Defining Strength : Fruits Of The Spirit

Hey All, I Hope all is well, I’ve been quite for a while. I’ve been preparing for this message, God has been opening His Word to me. I’ve been seeking a definition for Strength. I’ve been trying to comprehend what it means to be Strong in Christ.

I asked a number of my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, The response was as I thought it may be, To be Strong is to have Faith in Christ.

When we look to The Bible, It is countless accounts that further verify this. It’s incredible. It’s never about what we can do alone, It’s always about what Jesus Christ has done for us, then in following Him what we can do according to His Will. The Focus is always on God and God’s Will. By nature we are short sighted and often partially blind. By His Grace we see.

As content as I was with this message, I felt as though. There is allot more to this point. When we look at the world around us, We can draw similarities between the Strength Christ gives as to that we may receive from other relationships. Though not on the same scale but snippets of that can be seen. A Child who performs better in the eyes of His/Her parents, Friends encouraging each other through adversity and similar scenario’s.

Jesus Christ Faithful Above All Else, Provides us with a True Strength. That overcomes all circumstances of the world. We often more often than not, look to other people to provide us with Strength, While we are adequate at supplying “temporary” strength, We are Not Faithful nor Strong enough to do this task. In our own nature we very quickly grow tiresome and become unfaithful to that person who once seeked a sense of Strength in that relationship.

So where does this place us ?

We as Christians are saved and set apart from this world for a reason. ( Romans 6:22 ) We as Christians are called to be Salt and Light in the World ( Matthew 5:13-16 ).

We strive to be the best we can be in Jesus Christ, That we may Abide by God’s Will at all times. We know that we are weak in flesh, We know very well our weaknesses. Yet we often shy away from our Strength. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:12-13 –

¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

The Story of Paul is a beautiful one, God took someone who hunted after Christian and by God’s Grace made him into a Leader Amongst Lost people for The Gospel. Paul suffered Greatly for His Faith in Jesus Christ

Acts 9:15-16 -

¹⁵But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

Throughout all of the sufferings Paul endured he kept faith in Jesus Christ, He warns us of Boasting about our own Strength. In this passage we also get insight into the suffering he has been exposed to and remained Faithful.

So we have One Strength we can Boast in. This Strength Is not of our own work, But by God’s Hand. By Jesus Christ. This Strength is God’s Grace. (2 Corinthians 3:4-6 ), We must be Lovers of The Truth. We must be careful not to boast in ourselves but in Jesus Christ. What have we as individuals, a Society, Nation or World Achieved ?. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 –

⁹But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

He expresses that our weaknesses we are Strong in Christ. This led me to very much explore the meaning of weakness. The Word in Hebrew is Astheneia which literally means feebleness. If someone is feeble, they are in a position where they have to be dependent on another. This is beautiful because it means that we must depend on something. At My Church which is Hillsong London, We had a message recently about how we are genetically programmed to be in relationships with other people. We have a constant dependence, which is beautiful news to a world that promotes “Self-Independence”. Some that also go one step further and say it is weak to depend on anyone else but yourself.

Paul wrote Inspired by God. That it is in that weakness, Christ’s Powers comes into us. Power . The word Power in Strongs is dunamis which means miraculous power, strength or might work. Truly a Gift from God.

So we can go one step further and say, Weakness is in fact a Blessing in the sense, it allows us or gives us the opportunity to depend on God. It is Truly Amazing to be Expectantly Dependent on God. Only by His Strength can we be Strong in the World.

To place your Faith in Jesus Christ.

This led me to the question – What are the Characteristics of Strength ?

When we look at Jesus Christ’s Character we see many aspects of this -

He is Loving

He is Merciful

He is Just

He is Truthful

He is Courageous

He is Humble

He is Faithful

He is Wise

He is Forgiving

He is Dependable

He is generous

He is Pure

He is of Encouragement

He is Attentive to us

He is Compassionate

We could list for so many characteristics for Jesus Christ. He is all the things of Philippians 4:8 and more, He is all the things of Galatians 5:22-23 and more. He is all the things of Revelations and more. Revelation which first describes Jesus Christ as “The Faithful Witness”, “The First born from the Dead”, The Ruler of The Kings of the Earth”. The many Titles given to Jesus Christ all speak of His Character and His Godly Nature. Each one is a Tremendously Beautiful Statement.

His Character and Nature, Is entirely True and is of Great Benefit to Others.

This is a revelation that occurred while teaching my little brother about Strength. My little brother recently got placed into a compromising position, where a fight may of occurred. While telling him why it was wrong to be violent and how people attitudes vary in this area. Galatians 5:19-26 seemed to be a great place to talk about the Characteristics of Strength in Christ.

First Galatians 5:19-21, Which talks about the negative and toxic characteristics that pollute us. These characteristics are Birthed out of Sin.

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

All these things do not benefit anyone. All these characteristics are harmful not only to yourself but to those around you. Paul goes further to write that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Sin is toxic to ourselves and those around us. It has no purpose in our being.

When we walk in God’s Grace, When we walk in Jesus Christ. We no longer walk in Sin and Darkness, Rather we walk in Jesus Christ’s Grace, We Walk in The Holy Spirit.

We no longer rely on ourselves, We have a Saviour and His name is Jesus Christ, He is Our Strength, He wants to Breed a new Character in us. This is what the Fruits of the Spirit Talks about. Galatians 5:22-26.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

When we look up Fruit in Strongs, we get a variety of means. When we following each meaning to it’s root we end up at a word - airō

In Hebrew which has a intense meaning. Which changed my perception on how we receive and live our lives in the Holy Spirit. We find a variety of words

So in place fruit we can also find these words which help us understand what it means to be in the fruit of the spirit.

• Lift
• Accept
• Advance
• Arise
• Bear
• Bring Forth
• Carry
• Desire
• Exalt
• Marry
• Receive

It’s interesting to view, because we find there is a great depth to the word. I believe to sum it up, it does mean Growth by The Holy Spirit.

Following this message, I want to share what I have found out about the 9 Fruits of The Spirit. I hope this message and the messages to come inspire and aid you on Your Walk with Jesus Christ.

May God Truly Bless You,

Chris

Going 100% For God !!!

I’m very excited about this message; It’s one that has carried me by the Strength of God over the last few weeks. A revelation that came to me in Prayer, Which I Thank God for greatly, Excited to share this with you, So I hope this message benefits you.


A few weeks back, I was in prayer about my relationship with God and living my life through all He has done for me. I was saddened because I realised I was doing so much by my own strength and not Relying on God, Despite all the opportunities He has created for me. So while in prayer I was asking God how I could be more for Him, How I could devote myself more to Him. Then a revelation came onto me, which is what I want to write about.


What Is Going 100% For God ?


In all our circumstances, situations and moments, There is an opportunity. You could call it a choice, Though there are many paths. I’ve come to understand that if you were standing at the centre point of a circle and had to follow one of the 360 degree’s to be set free, Following Jesus Christ would be the same as following one of those 360 degree’s, It would be the only point at which you can actually be set free from the circle. The other options would be a lot more open, and you could jump from one degree to another degree. But in choosing and Accepting Jesus Christ into your life, You walk down one Degree ( Path ). The Only Path that secures your Salvation.


The Opportunity of Choice is a beautiful thing, We may have many choices to make, or as little as 2, the point I’m trying to illustrate is. We must follow Jesus Christ’s Example and be Led by His Grace in those decisions.


So you may not see how this is directly relevant to our message, Let me further explain. We constantly try to go by our own strength, It’s a constantly struggle trying to reach a point of reliance upon God and being in a point of being truly set free. It is such a strong desire of mine, To have all my answers to choices I face to be one’s led by God and I hope it is one of yours to. How beautiful it is to think, that All the choices and dilemmas you face are opportunities for you to rely on God for an answer.


So we want to grow to a point of relying on God in all circumstances, So we must be aware of our position before God. “through him all things are possible”. Through God, Acting Through What He has done and shared with us, All Things Are Possible to us as followers of Christ.

God Shared His immeasurable Love, immeasurable Justice and immeasurable Mercy. It is by these Three we are enabled to Walk Forward By Jesus Christ. If we remove God, we remove our strength.


I am a man, As a man, You can see my weakness, If you can see my weakness you can see my Strength, For in seeing my weakness, you also see my need to rely on God.


My weakness is my Greatest Strength. It is only when we are Weak that we are Truly Strong, Paul talks beautifully about this 2 Corinthians 11-12


We are striving to reach a point of 100% reliance on God, We want to give 100% to God in the sense of a race, you would want to give it “your best”. In relation to God things are slightly different, Were as we have the prize already. We are just awaiting the Victory Ceremony. So what position does that put us in. A true winner inspires others to win. He does not seek victory just for himself but for others as well.


So while we may have “won” Salvation, We must ALWAYS Acknowledge, It is by What God Has Done For Us, Not what we have done for Him. We As Winners, Must inspires Others to Win.


This affects Every aspect of our lives. People observe you everyday, So how can we make ourselves Good Representatives of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ tells us to love our enemies.


( Warning this is going to be a long message )


By reading The Holy Bible, We learn about Jesus Christ, By being in relationship with Him, We begin to realise things about the world around us, We more so begin to have more and more understanding of the Nature of God ( though we will never understand ), We begin to experience His Love, Mercy and Justice.


About a month and a half ago, After a very awakening prayer night. The next morning I went for a walk, As I walked around my perspective had changed, It was as though everyone I walked past and saw was connected to me, Although they were stressed/troubled as many people of this world are, Many would have cursed God. I felt such a great sadness for them, For I knew many of them were not in a relationship with God. Upon reflection, I understand now that God was showing me, just a snippet of what He see’s and feels but so much more intensely. After this I realised, in human kind. There is no enemy to God. While in the spiritual world there may be, As humans we are SOO Blessed, God Love’s us so much. He has opened His Heart to us, It is spoken about so often. We will never understand how much God loves us. It saddens me to think how some people treat Him.


If you were to think of your Dad as a police office, Who passionately wanted to save people from making bad choices, Though the people around you constantly insulted him and distrusted him. The only thing your father wants to do is give them a hand and show love towards them. Save them from there sinful nature. Instead these people constantly fighting against him, Even so your father is constantly reaching His hand out to them. Constantly making opportunity for them, to be saved.


How many times purer is God in His intentions, than what you perceived just now, How much more does God love the sinner.


Jesus Came to earth to tend to the Sick, Not dwell in the homes of the righteous.


I have greatly been sidetracked in my message but it is all relevant. We must be so brutally honest with ourselves before God. We are seek Truth, That is Why we follow God because He is The Truth of the World and Heaven and All in existence. In Him No lie will ever dwell, His word has no Cracks. With Him there is no fault.


If we have a fear of preaching to people on the street/office/friends. We have to be Honest with ourselves, We must acknowledge that and Cast out that Fear in the Strength that was Guaranteed to us by Jesus Christ. If we are scared of tending to the Sick because we are afraid of becoming Ill ourselves, We must Cast that Fear out in the Strength we find in Jesus Christ.


I would like to again quote one of my favourite passages.


Romans 8 :28-31

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[j] who[k] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

This is such a powerful question. “If God is For us, Who can be against us ?”, If we dwell at little deep, which Paul does. What circumstance of this world, can separate us from God ?, He is saying, what in this world, can come before God ?.

We often think the problems we face are “new”, This is where the whole idea of changing the Bible to suit the Times thinking comes from. Does Truth change with Time ?

The answer is no, Truth does not change with time. We shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking the Bible isn’t Relevant because the circumstances we face, aren’t circumstances they faced 2000 years ago. This is a false doctorine we must separate ourselves from. It is exactly the same. The same battle battle that were victory was assured to us, Goes on, awaiting for world to acknowledge that they are victorious.


Do Christians not still face persecution ? Are we still not tempted by the devices of the enemy ? Does the world no longer sin ? Have we find salvation through our own means ? Are people not unfaithful to the wives/husbands ? Do people still not abuse others ?


To say that the Bible is not relevant to today, Is to say that, We have found salvation through our own works. That the wisdom of God has “expired”


^ False Doctrine


( This is all relevant to the message ! )


We accept the Bible as Absolute Truth, because it is the Word of God. As we grow as Followers of Jesus Christ, We Grow in understanding also, Grow in Wisdom and Love which He shares with us.


We have to understand the devices that, prevent us from exacting God’s will. Fear is a big one, We often allow fear to take control of our lives.


This is how this all ties in with our message.


All these circumstances are opportunities for us to Seek God to guide us. We Are Conquers in Jesus Christ!!!, That such a powerful Statement to Have Confidence in. If there is one thing you can take from this message it is this.


“You are a Conqueror in the Name of Jesus Christ, By His Grace You are set apart and ABOVE all things of this World.”


Proclaim this in all your adversities. Give a 100% to God, Every moment you feel weak remind yourself You are a Conqueror in the MIGHTY Name of Jesus Christ and You are Going to Give 100% to God and Act Through His Grace!


If God is For You who can come Against You ?


What circumstance in your life is So bad that God would not love you ? Or so big that God can not lift you from it ? Who in your life has a bigger influence that God Himself ?


Did you earn salvation or was it given to you ?

Did you earn victory or was it given to you ?


There is so many questions of this nature we can ask, The answer of which is, It was given to you By the Grace of God.


So if we are Conquerors, Believe You Are A Conqueror.


I Say Confidently To You, Proclaim Jesus Christ in All Your Circumstances and See Victory.


You Are A Conqueror, Give 100% To God. Humble Yourself but Know You Have A Strength Given By Grace, That Is ABOVE All Else. A Love Rises You Above All Evil. A Love That Rises You Above All Hardships, A Love That Rises You Above All Human Conviction.


God Loves us, God is Just in our lives and God is Merciful upon us.


Praise God

Praise God

Praise God


Our Father is Great In All.


Thank You For Reading I Hope This Has Been Helpful to You.


I Pray That This message May Touch You.


May God Truly Bless You.
Chris.

Surrendering To Jesus Christ part2

Firstly I Want To Thank God For All His Faithfulness And Goodness and Blessing me with This Message, For He Is Truly Wonderful and The Only One Worthy Of Praise.

I talked before about Surrendering To Jesus Christ and the importance it bares and Also about how it is the Greatest thing you can do in your lifetime. I think it’s a very important factor of your Christian lives, We have to Surrender to God before He can Take Control.

We Serve a Good who understands Justice so Well, That He Gave us Free Will. In this, He is always there with a His Glorious Hand Extended to Us Through Jesus Christ, It is a question of whether or not we wish to Grasp onto His Love and Accept Him ( Jesus Christ Our Saviour ) into Our Lives.

So Why Is Surrendering So Important In Our Daily Lives ?

Every Morning, We march out into a world, that is Lost. A World Full of Sin. We Can walk into this world Confidently Because Our Hope and Faith and Assurance is in Jesus Christ Our Saviour, But along this journey to Everlasting Life in Jesus Christ, By our own devices we will undoubtedly get lost. So in surrendering to Jesus Christ, In Surrendering to Our God, We Place are Faith in Him. Knowing That He WILL Guide us. We often try to Trust in our own devices, logic, reasoning, opinions, and perceptions. Sadly to put it shortly, Our Vision Is CORRUPT.

This is Good News Though. It is through This Corrupt Vision, We can learn and become More Dependent on God. For As it Says :

"For of Him and Through Him and To Him are all things, to whom be Glory Forever. Amen"

Romans 11:36

Who would you rather trust in ? Yourself who was Created, Or He Who Created You ? The God Who Knows You Better Than You Will Ever Know Yourself.

Beautiful is The Love of Our God. He has opened an amazing opportunity to us, Not only to Have Salvation, Through Jesus Christ. Furthermore to Have Constant Counsel and Guidance Through The Holy Spirit. God is Truly Amazing.

So as we Learn to Trust in Our Father in Heaven, We will become more and more attuned to His Guidance. As His Grace Works In and Through Us, We Become Better and Better Followers of Jesus Christ Our Saviour.

We must be prepared to Surrender Everything up For Him. Our Life Style, Our Habits, Our Friends, Our Relationships, Our Family, Our Job, Our Goals in Life, Our Perceptions, Our Opinions, Our Desires, The Entirety of Ourselves.

We Must Surrender The Entirety of Ourselves and Follower Jesus Christ.

We Are Followers.

Our Desire is to be Good Followers of Jesus Christ.

To be Subject to God’s Will.

To Spread a Beautiful Message of Salvation to a Sinful World.

To Leave Our Old Nature Behind.

To Be Reborn in What Jesus Christ Has Done For Us. Every Single One of Us.

To Learn and Grow to Appreciate Our Father God Almighty.

To Be Better Children to Him,

To Trust in God with an Unwavering Faith.

To Find Out Hope in Him.

To Be Obedient to His Word.

To Be Used By Him.

To Be Pleasant in His Eyes Through Jesus Christ,

To Take Courage In His Grace,

To Revere Him Above All Things.

To Be Content Will ALL Our Blessings ( We Each Have Many ),

To Be Diligent in Seeking Him In ALL Circumstances ( High and Low ),

To Be Able To Discern In A Lost World,

To Accept Him Throughout Our Being,

To Find Wisdom In Relationship With Him,

To Humble Ourselves Before Him and Surrender To Him,

To Act Out of the Love He Has Shown Us.

To Praise Him ABOVE All Else For He is The Author Of Everything in Existence, It was By His Love we came to existence, Was By His Love That we were brought out of the Death WE Walked Into Life in Jesus Christ. He Through His Love Gave Us Salvation, Through His Love He Gave Us Guidance, Through His Love He Gave Us TRUE Strength Through Jesus Christ Our Saviour – That We May Overcome The Enemy In His Name and Further Overcome Our Old Nature In The MIGHTY and Powerful Name of Jesus Christ. He Who Made All Things, Made All things Possible To Us Through Him.

We Must Now Subject Ourselves To His Will…Remember as You see your Life and Your Plans, Through your eyes, God has a Better Plan for You

I Shall finish with a Beautiful Passage from Romans

Romans 12

Living Sacrifices

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual^a]">[a] act of worship.²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

Thank You For Reading, I Pray That This Message May Give Your Strength in Your Walk. As God Has Blessed Me With This Message, I Have Been Encouraged. I Pray That You May Continue Your Walk In The True Peace That Only God Provides.

May God Truly Bless You

Christopher Crentsil

Outpour

Views on Relationships

Okay, I’m speaking very freely about a few things I have seen, that have somewhat saddened me, how people feel the need to do certain things in a relationship or to gain someone’s attention. From that alone you can probably see where this is going but it is something probably a lot of us see often, or have been in similar positions before.

I shall begin, I’ll give a round-a-about story of what has triggered this. In my life I tend to have more female friends than male friends, which is surprising considering how terribly shy I have been in the past around girls. Quite a few girls has blessed me and shared there inner most thoughts and emotions for which I am grateful. There is one theme that seems prominent, in a lot of girls and this stands for guys aswel.

When people see someone or realise someone they like, There is a huge amount of effort that goes into trying to “please” or gain “acceptance” from this person. I’ve seen this a number of times, I have done it myself and most of my friends have also done this. It’s interesting, because when you are so focused on trying to get someone else’s approval, you forget to seek your own approval. This is the first problem, The next is when you are so focused on another person you are not focussing on God.

These are two fundamental issues with this way of thinking/acting. I see a bucket load of people, trying to get the approval and often trying to “appeal” to someone desires, to try to get them into a position of “wanting” them. I say “wanting” not necessarily in a physical sense but in the emotional sense to.

"Why Paint a Picture of Who You Think the Other Person is Looking For, As Opposed To Revealing The Beautiful Picture That Is You In Jesus Christ"

Aside from the moral aspects of manipulating another persons desires. We have to realise, this will not find you any kind of solid fulfilment. If you appear false, what kind of basis is that to start a relationship ?. If you are not looking for a relationship and are looking for means to satisfy yourself, Then ask yourself

“How long will this cycle repeat until you are satisfied ?”

Surely if we as humans could be satisfied by such physical interaction, the people who live by these practises would be spreading so much love around the world. Fact of the matter is, people who jump from person to person, looking to satisfy themselves, Generally have a big void to fill within themselves. A void that can only be filled with Love. Love that can ONLY Come From Our Saviour Jesus Christ.

We all need to learn to seek Love in Jesus Christ.

Why Turn To Another Man/Woman For Confidence… Jesus Christ is Available To You and Ultimately More Satisfying than Any Person Could EVER BE.

Why Turn To A Substance For Satisfaction Or Freedom From Your Burdens ? … Jesus Christ is Available To You, His Love Will Lift Your Burdens From You and Breaks The Chains That Bind You. ALLOW Yourself To BECOME Free In Jesus Christ Holy Name !!

I will forever be unveiling who Blessed we are to have the opportunity to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, If You are not in a relationship With Jesus Christ. Allow yourself to release your insecurities and fears.

He who loved us, enough to Give us salvation, Loved us enough to suffer on behalf of mine and your sins, Loved us enough to Guide us on our Day to Day lives through Relationship With Him, Loved us enough to be a CONSTANT answer to us. Blessed are those who have accepted into Relationship With Jesus Christ, Blessings are awaiting those who haven’t should they decide to step into relationship with Jesus Christ. We are ALL Sinners, Through accepting Jesus Christ, We are not only Accepting this as Fact but accepting Jesus Christ into Our Lives. That He may guide us and make us into the kind of person He like us to be. If you have a desire to be free of your sins and your burdens. That you may have eternal Life In Jesus Christ. That You may be Set Free and Find Your True Self in Jesus Christ. God Loved You So Much, Jesus Christ Loved You So Much.

John 3:16 (NIV)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

If This is Your Desire Please Pray The Prayer Below with a sincere heart.

"Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."

Romans 6:23 (NIV)

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Truly Blessed are we who walk in Relationship With Jesus Christ. May You Find Happiness In Your Relationship With Him, For Things of World Will Perish. The Love Of Our God Will Never Perish. May You Find A Lovely Church and Truly Be Blessed In Your Relationship With Jesus Christ, Seek Him in All You Do. His Word ( The Bible ) Is Available to You as a Constant Truth.

I Thank You For Reading This, May This Message Be A True Blessing To You.

In The Name Of Jesus Christ, May God Truly Bless You.

Humbling Yourself Before Jesus Christ

The last few weeks, I have been struggling. I have felt like there has been a inner conflict. Which is correct of me to say because they has been. I have been poorly following The Holy Spirit, Rather I have been following the things I “thought” I knew. Thinking to myself, that I was “okay”. This is wrong now and will be wrong tomorrow.

I Thank God for Speaking to me. For answering my prayers. Showing me the errors of my ways and the mentality I had adopted from Pride. I shall go into depth in Hopes that through this message you may become more aware of the Traps Pride uses.

God revealed to me in Prayer what was troubling me. He exposed the barrier that I was attempting to place between me and Him. Though my intention was never to try create a barrier between me and Him, But in my conflict this is what I was attempting

to do.

Romans 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

Read Whole Chapter of Romans 8 Here

I found the above scripture to be true. Please read the entire Chapter It is a great spiritual Asset to have the Word of God available to us. We are Truly Blessed in This.

God never leaves you, God wants to shine in your dark moments. Call onto Him with all your heart and He will respond. It was not until I let Go of my pride ( though at the moment I did not perceive it as pride ). That I was able to fully reach out to God with my Heart and Spirit.

Prior to this, I was continue with my Spiritual Life as usual, For I knew God had not left me, Rather I knew the conflict was within myself. I could not pin point it. I prayed on it but I still had Pride in my heart. I continued to read scripture on it, I read although I did not understand. Pride had blinded me. Pride further prevented me from seeking guidance from my Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ. ALL of this was by my own will . None of this was actions I was incapable of walking away from, But Rather Choices I walked into. I further realise how Foolish I am, to ever think that I had wisdom.

Foolish am I, in all the moments that I am not standing in Jesus Christ’s Name.

It was not until, I kneeled before God in Prayer. I gave up my pride, I admitted my weaknesses and I humbly asked God to Break the Shackles off of me that where causing me conflict, to remove any unholy spirit that was dwelling within me, To cover me and cleanse me with the Blood of Jesus Christ. IT was only then, that God revealed to me exactly what had been happening in my Life. Why I had felt that conflict, Why I felt so spiritual conflicted.

Proverbs 16:18-19

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹ Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed
than to share plunder with the proud.

This conflict was between My Spirit and My Mind.

Though My Mind appeared to be speaking louder, The Words of Wisdom, where coming from My Spirit to which relies and is Led By The Holy Spirit.

We are Forever Dependent on God, I was foolish in my actions and thoughts to think I was “okay”. I was many things in the decisions I made. I was blinded by pride. I turned to the Word of God but understanding was not with me, For I disallowed myself to rely on God.

I did not consciously decide this, but rather unconsciously did through my actions. Always seek God in all you Do. He who created the Great Miracle and Act in Our Salvation. Has Promised if We Seek Him, We Shall Find Him. For He is always with Us. We will never understand His Love, Mercy, Glory and Justice.

I Pray For Myself and You May Keep A Humble Heart That Seeks Him in ALL You Do, So He May Bless You In So Many Ways.

I Hope This Message Is A Blessing To You, May God Bless You and Carry You In All You Do, For God Almighty, Who We Have Privilege In Calling Him Father Is A Faithful God Who Is Made Strong In All Our Weakness. Praise Be To Jesus Christ Who Reigns Above All And Praise Be To Our Almighty Father and Praise Be To The Holy Spirit Who Constantly Leads Us. Praise Be To God

Much Love In Jesus Christ Our Saviour

Chris

Today Today Today…

Today, I felt very urged to place a message about this, I actually wrote a message about this on new years day. But I felt God did not wish for me to post it. So I haven’t but I have instead wrote a new one, which I have been led to by The Holy Spirit. So I know this will help someone.

In my past I have often thought that I would live till I have 70 odd years old, My theory of this was “God won’t kill me until I have served my purpose”, True as that may be. I was not saying that in the Truth of God’s Character. Instead I was saying that in a boastful nature, Holding pride in me while saying it.

The reason why I am sharing this, Is because often we perceive that we are going to remain on the earth for a long time. That “things” can be done tomorrow, that we can “amend” things tomorrow. We as humans we do not know what tomorrow holds. Only God Knows what tomorrow holds. For we are before God. We do not know when the Lord will come. In this, we do not know what tomorrow holds. So today is the day to prepare before The Lord.

Every new day we have, is a Blessing. A Blessing not to be spent selfishly, But to be spent preparing for Jesus Christ’s Return, For He Will Return.

Please Read Matthew 24:42-51

We Must be faithful as Jesus Christ describes. Faithful in all moments, That when Our Master Returns, We may not be shocked by His Return but instead Expectant and Ready. For Today is the Day of Preparation.

James teaches us how to look towards the future.

James 5-13

“¹³Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."¹⁴Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.¹⁵Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." ¹⁶As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.¹⁷Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.”

We must be faithful to Our God, in all we Do and Say. We must be mindful of the Words that Pass out Our Mouth. For our words direct a lot of what we do. Our words can lead a person down a dark path, Or be a helping hand.

I Hope and Pray this has been edifying.

May God Bless You All

Chris

Conquering addiction

Sorry i haven't messaged in a while, i have written material but i have been waiting for God to confirm to me a message to share. I hope you all had a Beautiful Christmas and a Wonderful New Years. This Year and everyday is a most perfect moment to Prepare for the Return of Jesus Christ.



This is a message, I felt very called to do. In a personal context is a very personal message to me. I hope and pray it does bless and touch someone and help them cope with this behaviour.

I shall talk about my own experience with this. In my life growing up as a teenager with sexual urges as most teenage boys do have. In my teenage years, I had no girlfriend or any kind of “relations” with any girls. As I grew to about 15-16, I got to a point after resisting and refraining from I began to masturbate. Initially this did not include pornographic material. Surely as I “invested” in this behaviour, it grew and eventually pornographic material did become a part of it. Before I was aware, it had become part the things I did. Though I was never content with this behaviour but I was taught it was the “norm” and I tried to reassure myself this was fine.

As things further progressed, I noticed how I viewed woman had shifted from how I originally was. My original thoughts and views, were that Woman were to be respected, valued and to be revered to some extent. After I had invested in this and began watching pornographic material. My view on women had shifted. I now had a view that it was okay to objectively look at women. During this period of my life, to no surprise I formed no respectable and positive friendships with women around me. My behaviour towards my mum had changed and overall in my unconscious mind I had to some extent devalued women.

This is one of the first issues I encountered in this behaviour. I have seen this and talked to others about this. They have also confirmed that pornographic material has led to this kind of behaviour. Not to mention the fact that when we do watch such things, we are inviting sinful behaviour into our hearts.

The second issue I encountered which is probably more common and not socially talked about at all. That is addiction. Fact of the matter is, masturbating as a practise will result is an attachment to yourself, which can and very likely will result in addiction to sexual gratification.

Masturbating is a lustful behaviour. We are taught by the Word of God that lust is a sinful behaviour. ( Job 31:11-12, Matthew 5:28 and Exodus 20:14, 17 ). You are inviting a sinful nature into your heart. Job 31:11-12 says:

11 For lust is a shameful sin, a crime that should be punished.12 It is a fire that burns all the way to hell. It would wipe out everything I own.

Let’s look at the definition of lust to clarify that it is a lustful behaviour, The Bible doesn’t talk about masturbation but it does talk about lust. When you masturbate I’m sure most of you feel shame, If you are born-again in Jesus Christ, Then the Holy Spirit lives in you and is a constant guidance to you, should you listen to Him.

The dictionary says :
· lecherousness: a strong sexual desire
· crave: have a craving, appetite, or great desire for
· self-indulgent sexual desire

Can we agree masturbation is a selfish, self indulgent behaviour ? I believe we can.

Can we agree that masturbation is a craving ( an intense desire ) ? I believe we can.

So we can equate that masturbation is both a selfish act and involves a strong sexual desire. Where does that leave us Christians. For one of the fruits of the Spirit, is Self-Control.

As a man or woman we NEED to exercise self-control, God has blessed us and given us self-control but it is up to us to exercise and practise this self-control.

- We have the tools but we have to choose to use them –

Pornography is sinful material. It is sinful to engage and entertain such material. Why is it sinful ? Let’s look at Matthew 5:28.

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Can we agree that when you look at pornographic material you are looking lustfully upon a women or man ? I believe we can.

Can we then also agree that then that this behavior is committing adultery? I believe we can.

Can we then conclude that masturbation and indulging in pornographic material is a sin ? I believe we can.

Jesus Christ said it is adultery to look upon women with lustful eyes. These are the Words of God. To be uncompromised. Adultery is a sin as outlined in the 10 commandments.

Exodus 20:14: “You must not commit adultery”
Exodus 20:17 : “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

This is the reality of things. Masturbation can develop into an addiction, we are taught not to entertain desires of our flesh. Sex was invented by God. There is a time and place for Sex and that is within the sanctification of marriage.

We all face desires, that we must walk away from.

Remember 1 : Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

God is faithful to you, He will not lead you into impossible temptation. He WILL ALWAYS provide a way out. No Temptation is To much to bear.

Next time your in a tempting situation, Remember God who lives in you through the Holy Spirit. Is also in that situation. Submit yourself onto God and to The Holy Spirit. Let The Holy Spirit guide you out that situation.

We all fall to sin, but we must submit ourselves to God and accept Jesus Christ into our lives. That we may Follow The Holy Spirit, So that our sinful bodies and hearts, may be transformed.

If you are reading this and are struggling with this kind of addiction, or have been being masturbating or looking at pornographic material. I say to you, Submit yourself before your master and servant Jesus Christ, Repent for your sins. Submit yourself again to Jesus Christ Lay all your worries at His Cross. Lay Your Sins There.

God is always with us. The Holy Spirit is ALWAYS with us.

I shall conclude my story. After I got saved ( in august ) the entirety of my life had changed. My views, values, Everything that I once called me, had changed. I became to be transformed. Masturbation something that has been a on and off behavior with me. Thanks be to God, I Had a understanding on why this was such a negative action. I submitted myself, my actions, my desires, my heart, my life to Jesus Christ Our Savior. He saved me from my sin. He saved me from my negative nature. It is a battle that is on-going. I Thank God because in the last 2 years, when I began my journey towards Jesus Christ. I now respect Women as they ultimately should be. I have many friendships and fellowships with Women who I am so Thankful For. I no longer have a lustful eye Praise be to God. Lust no longer controls my life. When the Devil tries to pull you down, Remember God is there not only to allow you to sustain the Evil Ones temptations but To RAISE You Above Them.

I say this confidently to you – You being Subject to God’s Will, Will be more powerful that you perceive yourself to be. Mighty is Jesus Christ’s Name. Mighty is The Holy Spirit That dwells in You. Salvation from All Sin is Yours !!

I shall finish on a passage From Romans.

Romans 8:5-8

5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

Please read the entire Romans 8 passage it is wonderful and inspiring.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%208&version=NLT

I Hope This Helps someone. God is Your Strength.
Thank You for Reading and May God Truly Bless you.