Our Inner Spirit & How It Grows :: Shared By Pappa

Our lesson today will address generally the feeding of OUR spirit.We shall just share briefly on this...
The basic text is Phil 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

That verse transformed my life and my perspective to it.

At creation God's intention for creating man was worship and fellowship with Him. We were to tend His creation. God's perfect plan!!
However, man fell ... We know the story

The general drift of my message is about the spirit that indwells us.

When we are born, we all have the "worldly spirit" (for the lack of a better expression), roho ya Adam - for our purposes today lets call this the wordly spirit.

When we are born again, God's spirit is reawakened in us, that does not mean the worldly spirit disappears. After all we are still in the world (but not of the world). Again for our purposes today we'll call that the Godly Spirit.

I put it to you that how we live our lives, every second, every minute dictates how our walk with Christ will be. Essentially how our inner spirit will evolve.

Now these two 'spirits' are 'feed' by matters about us. Recall the scripture - Phil 4:8? This is a call about what to set our mind on. The other day as we were at the Mwaombi, we were reminded to set our minds on things above.

COL 3: 1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

So that begs the question, if these two 'spirits' are 'feed' by matters about us, then how are they feed?

By the same senses that God has given us! The same way He gave Adam a choice to obey i.e. “you may eat of all the fruit in the garden except from the tree in the middle of the garden”, is the same way these senses are for us and we have been called to obey.

What we see, hear, taste, touch na pia smell contributes alot to the feeding of these 'spirits'. Indeed, what we set our minds on!!!

Hebu toune:
If you spend your entire evening watching TV and five minutes in prayer, what would you believe the effect would be? 0r spend the entire morning reading the newspaper and two minutes reading the bible?

Let me put it this way, these 'spirits' do not grow in unison - they are inversely related!!! When one is fed it grows while the other is malnourished!

See, instead of struggling to deal with the worldly spirit, the important thing is to allow God's spirit to grow. When that happens the worldly spirit is malnourished!! What do we usually pray, as Jesus said … that Lord may you increase as we?

One thing that we ought to know and really learn is that right now we are in the world. What that means is that our environment is only fertile for the worldly spirit to grow. Indeed it takes no effort for the wordly spirit to grow. Uki kaa tuu, ita grow bila effort. We are bombarded from kila side. I bet you thats why its easier mse kukuambia "go to hell" than it is to say "God bless"

What’s the point? Let’s not spend too much effort running away from the world, all the effort should be based on embracing God.

The more we read about Him, the more we talk to Him, the more we use all our senses in running to Him - the more He will "run" to us.

When the bible says in James 4:8

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

It does not mean that God yuko away! It means that we set our hearts on Him, that we strengthen hio bond, that tuwache kuwa double minded.

As we draw near to Him, our eyes will be opened wider of His very presence with us!!! His spirit in us will grow soooooo big, we shall be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him - after all He cannot deny Himself!!!!!

Yaani, the wordly spirit will be soo malnourished: utakuwa na issues all around you – ndio; utakuwa na shida za kidunia – ndio; lakini they will have no hold on you!! Utabaki ka Paul, I know what it is to have much, and I know what it is to lack. Uta kuwa ukisema with authority: greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world! You will be walking with God.

So ndugu na dada zangu:
Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Ule mse aliandika hizo words alikuwa amefungwa jela, ame chapwa, amepitia all manner of storms! What made him strong? He set his mind on things above! He who was in him was sooooooooo much greater than he who was in the world.

So today, I am encouraging you so greatly, review how you are feeding your 'spirit'. Which is growing at the others expense? Take a spiritual health check and see how you are doing.

And like Paul said ... I say to you:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

God richly bless you as you grow in Him.

Shared by Pappa At the Mwafrika chatroom on Friday Sept 25, 2009

PS: For spiritual health check tool, get in touch with Pappa.

FAITH In God:: Shared By Arms ...

SERMON: Romans 10:17 (NKJV) So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

How does Faith work?

It is important to understand that faith is foundational to a good relationship between us and God.It does not usually operate along a predictable path. If we wish to follow it, faith requires our attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit.True Christian faith is not static. It should be dynamic and ever expanding.Faith must be exercised to gain a workable knowledge of it.Christian faith is not easy to comprehend.

Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 begins, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Example:- Prayer. We pray because we have an assurance that God exists, that He is willing to listen to us, and that there is a possibility that He will answer the request. We have this assurance because we have read about God answering prayer in the Bible or we because have seen Him answer prayers.

Different Levels of Christian Faith

1. Intellectual faith – Our Intellectual faith is the starting point. It is the mental act of believing Biblical truths that cannot be proved by man.
Example:- Intellectual faith is based on the truths we have read or have been taught.

2. Saving faith – A revelation from the Holy Spirit that convinces us that God alone is able to redeem us from the condemnation of original sin. At some time in our lives the Holy Spirit will bring us to a point where we realize that we are a sinners in desperate need of redemption. Saving faith is when we act upon the Gospel of Christ that we have intellectually accepted as truth. At that point we are born again. We are now a new creature in Christ. The Holy Spirit enters us and dwells in us. He opens our eyes to receive spiritual truth that we were previously blind to. We can now experience God first hand. The Holy Spirit is the part of God that actually touches us. John 14:15 – 17 (NLT) “If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

Saving faith opens the door to our relationship with God. It is as significant to that relationship as a wedding is to marriage. This is where He changes us to become more and more like Him. It is important that we go on with Him. It is not good to remain at the wedding altar.

3. Working faith – The trust that we have in God as the answer to all the challenges that face us in our walk with Him. We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to become so. People who exercise to build their bodies often use the expression “no pain – no gain.” The same is true in the faith building process. God wants us to be successful in this. He will call us do things that we are capable of doing. As we succeed He will develop and stretch us to have faith in greater things. All along He will supply us with all we need. Just as importantly He will be there to help us.

Many people go to the gym regularly. They invest time and energy to condition and strengthen their bodies. It is a good thing to do. It improves health and raises energy levels so that they can function better.God leads us to exercise faith to develop us and to prove His love and faithfulness to us. Following His leading can at times be difficult and challenging.

Seeing God respond to our faith has an impact on others. How would Daniel have felt going into the lion's den if Shadrach and Abednego were consumed in the fiery furnace?

Who Benefits from Working Faith?

- God benefits. Exercising our faith provides God with an opportunity to be glorified. As God works through us He stretches our faith and is able to do greater and greater things. This, in turn, makes His power more visible to the world that so desperately needs Him.Those around us benefit.

- Unbelievers see God's love and power in a tangible way that gets their attention.

- Other believers are encouraged by how they observe God responding to our faith.

- We benefit. Experiencing His love and faithfulness first hand brings greater peace and joy into our lives. Seeing the benefit it has on those around us brings a greater sense of purpose to our lives.

It is rewarding to see God transform lives, restore relationships, heal the sick, and save the lost. We must exercise Faith as a Service to God.

It is important that all that we do for God is done with a humble heart. Any act of obedience should be done as a demonstration of love for our benevolent Master. We should always keep our place as a blessed servant of the creator of all things.

He is God and we are not!

The exercising of faith is an important part of our service to Him. As His servant, we must remember that it is our duty to respond to His commands. Our ability to hear Him grows as we spend time in His Word, in prayer, praising Him, and giving Him our attention.

Keep in mind that nothing we hear should ever be contrary to His Word or to His nature.

Also consider that it would be unfair of a just God to demand our obedience without telling us what to do.

LESSON: Faith must teach us how to discern His voice.

The End.

Shared by Arms At the Mwafrika chatroom on Friday Sept 18, 2009

The Power Of A Christian:: The Relaunch Sermon As Shared by Warhia

Today I choose to address three kinds of ppl.. thats THREE..
1. Those that are not yet saved.
3. The Saved n growin
2. The Backslidden
na ni muhimu pia kwa ukurasa mmoja..
I donno all of us here n their spiritual status... so tunaanza na Altar call leo
So.. nani kati yetu angependa kump[okea Ysu Kristo kama Bwana na mkombozi wa maisha yake?

Word ya God haijachange.. John 3:16 is the same John 3:16 as of now... You could holla at me kwa my private msg .

MEanwhile the bible semaz that He stands knockin..N He will keep knockin - thats how His grace is patient.. do not keep him waitin...till its too late..
Too late is when His grace has run out...
So far so Good?


MEanwhile.. I will address the followin two groups of ppl..
Electronc equipments fail if they are bila power.. si ndio? Unless they are currently supplied with power ur phone charges are as useless MEanin... an Effective Christian needs to have a power source...constant power source that aint rationed. So those of us that are saved - I am - where do we draw our day to day power from?
Some gadgets like calculators run on battery....jaribu kuplug stima n it goes.. hata they aint got stima ports to begin with wich means...There are many power sources out there.. bt not all power sources power us....
ngroree so far?@ALL

Those few years av heard in salvation av learnt from great teachers n great ppl.. it is important to be watchful oin what powers you.... usikuwe unatumia battery ya PAKA POWER badala ya Chloride Exide

Now I can introduce the topic for the day... The Power Of A Christian...
How do we 'charge' n rcharge'? Where do we draw our power/strength from..

There are 6 concrete sources of power or strength for a Christian..

1. JEsus Christ in ME is power...
Whoever is in you should be greater than the one in the world

If Christ is not in You then you are probably running on temp power...which means u may be goin down any time soon And the only way to experience JEsus power in You is through salvation.
John 1:10-12..HE came to his own but his own did not accpet him... but to those that received him he gave the mandate to be called sons of God (paraphrase)
If u are saved.. u are one step ahead...

2. Holy Spirit of God in You is Power
John 4:24 teaches us that for us to be the true worshippers we copnfess tp be we need to be
worshippers in TRUTH n in SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit is the very essence of God. Without the Holy Spirit we cannot realize our giftings. The Holy SPirit of God helps you to maintain a Mwamba Focus. The Holy SPrit of God is a great Teacher in short, we ask for the fillin of the Holy Spirit from God..its in askin that we receive... niguo?
Movin on.. Galatians 5:16-25 has a great text on The Holy Spirit.. First... the text teaches n quickens us that we should walk in the Spirit so that we may not fulfil the desires of the flesh. VERY IMPORTANT. so it is fair to say that some of us r saved for some time n we still struggle from some baggage/addiction, we need a revistin of the Holy Spirit, not in half but in full. Walk in the SPirit.. Maintain in The Spirit... Dont walk in n out of the Spirit.. it wil be tragic for u out there walkin bila spirit ya God. So.. be watchful...

So far tumeona
1. Jesus Christ in Me is power... we are listin the sources of the Power of a Christian..
2. THe Holy SPirit in Meis power

So that takes us to Number 3..

3. The Word of God in Me is POWER
We go to skull even while over fifty jears because we value knowledge. You cannot tell me u are saved n cant remember the color of ur bible. We ought to work on our Salvation for it to bear fruit. I know most of us - atleast mimi - when we got saved thot its a ticket outta hell! But jus like we have manuals for electric gadgets God has given us a Manual for Basic
Instructions Be4 Livin Earth.
What does th bible sema in Hebrews 4:12? The Word of God is sharper than a double edged sword...so its a weapon. USE IT!
N God has been gracious enough to even grant us a manual He has personally inspired via His Holy Spirit n we sema God aint gracious..

So the Word of God is supposed to be a weapon.. Use it...as a shield. The Word of God teaches, instructs, warns.. guides. So.. u are saved - fine - what manual do u run by? 2 Timothy 3:16 says "16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness," Al give us more references.. PSalms 119:105 (His Word is a light unto our feet n light unto our
paths... Ephesisans 6:12-17.. the Full Armour

Movin on.... (REMINDER.. ALTAR CALLS STILL ON SESSION kwa PRIVATE)

John 1:1-3. In teh beginnin there was the Word.. n the Word was with God.. n the Word was
God...remember??

4. FAITH in ME is POWER
I know most of us if not all already jua a zillion verses on faith coz the times we live in are hard like that. Faith in ME is POWER.

Without Faith we cannot please God.. Period.
There is FAITH.... then there is works.. but FAITH bila Works aiwes mek... in our day to day lives...has faith behind it. Which brings me to this query. What Faith runs you??
Put ur trust on man n woe to you.. how much more if u put ur faith on man?
The good Lord is gracious enough to not give us a headache on workin on our faith. He just requires us to have a mustard seed size of faith.. n mountains are moved.. But be careful ye of little faith... dont have a mustard seed faith n have that ur comfort zone..
work on increasin Ur faith by feedin on the word of God. Feed Your faith with the Word..MEmorise scripture to beef up ur faith in Christ.

Faith to a Christian is like Fuel in a moti aka car. A car cant move no inch bila fuel.. infact it will stall katikati ya barabara kama kuna jam.. Si ndio Dinah?? Do not b jus READERS fo the Word but be DOERS....n u achieve this thro faith. Again.. Wateva faith runs u is important..
Not all cars run on diesel....others like Phce's tuk tuk run on rum....others run on Petrori...
So again be watchful on what faith you subsribe. Just because a faith u subscribe says JESUS JESUS dont mean it will get u to heaven... I hope tunaelewana? Not every one that calls JEsus will see the Kingdom of God...so be watchful n keen esp on the churches we attend.. n fellowship at.. SAWA?

More scriptural readin 1 John 5:4-6

FAith.. is what we have as FAther Abraham...90 years n no kid yet God refers to Abraham as His Friend, FAther of many nations. Faith is wat happend to Enoch of old - Genesis 5:20-24.. the jamaa walked with God till he was no more...

You gotta have FAITH!!!!!

Point number 5...

5. PRAYER in You is POWER...

We aint got it coz we havent asked. I know we say God is all knowin kwani hawezi jiambia ama kuona nina ubao akasort hiyo pizza pande hii? When God asks us to ask of Him.. it dont mean He donno wat we want.. He jus desires us to submit... He want us to be part of the miracle...So You ask .. HE will do the providin... its called TEAM EFFORT

Prayer is important..in a Christian Life.. What is prayer kwanza... PRayer is simply talkin to n WITH God. I say talkin WITH because PRayer is supposed to be TWO WAY... most times its us doin the talkin.. n we talk to God too much we dont even hear His still small voice answerin our prayers... We forget that He too wants to talk... most times we go on fastin because we need God to do somthings for us.. PRay without ceasin is wot we are asked to do. Talk to God mpaka ikuwe ni kama kawaida. JEsus Taught the disciples how to do it... U dont need to be official.. God is God but remember He is a friend since He sticks closer than a brother - proverbs 18:24.. By the way, when did u guys last pray the Lord's Prayer?? :food-for-thot-:

Ephesians 4:6 teaches us to make our needs known to Him.. in prayre n supplication....
Matthew 6:33... Ask n it shall be given unto you...Seek u shall find.. Knock n it wil be opn to you... At times i know we pray n we do not recieve... The book of JAmes chapter 4 tells us why we dont receive... coz we pray so we go fulfill our own desires... it is my prayer that whatever we ask of God will be that which brings Him glory... Phil 4:19.. n He shall supply all ur needs accordin to His reaches in glory... Soo all we need... is ASK...

Be part of the miracle..pray.. converse with God.. n give him time pia aonge... Ephesians 6:18 is an additional task..
Movin on to my 6th n last point on The Sources of The Power of A Christian...

FASTING is power in ME
Am yet to find out in the bible where God addresses fastin on what it is... All over in the book ISaiah chapter 58... the bible starts like "When You fast.." Meanin we are expected to fast as part of our christian growth. I mean.. Jesus Himself being God-man yet he fasted some 40 days (am sure there are other fasts he did not mentioned)... how much more we?

FAstin is normally food related.. but that is not it... Fastin is simply time-off to go bond with God... FAsting is time off ur usual indulgences so u create an environment within that focuses wholly on God... Thats wat fastin is.... Mi si passie soooo am givin it as it is given frrom Above eh!!

But fastin is important.. Fastin makes your inner resources (for lack of better words) sharper towards God n things of God... U rem some demons that couldnt be chased because the particular type of demon as JEsus sed dotn chuck off till u fast??

Now... we need to learn somthin abt fastin... - N for the record.. i struggle too in fastin soo u r hearin this frm someone yet to be thoroughly disciplined in this field eh.. But most of us fast when we need a miracle NOW!!!

Tell me somthin, the disciples of Jesus are havin war with some demons that wont just listen to them, is that time the right time to fast??? when u are havin a drama be4 u??

Fastin n prayer go hand in hand by the way. If u fastin to please God...go n eat... God dont need favours..so dont fast to please Him.. FAstin n prayers is meant to be a back up like memorisin scripture.... One day you are in teh middle of a problem n u do not have ur bible wit u.. wat d u do??

u pray now for a far off need maybe like maybe u be CEO some day... u begin prayin abt it now... (Fastin is a whole sermon on its own). Just like we take leave n g osomewea n enjoy....we could take time-off from our indulgences - foods, friends, work, ministry etc - to go bond n hear frm God.

Fastin again at times could be th equickenin of God u go on a time of fastin, So fastin is power of God in You......

my last comments
There we have ... 6 sources of the Power of Christian..
So.. Where do u get the power or strength to run you... its either all or nothin by the way...
So wht do u run by.. what do i run by..

Because we in a christian's life.. it is all in the RUN.. n it is important how you run.. as in run like you know wat u doin..

The End

Shared by Warhia Heb 3:13 At the Mwafrika chatroom on Friday Sept 11, 2009

The Relaunch ...