THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS

TOPIC: THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS

TEXT: GALATIANS 5:22-23
    
                        The fruit of the spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit produces these  traits(characters) that are found in the very nature of Christ. These traits are produced in the Christians as he allows the Spirit to direct and influence his life and to destroy the power of sin, especially works of the flesh, so that he can have unbroken fellowship with God (Rom 8:4-5, Eph 4:2-3).
                    The fruits are products of Christ's control in us, and we cannot obtain them by our mere efforts. If we desire them, we must join our lives to His (John 15:4-5). In this case, we must know Him, fellowship with Him and imitate Him. This will help us fulfil the intended purpose of shape and transform us into the express image of God the Son, Jesus Christ.
                     The fruit of the Spirit is the physical manifestation of the transformed Christian. Let us therefore examine the attributes of this nine-fold fruit.

1. LOVE: Biblically, this means caring and seeking for the highest good of another person without motive for personal gains. Our greatest goal is to do all things in love. Love is patient and kind; it does not envy or boast; it is not proud, rude, self-seeking, or easily angered; and it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. (1corinth 13:4-8, 1john 4:16, roman 5:5, colos 3:14). Access yourself in these attributes and pray that God would help you.

2. JOY: This is the feeling of gladness based on love, grace, blessings, and nearness of God (psa. 119:16, 2corinth 6:10; 12:9, 1pet 1:8).
                 Unlike happiness (which depends on physical happenings around a person), joy is spiritual, dependent on what is not seen. (Neh 8:10) says "the joy of the Lord is your strength".

3. PEACE: This is the quietness of heart and mind based on knowledge that is well (Rom 15:33, Heb 13:20). Indeed, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1 & 13).

4. LONGSUFFERING: This means endurance in patience and being sloe to anger. Col 1:11 states "We are strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, unto all patience through longsuffering with joyfulness.

5. GENTLENESS: This means 'not wanting to hurt someone or inflict pain on another person (Eph 4:32, Col 3:12). The Bible enjoins us to live in purity, understanding, patience and kindness with all, having the weapon of righteousness always with us (2Corinth 6:6-7).

6. GOODNESS: This implies zeal for truth and righteousness, as well as hatred for evil. It can be expressed in acts of kindness (Lk 7:35-50) or rebuking and correcting evil (Matt 21:12-13). May God count us worthy of His calling and fulfil all His good pleasure in our service to Him.

7. FAITH: This is the firmness and unwavering loyalty and adherence to a person to whom one is united by promise, commitment, trustworthiness and honesty (Matt 23:23; Rom 3:3).'O Lord thou art my God, I will exhort thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsel of old are faithfulness and truth'(Isa 25:1).

8. MEEKNESS: This means restraint coupled with strength and courage. A well tamed lion can live and play with children all its life.
                When the Holy Spirit tames a man, he becomes meek. It describes a strong and influential person who becomes humbly submissive when he is angered by a weak and un-influential person (2Tim 2:25, 1Corinth 1:2, Gal 1:9).

9. TEMPERANCE: This is having control or mastery over one's own desires and passions, including faithfulness to ones marriage vows. It also means purity and chastity (1Corinth 9:25, Tit 1:8, 2:5).

                 Christian maturity requires that we exhibit and practise these virtues over and over again. The fruits adds credibility to your walk with God.
                Hence, you must allow the Holy Spirit to work these fruits in you so that you can radiate the presence of God through your Spirit, soul and body, and so that others can be influenced toward obedience to God.

Prayer Point: Pray that the Lord of Host to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

The Power Of Praising God

TOPIC : The Power In Praising God
TEXT: John 6:4-13

In this passage the power of God was shown when Jesus fed thousands of people with 5 barley loaves and 2 fishes. As we all know this story, i want us to look at a particular verse in the passage. John 6:11 "Jesus then took the loaves, and when and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted" RSV. This is the power in praising God, Jesus only praised God and something extraordinary occurred. Also in John 11 : 41-44, after praising God in thanks He commanded Lazarus to come out of the tomb. This implies that when we are praising God with pure heart, He will do our heart desires. God already knows what we want and He will do them only if we keep praising him in spirit and truth. Brethren, what is it that you want God to do in your life, I am assuring you that He will definitely answer you by doing them. Start praising Him no matter the situation, and at last your mouth will be filled with songs of victory. HAPPY SUNDAY

PRAYER POINT: Lord, because of your only begotten son, Jesus Christ, let your songs of praise continue to sound in my mouth.

UNCOMMON FAVOUR

TOPIC: Uncommon favour
TEXT: ll SAMUEL 6:1-23

     In this passage God's favour was shown to a man called obededom. There were 3 main happenings in this passage.
i) Uzzah was killed due to an irreverent act against the ark of God which serves as the presence of God (6:7).
ii) Michal despised king david while he was rejoicing in the presence of the ark of God(6:16). This led to her barrenness for the rest of her life(6:23).
iii) Obededom was blessed by God for bearing the ark of God in his house.
      After incidence (i) king david feared for the ark to be kept with him so he decided to keep it with a poor and hopeless man called obededom. For this reason, God located him and blessed him abundantly that everyone were surprised. This is what we call "UNCOMMON FAVOUR". Have you ever witnessed a car accident in which all lost their lives except for only one person, this is "UNCOMMON FAVOUR". It is not too late for you to have yours, God is willing to do yours this year before it ends. Why don't you call on him today for this is your week of uncommon favour, all He requires from you is to do His will and forsake sins.
     MAY YOU BE BLESSED IN JESUS NAME!!!

PRAYER POINT: God the circumstance that will lead to my uncommon favour let it come to fulfilment in JESUS NAME.