Infinite Fellowship Ministries

Your Perception, Your Reality: Sermon By Rev. Loice Achola

Why has God given us joy to lubricate our faith? (Rhema: 6th March 2016)

Joy is about having your heart in the right place and comes from understanding your position in Christ.

Without joy, we cannot perceive and access the good things that God has in store for us.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work]. 

Hebrews 12:1-2 (AMP)

Christ was able to scorn shame because He knew who He was in God and His purpose on earth. When we understand who we are in God and what He is doing in our lives, we are able to endure the shame and scorn of the difficult places in our lives. 

We tend to relate with God from a human perspective. This creates wrong perceptions about who God is and His influence in our lives. We end up relating with a God we have created in our heads rather than the real sovereign God.

Perceptions may not necessarily be untrue but they can be limited e.g. relating with God only as a Provider and missing out all else. 

Check your beliefs about who God is in your life. If you’re not constantly relating with God, you’ll miss out on His various expressions that change with time and season.

Let God be God in all areas of your life rather than just boxing Him in certain ones. Where you have failed to give God Lordship, lies & perceptions will reign.

God wants us to relate with Him from a point of all truth where He reveals who He is to us and who we are in Him. He is  the only one who can reveal your identity to you.

Your identity is not what you will do. You are not just the subtotal of what God intends for you to do. God desires us to be more than the work of our hands.

Identity and joy are interconnected. You can only access joy to the extent you understand your identity.

Identity enables you to have faith. You must know who you are in order to access the faith God has provided for you to function with.

To access your identity, you need: discernment (accurate perception of who God has created you to be) and knowledge (correct information of the same). 

We get accurate discernment through correct knowledge. You need to accept the knowledge God has given you about yourself in order for it to do you good.

Relationship enables us to know what is good for us. Position yourself to continually get correct information about yourself from God. When He can speak better things than what you have heard and believed, agree with Him and resist any thought/emotion/word/action that is contrary.

When we are able to perceive correctly, we know what is superior. There is something that is superior to you not to someone else. There is what is good and acceptable for another but not for you. Just because something is lawful doesn’t mean it’s beneficial to you.

Discernment and knowledge enable you to walk in righteousness.

Our life is precious to God and what we go through is not just for the sake. Your circumstances are not to punish you or for you to complain all the time; they are for God to be glorified. Ask what God is calling out of you through your circumstances.

God orchestrates our circumstances to advance the Gospel – the revelation of Christ made manifest to you.

God wants us to know His goodness as a reality beyond head knowledge. Let’s not just say things as believers. We must live our faith for His grace to manifest in our lives.

One of the greatest pitfalls for us to accept what God says about us is fear. Sometimes, it comes from the place of logic or questions.

The fear you allow to reign will hinder perception and therefore your identity. Even that which we know of ourselves will be taken away from us through forgetfulness.

Fear exists because we lack the light of God’s truth. In the light of this truth, every fear is dealt with. There is nothing that can stand in the light of God’s presence. Spend time with Him and He will sort out all your issues and fears.

Let God minister who you are to you. He doesn’t want us to live in torment about whether His word will come to pass.

It is much more profitable for us to experience faith and trust in God than the fear that we hold onto. It is a choice for you to make.

We can destroy our own destinies by having the wrong perception of ourselves. We stop believing what God says we are and fall short of it.

We need to be very confident of our identity regardless of circumstances and the perception of others. It is your responsibility to work out your salvation with fear and trembling and action the wisdom for living God has given you.

Don’t play the blame game with God’s word. Blaming yourself, the prophet or God if a word does not come to pass as you expect it to. Discern the scope and magnitude of God’s word in your life so you don’t miss out or misunderstand what God is doing.

Don’t let who you are called to be be your ultimate. May Christ be your ultimate.