CULTIVATING A LIFESTYLE OF HONOUR

1 Chronicles 4:9-10

Your outcome in life is a product of your choices. The seed sown today becomes the harvest to be reaped tomorrow.
God’s desire for us is to live a life of honour and majesty.

‘…You have crowned him with glory and honour…’ (Psalm 8:5).

Furthermore, it takes a king (depicts royalty) to command a lifestyle of honour.
The Bible says, ‘He has made us kings and priests unto God…’ (Rev. 1:6; 5:10).

‘…It is the honour of kings to search out a matter…’ (Proverbs 25:2).

In other words, kings are honourable people (men and women) who search out the deep things of God through divine intuition.
They possess the mind of Christ. They have exclusive access privilege to information which cannot be located on the surface (1 Cor. 2:16).

‘Now Jabez was more honourable than his brothers’…
The story of Jabez came up under the family line of Judah, so he must have been a descendant of Judah.
Jabez was a honourable man in the sight of God, I believe. He was even much more honourable than his brethren.
Jabez must have been a man of integrity, capacity, competence and character!

He must have been a lover of God, who enjoyed dwelling in the presence of God.
The path of honour is revealed in the dwelling place of God (Psalm 16:11).

Like Joseph, he must have been separated (consecrated, distinguished) from his brothers (Gen. 49:26; Deut. 33:16).

Like Jesus, he must have loved righteousness and hated wickedness… (Heb. 1:9; Psalm 45:7).

His mother had called him Jabez at birth, saying ‘because I bore him in sorrow (pain)’.
However, this was a complete mismatch with his destiny. There are many people who are living far below God’s provision for their lives, because their hopes, expectations and entire living have been tied to other people’s opinion or assumption about them.
By the power in the Word of God, receive grace to tread the path of honour today, in the name of Jesus Christ!

And Jabez prayed… He cried out to the God of Israel.
He was definitely not a stranger to the God of Israel. He was never discouraged by the challenges of his life or what other people said or felt about him. He focused his attention on God!

Honourable people know that vain is the help of man. They look up to God alone, knowing that God can indeed raise others to be of help to them in the time of need.

And God granted him what he requested…
The Lord granted the heart desire of Jabez because his thoughts, desires and requests were in total alignment with God’s will and purpose for his life (1 John 5:4-5).
I believe the experience Jabez had wasn’t a one-off event, because the path of the just is like the shining light… (Prov. 4:22).

Remember, you have been made to be seated with Christ in the heavenly places, far above principalities and powers (Ephesians 1:20-21; 2:6).

Through the grace of God which is at work in you, cultivate a lifestyle of honour. Tread the path of honour.
Until you take your place, nothing takes place!

Pastor NATHANIEL SADELA

Resident  Pastor

for more details on pictures and proceedures of the service: check our posts on www.facebook.com/gacikeja and our tweets on www.twitter.com/gacikeja.

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LOOK UNTO JESUS

We live in a world whereby people are getting continuously overwhelmed by the difficulties of life. Some folks are already losing confidence in the infallibility of God's Word, and resorting to alternative measures. Yet, the unbelief of man will never invalidate nor reduce the potency of the Word of God (Rom. 3:3-4).

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22).

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).

About four categories of people perceive Jesus in different ways:

The first category sees Him strictly as the Saviour, who is solely responsible for their salvation, protection, healing, provision, etc. They don’t necessarily see Him as their Lord.

The second category sees Him as the Lord, who instructs them, who rules and reigns over their lives, to whom they own their allegiance. They don’t necessarily believe that He is able and willing to save, deliver, protect them…

The third category sees Him neither as the Lord nor as the Saviour. They just have an abstract view about the person and the knowledge of Christ. They are just cool as regular church-goers who don’t really care about Jesus.

The fourth category sees Him both as the Lord and as the Saviour. They are willing to follow Him wherever He goes, at all cost. They have totally surrendered themselves as living sacrifice unto the Lord, in selfless service. Furthermore, they believe that Lord is able and willing to meet all their needs, according to His riches in glory…

Jesus came all the way, to Jerusalem, at the pool of Bethesda where a large multitude of sick people gathered. They were blind, lame and paralysed, waiting for the troubling (stirring) of the water by the angel.

Remember, the blind and the lame once dominated Jerusalem before captured the city (2 Samuel 5:6-8).

Here was the Messiah, the miracle worker, right there before the people, but nobody was sensitive enough to recognise Him. They were all carried away with the troubling of the water.

Jesus saw a man who had infirmity for thirty-eight years and engaged him in a conversation. ‘Do you want to be made whole?’ was the question Jesus asked him, but his reply didn’t portray that of someone who actually needed the touch of God.

By the mercy of the living God, Jesus healed him. The Lord spoke authoritatively to his life: 'Rise! Take up your bed and walk...'

And immediately, the man was made whole, and took up his bed and walked...

As you look unto Jesus today, you are made whole. You are healed! You are free from the shackles of sin, oppression, spiritual blindness, lameness, paralysis... Burdens are lifted, yokes are destroyed in the name of Jesus Christ...

PST. NATHANIEL SADELA

      Resident  Pastor

for more details on pictures and proceedures of the service: check our posts on www.facebook.com/gacikeja and our tweets on www.twitter.com/gacikeja.

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THE EXCELLENCY OF WISDOM

Proverbs 8:12-22

We can only be people of significance when our actions are firmly rooted in the wisdom of God.
A life devoid of Godly wisdom can never produce any meaningful impact.
Through wisdom a house is built and by understanding, it is established (Proverbs 24:3).

A wise master builder sets wisdom as the platform on which he builds his house (life, ministry, home, career, business, etc.)

'He that hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who builds his house upon the rock...' (Matt. 7:24).

Here are some of the qualities of wisdom:

Wisdom gives life to its possessor (Eccl. 7:12).

Wisdom produces provable, traceable and justifiable results (Luke 7:35).

Wisdom guarantees your safety and good health (Prov. 4:20-22).

Creativity and innovation are answerable to Godly wisdom (Proverbs 3:19; Romans 4:17).

Wisdom is the principal thing! (Prov. 4:7).

Wisdom is the platform through which eternity (or divinity) relates or interfaces with humanity in order to bring forth (or birth) God's agenda on earth... (Gen. 28:12; John 1:51).
It sometimes defies the human order (1 Cor. 1:23-24; 2:6-8).

It is through this God-given wisdom that we fulfil the dominion mandate (Gen. 1:26-28).

We need wisdom in every aspect of our lives. At every moment of strategic decision making in life, we need wisdom to guide us (Prov. 23:1-3).

Furthermore, it takes wisdom to cultivate a giving culture. When your heart is totally given to Jesus, giving (to honour the Lord) becomes a way of life...

Wisdom is a person, not just a resource or gift. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-23; 1 Cor. 1:24).

Some of the people who through Godly wisdom, impacted their generation are:

Joseph, David, Mordecai, Daniel, Peter, John, Paul, Timothy, etc...

How can I get wisdom?

Ask God in faith (James 1:5-6).

Fear God and depart from evil (Job 28:28).

Pastor NATHANIEL SADELA

Resident  Pastor

for more details on pictures and proceedures of the service: check our posts on www.facebook.com/gacikeja and our tweets on www.twitter.com/gacikeja.

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CHANNEL OF BLESSING - LIVING EFFECTIVELY

Ecclesiastes 10:16-17

The word effective implies that someone or something is successful in producing a desired or intended result. In other words, effectiveness could also be measured in terms of the degree to which an actual result meets up with the expected result.

We can also agree that people, programs, events or endeavours are effective when they are successful, productive, fruitful, functional, useful, valuable, beneficial, etc...

The Bible encourages us not to lag in diligence, but to be fervent in the spirit, in our service unto the Lord (Romans 12:11).

We cannot serve the Lord effectively without gladness, neither can we sing unto Him without joy (Psalm 100:2).

With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation (Isaiah 12:3).

The ideal picture of an effective person is that of a man or woman who has the joy of the Lord radiating or bubbling up from their hearts. Such people will always produce a positive impact in the lives of others. Whatever they do, they do it in absolute service and honour to the Lord, such that it adds tremendous value to other people's lives, to the glory of God...

In our anchor text for today's message, we see two categories of people: the child and the son.

The child pictures the lifestyle of the foolish – people at ease, irresponsible and lazy (slothful) people...

The son pictures the lifestyle of the wise (prudent), responsible, industrious and diligent people.

As we look further into this, let’s examine three parameters here:

What 

Children feast on consumables – material resources, things that have no eternal value, things that attract the praise and honour of men. 

Sons of noble men feast on the things that promote the kingdom of God. Their desire day and night is to do the will of the Father and to fulfil it (1 John 2:15-17; John 4:34).

Children live by the bread of material acquisition (the uncertain riches of this world), while men live by the Bread of Life (Matt. 4:4; John 6:27, 35, 51-58).

When

Children are insensitive to the time of life. They feast in the ‘morning’ period of their lives, when they are supposed to be fasting. At the crucial time of their lives (marriage, business, career, ministry, etc.), when they are supposed to be gathering resources, they squander their God-given resources on riotous living…

People of Godly character (matured and discerning) are sensitive enough to understand that right from the ‘morning’ aspect of their lives, they must key in to God’s agenda for their lives. They know when to feast and when to fast (Matt. 6:11; Luke 11:3). They understand the times and seasons (1 Chro. 12:32).

Why

Children feast for drunkenness. Even though they would sometimes do some things that appear good and honourable in the sight of men, those things are borne out of an impure motive (Luke 16:15).

People of discernment feast for strength. Everything they do is borne out of a pure motive and upright heart (Heb. 5:13-14).

God’s intention for us is to live an effective life. He has given unto us, all things that pertain to life and godliness…

Receive grace to live effectively, that you may be a channel of blessing in your domain of influence!

Pastor NATHANIEL SADELA

Resident  Pastor

for more details on pictures and proceedures of the service: check our posts on www.facebook.com/gacikeja and our tweets on www.twitter.com/gacikeja.

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CHANNEL OF BLESSING

The blessing of God is the covenant right of every child of God. It is His desire for us. For God delights in the prosperity of His people (Psalm 35:27). 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Who had blessed us with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places... (Ephesians 1:3).

As a child of God, His thoughts towards you are thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give you an expected end (Jer. 29:11; Prov. 23:18).

However, God does not want the blessings to get stuck with you. Remember, it’s not just about you, it’s about Him. It’s about kingdom expansion!

How can I be a channel of blessing?

1. Timely response to God's call – ‘Here I am…’

God initiates the call, He separates you for this purpose. He had you in mind, even before you were conceived. You would do well to be rightly positioned for this noble cause (Gen. 22:1; 37:13).

2. You must have a change of interest.

There comes a moment when there could be conflict of interests, and your personal interests begin to contradict kingdom interests/agenda. You need to choose one. You definitely can’t sit on the fence.

 This could be referred to as spiritual reorientation (debriefing) or change of value systems. God’s will must supersede mine… (Matt. 6:10, 33; Luke 22:42).

3. Move beyond the crowd.

As you proceed in the journey, there comes a time when you make some strategic decisions. 

The multitude/crowd might not be able to get you into the fulfilment of God's purpose for your life.

Sometimes, you need to look beyond people who constitute the 'crowd' in your life...Matt 5:1-2; Gen. 22:5; 

Some blessings will not be released except you shut the door (2 Kings 4:4).

 

Send the multitude away... Jesus did (Matt. 13:36; 14:21-23; Mark 5:38-42; Luke 9:52-55), Peter did (Acts 9:40).

Zacchaeus had to move away from the crowd. As long as he stayed under the influence of the 'press', all he could get was a misrepresentation of Jesus. He had to relocate! (Luke 19:1-10).

Relocation - a paradigm shift

4. Cultivate a giving culture.

It’s more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:34-35). Give yourself to labour in rendering service. There is dignity in labour. Do not encourage indolence (Ephesians 4:27-28). Give to honour the Lord.

PST. NATHANIEL SADELA

      Resident  Pastor

for more details on pictures and proceedures of the service: check our posts on www.facebook.com/gacikeja and our tweets on www.twitter.com/gacikeja.

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