Our Bodies..TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Hi ...

Good morning.. 

1 Corinthians 3:16 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

If we have accepted JESUS CHRIST as our Savior & are the children of the most High God, we need to remember we no longer can do what we want to abuse this body for our vain pleasures. This body now is the 'temple of the Holy Spirit'. It's not our own!!

1 Corinthians 6: 19 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

Many of us think this body belongs to us and we can do what we want with it. If we belong to Christ we are the Children of a God who is a HOLY GOD & we have no right to abuse or destroy this body by indulging in things that may harm our body.

Just note this verse..

1 Cor 3:17 "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 

Yes we are to keep it Holy but the flesh is weak & so struggle in the area. Our selfish desires sometimes blind us to the fact that this body is not ours.

But The Holy Spirit will help in our weakness & intercede for us.

Romans 8:26 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

The indwelling HOLY SPIRIT will give us life, He's our promise of eternal life from God.

Romans 8: 11 "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."

 So...we need to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. THIS SACRIFICE HAS TO ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.

Romans 12: 1 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."

God wants us to sacrifice our bodies, laying aside our selfish desires as a living sacrifice to HIM.

Have we done that??

Are we willing to do it???

In the Old Testament animal sacrifices was practiced, but even then God made it clear, obedience was more important than any sacrifice.

1 SAMUEL 15: 22 But Samuel replied:
       "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
       as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ?
       To obey is better than sacrifice,
       and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

So we are to obey God. When we fail to do what HE wants us to do, we rebel & REBELLION IS SIN.

1 SAMUEL 15: 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
       Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
       he has rejected you as king."

Rebellion is like the sin of divination (witchcraft) & Arrogance like the evil of idolatry.

"REBELLION" & "ARROGANCE" are serious sin, did you know that???

Saul was rejected as King because of these sins & his Kingdom taken away.

SO LET'S BE OBEDIENT OF GOD'S VOICE AND OFFER OUR BODIES AS A LIVING SACRIFICE, ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.

You know God always has GOOD, ACCEPTABLE, PERFECT Plans for us.

Why don't we give HIM our best??? 

We all have areas where temptations is strong and habits hard to conquer.

Habits like over eating also is abusing our body. We don't live to eat, but eat to live.

Habits like smoking, addiction to alcoholic drinks affect this body. If we say this Body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, how can we abuse it??

We cannot destroy this temple.

We need to remember...

1 Cor 3:17 "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."

We need to seek God's help in areas we struggle &  work hard to overcome this temptation & prevailing sin.

Let's give our bodies in a good condition to our Lord.

GOD DOES NOT ACCEPT BLEMISHED SACRIFICES.

I am just reminded of this passage in Malachi chapter 1.

Let's read it.

Blemished Sacrifices

MALACHI 1: 6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.
      "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?'

 7 "You place defiled food on my altar.
      "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?'
      "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible.

8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.

 9 "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty.

 10 "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands.

11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty.

 12 "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' 13 And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty.
      "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD.

14 "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations.

So let's not take God for granted.

How many times God shows us clearly some habits of ours are surely abusive and destroys our body.

How many times He's asked us to give it up and offer this body as a living sacrifice acceptable to HIM??

Have we been stubborn and rebellious??

It's time to turn from our wicked ways and sinful desires of the flesh that destroys this body.

We reflect God to our family and friends and those around. What image of God's character and attitudes do they see in us??

If we casually accept sinful pleasures and compromise with the world, HOW CAN WE PLEASE DOD???

WE ARE GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE, A HOLY GENERATION.

OUR GOD IS NOT A GOD OF CONVENIENCE.

It often takes hard work to live by God's standards but not impossible.

WHAT WE HAVE TO GIVE UP  IS VERY LESS COMPARED TO ALL THAT WE WILL INHERIT..INCLUDING ETERNAL LIFE WITH GOD.

If we are struggling with any habits that are slowly destroying our bodies,

~~1) We need to seek the HOLY SPIRIT'S help. We need to accept we have a problem with an addiction and be willing to let go.

~~2) Stay away form tempting situations and places.

~~3) Seek the help of fellow believers for prayer and support.

Let's not feel bad to confess our problem & reach out for help.

~~4) Be accountable to someone in the Body of Christ, who are willing to encourage us & pray with us.

 OUR BODY BELONGS TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.

 I like what my pastor said the other day, "This body is not ours, Let's live by HIS rules & not violate it. I can't say 'it's my body, I can do what I want,  it's my child, I can abort it' etc"

The Bible says in...

 PETER 1:16 "for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

 17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." 

The Holy Spirit will help us. When He convicts us we are to be willing to let go of all that defiles our bodies.

HE WILL GIVE US STRENGTH TO OVERCOME EVERY SIN AND ADDICTION.

TRUST IN GOD.

So let us give no more excuses.

'Take all of me Lord...

Let me decrease and you increase..

In Jesus/Yeshua's Name

Amen'

Be blessed,

Julia

Fatal attractions...~Pastor's message~

Hi ...

This is a message our Pastor Willie Soans preached one Sunday in April 2007, from the Book of 1 KINGS 13:1-25. (Please..take time and read this interesting incident).

Here are the notes I took down, I may have missed out some things but tried to get down the main points.

Here we read about a man of God who had a Word from God against the alter in Bethel.

This message so...blessed me..

"Thank you pastor for this message"

I just want to share something that I learnt from this message...

God sent out a 'man of God with His Word on a Mission.

1 KINGS 13: 1 By the word of the LORD a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering. 2 He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD : "O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.' " 3 That same day the man of God gave a sign: "This is the sign the LORD has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out."

The King was angry with the 'Man of God'

1 KINGS 13:4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back.

The King asked the man of God to intercede for his hand that shriveled up & when he was healed he told the man of God...

 1 KINGS13: 6 Then the king said to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before.
 7 The king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and have something to eat, and I will give you a gift."

  But the man of God refused because the Lord had asked him to speak HIS WORD & leave Bethel immediately, without staying back to eat food.  

1 KINGS 13: 8 But the man of God answered the king, "Even if you were to give me half your possessions, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water here. 9 For I was commanded by the word of the LORD : 'You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.' " 10 So he took another road and did not return by the way he had come to Bethel.

  But instead of leaving immediately..we find this man of God sitting under an Oak tree. This is where an old prophet comes to him & say's he had a word from an angel of God (he was lying & this man of God believed him.)

1 KINGS 13: 18 The old prophet answered, "I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD : 'Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.' " (But he was lying to him.) 19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house.

  He went to his house and ate food and God was angry and spoke through this old prophet to him.

1 Kings 12: 20 While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back. 21 He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, "This is what the LORD says: 'You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. 22 You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.' "

And he died because he disobeyed God. It was a judgement from God for disobeying HIM.

1 KINGS 13: 23 When the man of God had finished eating and drinking, the prophet who had brought him back saddled his donkey for him. 24 As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it. 25 Some people who passed by saw the body thrown down there, with the lion standing beside the body, and they went and reported it in the city where the old prophet lived.

What a sad ending to a man who had a mission and call on his life from God!!! Satan knows our weakness and strikes there. This man of God's weakness was food and got him to easily disobey God. And if he had left immediately he could have escaped the enemy's snare.

  When we are on a mission let's do it and leave and not linger around for the enemy will come as an 'angel of light' most of the time to deceive the people of God. We need to avoid fatal attractions  and be focused on God's call on our life. When we loose focus, the enemy strikes and then judgement comes suddenly.

If we are here on-line with a mission let's not forget what we are called to do and get caught up in fatal attractions. Let's not stay longer than we are supposed to and fall into the enemy's trap. He has all sorts of distractions on-line so let's be careful we do not wander away from our mission on-line.

Let's look into our lives today and ask God to examine our hearts and minds. If there's any wicked way or thought let's ask God to remove it.

 God will catch up with us if we carry on in secret sin. HIS WORD will come and split the private alters in our life. The work of the evil one cannot stand against the WORD OF GOD. 

1 KINGS 13:4 When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. 5 Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD. 

O LORD, take a burning coal from your alter and purge my heart, my lips, my mind,  purge out the desires of my flesh. Give me a new desire, a new hunger, to walk Holy and blameless before you.
Don't allow anything to remain in my life that is displeasing and unholy in your sight,
I give myself to you in total dedication and consecration of all that I am and all that I have.
Take me Lord, make me into a vessel worthy to serve you.

Create in me a clean heart O Lord..

Renew the right spirit within me.
In JESUS Name,
AMEN

  Be Blessed,

Julia

Don't Worry...God is with you......

God is with us.
A new day will dawn,
and the Lord will bring himself
to the center of our problems.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
he will be like a tree planted by the water
that ends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when when heat comes ;
its leaves are always green .
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit .
JEREMIAH 17: 7-8


Dear friends,
now we are children of God,
and what we will be has not yet been known .
But we known that when he appears,
we shall be like him, for
we shall see him as he is.
1 JOHN 1:2

Jesus said,
"Do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink ; or about your body,
what you will wear .
Is not life more important than food,
and the body more important than clothes?
Look at the birds of the air,
they do not sow or reap
or store away in barn, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not much more
valuable than they? "
MATTHEW 6: 25-26

The plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
PSALM 33:11

Why, you do not even know
what will happen tomorrow.
What is your life?
you are a mist that appears for a little
while and then vanishes.
Instead, you ought to say,
"If it is the Lord' s will,
we will live and do this or that."
JAMES 4: 14- 15
Prayer is the only way to short cut our fretting-
to cut those knots of worry and care and grant us
God' s peace instead.

" Jesus said, " Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe
that you have received it, and it will be yours ."
MARK 11:24

(Thanks one heart of Love)