A Journey to Spiritual Maturity: June 2021

Sunday 27 June 2021

WordfortheWeek 2021 Week 25 Foundations (Part 2 of 2)

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psalm 11: 3 (NKJV)

We learned in part 1 that the foundations of our life could be our name, oaths, or covenants made concerning our life or family ancestry, idolatry practices, or relationships. The source and components of our foundation have an impact on our lives, one way or the other. Just like a building foundation, though unseen holds the building set upon it, likewise the structure is strengthened or weakened by its foundation.

As a child of Elohim God, any foundation that is not based on God is a faulty and weak foundation. The only solid foundation is found in the Son of God, Yeshua Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviours.

Three actions that we can take concerning our foundation are:

1. Rebuild

2. Repair

3. Strengthen

All these are on the solid foundation of Yeshua Jesus. Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.” Isaiah‬ ‭28:16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬

Rebuild

If the foundation is destroyed, you rebuild from the start. The way to rebuild is to dismantle generational/ancestral foundations built on idolatry worship. Accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Pray to uproot every seed of ancestral idolatry worship. Plead the blood of Jesus. Build a foundation in your heart on Christ

Repair

Jesus can rebuild your foundation because He is the foundation of our life. Faith in Jesus is a solid foundation. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaiah 58:12 NKJV

Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal all the cracks in your foundation and what to do. You might need to make restitution. You might need to repent on behalf of your family/yourself

When the Samaritan woman had an encounter with Jesus by the well, her broken foundation was repaired.

‬‬Strengthen

If the foundation is unstable, you strengthen it. It is still good. Remain strong in faith and prayer. “So, Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God...Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark‬ ‭11:22, 24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬

Whether you are rebuilding, repairing, or strengthening your foundation, avoid sin. Avoid idolatry worship. Avoid covenants/oaths in the name of the Lord and not keeping them. Shape your life to the Kingdom standard of morality and righteous living. “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” 2 Timothy 2:19

As believers, our foundation is Yeshua “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians‬ ‭3:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬. There is no foundation that is impossible for the Lord to rebuild, repair or strengthen. He is the only one that can do this. For all those who have a relationship with him.‬‬‬‬

It’s simple to do this; acknowledge and Repent of your sins and be determined to turn away from them. Confess and declare Jesus as the Son of God and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Accept him as your Lord and Saviour. Declare your faith openly and become a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away. Follow Jesus in all areas of your life and start that wonderful journey with Him immediately.

I encourage you to search for a bible teaching fellowship near you for support and your spiritual growth.

#Prayerfortheweek

Almighty Father, Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour, He is my sure foundation. I destroy every other foundation laid in my life before I was born. By the authority in the name of Jesus, I destroy every idolatry foundation I have laid by myself knowingly or unknowingly. Father by the authority in the name of Jesus. I uproot from the root every idolatry tree you have not planted in my life, in the name of Jesus. Father by the authority in the name of Jesus, I pull down every idolatry altar that I have erected or been erected on my behalf. Father, I confess I am a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away, all things are new. I have faith. I believe that I receive all I have prayed for in the name of Jesus, Amen

If you accept Jesus or turned back to him, do get in touch. I am so excited! You give me hope and joy and are my proud reward and crown when I stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns. Yes, you are our pride and joy. (1 Thessalonians‬ ‭2:19-20‬ ‭NLT‬‬)‬‬‬‬

Inbox me, email me, just get in touch. I want to join you in prayers every day

My email is info@adeolaakintoye.com

Sunday 20 June 2021

#WordfortheWeek 2021 Week 24 Foundations (Part 1 of 2)

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? Psalm 11: 3 (NKJV)

The bible talks about a wise man that builds his house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built (Luke 6:48)

Foundation is defined in the Cambridge dictionary as an idea/fact/structure that something important is based on/develops (provides the truth of something). It is also defined as the base that is built below the surface of the ground to support a building: invisible, the visible is dependent on it.

A foundation is vital for the strength/stability/endurance of what is put on top of it. When building a house, the type of foundation will be dependent on the type of house you want to build.

We can learn more about foundations from the Holy Scriptures. Let us explore some examples of types of foundations.

Names: as a foundation for destinies

Abraham: God changed the name of Abram to Abraham

“This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!”

Genesis 17:4-6 NLT

Jabez: A man set for a life of pain - to himself and others

“There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.” 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NLT

The name of Jesus: The Messiah, Saviour of mankind

“Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 NLT

Oaths/promises/blessings/curses: as a foundation of covenants

After the conquest of Jericho as narrated in the book of Joshua, he invoked this curse: “May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, he will set up its gates.” Joshua 6:26. “It was during his reign that Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. When he laid its foundations, it cost him the life of his oldest son, Abiram. And when he completed it and set up its gates, it cost him the life of his youngest son, Segub. This all happened according to the message from the Lord concerning Jericho spoken by Joshua son of Nun.” 1 Kings 16:34 NLT.

Other foundations are oaths/promises made with blood or in the name of God. God’s covenant with the Israelites is the foundation of His everlasting relationship with them. Jesus’ blood is the covenant of cleansing of sin for mankind and reconciling man back to God. Elohim God has set it that there is life in the blood. Wherever there is an exchange of blood, you are entering into a soul-tie/covenant.

Relationships: as foundation of marriages/families/ society/individuals.

When the relationship did not go through the right processes set by God, the foundation of that relationship is cracked. We saw the example of David and Bathsheba, a relationship based on adultery and murder. For many years, David was completely dedicated to the Lord and ruled with righteousness and justice. But after his sin with Bathsheba the foundation of his family became broken. Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, Absalom coup, and David went into exile.

Idolatry worship: as a foundation of sin

Idolatry worship leads to spiritual death and separation from Elohim God. Idolatry worship includes occult/idol worship and sacrifices. The Israelites practiced it, were warned repeatedly by God until He eventually sent them into captivity.

Any foundation that is not of Elohim God is not solid. What do we need to do when our foundation is broken?

To be continued…

#Prayerfortheweek

Inbox me, email me, just get in touch. I want to join you in prayers every day

My email is info@adeolaakintoye.com

Saturday 19 June 2021

#WordfortheWeek 2021 Week 23 SIN (Part 2 of 2)

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”’ Jeremiah 31:33-34 NKJV

Jesus taught also about the Kingdom standard for a living - giving, fasting, judging, making an oath, praying, worrying, and so on. Standards that are so perfect, that Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:23, that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

We fall short. It is easy to preach about being holy, but when we raise the mirror to ourselves against the Kingdom standard, we will see how far from it we are. I have realised there is no way I can fulfill all these without the help of Elohim God, through the Holy Spirit.

We cannot do it by ourselves. No one can. We need the promise of God. Thank God for the new covenant, stated in Jeremiah 31:33-34 NKJV; “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

This new covenant was fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Elohim knew that we cannot do it on our own, so He made a way - the sacrifice of His son to pay for our sins, past, present, and future. God gave us a new covenant through His Son. By faith in Him, we receive the Holy Spirit, the helper. We can live without sin. The decision to accept this new covenant is up to us.

Sin is a burden to the soul. It creates a guilty conscience and eventually a dead conscience. It is a dead weight to carry. Sin attracts God’s curse instead of a blessing. Sin should not have power over us. The things that we want to do, we do it not, rather those things that we hate. We have the desire to do what is right but cannot carry it out. But you can, through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is saying to you: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV.

He is the only one who can take off the yoke of sin from around your neck. Sin leads to death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Why not take that step to enter this glorious relationship with Jesus today. It is easy to do.

Acknowledge and Repent of your sins and be determined to turn away from them. Confess and declare Jesus as the Son of God and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Accept him as your Lord and Saviour. Declare your faith openly and become a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away. Follow Jesus in all areas of your life and start that wonderful journey with Him immediately.

I encourage you to search for a bible teaching fellowship near you for support and your spiritual growth.

#Prayerfortheweek

Almighty Father, thank You for the gift of my salvation and the Holy Spirit. Help to live a holy life. May sin not have power over me as I walk as a new creation in Christ Jesus. I shall sin no more. In the mighty name of Yeshua Christ Jesus. Amen.

#WordfortheWeek 2021 Week 22 #SIN (Part 1 of 2)

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”’ Jeremiah 31:33-34 NKJV

According to a BBC report sin is a Christian belief, separating humans from God, bringing lasting punishment. God gave humans free will, so it is up to humans to decide for themselves how to behave, in an evil or good way. Christians believe that only God can rectify the problem of humans. To do this, He offered salvation through the sacrifice of Christ.

The report also said that many Christians believe all humans are descended from Adam and Eve, which means that they could disobey God. Original sin occurred when Adam and Eve were tempted and committed the first (original) sin.

I have to say that this secular report got it right. SIN is a topic that many people shy away from, as it becomes a debate about whose definition is right or wrong.

The Webster dictionary defines sin as an action or type of behavior that is believed to break the laws of God. Cambridge states sin as the deliberate and purposeful violation of the will of God and Britannia identifies it as breaking a moral or divine law.

Irrespective of the definition of sin, Jesus teaches that sin starts in the heart. In Matthew 15:8 He said, 'these people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship me. Teaching as doctrine the commandments of men'. In verse 18: those things which proceed out to the mouth come from the heart and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, theft, also witness, blasphemies - these are the things that defile a man.

To get to a biblical definition of sin, we must take examples from the Holy Scriptures - what is revealed through the relationship of God with the Israelites. Also what Yeshua Himself revealed and what was taught by the Apostles in the Epistles. All three must be in perfect alignment.

Implication of sin

The blessings and the curses listed in Deuteronomy 28 are also related to keeping the commandments; “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-2 NLT

Obedience to God brings blessings, the opposite attracts curses. If we have accepted Christ as Lord, we have entered a covenant relationship with God. Worshipping God comes from the heart and it’s revealed by our actions.

Specific examples of sin

Deliberate disobedience to God’s specific commandments.

When Elohim GOD is very explicit about what He hates, there is no shadow of doubt. You cannot try to justify it.

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”” Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV. Adam and Eve disobeyed, this lead to spiritual death (separation from Elohim) and physical death.

Idolatry: worship of and heart for other gods.

Elohim God sent the Israelites into captivity because of one major thing - Idolatry. Elohim revealed it Himself in Ezekiel 39: 23, "The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them."

In the Promised land they began to worship other gods. This of course opened the door to evil practices like child sacrifice, which is an abomination to God. The books of Kings and Chronicles help us to understand more about idolatry. It includes physical worship and sacrifices, and a heart that is not loyal to God. The books of the prophets revealed the extent and depth of idolatry and God’s view of it.

Breaking a covenant with God.

A sin that brought repercussion on the people was breaking a covenant sealed with the name of Elohim God. If you want to understand God’s standard on oaths, the story of the Gibeonites is a fascinating example. They tricked Joshua into making an oath with them during the conquest of the land of Canaan. His oath meant they were protected even by the God of the Israelites. When the five Amorites kings besieged them and they appealed to Joshua, God sent hailstones; and made the sun and moon stood still so that the battle may be won (Joshua 10). Years later when Saul killed some Gibeonites, God punished his own people with famine, because they were still under protection. Saul thought he was doing it in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. A lesson for us is never to make an oath with the name of the Lord and not keep it.

Jesus also taught against it in Matthew 5:34.

Morality and righteous living, the way of the Kingdom of Elohim.

“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17 NKJV. Jesus taught a lot on what we are to do or not do, our heart to the Father and to others, right character and attitude. We get some of these in the book of Matthew, from chapter five. The apostles also expanded on the teaching of Jesus in the books of the New Testament.

To be continued…

#Prayerfortheweek

Pages

Sunday 27 June 2021

WordfortheWeek 2021 Week 25 Foundations (Part 2 of 2)

Sunday 20 June 2021

#WordfortheWeek 2021 Week 24 Foundations (Part 1 of 2)

Saturday 19 June 2021

#WordfortheWeek 2021 Week 23 SIN (Part 2 of 2)

#WordfortheWeek 2021 Week 22 #SIN (Part 1 of 2)