Do you have the Environment?

|“¹⁴When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. ¹⁶When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. ¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” ¹⁸When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”| Matthew 8:14-20

|“1BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. ²But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. ³And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].”| Psalms 1:1-2 (Amplified Bible)

Another day is here and Jesus is ready to do great things in the lives of many people if only they allow him to. Jesus comes from teaching his disciples in Matthew 7 about the principles of the kingdom of heaven. He teaches them not to judge others, the A-S-K principle (Asking, Seeking and Knocking); the narrow and the wide gate, about true prophets and false prophets as well as disciples and he culminates it by talking to them about the two builders, the wise and foolish one. Enter Matthew 8, He continues healing the man with leprosy and the centurions servant and then He comes to Peters house and heals his mother.

You will agree with me that Jesus was truly tired and He needed to rest. He could have opted to lodge at Pater’s house but He goes on and many people in Capernaum wanted to follow him. One teacher of the law told him that he would follow him wherever He went. It is at this point that Jesus tells them that birds and foxes have nests and dens to rest but He had no place to lay his head and rest. What did Jesus mean? He simply meant that He had so many people following him yet they were not ready to pay the cost of following Him; they followed Him because of the miracles he was doing.

Let me pause a little and ask you this: Why do you follow Jesus? Did you get saved just because our friends got saved and you wanted to follow the trail? Think about it and give yourself an answer. The Lord is seeking a dwelling place but not followers. he doesn’t need a a place to sleep but a place where he can dwell and live in. Most Christians today are more of followers than people who can accommodate or provide a dwelling place for Christ. Remember Jesus had to be born in a manger. There was no comfortable place for him to be born only a manger was available for him to be laid. You would thing that this was His destiny but it wasn’t. He was 100% man and 100% God and He was to come and dwell in the hearts of people - you and me. (This doesn’t mean that he wasn’t supposed to live in a house).

Jesus speaking to the Pharisee, He said that He (Jesus) did not have a place to rest/lay his head but in real sense, Jesus meant that “He wanted a heart to dwell in but not just adding or getting another follower.” Our hearts should have the right ENVIRONMENT so that Christ can dwell in it. God is after our Hearts and not just our mortal bodies. He knows that He created us fearfully and wonderfully (Psalms 139:14) but “He is seeking more than what meets the eye” (1 Samuel 16:7) This is what God was looking for when He rejected Saul as a king. He was pleased by David because He found a dwelling place in his heart. Remember, Saul was a tall, Handy and handsome man when he became the King of Israel but he disappointed God when he didn’t follow his commands.

There are a few things that we ought to know that the environment of our heart matters a lot. It determines so much about us and our relationship with God. An ENVIRONMENT:

• Determines how we See, Perceive and Conceive things: -There are situations and circumstances that come into our lives and if we do not have the right atmosphere/environment, the reaction that we will will determine the results. We need to realize that we do not see things the way they are but we see them the way we are. You can not see beyond who you are or give what you do not have. ATTITUDE determines your ALTITUDE and this is determined by the environment that you have in your heart and life.
• Perpetuates and sustains the life of an Organism: - when you put an organism in the wrong environment, it will automatically die. When the necessary conditions for a plant are not there, you do not expect to see any growth. This principle applies to your heart too. If the environment of your heart is not conducive to sustain any form of growth and life, rest assured that your spiritual man will die. When the prodigal son moved away from the presence of his father, he squandered all he had and ended up as a beggar. If he had stayed at home where the environment was conducive, he would have grown into a more responsible son. David in (Psalms 1:3) likens us to a tree planted by the waters. The tree has got enough supply of water and minerals and thus it is well fed and the environment is right, thus the tree yields its fruits in season and it is ever green. If our spiritual man is not well fed and nourished with the Word and watered with Prayer, he will certainly die and wont be fruitful. God had to create the garden of Eden first as an environment for man to live in before He created him. Why don’t you create an environment for God before you invite him?
• Feeds us so that we can Accomplish our purposes: - In Psalms 1:3 the tree is well fed and thus it is able to produce. Jesus said in (John 15:4-7) that “Unless a branch is attached to the tree, it won’t bear any fruits”. We ought to remain connected to God so that we can be able to know his mind and purpose for us and thus, we accomplish what we have been created for. Some of us struggle to know where God has called us and to do what; simply because, we have not taken time to get to connect with God and ask Him to reveal unto us what He created us for.

For us to have such an environment, we need to have FOUR things that will enable us to cultivate/create such an environment: -

1. Prayer: - It keeps us connected with the father and thus we are able to know his mind. Whenever we are stuck, we can communicate with him and ask Him questions and there He gets to speak to us too and give us direction.
2. The WORD: - The word of God provides us with the appropriate, necessary and needed nutrients to feed on so that we can bear healthy fruits. Do not depend on the word that you get every Sunday from your pastor or preacher and think that it will sustain you… Dig and teach yourself a habit of reading the word on your own. Be like the Bereans. The bible says: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11).
3. The Holy Spirit: - The Holy Spirit is the CATALYST that synthesis our lives and creates the right environment that accommodates/facilitates the dwelling place of God and Growth. Remember the Spirit cannot dwell in an unclean vessel, thus we got to make sure that we are sanctified and holy for the inhabitation of the Holy Spirit as a catalyst to create the right atmosphere for Growth.
4. The RIGHT Spirit: - David prayed in Psalms 51:10 and said “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” This ought to be our daily prayer and desire unto God that He will renew us each and every day of our lives. The bible records of God testifying about Caleb. God said in Numbers 14:24 that “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” How beautiful would it be when God gave a testimony of you and me that we have followed him wholeheartedly and we have a different spirit from the rest?? When we have a different spirit, we view things differently and this places us in a different realm in life where you stand a place of receiving your inheritance and blessings.

My prayer for all of us this day is that we will strive to create, have and maintain a conducive environment for God to dwell in and that will stir our growth.

Blessings!
Shalom!!