MAKE THE MOST HIGH YOUR DWELLING

TEXT: PSALM 91: 9-13

“If you make the most high your dwelling, even the Lord who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the Lion and the Cobra; you will trample the great Lion and the Serpent.

The best place to be is the presence of God, because in His presence there is no sorrow, danger, evil occurrence or any negative circumstance. A dwelling is a home or a place of shelter where you can have access to some basic needs that gives comfort. The safest place to be is the presence of God; making the almighty your dwelling guarantees your safety. There is no amount of trained security men that can guarantee safety, the scripture says in Psalm 127:1 that “unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman wakes up in vain.” We have heard of great and powerful men around the world being killed despite the maximum security they put in place. This buttresses the fact that no amount of gadgets or trained security men can give you assurance of safety. The bible tells us in Psalm 16:11 that in the presence of God there is fullness of joy. Why? Because our God is the custodian of unspeakable and unending joy, joy never ceases from His presence! Hence you should make the presence of God your dwelling so that you can enjoy all the benefits abound in His presence.

This brings us to the point of analysing the benefits of His presence. The first benefit is security, if you make the most high your dwelling; no harm will befall you. Secondly, no disaster will come near your tent because you are dwelling in His presence; this makes your tent to become God’s habitation. The third point is that the Lord will make His angels to guard you against evil; you will be untouchable for the devil. The fourth point is that the Lord will command the host of heaven to lift you up in their hands, far above principalities and power, the Lord will cause the angels to pamper you that you will not strike your foot against a stone (this means that you will be well attended to that you will not experience a moment of hardship or pain).

Making the lord your dwelling entails mutual relationship with God, having close fellowship with Him, following His leading and listening to His instructions and warning. Anybody that is living in disobedience cannot make the lord his or her dwelling. Proverbs 1:33 says “whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without the fear of harm.” Absolute obedience to God is what makes us dwell in the presence of God, and when we make the lord most high our dwelling our safety is guaranteed.  

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KEEP THE FIRE BURNING (2)

TEXT: LEVITICUS 6:12-13

¹² The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. ¹³ The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

If you refuse to flame the fire on your  Spiritual altar, it can be taken over by ashes. If ashes takes any Spiritual altar; it denote that there is no more fire or heat on such altar, therefore the altar can become an  abode for any creature  in as much as there is no heat coming out from the altar any more.

In the book of Acts 28:1-5, the scripture recorded an account that Paul was putting bush wood in the fire made for them by the people of the island of Malta because it COLD. As he was putting the sticks in the fire, the HEAT of the fire drove out a Viper that has been hiding. The snake was able to hide when the place was cold and there was no heat, but when heat came, the Viper could not stand the heat! This illustration shows what happens when your Spiritual is hot and when you allow your altar to be cold and full of ashes.

Ashes can be caused by the situations of life. What are ashes? They are problems that can make you to abandon your Spiritual exercise; it may be any of the following:

·        Unanswered prayer

·        Sin

·        Confusion

·        Death of loved ones

·        Depression

·        Anger and bitterness

·        Problems in marriage/ breakup

·        Hopelessness

·        Unrighteous living

·        Worldliness

“The priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it” (Leviticus 6:12). You can keep your fire burning by adding your “Spiritual firewood” which is prayer/ daily devotion. You can also keep your fire burning by doing the following: repent of your sin, give God the totality of your life by allowing Him to lead while you follow, forsake worldliness, study His word, become a living sacrifice by living in holiness, fellowship with other believers, and lastly everything (ashes) that can hinder or quench your fire must be removed from your Spiritual altar.

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KEEP THE FIRE BURNING (1)

TEXT: LEVITICUS 6:12-13

¹² The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. ¹³ The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

Fire generates heat, it brings out light and smoke, it is a chemical reaction. When fire is burning, no one can stand the heat that comes out from it. In the scripture when the three Hebrew boys were to be thrown into the fiery furnace, the heat of the furnace killed the men who took the three Hebrew boys to the furnace (Daniel 3).

Today we want to talk about Spiritual fire and altar, every genuine believer has a Spiritual altar. In fact the scripture made us to know that we are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19). There is no temple without an altar.

However, what you have on your altar determines the effectiveness of your temple. Is the fire on your altar still burning or it has been taken over by ashes? The Lord commanded us in the text that the fire on our Spiritual altar must be kept burning, IT MUST NOT GO OUT… this means that the Lord wants us to be “hot” for Him at all times, He does not want us to be hot this minute and the next minute to be cold. Keeping your Spiritual fire burning means you always have unending fellowship with God, you communicate with Him constantly through prayer, praise and worship, and by studying and meditating on His word daily. God our father is called the “consuming fire” therefore as His children we must be as hot as our father, so that the fire that our Spiritual altar is generating would be hot enough to consume the devil and his cohorts.

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