the watcher

Psalm 91:1 & 2 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Every one who has matured and experienced things in this life knows that there are things that come against man and desire that man be destroyed. However we who believe the scriptures know that our enemy is the devil and by deceit and fear he can keep man in bondage. This morning we are reminded that we who have believed in the son of God and returned to the Father through the only way, truth and life (John 14:6), do have a covering that the enemy can do nothing about. Job 1:10 "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. Thus we do not need to live each day in fear of the enemy's attack on us or our own, what we do is

Psalm 24:3  Who may go up into the hill of the Lord? and who may come into his holy place? Oh what a great right the hypocritical leaders of the Sanhedrin felt they had to put people out of the synagogue, to determine who was worthy or not worthy of worship. Luke 18:11-13  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men [are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Halleluyah, the glorious lamb of God came and declared God's liberation: John 4:21, 23 & 24 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in

John 5:22-28 (NLT) In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him. “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, Still in these times and days some have an argument on Yeshua, Jesus the C

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: The same way the weather does not remain constant at all times, the state of the mind of man varies with what he experiences at each point in time, thus you may not be in the same state of mind with your neighbour. You may be in: * plenty while the other is in want; * happiness while the other is sad; * strength while the other needs rest; * hunger while the other is filled already; * need of conversation while the other just wants quiet; * a spiritual light while the other is in a carnal state * a need of people around you while the other wants time alone * an experience of joy in their work while the other hungers for a way out. We do not expect to always be in the same situation with others our seasons differ. When we know this we also understand when to give and when to receive. Thus to avoid strife, wisdom says we should consider one another. Hebrews 12:14-15 (NLT) Work at li

Esther 4:14b  and who is to say that you have not come to the kingdom even for such a time as this? Every human is relevant, no one was born as a mistake. Where we occupy now is for a purpose, we have relevance there, there is something to accomplish. There is a function. Proverbs 16:4 (NLT) The lord has made everything for his own purposes, even the wicked for a day of disaster. We could loose sight of these if dwell on the difficulties or focus our mind on those aspects that do not look favourable to us. If we make complain a habit. But God who sees all things and knows all things, is able to make all things abound towards us. 2 Corinthians 9:8. And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work: God allows us go from stage to stage, every previous stage preparing us for a new one. Higher and higher He takes us. Yes there is a reason for where we are now. There is an expectati

1John 3 : 2 & 3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Now we know that our change will take place when Christ returns, for now we carry our flesh with us. Thus the need to be cautious. When sin or works of the flesh is talked about it is an instruction: Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; Colossians 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. We are to put off the fleshy nature and to put on our nature of righteousness. Definitely when Christ returns

Psalm 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my goings. James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. The Lord did not create man to fail, and what is failure, other than to stay in failure. Look at the prodigal son: Luke 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! It is a trick of the enemy to make a believer or even a non believer remain in the place of sin! Most of the time, it is the enemy and his agents that bring the suggestion of wrong to the mind, thus when the mind receives it, having the power to create it breeds on it and it takes life. Then as the bible says death follows. So okay, we have made the mistake, yes we have done that so called, "little wrong",  or "big

Romans 14:12 & 13 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.  Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in [his] brother's way. It is a privilege to be called of God, to accept the salvation that God offered to us. Some would not enjoy this grace.   Remember many would still continue to practice religions, many would still want to remain in sin and many would refuse to believe. Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, It is offered freely to all men but the architect is the Heavenly Father and thus it is Him who would bring any man. John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. Thus, God is the one who draws man to Himself, however man could resist and that is why man can be condemned. John 3:19 & 18 And this is the condemnation, that ligh

Psalm 92:1 [It is a] good [thing] to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: As we have awoken to a new week, let us remember: 1Thessalonians 5:18 "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Remember that it is because you are alive that you can work, eat, complain or make requests. Before anything else give thanks to God for giving you life and for giving His Son "Yeshua, Jesus the Christ" in whom He has allowed all things to dwell.  Colossians 2:9  "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;" If you have Jesus you have everything. Before anything else daily my friend, let us give thanks. Romans 8:32  "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Let us join the brethren in worship today. Even if you have to be at work do find time to pray with a loved one

Psalm 12:1 Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. The walls in this context, we explained in part 1 refer to barriers that have been put in place to enable us avoid mistakes, sins and not to fall into temptation. Matthew 6:13b And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: These barriers could be between good and evil, i. e, between light and darkness. They could be actions we take, things and situations we avoid. It could also be actions of discipline. The purpose is to ensure that the darts, tricks and devices of the enemy, self and the world do not penetrate. We live in times when some of us trusted with the glory of God's presence still give room for the flesh. Forgetting that Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof]. 1John 2:16&17  For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and

John 8:36  "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Truely Jesus was, is and will be the only one who can make this claim. No other person has the power to give this liberty no matter how wise their teaching or power their influence or how dynamic people claim their life was. Yet only one came from the Father to fulfil the Father's wish and returned to the Father after making us, who believe, sons also. John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, John 3:13  "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. Man was born into the bondage of sin, which originally seperates the man (the spirit of man) from his maker. The mentality of slavery keeps one in bondage and makes him/her think that there is something needed to be done to find favour in the eyes of the master. So one in bondage tries to fo

Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Many things could attempt to separate us from the love of Christ but what a wasted effort, it is just cannot, nothing can. Many even some of us who have believed do not understand the extent of this love. However, "GOD CANNOT FAIL. .," We are the ones who can stumble. God knows the extent of His love and what great a price was paid. So it is a wonder why some believers still allow the enemy to hold them captive even to the extent of building ministries in the operation of demons and evil spirits. Jesus never did this, neither did any of the apostles. (This is a study on its own.) So we are the ones that can fumble on love. Thus we then have the instruction: John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. It is the evidence that we are o

Genesis 1:7  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so. From creation there has been barriers set between two phases. To separate one from the other. Genesis 3:24  So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. However when we talk of walls in this context, we do not mean physical walls to keep people away from our house, community, city or even country. We actually refer to barriers that have been put in place to enable us avoid mistakes, sin and not to fall into temptation. Matthew 6:13b And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: These barriers could be between good and evil, i. e, between light and darkness. They could be actions we take, things and situations we avoid. It could also be actions of discipline. The purpose is to ensure

Hebrews 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. We meet situations we have no control over, time and time again. Daniel found himself in a strange land with so much expected from him. Joseph found himself in a palace with so much to account for. David found himself in the war zone with a giant soldier treatening his people Lot found himself in a community full of unrepentant sinners whose atrocities knew no boundary Solomon found himself as king, when he ought to have been a rejected child "The situations are not always our making, yet the scripts, we can write" Instead of watching the scene as a spectator we could actually write the script by being "the teacher". Titus 2:7 In all things see that you are an example of good works; holy in your teaching, serious in behaviour. This instruction was actual

Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. There is always room for improvement again and again as we move on in life, the good is to improve by becoming better and better with each passing day. However we are faced with environmental factors. Whether we want to or not we get affected by them and they affect our growth. Luke 8:8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Yes the effect could cause us to adopt mis-growth, thus becoming thorns instead of good fruit, or just impeding our growth. Then we hear of believers who have known the Lord for twenty years and yet still act and live as a new convert. That is why the word came in the book of Romans: Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that y

Psalms 100:1-5(NLT) Shout with joy to the lord, all the earth! Worship the lord with gladness.  Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Jesus said: Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. The gathering of God's people has always been His pleasure, that we come together as brethren to worship and thank Him for who He is and all He has done. No wonder David was called the man after God's heart, he knew what it was to worship, to enter into the gates with thanksgiving. Jesus also said: John 4:23-24(NLT) But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Fath

Psalm 56 : 1 & 2 Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me.  Mine enemies would daily swallow [me] up: for [they be] many that fight against me, O thou most High. When we look at the concept "enemy" what comes to our mind most times is as a result of where we are coming from, that is,  what we have been exposed to and mostly what we have been told. The dictionary defines enemy thus: "Someone who is hostile to, feels hatred towards, opposes the interests of, or intends injury to someone else. A hostile force or nation; a fighting member of such a force or nation.An alliance of such forces." In Psalm 56, Davids talks of his enemies and very well so, he was a man anointed to be king but some did not want him to achieve this position, his enemies were  those from other countries but "worse of", he had enemies within Israel and within his own house! Today the concept of enemies include those we hav

Colossians 3 : 2 & 1 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Why do we need to be reminded of this? It is because we live here on earth and the earth has its desires. We have to: * eat, cloth and shelter * work, save and invest * pursue our career * marry, build a home and raise children * deal with other people * cater for dependants * relate with society * work with the government * and so on All these are good activities, but they could take our mind from where we came and where we are to return. Making the word of no effect in us. If we are not careful. Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Before we came to Christ, sin caused our seperation. When we are in Christ, sin could stop our blessings, our

1Peter 3:8 Finally, [be ye] all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, [be] pitiful, [be] courteous: We are to take others to heart too. It doesn't have to be about us all the time. It is difficult to live the way God wants us to live if we carry the mentality of always being the beneficiary. Do we * always want to win the argument? * always want to be the one to receive but never giving? * always want the other person/people to sacrifice, while we put in nothing? * only think of ourself and never the other person? * pray for ourself alone, interceeding for no one else? * always see the other as wrong and we always right? The list could go on and on. When we want all things to favour us at all times, then, where is sacrifice? Where is the prove of our love for others, where is God's nature in us? Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a swe

Exodus 14:15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: As we continue our journey through this world, time and again we face challenges that slow us down. Situations do arise that make us suddenly pause and sometimes it could seem so overwhelming that we feel all would come to an end. For the believer we should understand that we are not on our own, the Lord is with us. Psalm 46:1-3 God [is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;  [Though] the waters thereof roar [and] be troubled, [though] the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. The children of Israel faced the red sea, God said move forward! Why? BECAUSE HE IS GOD! We are limited by time, He is limited by nothing: Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [a

Philippians 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind. Like mindedness is one thing missing in most church gatherings. We as a church were made to be in one accord, having one mind, one purpose of one Father, of one Spirit. That was how the church was created: Act 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. Act 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any [of them] that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. Has this been the case? We live in times where brethren can not fully trust one another, where pastors and leaders have to cajole to get members to give. Where everyone seems to have his or her own mind separate from the purpose of the kingdom. Many carry experiences of how they have trusted and have been betrayed. Th

Philippians 2:5  Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, With what scale do we measure? * the world * our flesh * God * or man The battle has always been for "our soul" that is the real us . . . All becomes struggle and chasing after wind when our measuring scale is the flesh. Let us say like Paul: Galatians 1:10  For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 1Corinthians 3:21 Therefore let no one glory in men. For all things are yours: How do we know whom we please, by the thoughts that we allow to stay. The one whom we consider first, before we take a decision. Is it? * What will people say about this? * How will I feel about this? * What does God want me to do? The truth is God's own is always the best. He knows all things, he has seen further than we can ever see and already knows the outcome. Revelation 1:8  "I am the Alpha and the Om

Hebrews 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. If you have been born again, that is accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You have become part of His body and definitely you have a role. 1Corinthians 12:27  Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. As a family member you cannot afford to stay away from other family members. The bible says there is need  to edify  one   another. Ephesians  4:16  from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. When you stay away from the brethren other things begin to draw your attention and most times they are distractions to who you are in Christ Jesus. The issues always arises if you have not found where your brethren are. Th

1Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord [are] over the righteous, and his ears [are open] unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord [is] against them that do evil. There are some who still feel that the wicked are having a filled day. They say,  "What has this my righteous living and good works gained me?", "Why do I discipline myself, why don't I just let it go? ". The truth is, if you are of God, righteousness is your nature, it is the display of the spirit that you have, it shows who rules in you. Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? So it is up to the believer to live the nature he has been given, the nature of righteousness, that is God's seed in him: 1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 1 John 3:10 In thi

In this life it is true that everyone needs a leader, one who he or she accounts to, one to look up to for direction, correction and even mentorship. Be it in business, career, job, spiritual inclination or family. That is why we have pastors, mentors and advisers. 1Thessalonians 5:12  And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, Hebrews 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. It is quite easy for us to think then that because they stand in for us and account for us, we will not account for ourselves. Romans 14:12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. No matter the pastors, priests, leaders or teachers we heap on ourselves. We need to be reminded that . . . we do not have an advocate in a human or spirit that will sta

John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. The Father revealed Him: Matthew 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. The enemy had no idea what the purpose of Christ was, though the demons knew His glory they had no idea what God's agenda was. Mark 3:11 And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. 1Corinthians 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Our agenda from God is a mystery to the enemy, we ought not to bother ourselves about the enemy. We should occupy ourselves with the author, God the Almighty. 1 Corinthians 2:11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of

Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. It is very likely to get exhausted when you keep at it again and again after a long time especially if it is the same routines or patterns. The question should be * Is it a good thing? * Am I on the right part? * Is God happy with me? * Am I positively influencing lifes? If the answer is YES then we overlook our fatigue and move on. Galatians 6:9  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Of course it is natural to feel exhausted the scripture says we should not get weary. It implies we know when to rest, when to replenish our strength and not to cease to rely on our heavenly supply. Mark 6:31 And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. Yet in resting we shouldn'

Phillipians 2:13  for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. The day you begin a thing is the day, you were born into it. Until you have come to an acknowledgement of a truth, you can not fully live in it. You could be * around the truth * within the truth or * arguing the truth You never get the benefit of it until you accept and receive the truth. John 8:32 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." It is never too late to start on that which God wants you to do or achieve. Once you have identified it go ahead and begin. It is your birth day for that particular assignment and surely you will complete it. The day you decided to accept Jesus as Lord and saviour is your spiritual birthday so also the day you begin to fulfil that assignment God has given you. For every purpose there is a begining. That is the procreation that God gave beyond bearing physical children Philippians 1:6  being confi

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. I have come to understand that before we do anything, there is that brief moment when we have to decide. It could be in seconds or we may have longer moments to think about it, no matter the length, every action is premeditated. Sometimes we do not allow that brief moment, ( I am guilty of this) this may cause us to err, and if we are God's we feel so bad about it. Therefore we must decide, to take the right actions. Here the Holy Spirit helps us, if only we are patient to allow Him have His way. We need to feed ourselves with the word more than all other things that want to occupy our heart or mind. Psalms 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. It is what every believer practices and develops, so that we do not err. James 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. We need to be ready, starting everyday with the Lord, then continuing therein in Him.

What were they expecting, no not an empty tomb, they expected to meet the same situation, the body that would remind them that all hope was lost. Do they begin to search for another, why, how could he have died. John the baptist felt the same way when he didn't see Jesus perform the way he expected when he was arrested by Herod. Matthew 11:3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? When you are used to what you know only, what God would do will always catch you by surprise. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Isaiah 55:9  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thought The fact that the tomb was empty caused tears, sorrow and confusion. "They have killed him, why still take away his body, what do we have left?" Yet what they looked f