Restoring the Gates: Discovering the Kingdom Within

2. COLLABORATED SERIES’ Publication of Gospel Addicts Global Church Email: gospeladdictsglobal@gmail.com Website: gospeladdictsglobal.wordpress.com Content First published 2015 Collaborated Series’ Duplication in any form of this book without the written permission from Gospel Addicts Global is strictly prohibited

3. CONTENTS I page 6 13 22 31 38 46 51 56 65 74 80 84 92 94 96 98 101 106 Entering the Presence of the Lord 1. Gates of the Kingdom 2. Rebuilding the Temple of the Lord 2. God Seeks True Worshippers 4. The Power of Praying in Tongues Digging Deeper 1. Prayer 2. The Ability to Recreate 3. Born of the Nature of God Quicken by the Spirit 1. Healing 2. Spiritual Warfare 3. Manifestation of the Sons of God 4. Every Tree a Forest Bonus: Gifts Christian Living 1. Experience the Ministering of Angels 2. Your Walk with the Spirit 3. The Glory of His Presence 4. Standing in Jesus’ Stead Insightful Articles 1. Born Free 2. A Perfect Stranger in You

4. CONTENTS II page 121 128 134 140 148 161 168 174 185 Collaborated Articles 1. The Kingly Heritage 2. No Weapon Formed Against You 3. God’s Swordsman 4. Custodians of Glory Bonus: End Time Prophesy 4 Part Basic Leadership Ethics 1. Qualities of Leadership 2. The Lost Art of Leadership 3. Effective Christian Leadership 4. The Root of Ministry Effectiveness More PDF Downloadable Files: a. Church Growth – Lead Magnet b. Church Growth – Pastors & Leaders

6. Entering the Presence of the Lord 4 part series Part 1 The Gates of the Kingdom In this article we will be focusing on the 10 gates of the Kingdom, as represented in the book of Nehemiah – Jerusalem being the earthly Zion which reflects the Heavenly City of God, Zion. We will concentrate on the significance of the repairing or restoring of the city’s ten gates. Just before we jump into the article of the gates, I want to touch base on the walls of Jerusalem, which represents the walls in our Christian lives. We must reflect on our own lives from time to time to assess our walls. Our walls sometimes are broken down, in areas of finances, work, social life, school, marriages, relationships, and even in areas of church life and ministry. What the walls represent in our lives is a place of safety. Looking at the cities of old, these cities had big, high, broad fortified walls. It served as protection for it inhabitants from bad that was lurking on the outside of the city. It also served as a barrier or shield against attacks. These walls in scripture relates to our salvation. When we come into our salvation which the Lord calls us unto, we are separated from this world unto God (1 Peter 2:9). Getting to know God and all He has done for us brings us into a city with fortified falls; a place of safety. However, I want to concentrate on the restoring of the gates in our lives in a relationship with God. The aim of the

7. restoring of the gates in our lives is to bring us into the glory of God which also ushers us into the greater truth. Reflecting on the gates in our lives, we need to understand what gates do for us. Like the gates in olden days, they were big, strong, reinforced objects that signified power. Power also signifies authority. Gates in general keep out what you don’t want inside, it also controls traffic in and out of the city. This we can say is the traffic of right and wrong doctrine which enters through our minds. The Bible tells us to guard our hearts, but we can only guard our hearts when our gates has been restored. The book of Nehemiah leads us along side they steps we must follow in restoring the gates in our Christian walk with God. There is ten gates in the walls of Jerusalem, the first gate is… 1. The Sheep Gate: This is the entrance level of every born again Christian’s life. We must first come to God as His sheep – we hear His voice and submit ourselves to Him as the sheep of His pasture, for He is the Shepherd of our souls. (Rom.12:1) we ought to give ourself to God as a living sacrifice. Don’t ask God to bless your plans and follow you wherever you want to go! It’s supposed to be the other way around. A shepherd pulls his sheep into line with the rod, leading them to good pastures (Ps.23:4). You are a sheep of God’s pasture, He is not a Shepherd of your pasture – He leads you, you don’t lead Him. (Prov.3:5 & 16:25). Build the sheep gate in your life through submission and worship, admiration and love (Ps.141:2/Heb.13:15,21).

8. 2. The Fish Gate: When you submit yourself unto God, you are taken to the fish gate. This shows that you’ve been brought into the sheep gate to be a soul winner – to bring in fish/souls. (Matt.4:18-19) In scripture, rivers and seas refer to multitudes… Here it is the nations and cities of the world. As the fishermen brought fish from the river of Jordan and sea of Galilee to Jerusalem, so to we must bring people throughout the world unto the sheep gate to worship God at His city in Zion. Soul winning is simple, we only need to follow Jesus and He will make us fishermen of men. To the Christian, soul winning is not an opinion, it is an essential and vital part of our work. 3. The Old Gate: Here you are founded on the Word of God – Truth. As a soul winner, you will have many new converts to your credit. These are brought to the Old Gate to be taught the truths and principles of the Kingdom. The old gate was situated on the North side along with the main entrance into the city. This shows that souls only get to know God when they come into the old gate, for God’s throne is in the North (Ps.48:1-2). The old gate is a place of learning for all Christians (Mal.2:7). The Glory of God is accompanied by the old gate (2 Cort.3:8+18). The Glory of God follows the Word of God, both in the lives of the hearers and teachers. 4. The Valley Gate: This gate represents the valleys of life, this is when

9. everything seems to be against you. There’s two kinds of experiences at the valley gate: one helps the new convert become more patient, while the other brings the older Christian in faith to a place of humility. 5. The Dung Gate: The dung was taken out of the city by this gate. The word ‘dung’ refers to worthless and useless things; that must be removed for purity and cleanliness to be maintained. Because of the valley gate experience, it leaves you with alot of complaining and murmuring which deposits wrong things into you, so you need to get it out at the dung gate. Now you have learned that without God you nothing, you need Him now to clean the mess out. (Phil.3:7-9 & Gal.2:20). By now, you should not be afraid of what happens in the valley. After all, being born again means that you are dead, you only alive now because of the Greater One Who now lives in you. A dead man can’t fear anything! Rom.5:3-5; the hope that comes to you when you realize that greater glory comes from looking unto Jesus instead of your own abilities leads you to the next gate. 6. The Fountain Gate: Inside the fountain gate was the pool of Siloam. The pool at Siloam was where the man that was sent by Jesus to go wash after Jesus made eyes from clay by spitting on the ground to make clay out of the sand and placed it in the sockets of the blind man (John 9:1-7). You will come to this gate to be washed and made clean, because the

10. despondency resulting from murmuring and complaining are overcome by the welling up of life afresh from within you. John 4:4 You will experience the life of God in you like you newly born again. God washes you after coming from the dung gate and make you fresh again (Rev.2:3-5). This is also a place of fresh revelation. Jesus wants us to be stirred up (Rev.3:15-18) and not for us to be lukewarm. Its also a place that brings fervency and renewed power to your prayer. This takes you through to the water gate. Nehemiah 3:15 also speak of another significant feature at the gate Fountain Gate, “…and he rebuilt the wall as far as the stairs that descend from the City of David.” Although the verse mention stairs descending from David’s city, it also means by entering the gate you will be climbing up the stairs to David’s city. Now David was a man after God’s own heart (which I will speaking about in the next article). In other words, at the Fountain Gate, you will also experience a higher level as you start worshiping and praising God. This is what David did in his city – he worshiped and praised God. 7. The Water Gate: The water gate refers to the Holy Spirit. The water gate was at Gihon, we read of the anointing of King Solomon in 1 Kings 1:32-35. We see through this that the water gate speaks of a place of anointing. As you receive fresh revelation at the fountain gate, fresh anointing also comes with it. We can experience this by praying and walking in the

11. consciousness of the Holy Spirit (John 7:38). This is where speaking in tongues is important (1 Cort.14:4) – it brings forth a new unction as you are edified. 8. The Horse Gate: In scripture, horses represents strength, might, power and authority – it brings us into the consciousness of who we are and what is ours in Christ, we start reigning in life. Here you start speaking words of power (1 Cort.2:12). 9. The East Gate: The sun rises from the east and this gate represents God’s glory. You are brought into the glory of God here. Matt.5:16 tells us what the glory does in our lives when we make use of it. 10. The Miphkad Gate or Appointed Place: It’s a place of commissioning and also inspection for reward. In Matt.28:16-20, Jesus made an appointment with His disciples to meet with Him at an appointed place. Jesus commissioned them to take the Gospel to the world. Find out what Jesus wants you to do and start doing it. It is also a place of inspection of works for reward (Gal.6:9). Our works will be inspected by Jesus and we will be rewarded for it. An expression of excellence: After going through the ten gates, you come back to the sheep gate where the cycle continues. This is necessary for us to continually move from glory to glory. In this

12. Christian life, it is important to know that you have a role to play. It goes both ways, between you and God. God gave us free will, so it is up to us to do what God ask and instruct us to do. For us to experience a life of glory and excellence. Like Nehemiah, we must develop a strong desire to build up our lives and others too, so that the glory of God can be seen through us. People will talk about ‘the case of the unexpected’, but God has chosen you for the expected end (Col.1:27) – Christ in you, the hope of glory! When you don’t experience the glory of God in your life, it’s like a city broken down, and Nehemiah is crying out: “Let’s rebuild the wall and gates!” Start today to focus on the realm of glory, then you will think, talk and live in the realm of glory, and your life will be the expression of God’s excellence! Our next article, ‘Rebuilding the Temple of the Lord’, will take you a bit deeper into the truth and surely higher as well in understanding what God wants you to do. God bless you!

13. Entering the Presence of the Lord 4 part series Part 2 Rebuilding the Temple of the Lord Introduction If you haven’t read the article: ‘The Gates of the Kingdom’, I suggest you read it first to have better understanding of this article… 2 Chronicles 24:7 reads, “Over the years the followers of wicked Athaliah had broken into the Temple of God, and they had used all the dedicated things from the Temple of the LORD to worship the images of Baal.” This is just how some of our fellow Christians mindsets has been intoxicate by false or incorrect and religious teachings. These teachings has broken into the Temple of God, which is our bodies, and robbed us from the truth. However, let us go step-by-step in the restoration of God’s Temple. I jump to the restoration or rebuilding of the Temple instead of the first construction of the Temple, because many Christians render their worship and sacrifices in a spiritual broken down Temple. This leads the Christian in not experiencing and not entering into the presence of God. Therefore, we must rebuild the Temple of God in our lives first by learning how to worship and praise God in spirit and in truth before we can truly experience coming into the presence of the Lord our God. As on any construction site, you need to clear the site first.

14. With this mention, I urge you to clear all religious doctrine out of your mind before reading this article further, for it might just cause confusion and upset you as a reader, as a cluttered mind may just block you from receiving the greater truth concerning God’s divine nature and where He wants to lead you to. In the rebuilding of the Temple, there was repairs made in the foundation of the temple and in some places the damage portion of the foundation was removed and newly laid. Any building standing for sometime in ruins has weeds and even small trees growing out from broken foundations, gutters and drains. Gutters capture rain water and dust, washing it out in the drains. Now, when the gutters and drains is blocked with weeds growing in it, then the waste waters can’t freely be drained and this cause the possibility for the roof to leak. This happens to people too. When we have things cluttering our minds, our filtration systems to take in good and reject bad doesn’t work as well, until we clean our gutters and drains out. Leaks in the roof causes the inside damage and weaken even the foundations. Weaken foundations crack and break up, allowing bad seed to spring sprout and grow. These roots of weeds and trees growing in the foundations needs to be up-rooted before any repairs can start. Do you get the picture now – good! This is a good time to surrender to God, repent and just throw yourself on the floor before God and pour your heart out to Him. Let’s move on now – It’s important to understand the foundational truth of worship in the Temple in order to worship God in spirit and in truth, as this ushers us into

15. experiencing the presence of God like what Moses experienced on Mount Sinai. Our first article, the Gates of Zion, had prepare you for the repair work of God’s Temple; Repair work to the Temple can begin now… In Ezra 2:70, it tells us the story of ‘…the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, the Temple servants, and some of the common people settled in villages near Jerusalem…’ This should of taken place with you in our first article, ‘the Gates of Zion.’ Now that you are settled, it is time to move on higher. It is important to notice that in Ezra 3:1-2, after the people settled they came together in one purpose and some also joined their fellow priest. We are now called the priest of God (1 Peter 2:9). This also signify the gathering together of the saints (Hebrews 10:25), fellowship in the church. It is the priest who went about rebuilding the altar to offer sacrifices unto God. In the rebuilding of the Temple, which we will be focusing on, the first thing which was done was to build the altar in front of the Temple entrance. The priest offered sacrifices on the altar before doing anything else. Like I mentioned, Jesus done the sacrifice for sin already when He gave Himself to be crucified. The sacrifice we need to offer on this altar is that of praise, acknowledging God for all He has done for us and in our lives. It is to praise God for His goodness and love and mercy – to exalt God above all. This is coming onto submission of the throne of God. God is the ‘I AM’ (Exodus 3:14)and we are ‘IN HIM’(Colossians 1:27 & Galatians 2:20).

16. Temple Foundation: Many ministries has foundation classes, introducing new people to the doctrine of their teachings who enter in their midst. This is very good, as everything the church will ever preach will be based upon this foundation. Although, many churches don’t cover worship and praise in the foundation classes. Now, that’s not to say they are wrong, but as an individual, it is important to build a strong foundation for worship as well, as this will take you into the realm of the Spirit. The Temple of God was build within the walls of Jerusalem on higher ground. It is also important to note that the Temple of God was build on the foundations of the city of Jerusalem, which placed it higher then any other place in the city. In the Heavenly Jerusalem, the city called Zion, the city of God; God’s throne is at the highest place. This shows us the importance of the Temple of God. Ezra 3:10 tells us ‘…When the builders completed the foundation of the LORD’s Temple, the priests put on their robes and took their places to blow their trumpets. And the Levites, descendants of Asaph, clashed their cymbals to praise the LORD, just as King David had prescribed.’ Ezra 3:11 gives us an account of what the people done after the Temple foundations was laid; ‘…With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the LORD: “He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!” Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the LORD because the foundation of the LORD’s Temple had been laid.’ The next verse tells us of the elders who wept when they saw the

17. Temple foundations, for they have seen the first foundation. This shows that something was still not right, and a lot more work was needed to be done. Restoring the Temple walls: Reading into Ezra 4, we see that Israel had enemies who opposed the rebuilding of the Temple. In our lives, not only will devil come against us, but also fellow believers. Because of immaturity in the church, people become jealous and don’t want to see you rise above them, instead of being encouraged to lead on and grow. The devil will make good use of these people, because he knows how dangerous a Christian can be who enters into God’s presence. The rebuilding of the Temple had stopped, because the Jews was afraid of their opposition; but we read in the opening of chapter 5 that two prophets spoke God’s Words unto the people to continue construction. We must never stop building our Temple, because God is for us, no one can successfully come against us (Romans 8:31 & Psalm 105:15). We have been equipped and reassured of this when we go through the Valley Gate (previous article). Ezra 6:11 shows us what happens to people who come against the works of God, their own houses will be destroyed – so continue the works… Within this time of opposition, you must continue to rebuild the walls and fix the roof. Dedication of Temple: When you have completed the restoration work, it is time to dedicate the Temple, for now your joy is overflowing in

18. seeing the hand of God working in your life. Your spirit will start springing forth with celebration, as we saw in the restoring of the Fountain Gate. This is also a place where you will be established and positioned to fulfill your call (Ezra 6:18). This calls for times of celebrations as we read in the verses following. During the phase of dedication and celebration is also the time to place the ornaments, utensils and furniture of the Temple, together with the decor. The ornaments, utensils and decor is our worship to God. To worship God in His Temple in spirit and in truth is what makes His Temple beautiful and acceptable unto God – and you have now become God’s Temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). Collecting offerings for the Temple: By this stage in your spiritual walk, you come into the abundance life (Ezra 7:18 & John 10:10). God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings (Ephessians 1:3), but what this level allows you is to make manifest the blessings God already has given you. People, not only Christian, but also of diverse religions will start giving you things. What is important is that first; a tenth of all income collected goes to God. This is your tithes (Malachi 3:10). Then, out of the remaining, you will offer the best of your income for the running of God’s Temple – which today is the church. Reading on in the verses that follows in Ezra 6, we gain the understanding what our giving produces. It opens the windows of Heaven (Malachi 3:10-13), and we tap into a source which will never run dry. Not only do we have excess

19. to God’s treasury, but like we read in Ezra, God will also open the hearts of the wicked to bless us even more. This is what Jesus came to give us (John 10:10), life and life in abundance! Our faith by now has become strong; and we are catapulted to even a higher level – praising and worshiping God at His Throne. Entering the Throne Room: Hebrew 9:6-8, “When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.” You now come to a place, after everything has been put in place in your spiritual Temple, that allows you to enter the Most Holy Place; and as a priest of God, you now can enter freely. Unlike in the Old Testament, were the priest could only enter once a year, we, in the new covenant can enter daily. Entering the Holiest of Holies: Exodus 30:10, “Once a year Aaron must purify the altar by smearing its horns with blood from the offering made to purify the people from their sin. This will be a regular, annual event from generation to generation, for this is the LORD’s most holy altar.”

20. Aaron was the high priest of the time and only he was allowed to enter the Most Holiest of Holies. If any other person was to enter this place, they would be struck dead, for they were not pure enough to enter into God’s presence. The process of coming through the Gates of Zion and the rebuilding of the Temple of God makes us pure at heart and allows us to stand in the presence of the Lord at His Throne, inside His Throne Room. There is more to learn, higher and deeper places to go, but these are truths unspeakable and unteachable. When you come to this stage in your spiritual life, you will only need the Holy Spirit to take you Higher and Deeper, for no man can take you beyond this point. The Bible tells us that every knee should bow by the Name of Jesus (Philippians 2:10). This speaks of everything outside the presence of God, when we use His Name, every knee should bow. This however depends on our faith and how much we trust in God. But once we reached the level of being in God’s presence, this verse takes on a new description. Studying the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we come to a profound understanding, that in the presence of God, every knee will bow. We see this when Jesus, after His death and burial descended into hell, lined up devil and all his cohorts and stripped them from their authority. Devil and all his cohorts had no option but to bow in Jesus’ presence, for at this time, Jesus already has entered into His full glory. So too, not only will we bow in the presence of God, but everything else hunting after us will also bow down – that gives us freedom to worship God with all our hearts.

21. Conclusion: In closing: One of the most important duties of the priest in the Old Testament was to prayer and intercede for the nation; and also worshiping God. This was a duty next to that of bringing sacrifices unto God in the Most Holy Place. In the New Testament (1 Peter 2:9) we are called the holy priesthood, and as a born again Christian, one of our most important duties is that of prayer. In our next article, ‘God Seeks True Worshipers’, we will be tapping into how to worship and praise God in His Temple by looking into the Psalms of David and some other characters of the Bible who knew how to worship and praise God – including Jesus and the real ‘Lord’s prayer’…

22. Entering the Presence of the Lord 4 part series Part 3 God Seeks True Worshippers Introduction: “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.” (John 4:23). Not everyone can sing, I know I can’t… Many people think that worshiping God is singing to God. Although music is very important in the Kingdom of God and in church. There is also many ways in which we can worship God. As our opening verse reads, God seeks worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. To worship God is a form of prayer; and to worship God in spirit means to worship God in tongues. The Holy Spirit will utter words unto God through us, words which can’t be uttered in any human language. There is things we don’t even know about which the Holy Spirit will utter through us to God. I will go into more detail on the topic of speaking and worshiping in tongues in our next article. Our opening verse also makes mentioned that God seeks worshipers who will worship Him in truth. To worship God in truth is to use God’s Word to worship Him. King David was good in worshiping God in truth. Learning from King David: In this article, I hope to lead you in worshiping God in truth, as king David did. King David was a man after God’s own

23. heart, and what made him that man is that he knew God’s heart and that God loves it when His creation worships Him. When you want someone to feel special, you’d find out what the person likes and then do it, right? Now, king David knew that worshiping God is that special thing God likes, so that’s what he did – he worshiped God! Psalm 34:11, “Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD.” Are we not descendants of David? Then we are also children of David, as he say, ‘Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD.” Studying the psalms of David teach us how to worship and praise God. You can start with Psalm 34 as we already reference a verse from this chapter. In Psalm 145:11 David says, “They will speak of the glory of your kingdom; they will give examples of your power”, because this is what he had experienced and so share with us how to praise and worship God so we might also have this experience. Psalm 117: 1-2 David gives reason to why we must worship the Lord, “Praise the LORD, all you nations. Praise him, all you people of the earth. 2 For he loves us with unfailing love; the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the LORD!” Psalm 104 “Let all that I am praise the LORD. O LORD my God, how great you are! You are robed with honor and majesty.” Isn’t this reason enough to fall face down and worship our Creator? Psalm 62:1-12 David wrote a worship song, “I wait quietly

24. before God, for my victory comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. 3 So many enemies against one man—all of them trying to kill me. To them I’m just a brokendown wall or a tottering fence. 4 They plan to topple me from my high position. They delight in telling lies about me. They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts. Interlude 5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. 7 My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. 8 O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Interlude 9 Common people are as worthless as a puff of wind, and the powerful are not what they appear to be. If you weigh them on the scales, together they are lighter than a breath of air. 10 Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life. 11 God has spoken plainly, and I have heard it many times: Power, O God, belongs to you; 12 unfailing love, O Lord, is yours. Surely you repay all people according to what they have done.” – this teaches us that even in times of trails and tribulations, we can still be joyful and worship God, for we can trust His love for us will keep us safe! See what David wrote in Psalm 23:5, “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil.” Isn’t this a wonderful assurance? God is faithful, the question is, are we?

25. Psalm 23 also speaks of God being our Shepherd and how He comforts us with His rod and staff. Many people don’t see it like this, but a shepherd will use his staff to pull his sheep back in line. Sometimes a sheep will try and stray of to drink water, but because shepherd doesn’t want the sheep to drink just any water, he pulls it back in line and leads them all to a chosen place to drink trusted water. God does this with us as well. Sometimes we want to stray off and do our own thing, but God will pull us back with His staff, for He knows what is good for us. There is so many things which we can praise God for, all the reasons to worship Him. Study the book of Psalm and learn like David to worship God the right way. Learning from Paul: Paul also knew how to worship God in truth. But being filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul discovered a higher level of worship; and that was to worship God in spirit – worshiping God through the utterance tongues. Ephessians 5:19, “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.” God loves it when we are merry at heart, for when we are happy and joyful, God is also happy and joyful. Not only did Pual learn how to worship God in spirit and in truth, but He also learned that doing the Word of God is also a form of worship. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:6 that without faith it’s impossible to please God; and in James 2:17, that faith without works are dead. It takes faith

26. to worship God! So, in doing God’s Word, which takes faith to do, we also please God. It is in pleasing God that we make God feel special and we touch God’s heart when we please Him. We read in Acts 16:24-27, of an account which Paul and Silas was in prison; and while in prison, they worshiped the Lord. A remarkable and profound thing happened as a result of them worshiping God in the midst of trouble – an angel freed them for jail. Paul even through preaching the Word of God, he gave praises unto God as we see in Acts 14:17, “In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, 17 but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” Then in Romans 12:1-2, Paul gives instruction to the church by saying, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” He said something remarkable here, ‘This is truly the way to worship God.’ As we share in our previous article, ‘Rebuilding the Temple of God’, our bodies is the Temple of God now and we are to use it to bring glory to God. Paul says this is truly the way to worship God! We read in many of Paul’s letters to the churches that he opens the letters and even close letter with words of praise

27. and worship. Learning from Jesus: The real Lord’s prayer (John 17): What people calls the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:11 was actually just an example to the Jews on how to pray, not an actual way to pray. The Holy Spirit hasn’t come to man at this time. In John 17, we read about the Lord’s real prayer, praying and interceding for the new creation, the born again Christian. Although Jesus was asking the Father for many things in this prayer, I want us to focus on Jesus worshiping the Father in this prayer. “…Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began. 6 “I have revealed you to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, 8 for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.” Jesus was giving His Father glory for the relationship They share, through the means of bringing into remembrance the task before Him, which was to bring people unto God to

28. worship the Father. In verse 25, Jesus says: “O, righteous Father…” – again, worshiping God for His righteousness. In Luke 4:8 Jesus exalt the Father even in His confrontation with satan, “Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only Him.” We should learn from this to exalt and worship God in the midst of temptation; this keeps us out of the ways of sin. Paul also confirms what Jesus said in Colossians 2:18, “Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud.” We are only to worship God. Throughout to accounts of Jesus we see how He gave praise and worship to God in public through exalting His Father. Even on accounts recorded that Jesus went by Himself and left His disciples alone, He spend time in prayer, most of it worshiping God, for God is His Father Whom He loves and the Father loves Him. Even going beyond the accounts given of Jesus worshiping the Father, we read throughout the Bible of angels worshiping God day and night. Even satan himself used to worship God before he sinned against God. The Bible describe satan of being an angelic being of instruments. This talks of satan being the chief of choir, when he opened his mouth, music came out. There is many ways to worship God. Through simply

29. speaking words of worship (which we can well learn from the Psalms of David), to singing and making melody, to acts of good deeds that exalt our Heavenly Father. Your own private time in worship: Your private time spend in worshiping God is what leads us into the presence of God, like what I explained in our previous article, ‘Rebuilding the Temple of the Lord.’ We can worship God anywhere, but it is something special when you worship God in private. This is like when we speak good about a particular person to everyone else but the person we speaking of. You exalt that person all over, but not once did you tell that person what they mean to you, so they only hear of you praising them through other people. Now yes, God does know our hearts, but He desires a fellowship with us. In your private time where no one else sees or hear you, that is the time to worship God. Many of us do this, but just as many of us don’t do this… Even in the many of us that does worship God in private, we find many who will worship God in such time, but also end up asking God for things. Now, there is nothing wrong with mixing the worshiping and asking God for things, but always make time were you will only worship God, without asking anything. Some of us think that when we worship God before we ask Him something that God is more prone to answer our prayers; but this is religious – for the Bible says, ask and you

30. shall receive, believing that whatever you ask you shall receive; not worship, ask and you shall receive. Spending time in worshiping God and only worshiping Him will release the glory of God on your life. Not only will you receive His glory, but you will also enjoy the fullness of being in God’s presence. God’s desire is to visit you and by us submitting ourselves fully unto God in worship ushers in the presence of God. 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 give us an account of David’s Prayer of Praise, “Then David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly: “O LORD, the God of our ancestor Israel, may you be praised forever and ever! 11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. 12 Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. 13 “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!” Conclusion: Learn to worship God in spirit and in truth. Just throwing yourself on the floor before God and pour out your heart to Him in admiration; this will open a whole new door in your relationship with God. It will also catapult you to higher levels in experiencing the wonderful nature of God.

31. Entering the Presence of the Lord 4 part series Part 4 The Power of Praying in Tongues Introduction: Many people don’t believe that speaking in tongues is meant for every born again Christian. Paul touched base on this when he said, “You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t strengthen the people who hear you. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.” in 1 Corinthians 14:17-18. He knew the secret and he believed in it. Isn’t this what Mark 16:17 says, “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages.” The reason why many born again Christian don’t speak in tongues is because they don’t believe, for they do not understand the difference between the gift from of the Spirit and the sign which shall follow those who believe. Explaining the Gifts of the Spirit and the Ability of Every Christian: Let us take a look at 1 Corithians 12:1-12 to get a better understanding, “Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to

32. know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.” Then we read in Mark 16:16-18, “Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” You see, there is a difference between a gift form the Spirit

33. and a Sign that follow those who believe. Both comes from the same Spirit, but one being a gift and another being a sign. A gift is given to some born again Christians and these gifts works when God wants it to work. Every born again Christian does have a gift or even gifts, but not all will have the same gifts. It is not our believing that makes these gifts work, it is God Who make it work when He wants them to work. A sign on the other hand works because of our believing. So when we believe, these signs will follow us and it will work. I hope you have a better understanding between the two now. Tapping into the Ability: What I want to tap into in this article is the sign of speaking and worshiping in tongues. Every born again Christian should do this, for it is the Spirit of God Who lives in you Who gives you the ability to do so. Now if you are born again and do believe, but don’t speak in tongues yet; then you need to start today. You can do so right now by praying thus: ‘Dear Father, I want to worship You in spirit and in truth, therefore I believe and give the Holy Spirit charge to go ahead and utter in tongues unto You prayers of worship and thanks giving in Jesus Name!” Now all you need to do is open your mouth and speak whatever the Holy Spirit put in your mouth. If you find it difficult to speak in tongues, then find someone who does speak in tongues to lay hands on you and help you by praying in tongues over you. What we must realize is that to start speaking in tongues is like a baby starting to

34. speak his/her first words. The vocabulary might not be full, but there will be words coming out – just go ahead and speak, with often speaking in tongues, your vocabulary will increase. Deeper Revelations: Speaking in tongues helps us receiving deeper revelations which leads us into the greater truth. It helps us become successful soul winners and it gives us confidence when ministering the Word of God unto others. Like Paul made mention to the church in Corinths, “You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t strengthen the people who hear you.” Why? Because he knew the secret for people to receive what He ministered, it was by “…speaking in tongues more than any of them.” If you ever wondered why you find it difficult to minister to someone, or to pray in front of people, or to step out an evangelize, etc… it is because you most probably don’t speak in tongues, and if you do, you don’t do so enough. Take note the words Paul used when he spoke to the church. He said, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.” He didn’t say ‘I thank God that I speak in tongues more than most of you.” This show that every member in the church who was born again spoke in tongues, just that they didn’t learn to do so more often. We must speak in tongues to if we want to experience the glory of God in full. John was on the Greek island of Pastmos which we read in Revelation 1:9-10, “I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the

35. island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. 10 It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast.” Note, John was worshiping in the ‘SPIRIT’ when suddenly he heard behind him a loud voice like a trumpet blast. Reading on, we see that it was Jesus Who appeared to him. Furthermore, we read that he was translated in the spirit and was shown heaven and all that is to happen. John had developed such a high and deep level of worshiping God in spirit (tongues) that he entered into the presence of the Lord, and furthermore, received a such a profound revelation which most of it is written in the book which brings our faith to its completion and ushers us into eternity – the Book of Revelation. When we pray in spirit / tongues and even learn to worship in spirit, it unlocks the super-natural; but take note, this starts within us. There is a stirring up from within that takes place and when we release the Words of the Spirit, extra-ordinary things starts to happen. All that God needs is a willing vessel who submits to His Will; and when you become that vessel, you will experience God’s Mighty Hand at work. You will just know that you know it’s God’s Hand. You will also start responding different to things; and as the scripture says, all things works together for our good… you will start experiencing joy, peace and happiness in all you do. We can enter deep and high places when we learn how to surrender to God in full submission of worshiping our Creator.

36. Conclusion: In conclusion of our series on ‘Entering God’s Presence’ of this 4 article series, I believe you will experience deep secrets which will be revealed unto you that was hidden since before the beginning of time. It is better to learn how to worship God now, because when we enter heaven, that’s all we going to be doing – Revelation 7:15, “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter.” The secret prayer is the secret of prayer. Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” (Matthew 6:6). Close the door of your prayer room, and the door of heaven opens. When the 120 disciples locked themselves in, the windows of glory were unlocked and the Holy Spirit rained upon them (Acts 2). The devil will try to stop you from praying because prayer stops him. All around the world, there are prayer rooms, upper rooms, in churches, colleges, even in administrative offices. They are typical places full of the Gospel and Spirit-filled Christians. A prayer room is a power house. “Pray without ceasing…” today (1Thess 5:17), for “…The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” (James 5:16/ Ampl.v). You are richly blessed as you walk with God to higher grounds!

38. Digging Deeper 3 part series Part 1 Prayer Prayer is a vital part in the Christian life. Prayer literally means communication. You simply can’t have a one way communication, it has to be two way or more. We understand this more when we read in scripture (especially KJV), that Jesus spoke to them and said, I pray thee – indicating a two way communication. I pray thee, meaning that He asked His disciples something and He expected an answer. As many Christians today, we tend to ‘pray’ to God and when we finish our part, we get going with our own things again. We just keep on blabering till we had enough – no communication, all just one sided. When we pray, we should also listen for the answers. Now praying to God is not simply just asking God for things, it is also worshiping Him, praising Him, talking to Him and hearing from Him. Remember, God is a Father to us; and as you would have a conversation with your earthly father, so to our Heavenly Father desires to have conversations with us. In this article I want to focus on 4 different forms of prayer; Praying to effect change, Praying to recreate, The heartfelt prayer, and The General Conversation. 1) Praying to effect change: Whether you are praying for someone and you can’t see your prayer being answered in that person’s life – then you should ask yourself whether you are praying the right

39. way… The Bible does tells us that if we ask and believe then it will be given unto us (Matt.7:7). However, God also teaches us to pray according to His Will and not our own will, because our own will is corrupted and somehow twisted. This is were many people go wrong. Say you praying for someone who is on drugs or a close loved one who hasn’t found the Lord yet, but you can’t see a change; that’s not because it’s not God’s Will at that time. After all, it is God Who led you to pray for that person, how can He lead you to do something and then not have your back on it. The reason why such things happen, is because we don’t know how to pray according to God’s Will. One simple reason why we will pray and not receive answers is because we want to see people change and not cause problems for us and our loved ones, instead of when praying, seeing those people with the eyes of God. Even when we do start thinking differently, we still have it in our subconscious, because somehow through them changing, we will also benefit from it. When God looks at you and tell you to do something, it is not because He sees potential in you, but because He sees His potential in you. When God wants people to change, He wants them to change for others, because by them changing, they will be able to effect many lives which might also change because of one person who has changed. This is according to God’s Will. He looks at us and see what we are to become, not what it seems we going to become. God looks at us through His Word.

40. So to pray according to God’s Will for a drug addict for example; we must first see how God wants to use that person. Secondly, we must see that person walk in God’s Will, free from drugs. If you can’t see God’s Will in the person’s life you are praying for, and also that person walking in God’s Will; then you might as well not pray for that person. We must pray according to God’s Will and expect answers – for this is a promise of God – and God keeps His promises. So how do we see someone’s future according to God’s Will? Simply by looking into the Word of God and see what God’s Word says about people. The Holy Spirit will of course lead you to the right verse for a particular person, but it have to start by us looking at people through the eyes of God, which is through His Word. 2) Praying to recreate: Elijah prayed that there was no rain for three years (James 5:17). He prayed this prayer to recreate a destiny. He was a prophet who heard from God and understood that something needed to change. While consulting with God, He prayed that the rain must go away. Notice, he consulted with God, but when he prayed, he spoke to the clouds and the clouds obeyed his voice. This is what Jesus done in Mark 4:35-41, He spoke to the boisterous waves and winds and told it to be calm, and the waves and winds obeyed His voice. The disciples asked, what manner of man is this…

41. Taking a look at the church in the book of Acts 12, Herod was going to kill James and Peter. But it was only after James was killed that the church realized that they can recreate this situation by praying. When they prayed, something extraordinary happened. An angel appeared to Paul and released him from prison by breaking the chains and breaking open the prison gates. It took the church to come to the realization that within them resides the power to effect change. The Holy Spirit knows what needs to be done, but it is through God’s gift of free will that He awaits us to wake up and do something about the things He shows us. Sometimes people die because we are ignorant to this fact. Sometimes we don’t minister salvation unto some people and they end up going to hell. That isn’t God’s fault, it is ours, because we did not use what we have within us to effect change. God doesn’t show us things just for the sake of showing, He shows us things because He wants us to do something about it. Remember, Jesus came and done His part and just before He died, He said ‘it is finish’. His work was done here on earth! When Jesus rose from the dead, just before He ascended back into Heaven, He commanded His disciples to go into all the world and continue the work. To complete the work is up to us obeying the voice of God through the help of the Holy Spirit. We have a part to play in bringing the church onto perfection, even to the return of Jesus Christ.

42. 3) The heartfelt prayer: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16) Now, I have touched base on this verse before, but this time I want to dig deeper. Many well versed and knowledgeable Christians pray and do not get the desired answers to their prayers. The secret of fulfilled prayers is in this verse. I want to break this verse up in portions and explain it in detail. First, we see James making mention that we must confess our faults to one another. This doesn’t mean that we must confess things we done wrong many years ago, as some religious folks believe. What it means is that when we wrong someone, at that time of us realizing we done wrong, confess your wrong to the person you are wronging. This helps in the process of the other person not sinning or judging you for your actions. It also helps the other person to forgive you. Now forgiveness doesn’t benefit the person who you are forgiving as much as it benefit you who is doing the forgiving – Never forget that! The second point James bring out here is; to pray for one another. It is important that we first forgive and then pray also for one another. You have to see the person with the eyes of God (which I will go more in detail in our next chapter). Seeing people with the eyes of God allow you to see people for what they should be, and not for what they

43. are. Many times we pray for someone, but because we can’t see the Word of God in them, we also don’t see a change in them. So, praying for one another, we must learn to pray for others as we will pray for ourselves – confess good into their lives, never with criticism or judgment. Then James digs a bit deeper on why we should do these things; so we might be healed. When we forgive one another and pray for one another, there is an automatical process of healing and restoration that takes places. Next, James bring us into the emphasis of prayer: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” The effectual fervent prayer, meaning the prayer which is prayed with compassion, with love, and with conviction, that prayer carries power. The amplified version read this portion as follow: “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” Now, the earnest and heartfelt prayer is that of a righteous man, it is prayer mixed with emotions – you praying with emotion. And the word used here, continued, means not the repetition of prayers; like Jesus pointed out the heathen prays, but that after you prayed this heartfelt prayer, you’re confessing what you have prayed, because you have seen in the spirit what you have prayed for, now you can continue to confess what you have seen. This is the prayer of faith, it makes tremendous power available. It continues to say of such power, that it is

44. dynamic in its working. The word dynamic comes from the Greek word, dynamo, which literally means – self generating power. It doesn’t need an outside force to power it, once it has started, it powers itself. Because you have learned to pray with your heart, not just being routine or because you know you must; but because it is your nature, even after your prayer you will continually confess what you have prayed about – because you have seen the product of your prayer while you’ve been praying – you have received the answer due to your conviction, and the title deed of that prayer is yours now. I always tell people, pray and see what you praying for, receiving it in spirit and give thanks for what you have received. To receive something in the spirit is more real then the physical manifestation thereof. If you can’t receive it in the spirit, then it will not be manifested in the physical. I find many people wanting to thank God once things they asked for manifest in the physical realm. However, learn to thank God when you see it and receive it in spirit. Once you have finished praying and thanking God, all you need to do is confess what you have received. There is no need to pray for it again. If you doing this, it means you have not received it, because you will not ask for something you have received already. 4) The General Conversation: Many religious people believe that prayer is something you do either in church or in private, or at set times during the day. Like I made mention of earlier, prayer is a two way

45. conversation and you can have conversation anywhere and at any time. Waking up, you can have your set time for prayer, but nothing stops you from talking to God while getting ready for work or school. Even while you eating or on your way to where ever it is you going, you can talk to God. While you at work or school, learn to talk to God, even speak in tongues. No matter people call you crazy or say that you talking to yourself; they will soon realize that you accomplish more than them. You can be the best at whatever it is you doing through simply having conversations with God throughout the day in all the things you do. Always remember, God is always with you, there is not one moment that He leaves you or get tired of talking to you. Putting God first in all you do will make you prosperous in all you do. From waking up to getting ready for the day, throughout the day and even at night while getting ready to go to bed – even when you wake up during the night; God is always there. Take advantage of this, because it is like living with a person and you run on schedule times that you will have a conversation. There can be no relationship in that. God’s desire is to have a relationship with you and there is no conditions set for this relationship, no time table and no limits.

46. Digging Deeper 3 part series Part 2 The Ability to Recreate When things don’t work out, people are quick to say: Maybe it’s not God’s Will. God allows us to go through things, and He shows us certain things, because He wants us to affect a change. We need to learn from Jesus to use circumstances to glorify God. No matter what had happened, everything can be recreated when we trust God. Look at the story of Job (Job 1:12). Job was a very wealthy man, but satan told God that He is protecting Job. Satan wanted to test Job’s love for God, so God allowed it. Job’s down fall wasn’t that God allowed satan to test him, his down fall was that he feared loosing everything. Satan of course quickly tapped into this fear of Job and took everything away from Job. However, Job trusted God, and through trusting God no matter what, Job recreated his life and gained everything back he lost seven fold. God has created in us an ability to recreate the things we not pleased with. And through giving us His Word to use, we can effectively recreate things to the glory of God. God doesn’t want us to live a life any less than a king. He wants us to overflow with joy, peace, happiness and love. How can we live this life, when we live in sickness or

47. poverty. Challenges are there to drive us out of our comfort zones unto higher places. Challenges push us to use the Word of God to live full lives. Make use of the Word and bring glory to God as you show forth God’s goodness by living the good life God intended for us to live. Difference Between Blessings and Rewards: Blessings: If you read our articles on our blog, then you should know that as God’s children, we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings (Eph.1:3). There is nothing we can do to receive any more than what God has already given us. The truth is, we haven’t even begun to dig deep to find out what all these blessings are. People think because they haven’t seen the manifestation of a particular blessing, that God hasn’t blessed them with it yet. This however is not true. We have a responsibility to call the blessings of God real; or in other words, we are to manifest all blessings. I will get into that in just a minute. Religion teaches us that we need to do good for God to bless us, but that is not what Ephesians 1:3 tells us. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings already. Now it’s our responsibility to make manifest those blessings. We need to understand God’s thinking to understand what blessings are. God don’t want us to think that it is because of our doings that He blesses us. God blessed us because of His profound love for us. One more thing to understand is that no matter whether you do good or bad, you are still blessed. Now, before you throw this article away, listen

48. carefully. The Bible says that God makes it rain on the wicked and righteous (Matt.5:45). That means that the blessing of receiving rain which will water the crops comes on us, no matter whether we do right or wrong. So am I saying that even if you do wrong you are still blessed? Yes! We are, that is God’s love for us, we are still blessed no matter what we do. However, when we do wrong or have sinned, sin consciousness take control and that blocks us from making manifest the blessings from God. Making manifest God’s blessings: When we understand that we have a responsibility in manifesting God’s blessings, we then need to discover how to do that. I can basically wrap that up for you in one verse, Hebrews 11:1 taken from the amplified version; “NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].” The Word of God is our assurance and our title deed which confirms that what God says is truth. There is things we hope for, but because we haven’t seen them yet, we believe that we are still to receive it – which is the wrong mindset. Now, we need to dig deep and find out what God has given us already, we need to see it in the Word of God. Once we can see it in the Word of God, we need to call it real, even it is not real to the physical senses, we need to perceive it as real, because to the spiritual senses those things are real. We make manifest

49. God’s blessings by calling real what is not revealed to the physical senses. It is by taking God on His Word, not just believing, but knowing and confessing with your mouth that we manifest God’s blessings. On entering Christianity, this is what we did, we confessed with our mouth Jesus, Who we didn’t see – but through the Word of God Jesus became very real to us. All we need to do is stick to the Word of God and we are sure to come back with a testimony. The blessings of God which He has already blessed us with is just as real as the God Who blessed us with it all. Rewards: Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” The word reap here translates from Greek to receive a reward. In our good deeds, we will receive a reward. “God will repay each person according to what they have done.” (Romans 2:6 | NIV). This is speaking of reward. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24 | NIV). We receive a reward for doing good; and the only reward we should be interested in is the crown of life – eternal life. All other things we seek in life, God has blessed us with already. No wonder Jesus says in Matthew 6 that we should not chase or worry about material things. And in Matthew 6:33 Jesus said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto

50. you.” Manifesting the blessings of God is in seeking God first, getting the reward from God is by showing forth His nature – LOVE