Jesus, the Prince of peace.

Jesus, the Prince of peace.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Jesus is the Prince of peace. Peace is more than quietness and tranquillity. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, which means wholeness, soundness and completeness. It means nothing missing, nothing broken. It means all round prosperity.

When Adam disobeyed God, he lost peace with God and the peace of God. Ever since man has been trying many things to get that peace. Some climb mountains, some cut their bodies, some walk naked foot, some dip in rivers, some travel to different places and some do other things with their bodies - peace has become the number one need of man today - Peace that passes all understanding. The rich need peace, the poor need peace, the educated, the uneducated, the young, the old, all need peace. Jesus is the prince of peace, He is the one who has made available what Adam had lost - the peace of God. Through His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus gave us peace with God and the peace of God. Jesus said in John 14:27, 'Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' If you have recieved Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you have His peace in you. You can never have God's peace by good works, it's only by receiving Jesus and trusting His works. He is the only way you can have God's all surpassing peace for He is the prince of peace, the chief and the captain of peace.

Friend, you have peace with God and the peace of God through Christ. Jesus has given you wholeness, completeness and soundness in every area of your life. Don't work for peace, you cannot afford it. Believer,  you have the peace of God. It's a fruit of your born again spirit. Believe it. Talk about it. Manifest it in every area of your life by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you, who is the guarantee that you have peace with God and peace of God. Stick to Jesus and be at peace for Jesus, your Lord is the Prince of peace. Hallelujah to Jesus!!!

Your head shall be lifted high!

Your head shall be lifted high!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Psalms 3:3
But You, O Lord , are  a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

Jesus is the one who lifts up your head. What a gracious Lord He is! He restores dignity and honour to you. It's His will to see the head of every child of God lifted high. Glory!

Jesus, the Son of God bowed his head on the cross so that your head would be lifted high forever. *John 19:30 says, So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.* He took our curse, our sins, our shame and our failures on himself and died for us. He took everything that had ashamed us and also everything that would and could ashame us and took it on himself. He took our shame and gave us His honour. He was disgraced so we could be clothed with His grace. Think about the extent He went so we could walk with our heads held high. Our Master paid a great price to give us honour and respect, the price of His precious blood. Sin, bad habits, past, weaknesses, family problems, delays, failures, financial difficulties or some other situation or challenge may have caused you to put your head down. I have good news for you, your Lord Jesus is the one who lifts up your head. He will lift up your head and you will soar on wings of eagles. For dishonour, He will give you honour. For ashes, He will give you beauty. For sorrow, He will give you joy. *Isaiah 60:15 says, "Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, So that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, A joy of many generations."*

Friend, Jesus lifts us up from the ash heap and makes us sit with His princes. This is why He came, He died and He rose again on the third day to restore dignity and honour to us so we could walk and live with our heads held high. Fix your eyes on Jesus and take authority in the name of Jesus against anything that's trying to cause you shame. This is your time to shine for Jesus is your Lord and you will never be ashamed. Glory!

Talking sessions.

Talking sessions.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Psalms 91:2
I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”

Believer, one of the most powerful ways you can develop spiritually is by speaking the word of God to yourself. Take some time and speak the word facts and promises over your life. Word talking sessions!

Find some place where you can be alone and speak the word of God. Instead of complaining, grumbling, crying, blaming others and feeling sad for yourself, start proclaiming and declaring the new creation realities from the word of God. Announce the promises of God over yourself and every area of your life. Your words are extremely powerful. What you say is what you get. What you say is where you go. Proverbs 18.21 says, 'Life and death is in the power of the tongue, those who love it will eat its fruit'. Your words direct your life. Therefore speak life by speaking the word of God. God has given us His word so we could believe and speak it. Speaking the word of God has immense benefits and it impacts every area of your life.

Friend, let the 'word talking sessions' become an integral part of your life. Let's train our mouth to speak the word and to speak in line with the word. You can do it for the mighty Holy Spirit lives in you and therefore you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you. You are a child of the Most High God and all things are working together for your good. Speak the word! This is your time!

"In Christ, I am a new creation and I am the righteousness of God. The Holy Spirit dwells in me. I am ever increasing, ever growing, ever progressing and ever prosperous. My best days are in front me. I am full of the word of God. I am full of the Holy Spirit. I live a triumphant and victorious life. I cannot be defeated and I will not quit. If God is for me, who can be against me? This is my time. I am on my way to the greatest days of my life. Thank you Lord Jesus."

Living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit!

Living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Ephesians 5:18
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

The Apostle Paul talks about living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. This is not talking about the initial filling of the Holy Spirit but maintaining a continuous filling of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit dwells in you. The verse says as a man gets drunk with wine, we can get drunk in the Spirit to an extent where we live in the fullness of the Holy Spirit - fully controlled, directed and dominated by the Holy Spirit. One who is drunk with wine is controlled by it but one who is drunk in the Spirit is controlled by the Spirit. As a man yields to wine, we can yield to the Holy Spirit. This verse gives us keys to walk in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5. 18 - 21 says, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God." Just like a man gets drunk with wine, we can do these things and get drunk in the Spirit. For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God and God gives Him the Spirit without measure. Jesus lived in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and here we have the keys of living life exactly like Jesus lived. Speaking to yourself, singing to the Lord, giving thanks to the Father and submitting to one another are keys of living in the fullness of the Spirit.

Friend, living in the oneness and the fullness of the Holy Spirit is a great life, where your thoughts, words and actions are influenced by the Holy Spirit - a total success. Its not something we have to wait for but can enjoy right this moment. As we follow the guidelines given by the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Get drunk in the Spirit for it will greatly enrich your life and you will be a blessing to many. Be filled with the Spirit!

Jesus, my wisdom!

Jesus, my wisdom!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

I Corinthians 1:30
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

Believer, Jesus is your wisdom. Because you are in Christ, you are wise. It's a new creation reality. You are as wise as Jesus because Jesus is your wisdom. He is the guarantee that you are wise. Hallelujah to Jesus!

Wisdom is doing what is right in the eyes of God for the glory of God. Proverbs 4.7 says wisdom is the principal thing. When you know who you are and what you have, you will live wisely. A revelation of your identity will help you live a godly life. Be established in these new covenant realities. Jesus is the wisdom of God in action. There are different kinds of wisdom. There is earthly wisdom, sensual wisdom and devilish wisdom but Jesus is the wisdom of God, the wisdom from above, from heaven. Jesus, the word of God and the Holy Spirit is the wisdom of God. Jesus is the embodiment of the thoughts, words and works of God. Jesus is the perfect expression of God. God has made Him wisdom for us so we can know the thoughts, words and works of God and by including us in Christ, God has given the ability to live exactly like Jesus lived, a triumphant life. As we dwell in His word and become intimate with His Spirit, we become more and more rooted and grounded in the wisdom of God and we begin to deal wisely in the arenas of life.

Friend, in Christ dwells all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Study Jesus, meditate on Him, confess Him and be with Him for He is your wisdom. Everything Jesus said and did is the wisdom of God. He is the embodiment of the wisdom of God and He lives in you. You are so wise that you are wiser than the wisest people of this world because you have Jesus. You can never be confused and distraught because the wisdom of God is in you. Let that wisdom rise up in you and flow through you. You will never be the same. Jesus is Lord and the best is yet to come!

The prayer of Praise and Worship.

The prayer of Praise and Worship.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Psalms 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

There are different kinds of prayer mentioned in the Bible. Ephesians 6. 18 says praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

The prayer of praise and worship, also known as ministering to the Lord, is the highest form of prayer. In this prayer, you are not asking God for anything. You just look to Jesus in the word and adore Him, love Him, worship Him and praise Him. You lift Him high, you magnify and exalt Him. You are in awe of Him. You refuse to focus on the problems and issues of life instead you focus on and acknowledge His greatness, His omnipotence, His majesty, His ability, His provision and His goodness. You quote verses like, Jesus you are the good shepherd, the true vine, the door of the sheep, you are the resurrection and the life, the beginning and the end. Find Scriptures that talk about Jesus and worship Him with such verses and also with your unlimited language of tongues. This prayer creates an atmosphere where the Spirit of God can freely move. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. When God shows up, deliverance happens, direction comes, revelations begin and things start changing. Glory to God.

Friend, take some time every day and worship God and acknowledge His greatness. Make this prayer your lifestyle. As you do, you will carry the manifest presence of God wherever you go. Your praise is God's throne for He inhabits the praises of His people. As you pray this prayer daily, God will become bigger in you than the highest and greatest mountains of your life and the mountains will begin to melt by the power of the Holy Spirit. 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!'

The prayer of Dedication and Consecration.

The prayer of Dedication and Consecration.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Luke 22:42
saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

There are different kinds of prayer mentioned in the Bible. Ephesians 6. 18 says praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

The prayer of dedication and consecration, also known as the prayer of submission is one of the types of Biblical prayers. In this prayer, you submit your will to God's will. Your consecrate and dedicate yourself to fulfill God's will. For example, God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh but Jonah didn't want to go there so He went to Tarshish. The most dangerous place for you is being outside of God's will. Jonah realised this and submitted his will to God's will and went to Nineveh and God's will was accomplished. It was the Father's will for Jesus to be separated from Him so He could united to us through the separation of Jesus. Jesus always walked in oneness with His Father and therefore He didn't want to be separated from His Father, yet He said, 'Not my will but yours be done.' He not only submitted but conformed His will to the Father's will. The Father's will became His will. This prayer says, "Father, I will go where you want me to go, I will do what you want me to do and I will say what you want me to say, I will marry whom you want me to marry.... I submit my will to your will, I conform my will to your will. Father, your will has become my will. Let your will be done."

Friend, the safest and the most prosperous place to be is in the centre of God's will. God's will for you is a million times better than your will for yourself. I encourage you to submit and conform your will to God's will. You will never regret this. God's will causes you to be a blessing to many and results in much joy in heaven. Say like Jesus, 'Father, not my will but yours be done...today, tomorrow and forever.' Hallelujah!