LIFE AND MINISTRY OF JONAH

 

Jonah is the central character in the Book of Jonah, in which God commands him to go to the city of Nineveh to prophesy against it "for their great wickedness is come up before me," but Jonah instead attempts to flee from "the presence of the Lord" by going to Jaffa (sometimes transliterated as Joppa or Joppe). He sets sail for Tarshish.

Jonah is a masculine name of Hebrew origins. The name derives from the Hebrew word "Yonah," meaning "dove," sharing ties with prophet Jonah, who was a leading figure in the Book of Jonah.  Jonah was a proud, stubborn, disobedient, unfaithful, a grumbler, and altogether a bad-tempered person.

“PREPARED” Is the Keyword of Jonah and the Solution of all difficulties.  God Himself prepared everything in His will to solve all human problems.

1.   1.  God prepared (sent out) a great wind – to turn the backslider. – Jonah 1:4

 “But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.”

Jonah was fleeing from the presence of the Lord going somewhere not willing to obey God to go to Nineveh.  And God prepared a great wind to get him back to his will and purpose.

2.    2.  God prepared a great fish – to swallow Jonah  - Jonah 1:17

17 “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.”

God has prepared a fish for the purpose. Notice God commanded the fish to swallow and God commanded the fish to throw Jonah out to the dry land. God will call you to something impossible to show you what’s actually possible. God will never call you to something you can’t accomplish. JONAH was in the belly of the fish three days and nights – this speaks about Jesus too in the tomb. A breakthrough is coming after the third day. Jonah repented and many souls were saved in Nineveh also.

3.   3.   God prepared a gourd (plant) - to cover the despondent prophet – Jonah 4:6

6 “Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.  So, Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.”

Complaining only contaminates life. There is NO FRUIT in complaining. To complain about what you DON’T have is to WASTE what you do have. We should always thank God for everything we do for God and His blessings for us.

4.   4.   God prepared a worm – to wither all man’s hopes of earth. – Jonah 4:7

7 “But when dawn came up the next day, God prepared a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.”

Jonah was questioning God’s will and wanted to die than to live. But the whole thing was that he was angry for his comfort has been taken away when the tree that shaded him was taken away.

5.  5.    God prepared a silent east wind – to cast him only upon Jehovah –          Jonah 4:8

“When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Jonah was very angry with God that he wanted to end his life. He was very emotional person. God is saying are the souls saved more important than all the comforts God has given us. Are the spiritual things in life more important than the physical comfort of life?

In conclusion the Book of Jonah summed up like this - “Though you may have started WRONG, you can always finish STRONG,”

I heard an old statement that states, “Though you can’t go back and make a brand new start my friend, you can start now and make a brand new end.” Lift up your head, God is the glory and lifter of our heads (Psalm 3:3). Shake off the dust and get going in the plans God has for you. It’s never too late to be all that God has called you to be.

May the Good Lord bless you all!  Amen.

 

THE SPIRIT OF OBEDIENCE    -      (Cultivating the Spirit of Obedience) 

CENTRALITY OF OBEDIENCE  -    Our text:                                                             Romans 1:5 - The Purpose of Gospel Preaching is OBEDIENCE OF FAITH

1 PETER 1:2 – says “Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by means of sanctification by the Spirit, into OBEDIENCE and into sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”

Hebrews 5:9 says “Christ saves those who are obeying Him.

A) The Spirit of Obedience

Ezekiel 36:26-28, King James Version (KJV)26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

In Ezekiel 36:26-28, we see the Spirit, the enabling and the blessing. The whole essence of obedience is blessing.  The spirit of obedience enables you to obey God’s voice and ultimately enjoy the blessing.

Just as there is a spirit behind obedience, there is also a spirit behind disobedience. When you cannot find yourself obeying the commands of the Lord which has blessings attached to it, know that the spirit of disobedience is at work against you but today, it shall be destroyed in the name of Jesus!

Obedience or disobedience is beyond the capacity of man to obey or disobey.  There is a spirit behind both disobedience and obedience. No child wants to wake up and disobey God; there is a spirit of disobedience working against them.  Every time Satan moves you to disobey God, he wants you to rot.

Deut.28:1 -And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: ² And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.

B) The Spirit of Disobedience  - Eph.2:1-3 -And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; ² Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: ³ Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Why you need the Spirit of Obedience   1. Man in his natural state is disobedient arrogant and rebellious. When man fell, the devil put the spirit of disobedience in him. When God first created man, He spoke to him and he became a living soul; when Satan spoke to man, he became a dead soul. You need the spirit of obedience to prevail.

2. Satan is aware that obedience pleases God and it is the master key to your lifting. Satan doesn’t want it to be well with you. Disobedience takes people backward and obedience forward (Jeremiah 7:23-24).

C. Definitions of Obedience

The general concept of obedience both in the Old and New Testament relates to hearing or hearkening to a higher authority.

One of the Greek terms for obedience conveys the idea of positioning oneself under someone by submitting to their authority and command. Another Greek word for obey in the New Testament means "to trust."

According to Holman's Illustrated Bible Dictionary a succinct definition of biblical obedience is "to hear God's Word and act accordingly."

So, biblical obedience to God means, simply, to hear, trust, submit and surrender to God and his Word.

Obedience is not only to God but to men with higher spiritual authority. God is the believer’s ultimate leader but because we do not have the capacity to always hear, He ordained spiritual leaders (Hebrews 13:7).  Even Pastor, listens to higher spiritual authority.

Jesus is the chief shepherd but we also have under-shepherds for the sake of those who lack capacity to hear from the chief shepherd.  Obedience is a test also.

D) Eight Reasons Why Obedience to God Is Important

1. Jesus Calls Us to Obedience – John 14:15 - “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

2. Obedience Is an Act of Worship

Romans 12:1 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. (NLT)

3. God Rewards Obedience - James 1:22–25

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

4. Obedience to God Proves Our Love – 1 Jn. 5:2-3

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

5. Obedience to God Demonstrates Our Faith  - 1 John 2:3–6

”Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God [a]is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”

6. Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice – 1 Samuel 15:22

“So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

And to heed than the fat of rams.”

 7. Through Obedience, ​ We Experience the Blessings of Holy Living – 2 Corinthians 7:1

“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

8. Disobedience Leads to Unbelief in God - Romans 5:19
For as by the one man's [Adam's] disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's [Christ's] obedience the many will be made righteous. (ESV)

E) The effects of obedience:  1. It makes you willing. 2. It enables you to be prompt. Abraham moved immediately he heard instruction. 3. It enables you to obey absolutely (Exodus 25:40).  4. It makes you fearless and enables you to take risks.

May that spirit of obedience come upon you today!  God is taking away a stony heart and putting in you a new heart of flesh.

Dear Heavenly Father

I am thankful for your love.  Show me Your will for me today. I want to serve You and live for You! As I read Your Word, teach me and show me truth today. I want to obey You and I want people around me to know that there is something different about me. I want my actions to point them to You, Lord. You deserve all of the glory! You deserve all of the praise! I trust in You and I will do my absolute best to obey You today with your new Spirit! Thank You for Your mercy and grace, Father! Amen.    

 

HOW TO LIVE IN HIS BLESSINGS  -  By Sammy Rodriguez

FROM DUST TO LIVING BEING

Genesis 2:7

“The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”   

Hosea 6:2 NIV

“After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.”

LIVING IN HIS BLESSINGS

When you live in His sight (presence), you live with a continuous blessing.

v  You may have been sick, but now you are blessed with Jehovah-rophe.

v  You may have  been in poverty, but today you are blessed with Jehovah-Jireh.

v  You may have been with no identity, but today you are blessed with Jehovah-Nissi.

v  You have been living in loneliness, but today you are blessed with Jehovah-Shammah.

v   You have been struggling with unrighteousness, but today you are blessed with Jehovah-Tsidkenu. (His righteousness)

v   You may have been living with weakness, but today you are blessed with El Shaddai. (God Almighty)

There are many curses out there, but the blood of Jesus Christ broke the curse.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Galatians 3:13

THE BLESSINGS BEGINS FOR YOU  

Ø                          Get up and shout, the curse is broken.

Ø   Get up and dance, the curse is broken.

Ø   Get up and worship, the curse is broken.

When the curse is broken, the blessing begins.

For Abraham the Lord said “I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:1-3

Ø   Before you were sick, He already healed you.

Ø   Before you were down, He already lifted you up.

Ø   Before you sinned, He already forgave you.

Ø   Before you are sad, He already rejoiced over you.

Ø   Before Abraham was. I AM. Hallelujah!

Ø   The blessings does not come from Abraham –  it comes from Jesus Christ above.

Ø  You are blessed, You possess the blessing of Jesus.

COME OUT OF THE CURSE!

v   Therefore, in order to come into your blessing, you must come out of your curse. Come out, wherever you are:

v   Noah came out of the ark

v   Moses came out of the desert.

v   Jonah came out of the whale.

v   John came out of the wilderness.

v   Lazarus came out of the tomb.

v   Jesus Christ came out of the grave.

I AM COMING OUT!   

Repeat with me “I am coming out! You must come out in order to come in your blessings.

Ø   I am coming out of sin.

Ø   I am coming out of poverty.

Ø   I am coming out of my flesh.

Ø   I am coming out of my abuse & victimization.

Ø   I am coming out of religion.

Ø   I am coming out of mediocrity & complacency.

Ø   I am coming out of pride, envy, lust, jealousy, hatred.

Ø   I am coming out of my debt.

I AM COMING INTO!    

ü  I am coming into the Blessing of God.

ü    I am coming into His glory, victory.

ü    I am coming into the anointing.

ü    I am coming into the Cross.

ü    I am coming into the prophetic Word.

ü    I am coming into the fullness of the River of God’s   Life.

ü  COME INTO GOD’S GLORY AND POWER!

ü  COME INTO GOD’S REVIVAL!

REMEMBER THE THIRD DAY 

In Scripture, the most powerful events happen on the third day.  Abraham offered up Issac; Joshua crossed over the Jordan River; Hezekiah’s years were added; Jesus turned water into wine; and the most important occurrence – Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day.

    Hosea 6:2 NIV says, - (Our Prophetic Day)

“After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.”

REMEMBER THE WORD 

    Luke 4:21 – NIV.

Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

    2 Peter 1:21

“For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

BENEDICTION

·                           May the Lord bless the third day believers living for Christ in His presence.

•      May we be living in the Prophetic days ahead of us full of the power and glory of God.

•      May the Church rise up into victories after victories for God’s Honor and Glory.

•      May Jesus the Son of God be lifted up and glorified by all nations.

 

 

EAT FROM THE TREE OF LIFE

You wake up every morning in the Garden of Eden with the Tree of Life growing in the midst of it but you are totally ignorant and unconscious about it, and you keep doing what Adam and Eve did by feasting continually from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that keeps manifesting death in you through the carnal mind!

Stop feasting from the Tree of Knowledge of Good AND Evil, and you will be delivered from the illusion of delusion of DUALITY, the belief in opposing forces...

God & devil

Good & evil

Health & sickness

Light & darkness              

Harmony & discord   

Life & death

Heaven & hell

Abundance & lack

Liberty & bondage

Blessings & curses

Righteousness & sin

 

[All these negative things no longer exist in the Presence and Mind of the Life-Giving Christ within you! In His Presence there is only Light, Liberty, Harmony, Wholeness and Bliss]

Feast only from the Tree of Life and Manifest only...

LIFE

LOVE

LIGHT

LIBERTY

WHOLENESS

BLISS

HARMONY

BLESSINGS

GOODNESS

 

OUT OF YOUR INTIMATE AND INSEPARABLE ONENESS WITH THE FATHER WITHIN, WHO IS THE INFINITE SOURCE OF YOUR UNFAILING, UNCEASING, UNLIMITED TOTAL SUPPLY!

By Katie Brown

 

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S MINISTRY 

The Holy Spirit is very often ignores by the Church and its ministry. The Holy Spirit has a balance Ministry for all believers in Christ.  We today need to know the ministry of the Spirit so that we can live a victorious life.

The Balance Ministry of the Holy Spirit –pg 155 of his book “The Names of the Holy Spirit” by Elmer Towns.

Teaching of the Spirit’s Ministry is to get the Church aware of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Many believers does not know what the Spirit of God is doing in our lives daily.  We seek the Holy Spirit as our Helper and Comforter and yet not aware of what He is doing today.

This teaching is an awareness of the work and ministry of the Spirit that is working and helping us to live a victorious Christian life.

The Seven Ministry of the Spirit

1. The Spirit of Access – John 3:5

2. The Spirit of Indwelling – Eph. 2:22

3. The Spirit of Power – Eph. 3:16

4. The Spirit of Unity – Eph. 4:3

5. The Spirit of Fruitfulness - Ephesians 5:9

6. The Spirit of Fullness – Eph. 5:18

7. The Spirit of Victory – Ephesians 6:17,18

1. The Spirit of Access – John 3:5

4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. – John 3:4-6

The Holy Spirit of Access give balance to the earthly life of the Christian, the Spirit provides entrance into the heavenlies. We have access to the family of God in salvation and access to God in prayer. Our fellowship is possible because of the Holy Spirit’s role to give us new life when we are born again.  To enter the Kingdom of God we must be born again in the Spirit.

2. The Spirit of Indwelling

What the Indwelling Spirit gives? – Eph. 2:22

1. Eternal life

2. A new nature

3. Spiritual life

4. New desires

5. The fruit of the Spirit

6. Love and assurance 

When a person becomes a Christian he or she is immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit motivates us to personal holiness and makes it possible for us to live a holy life. (I Cor. 6;15-20)   The Christian life is the life of God living through us. 

What does the Holy spirit do when He comes into our lives?  The Spirit brings great joy and peace into our lives  (Gal. 5:22)

So when the Indwelling Spirit brings when He indwell our lives? 

3. The Spirit of Power - Ephesians 3:16

16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Power – day of Pentecost comes “You shall received power when the Holy Ghost comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses”  The Holy Spirit is the source of all spiritual power needed both to live for and to serve God.  Just as an electric motor will not work when it is not plugged in.  Likewise Christians will fail in their lives if they are not plugged into the Holy Spirit – filled with His power and allowing Him to live and work through their lives.

4. The Spirit of Unity -  Ephesians 4:3

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

The Holy Spirit makes unity among Christians in two ways.

Firstly, we have the same indwelling of Christ the same Holy Spirit in common – a basis for unity.

Secondly, He is the one who has placed every Christian into a single Body, the Body of Christ.  There is one Body and one Spirit. Eph. 4:4

When there is disunity – the Holy Spirit is being hindered. In such cases believers may be fighting God or simply refusing to allow the Holy Spirit to control their lives.

5. The Spirit of Fruitfulness - EPHESIANS 5:9

“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.”

Our ability to bear spiritual fruit in whatsoever, the Lord has committed into our hands is very vital to our spiritual growth. It doesn’t matter how big or little it is. We must do everything to be fruitful in it.

Increase comes from the Lord (Ecclesiastes 9:11). It does not come as a result of how much has been committed into our hands, or how hard working we are in the Kingdom.

Remember God called you to do only what He tells us to do. The work of the Kingdom is not a race with others in the Kingdom. You are not in competition with your fellow Christians. The devil is the one who is making it look like it is a race. He uses the competitive spirit of the unsaved world, to play Christians against one another.

If you truly want to bear spiritual fruit, you will need to first be separated, from those with that competitive spirit of the unsaved world. You can’t grow spiritually while hanging around those who operate in the flesh. They will stifle you out of ministry with that kind of spirit.

Factors that Affect Fruitfulness

Every fruit bearing tree is affected by the following:

(a) The nature/type of tree.

(b) The soil where it is planted.

(c) The nature/quality of nutrients it receives.

(d) Natural factors around it.

(e) Human factors affecting it (influence or cultivation attitude)

Similarly, our ability to bear fruit in the Kingdom and the quality and quantity of fruit we bear is a function of the following;

(i) Whose are You? Who/what is your Source? What kind of fruit are you bearing, it will tell us of your source (Luke 6:44).

(ii) Where are you Planted? Every seed has the potential of bearing fruit but it’s not every seed that ends up bearing fruit. You need to be rightly planted/positioned. See Luke 4:14- Jesus being filled of the Holy Spirit.

(iii) What do you feed On? When and How? (John 3:6) flesh begets flesh & Spirit begets spirit). The spirit gives life and the word is spirit and life altogether, see John 14:17, 26, John 15:26, 16:13.

(iv) Who is your Gardener? (1 Corinthians 2:9-14).

(v) Do you know your fruiting Season? 1 Corinthians 12:4

(vi) Is there a longing for Fruit? Galatians 5:16-25

(vii) How good is your fruit (Matthew 7:17-19) 

6. The Spirit of Fullness

Ephesians 5:18 states, “and do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.’

The fullness of the Holy Spirit empowers us for service. We are filled with the Holy Spirit to serve God and others. The fullness of the Holy Spirit made a difference in Peter's life (Acts 2 & 4:8). ... The Spirit-filled life is not abnormal; it is the normal Christian life.

When you received Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, the Holy Spirit came to live within you. We call that the indwelling of the Spirit. You were also brought into the body of Christ, which is called the baptism of the Spirit. Then at the same time, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The Holy Spirit becomes resident within your heart. He indwells you from then on forever. However, unfortunately, when the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, He does not always get control of our lives.

7. The Spirit of Victory -  Ephesians 6:17,18

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: ¹⁸ Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does (John 5:19).  Jesus was depending on the Father through the Holy Spirit who gives Him victory in ministry.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives that indwell in us and empower us that cause us to be fruitful in our lives and victorious in warfare.

Thank you that we can access into the Spirit and with the fullness of the Spirit we are able to serve and extend the Kingdom of God with God’s glory and grace.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL