1. GO DEEPER - Take a step of faith
Spiritual babies are those who follow what they feel or think. But we have to leave the shallow of the flesh and go deeper with the Spirit. Luke 5, Jesus told Simon to " Go out where it is DEEPER and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish." Which also a symbol that we have to go deeper in faith to be able to get something in our life. When God is calling us to go deeper, we will start feeling unsatisfied with our life or where we are now. We want more. Many feels that, but only a few are willing to pay the price. Because in order to go somewhere with God, we have to LEAVE something behind. Personal obedience is the MOST important thing in our walk with God. BE GOD'S PLEASER AND NOT MEN'S!! Because by the end of ourlives, we'll be answering to God and not men. When we're ready to move , those who don't want to move will be angry and get jealous with us.But we need to obey God for ourselves!!
2. SELF ACCEPTANCE - Have peace with ourselves
God wants us to be bold enough to be OURSELVES!! Sometimes we focus too much with what's wrong with us rather than what God wants us to do. Which is exactly what the devil wants. Nobody have any autorithy over us like we have to ourselves. And the way we see ourselves is how it will cross to others. Matthew 22:37-39, " Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.....Love your neighbor as yourself." Is talking 3 relationships here. With God, others and ourself. And not untill we start loving ourself, accept who we are in Christ, can we ever start loving others. When we like ourselves and see it as God see it, we won't even bother what others will say or think about us. The devil will do everything he could to stop you from accepting just the way you are and have peace with yourself!
3. LIVE BOLDLY!! BE COURAGEOUS AND BRAVE.
People are challenged and motivated by bravery. We can be powerful or pitiful but we can't be both. We can be sad, low, down on the outside but still "standing" on the inside. PRESS ON! Are we gonna be the person who give up or be stronger in our difficulties? There's nothing He can do for us if we decide to give up. God works thru faith and part of faith is being bold-confident. Not on ourself but God. Galatians 6:8-9, We will harvest as long as we're not giving up. And stop waiting for someone to help us to bring miracles or bring us out from misery and self pity, but be brave and do it ourself. John 5:1-9, Jesus asked the lame man despite knowing how long he's been there for " Do you want to get well?" He answered " I can't sir, for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water stirred up." (He was waiting for someone to help him and being there for 38 years should make him more determined and find a way rather than just waited). And He added, "While I'm trying to get there, someone else always gets in ahead of me." (He was falling into self pity.Feeling sorry for himself). Jesus told him, " Stand up, pick up your sleeping mat ,and walk!" (Jesus didn't feel pity on him or doing something for him but ordered him TO DO something instead). Get up and get a life!! Live with the fiery spirit in us for God's spirit is not a spirit of giving up!! Luke 19:1-9, Zacheus was short but he was determined that he won't be left out and he did > something radical. He climbed the sycamore tree to see Jesus and the spirit of the Lord told Jesus to looked up and give attention to him. (Jesus didn't walk looking up all the time). Jesus was very proud with what Zacheus did. And he was the only one Jesus went and have dinner with.
4. LOVE - Is an action on purpose
Colossians 3:12-14, We must clothe ourselves with tenderhearted, mercy,kindness, humility, gentleness and patience........and the MOST important piece of clothing you must wear is Love. Love is what binds us together in perfect harmony. Which means, love is like a clothing that you CAN choose to wear or not to wear. It is an action on purpose and Jesus CHOOSE to wear IN love always. Revelations 16:15, I will come unexpectedly like a thief! Blessed are those who are watching for me, who keep their CLOTHES ready so they will not be seen naked and ashamed. The clothes mentioned here is not our earthly clothes but were actually talking about this "clothes" that was mentioned in Colossians. Without all of that Spiritual clothes, we're actually looked naked to God and the devil as well. And that's an easy target for Satan. ONLY love can defeats the enemy because the devil IS scared of love. So listen to others, have mercy, encourage, forgive, make someone smile or laugh, meet their needs, as an act of love. Showing what God has done to us. What He's doing in our lives. BE a vessel which God can flow and fill in so that we'll be fruitful.
God was actually asking Joyce to love her father, who was harassing her sexually for 15 years in her teenage years, by buying them a house in neighbourhood area, a car and taking care of her very old parents. Joyce already forgive him but she finds it difficult to love him or having him anywhere in her life. Specially that he pretended like nothing ever happen. Never sorry for what he did. But she obeyed God, did exactly what God told her to do and 3 years later, her father cried for a week and finally apologised for what he did to her, how sorry he was, and asked her to baptise him that Sunday. He was 80 years old, need a stick to help him walk and when he was coming out from the water, he started running around the church, shouting " God is good!!! God is good!!! Praise God!!" Bottom line is, everything that God asked us to do, will be for OUR benefit in the end. Take care of God's business and God will take care of our business!!
5. FEAR - Live a larger life!! Not a small life with fear
Fear is the the one thing the devil use to keep us from progressing.The minute we take a step of faith, the devil will also take a step to make us afraid, lying and bringing bad negative thinking to us. As long as we're not giving up, God will do EVERYTHING He promised.But there's nothing God can do if we choose to give up. It's one thing to fear fear, but it's another thing to let fear CONTROL us. We can't wish for fear to get away but we have to CONQUER it!! We may feel fear but we DON'T bow down to it. WeCONFRONT it!! Don't put too much attention to how we feel. As long as we know that God send us, tell us to do it and God IS beside us. It didn't matter what we feel but what we WILL do matter most. Just because we feel fear doesn't mean we can't KEEP going forward. Lot of people got afraid to not getting what they want in their life. Fear of failure. But sometimes we learn more in our failure than our sucsess. Besides, God's will be done in our life for He ALWAYS do and give the BEST for us. Mattew 14:28, Out of the 12 diciples, only Peter was brave enough to asked Jesus that he too want to walk on water. But he started to switch his attentionto the storm, FEEL fear and forgetting that Jesus IS there WITH him. Same as us. Once we start being afraid of "storms" in our lives, we start forgetting what God says, promised and that He IS with us. Verse 34, They CROSSED the lake.......So they finally ARRIVED on the other side of where they were before despite having a storm and heavy waves. Which also means, as long as we STAY on the boat, God will deliver us anyway. Just HANG ON!! Josua 1:6-9, BE STRONG and COURAGEOUS!! For the Lord your God is WITH you wherever you go. BE bold, BE strong, BE confident and BE courageous as God commanded us to. BE!! Is a choice. How we're gonna act. Peter might fall, but Jesus were probably proud, at least Peter's bold enough to asked and tried talkingon water. Brave person is someone who feel fear but KEEP ON doing what God says anyway. And people are challenge by bravery.God dare us to do bigger thing, to do something new, to get out from the boat and walk on water. God wants us to live with PASSION and PURPOSE! DON'T GIVE UP YOUR DREAMS!!! God LIKES bold people. Don't look at who dislikes us but those who DO. Be God's pleaser! Don't let the enemy steal our destiny. Believes in GOD rather than our feeling. God makes everything beautiful on its time. Believe and it will come true to you.
