Knowledge, The Experience

Apostle Grace Lubega

Ephesians 3:19 AMP; [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

Knowledge is an experience.

This is why to know God is to EXPERIENCE God.

In our dispensation, God is pouring out knowledge like never before. However this new knowledge and revelation comes into question in the hearts of many who have not fully understood these things because it has not been exercised in the arena of experience.

For example, the depth of God comes in the form of knowledge but it is an experience. The dimensions of the spirit and the laws by which one functions in them may come in the form of knowledge but they are an experience.

True acquaintance with the realm of God is not merely through knowledge but through experience.

You will never have the richest measure of the divine presence by knowledge alone but by experience.

This begs the question, what does it mean to experience God?

We experience God in the exercise of our spiritual senses every time we encounter knowledge.

Moreover, there is a knowledge that can never come to you until you learn to exercise your senses. This is why Paul says “Strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).

When you hear of the manifold wisdom of God, that is knowledge. You KNOW that His wisdom is many sided. But a man who hungers for experience will ask, ‘what is the sound of wisdom? (Proverbs 1:20), what is the taste of wisdom? (Proverbs 24:14) How does wisdom look to the eye? How does it feel like?

Like our theme scripture compels us, desire for more than mere knowledge.

Hunger for the experiences in knowledge.

FURTHER STUDY: Hebrews 5:14, 1 John 1:1

GOLDEN NUGGET:

True acquaintance with the realm of God is not merely through knowledge but through experience. You will never have the richest measure of the divine presence by knowledge alone but by experience

PRAYER: My Father, I thank you for the knowledge you have imparted in my spirit today. I receive not just the knowledge but the experience of these things. My senses are exercised to see, touch, feel, taste and hear the Word and to live it as my very reality. To the glory of your name. Amen.

The Heart Beat Of The Christian

Apostle Grace Lubega

Acts 17:16-17(KJV); Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

Christians are the moral conscience of their societies.

It is a Christian with a seared conscience who will look at moral debauchery in his society and feel nothing.

It is a Christian with a seared conscience who will ignore social injustice.

Take an example from history. In the era in which William Wilberforce lived, slavery was as acceptable as birth and marriage. It was so woven in the fabric of human history that uprooting it had to take the very hand of God.

For his almost twenty year struggle, he came to be known as the “moral conscience of the nation.”

He and his battle companions like Granville Sharp, Hannah Moore under the spiritual guidance of John Wesley were Christians with Methodist leanings.

This in itself rendered the abolitionist movement Christian in character.

The early Christian church stood against inhuman practices such as infanticide.

A Christian with the heartbeat of God will always be stirred in his spirit when he encounters an order of things that is contrary to the will of God. Such was Paul in our theme scripture.

What did Paul do? The Bible says that he went about preaching in the synagogues and in the market. He did something about what he saw!

So what are we as the church doing?

Are we taking the front line against poverty?

Are we taking the front line against child trafficking?

Are we taking the frontline against child prostitution?

God has called us to be forces of social and cultural change and every day, we ought to rise to the occasion.

FURTHER STUDY: Matthew 5:16, 1 Peter 2:12

GOLDEN NUGGET:

A Christian with the heartbeat of God will always be stirred in his spirit when he encounters an order of things that is contrary to the will of God.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for the responsibility upon my life. I thank you because it is a responsibility coupled with divine authority. You have equipped me as an architect of change; the world is a much better place because I am in it; my children will live in a better world because I am making change. To the glory of God. Amen.

To Multiply By Sacrifice

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis 22:2(KJV); And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

Sacrifice does not kill your seed, it multiplies it.

Abraham was asked by God to take his beloved son Isaac and sacrifice him. It was a hard decision, anyone could have questioned his sanity but because God had spoken, our father of faith obeyed.

The result? Multitudes for sons and daughters.

The Christ in the garden of Gethsemane was faced with the hardest choice in His earthly life. His life was to be given up as a sacrifice for a fallen world. In the agony of His decision, He sweated blood. For the first and last time ever recorded in scripture, He bemoaned the will of His father and cried that peradventure the cup be taken away from Him. Nevertheless, He endured (Luke 22:42).

The result? Many sons brought to glory (Hebrews 2:10).

The Church of Christ has multiplied at the altar of sacrifice. Whole villages of aggressive Red Indians were brought to salvation by the sacrifice of missionary Christians. In the age of Catholic Christianity (70AD to 312AD), as Christian blood flowed at the stakes, on the cliffs of Rome and at the mouths of lions, Christianity advanced across the borders of Roman civilisation. This was the seed of the Christian faith multiplying by sacrifice.

The Apostle Paul worded his life of sacrifice in this simple statement, “I will gladly spend and be spent for you.”(2 Corinthians 12:15).

The result? At the end of his life, he was so full to overflowing that he was “being poured out like a drink offering” (2 Timothy 4:6).

We should not downplay the power of sacrifice in the advancement of the gospel.

Let us make the choice to give our all and hold nothing back.

Let us lay our lives down for the sake of men for IN GIVING ALL, WE GAIN ALL.

To the glory of His name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY: Mark 8:36, Matthew 16:25

GOLDEN NUGGET:

We should not downplay the power of sacrifice in the advancement of the gospel. Let us make the choice to give our all and hold nothing back. Let us lay our lives down for the sake of men for IN GIVING ALL, WE GAIN ALL.

PRAYER: Loving father, I thank you for this great Word. I embrace this wisdom and walk in it. You have taught me that when I lose my life, I gain it. Lord, I choose to spend and be spent for the sake of the gospel; to spare nothing; to give of my time; my gold and silver; my intellect and heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Knowledge: The Idol

Apostle Grace Lubega

Acts 17:21-23; (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

We live in a dispensation of the increase of knowledge.

The Bible through the prophecy of Daniel the Prophet clearly stated that in the last days, knowledge shall increase (Daniel 12:4).

As such, we see this reality IN THE WORLD with the advancements in medical science, space exploration and technology: generative adversarial networks, the internet of things, virtual reality, health wearables, artificial organs, and robotic surgery. Knowledge is increasing.

Sadly, the increase of knowledge in the world is not proportionate to increase of knowledge in the body of Christ.

The implications of this are truly grave.

There is a general tendency for men to make idols of anything new which was the vice of the Athenians in our theme scripture and is a general vice of men that seek for wisdom outside the Christ.

It is the same vice that consumed some scientists when through discovery of new wonders in the world got lost in the very wonders of the world and forgot the God of wonders.

Today’s greatest secular universities were originally theological seminaries started by Christian men of God but fell prey to the idolisation of new knowledge.

It is therefore a caution to the church that in the face of all these advancements (which in themselves are very good), we yield to the increase of the revelation of God lest he become UNKNOWN as we learn more about our world.

The Spirit of God is hovering over the face of the deep and is ready to reveal the bottomless depths of God.

Embrace revelation.

FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 1:17, Colossians 1:10

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Yield to the increase of the revelation of God lest he become UNKNOWN as we learn more about our world. The Spirit of God is hovering over the face of the deep and is ready to reveal the bottomless depths of God.

PRAYER: Loving father, what a great privilege to live in our times! I know that revelation is available and is being poured out in torrents. Lord I choose to drink from the eternal brooks of knowledge. Lord, at these waters, I don’t take by spoonful, by cups or even by drum full. I take it all, I soak in it until I am drenched in the very spirit of revelation. To the glory of your name. Amen.

Because Of The Anointing

Apostle Grace Lubega

Isaiah 10:27(KJV); And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

I have known Christians that are bound by all sorts of forces of darkness.

Some have been in and out of deliverance services to no avail.
Demons have been cast out but nothing seems to change. They are struggling with issues which don’t cease.

That is not the life of a believer!

Our theme scripture says that the yoke is broken BECAUSE of the anointing.

This means that the more you grow in the anointing, the more certain things in your life stop tormenting you.

Some addictions fall away simply because of your growth in the anointing.

Invest in that which increases the anointing.

That is why I always tell people, if you are struggling with something, stay in the presence and give yourself more to it; abide more; spend time in prayer and in the word of God.

However, the mind of doing these things is not to break the yoke. We do not seek God to break yokes; as we seek God, yokes break.
Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: 1 John 2:20, 1 John 2:27

GOLDEN NUGGET:

We do not seek God to break yokes; as we seek God, yokes break.

PRAYER: Most gracious Saviour, I thank you for your Word. Thank you for the anointing I have received from on high. Life’s struggles and burdens are no longer a threat; they melt and are destroyed because of the fatness of the anointing on my life. I live, minister and serve as one that is free from the concerns of this world. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Pattern Of Growth: Never Sit Among Scoffers

Apostle Grace Lubega

Leviticus 19:16(MSG); “Don’t spread gossip and rumors. Don’t just stand by when your neighbor’s life is in danger”, I am GOD.

Gossip is the one spirit in this life that disqualifies the message of Grace.

Every time you gossip or slander somebody, you mean to say that you are better than the person you’re gossiping about.

This spirit brings shame to the gospel and destroys people who think they are qualified to judge certain matters whereas they are not.

Sometimes you may not participate in gossip or slander, but rather, you sit amongst the scorners and scoffers; and in so doing, you render yourself as not being any different from them.

If you want to keep a constant flow of the presence of God, bear fruit in every season as well as flourish in whatever your hands touch, then avoid cheap talk.

The irony with gossip is, you may never know when the victim of your gossip is innocent, or when they repented and reconciled with their God.

Never dare to judge a man when you don’t know his closet.

Purpose to walk in love because love is the highest revelation for any man that knows God.

FURTHER STUDY: Psalms 15:3-5, 1Peter 4:8Amp

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Purpose to walk in love because love is the highest revelation for any man that knows God.

PRAYER: My great redeemer, I give you praise for today’s word. I purpose to cover any brethren overtaken by a fault, knowing well that it’s before you that they fall and stand, yet you are well able to make them stand. My lips are not for slander and gossip but for prayer, they are seasoned with grace. I thank you because with this understanding, I continue to grow in you. To the glory of your Name. Amen.

Hedged

Apostle Grace Lubega

Job 1:10(KJV); Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

The protection of God is not only upon your life.

Our theme scripture reveals that God did not only place a hedge around Job.

He placed a hedge around his house and all that he had on every side.

Our Lord and savior does not only protect you from danger; He protects everything that belongs to you; your family, your house, your vehicle, your mobile phone, your bag, your shoes. He protects everything!

That is the hedging of the Almighty God. It is not partial, it is total!

However, this is much more than protection. It is the presence of God; it is the anointing.

The presence and anointing is not only for you as a person, it is for everything around you.

Look at Paul the apostle. He was anointed but so was everything about him to the effect that handkerchiefs that touched him could cause demons to flee(Acts 19:12).

This is the glorious life of the believer.

Your house is anointed; your clothes are anointed; your property is anointed.

To the glory of God!

FURTHER STUDY: Acts 19:12, Psalms 16:5

GOLDEN NUGGET: God does not only protect you from danger. He protects everything that belongs to you; your family, your house, your vehicle, your mobile phone, your bag, your shoes. He protects everything!
That is the hedging of the Almighty God. It is not partial, it is total!

PRAYER: My great Lord, I thank you for your anointing upon my life and for your presence upon everything that I am and I own. You have anointed my countenance; have anointed my house and have anointed whatever I touch. When men see me, they see you Lord because of the presence of God upon my life. Everything I have preaches the gospel. To the glory of your name. Amen

Yea And Amen

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Corinthians 1:20(KJV); For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

I have heard some Christians claim that God’s answers to prayer are usually three-fold.

Sometimes He says, ‘yes’; sometimes He says ‘no’ and sometimes He says ‘wait.’

What does our theme scripture say?

The Bible says that the promises of God are yes and Amen.

This means that as long as GOD HAS PROMISED SOMETHING, His answer is and will always be “Yes.” It is never a “No.”

Has He promised you victory? His answer is yes, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’.

Has He promised healing? His answer is yes, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’.

Has He promised wealth? His answer is yes, not ‘no’ or ‘wait.’

Make the choice to believe it!

The Bible says that Abraham staggered not at the promise, against hope he believed because he was persuaded that He that promised was also able to perform (Romans 4:20-21).

Abraham clung to the promise. He knew that there was no ‘no’ or ‘wait’ to it. The promise was a yes, and so when everything around him seemed to indicate that God was saying ‘no’ or God was saying ‘wait’, he chose to believe.

It is a question of faith. Praise God!

FURTHER STUDY: John 14:13, Romans 4:20-21

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Along as God has promised something, His answer is and will always be “Yes.” It is never a “No.” Has He promised you victory? His answer is ‘yes’, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’. Has He promised healing? His answer is ‘yes’, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’. Has He promised wealth? His answer is ‘yes’, not ‘no’ or ‘wait’.

PRAYER: My Lord, I thank you for this Word. I choose the path of faith in all things. Let God be true and every man a liar. I lean on the Word. I trust in the Word. And I walk in the manifestation of these promises every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In Him By Us

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Corinthians 1:20(KJV); For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God BY US.

God fulfils His promises through men.

There are those who are busy waiting for a spectacular manifestation of His glory and power in order to take comfort in His promises or to believe that God is able to do that which He has said.

Our theme scripture is clear; it is in Him by us.

Did He promise victory? In Him by us. Did He promise glory? In Him by us? Did He say He will provide all our needs? In Him by us.

This means that God has placed in our hands the ability to manifest the realities and truths of the Word.

In Ephesians 3:20, He says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh IN US.”

That power is IN US.

God gives answers by you.

God changes situations by you.

God transforms by you.

May His great name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 3:20, Colossians 1:28-29

GOLDEN NUGGET:

God gives answers by you. God changes situations by you. God transforms by you.

PRAYER: My loving father, what a great and wonderful truth. Thank you for the power that works in me! I am a force of change. I transform my world because of the power working in me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Mantle

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Kings 19:15-19(KJV); And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room… So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

The Lord instructed Elijah to anoint Hazael king over Syria, Jehu over Israel and Elisha as the prophet in his stead.

It is no mere coincidence that the first person Elijah meets in the fulfilment of this assignment is Elisha.

Elisha’s spirit was ready and positioned for this responsibility.

He was a man whose heart was ready for what God was going to do next.

This kind of positioning is by men who feel after God. Feeling after means that they are attuned to His desires; His will; His plan and His purposes.

There is a ‘feel after’ that causes men to find God. This same feeling after is what tells you that your defining moment will come at this time and through such a man of God and if he ‘throws his mantle on you’, you ought to be ready to move.

That feeling after will continuously prepare you for an encounter that will change your life forever!

Child of God, sometimes our destinies are changed irrevocably because of the preparation of our spirits for those moments when God has purposed to change our lives forever.

That is why you must maximise every moment in the presence of God, why you must give yourself wholly to the things of the Spirit.

If it is prayer, pray.

If it is studying the Word, study it like your life depends on it.

If it is attending services, do so with the excitement that God is always up to something in your life.

His Holy name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: Philippians 3:14, Acts 17:27

GOLDEN NUGGET:

There is a feel after that causes men to find God.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for your Word. My spirit is yielded to what you are doing. My heart is open to the experiences you lead me to. Break me for what you intend, bend me for what you intend and kill me for what you intend, to the glory of your name. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Principles Of The Birthright: Lessons From Esau

Apostle Grace Lubega

Hebrews 12:16-17(KJV); Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

The scriptures give us another example of how a man can affect his position spiritually.

This lesson is taken from the story of Esau.

In Genesis 25, the Bible says, “And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.”

Esau sold his birthright for food.

Think about it. Something as expensive as a birthright was exchanged for a meal simply because his belly needed food.

This tells us that some people affect their positions in the spirit by the constant satisfaction of their carnal appetites and fleshly pleasures.

Watch your appetites child of God. You don’t have to satisfy pleasure because your flesh demands it.

It might be food, alcohol or that boyfriend or girlfriend you are clinging to.

The children of Israel almost compromised their place in the spirit because of cucumbers, and garlic (Numbers 11:5).

You have to make up your mind that those things are not worth the life that God has ordained for you.

Regardless of how strong the temptation, determine to keep your eyes on the prize of the high calling that is in Christ.

Glory to God!

FURTHER STUDY: Hebrews 12:2, Numbers 11:5

GOLDEN NUGGET:
Some people affect their positions in the spirit by the constant satisfaction of their carnal appetites and fleshly pleasures. Watch your appetites child of God. You don’t have to satisfy pleasures simply because your flesh demands it.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for your Word. Thank you for this pattern that preserves me on my course. I heed to this instruction with all my heart in the understanding that you have given me the spirit of self-control. The desires of the flesh have no dominion over me because I am not under the law but under the grace and in this wisdom, I conquer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Principles Of The Birthright: Lessons From Abraham

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis 16:1-2(KJV); Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

From the scriptures, God has demonstrated to us that one can affect their birthright and therefore change their position spiritually.

Abraham’s first son was Ishmael. As the firstborn son, he was entitled to the birthright as the heir to Abraham. However, God did not regard him as so.

In Genesis 22, God refers to Isaac as Abraham’s ONLY SON. Of course, he knew that Ishmael too was a son of Abraham.

So, why was this so?

Ishmael did not receive the birthright because he was not the son of THE PROMISE. He was the result of human effort by Abraham and Sarah to fulfil the promise of God for their lives.

This means that you can affect your position in the spirit every time you use human effort to effect the Word of God over your life.

The reason we preach the grace of God is because it shows you what God does in and through you so that every success has nothing to do with your human effort but everything to do with the operation of God’s ability in your life.

Purpose to depend wholly on God as the author and finisher of your faith.

His name be praised.

FURTHER STUDY: Hebrews 12:2, Philippians 2:13

GOLDEN NUGGET:

You can affect your position in the spirit every time you use human effort to effect the Word of God over your life. The reason we preach the grace of God is because it shows you what God does in and through you so that every success has nothing to do with your human effort but everything to do with the operation of God’s ability in your life.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for your promises in my life, the great and wondrous things you have spoken over me. I trust and believe in you, fully aware that you who began a good work in me shall bring it to accomplishment. Thank you for what you have done and for what you are going to do in the great years ahead.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.