ who saves. not how good we are or the good works that we do.


But our belief in Him and all He has done for us

HOW TO STUDY (MEDITATE) ON THE WORD EFFECTIVELY

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Joshua 1:8 KJV

This is maybe the most common scripture that speaks about meditating on God's Word. Jesus said "haven't you read...."? He expects us to read the scriptures to gain deep insights. Studying the Bible is a command for a victorious Christian life. Our text encourages us to always study/meditate on the Word on a regular.

Jesus responded, “Haven’t you ever read what King David and his men did when they were hungry?

Matthew 12:3 TPT

If God places so much emphasis on His Word and He commands that we study the Word, how come we Christians find it a tad difficult studying the word?

There are different ways to study the Bible and what we will do tonight is run through almost all of them. Then we will major on how to study the Word as a foundation of faith and answered prayers

I'll run through a few reasons why people dont study the Bible

1. They don’t know how to study the bible. This is because either they’ve not been taught or they’re not self-taught. Job 33;33 , Ps 27;11. Most of us dont study the Bible because we've not been taught

And that's the reason for tonight's teaching. To equip people with knowledge on how to study the Word

2. Lack of hunger. People will study if they have the hunger. A lot of us have hunger for praise and worship (which isn’t bad) but it can’t replace bible study. Hunger for church activities, food, spouse, business etc. In fact, quite a number of us will prefer to be on social media than read our Bible, true?
It's because we dont have hunger for the Word

3. It’s not a priority. We do't see studying the Word as a priority

4. Hindering Spirits 2 cor 2;11

5. Bible reading goals. Most of us have set goals in life. When we want to marry, the type of career we want etc. But until we set Bible reading Goals, we might find it hard to read the Bible. Dr Mike Murdock has a Bible reading goal of 40 chapters per day. Wow. Late Myles Munroe reads through the Bible twice every year

I once heard Rev. George Adegboye say he has read the bible from cover to cover over 200 times. And i'm sure none of us are as busy as any of these men. In fact that;s why i didn't include being busy amongst the reasons why people don't study the bible. We are never too busy for what we prioritize

So let me dish out a few facts about the Bible and show you why its so easy through the Bible. The bible consists of two parts; the old and new testaments or covenants. With 69 books and 1189 chapters broken down into 31,173 verses, the bible has an estimated 800, 000 words.

It takes roughly 58 hours to read the bible with the inner voice and 71 hours to read at pulpit rate.
This means that it takes less than 3 days to read through the entire bible. If you read an hour a day, you’ll read through in just about 3 months. The gospels are a total 89 chapters and if you read 3 chapters a day, you’re done in a month. In fact if you read the Bible for one hour everyday, you'll read it from cover to cover 4 times in a year

SO, WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE FOR NOT READING THE BIBLE? I'll try to move very fast because there's so much to cover

When should we study the Bible?
1. Study when you are physically alert. (Some in the early morning, others late at night). 
 2. Study when you are not interrupted. 
 3. Study when you can focus on the Scriptures. 
 4. Study a little each day (forget about spending all day in the Word). 
 5. Study immediately before teaching (like taking an exam, study all semester, but   review before the exam).

Why should we study the Bible as Christians?
The study of the Bible is foundational to our growth as a Christian.  Therefore, every Christian should plan to study the Bible, similar to the way one eats food to grow physically.  Actually, several parallels may be drawn between good eating habits and a healthy approach to Bible study.

 Five Simple Steps to Studying the Bible

1: Observation
Observation is the first and most important step in how to study the Bible. As you read the Bible text, you need to look carefully at what is said, and how it is said. Look for:
a) Terms, not words. Words can have many meanings, but terms are words used in a specific way in a specific context. (For instance, the word trunk could apply to a tree, a car, or a storage box. However, when you read, “That tree has a very large trunk,” you know exactly what the word means, which makes it a term.)

b) Cause-and-effect: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things”

c) Literary form. The Bible is literature, and the three main types of literature in the Bible are discourse (the epistles), prose (Old Testament history), and poetry (the Psalms). Considering the type of literature makes a great deal of difference when you read and interpret the Scriptures.

d) Atmosphere. The author had a particular reason or burden for writing each passage, chapter, and book. Be sure you notice the mood or tone or urgency of the writing.

e)  Emphasis. The amount of space or the number of chapters or verses devoted to a specific topic will reveal the importance of that topic (for example, note the emphasis of Romans 9 and Psalms 119).

f)  Repetition. This is another way an author demonstrates that something is important. One reading of 1 Corinthians 13, where the author uses the word “love” nine times in only 13 verses, communicates to us that love is the focal point of these 13 verses.

g) Comparisons and contrasts. For example, “You have heard that it was said…but I say to you…” (Matthew 5:21).

After you've started observing as you Study the Word, the next thing you do is ask a couple of questions for deeper insights

2. Ask the Who? What? Where? When?
Who are the people in this passage? What is happening in this passage? Where is this story taking place? When in time (of day, of the year, in history) is it?
Asking these four “Wh” questions can help you notice terms and identify atmosphere. The answers will also enable you to use your imagination to recreate the scene you’re reading about.
As you answer the “Wh” questions and imagine the event, you’ll probably come up with some questions of your own.

Asking those additional questions for understanding will help to build a bridge between observation (the first step) and interpretation (the second step) of the Bible study process.

4.Interpretation
Interpretation is discovering the meaning of a passage, the author’s main thought or idea. Answering the questions that arise during observation will help you in the process of interpretation. Five clues (called “the five C’s”) can help you determine the author’s main point(s):

a. Context. You can answer 75 percent of your questions about a passage when you read the text. Reading the text involves looking at the near context (the verse immediately before and after) as well as the far context (the paragraph or the chapter that precedes and/or follows the passage you’re studying).

b. Cross-references. Let Scripture interpret Scripture. That is, let other passages in the Bible shed light on the passage you are looking at. At the same time, be careful not to assume that the same word or phrase in two different passages means the same thing.

c. Culture. The Bible was written long ago, so when we interpret it, we need to understand it from the writers’ cultural context.

d. Conclusion. Having answered your questions for understanding by means of context, cross-reference, and culture, you can make a preliminary statement of the passage’s meaning. Remember that if your passage consists of more than one paragraph, the author may be presenting more than one thought or idea.

e. Consultation. Reading books known as commentaries, which are written by Bible scholars, can help you interpret Scripture.

5. Application
The Bible says we shouldn't be just hearers but also doers of the Word

Application is why we study the Bible. We want our lives to change; we want to be obedient to God and to grow more like Jesus Christ. After we have observed a passage and interpreted or understood it to the best of our ability, we must then apply its truth to our own life.

You’ll want to ask the following questions of every passage of Scripture you study:
● How does the truth revealed here affect my relationship with God?
● How does this truth affect my relationship with others?
● How does this truth affect me?
● How does this truth affect my response to the enemy, Satan?

The application step is not completed by simply answering these questions; the key is putting into practice what God has taught you in your study. Although at any given moment you cannot be consciously applying everything you’re learning in Bible study, you can be consciously applying something. And when you work on applying a truth to your life, God will bless your efforts by, as noted earlier, conforming you to the image of Jesus Christ.

Techniques to studying the Bible

1. Random 
This is the lazy man approach to studying the bible. It entails opening a random passage from the scriptures and reading. I’ve outlined four points by which this method can be maximized.
1. What is the POINT of the passage?
2. Where is this thought found in PARALLEL passage?
3. What are the PROBLEMS in this passage?

4. What are some PRACTICAL applications for this passage?

2. Studying a Biography
This is perhaps the most interesting mode of studying the scriptures as it has to do with people, history and stories. There are 2,930 people mentioned in the Bible, and we can learn valuable lessons from studying their lives. Pick someone you would like to study, and using a concordance, a topical Bible or a proper-name index found in the back of some Bibles, look up every mention of that person.
The Psalmist wrote, "I cling to Your testimonies" (Ps. 119:31) and considered them his counselors (Ps. 119:24).  Understanding this principle, Paul repeatedly called upon those he reached for Christ to follow the example of the Christian life he modeled for them in his own life (II Thess. 3:7, 9; I Cor. 11:1; Phil. 4:9).

Phil 4:9
 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

1Cor 11:1
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

2 Thess 3 : 7-9 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.

3. Chapter and Verse
When you study individual chapters and verses, look closely at the text. Sometimes it helps to compare different translations, or look up words in a Bible dictionary. Ask yourself:

• What is the principal subject of the chapter?
• What is a key verse? Consider memorizing it.
• What other portions of scripture buttresses this chapter or key verses
• Who are the principal characters?
• Is there any example to follow or to avoid?
Each chapter has a theme. Be sure to understand the theme of each chapter while reading Examples of scriptures and themes
• The Creation of the World in Genesis 1
• The Fall of Humanity in Genesis 3
• The Lord as Our Shepherd in Psalm 23
• The New Birth in John 3
• The Nature of Love in 1 Corinthians 13

• The Nature of Faith in Hebrews 11

4. Book Study
We can discover many truths from in-depth study of a specific book within the Bible. Each of the sixty-six books of the Bible has a particular emphasis and/or theme.  When the prophet first preached his sermons or an apostle first wrote a letter, they were trying to communicate a specific thought or theme.  These themes are best understood in the context of the whole content of the book.  When we study the Bible by book, we learn the major lessons of the Scripture in the manner that the human authors of Scripture intended to teach them.

Examples of scriptures and themes
• God is Love = John
• Prayer = James
• Worship, praise and prayer = Psalms
• Love poems = Songs of Solomon

5. Topical Study
We can also study the Bible by focusing on what it says about specific topics. What is God's take on anxiety, prayer, sexual purity or trust?
Using a topical Bible or a concordance, look up all the references to a specific topic. Ask yourself these questions:

• What is a working definition of the topic?
• How do all the verses relate together?
• What have you learned about the topic and what does it tell you about God?
• Which of these verses would be good to memorize?

6. Storyline/ Parables
Storylines and parables like character study is often very interesting. I mean who won’t be happy reading about the 17-year-old lad who brings down an 8 ft tall giant. Or the Christmas story or even the lady who became a queen by winning a beauty pageant and later on went to save her people.
Since all Scripture is inspired and profitable, then it includes biblical narratives.  Reminding his readers about the experiences of Israel in the wilderness, Paul wrote, "Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted" (1 Cor. 10:6).

How to study Storylines and Parables

a. Determine the climate, history, geography, businesses and living conditions where the story took place.
b. Determine main characteristics of the people in the story.
c. Determine the people who acted and those who reacted.
d. Look behind the words of the conversation to the meaning of their messages.
e. Determine the positive principles in the story that can be applied and the negative principles to be avoided.

f. What contextual conditions/promises applied only to the characters of the story and what universal principle can be applied to your today

The bible consists of two parts; the old and new testaments or covenants. With 69 books and 1189
chapters broken down into 31,173 verses, the bible has an estimated 800, 000 words. It takes roughly 58 hours to read the bible with the inner voice and 71 hours to read at pulpit rate. This means that it takes less than 3 days to read through the entire bible. If you read an hour a day, you’ll read through in just about 3 months. The gospels are a total 89 chapters and if you read 3 chapters a day, you’re done in a month. So why don’t people study the bible?

The Word, Transformation and Answered Prayers

It's best to read through the Word over and over again. The convener of Word Alive understands this and that's why she said we should start reading the new testament again.

You see, you get fresh insights and new revelations every time you read the scriptures. Now here’s the best part; somehow what you’ve read is embedded in your mind especially if it’s repetitive. Everything we read, hear and watch is somewhat embedded in us

Faith comes by hearing/reading the Word of God
Roms 10:17

Roms 12:2

...but be transformed by the renewing of your mind

The word of God renews our minds everytime we read it

That's why Josh 1:8 commands us to meditate daily

Jesus says the Words are Spirit and Life.


We draw life daily when we study daily

How are we transformed by the word

1. It jacks up our faith
Rom 10:17

2. There's a supply of the Spirit and Life of God.

3. It gives joy

Ps 119:111
Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.

4. The Word gives us wisdom

Ps 119:130
The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple

5. It gives peace unspeakable

Ps 119:165
Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble”

6. The Word guides us in our daily lives and decision making

Ps 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

 Studying the Word to get Answers to Prayers

Step 1: ASK

A-Ask in accordance with the scriptures. Search out scriptures in line with your specific requests. If you study the Word on a regular, scriptures will readily pop into your mind as you pray. You can also use a concordance or even use Google. Search out scriptures and ask God for that which you desire in prayer.

Example:
Remi is praying for husband. So she will go into the Bible to search out scriptures that speak about marriage.

a) He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.” – Proverbs 18:22

b) Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price [is] far above rubies
Proverbs 31:10

“A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.” – Proverbs 12:4


Prayer: Dear father, I'm your daughter of noble character, I ask that you bring a son of yours who understands that your daughter is worth far above rubies and will love me as Christ loves the church

Step 2.

S-SEEK
Seek out more of God's promise in His Word concerning what you're asking. Remember that faith is the substance of what is not seen. That substance is the tangible Word of God. Hold fast to your profession of faith as seen in the Word and fashion your confession with the promise you found.

Now, the Word is on your inside. The seeking at this stage is done with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps you to search out an answer to your prayer in scripture. Either while you read the Word, you see the exact passage that speaks to the situation or He will bring to your remembrance a specific scripture that speaks to the situation.

This will be your profession of faith and you will hinge your confession based on this scriptures.

Example:
So Remi is reading the Bible and sees this passage (in a new light)

1 Sam 16:11-12
11. So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered. "He is tending the sheep." Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives." 12. So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; this is the one."

At this point she realises it's non of her toasters but a certain fine boy who's is a pastor (a sherperd)

Please note: Your enlist the help of the Holy Spirit by speaking in tongues over your prayer request.

Step 3

K-Knock consistently with tongues and thanksgiving. Remember the angel told Daniel (Dan 10:12-14)that God answered his prayers the very day he prayed but the Prince of Persia blocked his answered prayers for 21 days. Daniel's persistence in the place of prayer delivered the answers. So likewise we must keep knocking with tongues and thanksgiving over that which we've asked the father for till we get it.

Example
Remi sees this and hinges her hope on this scripture. See, at this point she realises she's seen the answer to her prayer. It's all based on the fact that she's an ardent student of the Word

So her confession goes thus:

Father, I think you because you've prepared me for your son who's a shepherd over your people. I thank you because you'll bring him speedily without haste because two are better than one and I am the help suitable for him in ministry.

Then she continues in tongues and worship over this prayer: ... untill it's manifestation.

THANKSGIVING ATTITUDE

What is Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is a mental or verbal expression of one's acknowledgement and appreciation of God's person. It's not just about singing praises to God. It's way more than that.

Thanksgiving is associated with praises,  offering, time, adoration and sacrifice. You can thank God with your substance and your substance is any thing that's of value to you. As Christians, thanksgiving is indispensable.

Psalm 107 v 1 says Oh, thank God—he's so good! His love never runs out (msg).

Through thanksgiving, we acknowledge the grace and forgiveness of God over our lives.

Thanksgiving is a Godly attitude because it is the will of God for every believer to be thankful to him at all times.
We can see this is 1 Thessalonians 5 v 18.

Can someone read 1 Thessalonians 5 vs 18 for us;

1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I like this. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks. And it's God's perfect plan for us.

Thanksgiving is an Act and Attitude. It is determined by the knowledge of and confidence in the authority and accuracy of the word of God. That is, before you can understand the Act and Attitude of Thanksgiving, you must have eaten, digested and understood the word of God. It's only by this understanding that you can give effective thanksgiving.

Key word here is effective thanksgiving

Not just anyhowness thanksgiving.

However,  the attitude of Thanksgiving is more important than the act of Thanksgiving. This is because the heart is the originator of every act.

Can we check 1 Sam 16 v 7, Mathew 15 v 19.

1 Samuel 16 v 7, But God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart." (Msg)

For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.
Matthew 15:19 NLT

This brings us to the issue of how we express our thanksgiving. Is our thanksgiving imposed/compelled? Is it from a broken and contrite heart? Is it offered grudgingly? Is it offered willingly and cheerfully? What kind of attitude do we use to render our thanksgiving?

Let's see Exodus 35 v 5.

Gather special gifts for the Lord. Each of you should decide in your heart what you will give. And then you should bring that gift to the Lord. Bring gold, silver, and bronze;
Exodus 35:5 ERV

Thank you. From this passage we can see that, Moses told the people that they should decide in their heart what they want to give God.

Also Roman 1 vs 21 talked about attitude in Thanksgiving.

It says,  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Kjv)

For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.
Romans 1:21 NET

Our attitude in Thanksgiving can either be positive or negative. But as believers, we need to have a positive and right attitude when giving thanks, so our thankfulness can be effective.

We should always be in the right frame of mind when we are in the presence of God. We shouldn't be compelled to do things that are required of us by our Heavenly Father.

We should do these things willingly and cheerfully.

The choice behind how we give thanks determines how acceptable our thanksgiving is.

Why then should we give thanks?

Like we have read in the scriptures,
*we should give thanks because it's the will of God for us
* it's proven weapon of warfare (2 chronicles 20v 20-22)
* it honors God (2 Corinthians 4 v 15)

2 chronicles 20 v 20-22 says,
20 They were up early in the morning, ready to march into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were leaving, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, "Listen Judah and Jerusalem! Listen to what I have to say! Believe firmly in God, your God, and your lives will be firm! Believe in your prophets and you'll come out on top!"

21 After talking it over with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed a choir for God; dressed in holy robes, they were to march ahead of the troops, singing,

Give thanks to God, His love never quits.

22 As soon as they started shouting and praising, God set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir as they were attacking Judah, and they all ended up dead.

The people of Judah and Jerusalem were going to war and Jehoshaphat appointed choirs to praise God while they march and we read how that end. God gave them victory.

What should we thank God for?
We should thank God for,
* Salvation  
* Provisions 
* Faithfulness 
* Miracles 
* Mercy 
* Holiness 
*Deliverance 
* Life 
* Hope 
* Love, etc. It goes on and on. It's inexhaustible
 
When should we thank God?
At all times and for everything. When it is well with us, in adverse situations, sickness,  disappointment, tribulations, delay, etc....

There are abundance of benefits in thanksgiving. Some of them are peace, Joy,  Divine presence,  multiplication, victory, answered prayers.

I will like to end by saying, Thanksgiving for Christians particularly is voluntarily compulsory. 

Failure to engage in it cheerfully is filled with a lot of dangers such as loss of blessings, salvation, heaven (2 Samuel 6 v 20-23). Inability to access God's presence  (psalm 100v 3_4).

GOD THE FATHER

Our topic for tonight's teaching is
" God, The Father"

In the next hour or thereabout, I will be sharing what God, the Spirit has led me to write on God, the father

I believe this is for someone, especially for a time like this.

I do pray that as I share, you find the message from God, your father specially for you.
Amen

GOD, THE FATHER

A lot of Christians have various ideas of who God is (of course biblical and correct). From God Almighty, to God the Holy one, God unlimited, unquestionable, self existing, God the creator, God the King.....
The list is endless

Majority of us are far from the truth and reality of God as Father.

Of course, we know He is Father (the Bible says so)
We say and pray itbut most times we forget the direct implication of God being Father.

We see Him as God, the father but in reality, not so much as God, my father

Of course, our ideas of who God is (biblical) are actually true but tonight, for some reason, God is calling us beyond all of these knowledge of Him.

To see Him not just as the father but to know Him as our father

Everyone individually.
Not as the father of Jesus
Or the Father of every  believer but as your own father, personally.

Something like me calling God, Daddy Remi and believing/understanding that truly this is who He is: Daddy Remi

For so many of us, we know God the son very well. We know exactly who He is, we learn about Him daily. He is the content of the word we feed on, He is the word himself.

Same with God the spirit.
Even though this one is invincible, He dwells in us, we speak with Him, feel His presence, follow His leading as He orders our stepsm

We make statements like: _the Holy spirit is my best friend, He is my teacher, He reveals all things_

But when we think of the first person of the trinity, we see someone mighty, one big guy up there that no one can stand against.

Here is the gag, we actually do know God, the father (because we know His son) but most of us do not know God as our father

...we do not have a high priest that is out of touch with our reality

Who comes to mind?
Jesus (because High priest)

Remove High priest and say _we do not have a God that is not in touch with our realities_

Who comes to mind still?

God, the son. Jesus.

For some reason we've conditioned our mind to think it is only Christ that can relate.

Like God is just there to oversee all things and now that we keep messing up, He has cane in His hands to flog us but Jesus is there to intercede for us.

Jesus, the sweet first born begging for the rest of the children.

While this image of Christ is correct, the image of God, the father, is a little bit faulty.

God is not the one carrying cane to flog us.
It is sin and its repercussion

I don't know if we have tough kids here. Can you remember that time you did something really bad and your father disowned you?

Do you think it was really your siblings pleas that made him reconsider and accept you back? 😂 😂 😂

Like your father would have actually stood on his ground that you won't be his son if no one had begged

If this is our earthly father, how much more our heavenly father.

This is the same God that has been orchestrating ways for man to be reconciled back to Him since Adam fell.

Let's quickly branch at the parable of the prodigal/lost son (luke 15:11-16)

This son came to collect his inheritance (of course out of foolishness, greed and little or no reverence for the father). The father could have refused or disown him in acceptance but His love excuses even rebellion.

He granted the son's request.

I'm convinced the father was praying and looking down the streets daily, waiting for the son.

A love that waits

Son squanders everything, regained his senses and decided to go back to the father.

The father saw him from afar and ran to him, fell on his neck and kissed him

This is love that doesn't care how much it has been disappointed or left.
Love that doesn't care to go over what went wrong
Love that is ready to pick up
Love that had been waiting regardless

He ran and kissed Him.
A show of affection, acceptance, of deep and raw emotions.

This is our God.

God, your father actually has feelings, deep raw emotions flowing through Him. And He is not forming hard guy about it. He actually wants us to know Him as this

The son wanted to just be a servant on coming back.

I believe a lot of us are just like this son, we do not know how deep the father's love run

That is why some of us still think He is punishing us for something.

The son already gave himself punishment.
He felt he didn't deserve to be in that position again.

But you see the father's love? It is blind to faults.
It doesn't see our wrong.

It is not melted out to us according to what we do or don't.

The father's love is about the father's heart and not our actions

The son felt the only place he deserved was amongst servants. Now the father could simply have said, don't worry, you are still my son o (nothing spoil)

But no, He showed it.
Not just to the son who felt undeserving but to the world who had seen the son's supposed unforgivable sins

The father threw a party, for the son to know He was still son, accepted and loved.

The world and other sons ate of the food of the party. They were never to remind the son that he had no place in the family cos they joined in the welcoming party

The father did not hide the current state of His heart from the world watching or the son, broken.

He did this even with the knowledge that the son could still walk away tomorrow and repeat.

He did this knowing that He'd do it again even if the son walked away a thousand times

God is very much expressive with His feelings towards us

He doesn't just show it to us but to the world watching

But to really know Him in this light, we need to first stop seeing Him only as a strict father

For us to see God as father, we must first see Him as love

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8 ERV

This is His character. This is the motivation for all He does.

This is what makes Him father
Love is why He had to send His son Jesus
Love is why we now have a personal person in the Holy Spirit

Jesus, while on earth was very intentional about seeing God as His father

From when He was found in the temple teaching at 12 ("didn't you know I'd be in my father's house")

To teaching His disciples to pray: our father

Even to the cross, where He commited His spirit back to His father

God, your father is interested in your everyday life.
He delights in fellowship with you
He runs to meet your even before you acknowledge Him
He is more eager to get intimate with you
He practically looks forward to it

Some of us might not have had good experiences with our earthly fathers, Even those of us that have had, God is telling us tonight that He is Our father.
Your father
He is the perfect father
His love and care? Perfect 👌
His attention to details? Super

Imagine if He knows the number of hair on your head, what do you think He is not aware of?

God wants you to see Him as who He has always been, Your Father

He is calling us to a place where we truly see the depth of His love, longing, intimacy, care and where we live the direct implications of these

God is not like a father, God is your father!

God is my Father!

Seeing and knowing Him as this changes a whole lot.

I don't know if we are all familiar with the Apostles creed

I will pick just the first part:

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth
Usually, almighty and creator carries more weight when we Confess this

Let's pause and start over

I believe in God, that He is my father

I believe in God, my father, that He is Almighty

I believe in God, my father, that He is Almighty and He is the one who created Heaven and earth out of nothing
As the creator of all things, my father has the earth and all of its Fullness in His control

There is a certain way you will behave if your father were to be the president of a country

The president is like a father to me is very different from the president is my father

The narrative changes the implications in our lives.

It changes our reaction to situations

It determines our control of situations

The burden, excess luggage, stress that life brings appear differently.

For those of us who do not really understand what the love of a father means, here is God calling us to His blossom.

For those of us who have lost our fathers, here is God reminding us that He is truly our father and we are not fatherless

For those of us with fathers still alive and active in our lives, here is God telling us that our earthly fathers do not compare for even they have a father in Him

Some of us are walking with so much luggage, burdened by life's expectations (culture, family, friends, church and even the ones we imposed on ourselves), trying to achieve this and that, and it is making us weary

I just saw a picture of a child carrying a heavy lunch box walking with the parent. The child keeps going slow because the lunch box is heavy for him at that point
The parent collects the lunch box from him and helps him with it

The sprit says to not forget that it is the parent that prepared the lunch box and of course knows exactly how heavy it is

So he won't watch and allow the child be slowed down or arrive late to school cos of that box. He helps to carry, not just the box but he lifts the child

God, the father
God, your father is saying tonight that He knows the burdens you carry
He is not oblivous of the weight life's expectations is pulling on you
He is not blind to all that is going on

Tonight, I have been sent to remind you, to remind me, that God, our Father is indeed our Father.

That we should never forget. We should live this

He will lift the weight
He will ease the burden
But first, we should know that He is Our father. That we may rest in His blossom, in reckless abandon just like every child.

Without fear
Without worry
All because we know and see Him as GOD, OUR FATHER

I pray for everyone tonight, that we accept God as our father and live out the direct implications of this.

That from this day, we believe and live truly as Children of God, the one who is almighty and creator of all things.

That we learn to just BE in the father's love.

Amen

Thank you all for your time.
God bless