Pastor Cheri
Hallelujah!
Thank God for the glorious time at the Healing Streams Live healing services with our Man of God.
Thank God for all the miracles! Hallelujah!
It was glory filled all the way. It's from glory to glory. Praise God.
Welcome to today's service.
Today, we will be beginning our book excerpt using the book, "When God Visits You" as we said on Sunday.
If you don’t have a copy, get one at www.christembassyonlinestore.org. So you can read along.
It's mandatory for everyone now. Do get a copy now. Praise God!
If you have a copy, open to the introduction page.
Introduction
Many people today are in dire need of a change which only God could handle. They’ve probably heard about how God showed up in some other person’s situation, and this makes them wonder, ‘What about me?’ ‘When will God ever meet my need?’ But God is real and He does visit.
God is omnipresent; His presence fills everywhere; yet He does come and go, in spite of His omnipresence. This is because though His presence is everywhere, His manifested presence is not everywhere. So God does visit.
“He (The Word) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” (John 1:10-11)
God visited His people in the person of His Son, but they didn’t recognize
Him when He came.
One of the reasons many people don’t know when God visits is their inability to recognize the Presence of God. This is because they haven’t realized that His presence is more than a feeling. This will always happen when they live their lives in someone else’ experience rather than the Word of God. Another reason is that many don’t know how to respond to the Presence of God. They may be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, but still unable to respond to the Presence of God because they’re not acquainted with His personality.
* Say this; "I'm acquainted with God’s personality. I know God, and He knows me." *
When you recognize the Presence of God and know how to respond to Him when He visits, you will be able to get the power of God to work for you.
But if you fail to recognize and properly respond to Him, His power won’t do
you any good.
* When the power of God is at work in you, it means you have been able to recognise God’s presence. If you don't have that power working yet, you haven't recognized and responded to Him. *
Does God always come with a loud noise? Must a bush burn to indicate His Presence? Does He come at my invitation or does He suddenly come? Will He ever visit me, or has He and I didn’t know it? Do I have any part to play in God visiting me? These are some of the questions that have filled the hearts of many.
Let’s look through the Word of God and take examples from the lives of men and women who were able to take advantage of God’s visitation to receive their healing, find solutions to their problems and moved their lives up to a higher level.
I encourage you to open your heart as you read this book because God wants to visit His children; He really wants to visit you.
Prepare for that visitation!
* Always be ready for God." *
Chapter 1
A Strong Desire
In the early period of the history of the nation of Israel, they had gotten
comfortable with the Egyptian lifestyle and had fallen in love with the onions and garlic of Egypt. At this time the children of Israel still enjoyed the goodwill of successive Pharaohs and the Egyptians. It is possible they had even forgotten the land flowing with milk and honey God promised Abraham and his seed. But Joseph being a prophet of God, knew by revelation what would happen in the not too distant future.
“And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” (Genesis 50:24).
Hitherto, the predicaments of the children of Israel remained the same.
They did not pursue an ardent desire for a change in their circumstances; hence God’s Word couldn’t be fulfilled in them.
After Joseph became the prime Minister of Egypt, the children of Israel
tremendously prospered and increased in number until a new Pharaoh ruled Egypt, who knew nothing of how the Egyptian empire was preserved from famine through Joseph’s wisdom (Exodus1:7-14). Consequently, out of fear and insecurity in the face of the growing strength of the children of Israel, he subjected them to slavery.
Soon, Israel’s desire for a change grew and God heard their cry and sent a deliverer to bring them out of slavery and lead them into the Promised Land.
“And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.” (Exodus 2:23)
“And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:7-8)
So the LORD called Moses and said,
“Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. (Exodus 3:10)
God’s response came as a result of their strong desire for a change in their situation.
* Do you have a strong desire for a change? Are you tired of the level where you are and are desiring a new level? God is ready for you. He is ready to respond. Hallelujah!
Let's read on... *
There’s another inspiring story of a woman in the book of 1 Samuel 1:1-
21, named Hannah. Her story reveals God’s personality, faithfulness and
kindness.
Hannah had no child because she was barren. She had been in this situation for many years, and no physician could help her. So, she knew God was the only one who could help her; her situation couldn’t be reversed by man’s power or ability. The situation was a bit bearable for her because her husband loved her very much, her condition notwithstanding. Moreover, she got a worthy portion of offering to sacrifice to God at Shiloh - the annual place of worship.On a particular occasion, while the whole family was on their way to worship and offer sacrifices to God at Shiloh, her rival, Peninnah, goaded her with her condition. This made her very sad and desperate and her countenance fell. This time, her husband’s efforts to encourage her were all to no avail. By the time they arrived at Shiloh, her desire for a child was so strong, that the Bible says,
“And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore.” (1 Samuel 1:10)
Hannah had a strong desire now for a change.
When God visits you, the first thing you’ll discover is a strong desire for change.
There is a promise of a higher realm of life for you regardless of where
you are presently. God’s Word is His promise to you, and it’s a place of rest.
When you let Him visit you, He will carry you there.
You need the visitation of God in order to move to this realm of life, but
first you need that desire. You are God’s child but you have an enemy, the devil, who will do everything to keep you from getting what is yours.
Do you want a change? Do you want the power of the kingdom of God to
produce results for you? Then your heart must reach out; you must be bursting with a strong desire. Strong desire is necessary in life. A compelling desire for a change is the starting place.
“And David perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for his people Israel's sake.” (2 Samuel 5:12)
Isn’t this amazing? David had been king for several years already. Then
one day, while sitting on his throne, it dawned on him that God had actually
established him as king over Israel and exalted his kingdom.
I’m sure something like this has happened to you before; you were looking for a pen to use and it suddenly dawned on you that you had one in your pocket all the while.
There are times you don’t have something but because you don’t really
have any desire for it, it might not occur to you that you need it. All of a sudden, the need dawns on you, and from that point your desire for it begins to increase.
Hannah had probably made up a lot of excuses in her heart for her
condition, thinking, “The God of Abraham will visit me one day.” She must have tried to console herself that everything was okay except that she didn’t have a child. But it got to a time that she couldn’t take it anymore, it dawned on her, just like David, that she needed a miracle. She knew she didn’t want to live the rest of her life without a child.
The same thing happened to the children of Israel in Egypt. It wasn’t until they didn’t have enough to eat and the whips of the Egyptian taskmasters landed on their backs that God’s promise occurred to them (Exodus 2:23-25). It dawned on them that a better land was waiting for them, where all the good things of life were freely available and they’d no longer be slaves.
Sometimes you find Christians in a desperate situation, just like Hannah’s, but they fail to recognize it. They have great need in their lives but fail to realize it. Until the need dawns on them, they may never recognize the solution or desire it.
You want a change? It’s got to dawn on you that God has prepared something better than where you are now. The first step to your miracle is to get uncomfortable with your present state!
* Don't be comfortable at your present level, desire more. Have a strong desire to move from where you are to your next level. There is a next level for you and you ought to be functioning there.
Most times, this desire comes from the promptings of the Spirit, don’t ignore it. It means God wants to do something more. He wants to place you at a new level.
As you allow this desire, you'll find the Spirit of God overwhelming you causing all circumstances to comform and fit you into that position! Hallelujah!
Take out time now to speak in tongues. Let the Spirit of God take over your mind right now. See yourself at the place where God is taking you right now. Hallelujah!
We will continue on Sunday. If you are yet to get your copy do so and come with it on Sunday. Praise God! *
