Your garden!

Your garden!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Genesis 2:15
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

Your garden is your calling. Your garden is the place you are supposed to be. Your garden is the work you are supposed to do.

God has prepared your garden even before you were ever born. Your birth is proof that your garden is ready. Your birth is proof that your place and your work is ready. You were not born to make a garden. You were born to discover your garden and get in it. God is the one who plants the garden. So only God can reveal to you where and what your garden is. As you give yourself to the word of God and to prayer, you will discover your garden. As you learn to walk with God and fellowship with Him, He will reveal to you the garden - your place and your work. The garden is the place to be. It's the place of supernatural protection, provision and satisfaction. The garden is the place you were designed to be. God knows your garden and accordingly He has designed you. No other work and no other place will satisfy. Do you know where and what your garden is? Your garden is hidden in the word and as your dwell on the word, the Holy Spirit will direct you and lead you into your garden.

Friend, you have a specific place and a specific work. The priority of our lives is to discover it through the word and prayer. Once you discover it, get in your garden and fulfill your calling with excellence. Refuse to be distracted. Choose to be focused. Keep your eyes on Jesus and finish your race with joy. Nothing else matters!

Christ the Healer!

Christ the Healer!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Exodus 15:26
and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord  who heals you.”

Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our Healer is one of the names of our Lord. He's our Healer and Healing is in His name. Jesus is Jehovah Rapha! Elshaddai, Elohim, Jehovah Jireh and all the other names of God in the Old Testament is represented in one name, Jesus!

Jesus never made any person sick in His earthly ministry. In fact where ever He went He healed people because that's His name, He is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our Healer. He desires to see you in good health, enjoying life to the fullest. Satan is the author of sickness and disease. Sickness is a curse and it comes from the devil himself. A child of God must never tolerate sickness. Jesus paid a huge price to redeem you from sickness and disease. On the cross, Jesus took every sickness and disease on himself and suffered it for you. He didn't leave out any sickness and disease. He took it all. He bore all of it and when He rose again on the third day He defeated every sickness, every disease and declared them powerless over those that are in Christ. He did all of these things so that we could walk in divine health. The sickness that's in your body has been defeated by Jesus. It has no legal right to be in your body. Rise up, use your authority in the name of Jesus and force the illegal resident to vacate your body. Colossians 1.27 says, ...Christ in you, the hope of glory. Christ the Healer lives in you. Think about this, Jehovah Rapha lives in you! The Healer himself lives in you! You are so powerful in Christ. The one who is in you is greater than the all the sicknesses and diseases of this world.

Friend, be conscious that Jesus is your Healer and that He lives in you. The Holy Spirit lives in you. Take some time and meditate on, Christ the Healer lives in me. As you believe and say this with thanksgiving, your faith will connect to the anointing that's in you and you will be completely healed. Faith is the connection! Be conscious of the price Jesus has paid for your health and healing. No more sickness! No more disease! Christ the Healer lives in me and I am healthy, healed and whole in the name of Jesus!

Faith & Works

Faith & Works
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

James 2:17
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Genuine faith always produces works. Genuine faith gives birth to corresponding actions. Faith that doesn't produce actions is a dead faith.

Genuine faith causes a change in your speech and in your actions.  Mark 5 talks about a lady who was suffering from the issue of blood for twelve years and had spent all that she had on doctors but instead of getting better, she grew worse. Think about this lady for a moment. Think about her speech, her actions and her life in the midst of this terrible sickness. One day, she heard about Jesus as the Healer. Romans 10.17 says, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. As soon as she heard about Jesus, her thoughts, words and actions began to change because she believed what she heard. She kept saying to herself, If I touch Him, I will be healed. Not only did she say that, she got up and went after Jesus, touched the hem of His garment and was made completely whole. Glory to God. Genuine faith always produces actions. Dead faith doesn't move. It's passive. No change. No response. Just dead! Dead faith gets nothing from God. If her faith was dead, she would not have changed her words and actions after hearing about Jesus. Faith that produces corresponding actions is a perfect faith. Faith that does not produce corresponding actions is a dead faith. What is your faith producing?

Friend, when Abraham's faith was strong, it produced corresponding actions - He started giving glory to God. Weak faith cannot produce corresponding actions. Feed your faith with the word of God. The word of God is faith food. Take Scriptures that concern you and keep listening, meditating and speaking them so that your faith becomes stronger than ever. Build your faith by praying much in other tongues. You will see your faith grow strong and producing works, producing corresponding actions that will make your faith perfect and you will never fail to receive from the Lord. Go on with Jesus!

Faith & Grace

Faith & Grace
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Romans 5:2
through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Grace means unmerited favour. It's unearned and undeserved favour. God's goodness and blessings towards us is simply because of His great grace.

Because of our sins, we deserved damnation and hell, but God in His great grace sent Jesus to die for us and thereby provided salvation for the entire human race. Everything that God does, has done and will ever do is solely based on His grace, His unconditional love for us. No one can boast of his own works and worthiness in the presence of God. You see, it's not because of your works it because of His grace. God doesn't bless you because you are good, He blesses you because He's good and because of the works of Jesus. Grace has made salvation, healing, deliverance, prosperity, protection, peace and every spiritual blessing available for you. The finished works of Jesus Christ has paid for all of the blessings of God. Faith is the only way you can access and enjoy the grace of God and the blessings provided by His grace. Faith is the only bridge to grace. Faith is the only key that will unlock the grace of God. Ephesians 2.8,9 says, 'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it  is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.' Romans 4.16 says,  'Therefore it is of faith, so that it might be through grace..'. Because it's based on Gods grace, anyone who believes receives. This makes religious people mad because they depend so much on their works. The tax collectors and the prostitutes received grace from Jesus but the Pharisees and the religious people couldn't. Think about that! Jesus, full of grace and truth walking among the people and the crowd was thronging Him but only the lady with the issue of blood for twelve years got her healing. Why? Because she was the only one who touched him by faith. Faith is the only access to grace. She was healed instantly and was made whole. Healing was for everyone but she was the only who took it by faith. She heard the word. She said the word. She acted on the word. She refused to give up. She got her healing. She smiles! Jesus said to her, Daughter, your faith made you whole.

Friend, there is no other way you can enjoy the grace of God. It's by faith and faith alone. Without the grace of God, life is a struggle. His grace is sufficient for us. Believe the word of God. Speak the word of God. Never ever give up come hell or high water. Go on with Jesus. Your faith in the word of God will release God's grace in your life and your life will never be the same. Only believe and you will see the glory of God. This is your time.

Faith & Love

Faith & Love
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

A fish cannot live without water. Faith cannot work without love. Without love, faith has no power. I Corinthians 13:13 says, And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Faith will not work in an unforgiving heart. Unforgiveness will nullify your faith. Faith needs love to work effectively. Walking in love - that is believing God loves you and loving others - creates an atmosphere where faith can freely and powerfully express itself. I Corinthians 13:2 says '..and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have no love, I am nothing.' Without love, faith has no expression. Without love, faith is dead. Without love, faith has no results. You can quote all the Scriptures you know, it won't work unless you walk in love because faith works by love. Jesus spoke about the importance of forgiveness and walking in love while teaching about faith and how it works. He said in Mark 11:25, 'And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.' No love, No faith. No faith, No grace. No grace, No power. Jesus gave us a new command in John 13:34, 'A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.' Love is a command and you can obey His command because Romans 5.5 says, the love of God is in you through the Holy Spirit. Walking in love makes your faith effective.

Friend, your love walk decides how much of your faith is actually working. Your faith result is directly proportional to your love walk. Love is the door of faith. 30% love results in 30% fruit. 60% love results in 60% fruit. 100% love results in 100% fruit. Open the door! Go for the hundred fold! If your faith is struggling today, check your love walk, choose to forgive and let go. Jesus loves you and His love is in you! Love Jesus, Love people and Love life.

Faith & Patience.

Faith & Patience.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Hebrews 6:12
that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Faith receives the promise. Patience keeps the promise till it manifests. Both are important for the manifestation of the promises. Faith and patience walk hand in hand.  One is incomplete without the other.

II Corinthians 1:20 says, 'For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.' In Christ, every promise in the word of God is yours. It belongs to you just as much as it belongs to Jesus. Every promise has your name on it. Take it by faith, keep it by patience and you will see it happening in your life. Every time you take a promise, you will face pressure from the enemy, who wants you to give up and will give you thousand reasons as to why the promise is not for you and won't be fulfilled in your life. The enemy's objective is to steal the promise out of your heart and mouth. For most believers, faith is not the problem, it's patience. The ground has to receive the mango seed and the ground has to keep the mango seed, only then the mango tree will manifest. Faith in Gods promises always attracts pressure and persecution from Satan and his forces. This is the reason many don't see the manifestation of the promises. When pressure comes, they quickly throw away the promises. There is not a single person on this planet who has seen the manifestation of God's promises without enduring challenges, pressures and persecutions. Romans 8.28 says, all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Pressure and persecutions build our character so we will be equipped and complete, lacking nothing. You are born of God and therefore you have the faith of God to believe the promises and you have the patience of God to hold on to the promises against all odds. Be of good cheer! You can do it!

Friend, faith and patience are integral ingredients in the manifestation of Gods promises. Believe and receive the promise and refuse to give up the promise irrespective of what you see or hear. Don't allow the devil, people or any circumstance or situation to steal the promise of God from you heart and your mouth. Keep believing! Keep speaking! Always remember, you are standing on Gods word. Gods word is Gods integrity. Heaven and earth will pass away but His word will never pass away. The Bible says about Abraham in Hebrews 6:15, 'And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.' Go on with Jesus!

"I refuse to give up. I believe the word and I hold on to the word. God's word is God's integrity. I see the manifestation of every promise God has made to me. Thank you, Lord Jesus!"

Open the door!

Open the door!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Jesus wants to help you! He's not far away from us. He's knocking on the door of your heart and is waiting for you to open the door and welcome Him into your life.

Jesus will never force His way into your life because He is gentle. He desires a close intimate relationship with you. He longs to have fellowship with us and is giving us a good opportunity to change our lives. Fellowship results in absolute dominion in every area of life. The benefits of fellowship are so much, that if we understand it, we would knock on His door. Jesus gives every human on earth the opportunity to turn their world around for the better. He knows we cannot enjoy our lives without Him and therefore He keeps knocking on our door through His Spirit, His word and His people. Opening the door simply means to believe and receive what He has to offer. His knocking is not because of our goodness but because of His goodness and love. It doesn't matter how many times you have failed, what mistakes you have made in life and what challenges you are facing, just open the door and let the Lord come in. His coming is not based on your good works but it's solely based on His unconditional love for you. This verse says Jesus will come for anyone who will open the door, irrespective of who the person is or what the person has done or not done.

Friend, there is nothing that Jesus cannot fix. Why don't you open the door of your life and invite Him in?. He will show you great and wonderful things, He will teach you the principles of life and help you fulfill His call with excellence. As you fellowship with Him, you will begin to live the higher life He has for you. Give Him charge of your life and every arena of your life for in Him all things are held together. When Jesus is in His place, the first place, then everything else will be in it's place. Open the door!