THE MAKING OF A FATHER

                                                   

                                                    Proverbs 20:7; 13:22

Who is a father? A father is a leader, a patriarch, a progenitor, an ancestor, a mentor, a role-model, a source and a sustainer…

Buried within a father is the seed of greatness (or pronouncement) which will provoke blessing upon the life of his children (descendants).

When a father falls from the place of grace (where God has placed him), everything goes wrong (Gen. 3:9). 

As a father (or a prospective father) are you strategically positioned or functioning in the place where God has placed you? Where are you presently?

The first man created by God (Adam) became the father of mankind, and everyone was named after him (Gen. 5:2).

Thereafter, He called Abraham, whom He separated from his father’s house, consecrated him, groomed him until he became the father of faith (Isaiah 51:1-2; Romans 4:16). 

Some things to note about Godly fathers:

A father sees far ahead into the future. He makes a prophetic gaze into the future, in other words, he perceives the futuristic attitudes or attributes of his children (descendants) - Heb. 11:21; Gen. 48:13-20; 49:1-28.

There are some things you won’t see even when you stand upon towers, which fathers will see, even when they are seated.

Fathers are teachers. They are generational builders. They lay foundations upon which high scrapers could be built. They are master builders, men of depth and real spiritual substance, who provide the shoulders for their children to climb on (Gen. 26:4-5; 2 Tim. 2:2).

Fathers (biological and spiritual) raise their children to be better than them. The height of their achievement becomes the starting point of their children’s achievements. Examples: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph; Moses and Joshua; Elijah and Elisha; Jesus and His disciples (John 14:12). 

They create platforms for others to rise. 

Sometimes, God uses fathers to bring divine disruption into our lives. These disruptions will eventually lead us to the fulfilment of God’s purpose for our lives.

Some examples of such include the following: 

Terah and Abraham (Gen. 11:31-32);
Jacob and Joseph (Gen. 37:12-14);
Jesse and David (1 Sam. 17:17-18);
Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 19:19-21);
Jesus and His disciples (Matt. 4:18-22).

Who is your father? Who has God placed upon your life as a spiritual mentor or father? 

Furthermore, are you connected to the Father of all lights?

As a father, are you pouring the grace of God upon your life into someone else? 

Are you a portrait (picture) of the glorious future desired by and for your children?

As a young man, are you equipping and preparing yourself thoroughly to be a channel of blessing to others? 

Don’t depart from the ancient landmark (Prov. 22:28; 23:10).

Remember, God gave a testimony about Abraham as a father who would command the fear of God over his household (Gen. 18:17-19). Can God give such testimony about you?

How can I be a good father?

Let the Word of God become your standard of living. Be a doer of the Word! (James 1:22-25).
Teach your wife and children the Word of God (Eph. 5:25-27; Prov. 22:6).
Create time for your family. Close ranks with your wife and your children. Spend quality time with them (Eccl. 9:8-10).
Spend quality time in God’s presence, interceding for your home (Neh. 4:14) 

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA
RESIDENT PASTOR

Kindly like our facebook page and follow our post at www.facebook.com/gacikeja and tweets at www.twitter.com/gacikeja.

INVITATION TO ABUNDANT LIFE

INVITATION TO ABUNDANT LIFE
John 7:37-39; Isaiah 55:1-2

Jesus said, ‘The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly’ (John 10:10).

Abundant life here is not just sheer display of wealth and material substance, it’s a life of absolute fulfilment, yielding totally to God’s will and purpose. It’s a life that has become a portal (channel) through which God’s blessings are distributed to many people, institutions and nations… (Gen. 12:2; Isaiah 60:15).

This invitation is to all and sundry, but only those who thirst will respond positively to it. Jesus saw that there was a high level of lethargy in the environment. This event was meant to be a moment of divine visitation, and it was the last day of the feast... It was supposed to be a time of refreshing and fellowshipping in God's presence, but what was obtainable in those days was mere fulfilment of tradition. In the midst of all these, He stood and cried out saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me...’

In other words, He meant ‘if anyone really desires to see the Father, let Him come to Me’. Jesus probably sensed that some folks genuinely came to Jerusalem to have an encounter with God, but the best they could get was what the religious leaders of those days had to offer them.

Spiritual leadership operating under a closed heaven can never lead people to the presence of God. Neither will their ministrations command the release of the supernatural (or the power of God to heal and to deliver)… Mark 16:20.

Most people will not yield to this invitation, because their 'thirst' is for something entirely different. Our generation has developed an unusual appetite for strange doctrines, quick fix solutions and other options at the expense of the Giver of abundant life...

The Lord says He now stands at the door of your heart, knocking to secure entrance to your heart, would you rather open to Him? (Rev. 3:20).

Thirst - could also be seen as passion, zeal, affection, or interest.

What do you thirst for? I understand that you might have a deep sense of affection, but what do you thirst for?

Everyone has a degree (or dimension) of thirst or the other.

Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst for righteousness... Matt. 5:6.

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? (Psalm 42:1-2).

Thirst could be provoked by a situation of dryness. For someone who dwells in a dry land, he or she would naturally desire or long for water to quench the thirst. Are you dwelling in a dry land? Do you possess a sense of spiritual dryness that has provoked an unusual thirst for the Word and the Spirit of God in your life? (Isaiah 44:3). 

God works in mysterious ways! He fills the hungry (and the thirsty) with good things, and sends the rich (those who are full of themselves) away empty (Luke 1:53; Rev. 3:17-19).

Many people appear in God's presence, only to mark register. They are not thirsty for His filling. Some are too full... they need to be emptied in order to receive the water of life. The only acceptable trading currency for obtaining (securing) abundant life is thirst!

...And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely (Rev. 22:17).

This open invitation made by the Lord Jesus Christ was the promise of the Holy Spirit to as many as believed. He is the One who brings the kingdom of God into our hearts. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot experience abundant life...

This abundant life (ushered in by the Holy Spirit) brings you into the ‘heaven on earth’ mode. You eventually become a heavenly ambassador on earth (Matt. 16:19; 18:18).

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA
RESIDENT PASTOR

Kindly like our facebook page and follow our post at www.facebook.com/gacikeja and tweets at www.twitter.com/gacikeja. 

BLESSED IS THE MAN - PART 2

BLESSED IS THE MAN – PART 2
Psalm 1:4-6

…The ungodly are not so…
The word ‘godly’ implies that something or someone emanates from God, shows great reverence for God or depends solely on God.
(For something to be appealing to God, it must proceed from God, must be promoted by God, and firmly rooted in God)…

There are two things to watch out for:
Ungodliness and Wickedness (Isaiah 55:7)

The word ‘ungodly’ depicts something that opposes God.
Ungodliness proceeds from the heart…It could start off with a slight deviation from the thoughts of God. Giving in to the spirit of error...
Since they have refused to retain God in their knowledge, He gave them over to a reprobate mind (Romans 1:28).

Wickedness begins with veering off from the way – the simplicity of the Gospel (forsaking the simplicity of the Gospel for the complexities of life)…
Forsaking the fountain of life and hewing a broken cistern (Jeremiah 2:13).

Forsaking the righteousness of God, which comes by faith, and clinging deliberately to self-righteousness (Romans 3:21-22; 10:3). Self-righteousness is unrighteousness in the sight of God.

Beloved, be careful lest you turn yourself into an enemy of God. Through constant (persistent) resistance of the will, purpose and the Word of God, a person can become an enemy of God.
Esau became a perpetual enemy of God because of his constant resistance of the ways of God. Saul also chose to become alienated from the ways of God when he became a sworn enemy to David, the anointed of the Lord…
Don’t harden your heart against the voice of the Spirit of God (Psalm 95:7-11; Hebrews 3:7-19).

Let’s look at some of their features and rewards:

They are like chaff which the wind drives away…
Chaffs are usually separated from the seeds in stormy situations! They are like the seeds that fell on the rock (Luke 8:13). They have no roots, no depth and lack spiritual bearing. They are easily tossed around by every wind of doctrine. This is prevalent in the church today, because the ‘salvation’ experience of many is questionable.

They shall not stand in the judgment…
Judgment – absolute conformity and total alignment with the Word and the Spirit of God. It connotes a merger in the thought processes, both of God and of man, a perfect integration!
(Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven… Matt. 6:10).
The meek will He guide in judgment… Psalm 25:9.
It takes a meek heart to stand in (receive) the judgment of the Lord, the ungodly are too dogmatic, elitist, strong-willed, hard-hearted and resistant to receive the judgment (counsel) of the Lord, therefore, it hands it over to the humble/meek (James 1:21).

They cannot dwell in the congregation of the righteous…
Such people easily get bored with spiritual exercises. They don’t want to engage in any spiritual development session like prayer, Bible study, etc.
Furthermore, workers of iniquity have no part or inheritance amongst the righteous, except they repent (2 Tim. 2:19-21; Luke 13:3, 5).

Their ways lead to destruction…
The Lord knows the way of the righteous (Psalm 37:23-24), but the way of the ungodly shall perish (Prov. 14:12; 16:25).
Where there is no vision, the people perish… (Prov. 29:18).

PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA
RESIDENT PASTOR

Kindly like our facebook page and follow our post at www.facebook.com/gacikeja and tweets at www.twitter.com/gacikeja.