Excerpts from study on Ezekiel 37

Bible study on June 23, 2011.
Covering some points from what is expected of a believer in the new covenant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8YnV7_kDhM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc2TRa6XOMw

This study was previously uploaded in the following 5 parts.

1. Availability
2. Our work in the Kingdom of God, Gifts and Fruit
3. Where is my house?
4. Zion
5. The Assignment

I felt it important to give an option to watch this study as a whole.

Continuation of the Bible Study in Ooty on April 8, 2011

Continuation of the Bible Study in Ooty on April 8, 2011

A study on Isaiah 66:1-2
Thus says the LORD:
” Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me?And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” Says the LORD.

” But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

Intro to the two-fold nature of our work in our Father’s kingdom – plus a review of the Gifts and the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Excerpt from the Bible study on March 27, 2011.

A look at our position in Christ, our mission here, and the benefits of being present in the throne room of God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxYwUiwckPA

A study on our position in Christ and our attendance in the throne room of God.

Sunday sermon – January 30, 2011
Spiritual sonship & separation from the world.

The sermon I preached on Sunday January 23, 2011

An excerpt from Jan 14, 2011 cell group meeting in Ooty.

An excerpt from Jan 14, 2011 cell group meeting in Ooty.

An excerpt from Jan 14, 2011 cell group meeting in Ooty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5OB9k806-4

1 John 4:17
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

1 John 2:5
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

2 John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it

Excerpts from the Sunday sermon preached at The Father’s House Church, Cochin. January 16, 2011.

John 12:47-48
And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Excerpts from the Sunday sermon preached at The Father’s House Church, Cochin. January 16, 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpIxZqadObg

Excerpts from the Sunday sermon preached at The Father’s House Church, Cochin. January 16, 2011.

Psalm 90:12
So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Jesus said “Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in me” in John 14. If he was God, why would make a difference between himself and God? This is explained in this video.

As a Jew, our Lord Jesus was speaking to Jews. Additionally, he is the bridegroom speaking to his bride. To fully understand what Jesus means when he says he is going to build mansions for us, we need to understand the Jewish wedding pattern. This is briefly touched on this video.

The relationship that the Lord Jesus has with his bride and the traditional Jewish wedding customs have a lot in common. To read more about the comparisons between Jewish wedding pattern and the messiah, please click here.

If you are on Facebook, the same post is available here.

Do not let your heart be troubled.

with love in Jesus
John Kodiyil

As you may know, the Lord has blessed me with a new digital video camera. This is the the second podcast recorded with it. I had recorded last Sunday’s talk, but this is just me walking around where I stay when I’m in Ooty (http://www.hillockview.com) with the camera in my hand. I’m pretty pleased with the results, if I may say so.

The URL to Jewish wedding pattern and the messiah.

http://reconcenter.com/index.php/2009/11/19/jewish-wedding-pattern/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d715i6byyV0

The word I shared at the Father’s House, Cochin, on January 02, 2011

My notes are below

For Troubled Times – Psalms 50-56;
Seven psalms of David teach us how to respond when we bring trouble on ourselves, and when others betray us.

Psalm 55
16 As for me, I will call upon God,
And the LORD shall save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I will pray, and cry aloud,
And He shall hear my voice.
18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
For there were many against me.
19 God will hear, and afflict them,
Even He who abides from of old.  Selah
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.

18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me.

Redeemed
1) To recover ownership of by paying a specific sum
2) To set free from
3) To save from a state of sinfullness and its consequences

Jesus redeems
Galatians 3:13-14
13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”[a]),
14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

22 Cast your burden on the LORD,
And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

We must distinguish between the burden-bearing that is right and the burden-bearing that is wrong.
We ought never to bear the burden of sin or of doubt,
but there are burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off, He wants us to roll them back on Him.
“Cast that He hath given thee upon the Lord.” (R.V. marg.)

Luke 10:19
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

1 John 5:
4For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Revelation 2:7
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’

Revelation 2:17
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’

Revelation 21:7
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

Matthew 10:30
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Psalm 31:15
My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.

John 17: 15-23
15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
Jesus Prays for All Believers

20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will[e] believe in Me through their word;
21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

There are three things that make us an Overcomer:

1. Faith-
We overcome by our faith-
The Bible says to put on the shield of faith, that we might quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

2. The Blood-
Rev. 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

We overcome by the Blood-
The Blood of Jesus has the same power today, that it had two thousand years ago.
We are overcomers because of what Jesus did for us on the cross – because of the Blood that he shed for us.

1 Peter 1:18 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed by such corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Precious means costly. Jesus gave his very life that we might be redeemed. That blood is just as precious today as it was two thousand years ago!

3. The Word of Our Testimony-
Rev. 12:11 “…and the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

This verse could also read, “The Word of God in their testimony.” The “logos” of their testimony.

We overcome by the Word of God-
We are over comers through our testimony.

The scriptures are on the video, some of my notes are below

Our primary personal stewardship is that of our own heart.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.

we need to guard it

• by meditating on God’s word,
• by surrounding ourselves with his promises and
• by being constantly aware of his thoughts towards us.

I wish to make clear that the BIble is not talking about eastern meditation as we know it today

It is not about emptying our minds and emotions completely

That is a dangerous practise.

What God is asking us to do is to fill our minds with the word of God, so that we know his promises to us, his thoughts towards us, and by meditating on them instead of the mulitude of our thoughts, we will make our way prosperous and shall have good success

Romans 12:1-2 I  beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We really need to take the effort

• to renew our mind with the word of God,
• to know his precious promises to us,
• to understand his thoughts towards us

We need to measure the world based on the word of God

• If your eyes are truly fixed on Jesus, you would not have a multitude of thoughts troubling you.
• If your eyes were fixed on Jesus, we would hear from him, through his word and through his Holy Spirit.
• give you instructions step by step, thought by thought, process by process.
• There is absolute simplicity in that.

It is the devil that tries to bombard our heads with mulitude of thoughts

2 Corinthians 11:3 – But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

There is a simplicity in Christ,
Simplicity in obeying what he has told us to do
Simplicity is trusting him

Are you troubled by multitude of thoughts?

Then take delight in God’s comforts. To me that includes his promises to me.

Let your should be refreshed by them

Let us continue our walk in submission to His will, through faith, in obedience.

Don’t allow Satan to fill your mind with his lies.

Proverbs 4:23 – Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it [are] the issues of life.

Trust God. Meditate and obey his word. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Covetousness is idolatry because when we are ruled by greed, we serve our own personal interests first, thus obeying the dictates of our flesh rather than the leadings of the Lord God.

Covetousness is a subtle way of putting something before God in our lives. We put our own interests before His and those of others, and unwittingly become servants of Mammon. We must face it squarely: We are covetous to the degree we let the love of money rule us.

Love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. By letting our money tell us what to do, we refuse to listen first to God. If God isn’t the one who teaches us how to handle money, Satan is!

This world’s economics are based on covetousness. Most, if not all, wars are based on the greed of nations. Most crime results from one man satisfying his greed at another’s expense.

The major groups of this world’s population are divided according to their approach to economics. But the Christian can be free from the world’s control of his finances as he is faithful to walk according to God’s economic principles. Let’s go over them briefly again:

1. Decide To Serve God And Not Mammon!

Jesus made it clear: “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” You must choose one or the other.

Decide once and for all that you will not allow finances to control any decisions you make. Make your finances as much a matter of prayer as you do any other part of your life and ministry.

2. Deal Ruthlessly With Any Love Of Money That Is In You!

“The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil” (1 Tim 6:10). To the degree you allow a love for money to remain in you, evil will be present in your life. When you love money, you open yourself to the activity of the demonic power which lies behind it. Paul admonishes young Timothy, “flee from these things, O man of God” (1 Tim 6:11).

3. Determine To Live According to God’s Principles Of Finance!

Financial freedom can only be known by those who obey the Son, Who sets us free indeed! Begin to walk in the power of the Kingdom by unswervingly following God’s principles:

Give! “Give and it shall be given unto you!” Determine once and for all to break the curse of poverty by tithing, whether or not you feel you can afford it.

Free-will offerings are another important part of the giving God wants you to practice. Be generous with others and God will be generous with you.

4. Don’t Be A Hireling!

Obey the Lord and take your directions from Him and not from those “Hirers” who will corrupt you and your ministry. Don’t fail in faith. He is faithful. He will provide all you need.

By no means allow offers of money to determine how you will live or minister. Don’t be a hireling! Be a servant of God, not a servant of money!

We can only serve one god! Will it be Jesus or Mammon? You must make the choice because you cannot serve God and Mammon!

Pray this prayer

Lord Jesus, I thank You that you are faithful and have promised to give me everything I need for life and godliness. Thank You for showing me that by serving money, I’m really serving Satan.

I affirm to You right now that You alone are my God. I choose to trust You for all my needs. I know You will provide them all if I will serve You with my money.

Lord, I trust You for the strength and grace I’m going to need to keep this commitment to the will of God. Thank You for these steps toward true financial freedom. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!

4. God Loves To Bless Us

Jesus said if we seek His Kingdom first, He will add all the things. He may test for a while, but He will bless those that put Him and His Kingdom first in their lives.

God wills that we prosper in every dimension of our lives (3 Jn 2). However, we often prevent this prosperity from happening in our finances because we violate basic principles in handling our money.

One of the reasons some are poor and needy is their failure to give money to God’s work, fearing they will be worse off if they give to help spread the gospel. True financial freedom only comes when we handle our money God’s way.

a. Practice Kingdom Principles. On the other hand, church leaders in some of the world’s poorest countries are seeing God bless them and their people with money. why? Because they practice Kingdom finance principles as outlined above, by giving sacrificially and happily.

The way to make this happen is to first start tithing to the local church or evangelist fund. If you do not allow people the opportunity to give, then start.

Change your praying from selfish prayers just for yourself and start praying for God o bless others. Is it not this which James refers to, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Jas 4:3)?

God will not answer our prayers for more money if we want it only to spend it on ourselves. He will only release greater resource on us when He knows we have repented of our selfishness and have become giving persons.

Next week

Conclusion of Reject Covetousness and Idolatry