Dear Beloved,
Welcome to our September Newsletter. It's a month of change for some who are entering new jobs, new challenges as well as children in new schools and new classes. The Lord assures us that He is always with us but it sometimes doesn't feel like He is there.! However when we examine our situation later, we often find there was provision made available but we didn't access this. Also, a lot of what our Lord is providing for us now is not just for ourselves, but for sharing with the world. It's important to Father God that we receive all.
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How Much Do You Want To Receive?
Have you tried pouring water into an up-side down cup?
There is every intention for the water to flow in the direction in which it is being poured. However, the ability or inability of the cup to position itself, is what determines if the cup receives the water.
The ability to "receive" in God's Kingdom is an important concept, and while reading John 17:1, we see that Jesus's highest desire was
to glorify, extol, honour and magnify His Father (this should be ours too). Jesus however, prays that God should glorify, honour and magnify Him so that He in turn would glorify, honour and magnify God. This is not to say that Jesus didn't have His glory, but there is a principle here that is important to grasp, which is that, in order to 'give,' we have to first position ourselves to 'receive'. In other words, you cannot give what you have not received. Giving and receiving are like two sides of a coin. Without receiving, it's like your tank is running on 'empty'!!
Take for example, Love. God is the source of Love. That is what He loves to give the most, and it is the essence of who He is.
John 3:16 tells us how He so loves the world. The whole Bible is about how God the Father loves us so extravagantly. However, due to cultural issues and life's circumstances, our love tanks are not as full as they could be and we have rightly or wrongly looked to our loved ones to satisfy our need for love. Our loved ones, who are struggling themselves, have often not been in a position to meet our needs. I have tried to love from here and I have failed woefully. I have gotten frustrated with myself because I hadn't spent time positioning myself to receive an overflow of God's love that He so wanted me to receive. I now realise it is only as I learn to position myself in that place of His Love overflowing in me, that I can love myself, and others.
It's a bit like our mobiles, tablets and all our electronic gadgets that we carry around. We all know what it's like to try to make calls when your charge is low. In the same way as we need to charge our appliances very regularly, we also need very regular times of charging up from Father God to operate from a place of abundance (Ephesians 5:18).
It is as we respond to God's invitation to come (Isaiah 55:1), that we receive from Him so we can give out to others.
When we don't respond to this call to come regularly to be loved on and refreshed, we are ignoring God's desire for us to regularly connect our hearts to His Heart. We then find that we easily get into 'striving' or 'stress mode'. It's in these places of strife that things people do to us, cause us to take offence and allow bitterness enter, rather than having God's overflow of love in us to wash it away.
Thinking about the things that stop us from being good receivers, these could include; pride, or the inability to
understanding our identity in Christ. In other words, aligning our thoughts with who He says we are. Also, satan's strategy against us by using insignificance or passivity, could make us feel unworthy, resulting in an orphan spirit. It could also be wrong teaching about our
purpose, or simply failing to see our need for much more of God's Love. Sometimes we are quite legalistic with ourselves and do the same with others. This was why the Pharisees missed out on so much of what Jesus brought, because they couldn't receive the 'new'.
It's the same with forgiveness and mercy. Only as we get a revelation of what has been poured out on us by God, can we extend forgiveness and mercy to others.
Jesus was an excellent receiver. He was receptive to His Father, because He said He only did what He saw the Father doing, and spoke what the Father was speaking. He received from the woman who anointed His feet with perfume from the Alabaster jar. He received food and friendship from friends like Zacchaeus, Simeon, Martha.
I can't remember who said that, "No matter how much the Almighty desires to give to us, if we are not positioned to receive, Father God can't do anything about it and doesn't force us". I feel that positioning our hearts, simply means recognising we have a need, and going to the feet of a loving Father to ask to receive. Our hearts have to be surrendered to His will, acknowledging that He is our Source.
I think this topic is so important in God's Heart at this time. I was having quiet time the other day, asking Papa if I should share on receiving. I had worship music in the background and next thing, this song came on which goes, "Lord, I receive. Everything you have for me" (YouTube or iTune). This felt like confirmation that this was the topic to share, for this month.
It really is our responsibility to receive all that God has for us. I would therefore suggest that we take a sheet of paper and go to Father God and ask if we are good receivers.
If there are issues, we can then ask Him what is stopping us from being good receivers and in His Presence, with Him, we can address these.
My prayer for us all is that Father God fills us all to overflowing with His Love, so it will flow through us into His world. This is a world that is desperately crying out for His Love (Psalm 67). The Lord blesses us so we can be a blessing for the nations. I pray that He shows us where we fall short and will journey with us to turn us into good receivers, so that we never short change ourselves from all that Father God wants to give us. Let us receive all that He has for us.
Amen.
God bless you,
Mina.
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BETHEL SOZO AWARENESS WEEK IN LAGOS, FROM WEDNESDAY THE 23 NOVEMBER TO TUESDAY THE 29 NOVEMBER 2016.
We are pleased to announce that we are having a BETHEL SOZO AWARENESS WEEK IN LAGOS.
Bethel SOZO is a unique inner healing and deliverance ministry in which lies and wounds in our hearts are replaced with truth from God the Father,Son and Holy Spirit. Sozo is a Greek word which means "saved ( Romans 10v9), healed or delivered". The ministry was founded by Dawna DeSilva and Teresa Liebscher at Bethel Church, Redding, California, USA.
The purpose of this week is to increase awareness about BETHEL SOZO and offer more opportunities for people to have a PERSONAL BETHEL SOZO SESSION. It will also serve to provide more practice for our Bethel SOZO team in training.
Our heart is that so many more people come into more freedom, and connection to the God head that Bethel Sozo brings.
VENUE: THE EDUCATION HUB, CITY HALL, ONIKAN, LAGOS
To get more information about Bethel SOZO, please go to our website http://lapislazuliministries.org/bethel-sozo-nigeria/
You can book for a Personal Bethel SOZO by contacting us using our contact details below. Appointments have to be made in the next 4-6 weeks to enable you get a personal session during the SOZO week. The teams are few, so please book as early as you can. Appointments are on a first come, first serve basis.
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God Bless,
Dr. (Mrs.) Mina Bajomo
Sub -Director Bethel Sozo, Nigeria.
Please book on the website or send an email to info@lapislazuliministries.org or bethelsozo@lapislazuliministries.org. For more information, please visit: http://lapislazuliministries.org/bethel-sozo-nigeria/ or www.sozosouthafrica.co.za
or call 07034371401 or 08097167491.
Bethel Sozo South Africa: www.sozosouthafrica.co.za Bethel Sozo UK: www.bethelsozo.org.uk Bethel Sozo USA : www.bethelsozo.com
Videos: Kingdom Advance Conference 2016
Teachings of Kingdom Advance Conference 2016 are onYouTube(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxISNmDZQ2LeCz-ZjkAP_2A) OR Website(www.lapislazuliministries.com). Do check them out.
Our prayer is that your faith increases and expectations are heightened as you watch.
r call 07034371401 or 08097167491.
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May the Lord continue to uphold and preserve you all.
God's blessings,
Femi and Mina Bajomo
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- That God will be a present help, for all those facing very challenging times.
- Wise counsel for our governmental leaders.
- Body of Christ will arise and shine.
- For the return of all our Chibok girls.
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And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.
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Lapis Lazuli Ministries
Contact Details
Email
Website
Address
3rd Floor Maku House,
109 Awolowo Road,
South West Ikoyi,
Lagos, Nigeria.
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SOZO
by Dawna De Silva
& Teresa Liebscher
There Is More!
by Randy Clark
Healing Unplugged
by Bill Johnson & Randy Clark
Seeing Through Heavan's Eyes
by Leif Hetland
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Copyright © 2016 Lapis Lazuli Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
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