The Book of Life!

The Book of Life!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Revelation 20:15
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

God has books. One of those books is called the Book of Life, also known as the Lamb's book of life. It's the book of eternal life.

The word of God says, anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. How can a person have his or her name in the book of life? What should a person do? You can only have your name in the Book of Eternal Life if you have eternal life, which is the life and the nature of God. John 3.16 says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. If you have believed in Jesus and have received His finished works, you have received eternal life into your spirit. Right this moment, you possess eternal life! 1 John 5:11‭-‬12 says, And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Whoever has not received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour has not received eternal life and since they have not received eternal life, their names are not written in the Book of Life and therefore they will be thrown into the lake of fire. It's only in Jesus, that our sins are forgiven and we receive eternal life. He who rejects Christ, rejects the forgiveness of sins and rejects eternal life and therefore his unforgiven sins and His wicked nature will take him to the lake of fire. This is extremely serious!

Friend, rejoice that your names are written in the Book of Life and at the same time pray for your near, dear and loved ones so that they too will receive in Jesus the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The lake of fire is a horrible place to be, a place of unending suffering and eternal torment. Intercede! As we pray and intercede, let's ask the Lord of the harvest to release labourers into His harvest field so that the eyes of the unbelievers will be opened and they will know and believe the truth and escape the fires of hell. Enjoy the life of God! Manifest the life of God! Win souls! Go on with Jesus!

True & Proper Worship!

True & Proper Worship!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Let me ask you, when you hear the word worship, what comes to your mind? Is it something that happens every Sunday? Is it clapping, dancing or singing? What is true and prosper worship?

This verse gives us a powerful aspect of worship. True and proper worship is to offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Unless you give your body to the Lord, anything else you do - be it clapping, dancing, shouting and giving - will not benefit you. Believer, your body is not yours, your body belongs to the Lord for He has purchased it with His own blood. Be conscious, you live in a body that doesn't belong to you. Therefore be all the more eager to present it to God in way that is holy and well pleasing to Him. Your body is the temple of God because the Holy Spirit dwells in you. Consecrate and dedicate every member and faculty of your body to the Lord. Give your body to the Lord - that's the biggest offering. Say, " The body I live in doesn't belong to me, doesn't belong to sin, doesn't belong to the world. It belongs to Jesus for He has purchased my body with His own blood. Therefore I offer my body to Him by living a holy life and a life that is well pleasing to Him. This is my true and proper worship". Worship is a lifestyle, you live in worship and therefore you offer your bodies to the Lord every moment and every day of your life as long as you live.

Friend, as you give your body to the Lord, He will work wonders through you. Become a vessel of gold in hands of the Master, useful for Him and prepared for every good work by offering your bodies to the Lord. This is the greatest act of worship. This is the greatest act of service. All throughout the Bible, you will see the heroes of faith offering their bodies to God in private and in public and God used them to shake nations and to change the course of history. Won't you enroll yourself in the army of the Lord and offer your bodies to Jesus, your Commander in Chief so He can use you to shake the nations of the world? Go on with Jesus! Nothing else matters!

Choose the giving way!

Choose the giving way!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Matthew 14:19‭-‬20
Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.

Let's analyse the situation so we can learn and apply these principles in our lives and experience the same results as Jesus and His disciples experienced. What a life we have in Christ! Glory!

Around fifteen thousand people, including men, women and children had come to Jesus for hearing the word. It was getting late in the evening and they were in a desert place. The people were hungry and there was no provision. All they had was a young boy's lunch - five loaves and two fishes. But can five loaves and two fishes feed fifteen thousand people? Have you ever faced a need so big that you didn't have the resources to meet it? Are you facing a similar situation right now where you need resources for fifteen thousand people and all you have is five loaves and two fishes? Be encouraged! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Let me tell you, the five loaves and two fishes didn't come from heaven, it didn't come from Jesus,  it came from the crowd. Your breakthrough is in something you already have! The young lad gave his lunch to Jesus and Jesus received it, looked to heaven because God is our Source, blessed it and released the anointing of increase on it, broke it and gave it to his disciples and the disciples fed the people with twelve baskets remaining. Can you see this? In a remote desert place, five loaves and two fishes satisfied the need of fifteen thousand people with twelve baskets remaining. Hallelujah. What you have is your seed! Your seed is powerful! Give it to Jesus! Sow it in His work and let it be multiplied for you!

Friend, If you know these principles and apply them, you don't have to look to people or banks for your needs. God is your Source and Sustainer. Like the young boy, give what you have into anointed, word based and Spirit led ministries and you will not only have your needs met but you will always be walking in the overflow zone having more than enough! This is the kingdom way! Instead of looking at yourself and others, look to God and apply His principles. Choose the giving way!

The Spirit of truth!

The Spirit of truth!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

John 16:13
When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Notice, what Jesus calls the Holy Spirit. He referred to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth. In other words, He is the Spirit of reality.

The Holy Spirit is the one who makes the things of God real to us. It's impossible to live the Christ life without the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, its just another dead religion with senseless traditions, tiring repetitions and worthless rituals. With Him, Jesus becomes real, heaven becomes real, Bible reading becomes real, prayer become real, worship becomes real, witnessing becomes real and living the Christ life becomes real and a great joy. The Holy Spirit is here to help you live and walk the Christ life effectively. He is your Helper! After salvation, the most important thing for a believer is the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Notice in todays verse, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will guide you into all realities. If you seek and follow His guide, the Holy Spirit will not only unveil the things of God and make it real to you but He will also take you to the depths of those realities so that you can be established. The deeper and stronger your foundation in these word realities, the higher and stronger your life and ministry. Glory!

Friend, is the Christ life real to you? Are you enjoying the life of faith? Your Bible reading, prayer, worship -  Is it real to you or are you just doing it for the sake of doing it? Has the Christ life become a mere religion or one of the religions  to you? Christianity is not a religion, its God living in you. Believer, ask the Holy Spirit to help you and guide you into the kingdom realities. There is no greater and higher life than the Christ life. There is no greater and higher walk than the Christ walk. Fellowship with the Holy Spirit and He will take you deep in the ocean of those realities and you will never be the same!

Divine energy!

Divine energy!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Colossians 1:29
I work hard and struggle for this goal with his energy, which works in me powerfully.

When you read the New Testament, you become aware of the life and the ministry of the Apostle Paul. His impact was impeccable and His work still speaks today. He said, 'With God's grace, I worked harder than any of the other apostles.'

While speaking to the Colossian church, the Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit gives us the key that helped Him do what others couldn't do. Christ, the Source of divine energy lives in you. The reason Apostle Paul could do what He did, is because He tapped into the divine energy that God gave Him. This divine energy didn't come from heaven, it came from within Him because the Source of divine energy, the Holy Spirit lived in Him. Because you are in Christ, the same mighty Holy Spirit lives in you and therefore you have in you the Source of divine energy. Activate this energy by speaking much in other tongues. The Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 14.18, I thank God I speak with tongues more than you all. No wonder, He walked and lived in this superhuman energy. When you speak in tongues, your spirit is edified or charged, you receive divine energy and that divine energy is released into your body and your soul. This divine energy is also called super human energy and it causes you to do what human energy can't do and more than what human energy can do. Glory to God! You have an inexhaustible supply of divine energy in you. Thank God for the Holy Ghost! Walk with the Holy Spirit and you will experience divine energy like never before. What a life we have in Christ!

Friend, the calling of God can only be fulfilled by the divine energy of God. Activate and utilize this energy so that you can do all that God has planned for you to do. You will never lack energy because you are full of energy by the Holy Spirit in you. Speak much in other tongues! Let these facts be established in your mind and in your speech. "Holy Spirit, the Source of divine energy lives and dwells in me and therefore I am full of energy."

God's guarantee!

God's guarantee!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Ephesians 1:14
The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

The day you received Jesus into your heart, you were sealed, stamped and marked with the Holy Spirit, your spirit became one with the Holy Spirit. This verse tells us, the Holy Spirit in you is God's guarantee that you will receive everything else that God has promised. Hallelujah!

The Holy Spirit is the downpayment and the pledge of our inheritance. He is the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. He is the assurance of our salvation and redemption. Romans 8.16 says, The Holy Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. He is the assurance and the proof that we are children of the Most High God. Romans 8:9 says, ...Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. Without the Holy Spirit, there is no assurance, no witness and no guarantee that you are saved or that you will get everything that God has in store for you. Since we have the Holy Spirit of God, we enjoy life knowing that we are children of the Most High God and that we will see the manifestation of everything that God has promised us. Glory to God! When the rapture happens, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee that you will be raptured. The Holy Spirit in you is the guarantee that you will have a glorified body and that you will be with Jesus for eternity. The world doesn't have this assurance, they are confused and troubled. But bless God, we have the guarantee in us, God's guarantee, the Mighty Holy Spirit. The world is walking in the dark, hoping and wishing that something will happen, this or that will happen or anything might happen. But we don't hope and wish, we know because we have God's guarantee, the Mighty Holy Spirit.

Friend, know who you have received and what you have received in Christ. These are precious eternal truths and once established in your consciousness will elevate your thinking, speaking and living to a higher and greater level. The Holy Spirit lives in you and He is the guarantee that you are saved, sanctified, righteous, heavenly and that you have eternal life. Face life triumphantly! Christ in you, the hope of glory! Christ, your righteousness, your wisdom, your sanctification and your redemption. What a life in Christ!

Love obeys!

Love obeys!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

John 14:31
But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

Jesus loved the Father and therefore He obeyed Him every moment of His life. His obedience was the key to His extraordinary success, His undeniable impact and His outstanding personality which distinguished Him from the world.

Jesus wanted the entire world to know, by His obedience, that He loves His Father. He taught us, love is incomplete without obedience. His obedience to the Father proved His love for the Father. Just like Jesus obeyed His Father, we are to obey Jesus, the head of the church. Your love for Jesus can only be expressed and shown by your obedience to His commandments. Jesus said in John 14:15, 'If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.' He said in John 14:24, 'He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.' Your obedience is a response to the Lord's love for you. We love because the Lord first loved us. Your obedience is an expression of your faith in Jesus Christ and your love for Him. Jesus said in John 15:10, 'If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.' Jesus abided in His Father's love by obeying the word of His Father and therefore the enemey couldn't touch him. Similarly, we abide in the love of Jesus by keeping the commandments of Jesus. I Corinthians 7:19 says, Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. I John 3:23 says, And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. We do what His word and His Spirit says, because we are doers of the word and we are led by His Spirit. Obedience pleases the Lord!

Friend, Jesus is our standard and our greatest example in life, therefore we look to Him and consider Him in every arena of life and every step of the way. His life teaches us, His words feed us and His presence makes all the difference in our lives. His life teaches us the need and the power of obedience. Keep your eyes on Jesus and let His life, His word and His Spirit lead you to the greatest days of your life. Follow your Shepherd and the best is yet to come. Love Obeys!