Sunday's Sermon September 6, 2009

By Bishop F.M. Mawit

Introduction : "The period of need"


Luke 4: 1 – 8
During a period of need, we worship either God or the devil. No matter whoever we are, we are not safe from needs. It is God Himself who led Jesus into the wilderness.

There are wildernesses that are consequences of our sins or of the wickedness of the devil, but there are also wildernesses that are God’s sovereign decisions as a test of our faith. When we are in the wilderness, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit for us to be able to resist the devil.

The period of need is a period when we are tempted by the devil. During times of fast and prayer, we are likely to face many temptations. During times of fast, the works of the devil become more visible. And the more we pray, the more the things for which we are praying seem to flee us farther and farther.

The more we approach the end of our fast, the more things become difficult, and the more we feel hungry. In times of fast, in periods of need, the devil will suggest us many solutions. We then have three ma in sources of information: God, the devil, and our flesh. We must only listen to God. The period of need is a very difficult time when we may even doubt our identity (see verse 3).

In this period, we must always affirm our identity as sons a

nd servants of God. The devil will do all to make us deny our identity. We must never deny our identity, no matter the situation through which we might be passing. We must never surrender to the devil.

During a period of need, we must also pay attention to time. Jesus was to receive all the kingdoms of the earth not at the beginning of His ministry but at the end of times.
We must be patient and wait for the time of God (see verses 5 to 7). We must be patient and perseverant.

We must not stretch out our hands toward iniquity. The time of need is a time during which the devil wants us to worship him instead of God (verse 7). We must worship God, not the devil, not our needs, not our problems, etc.

Sermon's subject : "Reaching the place of our destiny"
(Exodus 23: 20 – 25)

We must reach the place of our destiny. There is a place that God has prepared for each of us; a place of miracle, a place of blessing, a place of healing, a place of prosperity. But the devil does all to prevent us from reaching that place.

We cannot reach that place by our own strength, by our own means. We need God’s presence; we need God’s anointing. The way leading to our destiny is a difficult and dangerous one; we need God Himself to keep and protect us. The things that God has prepared for us are not easy to reach; it requires much fighting to get them. Fearful people, cowards, cannot reach the place of our destiny.

We cannot reach the place of our destiny if we are not ready to seize God’s revelation, God’s Word. We must receive and obey God’s revelation, God’s instructions, God’s Word. Our disobedience to God’s Word can prevent us from reaching the place of our destiny. We need God’s revelation to reach the place of our miracle, the place of our blessing. We cannot reach the place of our destiny without having God’s revelation, without listening to God’s own Word.

We cannot reach the place of our destiny without obeying God’s instructions. Disobedience can destroy our destiny.

God cannot lead us into the place of our destiny if there is idolatry in our lives. God alone must be our true and top priority. When God is our priority, things of this world will have another colour for us, they will be of lesser value.

We must also serve God. Divine service helps us reach the place of our destiny.

Among the things that help us reach the place of our destiny, we have:

• the presence of God;

• the revelation of God;

• obedience to God’s instructions;

• worship;

• divine service;

• prayer