In the garden, Adam became conscious of himself instead of God. His conscience was ignited. Shame became a reality for the first time. “I’ve not done right; I made a mistake there, I messed up. I’m embarrassed by that. Satan awakened the knowledge of good and evil -that was good that was bad. And while we are dealing with the conscience (that was good or bad) we are far from the tree of Life. After the confession of our sin, we have a clear conscience with God and with men.
When we receive Life from Him, we leave Gods presence with joy, direction, confidence, and authority. So Satan tries to keep us from Life in God's presence by bringing an accusation to us whenever we approach Gods presence. His favorite weapon is an accusation
Jesus said “I come that you might have life, but Satan comes only to steal and destroy. To rob, steal and destroy what? Life! Those precious, holy, inspiring moments when God speaks to our spirit. He comes to rob that life!
Maybe this week you have been robbed by condemnation but it won’t be your conscience accusing you any longer - It is only the devil.
Heb 9:14 how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead actions so that we may serve the living God!
Christ has purged our conscience from an evil conscience. We are to be only conscious of God now. Satan seeks to deceive us into thinking we should be still conscious of our past struggles.
Friend our conscience is purged of all the past dead works of the flesh we have done. We are not conscious of ourselves but conscious of Him. We are no longer sin conscious but Son conscious.

Read More

God forgives and He forgets. God's forgiveness is full, it's free and it's final.

I will remember sin no more, for I will be merciful regarding their wrong deeds, and I will never again remember their sins." Hebrews 8:12

Satan wants us remembering and feeling bad about the sin which God does not even remember. God is over it. He's moved on- it’s a new day. He only has mercy for you today, no thoughts of yesterday, He does not remember past mistakes and failures. As distant as the east is from the west, that is how far He has removed our sins from us. Psalms 103:12

God has dealt with our sin and our shame. Oftentimes we confess sins and we believe we are forgiven but we still feel some sense of shame. Shame hangs over us like a cloud. Many times we know we are forgiven but we don't feel cleansed. That feeling of failure and unworthiness Satan will seek to exploit. Regrets can be about what you think of your past. But God has made provision for not only our guilt but our shame too. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1Jn 1:9

God only sees our failures as a lesson. A lesson in Love!. When Jonah failed God in his mission to Nineveh, the lesson God wanted him to learn was the lesson of love. When the gourd grew overhead then died, Jonah was miserable for himself, but Gods point was - shouldn’t I have had compassion on these people? Jonah couldn’t be a success until he learned to love like God.

When Peter failed three times, Jesus asked him “do you love me?” three times. The declaration of love was necessary to undo the sense of failure. When Peter was asked to feed the sheep it was to show love. The essence of success is love.
Friend failure is only ever a failure if the lesson of God love for us and others is not learned. Love never fails and love re-stores failure.

Read More

You are no different from everybody else in the world. The devil will tell you that your sins are worse, and your mistakes are unique. That nobody else has ever had those terrible thoughts, but friend your struggles are the same as everybody else’s. Your critical thoughts about others or about sex have all been thought before, and God knew all of this before He chose you.

God never looks at people as failures, only learners. God uses failure to reveal Himself as a God of steadfast love. How else can you reveal yourself to your wife as a forgiving, loving, kind, patient person until she disappoints you, annoys you, or opposes you? You can't. This is why the angels don't preach. They can't sing the song of the redeemed. But we can -we know what it is like to be forgiven.

Through our failure, God is teaching us of His steadfast love. He is not saying we should fail or try to fail but He knows we will. Think of the story of a woman caught in adultery. What amazes you the failure of the lady? No the beauty of Jesus!

In the parable of the two debtors, one man owed 50 dollars to the man who owed 5 million dollars to a third man. The third man forgave the debt of 5 million but the forgiven man still went out and demanded the 50 dollars from the man who owed him such a small amount. Jesus said that He expected the behaviour of the 5 million dollar debtor, to be changed by the love and compassion that he had been shown. In the same way, God shows steadfast love and forgiveness to us so it will produce the same characteristic in us. If we are not able to rejoice and receive his full forgiveness and release from guilt, we don’t become people of graciousness and mercy towards others.

Friend, God uses our failures to demonstrate his continuing heartfelt grace and love toward us.

Read More

God’s love never fails and his mercy never runs dry. God loves you with an everlasting and steadfast love. He loved us when we were sinners and nothing has changed. If He loved you then, He must love you more now that you are His child.

Deut 7:9 Be certain, then, that the Lord your God is God; whose faith and mercy are unchanging, who keeps His word through a thousand generations to those who have love for him and keep His laws;

Mercy is a more common word in the Old Testament than love, but it means the same so it is usually translated loving-kindness. Or covenant mercies - kheh'-sed from the Hebrew means kindness; loving-kindness, mercy, pity. Mercy is the motivation in Gods' heart that makes Him good toward men and leads Him to offer covenants to relieve man’s misery. Mercy is the core of His being.

Ps 136, Says God lays out the heavens because of His mercy. God also made covenants because of His mercy. Everything waits on His mercy.

Deuteronomy 7.6 says that God delivers men because of His covenant mercy and His mercy leads people to repentance. Preaching the mercy of God does not make people sin more but it creates a response and a desire to please Him.

“Solomon said, “O Jehovah, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on the earth beneath; who keeps covenant and loving kindness with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their heart” 1Ki 8:23

Friend, His mercy is not running out. The answer to shame and insecurity is to understand that the loving-kindness, steadfast love or the mercies of God are new every morning for you.

Read More

The degree of our repentance will determine the degree of supernatural life that God can invade your life with. Paul tells us what true repentance looks like.

2Co 7:10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

2Co 7:11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

When you have godly sorrow it will work in you:

Diligence; where we take up your sins one by one and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you have done to hurt your own life, the life of others and most of all, the Living God. If need be, make a list.

Repentance means that we will want to clear ourselves; where we ask God to help us be absolutely honest and real. Let nothing remain hidden in the heart and remove it from yourself thoroughly.

It means indignation, where we allow the Holy Spirit to help us to first see and convict us of sin, then to hate and forsake our sin. Also fear, as if the list of your behaviors will be read out by God on judgment day and Zeal, where you have an intensely strong passion for making things right.

Finally to repent means, Revenge, where we take some kind of destructive action towards a representation of your wrong. Break or burn it or make restitution.

Friend, repentance is Christ’s keyword to all people in the Gospels and still to the Church. “Remember therefore from whence you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come to you quickly, and will remove your candlestick out of his place, except you repent.” Revelation 2:5

Read More

The disciples were worried but safe. Still the water was in the boat. It doesn’t say in the story but somehow they got the water out of their boat and got to the other side.
Jesus said “Let us cross over.” And He will take His church across the sea of life no matter how big the storm. We will get to the other side. Jesus started this trip and he will finish it.
He accepts responsibility for your finishing while you are with him on His boat on his mission this is what He says. - I will build my church. - I will let no one snatch them out of my hand. - The gates of hell shall not prevail. - Having begun a good working you he shall perform it.

Friend, this is about reaching the other side. Getting through life and finishing the race. God intends we cross over the sea of life and finish life well. He is committed to getting us over. Our faith just needs to be in His ability to keep us not in our ability to hold on.

Read More

A number of years ago I was in a worship time and I heard a voice speak to me to do something with was not bad in any way but I just wasn’t sure it was God. Initially, because I heard this voice in the worship time, I thought it must be God. However it didn't sound like Him and I'd never heard a voice like that before, so I wasn’t sure. If it hadn’t of been a good thing it was suggesting, I would have dismissed it straight away. I was confused and then condemned as I struggle to reconcile who had spoken. If it was the devil, I would never do it but if it was God and I don’t do it, I could lose His blessing because of disobedience.

I decided it was the devil and still fought condemnation for some time. Part of the problem was I didn’t think that the devil could just turn up in the presence of God like that, when I was worshipping God. I guess I should have twigged but have since then I’ve discovered that he often turns up in God’s presence to condemn.

In the book of Zachariah 3, Joshua the High Priest is standing before the Lord and Satan was standing at his right hand to oppose him. There is Satan right in the presence of God. Right when God is speaking to you and wanting to bless you and speak to you the devil is accusing you. We might come into the presence of God to hear and to receive life but many times there is a battle that first must be won. The battle to hear the Lords voice, over the enemy's voice. “You’re not worthy of blessing; God has nothing to say to you; you’ll have to much better that that, if you expect God to really love you.”

But v4 God speaks above the accusation, “See I have removed your iniquity from you and I will clothe on with rich robes of my righteousness”

And friend, our Fathers word, is the final word.

Read More

In the early days, secular work was seen as a lesser calling, but somehow now it has been reversed - work is now the new idol tackled with religious devotion. Work is not meant to be the goal; it is meant to the goal, which is to find fulfilment in serving others and glorifying God. Lately, what used to be work ethic, morphed into idolatry. Work has become God. People are offering their lives to work - sacrificing the family and health on the altar of the corporation. Service becomes a human achievement. Divine calling became a personal career. Fulfilment from feeling accepted by God now comes from the degree of success at work. Work becomes everything for the wrong reasons and motivation is everything.

When work becomes addictive or a buzz so you have to do more of it, we are beginning to define our identity by it to gain our sense of worth from it.

The reason we live and work is all-important. It defines our growth as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The boss wants more and more time; the family is seeing less and less so there is no time for ministry at the church. Soon Sunday is a recovery day and people cease to live as Christians.

Friend, it’s about balance. There is a vital ministry in the market place but there is to be a vital ministry in the family of God too.

Read More

In the old days, it was said that ministry was a special calling and if you want to do really serious work for God, you must go in that direction.

This sort of thinking, can affect our young people who believe that one day they'll be able to serve God. May be they don’t need to get an education and perhaps we don’t need to excel at work -just bum around till you get into the "real ministry." Do you know that the number of people applying to become missionary’s, follow the unemployment graph!

Spurgeon said to his students, “If you can be happy being a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher and business men then do it, for God is not calling you, ministry is just a nice idea to you.”

There is the effectual call of Christ where were saved and called to a lifestyle holiness; then there is the providential call in which you find yourself, like in your present job; the call to ministry and use of you gifts and the heart call. The thing you really want to do, maybe you want to be an engineer, where you would enjoy deep gladness and meet one of the world’s deep needs.
Friend, God is coming to widows and farmers to help them succeed. He knows about matchmaking, crop growing, administration and even prison work! Talk to Him about your work too!

Read More

Sometimes we pray like this Father as we gather at church meetings- Lord, help us to leave behind the hurly-burly of the world as we come together now to do your work in this place.

What does that tell our people? That they are nothing till Sunday? That they have no value all week till Sunday or home group and they can get to do some of Gods work? No! At the office, you are the minister there. Your work is your ministry.

Throughout history, there came a division probably unintentionally between those doing full-time church work and the rest. There was the sacred word and secular work and sometimes we still use that division. It elevated the spiritual ministry above other jobs. Calvin reclaimed work not as secular but spiritual and holy. Calvin said, “your work is your ministry, so serve God in it.” Your call and vocation are the same.

God is a worker and it’s part of Gods nature to work. God is a worker and if we want to be like Him we will be a worker. Some religions have Gods that live a life of self-indulgent pleasure and revelry. God is never represented sleeping it the Bible. He is running, sitting, standing, and being a farmer, a potter, a weaver, gardener or shepherd but never a sleeper. God is a worker it is part of Gods character to work. He expends energy in the service of others; it fulfils Him and He says it’s very good. Everything that He does benefits others and for his own glory.

Friend, John Stott said, “Work is expending energy in the service of others bringing fulfilment to the worker, benefit to the community and glory to God.”

Read More

Out of all the religions of the world; all the sages, human leaders, priests and poets of all religion, the only people that are bringing people into peace with God are the disciples of Jesus Christ.

No one else has that message. Disciples of Jesus Christ hate contention and discord. If you promote peace in your home, church, and world, God will call you his kid.

Believes can continue talking without being contentious, disagree without being disagreeable and confront without being abusive. They seek to not give offence but live kindly. They will not take offence but love and live in harmony rather than take offence. They will gently seek to build bridges between those who have been separated. They sow peace not strife and they cover others sin to not separate other. They don’t whisper or gossip and they don’t try to make other people look bad to someone else.

They are not as Pharisees, who think they are now better than others but are like beggars telling other beggars where they can find bread.

The church preaches peace through Jesus Christ. That Jesus loves them and wants them to find peace with God through Him. He wants to help people find inner peace and peace with others.
Friend be a peacemaker. When you leave are people more at peace than they were. Do people call you a trouble maker or a peacemaker?

Read More

It takes truth to bring us into true freedom and freedom must run on the rails of truth. If your freedom ever gets off the rails of truth it will hurt you badly and destroy those around you. People may want to be free to take other people’s money but it will destroy them and others. So the truth will set you free and knowing and living the truth will keep you free.

Truth is reality; life as it truly is. When you’re a child you need adults to tell you how life really is because a five year doesn’t know about scalding water. Truth protects and sets free.

A teenager needs parents to tell the truth because they don’t know about the danger of men or drugs. The truth set free. An adult needs God to tell them by a revelation about how life is designed to work best, how to become right with God or how to live successfully with their wife or husband.

The law or the Old Testament is not the Truth by itself. It set no one free and made no one righteousness. The Truth is not any one part of the bible; it is the whole Bible. Thy Word is Truth and that truth was perfectly demonstrated by Jesus Christ. Another word for truth is reality and the Bible tells us how a thing really is. There really is a God. There really is a hell. There is a devil and you do reap whatever you sow.

Friend the greatest reality is that God loves us and Christ died for us to bring us back to God forever. That is real love, really awesome and real truth.

Read More

Paul said that he had tried to avoid offending God or men. We should too and sometimes we need to ask somebody for forgiveness, if we know we have offended them. You may need to ask your parents to forgive you or a friend to forgive you for your unkind words.

On the other hand Jesus said if you come to the altar and you know someone has something against you should leave the altar and put things right with that person before you carry on to worship. Sometimes we may even have to ask Gods forgiveness for the sins of our grandparents as well as forgiving those who have sinned against us. We need to clear our conscience before God and people.

That doesn’t mean we go and confess all our sins to our parents, wife or a person we are secretly jealous at, unless they know of our sin. We don’t tell people that you had something against them for the last 10 years, if they didn’t have a clue. That may just create un-necessary problems.
Friend, a principle to live by is: Ask forgiveness from only those people that know of your sin or wrong attitude toward them; nobody else needs to be involved, apart from Our Heavenly Father who will forgive you completely as you confess your sin to Him.

Read More

Fred who is a believer has a short temper and always seems to be blowing up his wife and kids. He makes yet another commitment to God to really try to not get angry so soon. The next day he fails again and feels like a hopeless failure. He will never break the cycle because he personally has no ability to help himself and the law (do not be soon angry) doesn’t empower him either.

He feels that he should be free but doesn’t seem to know-how. Jesus said “If you know the truth it will make you free. So true freedom is not from a physical problem but from something mental or spiritual.

Grace is a gift come to us from Jesus, but sometimes believers don’t seem to appropriate the gift of grace as we could. Often believers live more by self-effort.

God has revealed two weapons to smash off us, every bondage that the devil has put upon us - Grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ. Grace is the unmerited favour of God that God has shown us as sinners. Grace credits to us the righteousness of God. But grace is not just His righteousness but His ability too.

Now, what happens when Fred lives under grace or should we say understands the grace of God and Truth? Fred knows God is not angry with him and that God actually likes him. God has proved that by giving Fred His power, Spirit and Life.

He knows God actually loves him and wants Fred to have a healthy home and relationships even more than Fred does, so he comes boldly to the throne of grace to find help in a time of need. Fred is so in love with his heavenly Father now that he seeks to please Him even in the way he handles disappointments and he finds a new power at work in his life.
Friend, its grace that allows us to come feeling un-condemned before God our Father and ask for help. Grace teaches us that God is not surprised that you can’t control your anger or you lust or your fear without Him and grace will be given freely to you in your time at the throne.

Read More

Another day in the desert came and went; another day to see what was in their heart. Today the people found fault with Moses and God himself. There are people who think they could teach God a few things. Lord you not doing this right. The complained about their present circumstances and they complained about their future challenge. The two who didn’t complain should have gone in but were hindered by the rest for another forty years. (sobering) but the point is that your attitude will keep you in the same circumstance you’re complaining about and until our attitude glorifies God, we won’t be delivered.

It’s not suffering that glorifies God; anyone can suffer but suffering with an attitude that glorifies God. We don’t look for suffering; it’s coming anyway. Jesus suffered gloriously without complaint, but with trust. God is looking for settled character, where we remain stable and constant in trust because the ability is shown by stability. Some people are great today, but tomorrow they are negative, critical, cynical and flaky.

God is in charge and He hasn’t changed since yesterday. He hasn’t changed his plans and purpose for your life since last week or last year.
Friend, God only needs to see us keep the right attitude before He brings the release and the increase.

Read More

Another day in the desert came and went; another day to see what was in their heart. Today the people found fault with Moses and God himself. There are people who think they could teach God a few things. Lord you not doing this right. The complained about their present circumstances and they complained about their future challenge. The two who didn’t complain should have gone in but were hindered by the rest for another forty years. (sobering) but the point is that your attitude will keep you in the same circumstance you’re complaining about and until our attitude glorifies God, we won’t be delivered.

It’s not suffering that glorifies God; anyone can suffer but suffering with an attitude that glorifies God. We don’t look for suffering; it’s coming anyway. Jesus suffered gloriously without complaint, but with trust. God is looking for settled character, where we remain stable and constant in trust because the ability is shown by stability. Some people are great today, but tomorrow they are negative, critical, cynical and flaky.

God is in charge and He hasn’t changed since yesterday. He hasn’t changed his plans and purpose for your life since last week or last year.
Friend, God only needs to see us keep the right attitude before He brings the release and the increase.

Read More

Many years ago God gave us a serious financial challenge. The loss of money I didn’t mind so much but I struggled with the insecurity of being in that situation. I had been working toward purchasing my first house since I was seventeen. I felt it was my responsibility as a man; that is what I’d been taught.

God’s objective is the rearrangement of our life’s priorities, for our trust and security is in Him. I think He needed to show me that my value and worth is found in Him and not in an asset-based “net worth.”

What I found also was that the change brought me into a certain fear of God. Psalm 55:19

I become awed, dependent and reverent before him as we were now out on a limb because of this change. What I also found was a new focus on the things of God, a change of direction for my affections. I’d come home at night and have nothing but God, my wife and my family to love.

Everyone wants a brighter future but they think it can happen without change. It is a fantasy to believe you can have a different future unless something changes in your life now. We want the promise but not the process. We may want a house with a better view, but we don't want to change. A better job, but we don't want the pain of change. Israel had wanted the Promised Land, but not enough to change their unbelief to faith.

Friend, every good thing God has for you, is on the other side of change.

Read More

The woman in Samaria knew she needed to change but it took Jesus to bring her to a breakthrough moment. It was a bit embarrassing and a bit frightening but what a change it made. The events that brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus was something she never planned at all, maybe she hoped she would never be discovered but she was, in the end, indebted to the circumstances that finally bought change to her life.

We don’t usually invite change into our life, but it happens anyway. Sometimes it helps us get unstuck. Zacchaeus the taxman was stuck in his life. He thought he could never be accepted or respected, but Jesus changed his life. Paul was stuck in religion.

I think of Jacob; a mummy’s boy who needed to grow up. His mother dressed him and told him what to do till he was probably 40! He was the boy who liked to stay at home with mum. He was the first metro-sexual. His mother told him what to say and when his mother said to lie to his father, he did just that. He loved God I guess, but life was all about him. He needed to grow up and stand strong in God. After seven years of serving his father in -law to be, he was tricked into taking the older daughter before he is given the one he really loved. Laban, the father in law also changed his wages seven times. But God was helping him to overcome his insecurity and to become a prince that could wrestle with a man and finally God himself. He was setting Jacob up for his destiny.
Friend, maybe you're stuck in something and it will take the changes that Gods wants, to bring your release.

Read More

Now we have Christ the King of righteousness reigning in our spirit, what is the place of king sin in the flesh? When the godless flesh was destroyed the king of sin and death lost his domain and our soul continues as a tutor. The fleshly body and members are undecided who to live for. He will back up whoever feeds him. If you feed you eyes and mind immoral films you will resurrect its sinful power but if you feed it with the word of God and all things godly, the body will serve the king of righteousness in your spirit.
Though our unregenerate nature was to follow sin, fortunately, there are moderating influences in people to more or less degrees. It’s called a brain. People don’t fully give in to the sin because they think of the consequences most times. The undisciplined body is prone to sin because the fleshly body men live in on earth, is interested in three things. Sex, food and comfort. If your body is king it will give instructions to your soul like "let’s watch some dirty movies or tv" Our body must keep a slave. The body doesn’t know Gods rules so it has to be totally controlled by the spirit led soul.

Unless a person’s soul has been trained by their parents and the Word of God they often just let their body do what it wants and they find themselves giving away their virginity to some person there may never see again. A married man’s body is still wanting to look at another woman. Our body doesn’t understand marital covenants, so we can’t let it have its way.

It will also be saying stop here at this takeaway bar and get some more food in spite of the fact you just had lunch two hours ago.

Your body must be trained and disciplined not to eat all the time. Sex sin happens when people can’t control the body’s sexual appetite. Eating is gluttony when people can’t control their eating habits. Don't have to be fat just have to give in to appetites every time you feel hungry. Make your body wait! It is part of the parent’s job to train their child to control their bodies appetite for food.

Friend, your body will be saying that you’re too tired to go to the homegroup and prayer meeting tonight and that you should take your ease. You need some comfort. You can’t go that hot room or the room is too cold and the seats are too hard. Your body keeps yelling till it’s satisfied so it must be told what to do - it must now become a slave to the King of righteousness within us.

Read More

Our spirit is to lead our soul and body. If your soul is ruling it will be telling you to do whatever your emotions feel like doing. Emotions and feelings are so fickle. One day you love your job the next day you hate your job. You love your husband then you don't like your husband.
You don't feel like praying today. You don’t feel like going to church. we can not live successfully by the soul and emotions and our moods. Few would go to work! God is not moody. God does not get an attitude. Attitudes are soulish. Attitudes are an adult pout. If we don’t get what we want. We think we deserve to be angry with that husband. we delight tot hold a grudge etc.

The soul will control you with fear and self-consciousness. You are too embarrassed to speak for Christ at work. You mean I need to go and apologize? I might feel embarrassed.

Answer an altar call? I might feel funny. Begin to dance about the front? ill feel self-conscious.
But we are designed not to do what we feel like doing, but to do what is right Obey God and your right decisions will produce the right feelings.

Friend, to follow God we need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead our spirit in God’s way and bring our soul and body into line with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Read More