Read John 11: 38-44
We all know and believe that Christ is Lord. Indeed that He is the resurrection and the only way to salvation. What we ignore sometimes is Christ’s call for our opening our hearts to Him for Him to cause a resurrection within us.
What are we saying? In the verses right before our scripture reading we see Jesus reiterating that He is the resurrection!! Verse 25,26 … 25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
In as much as the sisters believed that Jesus was Christ they implied to Him that had He been there the Lazarus would be alive! Verse 21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But was Christ there? Indeed He was!! Look at His conversation in verse 11 to 15… 11After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
12His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
14So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
When Jesus ‘finally’ arrived Lazarus had been dead four days!!! But still He went to the tomb and ordered the stone to be rolled away! How many of us have been in dead situations… for days? Your relationships, career, finances etc DEAD!! How often do we feel Jesus alienated from our situations? Its as if He is bila heart for what we are going through! The fact is that Jesus is never away. He is always there. Nothing takes Him by surprise. You see as Christians we have turned Romans 8:23 to a sort of cliché!! … that all things work together for good for they that love the LORD… but my dear brothers its ALL things working TOGETHER… your experiences, your dead moments, your alive moments, all moments… not for you but for Him. Remember Colosians 1:16 all things were made BY Him FOR Him !!
Next issue. When Christ finally got to the tomb He said… take the stone away. Martha’s response was "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." How many of us has Christ approached to cause a resurrection of our hearts (returning to our first love etc) and we consciously and unconsciously protest that there is a bad odor!! What could be bad odor you ask. May be its your pervasion, or corruption, may be it this bad relationship that you have been unable to get yourself out, may be you are struggling with drugs or pornography… the odor of your heart could be just about anything… and yet Christ states… take the stone away !!! brothers and sisters, watu… lets hear Christ’s call and take the stone away. Rev 3:20,21 says… 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
Believe in your heart, confess with your mouth and let Jesus cause His resurrection for you today AND forever.
AMEN...
Preached By Pappa At The Mwafrika ChatRoom On Friday 30th May, 2008.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Is My Sacrifice Living: From My Utmost For His Highest
Abraham built an altar . . . ; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar . . . —Genesis 22:9
This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— "Lord, I am ready to go with You . . . to death" (Luke 22:33 ). But— "I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God."
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice"— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.
For Similar Resources... read.
This event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. What God wants is the sacrifice through death which enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our lives. Not— "Lord, I am ready to go with You . . . to death" (Luke 22:33 ). But— "I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my life to God."
We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. It is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by identification with the death of Jesus. Then we enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him.
It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a "living sacrifice"— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.
For Similar Resources... read.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Sermon 2/08:: Be of Courage - By Bhengi!!
God will never allow you to go into temptation without a reason!
Let me show you something. When you are saved the bible says you become one in the spirit with God right? That you worship him in truth and in spirit because himself is a spirit
So let’s look at Job. When satan wanted to tempt him he had to first go to God and ask for permission. You see when you activate your anointing and God is alive in you and righteousness or the fear of the lord is with you Satan can never come to you without first of all seeking permission. So when he asked God he said go and see for yourself that Job loves me with all his heart. So to answer your question God biggest will when he allows us to go into temptation is because he wants his name to be glorified when we come out winners.
Let me ask you a question. When you are over a hard time in your life what does it become? I will tell you; it becomes a testimony because you not only come out victorious but also God is glorified and your faith becomes more stranger. But get me God will only help those who love him only because he says that whoever destroys the temple he will also be destroyed.
One thing is certain people of God stick to the word and you will come back with a testimony. I feel the anointing. Praise God, Hallelujah.
Let me show you something else. When God was creating the world he used words according to his will, ok? Will here stands for his mind, he was thinking of what to make and then he would do it. So when he created a man he gave him his image. Now this mind we have was contaminated and it became no more holy before God. So he came around with Jesus coming to die for us ok! When Jesus came and died; oh my my my do I like this, He renewed us to become of new bread.
A new breed that he says now he brought out a new meaning to this life what is referred to as the basics of life. Those of the world have their basic needs, but when we come this new life we have our new basics of life. No longer basic needs but they become basics of life.
Let me show you what they are; the word and the spirit!! So for us to become victorious
this is what we need to do. Let me explain in the next five minutes.
The bible says matt. 6:33 seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Kingdom stands for righteousness, the fear of the lord. The bible says the fear of the lord of the lord is beginning of everything. So when we become of the lord then everything else becomes easy to handle and live with. The Holy Spirit is activated in us and thea is a constant communication between the trinity and ourselves.
So what then do we need to know? The bible says that the righteousness shall come out of trouble. Be of courage and God will get you out of all whatever you call trouble according to your definition.
Preached By Bhengi At The Mwafrika ChatRoom On Thursday May 15th, 2008.
Let me show you something. When you are saved the bible says you become one in the spirit with God right? That you worship him in truth and in spirit because himself is a spirit
So let’s look at Job. When satan wanted to tempt him he had to first go to God and ask for permission. You see when you activate your anointing and God is alive in you and righteousness or the fear of the lord is with you Satan can never come to you without first of all seeking permission. So when he asked God he said go and see for yourself that Job loves me with all his heart. So to answer your question God biggest will when he allows us to go into temptation is because he wants his name to be glorified when we come out winners.
Let me ask you a question. When you are over a hard time in your life what does it become? I will tell you; it becomes a testimony because you not only come out victorious but also God is glorified and your faith becomes more stranger. But get me God will only help those who love him only because he says that whoever destroys the temple he will also be destroyed.
One thing is certain people of God stick to the word and you will come back with a testimony. I feel the anointing. Praise God, Hallelujah.
Let me show you something else. When God was creating the world he used words according to his will, ok? Will here stands for his mind, he was thinking of what to make and then he would do it. So when he created a man he gave him his image. Now this mind we have was contaminated and it became no more holy before God. So he came around with Jesus coming to die for us ok! When Jesus came and died; oh my my my do I like this, He renewed us to become of new bread.
A new breed that he says now he brought out a new meaning to this life what is referred to as the basics of life. Those of the world have their basic needs, but when we come this new life we have our new basics of life. No longer basic needs but they become basics of life.
Let me show you what they are; the word and the spirit!! So for us to become victorious
this is what we need to do. Let me explain in the next five minutes.
The bible says matt. 6:33 seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you. Kingdom stands for righteousness, the fear of the lord. The bible says the fear of the lord of the lord is beginning of everything. So when we become of the lord then everything else becomes easy to handle and live with. The Holy Spirit is activated in us and thea is a constant communication between the trinity and ourselves.
So what then do we need to know? The bible says that the righteousness shall come out of trouble. Be of courage and God will get you out of all whatever you call trouble according to your definition.
Preached By Bhengi At The Mwafrika ChatRoom On Thursday May 15th, 2008.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Inaugural Happy Hour Sermon: Are You Blinded And Begging? Call The More !!
Read Mark 10:46-52
The story is straight forward, the man had been blind (probably all his life). His life must have been one long routine, sitting by the roadside and begging. On this day he heard a crowd… he must have initially told himself … leo nime angukia, nitapata kitu ya kishua!! However as information filtered through he had that it was Jesus and immediately started calling out for Him. He did not just call out but also placed his request to Jesus as well. Verse 47, When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
However, it is recorded that many rebuked the blind beggar telling him to keep quiet, BUT… he shouted all the more… Son of David, have mercy on me!
As candid as the blind man was with his request to Jesus, so was Jesus with His request from the blind beggar, verse 51"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him. And the man was clear in his mind about what he wanted, his immediate reply?? Rabbi, I want to see.
Lets stop for a moment and think about this situation and our lives. Many of us have ‘issues’. We may not be blind but we have struggled or are struggling with some darkness in our lives. Probably its your relationships, your financial status may be health or just your walk with Christ.
You know that Jesus is always available to you and have been calling out to Him to have mercy on you!! But the crowd has kept us at bay. The crowd could be your brethren, your parents, your siblings… indeed the crowd could also be inside you, your doubts, your lack of faith, you logic or your impatience. Lets learn a quick lesson from the beggar!! When the crowd tried to bring him down, he shouted all the more… have you done that? What do you do when things seem not to be going your way? What do you do when you seem to trapped in one long routine? Do you shout the more or do you look for your ‘own’ solutions? Do you reason out with yourself and the world, sometimes even compromising your faith? Hear me out my brothers and sisters calling out the more is not just a matter of repeating your selfish prayers (prayers based on what you want rather than what you need, prayers based on mere prosperity rather than the will of God) calling out the more is seeking God earnestly, developing your relationship with Him, engaging with Him through out, involving Him in all that we do, knowing His purpose in you … in so doing your faith in Him grows and it is recorded that without faith you cannot please God (Heb 11:6)… that’s a sermon for another day.
That’s not the only lesson from the blind man… after calling out and Jesus seeking Him out Jesus asked him what he wanted… and the blind beggar was quick with His answer!! My dear brothers, after calling out to God in the right way and pleasing God by your growing faith well then Jesus turns to you and asks what you want done for you!! How many of us have reached this level of relationship with JC hadi anatuuliza, naweza ka kuduia what? And yet because of our spiritual insensitivity have ended up missing out on the question… or may be we jusy get caught up with the crowd and just do not hear Jesus ask.
Brethren, lets call out to Jesus all the more (through prayer, bible reading, study of the bible, continued meditation on the Word of God and through fellowship with believers) and also lets build up our spiritual sensitivity to hear Jesus speak to us and we answer appropriately.
For further study, check out the story of the Israelites exploring the promised land and the reaction of different people to what they saw and further, the CROWDS reaction to the report that was given in Numbers 13:1 to Numbers 14:4
Are you blinded and begging? Call on Jesus!!
Is the crowd putting you off? Call the more!!
KUTOKA CHURCH STRAIGHT TO THE CLUB: BS OUTLINE
1. What is music? (Members contribution from personal understanding)
-Its origins
-Background
-Its role in todays world (in worship and otherwise)
2. Christians headed to the clubs?
-Identify possible reasons
-Justify the reasons
-Pro’s and cons
3. Experiences of those who have attended the sessions
4. Lessons from the Bible
Matt 28:19-20, 2 Cor 6:14-18,
5. Questions:
· For The Now:
Who has been sent? Are they adequately equipped? What’s the role of the ‘crowd’?
· For the After:
Where do we go from here? What do we expect to be the next move? How will the world change and how will the church change?
--------
Compiler's Notes:
· Under 4. above please include other relevant scriptures as presented by participants
· Under 3. Invite sharing of honest experiences from those who have attended the session: any dislikes, discomforts, positive reports etc
· Under 5(a). Be clear on the whether this is done for the entertainment or for ministry. If for ministry, who has been sent? The ‘evangelist’ or the believer tagging along? Further, is the ‘evangelist’ adequately equipped to overcome the strongholds already established by the enemy? Why are there more people running to concerts and feel good experiences and less being involved in mission and exposition?Under 5(b). Explore the possibilities going forward. Will the people reached turn to church and drop the clubbing? Will the church become ‘infiltrated’ and lower its moral credibility?
-Its origins
-Background
-Its role in todays world (in worship and otherwise)
2. Christians headed to the clubs?
-Identify possible reasons
-Justify the reasons
-Pro’s and cons
3. Experiences of those who have attended the sessions
4. Lessons from the Bible
Matt 28:19-20, 2 Cor 6:14-18,
5. Questions:
· For The Now:
Who has been sent? Are they adequately equipped? What’s the role of the ‘crowd’?
· For the After:
Where do we go from here? What do we expect to be the next move? How will the world change and how will the church change?
--------
Compiler's Notes:
· Under 4. above please include other relevant scriptures as presented by participants
· Under 3. Invite sharing of honest experiences from those who have attended the session: any dislikes, discomforts, positive reports etc
· Under 5(a). Be clear on the whether this is done for the entertainment or for ministry. If for ministry, who has been sent? The ‘evangelist’ or the believer tagging along? Further, is the ‘evangelist’ adequately equipped to overcome the strongholds already established by the enemy? Why are there more people running to concerts and feel good experiences and less being involved in mission and exposition?Under 5(b). Explore the possibilities going forward. Will the people reached turn to church and drop the clubbing? Will the church become ‘infiltrated’ and lower its moral credibility?
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