Tag: spirit

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End the Year with a Spirit of Thanksgiving

In each of the 7 glimpses of heaven given in the book of Revelation, we see the inhabitants of heaven continuously praising God with a loud voice – sometimes as loud as thunders and as the noise of roaring rivers. This is the atmosphere of heaven – one of continual praise, without any complaints or demands. And this is the atmosphere that the Holy Spirit desires to bring into our hearts, our homes and our churches as well. It is thus that Satan will be driven away from all these places.

I read of a fiery brother (who lived in the last century) who used to frequently praise God with loud `Hallelujahs’. One day, one of the staid, dead Christians around him, who was irritated by this spirit of praise, asked him what the brother would do if God finally sent him to hell. To this the brother replied, “If I go to hell, I will keep on shouting `Hallelujah’ and the praises of God there, until the Devil tells me to get out of Hell, lest I infect others in hell with the spirit of praise!!”   No, there is no place in Hell for those who have a spirit of praise! The ones who go to Hell are those who are full of complaints and demands against others. They were like that when they were on the earth and they carry that evil nature with them when they leave the earth too.

Satan has paralysed the vast majority of Christians, and made them ineffective in spiritual warfare against him, because he has succeeded in getting them infected with the spirit of murmuring and complaining against their brothers and sisters, against their relatives and neighbours, against their circumstances, and even against God Himself.

We overcome Satan, when we obey the following exhortations:

– “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in ONE BODY; and be thankful” (Col.3:15).
– “I urge that thanksgivings be made FOR ALL MEN” (1 Tim.2:1).
– “Always give thanks FOR ALL THINGS in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father” (Eph.5:20).

    We are exhorted first of all to be thankful for all whom God has called into Christ’s Body. If the choice had been left to us, we might not have called many of those whom God has called – especially those who belong to some other group than ours!!! But God’s wisdom being higher than ours, even as the heavens are higher than the earth, He obviously had a different opinion about them than we have. And if we are wise, we will re-align our thinking in line with God’s.

    Once we have learnt to be thankful for our brothers and sisters in Christ’s Body, we can then learn to give thanks for all men and then for all our circumstances. We know that our Heavenly Father sovereignly controls all men and all circumstances. If we really believe this, we will certainly praise God at all times, and thus prove that our kingdom is of heaven and not of this world. Then Satan will lose his power over us. Only then will we be able to wage an effective warfare against him.

    There is a wonderful word written in Revelation 12:8 that no place was found in heaven for Satan and his demons. This is how it must be in our lives too – in our hearts, in our homes, and in our churches. SATAN AND HIS HOSTS MUST FIND NO PLACE IN ANY OF THESE PLACES.

    – Zac Poonen

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    Testimonies

    And they overcame him [the devil] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” (Revelation 12:11).

    Our testimony is about what we have experienced – what we have seen and heard. A real Christian can talk about their experiences with God through Jesus Christ. We as Christians are called to a relationship of real communication with the Son of God. God comes to live inside of us. Things change. God deals with every person in a different way. The more Christians that come forward and talk about how God has intervened in their life, the more people will begin to realize that God is for real, miracles do happen, and prayer works.

    This will inspire others to seek God and turn from their sins so that they too can know the peace and satisfaction that comes to a person who truly gives their life over to God. Acts 1:8 says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” To be a witness to Jesus is to speak and communicate the things that you have seen and heard in your life that happened because of Jesus. It’s the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real to us, and makes Jesus real through us.

    God’s plan is for people to hear the good news that Jesus Christ paid for their sins, and conquered death for us through rising from the dead. After believing, people should go on to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, and then testify to others what God has done for them.

    Our testimony does not have to be super dramatic or unusual to be effective. Not everyone can relate personally to a sensational testimony. If on the other hand your testimony is weak because you can’t point to a change in your life, could it be that you have not really consecrated your life to God properly?Are you trying to living with one foot in God’s Kingdom, and the other in Satan’s?

    Is your heart still in love with this present age, this world system? If so, it would be a great time to decide to live for God and to get serious about it, because none of us are guaranteed a tomorrow. Perhaps your testimony is weak because you have not given attention to the wonderful truths concerning the Holy Spirit and overcoming Satan that can be found in God’s Word. God wants our testimony to be strong, so we can live unashamed before God and men, and give honor and glory to God. He wants our life to show forth His power – what He can do. And God has done absolutely amazing things for people in all kinds of trouble, who were messed up and without natural hope. Some testimonies of how God helped such people heard last Friday. It was amazing to know the marvelous works of God reveled in our dear ones lives.Sister Shoba Charles, Bro Peter Ravela, Bro Sudeep, Bro Sudeer, Bro Ravi, Bro Prabhakar and Jonah’s son testified the greatness of our God in their lives, it was heart touching and surely challenged everyone to trust in God in all situations.

    If God has worked powerfully in your life, please share it so others can benefit. It will remind you of how God has worked and it will encourage others to believe in God. It may be the means by which another precious person comes to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. So do it. Begin to write down your story and share it on every last Friday of the month at the fellowship.

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    Amazing Love (Song)

    I’m forgiven because You were forsaken,
    I’m accepted, You were condemned.
    I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
    Because You died and rose again.
    (Repeat x2)

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    Message by Rev. James Ananda Kumar

    Last week Rev. James Ananda Kumar spoke about the significance of prayer for an individual as well as for fellowship to grow in spiritually. He reminded us that, when we pray in one accord with one heart we can see the miracles.

    Colossians 4:2 tells us “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;” when we pray If we follow these three ways we see the miracles of God. Colossians 4:12; Thessalonians 5:16-18; Luke 18:1 tells us to pray fervently, without ceasing or grieving, for this is the will of God. Hence prayer is a communion between God and man. It brings victory, making us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). Prayer changes our lives and situations. The first Church was born after praying( On Pentecost)).. Apostle Paul describes in Hebrew 4:14-16 that we have a great high priest Jesus, the son of God and we need to boldly pray at his throne of grace. Through prayer God reveals many things (Acts 22:17). And he is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (psalm 46:1)…Continue Reading

    Pastor gave the example of Daniel, who prayed not for himself but for Jerusalem (Daniel 9:20). He was presenting all the supplications by confessing sins on behalf of his people.Then the angel of God came to him in swift flight to give him wisdom and understanding . Our God is a prayer answering God and His grace is beyond our understanding. In a church we can see three kinds of people. 1. Carnal. 2.Natural. 3. Spiritual. Carnal and natural people pray but they do not believe. Spiritual people pray and believe.

    Finally, Pastor has ended his sermon by giving Jacob’s example from Genesis 32:24 -31. He showed us five things that Jacob brought before God at Penile.

    1. V/s 22-23 says, Jacob came before God by emptying himself. He became zero before God. (Mark 10:28-31)-emptiness

    2. V/s 24 says, he came alone to his presence. He was left alone. A lonely heart. (Isaiah 51:2)- loneliness

    3. V/s 25 says, he came with a broken heart and pleads the god to bless him. God struck him on his thigh (the strongest part of the body) and all his pride and selfishness has gone. -brokenness

    4. V/s 26 says, he came with a great repentance. He wrestled with God for blessings as he knew that blessing would only come from Him. (Hosea 12:3-4)- repentance

    5. V/s 27-28 says, God asked his name and he answered “Jacob” (deceitful). He did not lie and then God gave him a new name Israel and through him the entire nation received blessings. –truthfulness

    In v/s 31, it is described as “then the Sun rose”, a new beginning to his new life in truth with God.

    So we need to realize this is the time to bow down our knees at the feet of Jesus and pray for a change for our lives and welcome him, the Holy Spirit into our hearts.

    Finally, appeal was made to introspect ourselves and challenged us with a question “How much time are we spending with God?”

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    Women have strengths that amaze all

    Women have strengths that amaze all.
    They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
    They bring joy, hope and love.
    They have compassion and ideas
    They smile when they want to scream.
    They sing when they want to cry.
    They laugh when they are nervous.
    They love unconditionally.

    The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning. Women have vital things to say and everything to give.

    HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN, IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

    Continue reading “Women have strengths that amaze all”