The great exchange
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, August 19th, 2020, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK What you believe is very powerful. If you change what you believe, you change your life. It’s important to learn the truth about how God really sees you and why it’s vital you believe right about Jesus, and what He has accomplished for you. You will break free from destructive habits and overcome every challenge in life as you simply hear and believe the powerful truths shared about your righteous standing in Christ. The finished work of Jesus on the cross didn’t just secure you a place in heaven, it also delivered you from darkness to light and qualified you to enjoy God’s goodness. You see, an understanding of Jesus’ finished work makes all the difference in knowing God’s heart for you in any matter. The cross has made all the difference to why you don’t have to walk around sin conscious or be afraid of God’s judgement as a believer. This message unfolds gems of truths about your right standing in Christ today. The Christian life isn’t a changed life, but an exchanged life. People may say what does that mean? Change can mean exchange, but exchange doesn’t necessarily mean change. So, change has a much wider usage, while exchange means one set thing. When you change your clothes or change, you take some, or all of your clothes off and put-on different ones. For example, exchange is to give something to someone and receive something from that person: I might offer them my old car in part exchange for a new one. Or for example, the process of changing one currency for another: An occasion when you give or return something to someone, and they give you something else. God is asking every Christian to let Him live through us. The Christian life is not a changed life but an exchanged life. This can only be accomplished when the Holy Spirit is leading and empowering us. We no longer live for ourselves. The Bible says in 2 Cor. 5:15 that: “…and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” The apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Jesus came into this world in His physical body exactly as we did. He had to grow and learn. He became just like us so that we could become just like Him. So, the Bible says in 2 Cor. 5:21 that, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This is the great exchange I want to talk to you about. He became like us so that He could bear all our iniquities and become a mercy high priest for us. Our sin debt has been paid. Not only that, but we have become the righteousness of God in Christ. This is the great exchange. He not only took away our sin but gave us His righteousness. We are now as clean and holy in our spirits as Jesus is. The Bible says in 1 John 4:17 that, “…as He is, so are we in this world.” God put His judgment for sin on Christ at the cross so you wouldn’t have to bear it. When you believe and receive the Lord, He places Jesus’ righteousness upon you. This is the Great Exchange I’m conveying to you: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). He exchanged our position of alienation to a state of forgiveness and right relationship with God. Jesus was willing to switch places with us. He actually switched places with us, even though the trade was in no way beneficial to Him. Even though He possessed all the riches of heaven, Jesus chose to renounce His position of glory and became a man in order that we might enjoy a relationship with the Father. Jesus gave up everything He possessed in order to provide us with everything we were lacking. What a great exchange we have in Christ. Our relationship with God is based on an incredible exchange. Jesus took our sin and died on the cross and rose again for our justification. After His resurrection, He poured on us spiritual riches instead of the eternal destitution that we deserved. This indescribable exchange means that we can stand perfect and whole before God once we accept Jesus’ gift of life. When we believe in Jesus Christ, He freely offers us what we could never have hoped to earn in any way. Friend, it’s very important to know who you are in Christ. Like Jesus, grow in your wisdom and understanding of who you now are in Christ. How do you see yourself? Let’s look back at 2 Cor. 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” You see, not you making yourself righteous. He made us righteous, not us making ourselves righteous. If you have received Christ as your personal saviour, then you have been made righteous. But do you believe and accept what you have been made? You can only believe by renewing your mind. Why Do People Still Live in Sin? One of the reasons why people live in sin even after they received Christ is because they still see themselves as sinners. They aren’t seeing themselves as righteous. They could break free if they ever understood that through Jesus, they
Staying on fire for God
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, May 20th, 2020, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK Staying on Fire for God. The Bible is very clear about having an active pursuit of Jesus in keeping His fire burning inside of you. So many who start out on fire for God do not remain in the same fervency that they once had. You see, being on fire for God doesn’t come automatically. You have to intentionally work at it. Staying on fire for God and understanding the things of God are so important in the times we are living in. Peoples eternal destiny depends on God and us and how on fire for Jesus we are. We have one life, and we don’t have the luxury of wasting it. God has not called us to a trivial life. He has called us to a life of divine purpose and destiny. In this message: “Staying on fire for God,” I encourage you to fan into flame the fire of God in your life and be constantly zealous for the things of God. If you have to describe your life today, how would you describe it? Is your life a wonderful, exciting journey? Is it a continuous challenge? Or one not knowing what to accomplish? Is your life a painful disappointment? Well, you can describe your life in many different ways, but Jesus came to give us life and give us more abundantly. Abundant life is a life which is fulfilling, a life of contentment. Not a life without heartache and sorrows and troubles. But then, a life which even in the midst of troubles and difficulties, you can step ahead and beyond all that. A life that can surpass all of that. Halleluiah! And that’s the life that Jesus came to give to us. But sometimes we find ourselves dry and hollow and with lack of zeal for the things of God. Maybe you are stuck in life, you feel like a prisoner, and you are not getting anywhere. You don’t know what’s happening to your life, but you want to get back to where you used to be. You want to be on fire for God again. How do you keep the fire of the Holy spirit burning? How do you keep what God has done in your life fresh? If you have not trusted Christ as your saviour, you can receive Him and be on fire for Him. It’s really up to you. It’s not God who determines whether you continue or not. People talk about; have you got hungry? Have you lost your first love? Have you got dry? Sometimes people lose their desire to go on and as a result they become dry and empty. But then, the Bible says that there is a race of life for everybody. God has set a course or path for all of us and we are to run and win. How do we become dry and stay off track? There are many reasons for that. Usually because we are distracted by something, sometimes it’s someone or some influence of other people who are actually distracting us. That’s why the Bible says that: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law, he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.(Psalm 1:1-3) So be careful who you associate yourself with. We are to associate with the God kind. God wants us to associate ourselves with Him and with His people. So how do you become dry and lose your zeal for the things of God? Maybe it’s because the person gets busy in their business. The busier they become the less time they have for spiritual things. They find themselves in other interest in life. Sometimes it’s a particular pleasure that has attracted them. For example, Sport or some hobby or whatever it might be. But you see, it’s a drift in process, it doesn’t happen at once. A person doesn’t just decide I will stop praying, stop reading the Bible, stop giving, stop going to church, stop serving and do my own things. It’s a gradual process. Before you know, you become empty and I pray that, that will not happen to you. Their eyes begin to move in other directions. And they have many reasons to justify themselves. I love God and He loves me. They can even say, ‘you don’t have to go to church every Sunday’. What they don’t know is that they have been tricked by the devil. Little by little, Satan causes them to drift. And if somebody doesn’t get their attention, before long, they have become so dry and have lost their zeal for the things of God. So, another question is how do you stay on fire for God? How do you get back on the route to fulfil God’s purposes for your life? The first thing you’ve got to do is to acknowledge that you have become dry and losing or have lost the fire. The Bible is not as important as it used to be to you. You are not excited about God’s word. You are not excited about Godly music. You find yourself more excited by things that are not related to the spiritual. Then you know that obviously things are not happening the way they should be and that something has got to be done. And when that happens, people will say; have you lost your first love? They keep talking about all these. They want a new outpouring and a fresh touch. They even say; oh God come and revive us. There are partial
ONLY CHRIST HAS THE ANSWER
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, June 3rd, 2020, byEvangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK Staying on Fire for God. The Bible is very clear about having an active pursuit of Jesus in keeping His fire burning inside of you. So many who start out on fire for God do not remain in the same fervency that they once had. You see, being on fire for God doesn’t come automatically. You have to intentionally work at it. Staying on fire for God and understanding the things of God are so important in the times we are living in. People’s eternal destiny depends on God and us and how on fire for Jesus we are. We have one life, and we don’t have the luxury of wasting it. God has not called us to a trivial life. He has called us to a life of divine purpose and destiny. In this message: “Staying on fire for God,” I encourage you to fan into flame the fire of God in your life and be constantly zealous for the things of God. If you have to describe your life today, how would you describe it? Is your life a wonderful, exciting journey? Is it a continuous challenge? Or one not knowing what to accomplish? Is your life a painful disappointment? Well, you can describe your life in many different ways, but Jesus came to give us life and give us more abundantly. Abundant life is a life which is fulfilling, a life of contentment. Not a life without heartache and sorrows and troubles. But then, a life which even in the midst of troubles and difficulties, you can step ahead and beyond all that. A life that can surpass all of that. Halleluiah! And that’s the life that Jesus came to give to us. But sometimes we find ourselves dry and hollow and with lack of zeal for the things of God. Maybe you are stuck in life, you feel like a prisoner, and you are not getting anywhere. You don’t know what’s happening to your life, but you want to get back to where you used to be. You want to be on fire for God again. How do you keep the fire of the Holy Spirit burning? How do you keep what God has done in your life fresh? If you have not trusted Christ as your saviour, you can receive Him and be on fire for Him. It’s really up to you. It’s not God who determines whether you continue or not. People talk about; have you got hungry? Have you lost your first love? Have you got dry? Sometimes people lose their desire to go on and as a result they become dry and empty. But then, the Bible says that there is a race of life for everybody. God has set a course or path for all of us and we are to run and win. How do we become dry and stay off track? There are many reasons for that. Usually because we are distracted by something, sometimes it’s someone or some influence of other people who are actually distracting us. That’s why the Bible says that: Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,Nor stands in the path of sinners,Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;But his delight is in the law of the LORD,And in His law, he meditates day and night.He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,That brings forth its fruit in its season,Whose leaf also shall not wither;And whatever he does shall prosper.(Psalm 1:1-3) So be careful who you associate yourself with. We are to associate with the God kind. God wants us to associate ourselves with Him and with His people. So how do you become dry and lose your zeal for the things of God? Maybe it’s because the person gets busy in their business. The busier they become the less time they have for spiritual things. They find themselves in other interest in life. Sometimes it’s a particular pleasure that has attracted them. For example, sport or some hobby or whatever it might be. But you see, it’s a drift in process, it doesn’t happen at once. A person doesn’t just decide I will stop praying, stop reading the Bible, stop giving, stop going to church, stop serving and do my own things. It’s a gradual process. Before you know, you become empty and I pray that, that will not happen to you. Their eyes begin to move in other directions. And they have many reasons to justify themselves. I love God and He loves me. They can even say, ‘you don’t have to go to church every Sunday’. What they don’t know is that they have been tricked by the devil. Little by little, Satan causes them to drift. And if somebody doesn’t get their attention, before long, they have become so dry and have lost their zeal for the things of God. So, another question is how do you stay on fire for God? How do you get back on the route to fulfil God’s purposes for your life? The first thing you’ve got to do is to acknowledge that you have become dry and losing or have lost the fire. The Bible is not as important as it used to be to you. You are not excited about God’s word. You are not excited about Godly music. You find yourself more excited by things that are not related to the spiritual. Then you know that obviously things are not happening the way they should be and that something has got to be done. And when that happens, people will say; have you lost your first love? They keep talking about all these. They want a new outpouring and a fresh touch. They even say; oh God come and revive us. There are partial truths in all that, but one thing which is
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 overemphasised 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, impedes, 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 be laid aside. You
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 come to your body, you say no way. So many Christians, when sickness come, will say, well — sometimes up, sometimes down. I believe I will be ok, and they go through the sickness or process. Some get
Get Rid Of Your Disappointments And Regrets
A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, March 16th, 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 come to your body, you say no way. So many Christians, when sickness come, will say, well — sometimes up, sometimes down. I believe I will be ok, and they go through the sickness or process. Some