Summary of the preaching
Sunday, January 15, 2023 – Apostle Billey.
Job 22. 22
Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.
We are at the beginning of the Year of Mercy, Grace and Faith.
Let’s remember our central passage:
Heb. 4.16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Let’s not forget all that it must be practical for us – Indeed, we must approach the altar of grace/mercy with confidence.
- Where is the throne of grace? Where the Lord is.
We must know that the tabernacle is in heaven and on earth at the same time.
On the earth, where you are, the Lord is present and the throne of mercy is present.
And because you are the temple of God, the throne of God is in you.
So you can access the throne at any time, wherever you are, even in your room or elsewhere ….
So let us seize every opportunity, for God sits on the throne of mercy.
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Why do we need to get closer?
For he is the faithful God, there is evidence for thousands of years of what he has done for so many people, of his ability to deliver and rescue.
Indeed, it is because Jesus was there that the adulterous woman was not stoned, that Bartimaeus was healed, that the robber on the cross was saved…
- So how do we approach? With faith and with all your heart.
But to approach with faith, one must first have listened, accepted and believed in order to be able to stand up and approach;
In order not to waste time in this year of mercy, and waste time, weeks, months and take the risk of finding ourselves with a sterile balance sheet at the end of the year.
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What should be done?
We must listen with our hearts and pray with our hearts.
Conviction comes when the Christian receives the word in his heart. And it is on this word that we stand to pray. Thus, it must always be God first.
For the heart of man without the word is unreliable – according to Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things
In concrete terms, this means that we must approach the throne of mercy with a sincere heart.
Matthew 13 -14 – 15
14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.
- So where should the word of God be? In your heart.
Ezekiel 3. 10
10. Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.
Beloved, you must be aware that what comes out of the mouth of God is life.
And he rules and does everything through his word. He is not like men.
For a human being, if his clothes are dirty, he will be obliged to take steps to wash them.
But not for God, because he acts by speaking.
It will simply state – that the garment is clean and this will be done systematically.
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So to get life, what do you have to do? Receive his word with all your heart.
Job 22. 22
Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.
It is the word received in the heart that creates the connection with God and not the statues, pictures or objects, etc. And it is this connection that will bring you your deliverance, your healing, your miracle…
It is important to know the difference between listening with the heart and listening with the head.
When God speaks, He speaks with all His heart, but most people listen with their head so that there is no harmony between God and the person.
It is because we listen to God with our minds, that we do not see the power of his word manifesting itself effectively in our lives.
So we must learn to listen to God with our hearts and not our heads.
Let’s take an example:
You hear this word in church from God-
**Tomorrow at 6 a.m. – each will receive 10 kilos of gold.
- By listening with your head, that is to say with your intelligence – you will only see that it is impossible, by asking yourself all sorts of questions and reasoning.
- Now, listening with the heart, you will see the possibility – because you will look at God’s capacity, remember his power, remember what he has already done and that will open your vision and your understanding.
That is why it is fundamental to grasp God with the heart. We have everything to gain.
Indeed, what happens when you listen and pray with your heart?
We have confidence, peace, joy, tranquility, faith, focus on the Lord, a stronger intimacy gradually develops…
So know that when the Lord Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life.
It is because he is indeed able to give you life. You must seize the opportunity and it must allow you to walk firmly with Jesus.
The word of God will always be our connection and once the blood of Jesus has cleansed us we must always keep that connection.
When there is no such connection, the prayer is groundless and therefore ineffective.
Others have started the Christian life without some foundation – that’s why it’s important to establish a good foundation for a true and effective connection in your life.
Our connection must be fluid, for it is this connection that will make you stronger and stronger – it will fill you with peace and confidence to win every battle with Christ
And furthermore, in reality, the failures and confusions of our lives are because we have opened the door to the enemy.
- When the devil strikes, he presents you with mirages, your desires, but which in reality will destroy you. And if you open the door by accepting his suggestions, then it will be the beginning of the confusion.
- On the other hand, when Jesus knocks on the door of your heart, he presents you with what you need, what will give you life in abundance.
-So what to do?
Choose to open the door to Jesus, the word of God made flesh, the message of God.
Close the door completely to the enemy in order to receive the word of God with all your heart;
Then your transformation will surprise you;
And you will see the Holy Spirit work powerfully in your life.
LET US PRAY →
Lord, I submit to your authority.
Help me to be led by you,
May all my way be in your hand.
In your mercy let your hand be on my life,
And may my way not be far from you.
Father, let your way be my way,
Let your thoughts be my thoughts,
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Amen!