OUR NO.1 PRIORITY
I was asking myself afresh this past weekend, “what is my no.1 priority”? I believe I can say with the Apostle Paul in Phil. 3:10 “That I may know Him in the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death”. Do I always fulfil it, sadly the answer is no, I make no excuse as I know His grace is sufficient and it can and should be my priority 24/7 constantly. I believe I can say it is becoming a greater reality in my life.
WHAT IS MY 2ND PRIORITY?
I believe the Holy Spirit has been reminding me of the challenge and responsibility in James 3:1. Teachers shall receive a stricter (higher) judgement. This is what is says to me.
1.That my teaching must be Biblically accurate
- (a) Not my personal Theological bias
- (b) Not just applying truth
- (c) Not just the latest craze
- (d) It challenges believers hearts not just their heads.
2. That I am not a hypocrite (acting out a part on a stage) telling others what to do and not doing it myself.
I can sincerely say my blogs are written with this intention to bless God’s people and to give God all the glory.
You know the burden of my heart is the essential need of Biblical Discipleship, and laying the right foundations in a Believer’s life so that he can quickly move to ever growing maturity, and a desire to disciple others, plus the next step following Discipling that is Mentoring leaders to fulfil the purposes of God in their lives.
The are many aspects of discipleship that can be taught in a class, but some areas require Bosko ministry, such as Prayer and protecting the Mind. I want us to look at a couple of Christ’s model prayers and unpackage them and see what truths are imbedded in them. let’s begin with what we call the Lord’s prayer, many Theologians call it the Disciple’s prayer. Matthew 6″9-13.
Our Father. What an awesome title to give our God, , it speaks of relationship. Paul tells us in Romans 8:15 when we are born again and the Holy Spirit enters our life we cannot help but cry out “abba Father”.
In heaven. We know God is omnipresent, but His throne is in heaven, He and His throne are higher than any other deity.
Hallowed be Your name. There is no name to compare with the true and living God, it is expressed so clearly in His triune Name Lord Jesus Christ, Father Son and Holy Spirit is so expressed in His Name. We could also look at all His compound names in the Bible that so clearly express His Nature and character. Truly holy (hallowed) in His Name.
Your Kingdom come. What is a Kingdom? The geographic area that the King rules. The Old Testament tells us God’s Kingdom is everlasting, Jesus came preaching the Kingdom, and that we are to seek it, so that He is the Ruler of our lives, then the day will come when Jesus will ushers in the Eternal Kingdom of God.
Your will be done. If we are to be the men and women God has called us to be, our daily prayer must be the same as Jesus in Gethsemane “not my will but thine be done”. Our depraved nature wants to do its own thing, but constantly we bow our will to the will of God, only in living in His will we know His seal and blessing upon our lives. God perfect will reigns in heaven, may it rule on earth, May Jesus be the Lord of all the earth.
Give us this day our daily bread. not tomorrow’s bread but today. God’s banqueting Table is spread before us (THE WORD OF GOD) but we must FEED OURSELVES, we may start with the milk of the Word, but can quickly move to the meat of the Word. God’s people everywhere are starving trying to live on Sunday morning’s sermon, but can be “fat and flourishing” as we partake of His Word EVERY DAY and let it work in us.
And forgive us our debts (sins).It is awesome to know that every sin we have and will ever commit was dealt with at the cross, and the day came when we repented and all our past sins were washed away by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. Then the Apostle John writing to believers tells in 1 John 2:1 (now that we are believers) If anyone sins, we have an Advocate (one who will intercede for us AMP) and if we confess our sins He is Faithful and just (true to His Name, His nature and promises) to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Let me remind you God will not listen to us if we have sin in our lives Psalm 66:18.
As we forgive those who sin against us. Unforgiveness is a horrible cancer that will cripple our spiritual lives, it has been described like this, that while we hold unforgiveness in our hearts it is like drinking poison, hoping the other person will die !! Let us never forget God forgave the unforgivable in us, and must us His children.
Do not lead us into temptation. I like the message that says “keep us safe from ourselves. Speaking for myself, the devil is not my biggest problem I AM MY BIGGEST PROBLEM, we need to be alert to the “wiles” and “fiery darts” of the evil one. That is why Paul tells us to put every piece of armour that god has made available to us Ephesians 6:10-18.
Deliver us from the evil one, we can say positionly the devil is defeated, but we must do our part to make it experiential. James tells us “submit to God, resist the devil (in the Name of Jesus, and he must flee” hallelujah.
For yours is the Kingdom, not ours, nor any dictator that may raise his head, it all belongs to God.
And the power. In reality all power belongs to God, and nothing can stand before it.And the glory God did it all, personally, I was saved, I am being saved, I will be saved eternally Wow what a mighty God serve.
During the height of the Charismatic Renewal, we would often sing the Lord’s Prayer, I guess I am reminiscing, but it was such a blessing to proclaim especially we come to:
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY FOR EVER AMEN.
I trust the above has been a blessing to you, my apologies for accidently posting a small part of this blog yesterday. Would love to hear your comments please ?
