MAKE A DEMAND FROM THE HEAVENLY FATHER'S BLESSINGS

Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.In the original text, the word "places" is not there. There are spiritual forces that hinder God's blessings in the heavenly from coming into reality on earth. Between the third Heaven, where the Heavenly Father is, and the earth, we have the first and second heavens, where the devil rules and reigns. Though God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly, they still need to be released into reality here on earth.Matthew 11:12 (NKJV) And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.It is not Heaven where God is that is suffering violence. It must be the first and second heavens where Satan is ruling and reigning. When Jesus began His ministry on earth, Satan's kingdom in the first and second heavens suffered violence. Satan has the authority to rule and reign in the realm of the spirit to influence the natural kings and emperors of kingdoms. He also oppressed many people with sickness and disease when Jesus was on earth. When Jesus healed the oppressed, Satan's kingdom in the heavens was shaken, and his power over the sick was broken by the power of the Holy Spirit, released through the Son of man, Jesus. Satan's kingdom in the heavens suffered the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's power forcefully took the people out of the bondage of disease, paralysis, and demon possession. When this happened, Satan's power and kingdom suffered violence and losses; he lost the grip on people's lives. Jesus' ministry on earth, anointed by the Holy Spirit's power and released from the earth, violently took back people's lives from Satan's rule and dominion. People were released from sicknesses, diseases, and paralysis, raised from the dead, and delivered from demonic spirits.John 16:23 (NKJV) "And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.The definition of the word "ask": 33.163 αἰτέω; παραιτέομαιa: to ask for with urgency, even to the point of demanding—'to ask for, to demand, to plead for.' [Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 406). New York: United Bible Societies.]The Heavenly Father has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly by grace. When we place a demand on the Heavenly Father in Jesus' name, we urgently demand, with tenacity, that His blessings be fulfilled, and manifested on earth in reality. When we do so, the Heavenly Father and His mighty power will release His blessings forcefully through the kingdom of Satan to manifest on the earth in our lives. As a result, the kingdom of Satan's heaven suffers violence, and we forcefully take it by the force of the Holy Spirit through faith. Through faith, we place a demand on spiritual blessings, and the Heavenly Father will force it through Satan's kingdom for us on earth. And His spiritual blessings will become a reality in our lives. Our every need is in the spiritual blessings in the heavenly. God's plan for our future and our children's future is there. Greater is the urgency, and greater is the demand of faith from your spirit. The greater the demand, the greater the power of grace is released to punch through the Satanic kingdom, causing the blessings of the Father to come upon you. Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less

THREE REASONS THE HEAVENLY FATHER PROSPERS US (3)

When Jesus was on earth, He had all the finances to meet His and His disciples' needs and even pay them and His taxes. Jesus had more than enough and had Judas Iscariot to manage the finances. So, the first reason the Heavenly Father prospers us is that poverty is not God's will. The second reason is to meet the needs of the church and others. The third reason He prospers us is for the fulfilment of the Great Commission Jesus laid down before ascending to be seated at the right hand of the Heavenly Father.#3 For the Fulfilment of the Great CommissionGod's people must prosper to fulfil the Great Commission. Therefore, if we seek the Kingdom of God first and the will of His Kingdom, impart the Word of Faith and Grace, save those lost and get believers baptised with the Holy Spirit, we can expect to be blessed and prosper as Christians. Jesus said this here.Luke 19:10 (NKJV) for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."We have been given the ministry of reconciling the world to Christ. We certainly must walk in prosperity to have the funds to get it done. Jesus also said we need the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives to carry out the Great Commission. How will we fulfil the Great Commission if we are poverty-stricken? Without funds, it is difficult, and we will be limited in how much we can do to get the gospel out. Throughout the Bible, God's work typically has been financed by the tithes and offerings of His people. The tithe is ten per cent of the harvest or grain or increases received. The giving of God's people took care of God's house and those who worked there and provided the funds to carry out His work on earth. The Scriptures linked to prosperity are found in Malachi 3:10-11.Malachi 3:10–11 (NKJV)10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the Lord of hosts;The windows of heaven are already open. It takes faith to have access to His windows. These verses talk about many windows of blessings. We have access to His grace of blessings through these windows when we tithe by faith. Tithing is linked to prosperity. When we tithe by faith, God will reveal where the devourer is, and we will have the strength of faith to use our authority to bind and forbid the devourer from devouring us. When the local church's needs are met, she can continue fulfilling the Great Commission. Thus, fulfilling the Scripture.Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV) "And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.ConclusionThe devil robs people who do not tithe and give offerings.Some people are always concerned about not having enough money. No matter how much they have, they always think they do not have enough for this and that. They worry about meeting their future needs. It will lead to making wrong decisions. When we do not tithe, we walk in disobedience to God's Word. We hinder ourselves from receiving divine wisdom from God and may eventually find ourselves in financial difficulty because of yielding to devilish wisdom. As a result, one wrong decision will lead to many more wrong decisions. Recognise how the devil works. Demonic wisdom leads to making bad choices in life. As a result, people do not have the grace to be content and follow God's leading to greater prosperity and success.Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less

THREE REASONS THE HEAVENLY FATHER PROSPERS US (2)

Jesus became poor so that we might be rich. Poverty is not the Heavenly Father's will because we will have nothing to give. To be blessed is His will, and then to become a blessing to others. So, the first reason the Heavenly Father prospers us is that poverty is not His will. The second reason is to meet the church's needs and others.#2 Meeting the Needs of the Church and OthersThe local church is God's temple. Therefore, like in the Old Covenant, the tithes and the offerings are for the temple's needs. Genesis 12:2 (NKJV) …I will bless you ... And you shall be a blessing. The Heavenly Father blesses us to make us a blessing to our family and His church. In other words, He blesses us to give and be a blessing to our local church. Every local church has its needs: paying the pastoral and administration staff salaries, renting the premises for church service, transportation expenses, equipment, benevolence, and other needs. How does God meet the needs of the local church? God has to bring it through the people in the church. In the Old Testament, God met the needs of the Temple through the people's tithes and offerings. So it is written in the law of Moses, and Israel tithed and gave offerings under the law. On the other hand, Abraham tithed without the law. Instead, he tithed by grace through faith.1 Corinthians 9:7,9–11 (NLT)7 What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn't allowed to drink some of the milk? 9 For the law of Moses says, "You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain." Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? 10 Wasn't he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest.11 Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren't we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink?Paul quoted the law of Moses here, saying, do not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn, and said it was written for us. It was about tithes and offerings. So when they brought their tithes and offerings in the Old Testament, they were not muzzling the ox. So likewise, Paul instructed the churches in Corinth and other parts of Greece from the law of Moses to bring their tithes and offerings.1 Corinthians 9:14 (NKJV) Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.Paul also said it is a commandment of the Lord that the pastors and teachers live from the gospel - through the tithes and offerings. So then, the ox that treads out the corn would not be muzzled. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. So, if someone does not tithe, he violates God's Word and the spiritual law of success and prosperity. Chances are, if we do not tithe and give offerings, no matter how much we have, we will still think we do not have enough because our eyes are looking at all the needs we have at hand, and our mind starts to project into the future needs and what we do not have to meet them. Therefore, people tend to think about not having enough now. Hence, how can pastors pray for God to bless us when we violate His Word? His Word is the law of the Spirit of life we live by to translate His spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm into reality. God's economy is when we tithe and give offerings; He will increase His blessings upon us so that we become a greater blessing. When we hold back, the tendency is we will lose what we have.Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less

THREE REASONS THE HEAVENLY FATHER PROSPERS US (1)

Jesus was prosperous, and His prosperity was not measured by accumulating great wealth and worldly possessions. He could afford to move around the country freely, going about His Father's business and fulfilling His purpose and ministry. He even supported a dozen disciples who travelled with Him throughout Galilee and into the neighbouring regions. So Jesus was not poor.The Heavenly Father will first prosper us because poverty is not God's will. #1 Poverty Is Not God's WillGod never created the earth and intended it to degenerate into abject poverty. Instead, poverty is not God's will. In poverty, one has nothing and does not have anything to give. Poverty is worse than lack. It is never God's will, as our God is a God of more than enough. That means God will always provide for us, and we will have more than enough. There cannot be a lack when we follow the Lord and obey His Word. We will always have more than enough because He is El Shaddai - the all-sufficient One, the God of more than enough. God sends prosperity to bless us and meet our needs. But even more importantly, He prospers us to make it possible for us to help out in His work in our communities and nations. If we forget or stray from this purpose, we will wander into the devil's hands, and he can steal and destroy what we have. Jesus mentioned this here.Luke 12:48 (NLT) … When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.When more grace is given to us, more is required of us. When more grace is given to us to prosper, more is required to build His altar (His Church) and do the Father's will. There should be no fear, for He always multiplies it back to us when we give to God's work and the Father's will. Unconsciously, we have this in our minds; when God requires more of us, we will have less. On the contrary, God's spiritual law of sowing is that we will reap more when we give much. So the Lord spoke to Abraham, saying this:Genesis 12:2 (NKJV) … I will bless you ... And you shall be a blessing.The nature of the Heavenly Father is such that He blesses and makes us a blessing. If Abraham were poor, He would not be a blessing. So God said He would bless him and make him a blessing. He blesses us to be a blessing to those around us, those whom He would send us to meet their needs. The more we are blessed, the more we have partaken in His grace of blessing. The Heavenly Father prospers us to meet all our needs and to have all we want. At the same time, He entrusts us with His prosperity and blessings so that He can channel them to wherever He desires or whoever He desires to help. Hence, poverty is not God's will because we cannot give and be a blessing to others—instead, poverty results from the devil's curse on this earth.Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less

GRACE IS ACCESSED WHEN FAITH IS RELEASED

How did Jesus see the faith of the four men and the paralytic? Jesus saw their faith in action. Faith has its corresponding actions. When Jesus saw the four men lower their paralysed friend from the rooftop, He saw their faith. The paralytic man faced a crisis. He was paralysed and doomed to remain lying on his bed, but he had four friends who heard of Jesus, Who healed, so they had faith. They had persistent faith; they determined with their faith for a miracle. They did something with their faith, overcame obstacles with their faith, and found the solution for a miracle. However, the four men's faith could only carry the paralytic man thus far, to lower him down in front of Jesus amid the healing power of God. The paralytic man was in the midst of the power present to heal. But dangling in mid-air in the presence of the power to heal, nothing happened. He was still not healed at this point, just suspended there, looking foolish in the eyes of the religious people and doctors of the law.Nevertheless, the paralytic man also had faith. He agreed with the four to be carried and lowered through the roof. Notice that he had faith, but it was not released and, therefore, had yet to receive the power for his miracle. Nonetheless, he had faith to be carried into the midst of Jesus and His healing power. Faith must be released through corresponding actions to receive the grace of God for a miracle. Jesus then gave the paralytic man three instructions to release his faith. Luke 5:24-25 (KJV) 24 …Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. The four friends released their faith by carrying the paralytic man from his home to the rooftop and lowering him into the midst of Jesus. Now, it was time for the paralytic man to release his own faith. The three instructions Jesus gave to him were:1. Arise2. Take up your couch3. Go home. In other words, don't hang around those religious people and doctors of the lawThe paralytic man had to release his faith by obeying the instructions promptly. How would you expect a paralytic man to get up from his bed? But when he determined to rise, made the decision to rise, and made an effort to rise, only then did the power of the Holy Spirit come upon him to energise his paralysed body to rise, and his body was healed by the power that was present. We must understand that everything Jesus tells us to do is for a purpose. Jesus told the paralytic man to rise, take up his couch and go home, and he must do exactly that. He should go home after receiving his healing and not linger around in the place where all the Pharisees and doctors of the law were still seated. The grace of God was present in that place. The truth of God's Word was taught in that place. The power to heal was present in that place. There was faith with the four men and the paralytic man. A miracle happened only when the paralytic man released his faith upon Jesus' instructions.When we hear from the Lord Jesus, obey His voice and accompany it with corresponding actions. Faith will be released to receive His grace for a miracle. Take time to hear from the Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus. Spend time in the presence of the Father to listen to what He is saying concerning any situation, and do what He tells you, and you will have your miracle. Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less

RECEIVE SUPERNATURAL RESTORATION

Luke 4:27 tells us that no leper in Israel during the time of Elisha was healed except Naaman. Why didn't the people of God receive their healing except a gentile named Naaman? Three important characteristics of Naaman enabled him to receive the grace of God for his healing. #1 Naaman was a humble man. He was a very successful, capable, and intelligent man commanding a high position as Chief of the Syrian army. When Elisha would not meet Naaman at the door of his house upon his arrival, Naaman got offended. But he was humble enough to listen to his servant's advice to go to wash in River Jordan as instructed by Elisha, thus receiving his healing.#2 Naaman was a simple man. Simple enough to listen to a servant girl's suggestion to look for prophet Elisha and simple enough to listen to his other servants to go wash in the muddy Jordan River. He followed God's simple instructions and was simple enough to listen to the simple instructions to wash in the River Jordan. #3 Naaman was a giver. When he went to look for Elisha, he brought gifts to honour the man of God. A giver is an easy receiver - it is easy to receive and understand the instructions from God. Easy to follow the simple instructions. An intelligent man like him (Chief of the Syrian Army) but humble enough to receive simple instructions. Easy to overcome offences. There are knowledgeable people in our midst but simple enough to receive the truth of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, instructing them to speak in unknown tongues that may sound foolish to others. If you need God to help you, follow His instructions, and you will receive what you need supernaturally. Receive supernatural restoration!Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less