Minister to the Lord.

Minister to the Lord.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Acts 13:2
As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

When you minister to the Lord, you create an atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to manifest himself. As they ministered to the Lord, the Holy Spirit said.

Ministering to the Lord means to behold and adore Him and to declare His magnificence, His greatness and His holiness. When you minister to the Lord, you sing about how great and marvellous He is. The four living creatures at the throne of God speak day and night, 'Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was and who is to come.' Ministering to the Lord is the highest form of prayer, where you ask nothing from Him, you just behold, adore, love and praise Jesus. Let ministering to the Lord become a major part of your prayer life. Make it a priority of your life to minister to the Lord everyday of your life.

Friend, ministering to the Lord strengthens you, gives you deliverance and allows the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself the way He wants. Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Abide and live in such an atmosphere so the Holy Spirit can use you to make a difference in this generation. This is your time.

Jesus, the bread of life.

Jesus, the bread of life!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

John 6:35
And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Every human hungers and thirsts for God because we came out of God. This gap can only be satisfied by God. That's why people all around the world are involved in some or the other religious practice to satisfy this spiritual vacuum.

Some people try worldly things to satisfy the spiritual hunger. This hunger and thirst cannot be satisfied by the world, only in Jesus we find satisfaction because He is the bread of life. He said, whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst. Jesus satisfies you! He is more than enough for us! Glory to God. You and I, we were created by Him, through Him and for Him. So unless we come to Him, this gap remains empty and the hunger and thirst continues. Without Jesus, there is always something missing. With Jesus, there is nothing missing. He is the bread of life. As you feed on Him by spending time in His word and in fellowship with Him, His life flows into you and into every arena of your life. He gives you strength and sustains you. He gives you energy to do what He has called you to do effectively. With Jesus, you know that you have all that you need. You have a sense of contentment because in Jesus you have found fulfillment. You no more want the things of the world or the practices of the world to be and to feel satisfied because in Jesus you are at peace, you are content and fulfilled.

Friend, Jesus is the bread of life. He gave up His life on the cross to give you the life of God. When you receive Him, you receive eternal life, the life of God. In Him, your hunger is satisfied and your thirst is quenched and you only desire to do what He says and fulfill His work. Feed on the bread of life and distribute the life of God everywhere you go. You are a life giver in Christ because you are connected to the Source of life, Jesus Christ.

Be with Jesus!

Be with Jesus.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews.

Acts 4:13
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter
and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

When you consistently invest time with Jesus in the word, in prayer and in worshipping Him, you start walking like He walked. You start talking like He talked. The world will see Jesus in the way you live.

Peter and John had ministered healing in the name of Jesus to a man who was lame from birth and the man started jumping and leaping and praising God. Peter and John were uneducated and untrained men, they were fishermen. The authorities noticed them behaving like Jesus and doing what Jesus used to do. The reason they could do what Jesus did is because they spent quality time with Jesus. The more you fellowship with Him, the more you reveal Him to a point where the world sees Jesus in you. Association matters! The company you keep reveals the purpose and objective of your life. As a believer, the purpose and objective of your life and calling is to reveal Jesus. The only way you can do it effectively is by being with Jesus and with people who love and honour Him. It is very difficult to reveal Jesus when your walking, sitting and standing is with people who are worldly and have no reverence for Jesus and His word. You become the company you keep. That's how powerful association is. You can be around people who increase the fire of God in you or you can be around people who quench all the fire you have for Jesus and His work. Your thoughts, words and actions reveals the company you are keeping. The actions of Peter and John revealed that they had been with Jesus.

Friend, be with Jesus and with His people and keep the fire burning. As Peter and John spent time with Jesus, He transformed them from shy and timid fishermen to bold and mighty apostles. As you be with Him, He will make you bold and use you to expand His kingdom. Abide in Him and you will bear much fruit. The world will see Jesus in you and you will bring much glory to the Father.

Prayer keys.

Prayer keys.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews.

John 11:41
Then they took away the stone from  the  place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

You can have your prayers answered every time you pray. Isn't that an amazing way to live? Jesus gave us prayer keys or principles so we can have answers every time we pray.

Some one might say, It happens only for Jesus because He was the Son of God. Jesus is the Son of God but He didn't get answers because He was the Son of God, He got answers because He prayed according to the principles that governed prayer. If you have the keys, the doors will open for you too. If you pray by the principles Jesus gave, you too will have answers every time you pray. Here are some prayer principles Jesus gave us:

a. Ask
b. Ask the Father in the name of Jesus
c. Ask according to the word
d. Ask in faith
e. Receive by faith
f. Thank God for the answer
g. Forgive, walk in love

Friend, these prayer principles when followed will guarantee answers every time you pray. It does matter how you pray. If it didn't matter how you prayed why would Jesus give us these keys. He gave us these keys, these principles so like Him we would have answers every time we pray. Pray with purpose and pray for answers. Your Father hears you every time you pray! Enjoy your prayer life!

Prayer: The secret to power!

Prayer: The secret to power!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Luke 11:1
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

The life of a believer is a life of power. God desires each of his children to walk in His power, for the kingdom of God is not in talk but in power. As a believer, you are required to walk and live in the power of the Holy Spirit so you can be an effective witness of the resurrection of Jesus.

The disciples knew Jesus was a man of power. His words had power, His presence carried power and everything He did was with power. The life of prayer is the life of power. The disciples understood the secret of his powerful life and hence they asked Him, 'Lord, teach us how to pray'. They were with Jesus for three and a half years and they saw the importance Jesus gave to prayer. They saw He never missed prayer. Prayer was more important for Jesus than family, friends  and ministry. He never missed His fellowship with His Father. Since prayer was His priority and His foundation, His life was a life of power. His private time with the Father resulted in a powerful life and powerful ministry. Being with the Father was more important than working for the Father. He knew being with and working with the Father will give him sweatless victories and dominion wherever He went and whatever He did. Prayer kept Him in sync with the Father to a point where Jesus said, I only say what I hear my Father say and I only do what I see My Father do. He enjoyed intimacy with His Father, He said, I and the Father are one. In Christ, you have the resurrection power of God in you. Your fellowship with the Father results in the manifestation of the resurrection power. God wants you to live in power and this is why He showed us the secret behind the powerful life of Jesus.

Friend, a life without prayer is a life without power. Moses needed power to deliver the Israelites from the clutches of Pharaoh. The only way you can be an effective witness for Jesus is by the power of the Holy Spirit. As you make prayer the priority and foundation of your life, you will see that your words, presence and actions are saturated with the power of the Holy Spirit. Let the world see God's power through you. This is your time.

Faith is always 'Now'

Faith is always 'Now'
- Pastor Ashish Mathew

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith is never later. Faith is always now. Faith is not hope. Hope says I will have it some day. Faith always says, I have it now.

God told Abraham you will be the Father of many nations. When did He become the Father of many nations? After Isaac was born? No, the moment He believed God's word He became the Father of many nations. Faith is always now. The moment you believe 'by his stripes I am healed' you got your healing that moment. As you hold on to His word and praise and thank the Lord for healing you, healing will manifest. As Abraham held on to God's word and gave glory to God for making Him the Father of many nations, Isaac manifested. You have it the moment you believe it, not when you get it physically. Joshua didn't get Jericho when the walls of Jericho fell down. He got Jericho the moment He believed God's word to Him, I have given you Jericho. "Healing is mine now because I believe God's word that by his stripes I am healed. I thank God for healing and making me whole. Glory to God I am healthy, healed and whole." You got healing the moment you believed God's word on healing. As you celebrate the possession of healing with praise and thanksgiving, healing will manifest. The moment you say, 'I believe it', that's the moment it became yours and you have it now.

Friend, faith is not tomorrow, faith is now. Your faith in God's word gives you possession of the promise. It becomes yours the moment you believe it. It is yours now. Many believers are waiting for the manifestation. You don't get it when it manifests, you get it when you believe it. As you rejoice for what you have, it will manifest. Faith is now. I have it now. Right now. Healing now. Prosperity now. Deliverance now. Victory now. Protection now. Success now. Now is my time. Glory to God.

The supremacy of God's word.

The supremacy of God's word.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

John 1.1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

A well known author and pastor said, Homosexuality is not wrong, its okay. The question to be asked is, Who decides what's okay or not okay? What about what the Bible says? What about what God says? You see, in the beginning was the word of God. The word of God is supreme.

What do you do when famous, intellectual and brilliant people, in this case so called pastors make statements that are directly in opposition to God's word?. The word of God has more power, authority and status than anyone else. It doesn't matter who a person is or how many doctorate degrees they have, if what they say is against God's word then it cannot be accepted. God's word is above all men. God's word is above all institutions. God's word is above experiences, visions and dreams. God's word is supreme. God's word is above all cultures, all kingdoms and all constitutions. God's word is above all the thoughts, opinions, views, findings, discoveries, analysis and conclusions of men. Psalms 138. 2 says '..God has placed His word above all His name', which means God's word is above God. This is the supremacy of God's word. Jesus said to the Pharisees, you have given more importance to the commandments of men than to the word of God, you have given more preference to your traditions than to the word of the living God and by doing so you have nullified the word of God and made it of no effect. He said this is why the word doesn't work for you. No one and nothing is above God's word. Settle it.

Since the beginning of time, the word of God has been challenged and it will continue to be challenged by demonic and disagreeing forces, but let the word of God become supreme in your life for God's word is above all. God's word has stood and will stand against all odds, challenges and tests because heaven and earth will pass away but the word will stand for ever. Stand for the word of God and God will stand for you. The word of God decides whats right, whats wrong, what's okay and what's not okay. Anything contrary to God's word is a lie from hell irrespective of who said it or how many agree with it. Go on with Jesus!

"For me, what the word of God is says is more important than what people say. The word is the ultimate authority in my life. The word of God is my standard for living. The word is my life."