Your real enemy!

Your real enemy!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Ephesians 6:12
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Whom are you wrestling? Who's your real enemy? Whom are you fighting? It's important to know who the real enemy is. This verse says, we do not fight against flesh and blood, meaning humans but our real enemy is Satan and His forces.

People are not your enemies. No human is our enemy. Some may speak against you, some may work against you, but if you know who the real enemy is, you can deal wisely and in peace, walking in love towards other people, towards flesh and blood. Ephesians 2. 2 says, 'in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.' Satan works in unbelievers and influences them to act and speak against God and His people. 2 Corinthians 4.4 says, 'whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.' Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers, this is the reason they are so offensive towards the gospel. Satan and His forces are your enemy, not people. When Jesus was on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Love people, forgive people, bless people, help people. Pray for people. Satan is your enemy!

Friend, Jesus has completely defeated Satan and His forces by His death, burial and resurrection. Satan and His forces have no authority over those who are in Christ. We don't have to defeat Satan because He is already defeated. You are victorious in Christ! The fight is to maintain the victory which you have obtained in Christ. The fight is to deliver unbelievers from the clutches of Satan. The fight is to take over territory from the kingdom of darkness because all of it belongs to us. The name of Jesus is our victory key. Let's use the name of Jesus by faith and take authority over demonic forces! Love people! Rebuke and resist Satan, your real enemy. Live victoriously!

Access regained!

Access regained!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Ephesians 2:18
And because of Christ, all of us can come to the Father by the same Spirit.

God the Father longs to have fellowship with you. Fellowship is the reason for creation, for redemption, for the first and the second coming of Jesus Christ. God created you for fellowship. He wants to walk with you, work with you, talk to you and help you in every thing you do.

Fellowship is God's greatest joy. God and Adam had wonderful times of fellowship. When Adam disobeyed God, his access to God was destroyed. Adam lost his nature, lost his position and therefore lost his access to God. Humanity cannot walk with God, cannot talk with God and cannot live with God. But God's heart was not satisfied and He made the biggest sacrifice to give humanity this access back. In the fullness of time, God sent Jesus to pay for the sins of humanity by shedding his blood on the cross and by his death, burial and resurrection give eternal life - the life and nature of God to everyone who believes. Believer, because of what Jesus has done, your sins are forgiven and you have the life and nature of God in you. In Christ, God accepts and approves you. You have the mighty Holy Spirit dwelling in you. This simply means that your access to the Father has been regained. You have 24×7 access to your Father. Infact, He lives in you through the Holy Spirit. God lives in you! God speaks to you! God wants to have a personal relationship with you! Think about these statements. The world doesn't understand and comprehend these things but we, as believes are so blessed to experience and enjoy this marvellous access to our heavenly Father. Thank you Lord Jesus! Take advantage of this access and begin to have fellowship with the Father and you will dominate in every sphere of your life because fellowship results in dominion.

Friend, we have something that the prophets, kings and priests of old longed for and were desperate for but didn't get it. We have access to our heavenly Father all the time and any time. Jesus opened the door for you and the Holy Spirit in you gives you this access and makes it real. You don't need any special appointments or approvals for your access. Christ is your approval and your acceptance, come boldly and enjoy your fellowship with your heavenly Father. Dominate!

For God's glory!

For God's glory!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

The moment you received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you became a child of God. Jesus has given you the same glory that the Father gave him. You have put on Christ and Christ is in you and you are in Christ!

This verse commands us to honour God in everything we do, to do everything for God's glory. That means do nothing that brings disgrace to God. Stay away from activities that dishonour God. Before you do anything, ask "Does it bring glory to my Father God?" Do my words bring God glory? Do my actions bring God glory? Does my behavior bring God glory? Anyone who sees and hears a believer, sees and hears Christ, just like anyone who heard and saw Jesus heard and saw the Father. It's a huge responsibility and an awesome privilege. You do all things for the glory of your Father God because you are His beloved child. Matthew 5:16 says, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. When you do all things for God's glory, you are demonstrating the love, the grace, the mercy, the wisdom and the power of Jesus to this world. Don't live for your glory, live for God's glory. You carry God's name and so whatever you do and say, will either bring honour or cause disgrace to His name. Be wise and live for His glory!

Friend, always seek to bring Him glory. Withdraw from people who have no reverence for the things of God because they have no future. Connect yourself with people who deeply honour God and reverence spiritual things. Esteem the Lord highly. Give Him great honour. Respect the Lord wherever you are and in whatever you are doing. You are God's glory in Christ. Therefore talk wisely, behave wisely and live wisely. You are going up!

The voice of the Holy Spirit!

The voice of the Holy Spirit!
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

Romans 8:16
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

The Holy Spirit has a voice. The Holy Spirit is speaking to every believer on this planet because Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice. Our God speaks to us. Glory!

The most important thing for a sheep is the Shepherd's voice. In His voice, is your provision, prosperity and protection. His voice is your life. His voice is your victory. This verse gives us a key that will help us easily recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks to your spirit. Many people are trying to hear the Holy Spirit in their minds and with their five senses. This is the reason they struggle so much when it comes to hearing God's voice. Listen, He speaks to your spirit. Develop your spirit, build a strong spirit. The stronger your spirit, the easier it is to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit because He speaks to your spirit. Physical training has some value, but spiritual training has value for all things. The word of God is spirit food. Feed on the word of God and let your spirit be developed. Be consistent - see the word, hear the word, meditate on the word, speak the word and do the word. Speak much in tongues because he who speaks in tongues edifies himself or builds himself up. Submerge yourself in the word, give yourself to speaking in tongues and if you are consistent, your spirit will develop and hearing, recognizing and following the voice of the Holy Spirit will be the easiest thing for you. In His voice is sweatless victories! His voice guarantees success!

Friend, His voice is in His word. His voice is always in line with His word. He will never say anything against His word. The Bible and the Holy Spirit always agree. If you hear anything that's against the word, it's not the Holy Spirit. There are many voices in this world and the word of God will help you discern these voices.  Develop your spirit! Feed on the word! Speak much in other tongues! The Holy Spirit will take you to the very summit of influence and prosperity and your life will be a blessing for many. Allow the Helper to help you! Listen! Obey! This is your time!  Go on with Jesus!

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!