Living In Double Portion Blessings
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, February 23rd, 2022, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK As Christians, we can become complacent and satisfied knowing that we’re going to heaven, but God wants us to live an abundant life here and now! When you have God’s double portion blessings, you can expect your life to be fuller, richer, and more satisfying. But are you willing to go after it? If you truly want a double portion from the Lord, then you’ll be willing to put your own plans aside and seek out what God has for you. It doesn’t necessarily come easy. It’s not going to come without some dedication and effort from your side. But if you are willing, like Elisha was, to chase after a double portion, the opportunity is there. God has already blessed you. His favour is on you. So, go after Him with all your heart and see what God has got in store for you! The purpose of this message is to show you how to receive a double portion of God’s blessings in your life. Living in double portion blessings means living in God’s greater blessings. This is a higher realm of living. “Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours” (Isa. 61:7). This scripture says instead of your former shame, you will have a double portion and instead of humiliation, your people will shout for joy over their portion. In their land! I’m glad He didn’t say when you go to heaven. I’m sure many of you have a lot of difficult and challenging things in your life. God wants to renew your strength so you can enjoy the peaceful and joyful life He has planned for you. Go for what God has planned for you. You don’t have to settle for less than the many blessings God has for you. Your attitude of settling for less is what is keeping you from receiving the good and perfect things from God. God’s blessings are the blessings that belong to all His children. When you become born again, you are called into God’s blessings. In that place of blessings, you are favoured. Every child of God is blessed and you begin to walk in the promises of God. You are supposed to walk in good health, righteousness, and prosperity. You are a blessed person. You may be going through a couple of struggles here and there, and still going through life. And that’s where a lot of Christians are. It’s a good place to be, but there’s another realm of God blessings where only a few Christians live, and that’s God’s greater blessings. That’s a double portion blessing. The main reason we aren’t receiving His double portion blessings is because we are willing to settle for less. Very few are committed to receiving what God has for them. We have been influenced more by the world than by God’s Word and are satisfied to accept far less than what God has provided. Christians are to live an extraordinary life God designed for us to enjoy. Living in double portion blessings will not happen automatically. Only few of God’s children live in this realm. This is a place you decide how your life will be. As long as you are not eager to receive God’s double portion blessings, you will remain the same. That is an important truth. You must reach a place in life where you eagerly pursue God’s greater blessings. You must have a holy dissatisfaction with ordinary life before you can experience all that God has for you. It doesn’t happen accidentally or automatically. God wants you to have an abundant life. That includes double portion blessings (see John 10:10). You will not live in God’s double portion because you are a nice person. You will not live in God’s double portion because you are prayerful. You will not live in God’s double portion because you are born again. So many of God’s children live in His blessings, but there are greater blessings, or double portion blessings, and it takes faith to get those blessings. It takes faith, trust and obedience to get those blessings. It takes more than just praying to receive God’s double portion. We pray but many have misconception about prayer. We think when we pray, then God does everything. When we pray, very often God shows us what we need to do. I’m not saying God doesn’t move supernaturally. The things we cannot do, He will do them for us. But if we are going to do nothing and expect God to do everything, then that’s not going to happen. You need to understand the message of faith in order to obtain God’s greater blessings. It’s just sad that so many Christians are even fighting the message of faith. Unless you’re willing to stand and fight the fight of faith, you will be overcome by this world. If you don’t stir yourself up, you will settle to the bottom. The world isn’t going to encourage you toward God’s perfect and good things that He has for you. Most Christians are not going to encourage you toward God’s greater blessings as well. Sadly, religion is one of the strongest weapons Satan is using to discourage people from believing for something more. Many churches believe that God doesn’t perform miracles today, or worse, that God is the one who wills for our lives to be in such a mess to break us. That is not true. This is where you believe ‘by His stripes you were healed.’ So, when sickness comes to your body, you say no way. So many Christians, when sickness comes, will say, well – sometimes up, sometimes down. I believe I will be ok, and they go through the sickness or process. Some
What Is Life Really About?
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, February 9th, 2022, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK Life is not an accident. There is a purpose and meaning to every life. The meaning of life, according to the Christian faith, is ultimately found in Jesus Christ. In Him, the questions about identity, origin, meaning, purpose, and destiny are answered with profound hope. We are the beloved children of God, created by our heavenly Father to reflect His glory, walk in His love, and do His will in our lives. You see, the key to the Christian life is living out of your born-again spirit instead of your flesh. God has already prepared the good works He has for us, and He did it with the purpose that we walk in them. This message expounds on the true meaning to a fulfilled life by following the examples of believers given in the Bible. The Christian life is like an Athletic program. After salvation, God sets us on a race of life. So, when we were saved, He said, “this is the direction I want you to live your life”. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). This is your goal, “walk in the good works that I set for you” and “be in the race set for you”. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1-2). In this race of life, we have encouragers. Being in the race set for us is fulfilling the purpose for which God created us. The Bible is saying, in this race there are encouragers, some pioneers have come, with their good works following them. There is a purpose for which God created every one of us and until a person accomplishes that or is in the process of doing so, he or she will never be living an abundant life. He or she will never be living a life worth living or living a fulfilled life. You may have all the money you want, or all the relationships you want, but you wouldn’t be living the purposeful life that God gave you as a believer if you are not in the race of life set before you. That is, if you are not living in the will of God or seeking to obey Him, you will never find fulfilment. If you don’t walk in the good works that God prepared before the foundation of this earth, you will never be satisfied in life. You will never be able to fill that void with anything in life than walking in the will of God. We need to walk in the good works that God prepared for us and not to walk away from them. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Now the race of life becomes more personal when we read Hebrews 12:2. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. It’s not a matter of speed but a matter of being able to last. It’s about being able to run the whole length. In our Christian lives we also have those things that impede and hinder our walk. Anything that hinders our keeping the pace of God is a distraction. It must be laid aside or turned away from. We are to lay aside those things that hinder and distract us in our Christian walk. As we are living in the will of God, anything that hinders or gets our attention and leads us away from the will of God must be dealt with. That can be a habit in our lives. Some sport or even watching TV. Anything which is being over emphasised in our lives must be dealt with. That means, something we give special importance or value to. It may even be doubt or fear, action, attitude, or relationship. Anything that hinders, impede, slows us down or gets us out of the will of God may have to be removed. We have to look in our own lives and say, ‘what is it in my lifestyle that hinders me or keeps me away from focusing on my God given goal, His will or allowing Him to work His way in my life’. We all have to examine ourselves and lay aside the sin that ensnares us. Sometimes it’s not easy to identify them. We may have some habits in our lives that have been there for years. And we may think, that’s just the way I am, but it may be retarding your spiritual walk. Sometimes it could be just a little doubt that lingers in our lives. We may think does God even care or have a plan for my life. We sometimes make decisions and ask God to bless us, but do we ask the mind of God before we make those decisions? So, there are many areas that we can make them hinder our race and walk with the Lord. Firstly, we must examine ourselves to see what’s hindering us. Secondly, we must decide to deal with them and thank the Lord for showing us those hindrances. It may not even be deliberate or a known willful sin, but acknowledge that it’s hindering your walk and therefore, needs to
Resolutions For A Life Worth Living
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, February 2nd, 2022, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK The stories given in Scripture about how people related to God, and the accompanying positive or negative results, are recorded for our benefit. You see, you do not have to embark on an uncharted path to find God. The process can be simplified by simply believing the map that God has given man – the Bible. While the stories of the Bible can sometimes seem frozen in a different time, they offer us the opportunity to learn valuable lessons we can apply to our lives. God has given us a wealth of wisdom in the Bible. And we need to rise above the noise of this world and dig into His word to find answers for this life we are living. The purpose of this message is to encourage you to learn and apply the stories of Biblical characters to your life. Life-tested wisdom on how to live from faithful servants of God whose faith were tested and proven. Living wisely is the art of learning to live at the centre of God’s will. This is where the wisdom of lives that have already been lived can be of immense aid – a source of forward-facing resolutions, borrowed from people who have long died, having lived, by God’s standard, honourable and generous lives. Lives full of hope and substance, irradiated by their faith and ideas that have endured across the ages to make other lives more liveable. Here are few such ideas that make for life-expanding resolutions. The Bible records the events of the lives of some Old Testament saints. To understand and learn from them, we as believers must appreciate the truths as beauty in the stories themselves. Some of you may say these were Old Testament figures. I just want to show you the importance of learning at the expense of other people, so you are not to figure everything out on your own. Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 10:6–11: “6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 Nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 Nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” So twice in verse 6 and verse 11, it says: “6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” and “11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” All the things recorded in the Old Testament are recorded for our benefit so we can learn through them. This is one reason so many people find themselves in a mess today. Their life is out of control because they don’t know what the word of God teaches. By using the examples of the Old Testament people, we can learn how to live through them. Hebrews 11 records those Old Testament saints as cloud of witnesses to follow. They have been tremendous and awesome examples to us. The chapter refers to the lives that they lived, the challenges, difficulties, troubles, and hardships they faced. We are to look at the trials they went through and how they responded as well as what God did in their lives. It’s been fascinating, reading about the lives of Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, David, and Daniel. Men whose lives I can relate to. Seeing how God worked in their lives, and thinking that my situation is slightly similar, it makes me look again at how God worked in my life, and I see clearly that the principles have not changed. I’m inspired by reading and searching for how God worked in the past, and the more I do this, the more encouragement I get. I say “God, the way you worked in their lives is the same you will do for me”. You may look at your situation and say, “God, this is unfair to me”. But look at Joseph who was falsely accused and imprisoned. He could have said, God, where are you? But He was faithful to God. He came from no hope as a prisoner and became the Prime Minister of Egypt. And so, when I look at how things have been unfair to me and my loved ones, I recall and think about Joseph. I think about how the race of life can be rough and full of troubles. Then I think about David, how many times he ran from one cave to the other, escaping from Saul who was determined to kill him. I also think about the shortcut Moses took by killing an Egyptian and what he went through – living in the desert as a result. He took a shortcut for the plan of his life for the nation of Israel. Once we discover God’s will, that’s not the end of the story; now we have to walk it out. One of the hardest parts about following God’s will is moving in His timing. Moses tried to bring God’s will to pass when he moved in his own strength and killed an Egyptian (Ex. 2:11-12 and Acts 7:24-28). Attempting to rush God’s timing actually set Moses back thirty years (Gen. 15:13 and Ex. 12:41). David is one of the greatest examples in the Old Testament of the good things to
Thank God, Because He Is So Merciful
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, January 26th, 2022, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK Mercy! Few people truly understand it, yet it is key to receiving God’s best in your life. One of the ways that God’s goodness is revealed is by His mercy. God is merciful, good, and just! And the mercy of God towards each of us is something that we can always be thankful for. If you’re feeling like you’re beyond God’s mercy, know that He stands ready and willing to forgive and embrace you, no matter what, because He loves you. The Bible describes how the mercy seat was at the very centre of the Holy of Holies, and it is still at the centre of God’s heart today. The purpose of this message is to show you how, as a recipient of God’s love and mercy, to always recall and be thankful for God’s endless mercy towards you. Notice the good things in your life. Look back and think about what God has done. God gives us mercy. We need to appreciate that. David said in Psalm 103:1-13: “Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.6 The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.9 He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.13 As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” God’s nature is to offer mercy. We are not perfect. We have our imperfections, and the truth is, God sees all our imperfections and still loves us, and calls us righteous if we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour. God has got good things for us even with our imperfections. If you look at things in the light of eternity, you will continue to show gratitude to God. You will continue to be thankful and show your appreciation. Since we know that God has secured our eternal good, we can be thankful for everything at any time to reflect on God’s goodness. Of course, for Christians, every day should be a day of thanks because of the profound blessings we have in Jesus Christ and because of His mercies that He has poured on us. Start to notice and identify the things you are grateful for. I will start with an Old Testament account about what God said about David and apply it to the New Testament believer, so you can notice the good things you might sometimes take for granted. It’s amazing what you notice when you focus on expressing your gratitude to God and being grateful for His goodness, His mercy, and His kindness. You need to know that no matter what happens in this life, we are all going to stand before God, and He is going to separate the sheep from the goat. He is going to judge every single thing, and for those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ, we don’t have to fear the Lord in the sense of dread. Because all our sins were placed on Jesus, and He is going to look at us and say well done you good and faithful servant even though we haven’t done everything perfect. This is something we should show our gratitude or appreciation for. Our God is so merciful. I was reading a text of scripture about David, and it marvelled me. “And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life” (1 Kings 3:14 NIV). The Lord was talking to Solomon, and He said, I will bless you if you continue to follow me as your father David did. And I just thought — like his father David did? His father David committed adultery and murdered the husband to cover up his sins. But the difference is, he repented. And God looked at him and said I want you to serve me as your father David did. God’s mercy endures forever. When you are forgiven, God sees you not through your own personal actions. He sees you through Jesus, and you become accepted with God through what Jesus did and not through what you do. So, for those of us who are born again, praise God, there is not going to be any retribution. But for those who don’t have a personal relationship with the Lord, He is going to set open every single thing that has been done wrong. Every single one of them will be brought in the open. The entire human race will be standing there watching God judge people for their actions. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Cor. 5:17 NIV) When I read this verse, I can’t help but think about what this verse meant to the New Testament believer and especially to Apostle Paul who wrote these words by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Prior to his encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ on the
Living A Life Of Gratitude
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, January 19th, 2022, by Evangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK What can both brighten your day and bring your relationship with God to greater heights?Discover the life-preserving power of gratitude. There is power in being thankful to God. The more we give thanks with sincerity, the more we realize just how much God has already done which gives us hope that He will do even more. Cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving and graciousness and keep it flowing every day in your life. If you can manage to be thankful in every situation, really believing that God is working everything out for your good, you will end up with victory every single time. The purpose of this message is to share on how you can release God’s power by being thankful for all the great things in your life. Learn how showing thankfulness to God can create an encompassing atmosphere of His goodness that you can live in anytime, everywhere you go. I want to talk about living a life of gratitude. That means being thankful or showing appreciation, or praising God. What’s the reason people are showing no gratitude in the last days? Why are people so unthankful? If we’ll stop and look around, it’s not like there isn’t enough to be thankful for. God has done so much for us but sometimes it’s easy to forget. It’s easy to lose sight that all good things come from God. Here is a verse that goes along with that idea:“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). This is awesome! God never changes. That means He will always give us good things! It’s hard to be thankful for something you don’t remember. It takes effort to remember. That’s why Scripture says in Psalm 103 that “forget not all His benefits.” God gives more benefits than any system or anybody in this world. Let me read to you some few verses of Psalm 103:“Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Ps. 103:1-5). You may read the whole of Psalm 103 for yourself. But with all these benefits, it’s easy to forget the Lord. We can see a clear example of this in the Old Testament:“Thus the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side” (Judges 8:34). “[They] forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them. Marvellous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan” (Ps. 78:11-12), brackets mine. Holding back our gratitude to God is pride. If we forget what God has done, something else we should watch out for is pride. If we’re focused on self, that will get in the way of acknowledging and thanking God. “What do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7b). It takes a humble heart to show gratitude to God.“Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name” (Ps. 29:2). That means doing it when I feel like it and when I don’t. Living a life of gratitude is not only the most enjoyable way to live, it’s also one of the most powerful ways to change your life. Remember what God has done in your life. Humble yourself and thank Him. It’s a lovely thing! Express your gratitude to God.Expressing gratitude is about showing your heartfelt appreciation to God – being grateful or being thankful. God wants us to practise gratitude every day.“Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thes. 5:16-18). This is a responsibility to which we are all commanded to take. Expressing gratitude will help you start being more grateful and appreciative of the things God has done in your life. Every good and perfect thing comes from God. If it’s good, it’s from God; if it’s bad, it’s not from God. Notice good things, look for them and appreciate them. Delight in them, absorb, and really pay attention to those good things. It’s always important to have an attitude of thankfulness. Express your gratitude to God or thank Him for who He is, what He has done and what He is about to do. Showing gratitude is very important to God. Expressing your gratitude to God makes things happen — it affects you, it affects God, and it destroys the work of the devil. Gratitude affects you, it affects the devil, and it affects God.It touches everything and every part of your life. Likewise, a lack of gratitude affects you in a negative way, it turns the devil loose in your life, and doesn’t bless God. Don’t be like those lepers who are described in the 17th chapter of Luke, having been healed by Jesus, only one returned to give thanks: 11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them,
Have Faith In God’s Word And Hold Onto It
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, January 12th, 2022, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK Is God’s word important to you? We live in a world today where the Bible is unfortunately depicted as being outdated, fictional, having little value, and to some, completely irrelevant. The sad part is that, we as Christians are adapting to that same line of thinking without even realising it. But the Bible hasn’t lost its power or relevance. God’s Word is every bit as powerful today as it’s always been. The fact is, the word of God has the power and ability to impact every area of our lives, but only if we allow it to. For most believers, we read the word, but God’s word doesn’t have any impact on our lives because we don’t mix the word with faith. The purpose of this message is to emphasise the importance of prioritising God’s word in our lives. Let me refer you to a scripture that reminds us of the importance of God’s word:“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35 NIV). No matter what happened last year or even last night, God is faithful to His word. Therefore, have faith in His word and hold onto it. God’s word is not going anywhere. God’s word is still with us today. It was with us last year, it was with us yesterday, and it’s with us today and forever. There can be many things that can go on in the world around us. Many trials that we can face. Many things can go on in our lives, but all of these things, like the cares of this life, will come and go, but God’s word is going to be with us forever. Therefore, hold onto it. That means have faith in His word. A lot of times we try to depend on things of this world and things of this culture, but they are not the most reliable things to stand on. They sometimes fall through as you may say. Do you know something that will never fail you, something that’s always reliable, something that will always come true for you when you need it most? It’s the word of God. That’s why I encourage you today to have faith in God’s word and hold onto it. Has God given you a word? Yes, He has. So, hold unto it. Have faith in His word. Has God told you that He will supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus? If He did, then stand on that word and don’t consider anything else. Don’t let anybody tell you that you will struggle to afford food. Don’t let anybody tell you that you will struggle to afford your essential needs (Mat. 6:33; Phil. 4:19). Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do it (Phil. 4:13). Our faith is in the promises of God. Our faith is in the word of God. Have hope in the word of God and hold onto it. So many people are hopeless today because they are not dominated by the word of God. God gave us His word so that we can have all that we need to live out this life that He has called us to live. That’s why it’s important to get into the word of God every single day. That’s where our strength will come from. That’s what we can rely on to go into anything that we might face, whether throughout the day, the week, or our lifetime. So, I encourage you to know that everything else will pass away, but God’s word remains. It will not pass away. His word is here to lead, guide and direct your life. Hold onto His word. Put your faith in the faithful word of God. “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Cor. 1:20 NIV). Renew your mind with God’s word. This means put your trust and faith in Jesus and God’s Word above everything else — above your feelings, what you think, what your circumstances look like, and what others say or think. This is so important because everything we receive from God comes to us by faith. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). One of the ways to walk in faith is to renew your mind through the word of God.“Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom. 12:2). God has already given us His word and His promises. All you have to do is to renew your mind and appropriate what has already been provided. This doesn’t mean God has already provided so you’ve got nothing to do. I assure you one of the difficult things to do is to renew your mind. It takes effort to renew your mind, and if you are sitting in front of the television, watching ungodly things, you are not renewing your mind. You have to spend some time in the word. How much time have you spent studying the word of God since you became a born-again Christian? We need to keep learning. One of the hardest things to do is to ‘unplug’ from this world and the ideas and philosophies that this world is giving us, and to start acting and thinking according to the word of the Lord. It’s not going to happen if you are a passive Christian. You have to be an active Christian; you have to be a determined Christian. Most of us spend so much more time in the world system, thinking the wrong things than we do the word of God. You