Phaneroo 118 Sermon

The Commandment of Faith

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:12-14)

There are things in the scriptures that were written as commandments. Though many see them as normal teachings and instructions, a closer look at them reveals that they are commandments to the new creature.

One example is ‘fight the good fight of faith.’ This is a commandment to a mature spirit. Some of the commandments of God are interpreted through instruction. If they are taught as commandments but without instruction the spirit of truth is frustrated.

Fighting the good of fight of faith doesn’t mean entering into a fight with the situations in your life while on a prayer mountain. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of unseen things. The scripture meant fight a good fight of things hoped for and evidence of unseen things. It’s a spiritual fight because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are mighty in God. Whatever you fight carnally (by the flesh) you ignite. As a Christian, your primary place of warfare is to fight to believe.

God Works Where There is Peace

But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his day (I Chronicles 22:8-9)

From the above portion of scripture, it is revealed that God doesn’t work in a war field, He operates in our rest. The Bible says in Psalms 37:4; delight thyself also in the Lord: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Irrespective of the situations around you, make yourself happy in the lord; that’s our warfare. Fight to believe that it’s fixed. All you need to do is to learn to rest. Look into the word and see yourself there in for as we behold ourselves as in a mirror (the word here is your mirror) then we are transformed into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18)

You can never get out of certain situations and habits until you learn how to have and hold peace in your heart amidst them. Faith is our reality for we have come to mount Zion the heavenly city of the most living God. This is a place in the spirit realm, enter and live there!

Phaneroo 117 Sermon

In His Presence

The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psalms 16:5-11).

In the above portion of scripture, the Psalmist gives an account of an experience he had with God. He says he sets God always before him and this causes him to rest.

So I ask, what is the mind of being in the presence of God? The understanding of the presence of God by those of old is quite different from us the new creatures in him; they of old understand him by covenants. However, He is bigger than covenants. Everything in the old dispensation was a shadow of the things of Christ (Colossians 2:17) The Old Testament did not make sense before the coming of Christ, because Christ unveils the law. In the book of Genesis, we are shown the kind of relationship man had with God but when man fell, God decided to deal with man by appearing to him in forms that veiled his true self.

Take for example the account in Genesis chapter18 when three men appeared to Abraham and he addressed them as my Lord and not Lords. He also appeared as a rock from which they drank. God was hidden in a sense. But for us under the New Testament dispensation, God desires to relate with us past only forms.

His Presence Is an Open Invitation

Understand that God wants us to relate with Him according to His terms not ours. Proverbs 25:6-7 KJV says Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen. Don’t ever ‘bring’ yourself to the presence of God. You go because you are invited not because you chose to go there through your effort. If you enter any other way you will put yourself lower. This mindset also encourages a legal view of judging everyone who didn’t go, because you believe you did it from your own efforts!  God is always interested in you responding to His invitation than you taking yourself there; This doesn’t mean that you don’t pray when you don’t feel like it; but every time you go into the presence of God be conscious of an open invitation and not your deliberate effort to go there! Go with that mind, relate with God in that understanding!

The ministry of faith

Acts 2:28; Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

The language of the scriptures is; ‘you have made known unto me.’ It is a past tense affair. When you received the Holy Spirit you received knowledge and thus the ability to know everything. This starts from the place of faith; it is a knowledge by faith.  Now when you learn to have faith, it opens your hearing. The place of faith knows!

The ministry of faith is when God deals with a man who has known him but not as regards to progressive knowledge. God cannot respond to your spirit till you learn to walk in faith because faith is the creative reality of what is seen in the earthly realm from the unseen world. The Bible says in Romans 1:19 that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

All is manifest in us; this is not a present continuous state of learning, you are learned. Just believe it.