Date: 12-Feb-2025
Name: Barry
Topic: GRADUATING TO HUMILITY AND GRATEFULNESS
Content:
Graduating to Humility and Gratefulness.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Psalm 9:1
I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
Father God we give you thanks for our lives, for every breath we take, for every dawn that breaks for us.
It is only by Your grace and mercy that we exist in this mortal realm.
Dear men of MAGH, I am grateful for our Lord's covering over our lives. This week has started with another challenge for my family and I know that the grace of God is sufficient in this and any circumstance.
I know that to receive a phone call from your son that he is in hospital is infinitely better than someone else contacting you.
I give thanks for this mercy and am humbled that my God is looking over my family. I know that my covering prayers are an effective weapon to blunt the attacks of the enemy.
Today's message is one of gratitude. Following John’s message on Sunday, Richard’s on Monday and
Ps Lakers yesterday, I am encouraged and humbled.
I am at my sons bedside and have just listened to Ps Lakers devotion. Lachlan is awaiting surgery for a broken jaw, sustained from a blindsided attack by a member of the public trying to steal food from his workplace at Coles.
Lachie was assaulted on Sunday afternoon and my first reaction was one of relief that he was “ok”. It could have been much, much worse.
Then I felt an anger rise of the injustice of how this could happen to a diligent young man working to support his vehicle, his sports and saving for Uni which starts in two weeks.
It was the start of a victim mindset and not one of a conqueror. I recognised the abyss of that thought process, filled with hate, admonitions and what ifs. There is no bottom and once you start abseiling down, you become lost in the darkness.
This is NOT the will of God and not our portion, according to His word.
Ps Lakers, please note that I applied the tools and scripture of TMTT to break the strongholds of the weak mindset in quick fashion.
My thoughts turned from attitude to gratitude faster than I expected and the assurance of my Father swept over me like a warm breeze.
Did I mention that I am grateful to be here, thanking God that my boy is in good hands in one of the best hospitals in Australia, receiving some of the best medical care in the world. There is no downside. Thank you Holy Father.
Apostle Paul, when speaking to the people of Philippi, knew full well where his strength comes from.
Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:11-12
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
And Paul again to the Thessalonians,
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
And to the Colossians, we are united in Christ.
Colossians 2:6-7
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
Prayer Point 1.
Psalm 107:1-3
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
Let us pray this as a corporate body in Christ.
**Graduating to Humility and Gratefulness**
Many of us have been on the platform of MAGH for some time now and I have witnessed miracles, transformations and restorations in the lives of others and of myself.
There is a sense in the Spirit that we have matured as a group. By the lead and of the conviction dear Ps Lakers, several of us (occasionally myself) rise early to pray.
We have learned scripture, increased faith and become steadfast as Christian men. There is a responsibility attached to all of this. We are not just stewards of the faith, we are ambassadors for God’s Kingdom here on earth.
Every marketplace should be affected by the Kingdom Spirit we possess. We are to be lights on the hill.
Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
I ask you brothers, then, what posture should we have according to our status as Kings and Priests of God’s Kingdom, along with all the authority bestowed?
The answer is a posture of humility and gratitude.
The further we progress in our walk with Christ, the more humble and grateful we are to become.
This is to acknowledge the revelation that is our Lord who has performed the works in our lives. We are just the vessels, the tools of His craftsmanship, here at His disposal.
To even try to understand the infinite measure of the great I Am, is beyond the parameters of the flesh. All we can be is humble and grateful.
And, according to His Will, when we are humble and grateful, our almighty Father hears us.
I will quote scripture from Kingdomcity’s first day of fasting, 11th Feb 2025.
2 Chronicles 7:13-15
When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.
*My ears are attentive to prayers made in this place*.
This is the promise of God, that He will hear our prayers and supplications when He has seen that we have humbled ourselves.
The more we diminish, the greater are our returns.
This is the most blessed inverse relationship we could ever be graced with. We take away from ourselves to be given more by our Heavenly Father.
If we are full of ourselves, how can He then fulfill us.
There is no room!
Prayer Point 2.
Father God, we bow before You and humble ourselves in Your presence. We give thanks for Your grace and mercy in our lives. We have risen in faith to know that You are infinite and we are finite. We empty ourselves of the flesh. Forgive us our sins and trespasses. Hear our voices dear Lord and fill us with Your Siprit IJN.
**Testimony**
As I am sitting beside my son in the hospital, I am assured of God’s Will in my life.
He wants us to give over all of our lives to Him, so He can reveal Himself. A loving Father, who sets a path of victory, filled with His grace and mercy.
Becoming humble and grateful has created space for God to fill me with joy and peace which surpasses all understanding.
Dear brothers, we have spent at least three years on this platform, each and every day. This is equivalent to the time taken to complete an undergraduate degree in many universities.
What are we graduating to?
I think it is a Spiritual degree in two majors,
humility and gratefulness.
This is an infinite study though, and the journey has just begun.
I am so thankful and give eternal praise to our Lord IJN.
Ps Lakers..
Prayer Points:
