STOP FINDING EXCUSES
One of the biggest obstacles we face in our spiritual journey, personal growth, career or education areas of our life can be our self and the excuses that we make that prevent us ever stepping into the great God-potential we have. Last Wednesday, Sanita Ioapo-Tuala dived deeper into the reality of the hindrance that excuses create in lives when we choose them over stepping into the deep waters in faith.
“What may have been delaying your healing could be your excuses. What is your excuse for not starting what God has called you to do? What’s your excuse for not pursuing the call of God in your life? What’s your excuse for not starting that business of pursuing all the opportunities that God has called you to in life? What is your excuse for not pursuing that Godly dream? Many times, God’s dreams are not the same as ours. I’ve come to realise that many of the things I have not pursued in life have been because I made excuses not to do them. God gives us a vision of something we have no experience in, so that when we do it – we would know that God did it. He will get the glory!”
Sanita shared the story of the invalid man who was healed at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:1-9. For 38 years he had been in his condition and one day Jesus walked up to him and asked a very simple question. “Do you want to be made well?” The question only needed a YES or NO answer, but the man replied with an excuse. He was finding reasons as to why he was not healed yet.
[When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”] – John 5:6-7 NKJV
“Nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it and stop settling for excuses. With Christ in our life, anything is possible. In life you will go through trials, as long as we live in this temporary body in this temporary home – serving God will be a matter of choice, not a matter or circumstance. We cannot wait until life has no trials to serve God, we can serve God right now!”
She also explained the four places where we need God’s transformation in our lives when it comes to excuses: our sight, our mind, our mouth and our heart.
SIGHT – “Ten of the Israelite spies who were sent into the Promised Land came back saying that the giants were too big and they were like grasshoppers before them. The giants never saw these spies but in their own eyes, they were tiny and small. As long as they saw themselves defeated –they were defeated. Joshua and Caleb came back saying that they would be able to conquer the land. They saw it differently and had different lenses on. This is the power of sight and the power of your perspective.
MIND SET – When you catch a thought, it flows to the heart and out of the abundance of the heart – the mouth speaks. You need to watch your thinking and guard it. Any thought contrary to what the Lord is saying, we need to take captive. We need to have the Word in us, day in and day out. Do you want to be made well? Well then, get the excuses out of your life one by one. Eat the Word. Change your mind set and you will change your life!
MOUTH- Proverbs 6:2 says that we eat the fruit of our mouth. We are bound by our words and we can’t achieve what our mouths keep saying that we can’t. You want healing, yet are speaking unbelief. You desire life, yet you speak death. You want prosperity, yet you speak poverty. Our words should align with what God is saying over us.
HEART – Proverbs 4:23 says that above all else, we are to guard our heart. What is the motive behind what we are doing? I want us to go deeper and check our heart for the excuses. If your heart posture is not aligned with God’s Word – then you will struggle in all that you do.
Do you want to be made well? Do you want to get saved? Do you want to stop those excuses of living the old life? It was a sincere question that Jesus asked, and He knew that not every sick person wants to be healed. At times we are so used to being sick, and not just in a physical sense. We are so used to our condition that we are not willing to be made well.
Tonight Jesus is asking us, do we want to be made well? Do we want to be made free? Do we want to stop with the excuses and enter into the solution he has already made for us?
God wants to take us deeper, He wants to take us to deep waters. A reason why we stay in the shallow is because of the excuses we give to not go deeper. Whatever excuse you’ve been using, I want you to take it captive tonight. Choose to get free tonight! Serving God is a matter of choice, not a matter of circumstance!”
Watch this full message on the LIVE replay here: https://fb.watch/6niA0BIciy/
23/06/21
PREPARE FOR YOUR PENTECOST
God appointed your time, the generation you would be born in, and the good works that you would do in your lifetime. There is nothing done under the sun that God did not know of from the foundation of the earth.
Last Wednesday, Pastor Manuele Lemoa shared a message on God’s appointed time and preparing for our Pentecost!
[“Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me. “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt. “No one is to appear before me empty-handed. “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. “Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field. “Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.] -Exodus 23:14-17 NIV
Pastor Manuele explained that when Israel was delivered out of Egypt, God appointed the month of Aviv to be their new beginning. It would be the month where they would celebrate the Feast of Unleavened bread in memorial of God’s deliverance from Egypt.
He said “God appointed them a new calendar and a new season in the month of Aviv. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and come into the Kingdom of God, it’s our month of Aviv! Its a new day and a new season for us!
We used to be slaves in Egypt under the Pharoah – the devil, but with His mighty hand, God delivered us out! Sometimes the devil tries to taunt us and say, “You’re never going to make it, you won’t enter into the Promised Land”, but that’s when we need to open up our mouth and say “No devil, today is my month of Aviv! Today, I’m walking into my new season!”
God has an appointed plan for your life! How do I know that? Because He delivered YOU from Egypt!”
[But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the Lord says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.] -Isaiah 44:1-3 NIV
“God designed you before He formed you inside your mother’s womb. He knew you before He put you in there. He also wants to pour out His Spirit on you!
He doesn’t make mistakes. When He created us, He wrote a letter of all the good works that we are going to do in our life time. Many young people have questioned their life and whether its worth living, but they still have 90% of your days are still ahead of them. We should consider ourselves blessed and be eager to hear God’s plan for us.
We have got to be hungry and thirst after Him to reach the plan He has prepared for us! We need to pray that we would thirst like a desert & be hungry like a fire for God.
God is personal and we each get to encounter Him personally. During Pentecost in Acts 2, a personal fire appeared above each person. God has personal fire for you. He has a personal anointing for you. You need to thirst for Him yourself! No one will thirst after God for you or on behalf of you! You need to do it for yourself!”
[“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.] -Joel 2:28-29 NIV
“The Spirit of God will be poured out over all people, all will feel the Presence of God. That weight brings conviction and this is just a glimpse of what God is going to do. As we carry the Glory, people will fall under conviction because they will feel the Presence of God.
Let your heart be stirred by things of the Spirit, not of this world. Many churches think that Holy Spirit was for the past ages and times. But no, Holy Spirit is for today! The Kingdom of God is founded on authority and power, and you can’t have the authority without the power of Holy Spirit !
“Humble as death, thirsty as a desert, and hungry as a fire 🔥 for the fire of the HOLY SPIRIT”. The devil has no room here because the fire of God is in this place! You haven’t seen what God has in store for you! It is YOUR appointed time! He chose your time and generation!
Do you want to take your place or be replaced? Get ready for your Pentecost!”
You can watch this full message on replay here: https://fb.watch/6eAqLRoV2d/
16/06/21
“I WILL BE FOUND”
God promises us that if we seek Him with all our heart, He will be found.
He is not a God who is hidden and far from being found, but a God that is ever present and will draw near to all those who draw near to Him.
Jeremiah 29:13 NLT- If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.
Pastor Manuele Lemoa shared a message of encouragement on God’s plan for our life.
He said, “God has a plan for each of us. It’s a GOOD plan! He only has one plan for us and I say that, because God doesn’t have a Plan B, nor does He need one!”
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
“This scripture is a precious promise that was given to Israel by God when they were exiled in Babylon.
He was saying to them that in due time, He would come and visit them in their wilderness season, and that a hopeful future for them was sure.
We all have those wilderness moments in our life, moments when we feel like we’ve blown it, like we’ve dropped the ball or failed the plan.
We all go through these ups and downs in life. Tonight i want to encourage you that even if you feel like you’ve blown it or you’re exiled in the wilderness- that God can meet you and be found where you are!
Here He was promising Israel that He would one day bring them back. He was affirming to Israel that YES, His plan was still the same.
Sometimes we try to figure things out on our own, especially the meaning of life and why we are here. But God’s plan cannot be replaced and He cannot be replaced in order for you to fulfil His plan!
What He will do through you is greater than anything you could imagine! Your hands will become His hands. Your heart will become His heart. Your mouth will become His mouthpiece and He will speak through you!
Your father or mother can’t find God for you. They can lead you to Him and influence you, but you need to seek and find God for yourself. It’s that simple. Seeking and finding is something that everyone can do, no matter their age.
We are the main obstacle in the plan and call of God for our life. He wants our YES!
I want to emphasize to the young people that you don’t have to go to Bible college to find God’s plan for yourself. Why? Because He is your plan for your life. He is the plan! God Himself is who you are seeking.
You are children of the light and you will shine in your work place, school, home and community.
The question is are you available to believe, to step up in faith? Are you available for Him?
Be bold. Declare that God is in you and He will use you for mighty works. He gave us power and authority. He now lives within us!”
Watch this full message on replay here:
09/07/21
YOU MUST DIE TO MULTIPLY
Pastor Manuele Lemoa of Elim Church, Samusu – shared a fiery message last Wednesday on the principle that to multiply, one must first die.
He likened it to a seed that is buried under soil; it shall multiply and bring forth a greater harvest only if it is dropped to the ground.
[I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.] -John 12:24 NLT
He said, “Many times people want to do things their own way. God created us with an exact role and purpose in mind. Today, the Creator is calling His children back to Him.
Many young people want the glory, they want to be “movies stars” getting praise from others. But are you seeking the praise of the Father?
It’s important that young people get it early on in life that we are to live for the praise of God!”
[Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.] -John 12:25-26 NLT
He also explained that young people today should focus on serving God, especially during their youth. Jesus created us with purpose on this earth, which is why it’s so sad when people die without a relationship with Christ.
“Youth in particular struggle with identity and many don’t know who they are. This is where peer pressure plays a role steering many to wrong paths.
Identity is knowing where you came from; where you are going; and why you are here. You can’t find identity outside of Christ.”
He explained that society’s ‘cancel culture’ may “cancel” you, but that it shouldn’t matter as we are the beloved of the Lord! Amen!
“Jesus is the answer. God wants to use young people today. God wants to use you! You are not an accident and there is a mandate that Heaven has for your life!
The main obstacle in you fulfilling the call of God is your own heart. You need to surrender and let go of your will and choose to live out His plan instead. Unless the seed falls down and dies, a harvest won’t sprout from it.
Jesus is calling us to drop our pride and the desire to live for ourselves. At times we have this attitude as if we own the Holy Spirit, rather than the Holy Spirit owning us.
A generation can end up in hell because no one was willing to stay in the presence of God! Jesus left His glory for you, and is going back to His glory for you!
Pastor Lemoa also explained that the enemy will try to distract us from our assignment, which shows the necessity for us to hold fast to the Word of God in our heart.
We are all carriers of His Glory, so let’s not give in to the spirit of competition or comparison within the Body of Christ. Let’s appreciate each member of the Body. Disunity will only hinder the move of God!
When revival breaks out, it won’t just spread to new frontiers, but it will also rekindle the places where the fire of God used to burn. We are on the verge of a global flood of the Spirit!
It’s time the Church – the Bride of Christ – should prepare herself for the return of the Groom!”
You can watch this complete message on replay here – https://fb.watch/5XWuaMiLYh/
02/06/21
