Today I want to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus. Christmas is not when Jesus was born, it’s just a ritual. It’s an excuse to spend money and have a good time. Why can’t we celebrate the birth of Jesus any time? Because if Jesus wasn’t born, then Jesus couldn’t die. If Jesus didn’t die, then you and I would not be born again. So I can celebrate His birth anytime.
Most people think that everything that happens in their life is about what happens in their human body, their human world, everything that’s real and relevant to their human world, but actually; it’s not. Everything that’s real and relevant is about what your spirit man is called to do through your body. The real you, the spirit you and your soul will either go and live in heaven or it will live away from God for eternity – in hell with the devil.
The dictionary definition of a birthday is; The anniversary of the day on which a person was born. Typically treated as an occasion for celebration and the giving of gifts. I’ve never been a sentimental birthday person. But the last five or seven years, it’s just like my birthday and other people’s birthday around me, it’s become kind of more valuable to me.
The day that I was born, I started a journey with Him of assignment, of vision, of calling, of purpose, of destiny. Every year that goes by, I want to celebrate that more. I’m celebrating how many years I’ve lived because the years I’ve got left are going to be much more significant than the years I’ve lived.
A born-again Christian should never have the word ‘retirement’ in their head. You may leave your corporate job, you may leave formal employment and receive the benefits of that, but you don’t retire. Your gift, your calling, your assignment can never retire. The only time that goes away is when your body leaves the earth.
It’s a good thing to celebrate birth. But I celebrate the birth of my Lord Jesus more than mine
If we cooperate, everything you do while you have breath will breathe into eternity. But if you, in your clay vessel, choose to go against My Will, then I have to raise other clay vessels to do what you are called to do.
To be persuaded is something that only you can do with God for yourself. I can’t persuade you. I can bring a message from God to you. There can be a strong move of the Holy Spirit and His anointing can rest upon you, but still you have to choose to be persuaded. Why is it important to be persuaded? Because when you live out there in the world, away from church days like this, it’s your persuasion that is going to sustain you. It’s not your doctrine.
Disagreement about doctrine is a given, but we can agree to live in faith with each other’s faith and be persuaded by our faith walk.
I am persuaded that living in faith is the way to live with God because it’s my trust in Him. And I have to be persuaded that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Because if I can’t live for that, then I’m going to be swayed by circumstances and the ways of men as we change.
The devil wants to undermine your persuasion, your conviction, your commitment to purpose, your commitment to the will of God for you. If you try to find your significance in other things (wealth, degrees, political positioning), you are not looking to the Source that made you. The reason you were born, your birthday, wasn’t so that you can pursue money or power or prestige or fame. It was so that you could pursue His will.
We can be going about our lives, but the minute you come and you bring yourself to God, the Father, He receives you into His eternity, into His plans and purposes. And He says, “Now come, let’s work together.”
When you get adopted into the Kingdom of God, do you think you’ve got anything to worry about financially? Do you think you’ve got anything to worry about in your future? No. If you abide in His words and His words abide in you, you can ask anything you want and He will grant it.
The way to change what’s in your mind is to say, “I’m not going to think that and I’m going to speak what God says.” You can’t beat thoughts with other thoughts. You got to take it captive and then you got to abide in the Word of God; you got to speak the Word of God. I live by the words of God and by His will that are reflected in His words. That shows that you are persuaded.
If you want some meaningful progress in your life, get persuaded and speak words of life.
Faith is the oxygen of your spirit man life. If you are full of oxygen, life goes good. How do you get the oxygen of the Word? You have to speak it and speak it and meditate on it and meditate on it and speak it.
If we understand the power of abiding in Him with His words, then we can ask anything we want and He’ll grant it. When His words abide in you, you will know what words to ask for because His words are abiding in you.
We don’t realise that actually we’re causing so much chaos and hardship for ourselves. Because the longer we take to be surrendered, the more we have to deal with our self-will that doesn’t want to be surrendered. You persuade yourself that you don’t have to surrender, because, “Look what I can do without surrender.”
You could say that you only lose your soul when you die. I differ. I think you lose your soul all the time you are gaining wealth and power. The good news is, He redeems empty hours, He redeems your life and He redeems your time. But the longer it goes, the more surrender it takes.
When you speak Jesus’ words every day you are celebrating choice. You are celebrating life. You are celebrating grants.
God began to show me that when you are in Him and He’s in you and you are living and abiding with Him like that, you can ask whatever you want and He’ll grant it. And when He puts the desire in your heart, He begins to say, “Ask Me for that.”
I celebrate your life with you today because when you are dying to yourself, you are resurrecting your future. You are resurrecting your assignment. You are resurrecting your vision. I’m celebrating a future full of vision, full of assignment, full of new things because today is a birthday. It’s all of our birthdays. It’s a new day to be birthed into new assignments, new things, and yes, I’m dying so that I can be born into new stuff.
Say, “I’m a son of God. Jesus is my Lord, I live in Him, I abide in Him and His Words abide in me. I thank You, Lord, from today I walk in new things. I’m going to celebrate life even through death, I celebrate life. In Jesus’ name.
© 2023 – Heritage of Faith Ministries International
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