LFM – 2019 March 10: Grace. Spiritual Gifts. Bitterness. Touch not the Lord’s Anointed. Humility towards difficult authority!

Notes from Sunday, March 3

Pastor David –

• Feeling unwell, unable to preach & wanting to go home
• But when he purposed to go through with the program for the day, it went on as usual without him remembering the pain.

A lesson on the grace (neema / empowerment) of God

• It has nothing to do with me – not by power nor by might but by the spirit of God – Zechariah 4:6
• His grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in my weakness – 2 Corinthians 12:9
• I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength – Philippians 4:13
• For God is working in me, giving me the desire and the power to do what pleases him. – Philippians 2:13
• Hebrews 13:21 (NLT)…may the God of Peace
• …equip me with all I need for doing his will. May he produce in me, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

As it is said…

God does not lead me where His grace cannot keep me.

I cannot be connected to The Source and lack Resource.

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Brother Gilbert talked about desiring the gift of prophecy

Desire Spiritual Gifts

…illustrated in 1 Corinthians 12 – 14

• The Holy Spirit grants different gifts to the Body of Christ
• Giving to each as He pleases / chooses
• To be used in unity as a body for the common good of all

Gifts of the Holy Spirit…

• – Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding
• – Faith, Healing, Miracles
• – Prophecy, Tongues, Interpretation of tongues

# Lord, create in me a desire for the combination of gifts that will make me most effective in the area of my calling. 

God appoints for Himself

• Apostles, Prophets, Teachers
• Miracle workers,…gifts of healing, , helpers, administrators, Speaking & Interpretation of tongues,

1 Corinthians 12:31 (NLT)

• So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)

• Three things will last forever–faith, hope, and love–and the greatest of these is love.

It starts and ends with love – of God and of man

• …not pursuing gifts for personal / selfish interests

1 Corinthians 14: 1, 12, 26

• Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives–especially the ability to prophesy.
• And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church.
• Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.

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Pastor David

Bitterness – How do we deal with it…heal from it??

• A major issue that prevents the blessings of God from manifesting in our lives
• Makes the environment in and around us not conducive for the Holy Spirit to work
• Means that we are attached to a vine that is not the True Vine – John 15
• …producing fruit that is not of the Spirit of God

As it is said…

…Bitterness – the poison that I drink and expect the other person to die from it!

• Sumu ambayo tunaikunywa na tunafikiri itamwangamiza mwingine

..Bitter water of Marah – Exodus 15 – last week

• We get anxious and frustrated when God is not moving in the situation we are in

Bitter water that brings on a curse – Numbers 5:19

• Infertility
• Obesity

..Root of bitterness may spring up to cause trouble & defile many – Hebrews 12:15

..But it is not easy to forgive and forget as required

• Because the scars in the heart (from a broken / wounded  heart) that constantly remind us of the past hurt.

A wounded soul – affects our

• – Mind – thinking
• – Will – our doing after convincing ourselves from our thinking
• – Emotions – the fruit of / results from our thinking and doing
• …such as pride, anger, envy, bitterness…

What to do about it?

Stay and be rooted in Christ / The Word / The True Vine

• And one shall produce the desired (sweet) fruit of the Spirit…(John 15:4)
• …as opposed to the bitter fruit of (from being attached to / submitted to) the enemy
• Light and darkness cannot coexist together
• The light that I allow in will automatically displace the darkness within!

Matthews 11:28-30 (NLT)

• Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
• Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
• For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Doing it God’s way and not trying my way.

• Bitterness, pride, anger are those kinds of heavy burdens that we need to take to Christ, indeed cast them at His feet.
• We decide to take His Word and apply it as the solution to the problem
• It may still requires some effort – therefore yoke / burden still implied
• But it is easier to bear & lighter than the consequences of the bitterness, pride, anger…on our lives.

 

E.g. If I have an issue with my relationship with my spouse, I can apply 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 to see where I may have fallen short and could be causing a strain on the relationship.

• – Am I easily angered?
• – Do I lack patience with my spouse?
• – Do I have trust issues?

At times..

… it is not always about fighting the darkness,

but about turning on the Light!

…Applying the Revelation of  Christ to the situation…

…and the darkness automatically disappears.

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The Power of the Word / Christ.

Jeremiah 23:29 (NLT)

• Does not my word burn like fire?” says the LORD. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?
• What things from within me need to be consumed by the all consuming fire?
• What things are preventing me from moving forward that need to be smashed to pieces?

Importance of bringing every thought captive into the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 (NLT)

• We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do.
• We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
• We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

How to get peace in a difficult situation we may be struggling with.

Philippians 4:6-9 (NLT)

• Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
• Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
• And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
• Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

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Main Service

…

Despising parents?

Mocking religious leadership?

Cursing political authority??

Am I unknowingly inviting curses upon my life??

Genesis 20 – Abraham lies to King Abimelech

Abraham lies about his wife

• Abimelech is warned in a dream that he is headed towards sin for unknowingly taking a man of God’s wife
• The king tries to defend himself that he didn’t know & in fact he was lied to by the man of God
• …importance of testing the spirit- 1 John 4

The Lord basically says that it doesn’t matter!!

– Ignorance of the law is no defense?

• …That is why he was being warned
• …He needed to restore the man’s wife
• …And have the man of God that deceived him pray for him!!
• …God shall answer that prayer and remove the spirit of barrenness & death from his household

Touch not the Lord’s anointed, do my prophets no harm!!

– Psalm105:15

Who are the Lords anointed?

• Anyone that God has put in authority over our lives??
• – Parents
• – Husband
• – Political leaders
• – Religious leaders

~ Why is it dangerous to go against anointed authority figures in our lives

• Whether or not they are good or bad to us
• God will still respect the authority He has given

For the gifts & calling of God are without repentance – Romans 11:29 ??

One may bring judgement on themselves when they resist authority

Romans 13:1-2

• Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.
• Consequently, the one who resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Abimelech – therefore had to

• Restore Abraham’s wife,
• Bless the person who lied to him with additional servants and animals,
• Offer Abraham land to live wherever he pleased,
• Pay 1000 pieces of silver as compensation and vindication to Sarah!!

A person hits you and you are the one to apologize to him, and go further and bless him!

• Mtu amekupiga,  wewe ndiyo unaomba msamaha kwake !!

 

Therefore,

• Speaking against a bad Pastor, parent, spouse, political leader may still not sit well with God
• …and we may in fact be inviting curses upon our lives
• …as God may use that bad person to be a blessing in our lives

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Carrying my cross when an authority / God anointed figure has hurt me

• Repent
• Truly forgive
• Possibly bless the person & make amends where possible
• Have the person pray for me
• (…Job had to intercede for his friends  – Job 42 )

Gives new meaning to the scripture – The Lord is my shepherd – Psalm 23

• You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
• Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,

Talk of bring highly blessed and highly favored!!

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But there may be consequences against the anointed one for misusing that power & authority

• Power & Authority comes with Responsibility and Accountability
• Possibly why even though we are told that Eve transgressed, it was still known as Adam fall??

Does God wait for the fullness of iniquity before acting on some issues, especially against His anointed ones?? – Genesis 15:16

• Possibly giving time for repentance

Is it that

• The Grace of God covers His anointed?…Is there a special grace over the anointed of the Lord?
• Why at times we see bad –  pastors, father figures, political leaders –  that are still able to operate effectively in their gifts from God and people, families or nations are still blessed!
• Is that a reflection of the period of grace, when the Israelite’s were brought out of Egypt and were kept, provided for and protected by the Lord in their 40 years wilderness experience??
• A time when the Lord expects us to mature, because as a baby we are allowed a certain amount of grace (to be fed, bathed, clothed ) until we reach a certain age.

There are consequences to every sin…

• Do not be misled: God is not mocked. For whatever a man might sow, that also he will reap…Galatians 6:7
• The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit…Proverbs 18:21

Abraham the prophet of God

• Married his half sister – technically not breaking the law because this is before the law that came with Moses??
• Lied about his wife
• Caused a curse of barrenness & death to befall a person & his family

Abraham tried to use human wisdom / ways of the world / way not of God… to try solve a problem

• Anything not of God has no life in it?…is not the best it can be?…eventually leads to a wilderness experience?…cannot stand the test of time / judgement of God?…cannot produce good fruit, only got from the True Vine?…
• You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your mighty men,…Hosea 10:13

Decisions have consequences, even if a man of God

• Could it be that that is where the curse of barrenness caught up with Abraham and the women in the family?
• Sarah, Rebecca & Rachel were all barren even though Abraham was promised that he would be a father of many nations.

Is that how we at times sabotage our own destinies, then cry out to God that His promises over our lives have not come to pass?

• Praying for a spouse but still sleeping around?

Is that an example of a Generational curse!!??

• …a curse (as opposed to a blessing )brought about by the consequence of Abraham lying about his wife and bringing a curse to an innocent person and his family?
• Could it be that because Sarah was in that household, the curse also landed on her, but when Abraham prayed, he did not pray for his wife and the curse remained?
• Isaac, Abraham’s son had to pray to God to break the curse of barrenness over his wife Rebecca…
• Jacob, Abraham’s grandson,  had to pray to God to break the curse of barrenness over his wife Rachel …

Consequences of my sin, may seem good / beneficial to me at a certain point in time, to produce my desired result, but may also have serious generational effects.

• There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. – Proverbs 14:12
• Don’t be misled–you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant….Galatians 6:7

Humbly submitting to authority…is a requirement by the Lord

• Genesis 16:9 – Hagar told to return to Sarah and to submit humbly to her authority, despite Sarah’s harsh treatment of her.
• Reward for obedience ( carrying ones cross) – her descendants will also be multiplied

But, God’s grace is sufficient to overcome any problem that those in authority over our lives may bring against us.

• I need to rely on God to show me the way out and not rely on my own limited understanding and wisdom
• I shouldn’t do a wrong to try make a right
• So if I find myself in a difficult situation with parent, husband, political or religious leader…
• …I need to put it in God’s hands and believe that He shall resolve it somehow

…but I should not act against / show disrespect to the authority figure

• For God is bigger than my biggest problem, stronger than my strongest fight
• …will make a way where there seems to be no way –
• …can do things exceedingly above and beyond what I can think or imagine through His power (grace) working within me – Ephesians 3:20
• And God is able to make all grace abound to me, so that in all things, at all times, having all that I need, I will abound in every good work. – 2 Corithians 9:8

God may use our ‘enemy’ / that difficult situation for my good…

• To deal with the deep / hidden issues in my life
• As God can work out all situations for my good, so long as I love Him and are pursuing His purposes – Romans 8:28

• And after I have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called me to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore me, secure me, strengthen me, and establish me…1 Peter 5:10

 

He will therefore require me to humble myself

• …and go back to the authority figure that hurt me deeply
• …show honor and respect – repentance for any dishonor on my part
• …to forgive and forget ( carry my cross & follow Jesus (example) ) through the help of the Holy Spirit
• …to bless them (e.g. pray for them )- to show that my heart has really forgiven and forgotten
• To ask them to pray for me – for my release (from a curse) or for my blessing (from the Lord)

 

A case of …being given power & authority …

•  If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”….John 20:23??
•  “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven….Matthew 18:18??

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Other notable points…

The innocent  – even those that do not know God?- are kept from sinning against God against their knowledge??

• Abundant love, mercy and grace of God

A half lie is still considered a whole lie in the eyes of God

• Though technically true that Sarah was a sister, a half sister in fact

Ignorance of the law is no defense..

• …but God looks at the heart and rewards accordingly
• But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.” – Jeremiah 17:10 (NLT)

Consequences of ignoring my dreams could be deadly!!

• God speaks to all of us in dreams, not necessarily Christians alone
• Even the godless may receive warnings in dreams
• Do I ignore my dreams?

Prayer…

• Repentance
• Restoration
• Grace
• Humility especially towards all authority figures