A King Without A Kingdom, Pastor Phil Sessa And Pastor Boaz Olang

1Samuel 16:1-13, “1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” …12 So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one. 13, “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah”

Can you imagine if one were a king, but had no kingdom? This is where David found himself for a time, when he was first anointed to be the King of Israel.

Generosity Knows No Bound, Evans Olang

1Samuel 30:1-31, “26 Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD”

The story of David always fascinates me; he was no strangers to hardship. He had a call of God in his life; it took years of learning experience in the sea of life as he waited for the promise. He depended on God, knowing God was in control in good and bad times. His experience shaped his character, kept him humble, and taught him how to be generous.

Trade In Discouragement For Encouragement, Evans Olang

1Samuel 30, vs. 6, “… but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (KJV)

Believers fight the spirit of discouragement many times. The man of God Elijah was suicidal because of discouragement. The Israelites became discouraged when they faced challenges in the wilderness. It’s the same thing even leaders face today, discouraged from failing and discouraged by other people. Discouragement is the absence of courage. It deprives courage, hope or confidence.

Watch Out For This Killer! He is After You, Pastor Boaz Olang

Psalm 51:10-13, “Create in me a clean heart O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not a way from Your presence; and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. And I will teach transgressors your ways; and sinners will be converted unto thee.”

Living a depressed life is living a defeated life. Depression is a killer. It builds up from very tiny thoughts of hopelessness and helplessness. Satan will from time to time want you to be depressed. And when you are depressed, you lose energy, and enthusiasm for living. Life becomes very meaningless and sometimes you may feel worthless and see no purpose for living.

The Sieve Reveals, Part 2of2, Evans Olang

Romans 12:1&2, “…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”.

As mentioned in the last message, the sieve separates what is acceptable and rejected. Paul writing to the Romans starts in chapter 12 by saying “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ACCEPTABLE to God, …”. Could it be that the Romans thought their lives in were in line with God? Like the flour that was not sifted, everything looked ok on the outside until the sieve revealed as we see Paul applying it here. He tells them to present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, the next thing is “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“. I keep emphasizing the word ACCEPTABLE because I see over and over in my life God exercising His will based on what is ACCEPTABLE. Paul takes the next three and half chapters teaching the Romans what is acceptable Romans 12, 13, 14, 15:1-8. This would mean, all these would pass through the sieve because they are acceptable to God.

Friends Indeed, Part 1of2, Evans Olang

1Kings 3:16-28, “So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother”

Friendships can be broken over different things in life. I’ve seen some broken over relationships, positions, and gifting etc. Good friends, I mean really good friends end their friendships over things that shouldn’t, things that don’t matter.

We meet two friends who came to king Solomon for judgment. It seems as if they were in the same level, both were prostitutes living in the same house. They must have been good friends to live together. They had a lot of things in common; same occupation (if I may call it that), both gave birth to babies three days apart, both were nurturing babies dear to them, the only thing (person) they can call their own. The bible gives details of these two women who are almost equal in all things. What really keeps two good friends together is it what they have or who they are to each other.

God’s Presence In Death Valley, Pastor Phil Sessa

Psalm 23:1-6, “ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever”.

Precursor: David wrote this Psalm when he was an old man and reflecting back upon his life. After killing Goliath, getting chased by Saul, being King of Israel, committing adultery with Bathsheba, he reflected back upon all that he had been through in his life and penned the most famous Psalm, as a summation of the Lord in his life. This is written from a shepherd that shepherded sheep and then the nation of Israel.

Blessed Because Of His Presence, Evans Olang

1Chronicles 13:14, “The ARK of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the Lord blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had”

David while he had a high position thought he could do things his way including handling the things of God. Our position should not dictate how we handle the things of God, our obedience through submission is what opens doors for His blessings. We can gain positions without letting positions steal the presence of God by starting in the Spirit and staying in the Spirit regardless of whether we have positions or not. Positions are temporal but God’s presence is eternal whether in our lives or not.

Presence Or Position, Evans Olang

James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

What is the presence of God all about that Moses desired and so was David and the rest? There is something about His presence that makes one to see and deal with Him and things differently. In Genesis, Jacob had a vision, upon waking up, he said, “The presence of the Lord was here and I knew it not.” Moses said”, “If Your presence is not going with us, do not let us move from here (paraphrased)”. The children of Israel had the ARK of the Covenant which represented the presence of God. The bible calls Him Jehovah Shammah which means Jehovah Present and not absent. He is not coming or going, He is here, now, available, ready.