Word of Life

Aspects of Worshiping in the Spirit!

“For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God, and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances.” Philippians 3:3

Worship means to declare worth, to attribute worth to something or someone. Thus, us Christians, we declare worthiness and ascribe all this, giving God the recognition He deserves. Putting it in biblical terms, we praise God. We speak, or sing, about how good and powerful God is. This is a purpose for which we are called: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). We were called for the purpose of praising God, worshiping God. That is one of the job descriptions of a Christian. We should declare that God is worthy, worth more than everything else put together.

What do you do in worship? How do you worship? What motivates you to worship? And what are the results of worship? Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:23, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit…” The word which Jesus used for spirit is the Greek word pneuma. Pneuma is defined as a current of air, breath or a breeze. It is used to describe man’s spirit, God’s spirit and even demon spirits. The fact that it is not capitalized in John 4:23 most likely indicates that the translators felt Jesus was referring to the human spirit. In most cases the translators used a capital “S” when speaking of the Holy Spirit. We know that Jesus was not referring to demon spirits. Worshipping God “in spirit” means that we worship God with reverence, attentiveness, and having the right purpose of honoring God, while understanding what we are doing.  Hebrews 12:28-29 says, “Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.  For our God is a consuming fire.”  Our worship must glorify God.  1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

The place of worship is the spirit of man, but the means of worship is the Holy Spirit. As Paul wrote, “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:18) True worshipers worship the Father in spirit and by the Spirit. Physical locations are of no concern. It doesn’t matter about our status in the church or the community. It doesn’t matter how talented we are or our physical appearance for worship comes from the spirit of the worshiper. True worshipers don’t take notice of themselves for their eyes are on the Father and their ears are tuned to the Holy Spirit. We need to realize and know that the Spirit is the worship leader and knows the heart of the Father.

In order to worship God in the right spirit, we must take time before worship to make ready our hearts and emotions so we will be in the proper frame of mind.  Psalms 89:7 says: “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.”  Our worship must show great reverence toward God.  He is our creator and He holds our eternal destiny in His hands.  We must strive to please Him.  We should not have to rush or hurry to worship, arriving late but should always plan to be there early enough so we can be in a worshipful attitude and spirit. In other words, our mind must be ready, attentive, and alert.

To worship in spirit also means to allow the Holy Spirit to conform us into the image of Jesus; producing spiritual fruit and perfecting a life of holiness. Many times Christians grieve the Holy Spirit by allowing fleshly desires to choke out the work God desires to do in them and through them. Paul wrote to the Ephesians and said: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” (Ephesians 4:30-31) Behaviors such as this limit the genuine flow of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. Paul warns in concerning the Lord’s Supper and says; 1 Corinthians 11:27, “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.”  Sharing the Lord’s Supper is also one form of worship. Our worship to God must be done in a worthy manner. It must be done in a manner that brings glory and honor to God and Christ.  Continuing to read in verse 29, the bible says “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” We must control our thoughts during periods of worship and not let them wander to other things.  We should never be wishing the worship service would hurry up and be over so we can get to the restaurant early and not have to stand in line.  In fact we should be of the frame of mind that we are disappointed to see the worship service end.

In showing reverence and respect to God, we will not be indifferent, inattentive, and taking lightly that which should be considered serious.  Worship to God is holy. Our character in worship must also be holy.  In 1 Peter 1:15-16 we read, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in your conduct, because it is written, be holy for I am holy.”  Laughing and giggling, sleeping, playing with babies, squirming, unnecessary talking, and passing notes all show disrespect in worshipping God.  Worship which is insincere, that is not from the heart, is vain, useless, and unacceptable to God.  Jesus says, “These people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6).  Active participation will tend to get rid of our lack of interest and inattentiveness. Reverence is not having a long face, folded hands, or a put on look of pity.  Worship should be a time of joy for us.  It is a time of offering thanks, adoration, love, praying, singing praises to God, feeding on His word, and proclaiming Christ to the world in partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

A true worshiper will live a life of repentance which allows his spirit to be refreshed by the living waters of the Holy Spirit. Worship involves our entire relationship with God: our words, our attitudes, and our actions. Our words may be normal conversation, songs or prayers. In any style of speaking, we can declare God’s praises and express our faith reliance on him. God wants worship not only on our lips, but also in our hearts. He wants our worship to be sincere - He wants to be the most important thing in our lives and that we are truly submissive to him. He wants our worship to affect our behavior, that we make sacrifices, we put to death the deeds of selfishness, we seek justice, be merciful, humble and help others become what He wants us to be. He wants us not just to obey him, but to serve in ways that go beyond specific commands. We are to worship wherever we go, doing all things to God’s glory, praying always, giving thanks always, and always remembering that we are a temple of the Holy Spirit. Our worship involves how we carry out ourselves in our day to day lives.

There are also actions that are more specifically times of worship. We might call these private devotions, or spiritual disciplines. These are habits and actions of worship we do individually, as opposed to worship when we gather as a church. Worship is not restricted to a specific place and time. The best thing that has ever happened to you and me is that we have God in our lives. We have reason to celebrate all the time. We should live each day praising God in our hearts, speak to one another about the best thing that’s ever happened to us. Is your life dry and parched? Is there a need for true repentance? Ask the Father to allow the waters of the Holy Spirit to bring refreshing and forgiveness. Ask him to renew a right spirit in you.

 Amen!!!

January 27th, 2010 Posted by Mutuma, Dennis | Daily Inspirations | 2 Comments

Do you lie?

 “Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.” Psalms 120:2,

 Last week on Friday, we spoke about “minding the words that we speak”. It has been a challenge to me personally and I asked God over the weekend to help me tame my tongue and that He may examine every word before it leaves my mouth. As David said in Psalms 141:3 “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” That has been my prayer. David knew the power that our words possess and had full knowledge that the devil can take the advantage of what we say and use it against us. God knows what we think about and what we will say even before it departs our mouths. David says in Psalms 139:4 that “For there is not a word in my tongue [still unuttered], but, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” Knowing this, we should allow God to take total control of who and what we are and what we think about, what we see, read and thus what we say will be saturated with good and pleasant things; life and not death.

                While we think about our speech and everything, let us examine ourselves in regards to lies. This is a thorn in the flesh for many of us. This is a common struggle for many of us including some the ‘men of God’. This is so common and has been facilitated especially with the use of “mobile phones”. It is so amazing that you will hear someone pull a stunt on the phone and give out a big notable lie and not even dare laugh about it or even feel remorseful for the same. I do really wonder where our society is headed to these days. LIES and liars have lived amongst us since creation. A lie can best be described as the crude opposite of truth. Seemingly, we all tell lies or have told lies. This vice is used for different reasons. Politicians lie to claim and clench power; some parents lie to save their faces before kids; kids lie to avoid being scolded; lovers lie to each other to protect a cherished liaison or to abort a souring one. Yet, everybody hates to be told lies. What we give we hate to be given – a clear indication that lie is a bad thing.

Lies have ruined nations’ economies; lies have provoked bloody wars; lies have broken harmonious marriages; lies have even dispersed church congregations. Lie is a force, an obsession, a spirit and even a breath. Since we all hate to be told lies, we ought not to tell also, and our societies shouldn’t be in need of lies. Solomon says this in Proverbs 6:16-19; “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren.” You see that, God hates lies. Proverbs 12:22 says “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.” It is an abomination to lie before the Lord. Take a look of all the people who lied in the bible, no one survived. Remember Ananias and his wife Saphirra? (Acts 5:1-11) Their lies before the presence of God led to their death.

Proverbs 12:19 says “The lips of a truthful man shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” Are you truthful? What words come out of your mouth? Solomon continues in Proverbs 18:20-21 and says “From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” We saw last week that every word that you speak is a seed that will grow and you will reap the fruits. Your tongue has the power to create and kill. You will come to realize that no one tells lies when he or she has got a good intention. Remember, lying is concealing essential truth that is needed to execute something. Proverbs 12:20 says “There is deceit in the hearts of those who plot evil, but joy for those who promote peace.” When you tell lies, know that you are blocking blessings accorded to you.

A lie is a hindrance to prayer. Isaiah 59:2-3 says “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.” What else can you expect from God if you are in sin and you haven’t repented? Your prayers won’t be heard leave alone being heard. Lying makes us crawl back or draws us back to the old man that we shelved or left. Colossians 3:9 says “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” Paul talking to the Colossians, he tells them that for them to live a holy life they need to get rid of several things and lies was one of them. As you can see, lying also hinders us from living a Holy life in the Spirit.

Jesus said that the devil is the father of all lies. John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” When you speak a lie, know that you are colluding with the devil. You are speaking his native language. The devil always works to entice people to lie. As much as you purpose not to, you need to do it prayerfully. The bible says in 1 Kings 22:22 “And the LORD said unto him, Where with? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said you shall persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.” Remember Ananias and Saphirra? Peter told him; “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost…” Acts 5:3 

Lies lead to Hatred. Proverbs 26:28 says “A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.” Solomon the wise man continues and talks about the use of words. This is what he says: “reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18. A person who lies will always utter words in appropriately and end up hurting people. They never put into consideration of what they are saying and the consequences afterwards. Once they are covered, they are fine. Proverbs 13:3 says “he who guards his lips guards his life; but he who speaks rashly will come to ruins” There is not a single day a lying tongue will build. It will always bring ruins as it conceals some vital information. Proverbs 17:4 says “A wicked man listens to evil lips; a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue” A liar will never be sincere and thus, even when he talks of love, it will never be.

Lying cuts us from Heaven. Revelation 21:26 says “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The bible continues and says “But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” Revelation 22:15. Are you going to be cut out of heaven because of lies? The ultimate punishment for lying is death. Ananias and his wife Saphirra died in the presence of the Lord and the young men buried them.

We have other many examples of people who lied and you will note that their ending wasn’t a pleasing one. One thing that is so sure is that, no matter how hard you will try to hide in lies, one day, the truth will be revealed. Remember Proverbs 12:19 says “The lips of a truthful man shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” I pray that the Lord will help us to become truthful and change our lives. It will be of great disgrace to see you or I being cut off from the presence of God just because of a lie. There is need for a change. Adults should repent, children should be educated, and the society should be overhauled. The element of truth can bring about this change. May the Lord help us.

Amen!!

January 25th, 2010 Posted by Mutuma, Dennis | Daily Inspirations | 3 Comments

Watch what you say!

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Ephesians 4:29

 What was the first word that you uttered this morning when you woke up? I must admit that it is really a challenge to many of us when it comes to what we say. Many times we find ourselves having uttered some unworthy words and many are the times that we really regret over what we have said. We need to know that whatever comes out of our mouths is a clear reflection of the saturation of our hearts. In Luke 6:45, Jesus said “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” Solomon said in Proverbs 27:19 “As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man” There is no way you can cheat your heart. Jesus said it clearly that if you have stored good things in thine heart, so shall good and edifying thing come forth from your heart. It can’t be vice versa – a dirty vessel will never give clean water, it will always be dirty.

In Matthew 12, Jesus casts out demons from a possessed man and the Pharisees who were nearby said that he was using the powers of Beelzebub. Jesus goes ahead and rebukes them and said “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33-37 Jesus again repeats the same principle of the “fruits reflects the abundance.”  Jesus brings one thing so clearly that it is our work to make sure we are careful of what we feed our minds and what we store up in our hearts because it will ultimately be reflected by what we say or do. David prayed a prayer in Psalms 141:3 and said “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”

Why watch what you say? When we watch we see what is coming and what is going. We use words to describe what we are thinking. What we are thinking, when spoken, is likened to a seed sown. Seeds look for ways to grow. A word of joy, seeks to grow joy. Its potential can only be joy. Words spoken in hate or spite will seek or manifest hate or spite. Spoken words carry out what our soul manifest. Our soul is our mind, will and emotion. Our mind is our thoughts, our will is our desire to deliver and our emotion is our level of intensity. Words, thoughts spoken and action or deed, will provide all the means for things to come to fruition as they are willed. Paul tells the Ephesians not to let any unworthy word proceed out of their mouths but instead, they should make sure that each word that they utter is geared to edify, heal, encourage, bring hope and challenge the hearer. But on the contrast, what do we speak to our fellow brethren?

Many of us, we are so good in discouraging others rather than encouraging them; we tear down rather than rebuilding; we kill rather than healing and bringing back to life what is on the verge of dying. Proverbs 18:21 says “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” God had told the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness the same thing. Whatever you decree is what happens. You need to know that there is power in what you decree. You hear then you say. When you say you hear. When you hear faith comes. When faith comes you speak from the abundance of your heart. With God filled words we build faith into the lives of men.

James tells us as believers that we need to tame our tongues. “It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” James 3:5-6 I know, at one point or another, we have all been victims of issues related to words that were inappropriately spoken, and thus, we found ourselves in trouble. This is exactly what James was warning the brethren against – malicious speech. We need to know that the way you understand and take some issues, is not the same way someone else will. Thus, we need to be careful what we share, how and to whom we speak to.

Once we get to heaven, Jesus said “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37. What comes out of your mouth? A blessing or a curse? James 3:10-12 says “Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so. Does a fountain send forth [simultaneously] from the same opening fresh water and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring furnish fresh water.” We need to keep one line of speech. Let us not be lukewarm – today you are blessing and then tomorrow you are cursing. James says this should not be. Remember, there is a record of all that you say in heaven and you will be judged as per that.

In simple words, what am I saying this day? James 1:19 says “therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath…” Many times, we are so fast to speak before we get the wind of the talk and thus, we get angry and hurt ourselves or others. In response, we kill, destroy, hurt and discourage rather than healing, encouraging and restoring. The bible says “Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt, [so that you may never be at a loss] to know how you ought to answer anyone [who puts a question to you].” Colossians 4:6. Remember Jesus said that you and I are the Light and salt of the world. We need to reflect this in our speech as well, not just actions. Titus 2:1 urges us to “speak thou the things which become sound doctrine” Remember, as we said earlier, the words that you speak are like a seed and once you plant that seed, it will grow – mind and watch what you say.

 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” - Psalms 19:14

 Amen!!!

January 22nd, 2010 Posted by Mutuma, Dennis | Daily Inspirations | 4 Comments

Have victory over Lust!

²⁷ “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ but I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ So if your eye – even your good eye – causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” Matthew 5:27-29

We are living in a world that is polluted. What do I mean by polluted? Every day, television, movies, billboards, newspapers and magazines bombard us with lustful images. What we see around us is what saturates our minds and thus, we find ourselves thinking about what we saw. And when lustful thoughts become part of our lifestyle, we feel like prisoners to those controlling desires. One thing that we need to realize as human beings, our minds capture so much of what we hear and see. Your mind will process what you see and the information that you hear and act on it. It is up to us to control what we need our minds to emphasize on in our lives. Jesus said “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23 thus, we have to guard what we look at and see.

God does not want us to suffer in the prison of lust. He offers hope and freedom when we turn to Him for help to understand the truth behind the lies of lust. What is Lust? Lust is defined as a strong wish for something; an earnest wish to own or enjoy; “to have an intense desire or need: crave; specifically to have a sexual urge”. Lust has been with mankind throughout history. God took care of Adam and Eve’s but He withheld one thing from them - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Due to lust, they failed God’s test. Satan tempted Eve by telling her that God was holding back something good. She and Adam, through lust (desire to know and have), they ate the forbidden fruit. Once we begin to fulfill our own lusts, a vicious cycle begins. Lust leads to sin, then Sin breaks our relationship with God (Romans 1:24-32) and thus we become numb to lust’s impact, so we think we can lust even more. Paul says in Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).” The nature of lust is an unquenchable thirst to have more and more… More money, fame, power, revenge, food, clothing, love. Unless our desires are turned over to the Lord, we will never be satisfied.

It is unless we live by the spirit as Paul says, then, we will spend all the days of our lives searching in vain for fulfillment through the things of this world with no success. But once we live in the spirit and walk in the spirit, we will discover the answer to the greatest desire in our lives. We will get what we need to fill up the vacuum and the emptiness that we feel and find in our lives. The Bible says that our greatest need is to worship God. This is why we created. Colossians 1:16 says “For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him.” But sin has separated us from God (Romans 3:23) and only through Jesus can we be forgiven of our sins and restored to God.

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life… Without me, no one can go to the Father” (John 14:6). If you have never made Jesus the Lord of your deepest desires - then do so now. It is only him who can help us tame and help us control the desires of our hearts. This is the place we reach and we really need the help of the Holy Spirit in us. Due to our fallen nature, we will have to deal with lust until we die. The temptation to lust will come in many forms. There are external lusts, including ungodly sexual appetites and overindulgence in food and drink; and there are internal lusts, such as the lust of power, fame or position. Therefore, we must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit inside us to overcome lust every day. “Let the Lord Jesus Christ be as near to you as the clothes you wear. Then you won’t try to satisfy your selfish desires” (Romans 13:14) No matter the form of lust we face, we can be assured that we have an Advocate who “understands every weakness of ours” and “was tempted in every way that we are. But He did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus is not a distant God who is looking to judge you, He is your friend, and he has walked the road you are walking right now.

God does not want you to be a prisoner of lust. The Bible says, “Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1). We have assurance from God that he will help us to battle lust. Nevertheless, we need to recognize this and start to free ourselves as well. We need to get to the root of the problem and handle it from there. It reached a point till Job had to make a covenant with his eyes. Job 31:1 says “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.” One thing is sure – If we remove the coals/firewood/fuel, the fire will die. We need to get to know what leads us to what we lust for and deal with it, thus, we will be safe. “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23 I know that with the help of God, you can overcome the spirit of Lust. If only you are willing to. We need to:

a)       Ask God for help. - Sometimes we are too ashamed to take this first step. Don’t try to fight the battle of lust on your own. Go to God and ask Him for help. This is what humility is all about. We all know whether or not we struggle with this or not. God’s desire and Joy is to see us walk in freedom but the devil wants us to stay bound in the bondage. But we can break free from it.

b)       Stop feeding your lust/start renewing your mind - Lust is gratified as you feed on things pertaining to lust. Prayerfully begin to resist those desires. Replace those desires with a desire after the word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Spend more time reading, listening and meditating on the word of God. The word of God is no ordinary thing; it is full of the Almighty power of God, which is able to save your soul from bondage to habits and vices. As you spend time in the word, your heart will be strengthened by the truth and when another day of temptation comes you will be able to fight for your soul. Romans 12:1-2 says “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. Renewing your mind is a process, you won’t get there overnight; you need is to be willing to walk with God to victory. Put away everything that appeals to the flesh and focus on God. (Ephesians 4:22-24; 2 Corinthians 10:5)

c)        Die to lust. – Paul tells the Romans in Romans 6:1 that “since we died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” He continues to say that, once we have died to sin, we are free from sin and sin doesn’t have power over us. (Romans 6:7). So to overcome lust, we must recognize that “the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus” (Romans 6:5) and our old way of life died with Jesus. When we understand what it means to be dead to sin, we will then find freedom from lust. 

d)        Walk in the Spirit. - The next step is to submit your life to the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).” Remember, you can’t fight lust on your own, so ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Paul continues to tell us that we need to surrender our lives to Christ and thus we will live in freedom. Galatians 5:24-25 says “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

e)       Resist and flee. There is not a time sin will give you time to think twice whether to indulge or not. It is always enticing us. The best advice is simply this: Run! Just like Joseph did. Don’t allow lust to linger in your mind. Get far away from situations and influences that threaten to trap you. Proverbs 5:8 says “Let your way in life be far from her, and come not near the door of her house [avoid the very scenes of temptation].”

f)        Forgive Yourself - Guilt is a joy stealer, it will want to rob you of the wonderful future God has ahead of you. In Romans 8:1, the bible says “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Plead the blood of Jesus over every remembrance of your past that seeks to haunt you and stand upon the promises of God to defeat guilt. You have no cause to regret as long as you are learning how to yield to the leading of the Spirit of God inside of you and you are practicing a life of obedience to God daily.

g)       Set new boundaries – This simply means that there are some things that you have been doing that you need to stop. You will also have to shun or cut fellowship with some of the company of friends that you had. You know what defiles you so stay away from them. It might be helpful to make a list of things you would need to stay away from and prayerfully plan to keep away from them. Invite the Spirit of the fear of the Lord into your heart, begin to practice reverencing God and allow the fear of God to guide you in every step you take. Be obedient to the word of God and the voice of God in your heart. Joy will flood your life and God will restore all you have lost as you faithfully seek Him. Proverbs 3:7-8 paraphrased says “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.”

“Don’t love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you cannot love the Father. Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything see. None of this comes from the Father. The world and the desires it causes are disappearing. But if we obey God, we will live forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

Amen!!!

January 21st, 2010 Posted by Mutuma, Dennis | Daily Inspirations | 8 Comments

Worship behind the Veil!

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need”. Hebrews 4:16

Last night, I hardly slept. After listening to a discussion in one of our FM stations regarding praise and worship, I had a quest and thirst to get to know more about praise and worship both in a personal way as well as a worship leader. I started thinking and meditating on what was discussed and personal evaluation on the same. I was in awe of what I realized and I thanked God for everything and went to sleep. It was then that I lost my sleep and I had a desire to dig more about the tabernacle and what was done in each section. Little did I know that I was a trance and God was revealing so much. I had an awesome time to meditate and soak in God’s presence which was so awesome.

                Moses was shown the heavenly pattern for the temple and recreated it as best as humanly possible. By looking at the Tabernacle in the wilderness we can come to a better understanding of the way God intends for us to enter the God’s presence. The first area of the tabernacle was the outer court which contained the altar of sacrifices and the lavar. This is the entrance to the tabernacle. This is where people used to come and offer their sacrifices of atonement and other sacrifices. David says in Psalms 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” The Israelites would come and offer their sacrifices of praise on the outer court. Here, it characterized more of repentance, praise and worship and celebration. The altar represented the cross. You cannot enter into God’s presence without passing through the cross. At the cross, you leave all your burdens. Our past sins are forgiven and put away (Romans 3:25; 2 Cor. 5:21); our old nature is crucified (Romans 6:6); and we devote ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). We need to know that when we come into the house of God, we are coming to meet a Holy God and thus we have to be holy as well. It is at the outer court that we are able to deal with all this and cleanse ourselves.

In our modern worship setting, before we offer our sacrifice of praise and worship to God, we need to set apart some time to go before the Lord and cleanse ourselves. Especially the worship leaders and the ministers as well as you personally. You need to familiarize yourself with God’s presence till you know how it feels. Not just to hear people saying how they felt God’s presence and you, you didn’t even recognize. Do not be a stranger in God’s presence. We need to realize that as we lead the people into God’s presence, we can’t take or lead them to a place that you haven’t been or you do not know. Thus we need to go ahead of the people that follow us. We need to come to the altar and deal with all the works of the flesh before advancing into God’s presence. The lavar signifies God’s Word in three aspects a) as mirror (James 1:23-34), b) A judge (John 12:47-48; 1 Cor. 11:31; 1 Peter 1:17), and c) as cleansing water (Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 John 5:6). As Christians, we must cleanse ourselves of worldly contamination by reading and applying the word of God in our day to day life. Jesus said that we can only be cleansed our sins by water and the blood of the lamb. And thus, after offering our sacrifices and cleansing ourselves, we are ready to enter into the Holy place and commune with God.

When you get into the Holy place, this where you commune with God. The presence of God starts to be real. It is unfortunate in our moments with God, we come from the outer court and when we reach the Holy place, we get contented and we leave without advancing into the Holy of holies. It is at the Holy place that God listens to us as we adore him, enthrone him and lift him up on our praises. He comes down to dine with us. It is in the Holy place that frankincense was offered. The incense here signifies our worship to God. Here again the priest would offer the showbread. The bread represents our will. It was ground meaning totally yielded; molded (conformed to God and delight to do His will); baked (tried by fire); then was placed in two rows of six loaves (ordered according to God’s direction – discipline) and covered by frankincense (worship). This sacrifice was offered daily before the Lord. This means that each and every day, we should bring a sacrifice of worship unto God which is not the same as it was yesterday. We should be renewed and refreshed every time we are in God’s presence. We shouldn’t go out the same way as we came in.

It is at the holy place that God deals with our flesh and transforms our lives. Once our will has been transformed into that of God, we are ready and in tune to hear from God. The golden lamp stand in the Holy place represents our intellect. The lamp stand was fashioned from beaten gold. Through the renewing of our minds, by studying the Word of God, we allow the Holy Spirit to fashion our intellect to be pleasing to God (2 Corinthians 10:5; Romans 8:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:8). The illumination of the intellect depends upon the yielding of the will (James 3:13-18). Sometimes we come into God’s presence with our preset minds and we are not ready to change and conform to God’s will. But we need to allow God to work on us and change us into what He wants us to be.

Hebrews 10:19-22 states, “Therefore, brethren, since we have full freedom and confidence to enter into the Holy of Holies by the power and virtue in the blood of Jesus, by this fresh and living way which He initiated and dedicated and opened for us through the separating curtain (veil of the Holy of Holies), that is, through His flesh, and since we have such a great and wonderful and noble Priest Who rules over the house of God, let us all come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith, having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty conscience and our bodies cleansed with pure water.” Through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, we got the liberty to enter in to the Holy of Holies. The curtain that separated the temple got torn into two and thus we got access to the Holy of Holies. Thus, Paul encourages us in Hebrews 4:16 to approach the throne of God with confidence.

The veil in the temple was a constant reminder that sin rendered us unfit for the presence of God. The fact that the sin offering was offered annually and countless other sacrifices repeated daily showed that sin could not truly be atoned for or erased by mere animal sacrifices. Jesus Christ, through His death, has removed the barriers between God and man, and now we may approach Him with confidence and boldness (Hebrews 4:14-16). Only through praise, worship and adoration can we enter in to God’s presence – into the Holy of Holies. This is the place whereby we cease to be ourselves and we are consumed by God’s presence. We no longer speak but we listen to him speak unto us. This is because; the splendor of his presence covers us and most of the time we are in awe. It is unfortunate that many of us never go past the Holy place. We are in so much of a hurry to praise the Lord, and rejoice in his presence, tell him of our need but we have no time to enter the Holy of holies and get to hear him speak to us.

Are you looking for a place to rest? Longing for peace in the midst of a hectic life? You can find both in the same place – the Holy of Holies. This is where we go and God ministers to us. The priest used to go there and whenever he came out, he had a message for the people from God. Today, you and I, we are priests and we have the freedom to enter into the Holy of holies and meet with God in a personal way. You do not have to wait for someone to go there for you. Make it a habbit in your day to day life to enter into God’s presence – the Holy of Holies. Wash yourself with the water of the Word of God. Allow God to examine your will and desire to please Him. Spend time in praise and worship, learning to delight in the Lord. Enter into His presence. Find peace, refreshment, renewal and all that you need from him.

Amen!!

January 19th, 2010 Posted by Mutuma, Dennis | Daily Inspirations | 2 Comments