Luke 19: 1-10 tells the story of Zacchaeus, a man like you and I, who faced several challenges in life in attempting to achieve his goals. He was physically short, a tax collector, and a hated publican. His zeal however, drew the attention of Jesus and His company as well. The excellent spirit in him propelled him to the point that the Bible says he outran (and outshined) the crowd to climb a sycamore tree (which depicts a mountaintop experience). If not for his perseverance, there is no way Zaccheus would have been able to attain such an honor. Fulfilling God’s destiny for us in life will require that we be more radical and aggressive. We must be go-getters and refuse to settle for less.

Jacob was aggressive. Behind him was his scheming uncle Laban and before him was his enraged brother Esau, both of whom were probably prepared to kill him at their meeting. With nowhere else to turn Jacob sent away his wives and children and sought a solitary place like Zaccheus. When you’re desperate for God, oftentimes you must leave groups that cannot understand your hunger; not everyone can go where you want to be. Jacob cried out to the Lord that if He did not intervene, his life would be over.He wrestled with the angel of the Lord and refused to let go until He blessed him. Having prevailed with God his name was changed and his destiny forever altered for good.

Joseph was such a shining star that even in prison he had to be ruler. His spirit of excellence got him to the presence of Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh. Like Zaccheus, excellence will bring you before great men.

May that which is to rule come forth out of you today and take you to your desired haven. May every non-achieving spirit and the spirit of lukewarmness in your life be swallowed up once and for all in the name of Jesus Christ. May our Lord take you to greater lengths and heights as you strive for perfection.

Our Father honors those who honor Him. We were designed to glorify God, yet many of us are not living up to our specifications. We put Him in the corner of our lives and recognize Him only when we need or want handouts. And we expect Him to rescue us quickly from our afflictions at our every beck and call. 1 Samuel 2:30 paints a different picture however. Although He is a God of love, He is more apt to move on our behalf based on our devotion towards Him. God is looking for those who truly love Him and are obedient to His perfect will. In order for us to give God our honor, we must give Him our hearts!

That is the only payment God accepts. Psalm 51:16-17 says, “For thou desires not sacrifice, else would I give it: thou delights not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” It is in true worship that Holy Spirit helps weaken our will (flesh) so that we can acquiesce to Father’s. True worship is costly because you have to really bow low to approach such a Holy God. To worship is to lay prostrate, fall down flat, crouch. In John 10:18 Jesus said, “no man takes my life, I lay it down.” After Christ’s model, we too must lay ourselves down so as to take up His life. True worshipers are sacrificial people.

We are to be alabaster jars (Luke 7:36-50), broken and poured out before Him in worship. Even when it is costly, He is worth everything because of who He is first, and what He has done for us. The old testament priests understood the cost, that entering the Holy of holies was a matter of life and death. David understood cost when he said in 2 Samuel 24:24 :…neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which does cost me nothing.” Mary left the 99 things Martha was preoccupied with just to spend time with Jesus (Luke 10:38-42).

May our lives be holy and acceptable unto the Lord. As we become an offering and a poured out life unto Him, may God fill us afresh with His fullness, glory, and honor in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

When we say we love Him, it should not be empty words but backed up with action. We are supposed to be living with Christ, yet we only spend our leftover time with Him: leftover worship, praise, and prayer. Why is God always the last person we give honor to? Why is God the last person we praise when He has done so much for us? It should be that we never consider man before God, that what we could never offer to presidents, or even our spouses, we dare not give to God.

Romans 6:14 admonishes that because we are under the dispensation of grace, there is really no excuse as to why we cannot release everything for the cross.  We say that we love the Lord, yet oftentimes we just deceive ourselves. Jesus laid down His life for us, now we too must lay down our lives and allow him to rise up within us. When we struggle with doing the things of the Lord, it means we are not ready to lay our lives down for Him. Yet, the bride makes herself ready. If you want to marry Jesus, you must leave everything. How we live our lives everyday of the week matters to Jesus, not just Sundays.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (John 4:23).

To worship God in spirit is to do so with our whole heart. To worship God in truth is to do so according to the pattern of the Word. The Word is Jesus Himself, so only through His Spirit can we honor God because no man comes unto the Father except by Christ.

I pray that as you draw near to God, the Lord will perfect all that concerns you in the name of Jesus Christ. As you hunger and thirst after righteousness, I pray that every Absalom spirit that has stolen your heart, the heart meant for the King of Kings, will be hanged on the oak tree in Jesus’ name.

We live in a generation of rights and freedoms that afford children to disobey and even disown their parents, all for the sake of so-called “liberty.”

¹¹There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.¹²There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.¹³There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.¹⁴There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. (Prov. 30:11-14).

We can see now, more than ever, that an accumulation of knowledge does not necessarily produce abundant life. We do not have to be part of that generation. There is also a seed that shall serve the Lord and it will be counted as righteousness (Psalm 22:30). We need to return to our first Love. God is demanding the best from us now, He is demanding honor. He is a great father, One that knows how to give good gifts to His children, One Who listens to the cries of the afflicted. But if indeed we cry out “Abba,” how do we honor such a magnificent and faithful Lord?

What God is looking for are 1. Those with perfect hearts towards Him, 2. Who honor Him, 3. have faith, and 4. are true worshipers. We honor Him with our very lives, time, character, and possessions (of which we are merely stewards anyway). If we can show respect for the president, police officers, public officials, even celebrities, how much more praise does a majestic and awesome God deserve? We must be living sacrifices and worship Him with our entire hearts and undivided devotion.

As you give God the honor due to Him, God will honor you. Your honor will not be given to another in the name of Jesus Christ. May the grace to honor Him, seek Him first, and to give Him the glory always be released to you from today onward. And may you and your generations to come serve the Lord all your days in the blessed name of Jesus. Amen.

There are people who have detracted from God’s purpose for their lives, people who have strayed from their assignment. God is replacing them with others who are not well-known or popular but who have been in the secret place. He has been raising them up to take over with excellence, to be better than their predecessors. In this season, it is important to know what you have, to take authority, and be in charge.

God will uproot and displace everyone sitting in our position of where He wants us to be. He will then plant us securely in place because He desires that His remnant take and be in charge of His affairs. God promises in Isaiah 60:17, 61:3,7 to change our status from “Ashes to Beauty” and bring us “Gold instead of Bronze.” He will also give us double blessing for every shame we’ve experienced! Know that “eternal joy is ours” as long as we are loyal and faithful to HIM with love.

Be encouraged and remember that Haman was replaced by Mordecai, Eli by Samuel, Saul by David, Vashti by Esther, and the first Adam by the last Adam. And remember Matthias? Acts 1:16-26 records his takeover from Judas:

Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’

vs. 20 NLT.

Verses 25-26 go on to explain how Matthias was chosen of the Holy Spirit “that he may take part of [the] ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell…”

For His Purpose,

Pastor Sarah

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:35

When God’s power overshadows you, it brings forth the seed, which is the holy thing in you. According to Micah 5:2b, “out of thee shall come forth unto me that which is to rule.” This is the Son being revealed; visions and revelations must follow.

In Mark 9:7, a cloud overshadowed Peter and John on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured. Then a voice came forth giving them revelation. Visions and hearing/perceiving God’s voice accompany being overshadowed. When the power overshadowed Mary, those things (revelations) that were spoken of the child she kept within her heart (Luke 2:19). A life that has brought forth the holy thing through the overshadowing of the Highest cannot take lightly the promises of God. They must be kept continuously in our hearts until the time of showing forth.

One way in which you can experience the overshadowing of the Highest is to be like Mary; to humble yourself and say, “May it be unto me as You have said Lord!” Only trust and believe! True overshadowing masks the flesh, you are no longer yourself. To the point that your own shadow heals others!

Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

Acts 5:15

Even old testament prophets experienced the overshadowing. Take Moses for example, God’s friend. He was so favored of the Lord that he used a rod to wrought mighty miracles. He was a god to his enemies (Exodus 7:1). Without a mountaintop experience, God cannot overshadow us. And Jesus said greater works shall we do.

We pray that in this month of June God’s divine power and favor will rest upon us. As the zeal of the Lord overshadows and consumes us, may we bring forth remarkable miracles with eternal impact for God’s kingdom, in Jesus’ Name!

For His Purpose,

Pastor Sarah

“Prove me and see if I will not open you windows of heaven and pour you out…”

You are the treasure He will open! You are the place of heaven because Jesus lives in you. God promises to open all that He is in you to the point that you will bless nations (vs. 12). Your resource of wealth and prosperity is not external, but God hid your destiny in a place He knew you could not miss it… in you.

In Matthew 19:8b Jesus lets us know that there are things going on in this dispensation that are not as Father God intended in the beginning. Be encouraged this month as the Lord returns us to the place of our original destinies. Only He knows the true plans that were meant for us from before the beginning of time and as God’s remnant people we are getting ready to experience full restoration.

Also, Joel 2:25 says,

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

Not only will Jesus return us to our original destinies, He will also re-establish, renew, and re-institute the years, months, days, and hours we have spent pursuing vanity.

For His Purpose,

Pastor Sarah