Our messages since the beginning of the Year have been leading up to our Annual Fasting which will be from the 31st of January to the 20th of February.We want to challenge everyone to fast for these 21 days!
The challenge for these 21 days is to give up some meals two or three times a week (skip lunch or dinner for example) and only eat vegetables, fruits and drink water.
God is calling us to fast and pray! When you have a fasting and prayer life you will have experiences with God! Today God will continue to speak to you on what He started last week!
Firstly, we need to clarify the following: Our faith is not based on experiences, but our faith is based on the word of God! The Holy Bible!
We walk by what we believe and not by what we see!
God doesn’t need to prove it to anyone that He exists! No one needs to see anything miraculous to believe in God! For the world and everything that exists is proof that there is a God who is all-powerful!
Hebrews says:
“Without Faith is impossible to please God” Hebrews 11:6
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1 NIV
If we want to please God we need to believe without physical proof!
However , when we believe and start developing a life with God, experiences begin to be a part of our lives.
Jesus said:
If you believe, you will see the glory of God. John 11:40
No one needs to see it to believe it! We believe by faith in God and in His Word, but after believing, Jesus said that we would see the glory of God.
God’s desire is to use us to manifest His Glory: God wants to use you to save the lost, to heal the sick, to cast out demons, to receive revelations from Heaven and have experiences with Him! For these experiences will take you to a greater level of faith!
What is lacking in the lives of christians today are experiences with God!
Many christians, for never having an experience with God (or never being used by God) are frustrated and full of doubts about God and are doing nothing in the Kingdom of God. Because experiences with Him remove all doubts about God and fill our hearts with faith!
Unfortunately, many Christians have heard about God, have studied about God, but have no practical experiences with God!
Example: you can study agronomy, you can read many books on agronomic engineering, but you never have any experience of working in a farm.
You can learn about gardening, know about plants, but you never try planting a tree or a tulip in your life. So many know much about God from hearing, but have no practical experience with God.
A theoretical Christianity, with no practice in their spiritual life, become a stumbling block to many, rather than an inspiration.
There are christians who have never led anyone to Jesus, never had the experience of saving a soul. Christians who have never been used to praying for the sick, christians who have no revelation when reading the word.
“Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.”
Matthew 22:29
How many christians do not know the scriptures or the power of God. We need to know and put the Word into practice and also deepen our relationship and experiences with God.
In Genesis chapter 12 Abraham received a word from God to leave his family, his country and he obeyed God. Because he obeyed, in Genesis 18, God talks to him through 3 angels.
“Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”
Genesis 18:10 NIV
When you obey God and walk in obedience, God visits you and miracles happen.
Experiences are often the result of obedience.
When God created man, He gave him two extraordinary privileges: To develop an intimate communion with Him and to serve His purpose. Communion and Service
All the men of God in the Bible, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Noah, Moses, David, they all had an intimate communion with God and accomplished something for God.
The anointing of God is linked to purpose. Why did God anoint you? You were anointed for the service which God has planned for you to perform on this earth.
Jesus said: “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve”
Matthew 20:28 NIV
Jesus as a son of God said: I was born to serve!
Christian service is the fruit of the revelation of the person of Jesus.
In communion with Him, we receive the revelation of Jesus and the fruit of this revelation compels us to serve God, carrying out the purpose of the Kingdom of God.
Your commitment to the Kingdom of God, to the prayer meeting, to the Sunday services, to your Cell meeting is the result of revelation and the experiences you have with God.
If you and I are serving the Lord today, it is thanks to men and women in the past who were selfless enough and give themselves to the service of the Kingdom of God.
From now on, the story that has yet to be told is the one you write when you finally surrender your life at the altar of service to God.
Laziness and lack of commitment to the work of God demonstrates lack of revelation and experiences with the Lord.
Paul said:
I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision Acts 26:19
The Apostle had a vision, he had an experience with God and his obedience was his response to the experience he had.
One day Jesus comes to the Apostle Peter and asks if Peter loved Him.
John 21:15-18
After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”
John 21:15-17 NLT
Jesus questioned whether Peter really loved him. Jesus expected Peter’s love to be translated into service: Take care of my sheep. Jesus was saying : if you love me indeed you will serve me.
If you love me – invest your life, your time, in people! Invest your time in helping people! Invest your time in discipling people, invest your time to make your cell group grow, advance the Kingdom of God.
Jesus said the son of God is not here on this earth to be served, but to serve!
The one who doesn’t live for service, doesn’t fully live!
Today our Lord Jesus is asking you: Do you love me?
Our fellowship, obedience and service in the Kingdom of God reveals how much we love Him.
It is an honour and a great privilege to be in close communion with the Lord and to serve his purpose.
My personal experience with the Lord Jesus has given me reason to live, I’ve dedicated my life to fulfilling the will of God.
I want to clarify a few points about experiences with God:
1 – We don’t need to seek experiences with God!
I (Márcio) never went after experiences!
I had a commitment to God, I wanted to serve God, I wanted to consecrate myself! This was my desire!
Because of my love for Jesus, I didn’t miss a single church meeting! I went to every church meeting, I didn’t miss prayer meetings, I didn’t miss cell meetings, I participated in street evangelism.
I listened to my leaders, I obeyed my pastors in love and my desire was to live in obedience, surrender and service for God!
With this desire to obey God, walking under the authority of my pastors, I began to live through experiences with God.
I never sought God to have the experiences!
2- Believe with all your heart
I believed in God with all my heart! At the beginning of my life with God, even though I was new to the faith, being flawed, weak, having several areas that I was struggling with, I never doubted God!
We need to believe what the Bible says!
Today the world, schools, the internet, TV, has generated a generation of “believers” who do not believe in the power of God!
The less we believe, the less we receive from God!
Jesus said: If you believe you will see the Glory of God! John 11:40
And Jesus did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:58
Our unbelief prevents God from acting and many do not have experiences with God because they are unbelievers.
3 – Experiences with God come in difficult times!
Experiences are the result of how we face or react to struggles and hardships.
The vast majority of the experiences I had with God were during the most hard times of my life!
They were time of struggles, difficulties, need, time of suffering, time of temptation, times of trial and persecution!
For example: The Experience I had of hearing God out loud!
At that time, I was serving God, trying to be faithful and obedient to Him.
But I was struggling, I was unemployed and the doors had been closed for months!
I was praying and fasting to get a job but doors wouldn’t open!
In my struggle I remained faithful to God. I continued to attend prayer meetings, Sunday services, my cell meeting, and one night of prayer God spoke to me out loud.
God said: Marcio you have been TESTED AND APPROVED. He told me that He was opening the door for a job and that He would take me to another city, and prepare me to serve Him in another Nation.
God had spoke to me on Friday around 12:00 am. The next day, at 8 am, I got called a job and moved cities.
What about you? What is your attitude when you are going through struggles?
What is your attitude when difficulties come into your life?
What is your attitude when people try to correct you and tell you that you are wrong?
What is your attitude when you are being tested by God?
Do you start complaining about the situation? Or do you remain faithful to God?
Do you stop seeking the Lord? Do you stop praying, stop tithing, do you stop going to church, do you give up your calling and service in the Kingdom of God ?
Experiences with God are the fruit of suffering and challenges.
If you want to be used by God, you need to be treated, you need to be tested!
When you are tested, you manifest what you have in your heart!
Do you remember Job’s experiences? He only had an experience with God after great suffering and God allowed his suffering!
“I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. Job 42:5
Most people do not have experiences with God, because they are reproved in the middle of the experience!
They start complaining, murmuring, they stop coming to church, become weak in faith, stop seeking God or become unbelieving! (Israel had to stay 40 years in the wilderness because of their heart)
A few years ago I had an experience of seeing an angel.
I was in the midst of a great storm, suffering and anguished. As a missionary here in Ireland, I received a letter from the government , they had denied my visa request to remain in the country and demanded me to leave the country in 120 days!
It was tough! I went to God, crying and telling God, I trust you and I adore you! Suddenly I see an angel come, it stops in the air in front of me and shows me 2 red passports.
From that day on my situation changed and today I have the passports the Angel showed me.
A genuine experience produced by the Holy Spirit will reveal Christ in your life, it will fight sin, it will make you more humble, more obedient and more faithful!
Experiences with the Holy Spirit will lead you to love Jesus, love people.
Experiences with God will help you to find a reason to live!
Not just a reason to live, but a reason to die!
For me, living is Christ and dying is gain!
I want to end by saying the same thing Jesus said to Peter:
Do you love Me? Feed my sheep!
Your service reveals your love for Jesus.
Christian service is the fruit of the revelation of the person of Jesus.
When you have communion with Him, you receive the revelation of Jesus and the fruit of this revelation compels us to serve God, carrying out the purpose of the Kingdom of God.
What will you have write about your life? What will people say about you after your death?
We only have one life and soon it will soon pass, but what we do for God will remain eternally.
From this life you can only bring one thing to Heaven – People!
That’s why Jesus said, do you love me? Invest in people.
We need to repent from how we have lived!
Paul said: I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision!
You are not on this earth just to make money, buy goods, raise children and live for yourself!
There is something much bigger and that is our relationship with the Lord and our Service to the kingdom of God.
If you have failed, repent, ask God for forgiveness and change your attitudes from today on.
We don’t need to go after experiences! We need to seek God!
Even through struggles, difficulties, remain faithful to God and to the calling , do not be disobedient to the vision of God.
Whoever is faithful on little, God will give over much!
But you need to be faithful in the little things that God has set before you.
You need to thirst for God!
God said: Then you will call on me, you will pray to me, and I will hear you.
You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.
Call on me, and I will answer you; I will tell you great and hidden things, which you do not know.
We need true repentance! We need to get closer to God!
Come to God and He will come to you!
We need to humble ourselves, cry, repent of our sin, from our laziness to serve the Lord.
Your commitment to the Kingdom of God is the result of revelation and the experiences you have with God.