The MAKING OF THE GREAT SERVICE (MGS) AT CITY HARVEST CHURCH LAST SUNDAY

EXPLORING TALENTS FOR GOD

This is how great talents praised and worshipped the Most High God in the Youth Service MGS at City Harvest Church on 20th July!

1st Q Christian Dancers, Double E, City Shakers, Doreen Lifard, Norah Bernard, Miriam Kusula, Fridah Chavala and the young Tina Malulu

Norah Bernard leading City Shakers in praise

 Ester leading City Shakers in Praise

 City Shakers in Praise

 City Shakers in Praise

                                                                 City Shakers in Praise

City Shakers in Praise 

Chaval on keyboard 

Double E on stage 

Show me the dance 

Norah Bernard's talent for God! 

The audience 

1st Q Christian Dancers 

Shake shake 1st Q Christian Dancers 

Miriam Kusula in worshiping the Most High 

Miriam Kusula in worshiping the Most High 

Come on all, Let us worship the Most High God 

"I worship You Lord" 

Little Tina's talent is for God's Glory! 

Tina Malulu: Also Video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWT10UbGuqE

Little Tina Malulu leads praise! Just 9 years old! 

We are not behind, very present here for God 

Abel Yohana of City Harvest TV interviews Author Doreen Lifard of the book "Ruhusu Kusudi na Mpango wa Mungu katika Maisha Yako"

Interview Video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B_mgyHevQE

So, Doreen the author has got something going on for music too! Here showing her skills with guitar!

ARISE AND SHINE! Also on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BkgpKWmYe8

The next MGS will be on 17th August 2014 at City Harvest Church, Victoria Building, Mabibo Garage

DO NOT MISS!!

UZINDUZI WA KITABU - By Doreen Lifard

Hii si ya kukosa. Uzinduzi wa kitabu cha kijana huyu Doreen Lifard utakaoambatana na Tamasha la Kusifu na Kuabudu pale Uhuru Moravian (karibu na Msimbazi Centre) tar. 15 Juni,  2014 siku ya jumapili kuanzia saa 7:30 mchana

HEARING FROM GOD

By Doreen Lifard

It has been a while now since the last sermon we got to share. I am grateful to God for this opportunity that we have once again to get to explore His word. 

Today, we are going to talk about hearing from God. Can we really hear God in this period of time where there is too much noise around us? The answer is YES!

It will be very nice if you read the book of 1 Samuel chapter 3, the sermon will base on this chapter.

In summary, the story is about the first time when the prophet Samuel was called by God. If you are a good student of the word of God you will be aware of how Samuel was born. He was the answer to his mother's (Hannah) prayers. 1 Samuel 1:11 says "And she made a vow, saying, "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." "

Samuel was taken to the house of the Lord at a very tender age, the bible says after he was weaned (verse 22 of the first chapter).

Back to chapter 3. The bible says the word of God by then was  rare and there were not many vision. God called Samuel four times before starting to speak to him, and the first three times, he responded to Eli until the moment when Eli told him what to say so as to give God a chance to say what He wanted to say to him.

Verse 7 of the third chapter says "Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him"

We see in verse 9 and 10 "So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”"

What I want us to grasp from this chapter concerning hearing from God is that

1.   God wants to speak to us, He longs to speak to us even though the word of God may be rare to others or you may be around people with no vision.

2.   Your age does not matter, God can still speak to you. For example, Samuel was only a small boy.

3.   We need to know the word of God to measure against what we here because God will never say anything to you that is against His own word from the bible.

4.   The more we respond to what God says, the more we hear from Him. For example when Samuel responded to the call, God started to speak and told him so many things.

5.   We need some teachings, a teacher or let’s say a mentor can help us learn more on how to hear from God. Take an example of Samuel and Eli, Eli was there long before and he has been working for God for so long and so Samuel had so much to learn from Eli. Eli was the one who taught him how to respond.

   6. God speaks to us often; I came to notice that there were so many times when I came to realize that at so and so moment God spoke to me about a certain thing. Put more focus on what you hear from within you. God speaks to us more often than we think. Sometimes we think it is just our thoughts but in real sense, God drops His ideas into our mind so many times. God speaks to us through some other people around us. God speaks to us through nature and all that is around us. God speaks to everyone, getting closer to God helps us hear Him even louder. Work more on your relationship with God!!!

Have a good time and God bless you so much!!!

MORE AT: http://lifarddoreen.blogspot.com/

TALENTS AND GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.....(4 & 5) by Doreen Lifard

TALENTS AND GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.....(4)

It has been a while since the last time I wrote about this sermon and promised that the lesson will continue. All is well and I thank God for this other opportunity He has given us once again to meditate on His word. Surely it is a blessing.

Today, I love to talk about the similarities and the differences of talents and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And this will be answering the second question that we had in the first session, Are they the same?

Starting exploring the similarities

·                     Both talents and gifts of the Holy Spirit are intended to be used on behalf of the others. They are not to be used selfishly. God gives us the gifts and talents so that we can share and benefit from them. That is why we are given different portions but all of them are supposed to be a benefit to all of us.

·                     Both grow as you use them. Using your talents or gifts is one of the ways of sharpening them. The more you use them, the better they become. So I encourage you to make use of whatever gift and whatever talent you have.

Now let us talk about the differences between the two.

·                     While talents are inherited through natural birth. They come from the family tree, gifts are received from the Holy Spirit supernaturally.

·                      Talents are possessed by anybody whether saved or not but gifts of the Spirit resides in believers only.

·                     Talents are developed and expected. On the other hand, gifts are matured and surprising, they are directly proportional to our relationship with God.

·                     People may happen to use talents selfishly but the gifts of the Holy Spirit can not be used selfishly otherwise they will fade away. 

That is what we have for today, but more is to come. There are so many things we can learn concerning gifts and talents. But in this lesson, I will do my best and may God help me cover all the basics!

Thanks and God bless you so much!

                           to be continued...!!!

TALENTS AND GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.....(5)

Today we are winding up a series of sermons concerning talents and gifts of the Holy Spirit. So far, we have covered the meaning, the differences  and the similarities of the two. Today we are going to look at three things:

1.             Where do they come from?

2.             For what purpose? and

3.             How do I discover them in me?

These are the last questions that I promised to answer in this lesson and a promise is a promise. I pray that the Spirit of God takes us through and help us understand what ever He is intending to teach us today!

Where do gifts and talents come from?

 It is an obvious truth that the gifts and talents come from God Himself. Even though we have see in the previous lesson that they come in different ways i.e. the talents are inherited through natural birth meaning talents are inherited, it is God who releases the talents in that particular family line. And the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given by the Spirit of God to who ever He pleases.

Talents and gifts are from God. In the book of 1 Corinthians 14:1 the bible says "...eagerly desire spiritual gifts,..." NIV. While talents are inherited, spiritual gifts are given to us through the Holy Spirit. And the bible tells us to desire them.

For what purpose?

This is very important. It is  not enough just to have gifts and talents and sit back at home admiring yourself! God gives for a reason. He has a purpose for your life and these are important for you to accomplish whatever purpose God wants you to.

The bible says, in 1 Corinthians 12:11 "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." NIV The Holy Spirits determines how to give, and he says to each one of us meaning, if you are a believer, the Spirit of God has gifted you with something, as He determines and so, there is a reason to why you are gifted or talented with something!

Moreover, the bible says in " Ephesians 4:12-13 "... to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." NIV

What I came to know is that, when God gives you something, He wants you to be a blessing to others. Use it to glorify God. Use it for the body of Christ! Lift Him up.

How do I discover them in me?

It is a very important as well as most common question in many people. Sometimes it happens you do something for the first time or several times and you discover that it is something that you wish to do every night, everyday!

You might want to try a number of things to see what suits you best concerning talents let's say different sports or any other activity that you feel might be something for you.

The very important thing is, ask God to guide you through every step you take and to lead you to where you belong.

I would love to share with you some few tips I learnt somewhere during a seminar on how to confirm whether now this is it or not.

1.             Peace and joy: If what you are doing is really for you, you will feel the fulfillment and the contentment and that will give you peace and joy.

2.             You will love what you do: There is no way you will not love what you do without extra effort. Effort is needed in many things but doing what you love will not torture you.

3.             You will spend much of your time doing that: If what you do really suites you, you will enjoy and spend much of your time there.

4.             Good results:  If what you do is really for you, you will get good results. A point to note, even though at first things might not go well, you will still see the light ahead and have the energy to continue.

5.             People will appreciate what you do: Here I do not mean everyone but most people will respond well on what you are doing. You will be a good testimony and people will want to learn from you.

This is what I have for today, I hope you have enjoyed the lesson and most of all, you were able to get something that will take you to another level in Christ Jesus.

I have a principle of appreciating whatever small thing I have and use it for God's glory. I know that God will bless it and it will multiply. I encourage you to do the same. Remember the story of the man who gave talents to his servants (You can read it from the gospel of Mathew 25:14-28). Use whatever God has entrusted you, however small it may be, God will multiply it! And remember in the last lesson, we said they both grow as you use them. The more you use your gifts or talents, the more they grow.

God bless you and thank you so much!!!

TALENTS AND GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - by DOREEN LIFARD

TALENTS AND GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

I have known a number of people with different gifts and talents. It is a blessing seeing all that for the glory of God!

I came to realize that God reveals Himself in so many ways and works with us in different ways for His kingdom and He gives gifts and talents for a reason.

I am pretty sure that everyone is blessed with something from God whether we know it or we don't. 

At some point in my life I have been struggling to know what I can do best of all the things I have been doing! What I really enjoy doing even if I am not paid for or not for the sake of pleasing someone or some kind of an obligation...

The thing that I am free to do no matter what, something that I long to do for the rest of my life.

All these unknowns kept me thinking and searching. It was kind of trying to explore who I really am, what am I supposed to do. 

Some kind of searching for my purpose but along the way, I encountered these two things 

'TALENTS AND GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT' and I wanted to know more about these...!! You may be knowing something but trust me, if you continue with this lesson, you will get to know some issues that are going to be useful to you in making the most of your life for God's own glory!!!

I asked myself

1.     What are these (talents and gifts of the Spirit)?

2.     Are they the same?

3.     Where do they come from?

4.     For what purpose?

5.     How do I discover them in me?

Please keep in touch as I will be answering these questions to impart knowledge about this area of talents and the gifts of the Holy Spirit....!!!!

SECTION 2

I am all excited about this lesson for sure because it touches our lives in a very special when. At some point, this are adds meaning to our lives.

A promise is a promise! As I said the other day that I will get to answer some questions as we go on with this lesson, here I am starting today and my prayer is that all this knowledge gets us to higher level of thinking than we were yesterday and will trigger something in our hearts to get to know more about this in a specific way meaning that, how do they really apply in our lives, individually.

Well, let us start with the key area, perhaps you have been using these words or heard some people speaking about them... Let us get into the meaning of these two, talents and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Talent
A talent is a pattern of thought, feeling or behavior that happens repeatedly and can be productively applied. Is a natural skill and it is innate, can not be acquired.

1.     Talents determine your moment to moment reaction to your environment. 

2.     Results in your consistently pattern of thoughts or behavior where by conscious effort is needed to deviate from those patterns.

I strongly believe that each one of us is born with a talent whether we know it or we don't, whether we are using our talents or not, whether we appreciate the talents we have or not. Whether you are a believer or a non believer, you have a talent. And all talents come from God even though there are those who misuse their talents by not letting God be glorified through them.

Knowledge and skills are not talents as they can be acquired. Talent is an inborn thing. Has something to do with genetics. People inherit from their parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so on. God chose a family thing as a way to pass on talents to people. You can not acquire a talent but you can acquire skills and knowledge to enhance your talent.

There may be two people doing the same thing but the one with a talent will enjoy more doing that and will use less effort as compared to the one who is not talented in that area.

What you know reveals more about your experience and education than who you are at the core. God gives us talents to help us fulfill the purpose He has for us here on earth. It is like He has equipped us with the necessary tools for the job. And this plays part in your identity.
Stay tuned for more and God bless you so much!!!

SECTION 3

Last time we talked more on talents, and before we get to compare and contrast talents and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, let us talk about the gifts!

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

We can simply define gifts as something given without expecting payments. When we talk of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we are not paying to get them. 

The bible says that in the book of 1 Corinthians 12:11 "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." NIV. The Holy Spirit gives the gifts as He pleases.

The God gives not just for no reason but He has a predetermined purpose and a plan of what He gives.

We read from Ephesians 4:10-13

 "He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 

12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." NIV

We can see that verse twelve explains to us why are we given what we are given. The gifts and ministries that God give us are for the church. The church is supposed to be perfected to reach the standards of Christ and we are not yet there and so God wants to use His people, the church so as the church can be perfected!

From the book of Rom 12:3-8 the bible says  "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." NIV

Unlike talents, not everyone have these gifts, they are only found in believers. The people who have agreed to give their lives to Jesus Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit.

In the next session we are going to see in deep on the differences of the two, so keep in touch.

              to be continued... 

FROM: http://lifarddoreen.blogspot.com/