LFM – 30 Oct 2016
Whose TESTIMONY do we carry? God or Satan -> Blessings or Curse -> Life or Death
- Our CHOICE -> Who we submit to & worship -> Who has dominion & authority in our lives
- The TEST -> Trial or Temptation -> To determine what is truly in our hearts -> Deuteronomy 8:2
- The test produces the testimony of whose actually we are through our choices.
Our Testimony is the result of the tests we undergo for the choices we have made??
- Choices have consequences. How we deal with the consequences determines our testimony
- Choosing ( and living in ) life / death, blessing / curse will be established by a test ( of faith – faith without works (of faith) is dead) and how we deal with that test ( established by the fruit that is produced / what was the result ) is what determines the testimony that is carried (of God or the enemy).
- There is no testimony without a test
- Whose testimony am I carrying?
There are 2 laws that we submit to & ultimately is what governs our lives => Romans 8
- Law of Sin & Death
- Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus
God can use any situation or person to bless us so we should not be complaining
- Parable of the persistent widow => Justice from a Judge that does not fear God nor regard man
- Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers => saves the whole family from famine
- We saw that whatever situation we find ourselves in we should be thankful => 1 Thessalonians 5:18
- Because everything should be working for our good as long as we love God and are pursuing His purposes => Romans 8:28
We are ALWAYS (whether good or bad) supposed to be a blessing => thoughts, words, actions
- This indicates, from the heart, whose testimony we carry & which law applies / rules us
- Homework => To point out our hearts & whose testimony do we actually carry
- Thanking & Showing Appreciation (blessings) from up to down => from those in authority downwards e.g. Father ->Children, Husband ->Wife, Bosses -> Workers
- The testimony for the kingdom of God is most powerful when blessings flow from top – down.
==> God humbled Himself to become man in order to come and save us & bless us
- The shock is to bring Glory to God that we carry the testimony of Jesus Christ in our lives
Ujinga Ni? — When God looks at us what could He be thinking over those that don’t repent?
- Psalm 59:6-8 (NLT)
6 They come out at night, snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets.
7 Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths; their words cut like swords. “After all, who can hear us?” they sneer.
8 But Lord, you laugh at them. You scoff at all the hostile nations.
- Some lessons of life we don’t need to learn from our own experience – others suffice – learning form the mistakes of others
- Role of discipline
For me – Stop my complaining; give thanks, trusting God is in control -> cutting out my blessings!!
- Especially upcountry – can’t believe at times huna pesa ya ukweli – How many of us??
- Prayer change -> Power of the tongue to prophesy my destiny -> Life / Death, Bless / Curse
- From sina (saa yote) -> Using my own tongue to prophecy death to my finances
- ==> to Prophesying Life to my finances => God change my heart [Mind (thinking), Will (actions), Emotions (reactions)] & bless me abundantly to be a blessing to others
- Bible principle => We are blessed to be a blessing => 1 Corinthians 12:7
Cursing ourselves / Cutting out our own Blessings => Family Edition (Nijifunze Pia)
(Kujiwekea mizigo / Carrying unnecessary burdens!)
Power & Authority (Blessings) comes with Responsibility & Accountability
Life / Spouse / Children / Work….
- Lazarus & the Rich Man => Luke 16 => Good Stewardship of all we a given / blessed with
- In the home, Husband / Father has power & authority over wife & children => Ephesians 5 & 6
- –>As head, one has a choice to either build them up to support you or bring them down and they drag you with them
- –> Eve transgression was known as Adam’s sin. Victory to the Father (President)
- Mtoto -> mjinga kama baba / mama – Akifanya vizuri -> Mtoto wangu – Wa baba
How many took the challenge to bless their families -> wives / children?
- Revelation 2 -> go back and do the things you used to do in the beginning
- Jewish tradition – Every Sabbath, father blesses the family. Considered relatively most successful. Power of the father’s blessing.
- How many of us have been blessed by our fathers?
- How many fathers and husbands bless their families?
- A parent is the child’s prophet!
Ephesians 5: 21-33 (NLT) => Biblical Guide for Spouses
21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.[b] 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself.29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body.
31 As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”[c] 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.33 So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Sustainable Marriage = mutual [Love + Respect / Submission]
- A woman easily loves, may find it a challenge to respect / submit
- A man easily submits ( yes dear, whatever you want is fine with me) but may find it a challenge to (show) love ( I told you I love you when we got married, if anything changes I will let you know).
- Possibly why the Word emphasizes for sustainable happy marriages
- –> Respect / Submission on the part of the woman
- –> while love on the part of the man.
- WORD psychology better than pop psychology and Men are from Mars, Woman from Venus?
Ephesians 6:1-4 (NLT) => Biblical guide => Parents & Children
Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord,[a] for this is the right thing to do. 2 “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise:3 If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”[b]
4 Fathers,[c] do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.
Hosea 4:6 => My people perish for lack of knowledge / carrying the wrong testimony into our family
- Ujuaji -> Doing things our way…ignoring God’s way
If we follow God’s way in His Word (Jesus Christ), it doesn’t matter what life throws at us, we will always be above the problems => Noah & the Ark, it didn’t matter how much it rained – it floated.
- Pastors family as an example (testimony) – Siri ni nini?
- If we reject the Word of God which is Life, we subject ourselves to the law of sin & death and we suffer the consequences
Example: Powerful prayers of the weak & oppressed
- The Prayer / Cry of a wife or child => Wakililia Mungu kwa uchungu juu yako => God answers
- God may treat their cry to Him as that of a widow or orphan – You have abandoned responsibility as per the Word of God => Love you wives, do not provoke children to anger
- Psalm 10:17-18 (AMP)
17 O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble and oppressed;
You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to hear,
18 To vindicate and obtain justice for the fatherless and the oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer terrify them.
- God is a God of Justice – When He gives one Power & Authority, He expects Responsibility & Accountability as one exercises the power & authority => Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ
- If we neglect our responsibility or misuse our authority => Law of Sin & Death applies and we invite curses or God’s wrath into our lives
- Psalm 56: 7-9 (NLT)
7 Don’t let them get away with their wickedness; in your anger, O God, bring them down. 8 You keep track of all my sorrows.[b] You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
9 My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help. This I know: God is on my side!
- => Pastor had an example of a neglected / abandoned woman’s cry that reached God
- Exposed -> Embarasement of a cheating spouse
- We perish / destroy ourselves because of lack of knowledge or
- =>Because of unknowingly carrying the testimony of the devil and therefore eat the fruits of => law of sin & death
- 1 Peter 3:7 (AMP)
In the same way, you husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way [with great gentleness and tact, and with an intelligent regard for the marriage relationship], as with[c]someone physically weaker, since she is a woman. Show her honor and respect as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered or ineffective.
- Live life as if those under you will judge you in heaven
- – What is our wife’s / child’s opinion of us?
- – What would our workers say if they were to evaluate our relationship with them?
- – They probably will be asked by the Boss of bosses / Lord of Lords / King of Kings — the one that gave us the power & authority in the first place.
CONCLUSION
- The head of the homes as Husbands & Fathers should ensure that they are operating under the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus so that they eat the fruits of blessings & life
- => Being fruitful & multiplying as a family is all areas of life – Health, Finances, Relationships
- Heads should indeed be exercising their power and authority to add blessings to the family and themselves => The prayers will not be hindered or be ineffective
- => Just as the cry of an abandoned wife or child will reach God => the prayer of a happy wife or child will also reach God and possibly produce blessings & favour for you and the family.
- If we find ourselves in debt, sickness, strife or even not progressing in ministry => Check which law is operating in the family => nani anatawala kwa familia. The family is carrying whose testimony—-
- — Life & life more abundantly , or
- — Death – killing, stealing & destruction
PRAYER
In the family context our prayer => Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NLT)
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20 You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This[c] is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
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Relatively successful women leaders politically never took politics into the home??
- Ngilu
- Jebii
Dream
- A person had a dream where he was cursing and beating on his wife
- During that time he was also experiencing troubles in his life – health, finances, relationships
- He was told – You are one flesh with your wife – Anything you do to curse your wife in the dream is the same as cursing oneself. The enemy’s subtle strategy against the people of God
THE LIVING WORD 4 LIFE 