I Am Rewriting My History.

Bible Passage for Sermon Mark 4: 26-29, 1Corinthians 13:11
Mark 4
²⁶ And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷ and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. ²⁸ For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Everything in life follows a growing process. They grow in stages just like the seed, which first sprouts out the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head. When you see this happening then you immediately know that growth is taking place and what follows is the ripening and then the harvest (when it has fully come to maturity).

1Corinthians 13

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Deuteronomy 2 - ³ ‘You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.
You have aged enough, so it's time to now mature. Pursue your destiny, break the band of tradition, loose the strangle hold of routine. You should not yield to every desire but find the right balance, do what the Lord has put into your heart. Stagnation causes atrophy. God wants you to move forward, to progress, to advance in the things he has laid in your heart to do.

7 growth choices that you need to make as a Christian

1. Choose A Life Of Growth - Almost everyone have similar and equal chances and opportunities. The difference between successful and unsuccessful people is their desire to achieve much more and progress. It's never too late to make a change. You can't discover new territory until you are ready to loose sight of shore. Peter dared to do what the others wouldn't do by walking on water, and we all know he went on to become a great apostle
2. Choose To Start Growing Today - Someday is no day. Anytime means no time. Everyone who is someone started out in a day. Everything you do today, joins with yesterdays to become something tomorrow. Anything you can do for 1hr a day, for 5 days a week, in 5 yrs you'll be an expert at it.
3. Choose To Adopt The Posture Of A Learner - Don't be afraid to go through the learning process even when surrounded by experts. Learn something new every year. Isaiah 50 ⁴“ The Lord GOD has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned.
4. Choose A Few Areas Of Your Life And Focus On Changing Them - 1Corinthians 9- ²⁶ Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. Make a conscious effort to make changes in certain areas of your life and mature in them.
5. Choose The Price You're Willing To Pay For Growth - No price comes without pain. Nothing good comes cheap. Invest a little in yourself. Life is a trade-off. For everything you want to get you must be willing to invest something (time, moeny, focus). Everything in life requires an exchange. If you choose not to pay, you will fail.
6. Choose The Right Environment For Growth - Your environment affects your life. A goldfish can't grow bigger that the bowl it's in. Make room for growth. There is a saying that goes 'if the shoe fits, wear it', but i say 'if the shoe fits, don't wear it'. Make room for growth.
7. Choose To Relate With Growing People - Expose yourself to things that will help increase you. 1Corinthians 15-
   ³³ Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”. Proverbs 13- ²⁰ He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed. I say to you that your 3 closest friends will determine where you'll be in 5yrs time.

In conclusion, be adventurous and do some extreme things so that when God calls and speaks to you about what he wants you to do, you will not be phased as you are used to stepping outside the box. Then you will freely do his will for your life.

The Vision For Your Purpose.

There is a purpose for everything and it is up to you to find out what that real purpose is. Sometimes you need to ask for wisdom from God if you don't understand a purpose.


To understand the purpose of man, let's have a look at some scriptures.
Gen 1:26
²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Rev 5: 9-10
⁹ And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. ¹⁰ You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
 
The passage in Genesis makes you understand that the sole purpose for God making us in his image and likeness is so that we can rule over all things that was created. The passage in Revelation makes you understand that you owe everything to Jesus as he died for your redemption and has made you kings and priests to reign on earth. In essense both scriptures talk about you and i having "Dominion" over all things here on earth. Jesus himself has placed us back to dominion by his death and resurrection.
 
Victory is here on earth for us, and we can take issues concerning the earth and present it to God. We are priests and the job of a priest is to hear from God and present the message to the people. As priests, every forest is a blessing waiting for you to discover.
 
You can notice that it is not made mention that we are "princes", and that is because princes don't carry as much power and dominion as kings and priests.
Galatians 4:1
¹ Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all
Ecclesiastes 10: 5-7
⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error proceeding from the ruler: ⁶ Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place. ⁷ I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants.
As long as you are a prince, you are still operating and perceived to be in the same position as a slave or a servant.
 
The mental ability to solve a problem must be greater than the ability to create it. You must trust solely on God who is the one that gives us the wisdom we need.
1Kings 20: 3-4
³ ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and children are mine.’” ⁴ And the king of Israel answered and said, “My lord, O king, just as you say, I and all that I have are yours.”
1Kings 20: 13
¹³ Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’”
 
There is a huge difference between having an Ambition and having a Vision that you need to know about. A vision is a picture of a need for a desirable future not just for yourself but for a mass of other people. An ambition is a selfish need for yourself. Your vision must be big enough to ensure that it includes other people who will also be able to benefit from that which you birth. Jacobs vision saw him build a "city" of which his sons, poeple all around him, and the generations after them have enjoyed ever since.
 
In conclusion, you must have a vision, a picture of a better life not only for yourself but for others around yourself. You must set yourself values by which you abide by so that when confronted with various instances, you know which ones to pursue based on these values. Your vision defines your purpose.

Gleanings By The River.

Message passages. Ezekiel 1: 1-3, Psalms 137: 1-9.
Ezekiel 1
¹ In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. ² On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— ³ the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was on him.

verse1 - The heavens can open unto you no matter where you are and what situation you are in. Ezekiel was in exile and possibly under harsh conditions but still the heavens above him opened to him so that he can be used by God.


For God to use you, you need your mind and spirit to be right. You need to see the things you want in the spirit and then let your mind to start operating in that capacity. When you allow your spirit to be in the place of God, he will open the heaven above you and pour you out rivers of water. The river that comes from the presence of God is that which waters your soul and refreshens your life. There also is a river that comes from the enemy that causes you to desire unholy pleasures. This river is the ways of the world.


In the passage Ezekiel also mentions that "in his thirtieth year". 30 is the year of maturity, and in the Jewish tradition it is only when you attain that age that you are alowed to become a priest. So no matter what you might be facing in your life, when it is time for God to use you he will reach out to you where you are. When God is about to use you he will open your heart, your eyes and your ear unto him.

Psalms 137
¹ By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. ² There on the poplars we hung our harps, ³ for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” ⁴ How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land? ⁵ If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. ⁶ May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. ⁷ Remember, LORD, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!” ⁸ Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. ⁹ Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

The desire of the enemy is that when you are in trouble that you do not open your mouth to praise God. As we can see from the above passage the tormentors of the israelites mocked them to sing them songs of zion knowing fully well that their spirits are already downcast. The israelites remembered all the Lord has done for them and vow to sing praises to him. That is what is required of you when you find yourself down and under, rejoice and sing praises to the good God for he is able to deliver you.

Paul and Silas praised God even in their captivity and their prison doors were opened unto them and they even received the favor of the guard.


In conclusion, you should understand that no matter the condition you are in, when God wants to use you he will cause open heavens above you, and your heart, eyes, and ear will be yielded unto him.

How To Define True Christianity.

To all created by God in his image, were created to have dominion over all things of the earth, just like God is the ruler and has dominion over the heavenly things.


What God wants us to do as true Christians.
Lets look at Mathew 5:-

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

verse 44 says to love your enemies, bless those who curse you, to do good to those who hate you, and to pray for those who use and persecute you. It further goes on to say that our heavenly Father makes his sun rise on both the evil and the good. He also sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

God expects you as a Christian to be the absolute best you can to those who are against you and your ways. It seems a very difficult thing to do, but this is what the word commands you to do at every situation so that you may be son of your Father in heaven. Luke 6: 27-36 also further buttresses this point:-

²⁷“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. ²⁹ To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. ³¹ And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. ³² But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. ³⁶ Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Instances of the God kind of mercy that has no parallel

1Kings 21: 19-29  - In this passage God had made judgement over Ahab because of his wicked way and how he sold himself to do evil. When Elijah told Ahab about Gods judgement over him, he humbled himself before God and God promised to avert the judgement to the days of his son. This passage how us that God only judges us only in the new dispensation after repentance.

Genesis 4: 1-16 - Cain brought an offering to God which was not accepted unlike Abels offering which was accepted. Cain became angry and ended up killing his brother Abel. God pronounced judgement on Cain but Cain asked that his punishment be reduced. Cain could have averted his punishment by confessing sin. Cain drew on the mercy of God but he didn't want to submit to his mercy way. God yet still reduced his punishment due to his merciful nature.

In conclusion, you should show mercy unto others even in all situations good or bad.