Geliefdes, Genade en Vrede vir julle van God Onse Vader en Jesus Christus Sy Eniggebore Seun.
Liewe Broers en Susters voor die Here,
Vandag is dit vir my 'n aangename voorreg om die Woord van die Here met u te kan deel, Voordat ons by vandag se skriflesing kom, laat ons die Heilige Gees in ons midde verwelkom; en terwyl ons ons voorberei vir vandag se woord, laat ons eers ons Geloof bely.....
Nou Geliefdes voor die Here,
Vandag se skriflesing kom uit die boek van Daniel hoofstuk 2:46-49 en daarna hoofstuk 3:16-30.
Terwyl ons ons Bybels daar oop het laat ons saam bid; sodat God Sy Woord sal sëen....
In the passage of scripture we read that these men were almost killed by King Nebuchadnezzar, as no one could explain the meaning of the Kings dreams, Daniel however heard what was expected, he then consulted with a higher power GOD, and that was how these men were saved and even promoted. Daniel and his team, survive hardships because of their faith in God.
We further read that Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego was badmouthed, questioned and ridiculed, because they would not serve any foreign GOD but they stood firm, these men were not willing to sacrifice their faith, not even the furnace would STOP them ---------> The kings instruction was that whoever disobey his commands will be thrown in the furnace, by then it was SUPER HOT.
Because of their willpower, because of their faith, they hoped for the best (GOD) would save them and they refuse the kings commands, regardless of the outcome ------->
Two things 1)just imagine their circumstances and what they would go through ------->2) just imagine the kings face, when they told him in verses 16-18 that they will not obey his commands....
As humans they might have had their doubts; but they knew God and His capabilities, !!!---------> They knew the Power of their God.
From today’s passage of scripture:
The most important parts that I want us to focus on is:
1) Faith and
2) Hope.
Vandaar die titel vir vandag se boodskap. Geloof en Hoop!
Why am I dwelling on Faith and Hope is that the one cannot exist without the other, they almost move together.
You hope for something and if you believe, If you have FAITH, then the unseen will be revealed.
We Read in Hebrews Chapter 11 – 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Life depends on both faith and hope.
A few examples of faith:
1) When a relative is in hospital we hope for a speedy recovery.
2) When a perpetrator is arrested his family hope for bail and the complainants hope for a stiff sentence.
3) When you apply for a job you hope for an interview/job offer.
4) When faced with a crisis, we hope that God will come through for us, !!!
My question though: Do we have the faith?
I repeat DO we have the faith that God will keep his promises
1) When a relative is in hospital we hope for a speedy recovery.
2) When a perpetrator is arrested his family hope for bail and the complainants hope for a stiff sentence.
3) When you apply for a job you hope for an interview/job offer.
4) When faced with a crisis, we hope that God will come through for us, !!!
My question though: Do we have the faith?
I repeat DO we have the faith that God will keep his promises
-----------> Maybe we do----------------> maybe we don't.
One thing is sure though, from experience, a child in it's innocence will have the faith and the hope -as such, when a child wants to show his happiness, a child will run towards his father when the father arrives home, and the child expect the father to wait with open arms and catches him when he jumps in jubilation
One thing is sure though, from experience, a child in it's innocence will have the faith and the hope -as such, when a child wants to show his happiness, a child will run towards his father when the father arrives home, and the child expect the father to wait with open arms and catches him when he jumps in jubilation
- Brothers and Sisters as Christians our faith must be the same, we must have the same trust in Our Father !!!
We must in the true sense of the word Pray for rain and in the same breath opens our umbrellas waiting for the rains. !!!
I'm having this movie named Facing The Giants,(some of you might have seen it, for those who didn't see it just a brief background) The movie is about a School Football team who performed badly, to such an extent that the parents wanted the coach to be fired, and in one of the scenes the coach, who was at the right place at the wrong time, overheard, at what sounded to be an executive meeting that he is faced with possible dismissal/axing - parents really wanted him to go.
After hearing this news, the coach then went home and immediately start reading his Bible and go on his knees praying -
Brothers and Sisters doesn't this sound too familiar! , When we're faced with difficulties our faith comes forth, I recently listened to Pastor Liberty from Victory Ministries International on the Community Radio Station, Rainbow FM 90.7; the dial is 90.7FM for anyone who wants to tune in after the service. He remarked that Our faith comes forth when the bread bin is empty, when we really hope for better days… !!!
---------> As humans our faith is revealed when days are really dark (that's when we go on our knees) when a relative is sick, when we don't have jobs, when the bread bin is empty, that's when our faith comes forth. We hope in faith for the best.
To go back to the movie, God through His word spoke to the coach, !!! The coach then started to implement changes in his team, part of the changes was to invite God to the team. !!!
We must in the true sense of the word Pray for rain and in the same breath opens our umbrellas waiting for the rains. !!!
I'm having this movie named Facing The Giants,(some of you might have seen it, for those who didn't see it just a brief background) The movie is about a School Football team who performed badly, to such an extent that the parents wanted the coach to be fired, and in one of the scenes the coach, who was at the right place at the wrong time, overheard, at what sounded to be an executive meeting that he is faced with possible dismissal/axing - parents really wanted him to go.
After hearing this news, the coach then went home and immediately start reading his Bible and go on his knees praying -
Brothers and Sisters doesn't this sound too familiar! , When we're faced with difficulties our faith comes forth, I recently listened to Pastor Liberty from Victory Ministries International on the Community Radio Station, Rainbow FM 90.7; the dial is 90.7FM for anyone who wants to tune in after the service. He remarked that Our faith comes forth when the bread bin is empty, when we really hope for better days… !!!
---------> As humans our faith is revealed when days are really dark (that's when we go on our knees) when a relative is sick, when we don't have jobs, when the bread bin is empty, that's when our faith comes forth. We hope in faith for the best.
To go back to the movie, God through His word spoke to the coach, !!! The coach then started to implement changes in his team, part of the changes was to invite God to the team. !!!
The entire status quo changes, the team’s performance improved drastically, learners starting to Pray for each other and so forth
------>A question to be asked is why the sudden improvement?
Another question to you our brothers and sisters is: haven't you experience that, when you invite God into your lives, through faith, your entire life can change. !!! Yes your entire life can change.
1) Wherever God is, there is hope, love and faith!!! - because God is always in three that's why the saying God Our Father, The Father, God The Son, Our elder brother Jesus Christ, and God the Holy spirit!!! -------> that's why Jesus' blood will never loose it's power.
We can also say that One person on God’s side is a majority. , I repeat One on God’s side is a majority! David overpowered the giant Goliath, why? because David was on God’s side. He had Faith.
To go back to the passage of scripture; it was through faith that Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego overcome the enemy. In Chapter 6 of the Book Daniel we read that: Daniel was a great man of Faith and Prayer. When he had to choose between Praying to God or facing death for his beliefs, he was faithful to God. He was protected all night by an angel when he was thrown in a den of lions. We have his example to be faithful and stand up for God.
The passage of scripture also revealed that they Daniel in Chapter 2 and the rest in Chapter 3 were blessed with senior positions --------->
We must remember when we perform above expectations at work we might be blessed with some form of promotion, which we might see as a blessing, we must also bear in mind that your blessings can sometimes be a curse:
------>A question to be asked is why the sudden improvement?
Another question to you our brothers and sisters is: haven't you experience that, when you invite God into your lives, through faith, your entire life can change. !!! Yes your entire life can change.
1) Wherever God is, there is hope, love and faith!!! - because God is always in three that's why the saying God Our Father, The Father, God The Son, Our elder brother Jesus Christ, and God the Holy spirit!!! -------> that's why Jesus' blood will never loose it's power.
We can also say that One person on God’s side is a majority. , I repeat One on God’s side is a majority! David overpowered the giant Goliath, why? because David was on God’s side. He had Faith.
To go back to the passage of scripture; it was through faith that Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego overcome the enemy. In Chapter 6 of the Book Daniel we read that: Daniel was a great man of Faith and Prayer. When he had to choose between Praying to God or facing death for his beliefs, he was faithful to God. He was protected all night by an angel when he was thrown in a den of lions. We have his example to be faithful and stand up for God.
The passage of scripture also revealed that they Daniel in Chapter 2 and the rest in Chapter 3 were blessed with senior positions --------->
We must remember when we perform above expectations at work we might be blessed with some form of promotion, which we might see as a blessing, we must also bear in mind that your blessings can sometimes be a curse:
Some might ask why can a blessing be a curse: The reasons is that when you are blessed or receive a blessing:
1) You'll face opposition ----> your subordinates or those reporting to you might not always listen to you, the Unions might be at your office on a daily basis; or staff and even your own senior management might challenge you, by making unrealistic demands.
1) You'll face opposition ----> your subordinates or those reporting to you might not always listen to you, the Unions might be at your office on a daily basis; or staff and even your own senior management might challenge you, by making unrealistic demands.
2) You'll face jealousy -------->Close friends or family who supported you all the way might disappear, they might not be happy about your progress ---- believe me, !!! These things happen - if you're a child of God, The devil will be jealous and he will use those close to you to hurt you- he wants you to change from good to bad to worse - that's his aim.
3) You'll face temptations - for instance you've never worked with a budget of thousands or hundred thousands, a scenario would be that it is January mid-month and you're faced with an unexpected emergency, remember the devil will always be there with temptations or challenges, he did it to Jesus in the dessert, What will make us different, the devil will always be there with his temptations.
We learn't that blessings can be great but it can also be a curse. !!!
We must however reclaim our blessing! We sing In Him we live, in Him we move…then it continues… If we don’t have the Spirit of God how can we reach the shore….If we believe in Christ and have made a commitment to do right, God’s blessing belongs to us. However, we must continue to speak His Word and have Godly character in order to partake of the blessing (Ephesians 1:3)
In Conclusion:
If all these things comes your way; and believe me it will, a question from you might be why is this happening to me - the answer is to be found in the 1st book of Peter Chapter 5 verse 8 (King James Version) 8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:-------> so what must we do,
1) We must renew our Faith and Commitment towards God and His Word, We must know that The blood of Jesus won't lose its power, trust in God fully and you'll be in a majority.
2) Always wear the full Armour
3) Through faith all things is possible
4) Try to live; or live as if Jesus is coming this afternoon.
5) Parents please pray for your children.
6) Pray without seizing in good times as well as those challenging times.
7) Don't forget to always remember your blessings and thank God for it, !!!
8) With God nothing is impossible!!!
Amen
