Dr Johann Melchizedek Peter

Dearly Beloved

From the very beginning of their introduction, the Seven Spirits have always been a mystery to Bible scholars. This concept was introduced by John the Apostle in the book of Revelation (Revelation 3:1; 4:5; 5:6). The early church fathers have always associated with the sevenfold qualities of Jesus in Isaiah (11:1-3). Modern scholars follow the same general approach. None of us were able to deduce that the Seven Spirits were linked to the Seven churches, although there are hints in the Scriptures themselves. When this endtime move progress, God started to reveal that the Seven Spirits that were before the Throne of God have been descending since the early days of the creation of the Universe at the fall of Lucifer towards the earth. It took them many millions of years (if time could be measured in those immeasurable ancient times) to descend from seventh heaven towards the first heaven. By the time they reached third heaven, they took on shapes and forms like the angels (who are spirits – Hebrews 1:7). They have come to joined themselves with the temple and habitation of God on the earth, which is us the Bride, New Jerusalem.

My first response was to examine the Scriptures to see if this is true. A close examination of the seven churches of Revelation show forth that these angels of the seven churches were not ordinary angels, they were stars in the Right Hand of Jesus. They were also the Seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne of God relating to the Seven golden lampstands around Jesus, which are the Seven churches (Revelation 1:20; 4:5). Then we have the seven horns and seven eyes which again are the Seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth (Revelation 5:6). Our analysis is as follows:

1. The Seven horns, seven eyes are on the Lamb, which is Jesus. This implies that all Seven Spirits flow forth through Him and reveal Him.
2. They are the Seven stars upon Jesus Right hand. Stars have always represented angels in some references (Job 38:7; Mark 13:25 of fallen angels, also Revelation 6:13). The Seven stars in Jesus’ hand relating to the seven lampstands around Jesus is as the Seven angels relating to the church.
3. The Seven lamps burning before the Throne and the seven golden lampstands before Jesus is a picture like angels appear before the Father on behalf of their charges on earth (Revelation 18:10). The relationship between the burning lamps and the golden lampstands is as the relationship between seven angels and the seven churches.

Upon seeing the relationship of the Seven Spirits as the Seven angels, now revealed in the Scriptures and by revelation, I realized that there must be something special in this arrangement as such has never been revealed before (especially the Holy Spirit flowing as the Seven Spirits) until the book of Revelation was written. On further examination, I also realized that the phrase ‘to the angel of…’ could actually be translated as ‘to, in, or by the angel of…’ Why did the translators choose to ‘to the angel of the church’ rather than ‘by the angel of the church?’ The message to John to the seven churches was not just from our Lord Jesus but also ‘from the Seven Spirits who are before the Throne’ (Revelation 1:4). The message was to be sent to the seven churches and not sent to the seven angels of the seven churches (Revelation 1:11). The correct translation for each church is ‘by the angel of the church… write’ and not ‘to the angel of the church.’ Each of the message to the seven churches was from our Lord Jesus and from the Seven Spirits and given by the angels of the seven churches. As the Seven Spirits are now manifest as the seven angels of the seven churches, they have a special manifestation of the Spirit of Peace, Love, Glory, Power, Life, Wisdom and Mercy as in the order of the churches mentioned in the second and third chapter of Revelation (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea). And just as they are a part and being of the Lamb of God (seven horns, seven eyes), they now must be part and being of His church, the Bride of Christ. The Seven Spirits must merge into each of the members of Jesus’ church until they become our horns and eyes as it is with Jesus, so it must be with us.

The Seven Spirits were without shape and form until they reached about the third heaven. Since their forms as angels are taken on by designed and expression to manifest attributes, a description of what they manifest as would be enlightened. Firstly, we note that the seven churches form a rough arrow head pointing upwards slightly left in geography as is shown below:

Pergamos is like the arrow head, which pierces the darkness with the glory of God. On 9^th February 2012, the glory of God came down ushering in the beginning of this endtime move (we described it in Fatherly Talk 7.12). We have yet to understand fully the implication of this glory of God coming down but know that it relates to the birthing of the male child (Jesus the Firstborn from the dead in His resurrection – Acts 13:33-34; Isaiah 66:7,8; Revelation 12:1-5) as prophesied in Isaiah 66, which is followed by Zion giving birth to the children (sons of glory Romans 8:19-22). As Pergamos glory is released we are exhorted to ‘drink deeply and be delighted with the abundance of her glory’ (Isaiah 66:11). God extend peace (Ephesus) to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream (flowing forth from Pergamos, Smyrna, representing glory and love) (Isaiah 66:12) resulting in the renewal of youth (Isaiah 66:14 bones flourish like grass). This glory from Pergamos will grow into a mountain of glory such that all nations and tongues shall come and see and declare God’s glory (Isaiah 66:18, 19).

Some vision descriptions of the Seven Spirits who appear as seven angels of Revelation.

Angel of Ephesus is younger looking. Smaller in size about 7 feet (height of Adam as a man)

Angel of Sardis is like ancient of days about is 10 feet tall. Movement very little. Has a beard.

Angel of Thyatira is broadest, stout, strongest looking, about 9 feet tall. Very active. He has a moustache and a broad face. He is like one of the generals under Archangel Uriel, Hakararael in authority and outlook.

Always at rest are angels of Laodicea, of Ephesus and of Smyrna (mercy, peace, love).

Angel of Philadelphia look thoughtful, communicated a lot. Around 8 feet tall. Has a beard.

Angel of Pergamos is the brightest, almost 9 feet tall. Confident and secure.

Angel of Laodicea is the most soft spoken. Around 8 feet plus.

Angel of Smyrna is about 8 feet plus in height close to nine. Is more feminine-looking in nature. Does not talk much.

They showed many things but more will be revealed. In appearance of elderliness (although there is no such thing as age) among them look like Sardis, followed by Philadelphia, then Smyrna, then the rest, with the youngest as Ephesus.

Remembering that there is no such thing as age in heaven, and as the forms taken by the seven spirits were taken by purposeful design, their ‘appeared form’ itself contains a message. Life appearing as the oldest, tells us that the expression of the attribute of the life of God was one of the first attributes shown, followed by wisdom then love. Peace appearing as the youngest is a showing forth that this attribute is a newer attribute being revealed to the Universe. Each of the Seven Spirits are manifesting a specific attribute of God and Jesus that we must assimilate. The messages to the seven churches are ‘in and by’ the individual Seven Spirits and each message contains keys in which they can merged with us more fully.

The above table help us quantify our progression through all the attributes of the Seven Spirits. Also the messages by each of the angel of the seven churches to us contain gems of truth which will help us in our merging with the Seven Spirits until we are exactly as our Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God.

May each of us grow into the fullness of all the Seven Spirits of God.

Amen.

Dearly Beloved,

Many people wondered why and what is the significance of Pergamos glory on 9 February 2012. I too have asked the same question at the beginning of this endtime revival. It is easy for humans to formulate their own opinion and state their personal ‘revealed reasons’ but it is indisputable when it is revealed in the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures. Without sharing the various visions and downloads from the Holy Spirit (the rhema received), we first approach this from the academic and biblical point of view. The following are Scriptural reasonings (like the way the apostle Paul reasoned in the synagogues during his missionary journeys) that everyone who loves the Bible needs to contend with:

Why was Pergamos referred to as ‘where Satan’s throne is’ and ‘where Satan dwells’?

This could easily have been Rome, where the centre of all Roman Empire power dwells, or one of the other corrupt churches in Revelation or even somewhere remote on planet earth like the Bermuda Triangle or the Devil’s Sea. There is no other such place referred to in the whole Bible. Moreover, isn’t the devil a fallen angel, a spirit being, who dwells only in the spiritual dimension as the god of this world or the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2). Isn’t the domain of fallen angels at the plane of spiritual wickedness in heavenly places? (Ephesians 6:12). Why does the devil need a physical domain to express as ‘his throne’?. The same question can be asked as to why God needs the Tabernacle of Moses or the Temple of Solomon? Obviously, the answer in the Bible on God’s side is for the closer and more integrated link between what God wants to do on earth and His people. The same reverse reasoning can be said of the devil as he also requires humans to surrender their free will to him in obeisance, in order to fulfil his evil agenda on the planet earth.

David’s kingdom and Solomon’s Temple came about around the 10^th Century BC. The physical manifestation of the temple brought Israel to its zenith and after Solomon, every king was measured based on David and on what they did in the worship of God in the temple. Meanwhile in the north, the Neo-Assyrian Empire was rising and began to affect the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the also the Southern kingdom under David’s descendants.

Secular history (Wikipaedia) records the rise of Tiglath-Peleser III as below:

“Assyrian power in the Near East greatly increased as the result of Tiglath-Pileser’s military reforms (see “Reforms” below) and of his campaigns of conquest. Upon ascending the throne, he claimed (in Annal 9, which dates to 745 BCE, his first regnal year) to have annexed Babylonia, from “Dur-(Kuri)galzu, Sippar of Shamash, … the cities [of Ba]bylonia up to the Uqnu river [by the shore of the Lo]wer [Sea]”[11] (which referred to the Persian Gulf), and subsequently placed his eunuch over them as governor. Also in his first year of reign he defeated the powerful kingdom of Urartu (Armenia), whose hegemony under the rulership of Sarduri II had extended to Asia Minor, northern Mesopotamia, western Iran and Syria; there he found unrivalled horses for his war-chariots.[12] He also defeated the Medes before making war on and conquering the Neo-Hittites, Syria and Phoenicia. He took Arpad in 740 BCE after three years of siege, annexed it as a province (over which he placed one of his eunuchs as governors), and subjected Hamath to tribute. Assyrian inscriptions record in 740 BCE, the fifth year of his reign, a victory over Azariah (Uzziah), king of Judah, whose achievements appear in 2 Chronicles 26. He also subjugated Damascus, the Arabs under Queen Zabibe, Menahem of Israel and Sam’al’s king Azriyau, who all paid him tribute.[13] In 737 and 736 BCE he turned his attention again to Iran, conquering the Medes and Persians and occupying a large part of Iran.[13] According to the royal inscriptions of Tiglath-Pileser many of the inhabitants were enslaved and deported to other parts of the Assyrian empire, as commonly done by his predecessors. At sieges, captives were slaughtered, and their bodies raised on stakes and displayed before the city (illustration, right).

In October 729 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser assumed total control of Babylon, capturing the Babylonian king Nabu-mukin-zeri (ABC 1 Col.1:21) and having himself crowned as “King Pulu of Babylon.”

Biblical records describe how Tiglath-Pileser III exacted 1,000 talents of silver as tribute from King Menahem of the Kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 15:19) and later defeated his successor Pekah (2 Kings 15:29).

Pekah had allied with Rezin, king of the Arameans against Ahaz (known to the Assyrians as Yahu-khazi), of the Kingdom of Judah, who responded by appealing for the Assyrian monarch’s help with the Temple gold and silver. Tiglath-Pileser answered swiftly. He first marched his army down the eastern Mediterranean coast, taking coastal cities all the way to Egypt. This cut off his enemies’ access to the sea. Once this was achieved, he returned to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, destroyed their army, and deported the Reubenites, Gadites, and the people of Manasseh to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan river (1 Chron 5:26). He then installed an Israelite puppet king, Hoshea, (732–723 BCE) in the place of Pekah. He concluded this extensive campaign by marching north and west, ravaging Aramaea, seizing Damascus, executing Rezin, and deporting the survivors to Kir (2 Kings 16:9).”

The Neo-Assyrian Empire was responsible for the complete removal of Northern Israel and is a type of Anti-Christ capturing the apostate church.  The Neo-Assyrian Empire covered the area of Pergamos under the sphere of its influence:

             The extend of Neo-Assyrian Empire before the rise of Babylonian Empire

                          Dispersion of the Northern Israelites by the Assyrian Empire

The control of Pergamos was under the Neo-Assyrian Empire which dominated the regions of Phrygia and Lydia, before the Medo-Persian Empire took it. During the Greek Empire period, Pergamon became a major cultural centre of the Greek world and the Acropolis was constructed. With it the Great altar at Pergamos was built. Why does the Bible refer to this place as the seat of Satan and Satan’s throne when there were other temples to Zeus constructed in Athens and Cyrene? It is not just the physical altar but the spiritual forces that had been working in these areas. Primarily its impact on Israel and on the early church. The powers that existed then were responsible for the ten lost tribes of Israel when they were removed and much persecution against Christianity such that the book of Revelation records the death of Antipas the martyr (Revelation2:11). Pergamos church was not the most persecuted church (that title goes to the church of Smyrna) but it is known as the compromising church. For nearly three thousand years since the scattering of the Northern Tribes of Israel, the enemy has symbolically ruled here.

Could the reference of Pergamos being the throne of Satan or where Satan dwells, be merely a spiritual symbolism and not actual fact?

Of course, anyone can just interpret the Bible spiritually as an allegory and not interpret it literally. Many scholars have tried that with stories of Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, Moses miracles, etc. The problem with interpreting something as mere allegory and not true is that very soon, the entire bible becomes no more factual as story after story is taken to be mere stories and not historical fact. The general principle is to always interpret things as actual facts. The seven churches of Revelation were true actual historical churches. There are no grounds for viewing them as pure allegory. Yet the mention of them as being representative of ALL churches is astounding as none of them, except Ephesus, was well known in the New Testament. But what we know of the New Testament churches could be due to the emphasis on Pauline revelation and the missionary journeys of Paul. John the Apostle was prominent in the church of Smyrna and there are interesting accounts of the stories of John being the trainer of Bishop Antipas at Pergamos and Bishop Polycarp in Smyrna. A literal interpretation of the Bible and the Seven churches of Revelation, would imply that Pergamos is indeed the manifest ruling place of Satan, though we do not have much understanding of this until this end time revival. All Seven churches were planted by Paul from Ephesus and they were chosen by Jesus to represent the whole church in its character and eschatological reference. The conclusion to this question is that, it is more Scriptural and proper to interpret the Bible literally even if we do not understand all of it. This applies to many puzzling Scriptures like the Genesis account of angels cohabiting with humans producing giants, which if we believe it, explains a lot of the source of human mythologies of giants and humans. On this wise, we have chosen to interpret the words of Jesus to the Seven churches of Revelation literally. If our Lord Jesus said that Pergamos was the throne of Satan and where Satan dwells, who are we to contradict our Lord Jesus (Revelation 2:13)?

From spiritual visions, it seems that the location of the Seven Churches dates back to that geographical space when Pangea existed and it was an important location of dimensions of access to heaven, even dating back to pre-Adamic earth. We know that there are also locations of fallen angels trap at the Euphrates that so happen to be located where it is today at Euphrates in modern maps (Revelation 9:14). Additionally, from God’s point of view where the future to Him has already occurred and is past tense, God knew that He would release His glory upon the earth via Pergamos (9 Feb 2012) and the devil sensing some things had sought to prevent that but to no avail. Just like Mount Moriah was an important place in Abraham’s time because of its future location of the temple of Solomon (Genesis 22:2; 2 Chronicles 3:1), Pergamos has always been predestined as the place where the kingdom of God, the Stone which came and struck the feet of the statute of Nebuchadnezzar, touched the earth (Daniel 2:34, 44). It is located geographically at an important place where all the world empires had tread through to conquer the world. Only God knows all the reasons why such a small insignificant place in the eyes of man, would be chosen as the place where the glory of God comes down. We can only accept the bible as fact and flow forth with God’s commandments.

Just as God planned for the manifestation of His glory to always come upon a pre-designated place by predestination, He has planned that Pergamos, where the Spirit of Glory is represented, be the place for the end time move. Jerusalem was a special place that came into prominence during David’s reign. Jesus commanded to wait in Jerusalem until the Spirit of God has empowered God’s people (Acts 1:8). Similarly, Pergamos is a special place in these end times and it is God who ordained that the kingdom of God’s glory should shine forth from here.

Visions were received on the Seven churches and we include them here. To all those who believe, it will bring blessing:

The Seven Churches trip in 2012 was done to release the beginning of this end time move. The archangel Uriel took charge of the whole itinerary when we were there and there was a vision of the angel of Ephesus battling spiritual forces. The angels in Ephesus were dressed in battle armour and a dream was given – the angel of Ephesus coming in with an olive branch and saying, “I am the angel of Ephesus and we have been expecting you. Sanctify yourself; you are doing the work of the Lord of Hosts. You will proclaim Jehovah Shalom to this town. The peace of God will triumph over this place. The Lord will bring life back to the desolate places. Come, let us go!” Prayers and proclamation was made on 31^st January 2012. In Smyrna (Izmir), the archangel Uriel met with the angel of Smyrna and they seem to be acquainted with each other as they have worked together in the angelic realm. The angel of Smyrna said that they have been waiting for centuries for God to raise a prophetic ministry to work with angels in order to fulfil God’s end time prophecies. The angel of Smyrna also had warlike features and aura like archangel Uriel and was also dressed in battle gear. The angel of Smyrna radiates the love of Christ and had a sense of compassion and gentleness that makes one filled with God’s tender love. A group of angels was there with the angel of Smyrna at the place of prayer and proclamation on 2^nd February 2012 with the following words proclaimed:

Thus says the Lord God. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except through Him. But he who believes Jesus Christ is the only way to God the Father, he will live because Christ died and rose up again by the power of God the Father. He who believes in Jesus Christ shall know the truth, and the truth will give him liberty from all fears.

Thus says the Lord. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. (Matthew 5:11)

Thus says the Lord. Blessed are you when men hate you and ostracize you, and casts insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. (Luke 6:22)

Each time David raised His arms to pray, the angels would all cry out together, “Blessed be the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ; He is the first and the last; who was dead, and has come to life!” (Rev 2:8).

In Pergamos (Bergama), a three day fast was required (6^th-8^th Feb). For most of us, we were already on the last few days of 40 day fast. The angels in Pergamos were seeking a breakthrough over the spirits and principalities of the air for nearly 3000 years!!  The victory will be for the whole body of Christ. The angel of Pergamos showed groups of angels at the base and at the mid-point of the mountain, groups surrounding the whole mountain. We only saw one side from where we stood but was told it is all around the mountain. Each of the fast days was spent in spiritual warfare and fasting. The angels did their spiritual warfare through worship and with swords drawn. There were groups of angels blowing trumpets, groups who wave flags and banners, groups with hands raised and worshipping and also groups with sword pointing up at the top of the mountain. And they were all proclaiming, “The Lord reigns! Blessed be the name of the Lord! Alleluia! The Lord reigns, let all the earth rejoice!” All the angels including the ones accompanying us also had drawn swords and proclaimed together. The following Scriptures were also proclaimed, Ps 47:8, “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne!” Ps 11:4, “The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. The angel of Pergamos was just stationed above the mountain in the air with his sword drawn. And his sword was a flaming sword with a fire!

There were huge dark clouds over the mountain during the fast but on Feb 9^th, the day of proclamation, the sky was clear for miles as far as the eye can see, with a bright light that shone over the mountain like a star. Countless angels and the main archangels, no longer attired in battle gear but in shining garments, were there. There was a great joy and radiance amongst all the angels and it was a victory walk. Groups of angels were playing all sorts of musical instruments all over the mountain; there was a heavenly music all around the mountain in the midst of the sound of strong wind. And there were sentinels all spaced out round the mountain and standing with torches. In the distant hills groups of angels standing with torches! Then something like a small army formed up, there was like 3 regiments of troops formed up, each with a commander and in front of these 3 regiments stood their captain, all in battle array and full armour. The captain came and introduced himself, “Greetings, I am the angel of Thyatira. We are here to celebrate the victory of the Lord God Almighty! We are all expecting you to come and prophesy and proclaim. Rest well and we will see you soon.” And then the angel of Thyatira went back to his angels and they all flew away. They flew back to Thyatira (Akhisar). What a sight! All the angels flying together! What a sight! Then the angel of Pergamos brought us to different places in the site to proclaim and prophesy and to anoint. The following Scriptures and proclamation were done:

There was an olive tree in the open space. Genesis 8:11-17, about the dove that Noah sent out and it return with a fresh olive leaf in its beak—“and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.” Thus says the Lord, this olive tree shall be a sign that the Church of God will abound on the earth in the knowledge of God, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth. Genesis 8:17.

Isaiah chapters 12, 13 and 25 were read and prophesied. Isaiah 13 (read on the 3rd day of prayer and fasting). Thus says the Lord, “Lift up a banner on the high mountain, raise your voice to them…The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! The Lord musters the army for battle….The Lord and His weapons of indignation, to destroy the whole land…Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His anger…And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah…Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.”

Isaiah 25. Thus says the Lord God, “O Lord, You are God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things…For You have made a city a ruin, a fortified city a ruin, a palace of foreigners to be a city no more; it will never be rebuilt…And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces…And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people…And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, the rebuke of His people He will take away from the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day: Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation. For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest and Moab shall be trampled down under Him…

A Vision of the lake of fire was given. The lake of fire and fallen angels being thrown into this the lake of fire and they were crying out for mercy from the Lord; and the beast bound up and thrown into the lake of fire and he was shouting with defiance as he was thrown into the fire. At this place the wind was howling and it sounded like voices crying out for mercy.

Thus says the Lord God. (Micah 4:6-7) In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast and those whom I have afflicted; I will make the lame a remnant, and the outcast a strong nation; so the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from now on, even forever.

The victory of Pergamos was great and all coordinated by the Holy Spirit with all angels and men involved yielding to the Holy Spirit and receiving instructions from God our Father, Almighty God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is under the Archangel Uriel’s instructions that we will be going to the Seven Churches again in February 2020. We will have an all night prayer on February 9^th (Melchizedek Day) which is the fortieth day of our fast. God is doing extraordinary things in these end times. There are those who believe and those who don’t. There are those who are filled with thankfulness and worship while others mocked. In every generation, God has always raised a voice that speaks the Will of God. Let those who have ears hear, what the Spirit of God is saying in these last hour. From 9^th February 2012, Satan has been dethroned at Pergamos and God’s glory and Victory has been proclaimed. The kingdom of God has struck the earth and now is growing into a mountain of glory.

Dearly Beloved,

We all know that heaven is always filled with twenty-four hours praise and worship (if time is measured as such, although in heaven there is no measurement of time). From visions of Moses of the presence of God where trumpets sound and glory reside to the visions of Isaiah where the seraphim say, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts” (Exodus 19:16-20; Isaiah 6:1-3). From the visions of Daniel of the worship at the Throne of the Ancient of Days to the visions of the four living creatures where John the apostle observed the worship that continuously take place at the Throne room in various forms and by various entities including the 24 elders and the 144,000 with special songs which no one can sing, worship has always been the heartbeat and the life of heaven flowing forth to all God’s creation (Daniel 7:9-10; Revelation 4:6-8; 5:8-14; 7:9-12; 11:15-19; 14:1-4). Heaven is always filled with all manner of worship and different and various types of worship take place as the glory and victory of God marches forward in earth’s time sphere.

One of the prime goals of our Lord Jesus’s redemption is to bring about a time when men will worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). The whole Old Testament revolves around two places of worship: the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon. And prior to these two, around the burnt altar from Noah to Abraham. Worship is the lifeblood of all relationships with God and the highest expression of what we can give to God. We cannot really give God anything for everything was created by Him and He owns them. Even our tithes is not truly giving to Him for He owns everything and we can only bring them to where He tells us to do so. Technically, we bring our tithes and not give our tithes. Whether we bring it or not constitutes robbery to God. God claims ownership of tithes whether we bring it to Him or not. Those who have a heart to acknowledge that are prospered by God like Jacob who covenant to bring tithes to God at Bethel (Genesis 28:22). But the greatest gift we can give God is our love and our worship. For God cannot force anyone free-will creature to love Him or worship Him. Thus, when we truly love and worship God with all our heart, it is the greatest gift that we can give to God.

The Bible has also shown us that when the worship of God is practice, the worshippers received tremendous and overwhelming blessings from God. We see this in King Jehoshaphat’s deliverance from the Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites, and in Daniel’s deliverance from the lions (2 Chronicles 20:20-23; Daniel 6:10-28). A life of true worship is a life truly blessed by God. Many people will only worship when things go wrong and they need God but blessed is the man who truly worships God at all times, in season and out of season. I believe that the New Testament believers must excel the Old Testament in true worship and in longer worship. Both in quality and in quantity, we must excel in worship for our Lord Jesus has opened the door into the second veil where we have true access to our God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, with the establishment of twenty-four-hour worship by King David, Israel reached its highest point and true greatness with God. During the time of the kings, whenever the temple worship was neglected or forgotten, Israel began to lose its favour and come under domination by godless people. The church of our Lord Jesus Christ will reach its true fullness when we establish twenty-four-hour worship in our lives and in the corporate life of the church. Indeed, Jesus arose as firstborn from the dead that He might sing praises to God our Father through us (Hebrews 2:12).

As we await the resources of God and growth in numbers to establish twenty-four-hour worship, we must learn to practice twenty-four-hour worship in our personal lives first. The first place to start is to have a heart of worship. A heart of worship acknowledges that all life was created to worship God. As long as we have life, we will worship our God. David was a worshipper of God and he knew that God won’t let him die (until his life is complete) for he sang that the dead cannot worship God (Psalm 88:10; 115:17). As one who is after God’s heart, he wanted to continue living, no matter what threats of death or defeat challenged him, for he knew that God loves worship and praises and God wants him to continue living so he can worship God. No matter what circumstances he faced, God will not let him die. It is like God has enough preachers, pastors, prophets, apostles, kings, business people, professionals and farmers but God is always short of true worshippers, so God will see to it to prolong their lives to fullness as He does not want the earth to be lacking in worshippers. Before we fulfil our destiny to be whatever God wants us to be, we must first be a worshipper of God. The call to be a true worshipper of God to me is the highest calling on the earth. It is a calling that is birth from free-will love and desire to be with God whereas callings are predestined before we are born. Jesus has paid the price for all to become true worshippers in spirit and in truth but He cannot force us to become one. We must choose freely of our own accord to be a lover and worshipper of God.

I believe that one of the reasons why the baptism in the Spirit results in tongues is that it is a gift that enables us to worship God in the spirit (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). Consider this fact: The evidence in the book of Acts in five incidents of baptism in the Spirit in Acts  seem to point to an increased ability to worship God through tongues: Acts chapter 2 (120 disciples), Acts chapter 8 (disciples in Samaria – although tongues not mentioned but there seemed to be outward visible evidence discernible), Acts chapter 9 (Apostle Paul receiving the baptism in the Spirit through Ananias – though tongues not mentioned, we know that Paul spoke in tongues in Corinthians), Acts chapter 10 (Cornelius and his household) and Acts 19 (the disciples at Ephesus). Three incidences resulted in tongues and prophesy and magnification of God (Acts 2: 4, 11; 10:44-46; 19:6). In Acts 9, Paul received the baptism in the Spirit without tongues being mentioned but Paul acknowledged that he spoke in tongues more than the Corinthians and said that speaking in tongues speak the mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 14:2, 18). Paul himself says that he could sing in the spirit and sing with the understanding through tongues (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). In Acts 8, Simeon the former magician saw or heard something visible enough for him to acknowledged that the baptism in the Spirit was transacted (Acts 8:17-18). As three of the reception of the baptism in the Spirit in the book of Acts shows evidence of tongues, and the fourth of Paul in Acts 9, shows forth that he did speak in tongues, it is likely that in Acts 8, the out evidence was also tongues. Moreover, the measurement for the reception of the baptism in the Spirit is in Acts 2, which is speaking in tongues. And in case some think that it should also include wind and fire, which were special manifestations, the case of Acts 10 in Cornelius and his household only had them speak in tongues (without fire or wind) which Peter acknowledged to have ‘received the Holy Spirit just as we have’ (Acts 10:47). Biblical evidence thus points to the receiving of the baptism of the Spirit is with speaking in tongues.

Why should the baptism of the Holy Spirit be with speaking in tongues, which magnify God and His mysteries? I believe it is given in order to take the church, the bride of Christ into a higher and deeper dimension of worship that the people of God in the Old Testament did not receive or achieve. It is the beginning of what Jesus predicted that the hour will come when men shall worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Apostle Paul considers worship and singing in the spirit as singing in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:14-15). On top of this, when the Bible advocates being filled with the Spirit, the outward evidence of this is psalm, hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in our heart (Ephesians 5:18-10). Only those who have sung in the spirit in tongues will truly know what spiritual songs are truly like. Being filled with the Word of Christ also results in the same thing: psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16). Everything leads to and ends with the worship of God in spirit and in truth.

For those who have not been baptized in the Spirit, be baptized according to the standard of the Bible and worship God in spirit and in truth. For those who already received the baptism in the Spirit, practice what you have received and worship God in spirit and in truth. For those who need guidance, join with others who do worship in spirit and in truth. It is the most glorious experience you could enter into. We teach people to pray in the spirit, now we must go further and teach people to worship in the spirit. Test this out, worship in the spirit for an hour and see what happens in your life. There will be a sweetness of heaven always abiding twenty-four-hours in you. Let the same Spirit of worship from the very Throne of God fill you until your life is a life of complete worship unto God. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Dearly Beloved,

The human soul experiences discouragement and depression as a part of human frailty and it takes spiritual growth and renewal of the soul to be immune to such emotions by being spiritual filled with courage from the Lord Jesus. There are many varied reasons why discouragement comes and some examples are:

1. Physical and emotional exhaustion – The people of Israel had gone through several rebellions, seen a lot of death, were cursed to remain in the wilderness for forty years and their physical wanderings exhausted them; their soul became discouraged (Numbers 21:4).
2. Seeing others settled while your life is unsettled – Moses spoke to the tribe of Gad and Reuben who wanted to settle in the East side of the Jordan that they do not discourage their brethren from continuing on (Numbers 32:7). The solution was found in the tribes who settled sending their armies to fight alongside and help the other tribes settle in the West of the Jordan (Numbers 32:16-33).
3. Experiencing the loss of loved ones and also material loss – David’s men were at their lowest point in Ziklag when they returned from battle and found all their families captured and their homes burnt to the ground, they cried until they had no more strength to cry (1 Samuel 30:1-6). They even talk of stoning David for they were grieved for their sons and daughters.
4. Being opposed, ridiculed and tormented by the enemy – For forty days and nights, Goliath ridiculed and cursed the Israelites every morning and every evening (1 Samuel 17:4-16). The people became filled with fear and were broken and discouraged (1 Samuel 17:10). When Ezra gathered the people to rebuild Jerusalem, the enemies of Israel in the land sought to cause trouble, hired counsellors and frustrate their purposes in order to discourage them from continuing (Ezra 4:4).
5. Big shoes to fill – Taking over from Moses was not easy for he has accomplished much; so Joshua was continually reminded by God and the people of God to be of good courage (Joshua 1:6-7, 9, 18). When one has lived in the shadow of a person of great accomplishments, and is suppose to takeover the leadership, it can be a daunting and challenging task. Even Elisha knew that it would take some time to gain the respect of the school of prophets (2 Kings 2:14-18).
6. Overwhelmed with sorrow – Jesus on the last night before He was betrayed and crucified, spoke of peace, love, joy and being of good courage, knowing what His disciples were feeling and also going to be tested (John 16:33). The disciples were overwhelmed with sorrow at His parting words plus Jesus knew that they will experience sorrow at His crucifixion especially if they don’t have faith in His resurrection (John 16:20-22).

There are many more reasons why discouragement and depression can come on human souls and it is important that one should not make any major decision that changes one’s destiny in a time of discouragement, depression, sorrow or anger. Good decisions should be made when the mind is clear, the emotions are calm and the spirit is prayed through into the presence of God, sometimes with fasting, prayers and worship. For those who have yet to find God to be their solace and comfort for all their discouragement, because of the invisibility of God to them, perhaps they should seek and spend time with a trusted friend or brethren who can provide a loving, peaceful atmosphere for them to recover and get back their courage to continue living life to the fullest boldly.

The cure for discouragement is based on understanding the true hidden causes of such discouragements and depression. Some of them are as follows:

1. Have a fresh vision and dream – the inability to see the fulfilment of a vision and dream can cause discouragement. Without a vision, the people perish (Proverb 19:18 KJV). This should be understandable, for example, how can a car move forward if you can’t see what is in front? No one can move forward in life if they can’t see what is ahead. We humans are made to follow visions and dreams. The most important thing is to make sure that the vision and dream is from God and part of God’s destiny in our life. That is why God gave His Holy Spirit who pours forth dreams and visions into our lives (Acts 2:17). If you are discouraged or depressed, your dream or vision might have just been shattered or taken away. It is time to recuperate and have a new vision and dream imparted by God, in His presence.
2. Let God hold your hand through mountains and valleys – Life will always have its mountains and valleys. Thankfully, God has promised that as we hold the Shepherd’s hand, there will be green pastures and still waters even though we go through the valley of the shadow of death (with His hand holding us) (Psalm 23). If we persevere, there will always be goodness and mercy and a table spread for us. The secret to going through a difficult terrain or a monotonous path is to just take one day at a time. Jesus said that we should live one day at a time for each day’s evil (or battles) is sufficient for the day (Matthew 6:34). Even you win your battles one day at a time, you will win the war.
3. Know that you are never alone – Even though physically we seem to be alone in this life, we are always surrounded by angels (especially our guardian angels assigned to be with us throughout our lives on earth) plus Jesus promised to be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Angels are assigned to every child born on earth and they continue to minister to us even unto our adult lives (Matthew 18:10; Acts 12:15; 27:23). Draw encouragement from the Spiritual dimension for God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).
4. Have a new mental and emotional outlook in life – There is a choice between being a pessimist or an optimist in this life. Many pessimists think that it is better to be so for they are prepared for the hard knocks and difficulties of life. Yes, there are optimists who have no idea how to face the hard, cruel realities of life. But we must consider that God actual has a positive outlook on everything that is why He is always full of joy. Similarly, the angels can see the true reality and outcome that in God all things will be fulfilled and have a positive ending. Yes, there are hard times in life like what Naomi suffered together with Ruth (Ruth 2:3-22). Naomi herself said that her life is hard and bitter, but it was only chapter two of their lives. Chapter four ends with great joy and celebration for the child of Boaz and Ruth became the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:22). The sorrows of Israel under Pharaoh birth forth the victories of Israel under Moses, such that they cross the Red Sea singing praises to God (Exodus 1:11-14; 15:1-20). Our habits of thinking and approach to life can be changed and renewed by thinking like Jesus, having the mind of Christ (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5). At first it might be difficult as the fallen mind defaults to negative thinking but through time a new habit of thought arises, as all the old strongholds are broken, and we view the world with new mind-emotion glasses provided by the Lord Jesus.

At the end of the day, we are all to conform to Jesus in our spirit, soul and body (Romans 8:29-30). Did you know that Jesus was never every discouraged for even a nano second? It is prophesied by Isaiah that our Lord Jesus will not fail nor be discouraged (Isaiah 42:4). Jesus had a victorious mind-set and that same mind-set has been given to us in Christ Jesus. A negative mind, a depressed mind, a depressed soul, a discouraged mind is a type of soul sickness that we must recognized. Just as there are sicknesses of the body, there are sicknesses of the soul and mind. We must realize that it is NOT normal to be sick, neither mentally nor physically. It should NOT be normal to be discouraged or depressed. Our norm should be being filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in our hearts to the Lord (Ephesians 5:18-20).

The secrets to staying positive, filled with good courage and boldness from the Lord is to always give all of our lives in perfect surrender to God and never take it back. Perfect surrender, perfect submission brings perfect peace. Having surrendered to God 100%, we then allow Jesus to live through us and in us. How do you think the apostle Paul overcome persecutions and tribulations such that he was beaten three times with rods, whipped thirty-nine times five times, suffered shipwreck, hunger, thirst, oppositions every where he went? Paul declared that it is no longer he who lives but Christ lives in him, and the life he now lives, he lives through Christ who gave Himself for him (Galatians 2:20). Against all manner of setbacks and opposition, he triumphed through Christ who strengthens him. He recognized that it is truly not him living anymore but it was the grace of God that helped him became everything that he was supposed to become (1 Corinthians 15:10). Acknowledging that we are nothing and that we can do nothing without Christ is the first step to eradicate discouragement and depression from our lives (John 15:5). From then onwards, all our lives are Christ living in us, and our consciousness is only that of daily surrender and welcoming (praising) Christ into our lives.

By doing so, we become as Christ is, Lion of Judah, Bright and Morning Star, All-conquering King, seated at the Right Hand of God. Hallelujah, all the courage of Christ is within us, all His peace, love and joy, all His energy and abundant life flows within our spirit, soul and body. Without Him we can do nothing but with Him in us, nothing shall be impossible to us. Amen.

Dearly Beloved

The history of the Bible shows the creation of mankind, the fall of mankind, and the process of individual or groups of humans learning to call on to God who answers prayers as they pray according to God’s Will. In His mercy, God teaches and shows fallen man how to pray successfully according to His attributes and His principles that He reveals to them. God’s answers to prayers are the stories of the Bible that has inspired generations of mankind through six thousand years of recorded biblical history to continue to have faith in the God who redeems them and continues to bring them to the place of restoration of all things.

In the New Testament, the heights of God’s joy and delight in answering prayers is expressed by our Lord Jesus in the following verses:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8)

If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23)

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24).

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it (John 14:13-14).

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you (John 15:16).

And in that day you will ask Me nothing, Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you, Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:23-24).

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:15-16).

With so many verses and so many examples of answered prayers in the Bible, every believer should have confidence that God always answers prayers. God’s answers to prayers many be in the following categories:

1. Immediate answers to prayers like Elijah’s prayers for God to set fire to the sacrifice he prepared (1 Kings 18:36-38)
2. Answers to prayers that were not really made as an official prayer like Abraham asking God to bless Ishmael (Genesis 17:18-20)
3. Delayed answers to forgotten prayers like Zechariah’s prayer for a child (Luke 1:13)
4. God answers ‘No’ like Moses request to go into the land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 3:23-28)

There are many other categories but for this devotional talk it is sufficient to cover these four categories. Learning that God answers prayers and the various ways He answers, accepting His answers are a part of walking the humble road of total dependence on God for everything in this life.

Category 1: Prayers with immediate answers

Prayers which are immediately answered usually have a background to them. In the case of Elijah asking for God to consume the sacrifice with fire, Elijah has already successfully brought forth a three year and six-month drought through long years of intercession and prayers (James 5:16-17). As it came to the time to end the drought, Elijah issues a challenge to the false prophets of Baal to prove that their god is real. The false prophets failed miserably with much mocking from Elijah (1 Kings 18:27-29). Elijah seemed to have heard instructions as to what exactly to do, for he built an altar of twelve stones according to the twelve tribes of Israel, to whom the word of the Lord has come, saying, ‘Israel shall be your name’ (1 Kings 18:31). He also pronounced the name of the Lord as he built the altar (1 Kings 18:32). He then made a trench with which he commanded water to be filled three times until the whole trench was filled and overflowing with water (1 Kings 18:32). Finally, the timing was about the time of the evening offering, which Israel would have offered daily in the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 18:36). In his prayers, he called upon the covenant of Abraham which Israel has with God, asking that God made Himself known that He is indeed the God of Israel and that Elijah was his servant (1 Kings 18:36). And most important of all, he said that he had done all these things at God’s Word (1 Kings 18:36). Within an instant, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, vaporizing all the water in the trench while consuming the burnt offering.

Prayers that are answered immediately have a working background of obedience to God’s commandments and instructions. Obedience to these many little commands places one in the position of the finale of an official prayer with an instant answer. Another example is Jesus raising Lazarus up from the dead. Four days before the resurrection, Jesus already knew that Lazarus would die of sickness and be raised up from the dead (John 11:1-4). He told His disciples that He was going to wake Lazarus up, which for Him meant that He was going to raise him from the dead (John 11:11). In His word to Martha and Mary, He spoke of resurrection of which they did not fully understand (John 11:23-25; 39-40). And then Jesus made a very simple prayer, saying, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Then with a loud voice, He commanded Lazarus to arise from the dead.

There is always a lot of preparation behind prayers that seem to be answered instantly. The principles behind immediate answers to prayer are:

1a. Be obedient to many little commandments from God that sets the scenario for the official prayer of faith.

1b. Observed the instruction of God as to when is the time to release the official prayer of faith in public with instant answer.

1c. Its main objective is to establish God’s covenant and God’s Will in both the life of the servant of God and the surround circumstances.

1d. It serves as the authentication of God and of His servant.

Category 2: Prayers that were not really prayers but words spoken from the mouth in conversation

Abraham was not officially asking for something specific for Ishmael but was reacting to the word of God that he would have another child of his own through Sarah. His immediate reaction was to bless the current son that he had through Hagar (Genesis 17:18). He was in the midst of laughter and unbelief that Sarah could have a child at the age of ninety years old. Much to his surprise, God answered and said that He has heard Abraham and will bless Ishmael and make him fruitful even to him begetting twelve princes and becoming a great nation (Genesis 17:20). We are to watch the words of our mouth all the time for we might be blessed or cursed when we unwittingly utter something which we cannot take back, especially when God answers Amen to it. I believe Rachel died because Jacob unknowingly cursed her to death by saying whoever have the idols of Laban should die (Genesis 31:32). The Israelites condemned themselves to death when they wished that they die in the wilderness (Numbers 14:1-2, 28). On the other hand, a casual conversation and request to the Lord about the number of righteous people needed to save the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, reduced it to ten for the cities to be saved (Genesis 18:23-33). So is the casual sentence by Jesus to the fig tree that ‘Let no one eat fruit from you ever again’ became an instant cursed (Mark 11:14, 20).

Peter’s utterance of asking Jesus to command him to come to Him on the water was immediately granted, much to his surprise and the surprise of all the other disciples (Matthew 14:27-29). He most likely did not start thinking too much about everything but was reacting to the circumstances of seeing Jesus walked on the water for the first time, of which all those in the boat were frightened thinking they had seen a ghost. There was no place to think about the consequences nor of the amount of energy required to create such a miracle. He just suddenly made the request on the spur of the moment. And Jesus immediately granted His request. As he walked on the water, his mind must have caught up and he realized the impossibility of everything, doubts arose as he saw the wind and waves, which caused him to begin sinking (Matthew 14:29-30). But through it all, he had a blessing that none of the other disciples had, an opportunity to walk on water like Jesus.

It is important to guard our words in all circumstances, for by our words we are justified and by our words we are condemned (Matthew 12:36-37). The true perfect spiritual person has control of their tongue (James 3:2). The key in this category is to always observe a positive and biblical outlook in life, never speaking words that are against the bible or against ourselves and others in a negative way. As this becomes our default nature, then sometimes when opportunities come and special presence of God is manifest, we will still be able to automatically react in the right manner and receive from the fruit of our lips the positive and wonderful blessings of God (Proverb 18:20; Isaiah 57:19; Hebrews 13:15). Our Father God and Jesus is hearing all our conversations twenty-four hours a day, whether alone or surrounded by people. A lot of unintended prayers are being prayed by people who did not know that God was listening to their every word. Watch your tongue, and let only blessings flow forth.

Category 3: Delayed answers to forgotten prayers

It must have been long, long ago when they were newly married that Zachariah and Elizabeth prayed for a child. Through their long marriage and many years of servitude to God, they remained childless into their senior years. All the prayers of their youth were forgotten by them, but not by God. Archangel Gabriel was sent to them to announce the good news that it was now time for them to have a child, and that this child was going to be special (Luke 1:13-17). Zachariah regards his situation as impossible and when he said that his wife was well advanced in years, probably meant that she has surpass her menopause (Luke 1:18). Yet through all the physical impossibilities, God wrought a great miracle but Zachariah has to be shut up for the duration of the pregnancy. In the end when John the Baptist was born, great was the joy of Zachariah and Elizabeth.

Abraham must have been very satisfied with Ishmael and probably thought that he was God’s promise child through his own loins (Genesis 15:1-4). There was no sign that he was still seeking another child when God appeared to him at the age of ninety-nine and told him that he will have a child through Sarah. Both he and Sarah did not believe at first, laughing at the impossibility (Genesis 17:17; 18:11-12). Abraham very quickly overcame his initial shock and disbelief, and followed after God’s commandment and circumcised himself and all his household (Genesis 17:24-27). He must have been very surprised when God said that He will establish His covenant with Abraham with Isaac whom Sarah will bear for him (Genesis 17:21-22).

When it is time for a forgotten prayer to be answered, God always imposes the conditions upon it of which we must be obedient. For Zachariah, he was struck dumb throughout the pregnancy before John was born. For Abraham, he has to be circumcised and to follow the Lord. There is always a right time for God to answer and we must be patient and let God do it in the fullness of time. We summarise the principles below:

3a. Surrender to God when you have prayed a prayer, remove the time element as faith transcends time.

3b. Every prayer has its own set of time to be answered by God, wait patiently

3c. When the fullness of time comes, there are sometimes conditions that must be met. Learn to obey carefully all the conditions and commandments given.

3d. Flow into the fullness of the answered prayers. Many times, the longer it takes for the answer to come, the more glorious it is when the answer comes, even to the point of changing the entire dispensation and time continuum.

Category 4: When God answers ‘No’

Moses must have been very, very disappointed when God forbid him to enter the promise land and also told him not to pray and ask for that any more (Deuteronomy 3:26-27). He pleaded to God many, many times but to no avail. God told him not to speak of it anymore. However, when God cannot answer a prayer, He always seeks to reward us and comfort us with something close or better. With Moses, God ask him to go to the top of Mount Pisgah from which he is allowed to see the promise land in all directions (Deuteronomy 3:27). God might have even given an amplification of the things he saw, as God said ‘I have caused you to see with your eyes’ (Deuteronomy 34:4). On top of that, God Himself personally buried Moses and later resurrected his body early, an exception which the devil protested (Deuteronomy 34:5-6; Jude 1:9).

David prayed with all his might and strength for the child he had with Bathsheba. He fasted one whole week for the life of the child (2 Samuel 12:16-17). But God was not moved and took the child home as it was the judgment that must take place for David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:14). Despite this punishment upon David, God forgive him and gave him another son through Bathsheba. God especially loved this child and anointed this child from young (2 Samuel 12:24-25). The child was named by God as ‘beloved by the Lord.’ This was the child that God choose to continue the throne of David, and whom God chose to build His temple.

Whenever God says ‘No,’ He always has something better than what we ask. God understands all our desires and inclinations and limitations. Thus, when our hearts are clean and pure and we seek God and ask as according to His Will, even when it is not an accurate prayer or something which God can grant, He will always till reward and bless us with something better than we could have ever conceived or ask. Learn to trust in God that God knows far better than we do, what we need and what we require. This is the trust that David had learned through the many years of walking with God, such that when he made a mistake in numbering the Israelites, David chose to fall into the hands of God rather than into the hands of man (2 Samuel 24:14). In the end God used this incident to reveal where to build His temple but David was the first to build an altar of the Lord there (2 Samuel 24:25).

We should always trust in the goodness and mercy of our Father God. He created us and knows what is best for us. By all means, learn the secrets of prayer and be a mighty man or woman of prayer. In its finality, prayer is total surrender and dependence on God. It is utter trust, complete faith, true dependence on our invisible God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like our Lord Jesus said, our Father Himself delights in answering all our prayers that we pray in Jesus Name.

In recent science experiments, Biophysicist Joe Kirschvink and his team at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena used electroencephalography (EEG) to record brain activity from electrodes on the scalp to search for some response to changes in a highly controlled magnetic field equal in strength to Earth’s (March 18^th 2019, eNeuro). In the experiment, each of the 34 participants sat quietly in a dark aluminium box (a Faraday cage) that shielded them from electromagnetic noise such as radio waves. By changing the flow of electric current through coils lining the box, the researchers created a magnetic field that sloped steeply downward, like Earth’s own field at the midlatitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Then they rotated the field, as would happen if a person turned their head. In a third of participants, the rotating field elicited a marked drop in the alpha wave frequency (8-13 Hz). This experiment is yet to be replicated and confirmed by peers but the argument is whether this effect on one third of the participants is “detectable” mentally by humans in a conscious or subconscious way or a mere natural effect of cellular response to magnetic fluctuations due to magnetite being present in cells, as in certain bacteria that harbours magnetite crystals in their cells.

A variety of species—bacteria, snails, frogs, lobsters—seem to detect Earth’s magnetic field, and some animals, such as migratory birds, rely on it for navigation. But testing for the sense in humans has been tricky. Experiments in the 1970s that asked blindfolded participants to point in a cardinal direction after being spun around or led far from home yielded inconsistent results. In an EEG study with a different design, published in 2002, other researchers failed to find any brain response to a changing field. The observation of the dip in alpha waves by Kirschvink and his team was only present when the magnetic field was oriented downwards and in an anticlockwise direction. Whether the effects of brain wave changes amount to a magnetoreception “sense” is another area to be further researched.

A psychologist, Dr Gary E. Schwartz did many scientific experimental measurements to ascertain human consciousness and proposes the possibility of synchronicity, our body’s response to healing consciousness and love, and believes in the abilities of the human mind to “see” the invisible and to be conscious of natural electromagnetic waves. Synchronicity is the coincidences of thinking of a person and the same person calls you, or dreaming of something and seeing it happen soon. Without a biblical base, we have many people who are using scientific measurement tools that measure heart rates, brain waves, etc. to ascertain different levels of consciousness.

What does the Bible say? The Bible records that our Lord Jesus can read our thoughts. Jesus knew the thoughts of the scribes who were thinking within themselves (Matthew 9:3-4). The phrase ‘Jesus knew their thoughts’ occurred several times in the Bible (Matthew 12:25; Luke 5:22; 6:8; 11:17). For those who do not know the salvation of our Lord Jesus’ atonement but live their lives according to their conscience, the Bible says their thoughts either accuse them or excuse them (Romans 2:15). Our thought life is very important for they proceed from our innermost character and being. The word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our heart (Hebrews 4:12). Daily spiritual warfare is taking all our thoughts into captivity and obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). The failure of Ananias and Sapphira was that they thoughtfully agreed together to deceive about the price paid for their land (Acts 5:4). And Simon the magician thought that he could purchase the gift of God with money (Acts 8:20). Wrong thoughts can come from the enemy (Satan, fallen angels and demons). Good thoughts can come from God (John 14:26). The act of remembering the things of the Lord is a thought process inspired by the Holy Spirit.

From the Bible it seems that:

1. Thoughts can come from God, ourselves or the enemy (Psalm 139:17; Proverb 12:5; Matthew 15:19; 16:23)
2. All thoughts are transmitted and it can be perceived by Jesus, angels, and humans who are sensitive to such (Matthew 12:25; Luke 5:22; Matthew 1:20; Acts 8:20)
3. Thoughts like sound can create noisy or pleasant musical ambience (2 Corinthians 10:5; Psalm 139:17; Isaiah 55:9-10)
4. Thoughts can reach a point of spiritual conception creating a future reality (Genesis 6:5; 1 Chronicles 29:18).

We humans live in a world of thoughts and sensory perceptions. Unaware that the very essence of our thoughts is continuously creating our future realities. This is not done merely through human works that proceed from our ideas and concepts but also through the pure power of the energy of thoughts that touch the spiritual substances of creative materials. Whether they be energized by the enemy, which God then has to destroy (Genesis 6:5) or they can come forth through the process of visualisation and energising by the Holy Spirit (Genesis 15:1-6; Romans 4:16-22). Our daily thoughts contribute to the total thought energies of the planet earth. When the total sum of human thoughts released in various forms on the earth tilt towards the positive, the whole world moves in that direction. Conversely, if the total sum of human thoughts tilt towards evil, the planet earth moves towards evil. All energy cannot be destroyed, it has to go somewhere. The total sum of human thoughts has a direct impact on the earth’s tilt and direction towards God or towards evil. Not all human thoughts are equal, some are weak and some are stronger. It depends on the strength of a human spirit and also on the spiritual energies that support or inspire the thoughts conceived in the heart of the human being.

The best thoughts are the thoughts of our creator God and Father of all, through our Lord Jesus, the Word of God. Since our thoughts are lower than God’s thoughts, it is best that we receive God’s thoughts and let them be assimilated and flow as our new thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). The thoughts of humans are futile (Psalm 94:11). We like a ripe field which God has implanted His Word and Seed. We must allow His word, His thoughts, to germinate within us and flow forth through our spirits, our souls and our imagination. God has been concerned with the total sum of human thoughts since before Noah’s flood and He is still concern for the total sum of human thoughts and imagination today (Genesis 6:5). He has sent His Holy Spirit to pour forth His visions, dreams, revelations – the sum total of His Will and plan for mankind – that we may received that into the fertile ground of our beings and birth forth new spiritually inspired and energized thoughts that begin to create the new future of the earth: both the near future and the final future of this planet.

The minds of humans are the loins of creation (1 Peter 1:13). We are the ground that God has sown the seed of His Word (Mark 4:20). The human race has been gifted with the capacity to reproduce both natural and spiritual. Angels do not marry nor do they reproduce (Matthew 22:30; Mark 12:25; Luke 20:35). Humans have been given the ability to reproduce (Genesis 1:27-28). Together with the animal and plant world which they are in charge of, the resonance of reproduction is released throughout the domain of humans as Adam named the animals. Even when fallen angels wanted to reproduce illegally and against the Will of God, they had to use the females of humans (Genesis 6:1-4). This ability to reproduce is not just a physical quality of mankind. Mankind was gifted with the ability to reproduce in the soul and spirit dimension. The spirit and soul of man is like a fertile ground from which new things come forth. When mankind fell and required food for sustenance, even fallen mankind has created millions of types of cooked food but angels for millennia still eat manna, a food once shared with mankind during post-Exodus of Israel (Psalm 78:23-25). Even our Lord Jesus recognized that the human heart is a field in which God sowed His Word looking for a harvest (Mark 4:13-20). Even for evil, human hearts have regurgitate all manner of evil (Mark 7:21-23). Thus the interest of Satan and his cohorts to recruit mankind into his domain.

When our Lord Jesus came in human form, He also birth forth a new creation, of which He is the first born (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5). The only other being who can create and bring forth something new is God Himself. When God made man in His image, it was this ability that God had gifted to mankind (Genesis 1:26-28). It is not just because God made man humanoid looking, for even angels are humanoid looking but they can’t reproduce. The image is not just the physical looks of two hands, two legs, two eyes, one nose and one mouth in a humanoid looking figure. It is the ability to be like God in His creative ability! Knowing the power of creation gifted and inherent in the human race, we must treasure and guard this ability and use it only to birth forth things that are in line with the Word of God. In Christ we have become heirs and joint heirs of Christ, a position not given to the angels or other spirit beings (Romans 8:17). As the book of Hebrews says, “For to which of the angels did He ever say ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten you’ or ‘I will be to Him a Father and he shall be to me a son.’ (Hebrews 1:5). God has not put the world to come in subjection to angels but rather to mankind in Jesus (Hebrews 2:5-8). Thus our Lord Jesus, became the captain and Author of our salvation to bring us into His glory as sons of God, and the whole creation looks forward to manifestations of the sons of God (Hebrews 2:10; Romans 8:19-21).

Our Lord Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to sow into us His dreams, His visions, His word, His thoughts. Let us be the fruitful ground that brings forth fruit of all that God has seeded into us. Let our thoughts be that of God’s thoughts, heavenly thoughts that will bring forth heaven on earth – the kingdom of God on earth in these days of the ten toes. We are His creation who keeps on creating here on earth and in new heavens and new earth. Treasure every thought that proceeds forth from the mind of Christ, for we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). And the world and all creation has yet to see, what God has in store for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (1 Corinthians 1:9; Romans 8:28). Be blessed and be fruitful as a branch in our Lord Jesus, the New Vine (John 15:1-7).

Dearly Beloved,

Our Lord Jesus commanded that we abide in Him, saying that unless we, the branch abide in Him, we cannot bear fruit (John 15:4). The word ‘abide’ comes from the Greek word ‘meno’ which means ‘to stay, to remain’ as in abiding or staying in a house. In other words, Christ must be our home and we the home of God, or more accurately, the temple of God. Jesus speaks of Him and the Father coming into us and making a home with us (John 14:23). A home is our centre of gravity from which all our lives revolve around, we go forth and then always return to our home. God is our home and our home is God’s. The practice of the presence of God in our daily lives is the key to bearing fruit which pleases God.

Every since the creation of mankind, God has always desired to dwell together with us. The presence of God in the garden was something which Adam and Eve look forward to but upon the fall into sin, something which they ran away from (Genesis 2:8). Since then God has always wanted to dwell with mankind and the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon were only temporary dwelling places for God. In Christ Jesus, God wanted again to make mankind into a habitation of God (Ephesians 2:22; 3:19). Individually, we are also the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The greater the realization that we are the temple of God, the more we will live in the holiness of God. Knowing this truth is basic to all Christians but we want to consider two points: does the presence of God in us increase when we are conscious of Christ as oppose to when we are not conscious of the presence of God in us? In other words, when we meditate upon us abiding in Christ and Christ in us, does it increase the actual power and spirit of that abiding? Or is that abiding subconscious, that is whether we are conscious or not conscious of it, remain the same unaffected by our consciousness of it? Put simply, does us thinking of Christ (of Him in us and we in Him) change the dynamics of God’s presence, as opposed to not thinking of Him?

This simple question needs to be answered. And in order to answer, we first need to consider what we mean by being conscious of Christ’s presence. Are there different levels of consciousness? Apparently, there are: subconscious and conscious mind. Some even included a super conscious state beyond the subconscious mind. And to add complication to this simple question, are the various states of consciousness spiritual versus soul or other they various mental states? These questions have always been in many Christian’s minds and for many, they have not been resolved. Also in many Christian teachings, the subconscious mind is equivalent to the spiritual consciousness. E. W. Kenyon was one of the authors who identified the subconscious mind as equal to the spiritual consciousness. Other teachers, like myself, identify the spiritual consciousness as separate from the subconscious mind. My understanding is that there are various states of the soul consciousness as identified in EEG: Delta (0-4Hz), Theta (above 4-8 Hz), Alpha (above 8-12 Hz), Beta (above 12-40) and Gamma (above 40 Hz). These are states of brain waves which link with our soul consciousness. To me, spiritual consciousness is beyond these states of mind, although at the level of dream states or relaxation states, many people tap upon the visual mind, which in turn is linked to the dimension of the spiritual realm. There is however a difference between a soul vision dream versus a spiritual vision dream. Moreover, when the Holy Spirit works, even at the Beta and Gamma state, a person can still receive operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in prophecy, gifts of knowledge and wisdom and the gifts of healing and miracles. Thus, the spiritual consciousness is at a totally different level and is not limited to any brain wave states of the mind. In fact, at the levels of Beta and Gamma, the states of Delta, Theta and Alpha are operating in the background. These lower waves are hidden in the higher frequencies but become more detectable when a person sleep.

The best philosophy for understanding states of consciousness is to first acknowledge that we are tripartite in nature: we have three levels of consciousness of spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). All three consciousness operates when the spirit, soul and body are all healthy. Within each of these three dimensions are different levels of consciousness. Thus the body level have all the 5 brain waves, as well as the autonomous nervous system which subconsciously keeps the heart beating and various bodily functions going without requiring any conscious mental effort. The soul has its various soul qualities in the sense of various balances like thinking, feeling, etc. The thinking of the soul consciousness can flow between thoughts that are heavy and thoughts that are light, between feelings that are pleasurable to feelings that are heavenly. In the spiritual consciousness, there can be the awareness of the stirrings of the Holy Spirit within the spirit, the flowing of revelation from the mind of Christ within or the flow of agape love consciousness from the Father. Due to the lack of understanding of the three dimensions of spirit, soul and body, many Christians cannot differentiate the spiritual consciousness from the soul consciousness or the brain wave consciousness of the body. To help this understanding, just remember that there is a “see-saw” movement between the spiritual and the physical with the soul as the “watcher.” After mankind lost the ability to see spiritual things openly, it is only when a human being is dying (or body consciousness grows weaker) that they begin to see more in the spiritual. Contrarywise, increase consciousness of the body and its appetites reduces consciousness of the spiritual dimension, which is why fasting and prayer helps. There are exceptions, of course, where some people are born with open visions while others became through various experiences, become more open to the spiritual realm. The most important is to know that spiritual consciousness can occur in all EEG states of brain waves because it is totally of a different dimension.

Defining spiritual consciousness as completely unaffected by soul or body consciousness, means that in whatever level of soul or body consciousness, the spiritual consciousness, with training, can be highly developed. The apostle Paul was actively preaching when he operated a gift of miracles seeing faith in the lame man and commanding the lame man to stand up on his feet (Acts 14:9). The Scripture states that Paul was observing him intently, so his soul consciousness and his body consciousness was fully operational when he operated a gift of the Holy Spirit. He was not in some meditative subconscious soul or body state to tap on the workings of the Holy Spirit. Nor was David when he went to war to fight under the anointing of the Holy Spirit against the enemies of Israel (2 Samuel 5:24; Psalm 18:29, 34; 144:1). When the Holy Spirit works, He is not limited by any conscious state of mind or body, all He needs is a spirit open to Him to work through. There is still the requirement of spiritual consciousness.

If spiritual consciousness is a different dimension from soul consciousness or body consciousness, what exactly is spiritual consciousness? By simple definition, spiritual consciousness is a consciousness of the spiritual realm, just as physical consciousness is consciousness of the physical realm. God is a Spirit and those that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). Angels are spiritual beings although they can appear in the natural (Hebrews 1:14). Spiritual consciousness is consciousness of the spiritual realm and all that exists in that spiritual realm: angels, God, etc. This includes the consciousness of the spirit of other humans. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is discerning of spirits, which is the gift to see, discern and know what is going on in the spiritual dimension (1 Corinthians 12:10).

Having separate spiritual consciousness completely from soul consciousness, it would help all Christians to know that whatever they feel or know of God’s presence might be just their soul reaction or physical reaction to God’s presence and not their spiritual sensing. The good soul and physical feelings of God’s presence should not be mistaken as the signals or evidences of God’s presence because God’s presence may or may not have a physical or soul component. God can cause His spiritual presence to have a side effect on soul and body but He can also show forth His presence without an effect upon the soul and physical dimension. So do not mistake your own experiential feeling of God’s presence to be God’s presence. It takes training to sense God’s presence purely from the spiritual dimension. Let us give an example, the Bible says when we pray in the tongues, our spirit prays and we are encouraged to both pray in the spirit and to pray in the understanding (1 Corinthians 12:14-15). For many Christians, when they pray in tongues, they might not feel anything, and yet the Bible says that they are edifying themselves spiritually. This in itself demonstrates that the spiritual dimension is totally different in “feeling” or “sensation” from the soul and the physical realm.

How then does one grow in true spiritual consciousness? The key is to use things and material that is born or created in that realm. Thus, when Jesus asked us to abide in Him and let His presence abide in us, He emphasized on loving Him and keeping His Word – logos (John 14:23-24). He also makes note of the fact that His disciples are clean (purified) by the word (logos) which He has spoken before He commands that we abide in Him (John 15:5). Then He emphasized on His Word (rhema) abiding in us and we in Him (John 15:7). Since all His words are spirit and they are life, His command to allow His word to fill us, clean us, saturate us, is a command to spend time on things that originate in the spiritual realm (John 6:63). Spending time praying in the Spirit (even if there are no soul or body feelings) and spending time in the word of God (spiritual materials) are the keys to increase spiritual consciousness and true spiritual abiding in Christ. It is only when these take place that we will bear much fruit.

Finally, we answer the question as to whether being spiritually conscious of Christ would make a difference to the effect of His presence in us. The answer should be obvious at this juncture. Increase spiritual consciousness will have a positive and miraculous effect and impact upon our daily lives. Not being conscious spiritually will lead to deafness or deadness in the Spirit. The exhortation is that he who has an ear (a spiritual ear to hear) to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches (Revelation chapters 3 and 4). It is possible to hear (physically) and not hear (spiritually) (Acts 28:26-27). We should no longer just know Christ in the flesh but to know Him spiritually (2 Corinthians 5:16). We are exhorted to meditate on those things which are true, noble, just, pure, lovely of good report, having virtue and is praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). The word “meno” implies abiding, staying and remaining. Which part of us should remain, abide, or stay? Our thoughts, our soul, our consciousness. The training of our thoughts to abide upon Christ is the key to the practice of the presence of God daily. This spiritual consciousness of Christ can be increased until it invades into our soul consciousness and our physical consciousness. Spiritual consciousness is a feeling beyond feeling, a thought beyond thought. One might develop spiritual consciousness without one iota of soul or body feelings. What man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? (1 Corinthians 2:11).

I hope that through this small devotion, each of you understand that what you deem to be the presence of God in your life might have been merely your own “feeling” of His presence, for His presence is beyond feeling and beyond thought. Don’t be satisfied with the soul consciousness of His presence nor of the physical consciousness of His presence. Go further, go deeper and explore the true spiritual consciousness of God’s presence in your life. For Jesus says, ‘Lo, I am with you always even until the end of the age’ (Matthew 28:20). And where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of us (Matthew 18:20). The presence of God and of Jesus is everywhere and it is up to us to be conscious of this presence that He has blessed us with every day of our lives.

In Genesis 14, Abraham encountered Melchizedek the Priest for the first time. Melchizedek was a cherub who was once Adam’s guardian archangel and had permission from God to continue in the form of a man, after Adam’s death at the age of 930 years old, until he passed on the anointing to Abraham. Melchizedek was without father or mother and without genealogy because he was not a human being but only took on the form of a human (as angels are able to) to complete the ministry of Adam (Hebrews 7:3). He was not Shem, as is mostly assumed by scholars and in visions, his look was sharper and more angular (he had sharp nose and chin, slightly shorter than Shem, who had rounded nose and fuller chin) and very different from Shem. On the day of the encounter with Abraham, Melchizedek, who of course had open visions, saw in visions the meeting and took bread and wine to meet Abraham. Archangel Uriel who was with Abraham also appeared as a man on that day, and Abraham with about twenty of his servants saw just two men who were like priests. No burnt sacrifice was given but rather tithes from Abraham which included garments, gold and food. After receiving tithes from Abraham, Melchizedek blessed him and laid hands on him and on that day, Abraham received and anointing from God and had gifts imparted upon him. Abraham was visibly changed and transformed on that day and all that took place in his encounters with God and the covenant he made with God flowed forth from this impartation.

The first thing that Abraham was aware of was a need of a son to inherit all his blessings and God made a covenant with him by which Abraham released his faith for a child of his own, which points prophetically also to our Lord Jesus (Genesis 15:4-18). When Isaac was old enough, God brought Abraham into a prophetic act of being willing to sacrifice his son and provided a ram for them. In releasing this prophetic act which points to God giving our Lord Jesus as a sin offering for us, a completion of the encounter with Melchizedek took place, the possession of the gates of the enemies by Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 22:17-18). The Melchizedek blessing involves three areas:

1. The blessing of tithes and offerings from Abraham and his seed (The tithe was instituted in Abraham’s time as a blessing covenant, and in Moses’ time became part of the temple worship of holiness – Leviticus 27:30; Hebrews 7:5-9).
2. The establishment of victory and vanquishing of the enemy under our feet. Abraham had just experienced his first war victory in rescuing his nephew, Lot, when Archangel Uriel told him to prepare himself to meet up with Melchizedek to bring all his tithes and offerings (Genesis 14:14-20). The place of meeting was specially revealed to Abraham. The blessing of Melchizedek over Abraham especially mentioned that God has delivered his enemies into Abraham’s hands (Genesis 14:20).  Generations later, David, another mighty king warrior in the Lord, understood what this blessing involved and sang of triumphing over his enemies as the Melchizedek blessing, the priesthood of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4-5). The enemies of God under the feet was a special blessing of Abraham that King David invoked upon (Psalm 110:1-2). This became a prophetic fulfilment when our Lord Jesus triumphed over our last enemy, death himself, in His resurrection from the dead (Hebrews 1:13). In His resurrection, Christ Jesus took on the priesthood of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:5-6).
3. The establishment of praise and worship as the method to release the victory of Christ into our personal lives. Upon His resurrection, Christ made all the enemies of God His footstool and seeks to bring many sons to share the same glory (Hebrews 1:13; 2:10). Through oneness with Christ in worship this victory is now experienced and continued perpetually in His Name (Hebrews 2:10-13).

It is ONLY in the continuance of praise and worship in Jesus that we experience the total and perfect victory that Christ has bought for us by His precious blood and by the power of His resurrection. Thus we are taught to continue to offer to God the sacrifice of praise and worship as an offering (Hebrews 13:15). The book of Psalms prophesy of a time when praise and worship become the very instrument for the defeat of the enemy (Psalm 149:6-9). With the high praises of God in our mouth and the sword of the Spirit in our hand, we bind the enemies of God with chains and fetters and execute judgment on the forces of darkness.

For those of us in the New Testament, we need to understand that it is a lot of work to do all the daily temple animal sacrifices. Whether the priests feel like it or not, there is always the daily grind of sacrifices to do from early morning to evening. It involves the daily killing and cutting of animals and this increase when there are festivals plus the yearly feasts which require very specific and special ceremonial preparations. Feelings do not determine what is to be done daily but rather religious love and devotion to the commandments of God. In that light, all Christians in the New Testament should be grateful that we no longer need animal sacrifices but still there are daily sacrifices to be made to God each day, plus special occasions of meetings that God ordained to be carried out. We should treat the lifting up of our hands that worship that flows as the fruit of our lips be as the daily morning and evening sacrifice to God (Psalm 141:2).

The New Testament is full of exhortations to give thanks and to praise and worship our God continually (Philippians 4:6; Colossians 2:7; 4:2; Revelation 7:12). Paul himself is always giving thanks to God and exhorts us to do so continually (2 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 1:16; 5:4, 20; Colossians 1:3, 12; 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 3:9; 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Timothy 2:1; Hebrews 13:15; Revelation 4:9; 11:17). It is the apostle Paul who exhorts that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men (1 Timothy 2:1). And who exhorts that in everything give thanks for this is the Will of God in all situations in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18). We also have the example of King Jehoshaphat whose mighty singers brought a victory for all of Israel through their worship and praise without a single arrow being fired or a single sword swinged against the enemy (2 Chronicles 20:20-22).

Note that Jehoshaphat faced an enemy that was great in multitude and who were physically stronger than his kingdom (2 Chronicles 20:2). They admitted that they had no power against this great multitude (2 Chronicles 20:12). The exhortation to them from God was that:

1. The battle is not theirs but the Lord’s (2 Chronicles 20:15)
2. They do NOT need to fight in this battle but just position themselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:17)
3. They are to believe the Lord, believe His prophets and they will be established and prosper (2 Chronicles 20:20)
4. They were to appoint singers to sing to the Lord and praise the beauty of holiness, saying, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever”

As they sang the same song as the dedication of the temple, which was ‘For He is good, for His mercy endures forever’ when the glory cloud came (2 Chronicles 5:13). God caused thousands upon thousands of the enemies to be killed.

The greatest weapon of the New Testament believers is the power of thanksgiving, praise and worship. By the same mouth that made confession of our Lord Jesus being Lord and Saviour and the same heart of believe, we were all born again (Romans 10:8-10). By the same power of faith in our Lord Jesus and in the power of the spoken word, we move mountains (Mark 11:22-24). By the same power of praise and worship, the fruit of our lips, we release the power of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus (Hebrews 13:15). The power of the spoken word is what defeats the enemy (Ephesians 6:17 sword of the Spirit, word of God is rhema of God, the spoken word of God). Whoever believes on God will not be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek for whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, delivered, blessed, triumphed (Romans 10:11-13). We need to open our mouth and filled it with thanksgiving and praises to the Lord every day.

Our Lord Jesus foresaw this New Testament era when He said the ‘hour’ will come when they shall worship God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23-24). It is the ‘last hour’ and the glorious church of God is called upon to rise as a people powerful in thanksgiving, praise and worship (1 John 2:18; 1 Peter 2:5). We are living stones being built up into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood (of Melchizedek) to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to our Lord Jesus. This is not just something we do in our strength. It has to be done through being completely one with our Lord Jesus, and then through Him and in Him giving glory to our God the Father. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all ONE (Hebrews 2:11). And our calling is that we will yield in this oneness with our Lord Jesus such that our Lord Jesus literally sing praises to the Father through us (Hebrews 2:12). Then God will release a glory that the world and the Universe has never ever seen before. The glory of God revealed to Christ from the foundation of the world! (John 17:24). It is this glory of inheritance which God worked in Christ in resurrection power, which He now uses to put all things under His feet, and gave Christ to be the head of the church, His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:23).

It is out of our new born again spirits that God has perfected praise (Matthew 21:16). This is the hour when God pours out His Spirit upon all flesh and gives all the ability to praise and worship Him perfect in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23-24; Acts 2:1-4, 11; 1 Corinthians 14:2, 14-15). We are growing into a holy temple, being built together to be a habitation of God, where continual daily praises flow forth day and night (Ephesians 2:21-22). Like the four living creatures who do not rest day and night, always praising and worshipping the Lord, our new born spirits are birth to give continual twenty-four-hour praises and worship to our Heavenly Father (Revelation 4:8; 7:5). The highest, deepest, greatest worship will be that which rises from the glorious bride of our Lord Jesus, the Melchizedek generation, who defeats all the enemies of God, even death, through the power of praise and worship in the beauty of holiness. Amen.

Dearly Beloved

Jesus had a good habit of spending time with the Father God in the early hours of the morning and also many nights of all-night prayers with God in the mountains (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; 6:46; Luke 6:12; John 6:15; Hebrews 5:7). His was a life of prayer. Devout people develop habits of prayers which pleases God and brings great blessings. Even those who have not fully known God yet, like Cornelius brought forth blessings upon himself and his very large family (Acts 10:1-4, 44-45). It is a promise of God that those who seek Him must believe that He exists and that He IS A REWARDER of those who seek Him DILIGENTLY (Hebrews 11:6). Physical habits of prayers come from mental habits of thought. A discipline life comes from a discipline mind. The place to create good habits start with examining habits of thoughts.

The true battle field everyday as we live as heavenly people in a sinful earthly world, is to keep our mind and thoughts pure in the sight of God. Paul acknowledges this mental place of warfare between God and the devil (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). We are to daily bring ALL our thoughts to the obedience of Christ! Physical habits flow naturally when we have a good mental habit of thought. Good habitually habits of thoughts become the mental fortress which guards our hearts and minds every day through God’s Word flowing in our hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10; 10:16). It is not just pure mental energy but it is yielding to the mind of Christ within us. We do have the mind of Christ given to us when we were born again (1 Corinthians 2:16). Be renewed by the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new man, which is according to God’s nature, having been created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:22, 23 NKJV translation). The spiritual mind within us can dominate the soul mind every morning when we get up. There are good habits which we can develop. But first develop good mental habits every day when you get up.

There are three daily mental habits which we must develop in order to live heavenly lives while on earth. They are simple: look upwards, look inwards then look outwards.  Most people when they get up in the morning or before they sleep late at night, consider the things of this life immediately. That is completely wrong and a bad mental habit that must be broken. The first thing to do every morning when you wake up is to mentally begin to look into the heavens and see our Lord Jesus seated on the Throne at the Right Hand of God. Visualise if you can’t see this. It is important to start the day seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6). It is in the heavenly places that all the spiritual blessings have been given in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). We all know that every day when God is our Shepherd, we will see the goodness and mercy of our Lord (Psalm 23:6). The goodness and mercy of God that follows us every day in our lives are conditioned upon us seeing and knowing the Lord as our Shepherd, where His rod and His staff comfort us. King David speaks of seeing the Lord always before his face (Acts 2:25; Psalm 16:8). Humans have lost the ability to see God every day due to sin and in restoring us, our Lord Jesus enables us to see God every day in the eyes of our heart (2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 4:6). Let the eyes of your heart and the eyes of your mind look up and see God every morning, as the first mental habit when you wake up (and when you sleep). It is a command and admonishment for us to every day set our mind on things above and not on things of the earth (Colossians 3:1-2).

As clearly as you can, see our Lord Jesus at the Right Hand of God, form that image in your heart and mind strongly in your imagination and hold it as long as you can as your first conscious thought every morning (and every night). After much training, this will be your default conscious thought when you wake up in the morning or when you sleep at night. All things in this life are to be directed from heaven. We are not to DO the works of God but to WALK in the works that God has prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). The things that you are to do every day, were created and prepared by God for you to fulfil them by flowing into them. They have been created, nor shall be created. This natural earthly life is to bring forth that which is created in the spiritual by God. Thus, you must tap upon the Source of all creative power, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty God and Creator of all life, the Word by which all things which are made, were made (John 1:1-3). Enjoy this experience of looking upwards to where Christ is seated on the Throne. Bask in that divine light and presence, let it filled you, envelope you, surround you, embrace you. It is greater than the morning sun that shines outside your window. Let this consciousness of Jesus seated on the Throne fill your heart and mind. Let Him be the focus of all your thoughts and worship and singing. After much practice, this vision will be very easy to recall 24 hours any time any day.

Secondly, after you have enjoyed being at the Throne Room for minutes or for hours, with the light still shining upon you, begin to look within you. Can you see the same light reflected upon your inside? Can you see that same image formed on your inside, in your spirit and in your soul? Let the fullness of that image WITHIN you also begin to shine out through you (2 Corinthians 3:18). Christ is being formed within us every day until we are exactly like Him, that is our predestination (Romans 8:29-30). Christ is living within us (Ephesians 3:17). Now begin to feel all of that energy of Christ within you flowing through every single part of your body. Like a wave within you, like a whirlwind within you, like a flowing fountain of life within you, this energy of Christ within you pumps into your blood vessels and every cell within your body. Christ within you, the hope of glory shines brighter than the sun within you (Colossians 1:27). Your spirit is alive with the Holy Spirit and with Christ within you. You are more powerful than a nuclear power station for all the energy of the Creator, the Logos, is within you. Meditate on this as you look inside you, inside your spirit, where Christ dwells within you, the temple of God. After you have spent minutes or hours in this, you will be tapping on not just natural energy for your daily life but upon the Spirit of Life who now flows within your physical body. The Holy Spirit gives God’s eternal life into your physical body (Romans 8:11).

Thirdly, after enjoying the spiritual electrical flow of God’s divine life flowing into your spirit, soul and body, you begin to look outwards at all that God wants you to do for the day, or all that has been planned or scheduled for you. You will feel like your spirit is at rest, your soul is alert and your body is like moving in motion like being controlled by a higher energy or force. And all of the things you need to do in this life, is just a little bit more of what you add daily to your quota of things to do by the power of the Holy Spirit. Do not worry about tomorrow but just go about and do what you need to do today, knowing that day by day, the mountain that stands before you being chipped away and being moved by the invisible power of God. Just do what is sufficient for that day, leave the things of tomorrow for tomorrow (Matthew 6:34). Whatever things you need to schedule for the future do so without any worry. Life is to live one day at a time. Don’t forget to enjoy the journey while being focussed on your goals. Each day is a day to be enjoyed to the fullest. And learn to pull always from the things of this life, knowing that a lot of things will not be finish in one day. Take time to enjoy the day, enjoy the love you can give to all around you, the blessings and presence of God you can bring to the atmosphere of the place you live in. Whatever you do, do it all in the name of our Lord Jesus to the glory of God (Colossians 3:17).

These three mental habits must be practiced everyday until they become your default mode: look upwards, look inwards and then only look outwards. Christ seated on the Throne, Christ within you, then living the Christ life. Everything begins and ends with Christ. We live, we breathe, we think, we feel, we enjoy, we pleasure only through Christ and Christ alone. When these three simple mental habits become yours, you will enjoy what Paul says, it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me (Galatians 2:20). And without much effort or natural force, you are being transformed daily by this Christ consciousness in your daily life. Moreover, these mental habits will begin to produce physical habits. There will be times when you are so conscious of Christ at the Throne room that you want to find a place to be alone with Him and just worship Him. Thus, begins your devotional habit without even trying to make it a habit. Instead of feeling the effort, you feel the pleasure and the drawing of Christ within you. There is no effort when you enjoy what you are doing. And true Christianity is to be lived by the energy of grace within us and not by the outward energy of the flesh. Enjoy the presence of Christ in your daily lives as you practice this three mental habits.

Joy and happiness is something which everyone wants to have, yet it is not something which every body has. Why is the pursuit of joy and happiness so elusive for many? Why can’t people be happy with their lives? There is in everyone an internal picture of what they must have, where they will be or what they will be doing in order to be happy and joyful. And when things do not line up to this picture or when the direction they are moving forwards is not towards this internal picture,there is a major disruption to the joy and peace that they could have had experience. This internal picture of what constitutes joy and happiness is ever changing as a person grows up into adulthood and even when reaching adulthood, it keeps changing as one’s desire and aspirations of what is possible increases to higher heights.\
Who made this internal picture? And why does there need to even be an internal picture of what would make one happy and joyful? Unfortunately, this internal picture can be produced by outward circumstances: the inspirations of unrealized parental dreams, the jealousy of what others have which is absent from one’s own life, the unfulfilled desires and dreams of one’s imagination fired by readings, knowledge or dreams from historical indulgences or futuristic hopes. Everyone has an internal picture of what would make one happy and joyful. It is time to examine this picture. Is this internal picture produced by all our hopes and dreams and aspiration from God or from the enemy or from environment around us? The distractions of the seed that is sown among thorns are hopes, pleasures and desire for the things of this life that can rob one of joy and happiness; and worse, even one’s destiny in God. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things choke the word of God and the word of life from us (Mark 4:18). We are warned not to be tempted by the desires for the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-17). Our Lord Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil with all the kingdoms of the world and their glory (Matthew 4:8, 9). Abraham was tempted by the king of Sodom but refused even a shoe lace or a thread, lest the enemy boasts that they had made Abraham rich (Genesis 14:23). James told the rich not to focus on their gold and silver which corrodes but to live their lives righteous before God (James 5:1-5). Our Lord Jesus told us not to lay up treasures on earth but to lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). The apostle Paul exhorts us not to be conformed to the world but to be renewed by the renewal of our mind (Romans 12:2). The first and simple key to joy and happiness is to be freed from the desires for all the things of this world and this life. Anyone still relying on anything on earth or anything in this life for their joy and happiness will constantly be faced with all the cares of life and things which accompany worldly possessions. Any happiness obtained by the acquirement of world goods or worldly positions or pleasures, will be temporal and never truly satisfying. There is nothing wrong to have appropriate goals and accountability to live on this earth with all of God’s blessings. Just never ever have your joy and happiness dependent on anything that is visible. Let it be always and directly from the invisible realm, from the heavens above, from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Many will struggle to let go of everything in this life, just like the rich young man struggled to leave everything behind to became a disciple of our Lord Jesus. In the end, he had too much investment in this physical world to let it go, and went sadly away (Mark 10:22). He lived on for earthly years but must have died a sad, sad man. What a wasted life? What a lost opportunity to exchange all that he had for the greatest pearl of life, our Lord Jesus! Just as we have been crucified with Christ, we must also be crucified to the world. The apostle Paul, brought up with the best education and with the greatest opportunity more than most people to become rich, prosperous and powerful gave everything up to pursue the knowledge of Christ (Philippians 3:7). He counted all that he had as dung compared to the gaining Christ (Philippians 3:8). He also said that as far as he was concern, the world has been crucified to him (Galatians 6:14). Indeed, those in Christ must have crucified the flesh with its passions and its desires (Galatians 2:20; 5:24). When we give up something we pursue, we need to replace it with something else. We need to replace our zeal and desire for the things of this life with the zeal and desire for the kingdom of God. In seeking the kingdom of God FIRST, we will gain all things that we every need in this life to live out our destiny (Matthew 6:33). After giving up all of the visible things of this life, we need to replace our internal picture of happiness and joy with a better picture. It is a picture of the glorified Christ in all His splendour and love.

I have found that it is not possible to have this new picture of Christ in our hearts until we are deeply touched by the greatness of Christ’s love for us personally and also by deeply falling in love with Christ. Like the woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, or like the woman who poured forth the best perfume on our Lord Jesus, we need to be deeply affected, touched, moved, changed, transformed by the greatness of Christ’s love for us. Our Lord Jesus declared that “she loved much!” (Luke 7:47). And on the perfume, He said that wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what the woman had done

shall be told as a memorial to her (Luke 7:13). Why this memorial? What is the story? It is a story of deep, sacrificial, unrestrained love for our Lord Jesus
demonstrated by these women. Can our Lord Jesus declare of us, His modern disciples, that we “loved much?” So rare are there amongst humans who loved God
that God even prepares something special for those who love Him back (1 Corinthians 2:9). What is the greatest gift that we can give back to our Lord Jesus
and to the Father, who has given us the best of the best? Nothing in heaven or on earth could compare with what God has done for us in His love. The greatest gift
that we can give back to God, freely of our own choice and will, is an undivided passionate, deep, unwavering first love towards our Father God and our Lord Jesus
Christ. In order to love Him so deeply, we need to appreciate how deeply and unconditionally He has loved us; for we love Him because He first loved us (1 John
4:9-11). Read the gospel stories over and over again. Can you see how much He loved us? Can you feel the depths of His love? Are you not touched by His
sufferings for our sin? Are you not moved by His sacrifice on the cross for us? Allow yourself to be touched, moved, affected and finally transformed by the revelation of the greatness and depth of His love. And then you will find that same love to give back to our Creator, our Redeemer, our Saviour. When we are deeply and passionately in love with our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father God, He will be everything that makes us happy and joyful! The second most important key to the fullness of joy and happiness is to be deeply and passionately in love with our Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ. When we are in love with God,
He will be the first thought every morning and our last thought at night. Nothing can touch nor destroy this joy and happiness for it is founded and built upon the invisible and the unmoveable. He will become the centre of the revolution of our life. He will be in our heart, in our emotions, in our thoughts, in our goals in our desire day and night. Oh, to be in such a place, would be the happiest, the most joyful moment of life! Do not let your love for God become cold because of lawlessness which abounds around you (Matthew 24:12). Rather be daily renewed and transformed by the fresh love of God every day. God’s love is new every morning, fresh every day. God’s love and compassions fail not, they are new every morning, great is His faithfulness every day (Lamentations 3:22, 23). By making Jesus the centre of our lives, the source of our joy and happiness, our joy and happiness becomes more steadfast and more constant than the sun that rises every morning. For everything around us will be shaken until that which cannot be shaken remains (Hebrews 12:27). The only constant we have in our lives is the love of God for us and our love towards Him. Yes, indeed, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). And you don’t have to be persuaded by me, rather be persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor
height nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39). And the side effect of this daily source of joy and happiness is that ALL things will work together for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Let us give God the best gift, the one thing He cannot force upon us, the free will love for God, the first love towards God, the gift of our heartfelt love to God. This love we return towards Him is so precious and pure and holy, that He chooses to bring us into a place of special specials, that which no ear has heard, nor eye seen, nor enter into the heart of man (1 Corinthians 2:9).

The third important key to joy and happiness is to be connected with the real joy and happiness of and from our Lord Jesus Himself. We are not just to have
our own joy and happiness but we are to have the actual ever flowing joy and happiness of the Resurrected Christ, who has finished all His redemption work for
us. It is not just our joy, it is His Joy! Can you feel the heart of our Lord Jesus? Can you feel His emotions of such peace, such joy, such love that no words can expressed, but only to be experienced? Our Lord Jesus said that His Joy will REMAIN IN US and that OUR JOY will be FULL (John 15:10). It is His Joy and not
just our own joy. Many people forget that the expression ‘ the joy of the Lord is our strength’ emphasizes on the JOY OF THE LORD and not our own joy (Nehemiah
8:10). It is not just an exhortation to rejoice but it is an exhortation to HAVE the JOY OF the Lord! And our Lord Jesus also said that NO ONE will take the joy that He gave us (John 16:22). This is indeed and truly the joy and happiness that is permanent and eternal and everlasting. Heaven and earth may change but this joy and happiness will NEVER change for it is HIS JOY in us forever more. Moreover, in the presence of God is FULLNESS OF JOY (Psalm 16:11). This verse
is tied to the path of life which He will show us. The path that God wants His people to walk in, to travel in while sojourning on the earth, is a path filled with His presence, which is His FULLNESS OF JOY. We are to have this joy right here and now for the same presence of God is released in the redemption of Christ now in His kingdom. For the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and JOY (Romans 14:17). And when this life is over and we enter into His throne and into the new heavens and new earth, it will be even more exponential joy for each of us, for He will say to us who are faithful, ENTER INTO THE JOY OF THE LORD (Matthew
25:21, 23). We will be presented faultless, before the presence of His glory with EXCEEDING JOY (Jude 24). Amen.