Spirit Led Life

(Message: Pastor Dr. S. Joseph, Founder, NLMI. Hoping I haven’t missed much; Happy reading!)

Hallelujah! The Lord is in this place. It’s my prayer today that we have a revelation today and also see Jesus revealed through His word, according to what we read in Ephesians 1. You see, when we came to Him, Jesus not only saved us from our sins, but also delivered us out of religion; that is to say, in Him, not only do we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (v7) and eternal life, but He also made known to us the mystery of His will and that is revelation. Therefore now, no more sins and no more religion-but newness of life and revelation as He leads us from faith to faith, from strength to strength, from victory to victory and from glory to glory.

All religions (including Christian ‘religion’) only talk about how we can get to heaven; but by revelation we know that it is not about how to get to heaven, but rather revelation is to know how heaven came down. Yes, in Jesus Christ, heaven on earth is a reality. God, in the Old Testament-from Genesis to Malachi, revealed Himself as God the Father; but in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He gathers together all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth-in Him (Eph. 1:10).

As you read further in Ephesians 1, we see how we came to Christ; we believed the word of truth, the gospel of salvation and were sealed with the Holy Spirit. One thing interesting about Holy Spirit is that He is very gentle; although He abides in us, He is not going to influence and impose His will unless you co-operate, agree and yield to Him. The Holy Spirit's work in us is based on our everyday choices-for us to choose faith and obedience.

You see, when we come into the kingdom of God, spiritually speaking, we arrive as small babies-born-again! And if you are not willing to grow up, you will remain as a retarded child spiritually! And if a child, he is no better than a slave. All riches are at his disposal, but he is incapable of handling it all! This is what we read in Gal. 4:1. Apostle Peter also talks about Christian maturity of growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

If you do not mature spiritually, you will be a retarded child and on one hand become useless yourself, and on the other hand you will quench the Spirit, grieve the Spirit, resist the Spirit and tempt the Spirit. And the anointing that you received when you believed, and through effervescent prayer in a seminar or a special meeting, will dry out or leak out. You see, many experience a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit when He descends upon them, but do not realize that He leaves gently, if quenched!

In the Spirit Led Life that I want to talk about today, we are led by God Himself. Romans 8:14 says: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Today, as I was meditating on Psalm 8, I was fully aware as a preacher that I am receiving not just a revelation but also the seed of His word that I needed to sow in people’s lives. In Psalm 8, we find 4 things of God: (i) Creativity – When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars… (ii) Humility – What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him? (iii) Magnanimity – For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. (iv) Generosity – You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet. This Psalm 8 talks about the authority that Adam and Eve had, but that that was lost after the fall of man. A Paradise Lost as John Milton would say. But the Paradise regained is true as well since the time Jesus came; whatever was lost in Adam, and much more, is regained in Christ!

Hebrews 2: 6-10 goes like this: “But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under the feet.”

For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

Perfected through sufferings? Any precious stone has been through suffering; without cross, there is no crown; without death, no life! The thing is none of us wants to go through suffering willingly. We were in fact taught to be overcomers-overcoming anything and everything, always victorious and prosperous. But the truth is, christian maturity will not come if it is not without suffering. I used to ask, “Why Lord the suffering and persecution?” The answer is found in Phillipians 3:10 that we might know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering... Are you worried about sufferings in this world? You may have 101 problems in your life; but if you suffer for Jesus, the Spirit of Christ will be a crown of glory over you!

There was a preacher in Toronto from the Airport Fellowship-John and his wife Carol, laboring hard in His ministry, yet finding meager fruit for their labor. Then they heard that revival has started in one of the states in the U.S-Pensacola. They traveled to U.S and were filled with the desire for God’s anointing in their own ministry. They invited a preacher from Pensacola to come to Toronto. That was the start of revival in Toronto as well, then popularly called as “The Toronto Blessing”! We-my wife and I, went to Toronto to attend the meetings; they asked me “What do you want?” I replied “I hunger and am thirsty for Jesus-I want more of Him”. They said, “Okay, receive it”. That was it-the anointing of the Lord fell upon me like rivers of water. We were floored! There were questions and searches for truth and reason; but now none but Christ can satisfy!

Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well: “…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14) (Spring up, O well! Within my soul and make me whole.) Not long afterwards, Jesus saw the crowds at the Feast of the Tabernacles, stood up and loudly cried out on the last day of the feast: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (Living water flowing, O how nice to see!)

Think about it; the feast of the Tabernacles-it was a religious ritual. A tradition of the Jews handed down and learnt from their forefathers. This is the time when the priest would take a golden vessel, fill it with the waters from Siloam, go around the temple of God singing praises to Him, and on the last day pouring it out on the altar to remember and signify that God’s Spirit would be poured out like waters. That was religion! But the revelation was sitting right there in front of their eyes all those days-the Person Jesus Himself, who would anoint them with Holy Spirit and fire! But the priests were simply blinded by traditions.

At the end of the feast, on the last day, Jesus could not keep silent any longer, sitting there and seeing the ritual. He stood up and cried out the verses in John 7:37,38. Do you now see what religion can do to you? That is why I said that Jesus has set us free from religion and gave us revelation.

It is written, out of our inmost being, out of our hearts, will flow rivers of living water. The invitation is open to all-if anyone thirsts! Are you thirsty for God? If yes, you will be filled. You find lack in this world around you-lack of justice and lack of righteousness (remember Christians’ persecution in Karnataka state and the recent Judicial Commision clearing all the culprits?), lack of truth, and lack of joy; but if you look at Jesus, believe in Him, you will be filled to overflowing with righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

That is why I say, do not be mired in mere religion-where one will measure another with his own measure and judge one another with selfish motives. There is a fullness to be obtained; the unity of the faith is to be preserved. After describing the five-fold ministries-Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, Paul writes to the Ephesians that we ought to become as a perfect man to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; and no longer be children… (Eph. 4: 11-14). All this maturity in us is required for (i) equipping the saints and (ii) to edify the body of Christ. And children cannot do these!

As a young preacher, I was thirsty for God. I read the books of many authors – Watchman Nee, Bro. Lawrence, and so many others to know about what it is to thirst for righteousness. Am I saying that I am mature now? No, not yet! But definitely growing up and getting there in Jesus Christ. You see, fame, name and riches cannot give you what Jesus can! The world is running after greed, gratification and self-glory – but in fact, they will gain nothing! But if you thirst for Christ, the river of God is ready to burst forth from your innermost being.

The river of God is ready to flow; it flowed at the time of creation in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:10). It flowed during past times in the wilderness (Psalm 78: 15, 16). It will flow in the future from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1)-pure, clear as crystal. But today let me talk about the river of God flowing out from the temple of God. Turn with me to Ezekiel 47.

From the temple of God, the river of God flows out. Consider this-that you and I carry the presence of God and our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The epistles also talk about being knit and built together as the body of Christ with Jesus as the Chief Cornerstone. Maturity is allowing the river to flow out; maturity is allowing the Holy Spirit to measure us. Significantly, the man leading Ezekiel too had a measuring line in his hand and he measured 1000 cubits this way and that.

Ankle Deep

Ezk. 47:3 says: And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came to my ankles.

What does this ankle deep measure signify? It means that you have come to the knowledge of Christ and are now walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). That is the river flow experience of walking in the newness of life. You are not carried away by influences of worldly knowledge, and peer pressures, but know the truth that has set you free. This is only the beginning of the flow!

Knee Deep

Ezekiel 47:4: Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the waters came up to my knees.

Knees signify prayer-you have now entered the throne room of God in prayer, praying in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18). The Bible also talks to us about how we do not know what to pray and how to pray-but He is there our Helper, the Holy Spirit who makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26). Here is the experience of not only rejecting world-will, but also of knowing God’s will. We begin to pray according to God’s will. But come deeper!

Waist Deep

Ezekiel 47:4: …Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist.

Waist signifies service to the Lord; you can serve His purposes or you can serve your purposes. You can work for the Lord; but you can do better if you can work in the Lord. Paul talks about his service in Acts 20:19: “serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me…” Waist deep is serving the Lord with all humility! Otherwise too, you can serve the Lord-to fulfill your own ambitions, your exaltation; it will only result in confusion and division within the body of Christ.

Full flow

Ezekiel 47:5 “Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”…

This is the Spirit Filled, Spirit Led experience. Eph. 5:18-20 says: And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Two things happen in the flow (i) Equip the saints - speak to one another in spiritual songs and (ii) Edify yourself – making melody in your heart. There will be a blessing wherever the river flows; there will be healing and there will be bounty (fishes in Ezk. 47:8-10). Son of man, have you seen this? This is what the river of God that flows out of your inmost being will do!

Let me close now as time runs out; but I love this and want to finish off with the verse further down in Ezekiel 47:13. Thus says the Lord GOD: “These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. …”

Double portion blessing! This is what God is calling you to today, as you walk the river and come to its full flow. May God mature us, as we allow Him place in our trials and sufferings. Amen.

Precious And Magnificent Promises!

(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph. Here's wishing I haven't missed much! Happy reading!)

We are partakers of the divine nature through His exceedingly great and precious promises. (2 Peter 1:4). We know of promises that are yet to be fulfilled in heaven that as saints we will rule and reign with Jesus Christ. We also know of promises yet to be fulfilled on earth; one is that the nation of Israel will return to Christ. Whether it is probable or not, we know it will be fulfilled someday!

We also have promises for the present times that are being fulfilled in each and every single person believing in the name of Jesus Christ. These promises are for US! It is for NOW! We can claim His promises and stand on them and it will come to pass. One of the interesting thing of these present promises is that they are conditional promises; fulfill the conditions and the promises will come true.

Today, let me talk to you about 5 promises that we have in the present…

1. Forgiveness of sin

“Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29

If you have never known Jesus, but are weighed down with sin-not knowing where to go and whom to look for salvation; if you are looking for restoration of the relationship with God Himself, here is the answer found in the Bible: Look upon Jesus-Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full on His wonderful face-there and then we find total reconciliation with God the Father. Jesus took away our sin on the cross-the sin of the whole world; we do not need to DO anything, except believe. And we receive God’s free gift of SALVATION…

Because of what Jesus has done on the cross, God looks upon us with renewed mercy and declares “…I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34 and Heb. 8:12). He is the LORD, merciful and gracious, abounding in loving-kindness and truth, who chooses not to remember our sins (He did not say, He will forget our sins!). We are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, purchased by a price so costly that only Jesus could pay ... for you and for me.

Holy Spirit of promise

Not only that we are now born-again because we believed in Jesus, but we also have a guarantee of the down-payment done for us-His Holy Spirit. “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1: 13-14)

What a wonderful promise-the gift of the Holy Spirit to everyone, whoever, that believed in the name of Jesus. Purchased, sealed and delivered-we are His and the inheritance is as good as ours now! Praise God! If you are still in doubt over whether you have received His Holy Spirit, I ask you to first consider your belief in Jesus-Have you come to Him one-on-one? Did you really have an encounter with Jesus Christ? Because if you did, and believed, you are now sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise…and you will never be the same again!

Names written in Heaven

“Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” – Luke 10:20

What a joy! Eternal is our inheritance, indelible are our names written in heaven! This is far more wonderful than knowing that we have authority over evil spirits. Rejoice! A record is made-that has your name on it; a permanent record.

If you are familiar with rent and lease agreements here in Mumbai, you will know of the very temporary nature where you have to renew the contract every 11 months. But once you purchase your own house, you can call it your home-a permanent place to stay while here on earth! But now we have a promise more precious than that-our names in heaven. No amount of money can buy that!

Hope of Glory

“To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” – Colossians 1:27

We are rich! The difference between a Gentile and a Christian is this: Christ within. This is not the zenith of Christian life that I am talking about, but the starting point-the foundation and beginning of Christian walk.

2. Children of God

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” – 1 John 3:2

Right here and now, we are children of God. This is not something that is for the future, but right now in the present-we are children of God. What a privilege! God is our Father; we can call Him “Abba, Father”. “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.” (2 Cor. 6:18). It is good to know Him as Almighty God; it is even better to know Him as our Heavenly Father! Have you known God as your Father? Have you dared to call Him Abba, Father? If you have children, you will know that they have free access to you anytime of the day; Just so with our heavenly Father. You can come to Him anytime and for anything.

For the Bible says, that everyone can know Him in the New Covenant; everyone- from the least to the greatest can know Him as the Father- merciful and loving. (Hebrews 8:11-13). With this confidence, we now look at all His promises. What do you do with your promises to your children? Aren’t you careful to keep them? How MUCH MORE will God our heavenly Father will keep His covenant of mercy and peace? So we ask and it is given to us; we seek and we find it; we knock and the door is opened to us! (Matt. 7:7).

3. Victorious Christian Life

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” – Jude 1:24, 25

If we are His children, then we know we are victorious in Him. We are more than conquerors; because of Him who is able to keep us from stumbling. Blameless and with exceeding joy will be our conduct-this is Christian maturity. It is not enough if you know God as your Father, and you remain a child. Rather, it is trusting and walking that brings us victory. His grace is more than enough. If He keeps you from stumbling, how can you fall? The Bible clearly tell us this: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” – 1 Cor. 10:13

In the victorious Christian life, there is ALWAYS joy and peace. It is a given! In this 21^st century, stress has become one of the soul-killers; and they take a toll on the body. Whatever be the circumstance, even in the midst of storm (and I’m not saying there won’t be a storm), still we can have His peace. Jesus says in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” With Jesus in our boat, there is peace.

Isn’t it sad to see so many sad faces all around? Apprehension, fear of the future, painful present filled with worries-is this LIFE? Jesus promised in John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” Complete joy in Jesus and His word. The peace of Jesus and the joy of Jesus, is given to us. When we receive these- His promises, we can experience heaven on earth!

4. Ministries for God

“…and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18

If you are engaged in doing God’s ministry, this is the promise that you can take with you-Jesus is building His church and all the power and intelligence of the devil shall not be able to stop it. If God be for us, who can be against us? Whatever you put your hand to do to build the kingdom of God, will surely succeed. No weapon formed against you shall prosper. The devil can do you no harm as you stay right under the blood of Jesus-the Cornerstone of what you build. No harm, no harm, no harm! Jesus says to those who were sent out in Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” – John 14:12. We are here as representatives of Jesus Christ-doing what He would have done! The church, being His body are called to do His commands-as extensions of His service. Greater works than what Jesus did while on earth, as the time draws near. When I read the life of the Apostles, I realize all these came true!

We are armed to the teeth, able to do all that He has called us to do. Therefore, STEP OUT if God is calling you into any ministry. He, who began a good work in you, will surely bring it to completion. He will see us through, whether thro’ water or thro’ the fire!

5. Material Blessings

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” – Phil. 4:19

God is concerned not just of spiritual need, but also of the natural. God shall supply-and there will be no lack; all your need-not just a bit here and a bit there; according to His riches-not according to our perceived poverty. We can cast every anxiety, every care upon Him who cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). My God – He is the one who made the universe-the sun and the moon and the stars; He looks upon me and notices my need. His eye is upon the sparrow and His eye is upon me! He feeds the sparrows and not one of them will fall without His knowledge. I am more precious to Him than many sparrows.

Do you realize He cares for you? There is the poem about the robin and the sparrow that goes like this:

Said the robin to the sparrow:

“I wonder why –

the anxious human beings

Rush about and worry so!”

Said the sparrow to the robin

“Friend! I think

They don’t have a Heavenly Father

Who cares for me and you!”

Your anxieties are time-dependent; come to Him who holds the time in His hands. Rest on His promises. As a 15 year old, as I came to Christ, I saw examinations as the biggest anxiety of my life! Now I know that was just a small step-there were other matters of greater importance! Let us therefore do what the Bible tell us to: “Be anxious for nothing…” (Phil. 4: 6-7). But, we are called to pray-and give thanks and make our requests known to God. Then we shall have His peace.

Take Him, take His name-the name of Jesus, and take His promises-with you. Do you need anything else?

2011 – Year of Fulfillment and Multiplication

(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph. Here’s hoping I haven’t missed much. Happy reading!)

Ezekiel 36: 37, 38

Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like a flock. Like a flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

As we saw earlier, the verses contain three parts: (i) Prayer (ii) Promise and (iii) People. The promise of God is that the ruined cities will be filled-that every thing that is broken and lying waste in your lives and in the lives of people around you, too will be rebuilt! The condition is that we pray and intercede about it. God loves people around us-just as He loved you and me; and He wants to bless them that are around us through you and me!

PRAYER

Many times Jesus talked to the people around Him, when He was here on earth in flesh, through parables. He spoke to them simply and in an engaging way so that they would understand and apply the principles. And through His parables, we too understand complicated truths of the kingdom of God. And Jesus had something to say on prayer too! He spoke two parables on prayer-about a friend at midnight (Luke 11:5-8) and the unjust judge and the widow (Luke 18:1-8).

Friend at midnight

There comes a man to his friend’s house at midnight and asks for bread that he may in turn give to his friend-a guest who had arrived from a far place. The friend, though he gives many excuses initially, does come out to help his friend because of his persistence. At the end of the parable, Jesus teaches us to ask the Father in heaven without giving up; keep on asking and you shall receive; keep on knocking and the door will be opened for you; keep on seeking and surely you will find what you seek for!

The Persistent Widow

Before the parable, it says in the word of God, why Jesus spoke such a parable-He spoke to them “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart…”. In this parable, there was this unjust judge who meets the persistent widow seeking justice-The judge says to himself “…because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

Therefore do not lose heart in prayer. In God’s will, all our prayers WILL be answered by and by if we do not give up. By and by there will be a harvest; by and by the sun will shine! If sinful and unjust people could help those who are persistent, how MUCH MORE God who is in heaven, will answer those who cry out to Him day and night!

PROMISE

The Blessing

Many are the promises of God to His children. Abraham was a man who feared God; he was called to go to a strange place to receive a promise: “…I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” – A strange promise, to just one family among all the inhabitants of the earth. He was called out and called in to receive a promise; and Abraham knew God’s promise would be fulfilled! Even now we see God’s promise holding out to the people of Israel-a promise made some 4000 years ago! God IS faithful.

The Blessed

You and I are called out of darkness and into His marvelous light, where we can receive His promises. We can lay hold of it, and see it being fulfilled in our own lives. Our God is the same faithful God who gave His promises to Abraham. In Gen. 22: 17 Abraham received his promise that his descendants would be like the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore when he obeyed the voice of his God, and that in his seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. And we are here blessed because of his seed-Jesus Christ.

The unfortunate happening is that the Jews, also of Abraham’s seed, rejected Jesus (John 1). All this happened to fulfill the prophecy found in Jer. 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…”

More than Blessed

Jesus revealed to us the promise of the Father-Holy Spirit. He says, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49). And we know how it was fulfilled on that Pentecost day to His disciples. Jesus’ promise stands true today to you and me-His disciples; that in the last days He will pour out His Spirit on ALL flesh… we are here blessed by Holy Spirit’s presence in our midst. His promise is being fulfilled.

Promises to Partake of The Divine Nature

There are other promises that are yet to be fulfilled-the promise of eternal life (1 John 2: 25), the second coming of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9), and the rewards that await those who love and wait on Him (James 1:12). These promises are not just ‘feel-good sermons’ and self-help motivations to work out in our life. They are the truth by which we inherit of His divine nature. Peter says in 1 Peter 1:4 “…have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, …”

God’s wonderful promises are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus. We can trust Him; we can wait on Him; we can hold on to His faithfulness. His grace will ALWAYS be sufficient for us.

PEOPLE

Availability, not ability

Isaiah was astonished by God’s presence and his own sinfulness-yet he received God’s cleansing and grace. And when he heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” he was ready with an answer: “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6: 8)

Have you been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb? God is looking at you and asking the same question: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Are you willing? Are you available to Him? It does not matter anything if you feel short of ability-because its only availability that matters. God is able to do what He has called you to do; God is going to give you that ability at every prayerful step of your way that you are called to walk!

Ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5: 20)

We are in a strange land-just like Abraham; we are ambassadors for Christ, pleading on His behalf to the lost world “Be reconciled to God!” This is not just for the leaders and evangelists to do, but everyone who is of the new creation in Christ Jesus. Every person is involved in the process of seeking the Lord, inheriting His kingdom and building His people-and the waste cities will be filled with flocks of men! Multiplication (being different from the addition process in mathematics) requires participation from each member of God’s family.

Utilize Your Gift

Be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Ascertain and utilize your spiritual gifting, because each one of you has received at least one gift-no one is excluded in His kingdom gifts, and it is given for the sake of others-not for you to keep. (1 Peter 4:10). Don’t bury your talent in the ground. Don’t lag behind but be fervent in serving the Lord; Serve the Lord and not men! (Eph. 6: 7)

This is the crux-do you love Jesus? Because if you do, you must feed His lambs! Remember Jesus asking Peter over and over again “Do you love Me?” and when the answer is Yes, feed his lambs; tend to His sheep. Jesus alone is the joy of our living; He alone must be the motivation for what we do. When our eyes are fixed on Him, we can serve Him joyfully.

Summary

Remember the promise-the waste and ruined parts will be rebuilt and habitable. It will be filled with flocks as in the day of feasts. There will be fullness; the wilderness will blossom. It is very easy to give up and say you tried your best-whether in your examinations, career, or marriage-You see, divorce is not an option for the believer. We are not alone-God is with us and He is able, more than able! We are endued with power from on high through His Holy Spirit; we are born to win; we are called for a purpose; we are in high position as ambassadors and mouth-pieces for Him who loved us. We MUST not give up in this battle-that is not ours in the first place. The battle is the Lord’s. We must stand firm and it is God who will act on our behalf.

Praise be to Jesus. Amen.

Your Dreams Will Lead You to Your Destiny

(Message: Pastor Dr. S. Joseph, Founder, NLMI. Hoping I haven’t missed much; Happy reading!)

Choose Life

It is indeed a great pleasure to meet you and greet you in this new decade and New Year 2011. Being fully aware of how God fulfilled our needs in the past decade, we look forward to great and mighty acts in fulfilling the vision of NLMI for 2020, if the Lord tarries. As is written in the word of God: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24: 14).

Beloved, we are, in a way, holding up Jesus’ return, if we do not preach the gospel to the nations. We-each one of us, are called to be a witness in Jesus’ own words as is found in Acts 1:8: “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.”

So, you see-as believers in Christ the Lord, witnessing is not an option, but a choice that you and I have to make, each passing day of our lives. This year, I am completing 54 years of serving the Lord; it is not bragging that I do here, but rather an acknowledgment to God’s goodness by which I can say that each passing day is better than the day before. The same I can say for my wife-Florence (we will be completing 50 years – golden jubilee of married life next year) and for my children and grand-children: Each passing day is better than the day before. There is no secret except that we make a choice everyday and can say along with Joshua: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. You see that there is no compulsion; for God says “I have set before you today life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life… (Deut. 30: 19)

Pursue Your Primary Dream

Today, I want to share with you from God’s word using the title for my message: Your Dreams Will Lead You to Your Destiny. I say “Dreams” because you may have quite a few dreams; but let me say one primary dream and the other secondary dreams. Even in your work or business, you would have had dreams that have been or are being fulfilled; maybe some have unfulfilled dreams too. But the word of God teaches us what our Primary Dream should be: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matt. 6: 33). What Jesus is telling us is this: If you focus on the primary ('heavenly') dream of seeking His kingdom, the secondary dreams (earthly-of food, clothing and shelter) will take care of itself-i.e, it will be added to you.

Isn’t this wonderful? We have been born (again) into this kingdom by the grace of God and the gift of faith; we are in this world, but not of this world. And now, we as the kingdom people can pursue the kingdom of God. Therefore we must have this as our ‘primary dream’-to seek after God’s kingdom. You see, the people of this world pursue their dreams that are all secondary-and the result is strife, envy and sorrow. But you and I can prioritize our primary dream-and find righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

For it is the blessing of the Lord that makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. (Prov. 10: 22). Psalm 1 and Joshua 1 talks about the prosperity of the man meditating on God’s word. This is my prayer for this decade that you know Him, know His word and pursue your primary dream as children of His kingdom-and the secondary dreams will be added to you! For we should not live in darkness pursuing rituals and religious traditions, but by revelation live as children of light.

Joseph (Old Testament)

I have chosen two persons-one from the Old Testament and one from the New, to drive home the point that your dreams will lead you to your destiny. I love their names in the Bible; incidentally, both of them are named Joseph!

We know the Joseph of the Old Testament-he was nicknamed by his brothers as ‘dreamer’. In Genesis 37 we read about Joseph-a young boy hated by his brothers just because he was much loved by their father-Jacob (Israel), who made for Joseph a tunic of many colors (Gen. 37: 3). Jacob had to choose one among the twelve to carry on his legacy, and he chose Joseph! Now the tunic (or the robe) of many colors symbolizes anointing, legacy and blessing.

Anointing

About Jesus it is written: You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions {brothers} (Heb. 1: 9). Are you looking for the anointing? Do this: Love righteousness and hate lawlessness! Put on the robe of righteousness in Jesus Christ. For we are NOT just members in the kingdom of God, but citizens, where the King is also our Father! The Psalmist made this observation: I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. (Psalm 37:25).

And so, Jacob passed on the anointing and his legacy to Joseph by giving him the robe of many colors. Immediately afterward, the Bible says “Now Joseph had a dream…” (Gen. 37: 5). If you fulfill all righteousness, the Holy Spirit will descend upon you; give you your dream to be pursued.

Speak Out Your Dreams
And Joseph told his brothers about his dream, but they hated him more…

I had this question why Joseph could not keep silent about his dreams; then his brothers would not have hated him so much! But God showed me from Hebrews 11 that faith is that hand that stretches out to take hold of the unknown. If you remain silent, your dreams may die within-so you MUST speak OUT! Your dream is like the bank deposit, within your heart; and unless you draw it out it will remain useless and unused. Therefore draw it out and speak out your dream.

The New Life Movement also began with a dream, after much prayer and fasting for 2 weeks in 1980, when God gave me a vision for Mumbai and India. I too started to speak out my dream; much like Martin Luther King who declared “I have a dream…” We know most of Martin Luther King's dreams came true-the latest one when Barack Obama became the first ‘black’ President of the United States. Can you imagine-starting out as slaves from Africa, to holding the highest post of the country and of the world!

Two Dreams-One Purpose

Joseph had two dreams; one heavenly-the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to him (Gen. 37: 9) and one earthly-the sheaves stood all around and bowed down to the sheaf of Joseph (Gen. 37: 7). 

[This is nothing new! For Abraham too were given two dreams – Look at the stars of heaven, if you can count them (spiritual); and see the sands of the earth (natural) – So will your descendants be! Abraham loved God, feared God, and obeyed God.]

So, the dreamer Joseph told it to his family members-all hell broke loose. On the first opportunity, he was disrobed of his coat of many colors, thrown into the pit, sold as a slave and reported as dead to his father! The brothers even had the foresight to show some blood on his garments by killing a kid of the goat, to make it look as if some wild beast had killed Joseph!

But do you know that neither the dreamer, nor the dream was destined to die! Joseph paid the price to follow righteousness-whether in the pit, or in Potiphar’s house or in the prison cell, or in the palace… When we read of Joseph’s life, we are wonder-struck as to how God led him from one place to another, fulfilling exactly the dream that Joseph had! And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). And Joseph was one night in the prison, and the next day in the palace-for the Pharaoh himself had a dream only Joseph could interpret! Thus Joseph’s primary dream (heavenly) was accomplished - he preserved the lineage of Judah (who otherwise would have perished in the famine), for the coming of the Lord Jesus! Joseph’s secondary dreams were all fulfilled; he had prosperity all around. He made his family members secure in Egypt all the days of his life.

Joseph (New Testament) 

Now for the New Testament Joseph – many preachers do not preach about this man! Egypt was the place to go for this Joseph too, to preserve the heritage in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament’s reflection is seen in the New Testament-and vice-versa. The Old Testament ends with the syllable ‘curse’ (Malachi 4:6). And after 400 years of silence, the ‘Fear’ in the Old is replaced with ‘Fear not’ in the New. The New Testament starts with the Jesus’ generation (Matthew 1). We are now not only a new creation, but a new generation (Matt. 1: 17). We are now not only of the Jesus’ generation, but we are also of the chosen generation! Hallelujah!

The Just Choice
It says about this Joseph: Then Joseph her {Mary’s} husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. (Matt. 1: 19).

Imagine this-being betrothed to a young virgin and shaping your dreams for a happy life together and then hearing that she is with child! Joseph’s dreams would have been shattered and he must have been hugely disappointed. Yet, he did not want to make it public, because according to Moses’ law, she would have been stoned to death!

All this made me wonder why Mary did not share her heavenly visitation (Luke 1:28-38) with Joseph. I am going to answer this with what little I know of Jewish tradition. Because according to Jewish tradition, after the betrothal ceremony, the bride returns to her family and the bridegroom goes to his father’s house. There the bridegroom has to prepare a place before marriage and thereafter go and take his bride. How many of you know that the Bridegroom is coming? Remember what Jesus said in John? “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14: 2, 3).

And in the Jewish tradition, the bride must not meet the bridegroom till the time of marriage. I think this must have prevented Mary from sharing anything with Joseph. But the news, that she was in the family way, spread like wild-fire and reached Joseph! Also, I believe Mary must have been a wise woman-she must have thought, if it is God who is bringing it to pass, it is God’s responsibility to talk to and convince Joseph.

The Primary Dream

And while Joseph was struggling with the choice he had made, God appeared to him in a dream. Joseph too must have been a wise man-for he did not act hastily but slept over it and dreamed the dream of his life. If you too are struggling with the choices in your life, I ask you to go and sleep over it-give it time; let God speak to you!

The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in that dream and told him the heavenly purpose-yes, it was the primary dream; that the Child of the blessed Mary is of the Holy Spirit and that Jesus will save His people from their sins (v20, 21). Along with that, the angel also confirmed what the prophets had spoken about Jesus (v22, 23). In your choices too, God will confirm by His word what He is speaking to you in your dreams. Therefore, do not fear!

The Gospel Truth

You would have heard the expression, ‘What he says is NOT the gospel truth’ and ‘this' or 'that' 'is not the gospel truth'. Many in the world use the expression without knowing what the gospel truth is. But do you know what is the gospel truth? Jesus will save His people from their sins. Jesus is the hope of nations. He is the way, the truth and the life. There is simply no other name given for men, but the name of Jesus, by which we may be saved. This is the gospel truth. This is what we preach.

The Secondary Dream

I maintain, that if your primary dream is fulfilled, the secondary dream will take care of itself! For in Matthew, chapter 2, we read about the wise men from the east, who traveled great distances to see Jesus. They saw the star and knew the time that the King of the Jews to be born in Bethlehem; they brought their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They rejoiced exceedingly as the star went before them. The entire journey must have been tedious and could have taken the wise men about two years’ time; for the wise men saw the young Child Jesus-with Mary His mother (Matt. 2: 11), unlike the shepherds who saw the Baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in the manger (Luke 22: 12, 16). The wise men worshiped Him, gave their gifts and went their way. Now was the time for Joseph’s secondary dream (earthly).

Immediately after the wise men’s visit, Joseph was asked by the angel of the Lord in the dream to flee to Egypt with the young Child Jesus and Mary His mother. Do you know why Joseph remained in Bethlehem nearly two years? Because it would take nearly two years for the wise men to visit them. And because the 'secondary dream' of financial provision was on the way-the gifts of gold. Now Joseph could go to Egypt and stay there as long as he wished, providing for the Child and Mary. For it is written: "Out of Egypt, I have called My Son". (Matt. 2: 15).

God has already thought about your secondary dreams, when He gave you your primary dream. He knows the future, and works all things right. He makes everything beautiful in its time. Your dreams will lead you to your destiny. Fulfill your primary (heavenly) dream and the secondary dreams (earthly) will take care of itself. I know I have a long way to go in fulfilling my primary dream; but I know this: what God says is utterly true. And God is faithful who also will do it. Amen.