Without faith, it is Imposible to Please God

Pr Raymond Mooi
28-05-2017

God is present. 

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. God dwells in our hearts. 

Jesus is Immanuel. God is with us.

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and dwells amongst us.

Jesus is the head of the church.

Jesus is the Lord of our lives. He has taken residence, not only in our hearts, but in our homes too.

We submit ourselves into God's command.

We pray in this way:
Matthew 6
Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.

By the power of His, creation takes place.

Ephesians 2:1
Once we were dead in our sins, Jesus came and quickened us. Jesus makes alive again our spirit man. We become a new person. We were born again not in the flesh.

We are born again of spirit and of water. (John 3)

God is supernatural. We serve a supernatural God.

Let God who is divine come on earth as it is on heaven.

Whatsover is impossible with men, all things are possible with God.

We are born again into the kingdom of God.

We are believers. We are children of God. 

We are saved by grace through faith. Jesus who knew no sin became the sacrificial lamb of God that He might deliver us. (Ephesians 2)

Faith becomes the door that brought us into God's kingdom.

The righteous does not walk by sight. He walks by faith. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Are we faithless or are we faith-filled?

Are we living by faith?

Without faith, it is imposible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)

The Church of Jesus Christ, your destiny and our destiny, are tied together.

What we need today is an intervention of God. How do we move the hand of God if we have no faith in Him?

Luke 1:5: A timeline in the history of the earth. In the days of Herod the king, he was a Jew by race but he was vicious and cold-blooded. It was he who made the decree in the spirit of anti-Christ that he has that all male child aged 2 and below must be killed. In the days of Herod the king, the people were oppressed.

In the days of Herod the king, there was a man who was righteous. He was Zacharias and his wife was Elizabeth. In the days of Herod the king, there were people who obeyed God and blameless.

In the 400 years from Malachi to Matthew, the people were left to the harshness of those days. When it looked like no good thing can come through it, John the baptist was born. He was the forerunner of Jesus.

Likewise, today, we have got to have the destiny of our nation in our hearts.

Pray that God would stir our hearts. We get so busy that things that were intended to be blessing became bondage.

We place that first day of the week at the altar of God. Does God come first in our lives?

Matthew 6:33
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things would be added unto you.

Stop being a consumer and be a producer. Come to give thanks God, worship Him and give our time to Him. Take time to wait on the Lord.

God looks not at the outward appearance. He looks at the heart. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. 

As a child of God, the greatest danger is in Hebrews 3:19. This is an account in the days of Moses. They were stubborn, rebellious, murmured against God. In v19, they missed God and were cut off from their inheritance. They could not enter because of their unbelief, their faithlessness.

This is what needs to happen. We need faith. See God as who He is--that He is a supernatural God who performs supernatural creative miracles.

When people see the supernatural power of God, it settles all arguments.

There is a thin line between foolishness and faith. We need to be discerning.

These are the days that we would expect more--have faith that God would step in and show His power.

Follow the Cloud

Dr. Kameel Majdali
21-05-2017

Prayer changes things. Prayer is God's missile through His people. Prayer conquers everything, especially prayer in the Spirit and prayer in the name of Jesus.

What do the following scenarios have in common?

People lining up in front of the Apple store to get the latest iPhones?

Pastors all wear the same jeans, the same iPads, iPhones, the same pointed shoes?

(Nothing is wrong in anything if we do it in God's way. Provided we are led by the Holy Spirit.)

So... What do all these things have in common?

They are following the crowd.

There are dangers and shortcomings in following the crowd. Crowds often lack leaders and shepherds.

Often times, crowds lack depth. In Galilee, Jesus gave them the fineprint of Christine discipline.

Crowds love the things of the world--success. 

Why is it that Hitler is vilified except Stalin and Mao? Because Hitler lost the war but the other two succeeded.

The pastor asked Smiling Sam, "Are you a Christian?" Sam replied, "No. I follow the crowd." Pastor: "What of the crowd is wrong?" Sam: "Too bad."

Matthew 7:13-14New International Version (NIV)The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

It was the crowd that went to Samuel and said "Give us a king so that we can be like any other nation."

"Give us a robber or a thief than Jesus."

Exodus 40:34-38
The Cloud and the Glory
34 Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

How can we go forward in life in an age where situations are so complex?

People of faith and goodwill do not have to worry about following the crowd. Follow the cloud because the cloud will take you to where the crowd is utterly clueless. The Good Shepherd knows how to lead and feed, provide and embrace.

The tabernacle represented His House. In the days of Moses, the cloud would be over the tabernacle. Cloud by day, fire by night. Moses moved with it.

There is no roadmap or blueprint on how to get through but God is providing the way forward--come back to Jesus, come back to the Holy Spirit.

"All these blessings I would rather give away to be in the presence of God."

What is the difference between crowd following and cloud dwelling? Quantity - follow the crowd. Quality - be in the cloud. 

The crowd is lost sheep, the cloud is the shepherd. 

The crowd sees the storm, the cloud sees Jesus walking in the water. 

The crowd loves the good ideas, the cloud loves God's ideas. 

The crowd is like the many who are called, the cloud is of the few who are chosen. The chosen say yes when Jesus calls.

Three issues:
1) Money - When you follow the crowd, sometimes you have money, sometimes you don't because you are on the world's economy. God's economy includes tithing, offering to the poor, taking action financially when the cloud moves.

2) Migration - "The cloud bids me to go." If the cloud leads you anywhere, then you better pack your bags and go. But if you are moving but the cloud is staying, then be careful.

3) Marriage and the cloud - "It's time to get married." Marriage is God's idea. Marriage is God's institution. Marriage and family is the bedrock to building the Kingdom of God. Evangelism is not the only way. We can do it through family and children. Grandchildren are how your children are paying you back. Follow the cloud. Many Christians are missing the boat, missing the boat.

How do you transition from following the crowd to following the cloud?

1) Practise repentance.

Repentance and faith preceeds revival.

Otherwise, we miss God's best. So start listening or we'll be in serious trouble if we don't.

2 Chronicles 7:14
14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

2) Retire and serve the Lord.

Follow the cloud more than ever. You're in for an even greater adventure. When you're following the crowd, you'll be very busy.

Example of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42).

Luke 10:38-42New International Version (NIV)
At the Home of Martha and Mary

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Retire from busyness.

3) Invest in your spiritual life--devotion, Bible-reading. Nothing is more important than that. You are filled with the Spirit, walk with the Spirit.

Welcome the cloud.

The Anointing of Elijah Today - The Purpose of the Elijah Generation

Pr Anand Kumar
14-06-2017

Recap of Part 1: The call of the Elijah generation is the call towards Godliness.

Luke 1:13-17
13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

The purpose of the Elijah generation is to make ready the people for the Lord--To turn the Hearts of the people.

Malachi 4:5-6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

Repentance & Forgiveness

Proclaiming the Gospel is the message of repentance and forgiveness.

The Gospel is God's love story. He demonstrated His love for us by sending His only begotten Son.

The Gospel is a message of hope for a nation in idolatry.

Only God'd love can win the hearts of the people.

1 John 3:1
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Their identity is in Christ.

In proclaiming the Gospel, we give an opportunity to everyone to turn their hearts to God.

Luke 3:2-14New International Version (NIV)
2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariahin the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

Jesus is coming back. That will be the day of judgment where we meet Him. We give opportunity to everyone to turn their hearts to God before Jesus comes back.

We, too, continuously  model that we walk in holiness. The people of God have destiny and purpose. The people of God walk in God's holiness. We model our lives through love. We show repentance through bearing of fruits.

Repentance and forgiveness bring restoration and reconciliation.

As we repent and ask for forgiveness, as we unite and stand strong, the doors of evangelism begin to be fruitful.

Therefore, rise up and be bold in proclaiming the Gospel message and modelling it. Share the message of hope, righteousness and holiness.

Fathers, mothers and children turn their hearts to God.

In sharing the Gospel, God will accompany by signs and wonders. It is God who will meet their needs and touch them. It is God who does the miracle. It is God who does the healing.

1 Kings 177-14
Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

Luke 4:24-27
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

She went to Elijah, the man of God, to do the impossible. In doing so, she experienced and encountered the resurrection power of God.

1 Kings 18:19-39
19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time.35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me,Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you,Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

In preparing the way of the Lord, we are to share the Gospel boldly. In preparing the way of the Lord, we are to go and make disciples.

As FGA, it is time to answer the call of the Antioch church--a Spirit-filled church to make Christ known across all generations.

We are called to prepare the way for the King of kings and Lord of lords. Together.

Luke 24:46-49
46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Related:
The Anointing of Elijah Today - The Call of the Elijah Generation


The Anointing of Elijah Today - The Purpose of the Elijah Generation

The Anointing of Elijah Today - The Call of the Elijah Generation

Pr Anand Kumar
07-05-2017

It was the work of the Holy Spirit that brought unity. Only God could bring us together and bring unity.

1 Kings 17-18

1 Kings 17New International Version (NIV)
Elijah Announces a Great Drought

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe[a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

Elijah Fed by Ravens

2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”

5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?”21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”

22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”

24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

What is the call of the Elijah generation?

It was God's anointing upon Elijah. Elijah had a call.

The call of the Elijah generation was a call towards Godliness. Attitude results in action that is pleasing with God. He was devoted to God. 

Elijah's call was to promote godliness in his time. It was a time of spiritual decay. The nation turned to worship Baal. Seven kings had reigned and all were evil. Ahab married Jezebel. She brought idolatory--the worship of Baal. The people of God turned away from God to worship Baal--the god of fertility and productivity.

Baal worship included a lot of offering and sacrifice, including the sacrifice of children and sexual immorality.

One of the modern Baal worship today is abortion. Abortion is murder. It is shedding innocent blood. Sexual immorality causes the young people to fall and get into abortion. 

One of the deep root problems of sexual immorality is addiction to pornography.

This is the season and the time that we are living in.

The church must rise up to righteousness.

Parents sponsor the internet and smartphones, ipads, tablets. But who monitor the children when they fall into pornography? The church will have to rise up to be God-focused and promote Godliness and be a family model so that the young could see. Parents have to take responsibility to monitor them.

Together as a church, we rise up to the call of Godliness in a season and a time when the nation is declining.

Elijah prpmoted Godliness through the courage to pray. Courage is where we face our fear and do the right thing and lean on His strength. Elijah found his courage to stand before Ahab and before 450 of Baal worshippers. (v1) He stood based on the Word of God. In Deuteronomy 11- Blessing for obedience, curses for disobedience.

While Elijah was physically standing before Ahab, he was standing before God. In the spiritual realm, we operate based on God's Word--a proclamation prayer means pray based on God's Word.

James 5:16b
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word pf God and the Word was with God. The Word was God.

Jesus is our righteousness.

Elijah proclaimed the Word of God through his prayer. These are the days of Elijah declaring the Word of the Lord.

Matthew 6:10
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done.

Elijah was praying through a prophetic prayer. He began to wait on God and began to listen to God.

Elijah promoted Godliness through his walk in obedience.

God's supernatural provision took place as he obeyed God. Elijah was fed by ravens in Cherith.

The supernatural release of God's power, most often in direct response to revelation given to one or more of His people.

It is God who comes through as we step up and step out to obey Him. In relying on Him, it is God who provides all our needs. We can all obey. We can all pray.

As we rise up as an Elijah generation to obey, God can be glorified.

It is in obedience to God that He comes through in our testimony to glorify Him and Him alone.

Rise up to the call of the Elijah generation. Join those who are walking in Godliness. Join those who are already praying. There is an Elisha watching and looking. Elisha will rise up in double anointing doing greater things. As a church, we model this.

Let's do this together.

Related:
The Anointing of Elijah Today - The Call of the Elijah Generation

The Anointing of Elijah Today - The Purpose of the Elijah Generation