Episoder
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Part 3 â The Boldness of Righteousness
Abraham was the first recorded prophet in the Bible. God Himself called him so. He prayed over Abimelech and his entire family was saved from barrenness in Gen 20.
Today we want to look at how righteousness consciousness empowered or emboldened Abraham to pray for Sodom and Gomorrah!
Background
Imagine you live in a beautiful city â a place where everyone all over the world on paper wishes to live because of its exquisite architecture and facilities but there is one problem. There is no law here or a functioning justice system. You could do whatever you like and no-one would hold you to account. For instance, you could kidnap your neighbourâs child and no one will bat an eyelid â and worse the law enforcement officers will not carry out any arrest. And in the few occasions where any arrests were made, the judges always never convicts anyone.
Would you love to live in a country like that? Would you be able to sleep a night? Would you invite your loved ones to come live there?
If you are in it, would you want to stay?
If an opportunity shows up for you to leave, would you not grab with two hands?
Now this story I just described was not made up. Once upon a time, there were two cities named Sodom and Gomorrah and the Bible described them as a city filled with wickedness â no law and order and their behaviours were so vile that God Himself had to come and check out what was going on there.
So, God as the righteous Judge canât allow this wickedness to continue. He had to do something about it. He had to right the wrong so He sent angels to go and visit the place disguised as humans and bring Him a first hand report. On their way, God stopped over at Abrahamâs house and Abraham entertained God. It was like 2 friends having a nice time together. It was during this fellowship together that God reiterated to Abraham that within the next 1 year, Abaham would give birth to Isaac. God also changed the name of Abraham and Sarah.
Now as God and the angels were leaving, God had a conversation with Abraham â and which is the basis of our text today.
Gen 18:16-25
16 Then the men got up from there, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham walked with them to send them on the way. 17 The Lord said, âShall I keep secret from Abraham [My friend and servant] what I am going to do, 18 since Abraham [g]is destined to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him? 19 For I have known (chosen, acknowledged) him [as My own], so that he may teach and command his children and [the sons of] his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is righteous and just, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has promised him.â 20 And the Lord said, âThe outcry [of the sin] of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. 21 I will go down now, and see whether they have acted [as vilely and wickedly] as the outcry which has come to Me [indicates]; and if not, I will know.â
22 Now the [two] men (angelic beings) turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham approached [the Lord] and said, âWill You really sweep away the righteous (those who do right) with the wicked (those who do evil)? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous [people] within the city; will You really sweep it away and not spare it for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from You to do [h]such a thingâto strike the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right [by executing just and righteous judgment]?â
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We have not meditated enough on what it means to be âmadeâ righteous. If we do, the way we pray or even relate to God would be different. In 2 Cor 5:21, the phrase âmade righteousâ is from the Greek word âgimomaiâ - and it is a derivative of the English language word âgeneâ. Since in human context, a childâs gender is dermined by the âgeneâ of the father, so the believerâs spiritual gender is determined by the âgeneâ of God.
If your spiritual gene is from God and God is righteous, then it should not be difficult to believe that righteousness is the spiritual gene of the believer. We should never have to have a debate about this or engage in mindless argument. To believe otherwise will lead to spiritual confusion or spiritual gender dysphoria.
So, when I hear someone say that a believer is a sinner, they have not believed this truth. Let me show you another scripture in 1 John 3:9. It says: âNo one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God's nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.â
ââ1 John⏠â3âŹ:â9⏠âAMPCâŹâŹ
The divine sperm determines the gene of the child. Godâs divine sperm is righteous and holy - and that is what He transferred to the believer at spiritual conception. Such a person canât practice sin. Why? The nature of God permanently abides in him.
Rom 5:1 TPT affirms this truth:
âOur faith in Jesus transfers Godâs righteousness to us and he now declares us flawless in his eyes. This means we can now enjoy true and lasting peace with God, all because of what our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, has done for us.â
A believerâs identity is not that of sin. How could it be when he has been born of God? Except we are saying God is a sinner! God forbid! It is a travesty to even have long conversations about this.
If you think you are a sinner or a believer who still has a sin nature, you have not believed the scriptures. Religion has convinced us that when we are born again, we are not really made new. Weâre just a âforgiven versionâ of the same old person. Then, they go as far as to say that despite the promise of a new heart and spirit, we maintain our old nature alongside what God does in us. Therefore, we donât have a completely new nature; we now have a dual nature: our old sinful nature exists alongside a new nature in Christ. This sets our entire journey with Jesus off course. It means the rest of our life on earth is spent in a struggle between the two natures. That is like someone suffering from MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder)
A christian is not revamped in heart and spirit but totally brand new. In the new birth, God doesnât clean our spirit and heart; He makes us new, i.e., a new creation. "New Creation" is "Kainos Ktisis" in Greek and means a creation "not found exactly like this before." or ânever been seen before in the history of the universe." Or âsuperior to what it succeeds" The Greek word used to describe the new creation is like the same way God created the heavens and the earth from nothing in Gen 1:1.
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Mangler du episoder?
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The Boldness of Righteousness
Proverbs 28:1:
A wicked person runs away even when nobody is chasing him. But a righteous person is as brave as a lion.What does it mean to be righteous and how does righteousness make us bold or confident? How does it make us confident especially in the place of prayers â that is what we are looking at today!
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âHow 10 Spies Doomed a Generationâ
Key Text: Numbers 13â14
I. INTRODUCTION â âThe Voice that Shifted Historyâ
Hook Story:
Imagine standing at the edge of your lifelong dream. House keys in yourhand. Everything you prayed for just within reach. But then⊠a few trustedvoices say, âYouâre not ready. Youâll fail. Itâs too risky.â You believethemâand walk away.Thatâs what happened in Numbers 13. Ten spiesâ fearfulperspective infected millions. One generation died in the wildernessâneverentering what God had promised.
Big Idea: What you believeâand what you sayâcaneither activate or abort destiny.
II. THE RECON MISSION â âGod Sends, We Seeâ (Numbers13:1â25)
Biblical Setup:
Modern Parallel Story:
A startup founder gets green-lit for funding. She sees the opportunityâbuther team only sees market threats. âWhat if we fail?â âWhat if the competitioneats us alive?â Fear spreads. She pulls out. A year later, another companybuilds the same productânow worth millions.Takeaway:
God may open doorsâbut how you see the opportunity determines if youâllwalk through.Action Point:
Ask yourself: When God shows me a promise, do I evaluate with faith or withfear?Dt 1:20-25
Psalm 106:21-25
Heb 3:10-14, 19
Hebrews 4:1-2, 11
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Summary
Finally, Remember the woman with the issue of blood? Why was she healed? Because she said in her heart âIf I touch the hem of His garment, I will be made wholeâ but have you wondered why that faith came from? It was because of what she had heard about Jesus!
Mark 5:24-34: 25And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, 26and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, 27when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. 28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. 29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. 30And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? 31And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 32And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. 33But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. 34And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
What is the first result that the word of God produces? It builds faith in the hearer â as a seed planted in the heart but to produce fail-safe results, it must be heard but it must be heard over and over.
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How to make your words empower your expectations.
Proverbs 23:18: Surely there is a future [and a reward], Andyour hope and expectation will not be cut off.
The word âexpectationâ is from the Hebrew Word âtik-vawâ literallymeans a cord (as an attachment or figuratively means expectancy, hope, live,thing that I long for.
1) cord
2) hope, expectation
2a) hope
2b) ground of hope
2c) things hoped for, outcomeWhat you long for serves as a cord that is attached to you.It is an outcome that you hoped for. God expects us to have a positiveexpectation.
A positive expectation is called âhopeâ and a negative oneis called âpessimismâ which leads to doubt.
Letâs start with negative expectations.
This is how it works:
· Negative expectations often manifest frompessimism and doubt.
· These doubts lead to hesitancy because theycreate âfailure scenariosâ in your mind.
· You expect to fail, and therefore all your decisions and actions willundoubtedly lead you away from your goals and towards failure and mistakes.
· Decisions and actions are premised from thoughts(what you decided in your mind that formed a belief of your heart) and theactions you take on the back of your decision.
· Pessimism + doubt = hesitancy + failure scenarios= negative expectations
· Negative expectations produce decisions andactions that push the goals away into failures and mistakes.
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I declare over your life that:
· The Lord your God has set you high above all your contemporaries. His gift in you shall cause you to flourish everywhere you go in Jesus name
· Only blessings are allowed in your life. These blessings are for you and for your children even those yet unborn in the name of Jesus:
· You are blessed in the city and you are blessed in the field.
· Your body is blessed and fruitful
· Your ground is blessed and fruitful
· Your enterprise yields intergenerational blessings in the name of Jesus
· Your workforce and every tool you need to work for you are blessed in the name of Jesus
· You are blessed in your storehouses, bank accounts and investment vehicles
· Your kitchen is blessed and your household is blessed
· You are blessed coming in and blessed when you go out
· You are blessed in your journeys and you are blessed when you are at home
· You are blessed everywhere you go for the blessing of the Lord is your shield
· Every enemy of yours who rises up against you are declared defeated before your face in the name of Jesus
· Every challenge facing you right now is declared incapacitated for the Lord God will fight for you in Jesus name
· The Lord has commanded the blessing upon you in your storehouse and in all that you undertake.
· The Lord has blessed you in the land which the Lord your God gives you to inhabit.
· Since God has made His heir, you are blessed with all the blessings of the earth in Jesus name
· The Lord establishes you and He has made you holy, blameless and without a single fault in His eyes
· You are a saint of God and are called by the name of the Lord.
· The Lord has promised to never leave you nor forsake therefore I decree that in this month, you shall experience the presence of the Lord and His Kingdom life in Jesus name.
· Those who hate you shall be afraid of you. You shall be a voice to bring the gospel to those in your sphere of influence.
· You shall have a surplus of prosperity and abundance in every area of your life â in your business, your career, your investments, in relationships, through destiny helpers, in your health, in wisdom, in knowledge, in skillfulness, in prudence and over all the earth in Jesus name.
· The Lord opens to you now His good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain over your life in its season. You shall be like a tree planyted by the rivers of water that brings its fruits in its seasons. You are always fruitful and productive by the spirit of the Lord.
· The Lord blesses the work of your hands and caused it to prosper beyond your wildest imagination.
· You are a lender not a borrower and if you borrow you shall make good use of it in investing right in the name of Jesus.
· The Lord has made you the head â and you shall be above only.
· The Lord is with you, you are a success in every area of your life and in every way.
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How the devil works for you not to keep the word
1) Through offense: Matthew 3:20-21: 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
2) Through over-busyness: Matthew 3:22: 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
So, what is the way out?
1) Schedule time to study the word
2) Find a gospel based teaching and listen to it
3) Minimise your reliance of entertainment or media that sows doubt in your mind
4) Refuse to be offended by anyone and anything
5) Find time in your busyness to spend time with the Lord
Favour Affirmation for the year
The favour of God surrounds me like a shield producing supernatural increase, promotion, restoration, honour, increased access, greater victories, recognition, prominence, preferential treatment, petitions granted, policies and rules changed and battles won that I donât have to fight. Favour is mine in all things. This is my set time for Godâs favour. God is doing for me what my natural abilities and connections could not do. I am blessed and highly favoured of God in Jesusâ Name!â
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Favour Affirmation for the year
The favour of God surrounds me like a shield producingsupernatural increase, promotion, restoration, honour, increased access,greater victories, recognition, prominence, preferential treatment, petitions granted, policies and rules changed and battles won that I donât have to fight.Favour is mine in all things. This is my set time for Godâs favour. God is doing for me what my natural abilities and connections could not do. I am blessed and highly favoured of God in Jesusâ Name!â
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The Power of the âKeptâ Word
Luke 11:28: KJV: 28 But He said, âYea rather, blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it.â
Other translations:
AMP: 28 But He said, âOn the contrary, blessed (happy, favored by God) are those who hear the word of God and continually observe it.â
NIV: He replied, âBlessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.â
NLT: Jesus replied, âBut even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.â
NASB: But He said, âOn the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it.â
SLT: And he said, Rather, happy they hearing the word of God, and watching it.
3 words to pay attention to:
· Blessed is from Makarios â and it meand to be fortunate or favoured by God
· Hear is from akuo â and it simply means to hear what was said
· Keep â it is the Greek word âPhulassoâ â and it means through the idea of isolation, to watch i.e. be on guard, observe
So, a person is favoured by God or is deemed fortunate when he hears the word of God and observes or obey it or puts it into practice
How do you put it into practice?
First you must hear it.
This is the reason why you canât have faith beyond what you constantly hear.
Rom 10:17 NLT: So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
Faith comes by hearing the Good News - not the bad news.
Fear will come by hearing the bad news
The word of God (specifically one based on the finished work of Christ) will build faith in you hence why you must hear it and hear it and hear it.
Donât hear the gospel today and tomorrow go and hear fear-based message, it will destroy your faith or rather, your faith will become leaky!
If you have never heard a message that God has healed you in Christ, then you canât believe for it and when you donât believe for it, you canât experience it.
Favour Affirmation for the year
The favour of God surrounds me like a shield producing supernatural increase, promotion, restoration, honour, increased access, greater victories, recognition, prominence, preferential treatment, petitions granted, policies and rules changed and battles won that I donât have to fight. Favour is mine in all things. This is my set time for Godâs favour. God is doing for me what my natural abilities and connections could not do. I am blessed and highly favoured of God in Jesusâ Name!â
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One way to obtain favour from the Lord is toseek wisdom. Proverbs8:35 says, âFor those who find me [wisdom] find life and receive favorfrom the LORDâ.
What is Wisdom? Wisdom is theability to apply the right knowledge at the right time in the right way.
What is Godly Wisdom: Proverbs1:7 says: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, butfools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 4:7 NIV says: Thebeginning of wisdom is this: Get[a] wisdom. Though it cost all youhave,[b] get understanding.
AMP: The beginning of Wisdom is:get Wisdom (skillful and godly Wisdom)! [For skillful and godlyWisdom is the principal thing.] And with all you have gotten, get understanding(discernment, comprehension, and interpretation).
Why is wisdom important?
1) Because Wisdom leads to favour. We see anexample in the life of Jesus and Solomom
Luke 2:52:And Jesus grew inWISDOM and Stature, and in FAVOUR with God and men.
2 Chron 1. 11-12: Solomonreceived Wisdom and Much More from GodâŠ. DUE to the FAVOUR of God.
2) A man with Wisdom iscovered, he is protected, and he has an unwavering defence in the things oflife. Life cannot toss him to and fro cheaply. âFor wisdom is a defence, andmoney is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth lifeto them that have itâ. Ecclesiastes 7:12
3) Wisdom is better than strength. Eccl9:16-18: 16 Then said I, Wisdom is better thanstrength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words arenot heard. 17 The words of wise men are heard in quietmore than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.18 Wisdomis better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much
4) Wisdom is more profitable than gold andsilver: Prov 3:13-15: Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gainunderstanding, for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.15 Sheis more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her. Job 12:13:âWith Him are wisdom and might;To Him belong counsel and understandingâ (Job 12:13).5) Wisdom is good judgement in action whichleads to favour: Proverbs 13:15 ââGood judgment wins favour, but the way of the unfaithful leads to theirdestruction.â
Why is wisdom important?
i. Proverbs 4:7 deemed it the most importantthing. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom:and with all thy getting get understanding.
ii. Acts 7:10 shows that it was Godâs wisdom thatgave Joseph the right words to speak: And delivered him from all hisdistressing afflictions and won him goodwill and favor andwisdom and understanding in the sight of Pharaoh, king ofEgypt, who made him governor over Egypt and all his house. It was wisdom thatmade Joseph depart from evil of Potipharâs wife.
Job 28:28 NASB95 âAnd to manHe said, âBehold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evilis understanding.â This is where Josephâs wisdom started from.
Proverbs9:10 says: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge ofthe Holy One is understanding.
iii. You can ask for wisdom when you donât know whatto do because He lives on the inside of you. James 1:5, 1 Cor 1:31
1. James1:5: 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should askGod, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will begiven to you.
2. 1Cor 1:30: It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who hasbecome for us wisdom from Godâthat is, ourrighteousness, holiness and redemption.
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The tenses used to describe the grace of God and our standing in it is a perfect tense in the Greek language which basically means âan event that occurs once but have a lifetime ramificationâ
What we have in Jesus is not something we can lose.
Your standing in Christ â His grace and favour is permanent.
So here we see that our past is justified, our present moments are favoured and our future is filled with the hope (the confident expectation of good) to enjoy the glory or reality of God.
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The tenses used to describe the grace of God and our standing in it is a perfect tense in the Greek language which basically means âan event that occurs once but have a lifetime ramificationâ
What we have in Jesus is not something we can lose.
Your standing in Christ â His grace and favour is permanent.
So here we see that our past is justified, our present moments are favoured and our future is filled with the hope (the confident expectation of good) to enjoy the glory or reality of God.
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The favour factor for the believer is rooted in Godâs decision to not only be with us but under the New Covenant, to be in us. I am certain we have not plumbed the depth of what this means. Every believer has this favour factor. It is the force that brings God in on your behalf to put things in your favour in
the face of every contradicting forces. It is this factor that will put you where you natural abilities can never put you.
Every Patriarch enjoyed the favour factor. The favour factor is the presence of God. Luke 5:17 revealed how this favour factor manifested in the healing ministry of Jesus: âOne of those days, as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting by, who had come from every village and town of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was [present] with Him to heal them.â
In 2025, the favour factor will help you. The same Holy Spirit that helped Jesus healed people and that raised Him from the dead is presently at work in you who has been joined together with the Lord Jesus.
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The story of Jesus' birth carries a profound theme of a covenant-keeping God. Beginning with humanity's fall in the Garden of Eden, Pastor Davies highlighted how God prepared the way for Jesus' arrival through the promise of "the Seed of the woman"âa prophecy fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.In Abraham, God found a faithful partner willing to offer his son in sacrifice. This act of willingness paved the way for God's intervention on earth, culminating in the redemption of the world through Jesus.
Today's message, The Covenant God of Christmas, reveals that God continues to honour His covenant. The name Jehovah Jireh, first revealed on Mount Moriah, foreshadowed Jesus' sacrifice on Golgotha. It was the good news proclaimed to Abraham in Genesis 22âa promise fulfilled in Christ.
As you celebrate this Christmas season, reflect on the faithfulness of the covenant-keeping God, who has fulfilled His promises through Jesus. Trust that He will continue to honour His word in your life.
Merry Christmas, beloved.
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The Key To Persuading Your Heart
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âThe Key To Persuading Your Heart â Pt 2â
Last week,we discussed the unique role of the heart as the seat of your belief and according to Proverbs 4:23, your own heart determines the boundaries of your life.
It is imperative to therefore know how to persuade it.
I want to do a step through the life of Abraham to show you how he became persuaded in his heart of the faithfulness of God but first
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The word of God is the seed and the earth in which the seed
of the word of God is planted is your own heart. In essence,
our heart is the environment that determines how well the
word of God works for us
Today, I want to talk to you about a principle that will help
protect your heart from distraction to lay hold of the truth of
Godâs word.
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- Se mer
