Are you a servant of God or a servant of man?

"้ำPastor Emmanuel Baba Isiaka
Pastor Emmanuel Baba IsiakaAugust 30, 2010 at 9:52pm
Subject: DIVINE OR HUMAN PROMOTION?
WHICH PROMOTION? HUMAN OR DIVINE?

UNFORTUNATELY MANY IN THE CHURCH TODAY ARE CHASING AFTER THE PROMOTION OF MAN AT THE EXPENCE OF DIVINE PROMOTION THE RESULT IS DISASTROUS!
A GROUP OF SHEEP LED BY A LION IS BETTER THAN A GROUP OF LIONS LED BY A SHEEP
Monday, August 30, 2010


MEMORY VERSE: “But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalm 75:7)

BIBLE PASSAGE: Psalm 75:4 -7
4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

After the birth of Jacob, the negative traits in his mother began to rear up their ugly heads in him. He deceived his brother Esau, stole his birthright and blessing of the firstborn and bolted. Esau thought his only respite was to revenge by killing his brother. After years of living in exile, Jacob decided to return home with his family only to realize that the evil he left several years before, which he thought time would heal, was as fresh as ever. It was pay time for sowing his wild oats. On his way, he divided his family into groups out of fear so that at least one group could possibly escape the sword of Esau. Then all alone, he resorted to seek divine intervention.

That night, Jacob had a profound dream (Gen. 32:24-30).
24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
The first thing he saw was a ladder.
12. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
A ladder is a means of progressive ascent. This means that in his present situation, ascent was possible. Are you a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? No matter how hopeless your situation may be, ascent is possible. Never accept your position as the ultimate. You shall rise from the doldrums of dejection, want, hopelessness and stagnancy and move up to higher ground. Subject to certain conditions, you can go higher than your present height. Job 22:29 says it is possible to experience progressive ascent while all others are experiencing a descent.
Job 22:29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
That will be your portion this season.

The ladder speaks of promotion. You can be promoted by God or man. It talks of being promoted to become god to the Pharaohs of this world. For effective world evangelization for instance, you would need the power to kill and bring back to life.

I prefer to be an ordinary worker who can raise the dead than be a provincial pastor that cannot cure headache.

Unfortunately, many are chasing after the promotion of man at the expense of divine promotion. It is not worth it! In many churches today, it is some workers or ministers that are holding the spiritual base while the pastors like Pharaoh play only a ceremonial role. You can choose to be in charge like the men of old or simply occupy a position lacking the true power of God. When last did the sick get healed through your prayers? When last did God answer your prayers? As you seek to climb the ladder of promotion this year, let divine promotion be uppermost in your heart and request.
THE FATHER’S BLESSING.”I pray for Someone reading this message today. The Lord will lift your horn higher that that of your oppressors in the Ministry. The Lord will promote and enlarge your coast. No one will be able to cover your glory. Your season of being on the shelve and hiding under cover is over as the Lord will advertise you Himself in the mighty name of Jesus.”(Amen.)

ACTION POINT FOR TODAY
Some opportunities offering you progress may really be out to deliver regression. Pray that God will expose the true nature of opportunities and deliver you.

You are special,
You are loved,
You are appreciated
My promise is to reply all mails

Never-Failing Help- God's fatherly Love

Here is a word for you from the Word.

Psalm 121:1-3

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from whence shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. NAS

The psalmist there looks at the mountains in their majesty and in their grandeur and then he asks that question: “Where does my help come from?” And he is reminded of the great Creator, the one who formed the mountains, the seas and the whole earth and he rejoices to know that the Creator is also his helper. He says, “My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” The same God that created all these mighty marvels that we see in creation, created us.

Not only did He create us, He wants to keep us, He wants to preserve us. He will not allow our foot to slip. He who keeps us will not slumber. I had a little picture once of a little boy in his father’s arms, holding on very tight to his father’s lapel in case he should fall, but after awhile he nodded off and went to sleep and his hand slipped away from his father’s lapel, but his father held him just as securely whether he was holding onto his father or not. And that’s how our relationship with God is. Sometimes we think we just have to hold on tight to God but when we fall asleep God still holds us even if we are not holding Him.

He who keeps us will neither slumber nor sleep. He is the great Creator. - Derek Prince

How to be anointed with miracle power

How To Be Filled With The Spirit

If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him (Luke 11:13 NLT).

Dear Friends,

Instructions on how to be filled with the Holy Spirit are summarized in a popular booklet I wrote many years ago. God has used the biblical truths in it to change the lives of ten of millions. It has been reproduced in most of the major languages of the world.

Space does not permit me to include it here, but I will include a key portion, below. You can find the entire booklet in 80+ languages at http://www.greatcom.org/main.htm.

EXCERPT:

We are filled by the Holy Spirit by faith. You can appropriate the filling of the Holy Spirit right now if you:

1. Sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-39).

2. Confess your sins, and receive forgiveness (1 John 1:9).

3. Surrender every area of your life to our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 12:1, 2).

4. By faith claim the fullness of the Holy Spirit, according to:

HIS COMMAND -- Be filled with the Spirit. "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18, NASB).

HIS PROMISE -- "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked of Him" (1 John 5:14, 15, NASB).

HOW TO PRAY IN FAITH TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

Prayer is one way of expressing your faith. The following is a suggested prayer:

"Dear Father, I need You. I acknowledge that I have been directing my own life and that, as a result, I have sinned against You. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ's death on the cross for me. I now invite Christ to again take His place of authority on the throne of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You COMMANDED me to be filled, and as You PROMISED in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith. I now thank You for directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit."

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If so, bow in prayer and trust God to fill you with the Holy Spirit right now.

Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,

Bill Bright

Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:18-19 NLT).

Dear Friends,

Here is a real test that will help you determine if you are truly filled with the Holy Spirit.

Do you find that you have a greater love for Christ? Are you more concerned for those who do not know His love and forgiveness? Are you experiencing a greater faith, boldness, liberty, and power in witnessing, and victory in your own life? Do you enjoy reading God's Word, the Bible?

If you answer yes to these questions, you are filled with the Spirit. Jesus Christ is beginning to express His life and love through and in you.

Remember, Jesus promised that we would receive "power" after the Holy Spirit has come upon us. That power is to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8).

Most Christian leaders agree with Dr. R. A. Torrey, who said: "I have gone through my Bible time and time again checking this subject and I make this statement without the slightest fear of successful contradiction that there is not one single passage in the Old Testament or the New Testament where the filling with the Holy Spirit is spoken of, where it is not connected with testimony for service."

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit you will have a greater love for Christ, for your fellow man, and for the Word of God, and you will want to share Christ with others. As Paul said in Romans 5:5, "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (NIV). Also, the fruit of the Spirit -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control... (Galatians 5:22,23, NIV) -- will become more evident in your life.

As a Christian abides in Christ, living in the fullness of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is developed and the Christian becomes more mature spiritually. The maturing of the fruit of the Spirit is a lifetime process that goes on continually as Christ-like characteristics are being formed in the life of the Christian. Some Christians give greater evidence of the fruit of the Spirit than do others because of a greater degree of yielding to His working.

The more we acknowledge ourselves to be dead to sin and surrender to our Lord Jesus Christ and His life within us, and the more we allow Him through the power of the Holy Spirit to live out His life through us, the more evident will be the fruit of the Spirit.

Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,

From: Bill Bright