ARCI – 2020 March 15: Words & Heart determine life? Slave of what I submit to & obey. Corona fears! What I fear, I attract??

ARCI – Sunday 15 March

(Notes from 1st Service…..)

SONG

When I think about the Lord

When i think about the Lord

How He saved, how He raised me

How He filled me with the Holy Ghost

How He healed me to the uttermost

When i think about the Lord

How he picked me up

Turned me around

How He set my feet

On solid ground

It makes me want to shout

Hallelujah! thank you, Jesus!

Lord, you’re worthy

Of all the glory, and all the honor

And all the praise!

~~~

> With all the drama that is happening in the world and in our country

>> Good to always remember

Focus on the Lord & not the problem

God is bigger than my biggest problem
… Stronger than my toughest enemy
…….Greater than my toughest fight

What I focus on, hence meditate on, betrays what I have faith in…

~~~

## Series continuation on the Word as a mirror to my life…

Showing me the areas that I am not aligned to it so as to change…

… previously:

>> God judges, not only from our actions, but especially from the thoughts & intents of our hearts

>> I need to work on my heart as a matter of urgency!

>> If I can’t love people, I shouldn’t cheat myself that I love God

>> I need to work on my people loving skills

>> Lacking faith is sin, for whatever is not of faith is sin >>Romans 14:23

>> Anytime I lack faith in God in any situation including corona, I fall into sin
>> I need to work on my faith…Lord help my unbelief!

Some Learning principles from the showdown of David & Goliath >> 1 Samuel 17

What I behold / focus on, I become
What I fear, I attract

Common denominator is the heart >> It determines who, what & the how of life

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life….Proverbs 4:23
…The issues that determine the condition & course of our life flows from / comes from the heart

>> Two powerful elements that determine the course & condition of our lives (inclusive of our heart)

The power of the tongue (words)
The condition of our heart

Luke 6:45 (NKJV)

>> A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good;
……..and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.
………….For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

>> Basically …Our heart and what we say are connected.

& determine the course and condition of our life

>> If we change our words & our hearts we can change our lives & situations

>> The power of the tongue

>> Words are the produce of our hearts…

>> Words are the fruit from our hearts

……….. a reflection of our hearts

……………….. that we put forth to the world

…& the type of fruit that is produced determines our justification or condemnation,
… a matter of life or death eternal

>> Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit..

>> Matthew 12:36-37 (NKJV)

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

>> We will be judged from the fruit we produce

= Our words connected to our hearts??

… For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved…Romans 10:10 (NKJV)

>> Since we have been chosen & appointed to go out into the world and bear much & lasting fruit

> The main fruit being that of love

For each tree will be know / recognized / identified by its fruit…Luke 6:44
Fruit of the Spirit is Love…Galatians 5:22
… we shall be known as disciples of Christ by our love …John 13:5

How are my words shaping my life and the world around me?

Am I ready for the consequences of my words?

>> The condition of our heart

>> Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life….Proverbs 4:23

>>Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NKJV)

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

>> We receive salvation by confessing with our mouths & believing with our hearts

… For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved…Romans 10:10 (NKJV)
>> Proclaim with our mouth & believe with our hearts & we shall see the salvation of the Lord

>> The fruit of our hearts is our words that shape us and the world around us??

Summarized >> Matthew 12:33-37 & Luke 6:43-45

The fruit we eat (of the Spirit) determines the condition of our heart

>> The fruit (seed) is the Word of God

The pruning of our heart helps it bear much fruit
>> Circumcision of the heart
The vine we attach ourselves to determines the fruit we produce (…that is produced in us through the vine)

> John 15:2-4 (NKJV)

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He [a]takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me

We are to model the love of Christ to others

>> Shows if our hearts still has death or has been brought to life

> 1 John 3:14-16 (NKJV)

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Parable of the Unforgiving Servant >> Matthew 18:21-35

>> Matthew 18:32-35 (NKJV)

Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’
And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

>> What we behold / focus / think on finds its way into our hearts & we become it…

….We look with our eyes, we see with our heart
… We think with our minds, we meditate with our hearts
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he …Proverbs 23:7(NKJV)

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV)

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord

Our hearts are connected to our spirit

>> How we see and what we meditate on ( spiritual ) determines how we look and what we think ( flesh)

Spirit and flesh are contrary and opposed to one another …Galatians 5:17
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit….Romans 8:5 (NKJV)

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

?? What fruit am I producing during the current corona situation??

>> What we fear, we attract

Fear is a spirit & as spirits operate, they …
…are looking for who to be acquainted with, possess or take over

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV) >> Spirit of God…

>> For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…
…looking to strenghten or support those who are fully committed / devoted / have faith in Him

>> The Enemy

And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”…Job 1:7(NKJV)
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour….1 Peter 5:8( NKJV)

>> Who you submit to and obey ( spirit) is who you have given power & authority to rule & reign in your life

Romans 6:16, 22 (NIV)

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

Whoever we submit to & obey has power and authority over our lives

And is therefore obligated to take up your battles
Like >> An American passport obligates the American government to sort you out while in trouble outside America

>> Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you…James 4:7 (NKJV)

..When submitting to God one is resisting the devil
… When submitting to the devil one is resisting God

Submitting to God is like taking up the citizenship of heaven with its terms & conditions

>> One is issued with a passport from heaven >> Holy Spirit
…Heaven is obligated to sort out the situations of its citizens
>> Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,..1 Peter 5:6 (NKJV)

In the showdown with David & Goliath

Both Israel & David looked at the situation but saw different things
We look with our eyes while we see with our hearts
>> David looked and saw that God with him was bigger than Goliath
>> Israel looked and saw that Goliath was bigger than them & everything about them
..They forgot the God factor that positively changes the equation to our situations

>> What David focused on, victory in God >> he declared & he became …victorious in the Lord

He believed in his heart and declared with his mouth and saw the salvation of the Lord in his situation…

Similarly

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…Philippians 4:13

>> David feared the Lord more than he feared the enemy and this attracted the Lord into his situation

As the Lord looks for a person with a heart of faith to make strong…2 Chronicles 16:9

## Corona virus lessons >> an element of fear & beholding & attracting

>> What we declare is a reflection of what is in our hearts

>>> What we behold and fear, we attract & become

…(the spirit behind it comes to produce its fruit in us >> the vine we attach to determines the fruit that is produced >> fear is the open door that allows a spirit to come into our lives & manifest its character (fruit) in us & through us. What fruit am I producing?….of the Spirit or another?… )

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

> The Power of God that protects us

>> The Love of God that surrounds us

>>> The mind of Christ that shows us His perspective on the situation hence comforts us

>> SUMMARY

>> The fruit of our lips is the produce from our hearts that determines the course of our life

Whoever we submit to & obey has power and authority over our lives

And is therefore obligated to take up your battles
Like >> An American passport obligates the American government to sort its citizen out while in trouble outside America
Let us seek the passport of heaven, for
… greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world …1 John 4:4

>> Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you…James 4:7 (NKJV)

..When submitting to God one is resisting the devil
… When submitting to the devil one is resisting God

Some Learning principles from the showdown of David & Goliath >> 1 Samuel 17

What I behold / focus on, I become
What I fear, I attract

>> Two powerful elements that determine the course & condition of our lives

The power of the tongue (words)
The condition of our heart

If we change our words & our hearts we can change our lives & situations

Am I part of the problem or part of the solution?

For the creation eagerly awaits the manifestation of the sons of God …Romans 8:19
We can only be tested in adversity
The effectiveness of an army is only known in battle

Shall the David’s rise up against the Goliaths & Coronas of our generation?

>> Shall the Elisha’s rise up to manifest double portion anointing in this generation?

>>> Shall the Joshua & Caleb’s rise up to take Kenya for the Lord?

Am I speaking..

…life or death
…blessing or curse during this period?

Psalm 23

Psalm 91

>> PRAYER

Create in me a clean heart Oh Lord

…. and renew a right Spirit within me…

>> Therefore I choose me this day

To speak life & not death
To speak blessings and not curses
…. For I have not been given a spirit of fear
> But the love of God surrounds me
>> The power of God protects me
>>> The mind of Christ comforts me
Indeed, greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world

I am the salt and light of the earth
Part of the sons of God that the world eagerly awaits our manifestation…
…….so that they may taste and see that the Lord is good in me and through me
…………for the Kingdom & Glory of God

AMEN!

# Prayer

Psalm 23 (NKJV)

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not [a]want.

He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;

He leads me beside the [c]still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will [d]dwell in the house of the Lord

[e]Forever.

Psalm 91 (NKJV)

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High

Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;

My God, in Him I will trust.”

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the [a]fowler

And from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers,

And under His wings you shall take refuge;

His truth shall be your shield and [b]buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,

Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

And ten thousand at your right hand;

But it shall not come near you.

Only with your eyes shall you look,

And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall [c]bear you up,

Lest you [d]dash your foot against a stone.

You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will [e]set him on high, because he has known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

With [f]long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation.”

~~~~

# Song

# God I look to you —

God I look to you

I won’t be overwhelmed

Give me vision to see things like You do

God I look to You

You’re where my help comes from

Give me wisdom, You know just what to do

And I will love You Lord my strength

And I will love you Lord my shield

And I will love You Lord my rock

Forever all my days I will love you God

Hallelujah our God reigns

Forever all my days Hallelujah