The House of God V: HOUSE DEDICATION

The House of God V: HOUSE DEDICATION

Exodus 40:33-35; 2 Chronicles 5:13-14

Learning to completely handover your life and issues to God is the secret to victory and fruitfulness. Handing over to God is always a gain. The principle is what you handover you gain enriched.  Anything you hold back from God is bound to be lost eventually. You are, and are a part of, God’s house. This message is about complete house handover for a glorious divine takeover. 

The Godhead has appointed the Holy Spirit to be in charge of the affairs of God’s house. He works through humanity to execute God’s business on earth, you therefore handover yourself to the Holy Spirit. He relies on the freedom and tools of the word and faith you provide to accomplish God’s wonderful purpose in and through your life.  When he takes over you become powerful for God (Acts 1:8).  He makes you an agent for revival and mighty works.  Are you maintaining your first love for Christ? Are you hungry to know him more? Are you humble enough to acknowledge you need him? Then ask him to fill you, that is let him have more of you. Handover all to the Holy Spirit and let him guide and direct your life. (Refer to http://spform.blogspot.com/2012/10/receiving-fullness-of-holy-spirit.html.)

The story of some people who occupied houses they found already built illustrates human life.  The people had no clue where the houses came from. They came up with outrageous theories to explain the origin of the houses. One explained that a thunder mysteriously produced the house. Another thought a wind must have blown some stones in a manner that produced the houses. And so on.

Eventually the builder appeared. By this time, the houses were dilapidated and could collapse anytime. Poisonous snakes, scorpions and bats had made parts of the houses their home. The builder offered to rebuild the houses at no charge. He also highlighted that their need was urgent because the houses would collapse, the snakes were a danger and a tsunami was on its way. He could make the houses tsunami proof again.  Some were humble enough to call for help. Others scoffed at the offer arguing that they had lived with the mess all along and so had their ancestors.

He reconstructed the houses offered to him. When he had completed the new houses, the master builder handed the houses to their occupants and said, “You will not be able to look after the new houses. On your own, you will reduce them to the state I found them. Can I maintain and supply for your needs in the houses? I will garnish, furnish and flourish the houses. I will not infringe on your freedom in the house. You will also use my name and goodwill with the bankers. I will underwrite all your bills and guarantee all your supplies. However, for me to be able to serve you well, dedicate/ handover the houses by giving me the house keys.”

People responded differently to the offer. Some rejected the offer outright.  Many only handed over keys to the gate and said you are welcome to come and keep us safe, and make us look good. Then there were those who handed over the kitchen keys and said come and feed us. Yet others gave the keys to the lounge and said please come and entertain us. Some surrendered keys to the bathrooms and said you are welcome to come and sort up our mess.  None handed over keys to the bedrooms and inner closets instead; they said please keep your distance and our private lives have nothing to do with you.  Before long, they raised an outcry about dissatisfaction with the work of the master builder in the house. The builder explained that according to the building’s design, the treasures he needs to do all his work are in the inner closets of the house.  Without access to those, he was unable to do much. For what he managed to accomplish with the keys he had, he deserved compliments not complains.

That is like the story of our lives as believers. Are you sensing there must be more God should be doing in your life? We are the house God has restored. Will you handover the house keys. Often all we want is to be fed, groomed and entertained. Where are the keys to the inner closets of life? God is waiting for the handover of the full set of keys. In the tabernacle and temple built in the Old Testament the ark was located in the most private areas of the houses. The best comes from total openness and a sincere relationship. You hold the keys God needs to unlock all his promises. You have the power to determine the measure of God’s dealing with you. Joyfully handover all the keys back to him, hold nothing back. If you do not handover, you will not receive the full benefit and enjoyment of the house. If you do not handover, you will not cross over you. You cannot make it with human strength.

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).   Caleb commended himself for wholly following God (Joshua 14:8, 9, 14). The commendation was confirmed by both Moses and God (Deuteronomy 1:35, 36).  As a result, he received a special inheritance in God. You can only receive more of him by giving more of yourself to him. He has already given everything of himself. The reason we hold back is ignorance of the love and ability of God. Seek to know him better in order to let go more of you into his hands. Do you not handover your cases to the lawyers and to the medical doctors because you trust their expertise. How much do you trust God?

Time for joyous house dedication is now. Adam and Eve lost dedication and forfeited glory (Genesis 3). Surrender is what you to do under force. Dedication is what you do by choice.

Dedication to God is inviting God to take over. It is committing yourself or something to God’s purpose. The tabernacle and temple in the Old Testament were joyfully dedicated to God and his glory came over them. ‘So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled (Ex. 40:33-35).’ When Solomon worshipfully and joyfully dedicated the temple, the cloud filled the Lord’s temple.  The priests could not carry out their duties because of the cloud; the Lord’s splendor filled God’s temple (2 Chronicles 5:13-14).

In the same way, you need to dedicate yourself to God. Without dedication, there is no glory.

Handing over to God is the answer when you face your problems and enemies (James 4:7). Do not just hand over your problems hand yourself over. When you do so, you find peace and freedom. House dedication is complete house handover for glorious divine takeover.  His glorious takeover distinguishes the house of God from other houses. Whatever is dedicated to God attracts his blessing and glory. Without dedication, what you have is only tradition and a form of religion without power.  Pronounce the dedication with words of your mouth and with joy. Then receive the glory from above by faith.

[This message is the fifth among several in a series of messages on the house of God. The series raises awareness of the importance of belonging and fully participating in the life of a local church.]

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 

The House of God IV: COME AND DINE

The House of God IV:  COME AND DINE

Listen!  I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me. -  Revelation 3:20 (NET)

Meal times are a favorite in a healthy home. The Lord Jesus promised to share a meal with anyone who hears his voice and opens the door. Jesus wants to share a meal that He brings. When He is present, He takes care of all daily life supplies (Mathew 6:23-25). Jesus loves meal times with us because they are times when He shares His life and power with us. We also have an opportunity to fellowship with Him and receive from His all-sufficiency. Sharing a meal with Christ is participating at the highest table reserved for the most favored very important people.  What a privilege we have. 

There is no need to suffer from spiritual malnutrition in God’s house. With Christ, it is mealtime all the time. Avoid missing meals. All you need is a good appetite.  I was born in a family where if everyone were present we would be not less than fourteen children. Meal times were the main events for each day. We would go out to play plastic ball with other kids. When it was mealtime, my mom called out “You can now come!” or “It is time for you to come! [Chiuyai!]”.  That was enough; we would all know it was mealtime. We would leave whatever we were doing and in a flash be in the house ready to eat. 

You need to have a good spiritual appetite in the House of God.  Do you hunger for God’s presence, and to learn from Him? The table is always ready and there is no spiritual drip for those who do not want to eat.

Let us look at how meal times arrive and look like in God’s house. When you are ignorant of meal times, you will be depressed by circumstances when you could rejoice despite them. We will look at seven spiritual appetites every believer needs to maintain.

1. A meal to bring you back to the cross. This is a meal you need when you are becoming more conscious of other things than of Christ.  Christ shares a remembrance meal with you when you reflect and are grateful for what He accomplished at the cross. Jesus at His last supper with the disciples instructed that they often have meals to remember the benefits of His death, blood and resurrection. You cannot remember the cross and not be drawn to its assuring provisions. It speaks of Christ’s amazing love and sure hope. It says Christ gave up everything so that He could recover all to become everything to you. He has overcome everything that worked against you.

Sadly we are often more conscious of our past failures and hopeless circumstances than we are of the victorious cross. As a man thinks in his heart so is he (Proverbs 23:7). Fix your mind on Christ and His word. You will become more conscious of Him as well as who you are and your provisions (Philippians 3:10). How often do you remember Him? Thinking about His last supper/Passover meal precedes your cross over to victory and a bright future. When you remember the cross of Christ and receive its promise, ‘it is time to come!’

2. A meal to celebrate people returning home. The greatest delight in God’s house is when people return home through opening their lives to Christ (Luke 15:7, 24). This event sparks great celebration in heaven and on earth. Each person who comes back is like a goal in soccer and a try in rugby. That is what counts most. In sports, without goals everything else only ends up in a lost game. With goals, everything else you did poorly is mitigated.

The gospel is an invitation to hear Father God’s voice and return home. It demands a response. A feast is awaiting you in the house. when the prodigal son returned home, he found the Fathers arms open wide. To celebrate a welcome, a feast/meal was served. The Braai places became active.  When the organizers of the wedding at Cana of Galilee called on the name of Jesus, they witnessed His first public miracle (John 2). When Zacchaeus opened his life to Jesus they shared a meal and salvation came to his house (Luke 19:5). When you turn yourself and others from disobedience to Christ, ‘it is time to come!’

3. A meal of regular word intake . You need in take of God’s word. We regularly take the word of God in our lives corporately at church meetings and as individuals in our personal times of prayer and Bible reading. Believers become spiritually healthy and grow in faith by desiring the word of God as babies desire milk (1 Peter 2:2). One of our spiritual development goals is to learn quickly that people do not live by  whatever staple food alone but by God’s spoken word (Mathew 4:4). The aim of reading is to hear from God, that is receiving the ‘Rhema’ word or a word specifically for you and what you ae going through. Reading the Bible facilitates hearing from God. When you have a hunger for His word, it is mealtime. Simply pull out your hard or electronic Bible, warm your heart with prayer and enjoy (Psalm 19:7 – 10).

4. A meal unusual.. When the disciples brought food to Jesus in John 4: 34, He would not eat it and said, ‘my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me.’ This mealtime in the house of God means that the table in our physical houses are empty as we serve, fast and pray (Mathew 17:21; Mark 9:29). Biblical fasting is missing some physical meals in order to enjoy a special spiritual meal. The one purpose for prayer and fasting is for God’s will settled in heaven to manifest in the natural. Has the desire for God’s will ever dominated you so much that all other desires became subordinate. When that happens, a consecration meal is ready at the Master’s table and ‘it is time to come.’  How often do you enjoy this mealtime.  The house of God has times of fasting and times of feasting.

5. A meal in the presence of enemies.  Spiritual meal times do come against the odds. When situations are increasingly threatening, the temptation is to despair and be paralyzed by fear. But the Master’s table is set up for a defiance meal when enemies are almost overwhelming you. When enemies rally and the threat is real, ‘it is time to come!’(Psalm 23:5).  When the enemy plot thickens it is time for Esther’s banquet (Esther 5:6).   Gallows designed for you are about to be busy without you, instead your time for promotion has arrived.

6. A meal of miracles. This meal is served when your needs are much greater than your means. God cares for you so much that to Him, meeting your needs supernaturally is like providing children’s bread (Mathew 15:26). He serves compassionate meals. When we pray ‘give us our daily bread’, God hears us to be asking for miraculous provision. We daily breathe and live by miracles. Without God’s supernatural covering and provisions we would be devoured (1 Peter 5:8).  The bigger the needs met the greater the glory that accrues to God.  The disciples did not know what to do with over ten thousand hungry people when they only had five loaves and two fishes (Mathew 14:15 – 18). Thank God, the Master was there. When He is present and we hand over our little to Him, ‘it is time to come!’ He provided manna and supernaturally sustained a nation in the wilderness. He will not lead you where His grace is not sufficient.

7. A meal when you are down and all seems lost. We sometimes find ourselves in places where we see no hope and we are tempted to give up. God is a God of restoration and resurrection. The disciples were disappointed and sad that Christ had been crucified yet they had thought he was the savior. As two disciples walked to Emmaus Jesus appeared to them. He encouraged them and shared a meal (Luke 24:30, 31). In another case, Peter led his fellow disciples to go ‘a-fishing’ having lost hope in Christ (John 21:3).  Be careful of going ‘a-fishing’ you will end up going awol. Their ‘a-fishing’ was unfruitful the whole night. However, Jesus appeared in the morning and reassured them. He also prepared and shared a meal with them before renewing His commission to Peter. Do not lose heart Jesus is also saying to you, ‘Come and dine’ (John 21:12).   He is saying your loss is recoverable, and you are not forsaken (2 Samuel 9: 4-7; 1 Samuel 9:19-20). When Elijah was suicidal sleeping under a broom tree, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him, arise and eat (1 Kings 19:2, 3). Mealtime is time to come. If you look up in faith today, Father God will reassure you with a sign, word, etc. He will re-comission and anoint you to do exploits. Father God is saying maintain a strong spiritual appetite.

[This message is the third among several in a series of messages on the house of God. The series raises awareness of the importance of belonging and fully participating in the life of a local church.]

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa 

The House of God III: Zeal for the House

The House of God III: Zeal for the House

Haggai 1:1–15; Malachi 1:6 -13; 3:7-10

We are no longer strangers but fellow citizens with members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19).  Our well-being is connected to our attitude towards the house of God. We experience the house of God in the environment for spiritual growth provided within a community of believers, called the local church. While we enjoy worship and fellowship in the house, we are also to serve faithfully as pillars or ‘sons’. The attitude one has towards God’s house affects personal spiritual progress.

Often when things do not work out as expected we are quick to point to the good things we have done as if to suggest God is being unfair with us. The prophets Haggai and Malachi lived among people caught up in doing just that. The prophets had to clarify that God looks in disfavor not only when bad things are committed but also when good things are omitted. Demands of positive response from God based on selective obedience are often the pitfall in which many Christians fall. In Haggai and Malachi’s cases, disregard or lack of diligence in the business of God’s house deprived God’s people of God’s blessings. In one case, it was neglecting the business of building the house in the other it was withholding resources for ongoing operations of the house. The message of the prophets comprised three parts.

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A Rebuke – ‘consider your ways’

Several times Haggai exhorted God’s people to ‘consider their ways’. “You have sown much, and bring in little. You eat, but you do not have enough. You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes in it … You looked for much, and, behold, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says Yahweh of Hosts, "Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house.” - Haggai 1:5, 6, 9. Does this describe your situation? Even to those for whom things were not yet as bad, the prophet was warning that they were worse off than otherwise and that their life pointed to the situation he described. The general principle is if you stop applying what you have to work for God; soon you will find that nothing works for you any more.

Our fruitfulness depends on that of the house. Zeal for the house is an opportunity, answer and strategy for fruitfulness. We are not only to be in the house but like Jacob (Genesis 28) to experience the house. He wants us not just to be alive in Christ but also to experience the abundance of the life – the life of the life (John 10:10).

A Remedy – ‘bring Me an offering’

“Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified," says Yahweh (Haggai 1:8).   God provides for the business of His house through the faithful giving of His people out of what He gives to them. Giving is not always easy. It can be like going up a mountain to cut and bring wood.  Often the mountain is not the work we do in our professions for that is part of God’s provision. The hard part can be the mountain in our hearts we climb to bring the wood to the house of God when there are many other pressing needs.

When God wanted Moses to build Him a tabernacle so He could dwell among His people He had one source. He called for people to bring an offering (Exodus. 25:1, 2, 8).  As already stated, we give to God by giving to His work from what He has given to us. The easiness with which something leaves your hand to God’s business is a reliable indicator of how much you have given yourself to God. A steward is someone who has given himself to God first and therefore knows all he is and has belongs to God (2 Corinthians 8:5). Offering ourselves (Romans 12:1; Galatians 2:20), our praise (Hebrews 13:15) and our substance (Luke 8:3) to God ensures there is food in the house of God.

Malachi 3 the primary issue was not the often-preached subject of giving money but ensuring there was food in the house of God. With all other giving, remember the house of which you are a part. Charity is supposed to begin at home. Giving of the whole tithe and offering was therefore a strategy for food in the house not an end in itself (Malachi 3:10). Food in the house includes daily provisions for the operation of the church. The house of God has a ‘stomach’ – action plans need execution and budgets should be met. The ‘stomach’ of the house requires resources of effort, time and treasure contributed by members of the house.  The local church action plans and budgets are to fill communities with the teaching and presence of Christ. They are to bring many to the experience of Christ’s love and grace. They are for nurturing people in Christ to maturity and equip them to reach out to others. The mature believers shine the light of Christ in their worlds/circles. Mature believers must therefore increase in number and distribution so that their light can shine better to the whole world. 

A Reward – ‘Prove me now’

God will not fail to notice your labor of love (Hebrews 11:6).  He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Ø      If you bring the wood from the mountain God promises to be with you (Haggai 1:12-13). Being with Him is life in His house where there is no lack and all curses are broken. ‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,' says Yahweh of Hosts (Haggai 2:8). God is not in need of a house on earth for His own sake but for our sake. .

Ø      If you bring your whole tithes and offering to His house. God promises to keep the devourer away and pour out a blessing such that you have no room (Malachi 3:10). God is also saying to us today, ‘Prove me now.’ This is not about a once off act but being consistent until you see fruit. “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Hebrew 6:12).”

Ø      If you love Gods house you control/transform circumstances (Psalm 84:1-2, 6; 122:1). To the Psalmist, God’s house was the preferred place. Such people even if they pass through the valley of Baca [trouble, adversity, weeping/tears] it is immaterial because they change it to a well [life source, door of hope, abounding grace] (Psalm 84:6).’ They grow from strength to strength and do not only go places but change/shake places.

Ø      If you care about the welfare of God’s house, God will build and establish your house. David had a heart to build Gods house. God would not let Him do so but promised to build him a house that whose rule would be established forever (2 Sam 7:11, 16, 19). His house would not fail to provide a king for God’s people.   He already had a temporal house of cedar but gained a house with dominion forever. Your house can also be established through obedience to God’s word (Matthew 7:24-25). 

Ø      If you are zealous for God’s house, you will be like Christ. May the zeal for the house also consume you (John 2:17). He declared the house should be a house of prayer (Luke 19:46). Prayer magnifies God above all else. In effective prayer, God is priority. God’s house is a place for serving God’s purpose not for selfish interests. Take a keen interest in what is going on in the house and zealously make your contribution to make things right. How you respond to needs in His house is a test of your love for God. With the zeal the Lord Jesus had for the house, it is not a surprise His life was so fruitful. He is the model of effective life and ministry.

[This message is the third among several in a series of messages on the house of God. The series raises awareness of the importance of belonging and fully participating in the life of a local church.]

Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.

Faith Ministries – Johannesburg Faith Life Center.

Ground and First Floors Sunset Bay Building,

204B Bram Fischer drive,

Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa