17/08/2020
Bonus Notes from yesterdays sermon by Pastor Godfree Hoko
Life in the Word
Summary
Before one becomes a Christian they have a different value system that is informed by the world. When one becomes a Christian it is important that they learn from the word of God who they have become( 2 Corinthian 5v17). This helps them to operate according to their new nature. They have to give a very high place in the Word of God. It will transform their mind(Romans 12v2). One has to fill their heart with the Word of God, believe, and confess it. Their prayer life will be revolutionized by the Word they know and therefore pray through. They will also see the outworking of the word as they allow in to dwell in them. In short work, the Word till the Word works in every situation of life.
Introduction
Before one becomes a Christian one has a different value system.
This value system is informed by the world.
The place of the Word
One’s viewpoint has to change when they become a child of God
The value system already learned and embraced does not just go away.
When one becomes a Christian they are immediately regenerated …or born again.
It’s instantly done by the power of the Spirit.
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
The mind (soul) does not change immediately.
It still remains with the schooling it received earlier.
For one to benefit from where they now are or who they now are the value system has to be overhauled
The thinking process has to align with the new you.
This is done by the reading and meditating on the Word of God
Rom 12:1-2I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
This is a choice- an act of the will
If it’s not actively done one will be a new creation with old values
Old values are at cross purpose with the new creation.
The effect of the word is neutralized, the effectiveness of the new creation compromised
If we fail to rise to the level of the word we will not exhibit/exude the potency of the same.
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Allow the word to dwell in you. Give room to the word.
This means we first have to realize that the word of God is not optional for us
It must be embraced that we NEED the Word…..
Reading and studying are not a hobby just as feeding the natural body ain’t no hobby
Matt 4:4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'
The word that comes from the mouth of God is key.
Jesus said the words that He speaks are Spirit and life
We can't afford to toy with words of that gravity and density
Man lives by EVERY WORD from the mouth of God
If we don’t partake what we are supposed to live by we die
Believing the Word
Mark 9:21-23"How long has this been happening?" Jesus asked the boy's father. He replied, "Since he was a little boy. 22 The spirit often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us, if you can." 23 "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. " Anything is possible if a person believes ." Holy Bible, New Living Translation
John 14:12 "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.
When my experiences are not agreeing with Scripture, I probe me.
I say Holy Spirit shows me where I am missing it.
Your experiences don’t define God nor do they disprove the Word.
Hold on until the test becomes a testimony
Keep on it until the word becomes flesh
Confessing Scripture
There is power in confessing Scripture.
You confess what you have believed with the heart otherwise it’s empty talk.
Feed on the Word until it fills your heart
Then let your mouth speak from the abundance of the heart ( Matt 12v34 ).
So critical is confessing Scripture that you believe that one gets saved by so doing
Rom 10:10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. NKJV
Situations speak. Circumstances speak. Sometimes they instill fear into you, they instill doubt
But Rom 10:17says So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Give a voice to the Word of God by speaking/confessing it
For every situation find what the word of God says about that and fill your heart with that, meditate on that word and confess that word…hear what God is actually saying and grasp it.
Praying Scripture
Praying the Word enforces the will of God.
When we know the Word we know His will.
When we know His will we can speak it back to God.
When we know the provisions of His word we can speak it over any situation.
When it is His will He will do it.
He watches over His word to perform it. Scripture reads in Jer 1:12 “ Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it. AMP”
You see Num 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? KJV
The outworking of the Word.
Isa 55:10-11"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. NKJV
There is potency in the Word that comes from God – it accomplishes His purpose
The word of God has undeniable veracity – it is Truth
The Psalmist in Psalm 107v20 says He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.
Word was brought to Abram that Sara who was old and barren would have a son and so it was
2 Cor 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us
Acts 19:18-20 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. NKJV
When they believed they confessed and abandoned their magic
Is there anything you need to leave to allow the outworking of the Word of God in your own life?
Matt 14:28-29 And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." 29 So He said, "Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
Peter wanted to have a Word from Jesus before attempting to walk on water
The moment Jesus said Come…Peter held onto that word and there was an outworking of that Word.
When He began to doubt the outworking of the power of the spoken word ceased and He began to sink
Luke 1:38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."
The Word spoken by the Angel Gabriel did not tie with nature.
Mary chose to believe and agree with it. There was no precedence but the Lord Jesus Christ was birthed by a virgin called Mary
Is there something God is saying to you …but you are struggling to obey it? IF its God speaking arise and carry it out
Conclusion
In conclusion, may I say with Paul in Acts 20:32And now [brethren], I commit you to God [I deposit you in His charge, entrusting you to His protection and care]. And I commend you to the Word of His grace [to the commands and counsels and promises of His unmerited favor]. It is able to build you up and to give you [your rightful] inheritance among all God's set-apart ones (those consecrated, purified, and transformed of soul). AMP
