DISCERNING
Dag Heward-Mills
READ: Hebrews 5:1-14
But strong meat belongeth to...those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Hebrews 5:14
Sometimes, some prophets have an evil spirit operating through them. They give accurate "words of knowledge" by satanic power and then they rob you of your money. Do not allow any so-called prophet to rob you of your possessions. The accuracy of prophecies can be so frightening that you will feel that God must be speaking.
There are other prophets who operate by a mixture of spirits. They will minister very accurately by the Spirit of God. After realizing how enchanted you are by the accuracy of the gift, they will move into the flesh and operate by another spirit.
Is it possible for someone to operate with two different spirits at the same time? Of course, it is! Remember when Jesus asked Peter, "Who do men say that I am?" Peter answered accurately and Jesus immediately confirmed that Peter was speaking by the Holy Spirit. However, in the discussion that followed, Peter began to speak as inspired by Satan, and Jesus had to rebuke him saying, "Satan, get thee behind me"(Matthew 16:15-17; 21-23).
You do not need a prophet to direct your life's decisions. You have the Word of God! You have the Holy Spirit and you have your common sense.
The Bible tells us that God speaks to us in the New Testament, mainly by His Word and not by His prophets (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Practical book. I remember the disciples asking The Lord  "teach us how to pray". This request has been in the hearts of people up to now. This book "How to pray" seeks to help answer our need.

Recently a chapter in there came in very handy to me "how to talk with a great man".

So blessed to have listened to the book.

FOCUS
Dag Heward-Mills
READ: Philippians 3:13-15

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain
1 Corinthians 9:24
Every great human achievement is the result of concentration. Every great military battle is won by bringing all forces to concentrate on a single objective. Every great ministry accomplishes things for God by concentrating on a single vision.
Concentration makes people work faster. The faster you work, the more energy and interest you will have; the slower you work, the more tired and uninterested you become. The more delays to projects, the more discouraged everyone becomes (Proverbs 13:12).
Concentration depends solely on the ability to distinguish between the relevant and the irrelevant. Anyone who cannot decide on what is important will never use the power of concentration. Do not be deceived by the pressure of urgent calls, invitations, and emergencies. Urgent things are not usually important in the total picture, and important things are seldom urgent.
The greatest thief of concentration is the telephone. When I start praying, I switch off all phones. Another thief of concentration is useless socializing and yet another, the television. People who concentrate on their God-given tasks are accused of being unsociable, proud, unpatriotic and inward looking.
Inject urgency into all your projects. This will make people concentrate on the task. Concentration keeps everyone from backbiting, envy, jealousy and strife. Finish one thing at a time; unfinished projects break concentration. They distract you and pull you into the past.

There is a book entitled GOSPEL SALVATION by DAG HEWARD-MILLS. This book is so life changing and also stirs us up into evangelism. Consider the following

Man is a spirit, has a soul and lives in a body.
The fact that a human being is actually a spirit living inside a physical body is one of the lesser known truths.  When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians he wrote that God should affect them in all three areas: spirit, soul and body.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.1 Thessalonians 5:23 

A human being is not just a piece of meat.  When Princess Diana died many people in this world reflected on the reality of spiritual issues.  I - spoke to somebody in the lobby of Novotel Accra.  He asked me what I did and I told him that I was a pastor.  “Oh, I see,” he said. “Do you believe in God?” I asked him. “Actually, I had just been thinking about this.” He continued, “When Princess Diana died I wondered whether I was just a piece of meat.” I told him, “You are not just a piece of meat.  There is more to you than a piece of meat.” When people speak in a very proud and arrogant way, it is because they are not aware of how real eternal things are. 

I will never forget my first day as a medical student in the laboratory in the University of Ghana Medical School.  It was about 2 o’clock in the afternoon when we were ushered into a large air-conditioned room containing twelve white marble tables.  On each of these tables was a dead human being lying stark naked. There were about ten men and two women.  My friends and I gathered around one of the tables.  There were stools around each table and I sat down staring at the dead body that lay before me.  On the chest of this human being was a plaster with a name inscribed.   The name of our cadaver was Cornelius.

  I wondered to myself, “Who was Cornelius during his lifetime?  What did he do for a living?  How did he come to lie before us, ready for eighteen months of intensive dissection?” As we sat there, our Anatomy lecturer came in.  He happened to be a Christian.  He said to us, “Go ahead and touch them, don’t be afraid!”  But in spite of his encouragement, most people were scared by the whole scene. This anatomy lecturer said something that has stayed with me since then.  He said, “This scene should make everyone of you seriously consider what life is all about.”  He added, “If life just consists of the physical then even goats are better.  Because when goats die they can be eaten, but human beings cannot be eaten.”

I thought about that statement and I realized that life must consist of more than what we see physically.  Man is a spirit.  The Bible says that God is the Father of spirits.…shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits, and live? (Hebrews 12:9). 

If God is the Father of spirits, then we His children are spirits.  That means that our bodies are just containers of the spirit.  The Bible describes the body as a house.

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2 Corinthians 5:1). 

When Lazarus of Luke 16 died, the Bible teaches us that he was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom…Luke 16:22

I once passed by an unmarked grave.  I saw three men throwing dead bodies into the mass grave.  I went up to the car and asked, “What are you doing?”  They were hospital officials who had been sent to bury unclaimed bodies.  I immediately remembered Lazarus.  These were modern-day Lazaruses.  But that is not the end of the story.  After the body dies, the spirit lives on.

Lazarus himself, the real man, was carried into Abraham’s bosom.  Remember also the testimony of the rich man.  He had everything in life.  He had better health care so he lived longer than Lazarus. The rich man also died and was lavishly buried. But the story of a man does not end with the funeral. Let’s take a look at the biblical account of one rich man’s life, in Luke 16.

  And in hell he lift up his EYES, being in torments, and SEETH Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he CRIED [mouth/voice] and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his FINGER in water, and cool my TONGUE; for I am tormented in this flame. (Luke 16:23, 24)

Both Lazarus and the rich man were both alive, one in heaven and one in hell!

I remember asking my father to remove some weapons he had in prepared to defend himself against bandits. Once he had a sharpened machete under his bed. Another time he had an axe. Then later on he was given a handgun by his company.

Scary and nightmarish thoughts came to my mind. Will he be able to use these weapons to defend himself? Will he be disarmed and his weapon used against him? My conclusion is that he could easily equip his attacker by giving the person a free weapon!

Spiritually, we have an adversary, the devil. His primary purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. In the warfare against the enemy, we are to be on the offensive. When you go on the offensive, one thing to do is disarm the devil or his agents. You have to know how to defeat the enemy. I have read a book on this topic called "How to defeat your enemy in prayer." I am going to read it again.

"No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house"(Mark 3:27)

Unfortunately, many a time we are rather on the defensive. In fact sometimes by our ways, we actually arm the devil against. Let me show you one weapon we fashion against ourselves. We hand the devil the weapon to use against us. We actually allow him to an advantage over us.

"To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it , for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices". (2 Corinthians 2:10-11)

Do not aid the enemy, learn to forgive. I have been so helped by a book "forgiveness made easy"

Whatever it may cost you forgive people.

One advantage is that you receive forgiveness from the Lord.

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven (Luke 6:37)

Secondly you do not arm the enemy against yourself!

Works
Dag Heward-Mills

Dear friends, your works on earth are being monitored. God is going to ask you what you have done with His gift - with the things He has given to you. He will enquire of our works!
Which works are these? Whatever these are, it must be important for every church to have these works fully in place. Notice the following verses: "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liar..."(Revelation 2:2). "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan" (Revelation 2:9). "I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days where in Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you,where Satan dwelleth" ( Revelation 2:13). "I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience,and thy works; and the last to be more than the first"(Revelation 2:19). "And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead" (Revelation 3:1).
God did not say, "I know thy houses and thy cars." He did not say, "I know thy degree." He did not say, "I know thy father and thy mother." He said, "I know thy works."

THOUGHTS

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Mark 7:20-23

Search me, O God, and know my heart:try me, and know my thoughts (Psalm 139:23)

Though you may be a born-again Christian, this does not close your mind to the attacks of the devil. Your mind is still open to all kinds of thoughts from the devil.

The devil will always appeal to our minds. The Bible teaches us that we must cast down imaginations: (2Corinthians 10:5).

Remember this truth: your mind is the battleground. Satan's most powerful tool is "suggestion". Jesus was tempted through the avenue of His thoughts. A thought is like a bird that flies over your head. It may land on your head, but it must not beallowed to make a nest on your head.

When ungodly thoughts come to you, resist them immediately. Do not be surprised when outrageous things occur to you. That is the fight of every born-again Christian; to keep your mind pure at all times. Some Christians are plagued with fear and worry; fear is one of the terrible thoughts of the devil.

Whilst working on the hospital ward as a medical student, I saw many young patients die. I began to think about their plight and a spirit of fear oppressed me. Many times I saw myself sick and dying of the same diseases. I imagined my funeral and I imagined what I would look like in the coffin.

Dear friend, fear is an oppressive spirit that works through the mind. Whether it is worry, fear, or lust, you must learn to cast down wrong imaginations. You must learn to capture your thoughts and make them obedient to the Word of God. You must resist the devil.

EFFECTIVE PRAYER

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Matthew 6:6-15

Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.John 16:24

Jesus taught us to pray to our Heavenly Father. There is nothing wrong with being prayed for. But God wants you to learn how to pray for yourself ! There are some pastors who entrust themselves to prayer warriors to pray for them. I cannot entrust something as important as prayer to other people. I pray for myself. I consider the prayer support of friends and prayer warriors as an extra bonus.

Learn to pray yourself. Your Christian life should not depend on another person's prayers. Jesus said,"You ask the Father." Remember that the prayer of a righteous man avails much (James 5:16). You are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). You are righteous enough to get results for your prayers! Do not depend on your pastor.

He may be snoring when you think he is praying for you!Jesus said that in that day we will not ask Him for anything. Jesus was talking about the period when He would no longer be with the disciples. In that day, Jesus would not expect anyone to pray to Him directly. Jesus was directing us to pray to the Heavenly Father Himself. Is there any difference between praying to Jesus and praying to the Heavenly Father? There must be, otherwise Jesus would not have told us what He did! If you want one hundred per cent results, do what Jesus said you should do. Begin your prayer by saying, "Our Father,""Heavenly Father," "Dear Father," or "Father which art in heaven," etc. You will begin to experience better results.

January 21, 2013

SCIENCE

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Romans 1:18-32And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind...

Romans 1:28

Education and science are not contrary to spiritual things. At the bottom of it all we believe that it is God who works things out.

In the study of religion a theory known as the "Gaps Theory" was put forth. In this theory whenever there was a lack (a gap) of a human explanation to something, the theory of the existence of God was used as the explanation. However, when there were more scientific discoveries to explain that phenomenon, the concept of God was removed.

For instance, when men did not understand the principles of vaporation and conversion, the phenomenon of rain was always ascribed to God's mercy. But when science discovered how rain is brought about, God was eliminated from that gap. Gradually, almost all the gaps have been filled and that is why many people do not believe in God any more.

Your education should not make you eliminate God. Unfortunately, we make ourselves fools when we eliminate God from our thinking (Romans 1:28).

When you do not retain God in your knowledge you develop a reprobate mind. You must know that God is the ultimate source of all blessing and the devil is the cause of all the evil around us. It is the highest kind of deception that the good things in your life came by your hard work. It is the Lord who promotes, it is the Lord who lifts up, and it is the Lord who blesses.

This book teaches the advantages to remembering and disadvantage to forgetting.

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. (Hebrews 6:10)

Unrighteous people always tend to forget. We have to be people who are grateful and remember.

GOD'S VOICE

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: 1Corinthians 14: 6-11

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy GOD...

Deuteronomy 28:1

I believe that the single greatest factor that leads to promotion in ministry is your ability to hear the voice of God. Hearing the voice of God and obeying it is the key to promotion in God. Read it for yourself in Deuteronomy 28:1. Being set on high is contingent on hearkening (hearing) to the voice of the Lord.

How can you tell God's voice? The answer is simple: by experience! "How can I tell my wife's voice? I have heard it several times so I just know when it is her voice." How can I know that this dream is a dream from God or a dream from the devil? The answer is simple. Is it a similar dream, vision or voice?

As you walk with the Lord, you will initially experiment with dreams, visions and voices. After a while, you would have had some leadings which you followed and established as being God sent. From then on, you need to look out for similar dreams, visions and voices.

There are times that God speaks to me by bringing things to my mind. One night, the Lord spoke to me about a pastor in my church. Often, I know when the Lord speaks to me about one of my pastors. It is the same kind of voice in the same way and I recognize it. May your eyes be opened to recognize the kind of vision, voice or dream the Lord will speak to you by.

In the book of Philippians, the Bible tells us how Jesus humbled Himself and took on the form of a man. The scriptures tell us about the fact that we have to humble ourselves in the sight of God. Humility is the key for success.

 THE ART OF FOLLOWING by Dag Heward-Mills

"That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." (Hebrews 6:12)To do well, you may have to learn follow some one or an idea. In a new book I am reading, THE ART OF FOLLOWING (by Dag Heward-Mills) I am learning about the principles of following from Biblical examples including the LORD, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David etc. These people inherited the promises and so will we if we kearn to follow.

i love this book so much. How often we hear people say that they have been praying and not getting answers. Prayer is not a game but why not try to enhance your chances of success?

First, we serve a living God. 1 Kings 18:27

What should we do?
Learn to pray for yourself
Pray to the Father (John 16:23-24)
Pray in the name of Jesus
Learn to abide in Christ (John 15:7)
Let the word of God abide in your heart (1 john 3:22)
Be fruitbearing (John 15:16)
Use faith in prayer (Hebrews 11:6)
Jesus blessed the people who had faith
Do not pray amiss (James 4:3)
Do not pray prayers that God will not answer
Pray all kinds of prayer Ephesians 6:18
Pray prayer of consecration Matt 26:39
Pray in the spirit Jude 20
Pray the prayer of faith James 5:15
Pray short prayers as well as long prayers

This book will help us to pray effectively and expect answers. It is not a magic wand but it will surely help us

THE GUIDE

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Psalm 119:97-104

Order my steps in your word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Psalm 119:133

The Bible contains the written Word of God. It is a reliable source of direction for us all. The Word of God is a silent voice. The silent voices are a group of voices that the Holy Spirit uses to guide us. They are silent in the sense that you do not hear a person speaking audibly. They are however, common ways by which the Holy Spirit leads us all. You see, being led by the Spirit of God is not a very simple thing.

There are many methods by which God communicates with His children. One of these is the written Word of God.

The Word of God is given to us for direction in our lives. Everything we do must be done according to the Word of God. In a very general way, the Word of God is the perfect guide book for our lives.

The Bible is a unique book that contains instruction on every possible issue that may arise. There are many people who think that the Bible is not a practical and relevant book for today.

One lady told me that she believed she could practise fornication because the Bible was out of fashion. Three years later, when her boyfriend of many years ditched her, she realized that the Bible was not so archaic after all.

The Scriptures are profitable, useful, relevant and practical for every Christian today (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)!