The Lightroom

The Lightroom

By Pastor Kingsley ManuelReligion & SpiritualityChristianity
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The Lightroom episodes

  • ARROGANCE VS CONFIDENCE

    2 Kings 5 verses 5 to 8, Naman had just gotten an information that his problem could be solved somewhere else

    and he was humble enough to listen to his servant girl but he was also willing enough to take a decisive action

    and the truth is that there are some people who know what to do but they are overthinking things and going through analysis paralysis

    and I've realized that when you're overthinking you're pretending that you're trying to decide what to do but you're not

    you're actually trying to control outcomes.


    And the king was worried when he got the letter

    because he thought this was a plot to kill him.

    He recognized his limitations that although he was king of a powerful nation,

    one that was in a covenant with God

    he realized that his power was limited and there are problems that his office, his role, his staff did not have the power and the authority to solve

    And this is why spiritual intelligence is important friends.

    The ability to discern what is natural and what is spiritual and the wisdom to keep natural things natural and spiritual things spiritual

    but much more in the text we see that Elisha knew his role,

    he understood his assignment and he sent word to the king

    have the man come to me and he shall know that there's a prophet in Israel

    And some people think that this is arrogance and cockiness but it's not

    knowing who you are and what you have is not arrogance,

    arrogance is forgetting who gave it to you,

    forgetting where it all came from

    and Elisha wasn't arrogant,

    he was confident.

    I mean same way Peter would say that silver and gold we have none

    but such as we have we give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk

    Friend, it is dangerous to be emotional about divine revelation

    and you must never respond emotionally to divine revelation.

    When Peter said thou art Christ son of the living God, Jesus didn't see it as a compliment

    He saw it as a revelation because Jesus knew who he was

    but he didn't expect that Peter would know by human reasoning

    that the only way Peter could know who He was is by a revelation from the Father

    and so Elisha knew his role,

    he knew who he was,

    he knew what he was positioned to do

    and he wasn't arrogant about it.

    Don't be ashamed or afraid to declare what you know God has said about you

    that's confidence and not arrogance.

    Have a blessed day friends.

    4 min
  • Under His Armour

    2 Kings 5:1: People would see your armour and have no clue what you're dealing with under the armour and everyone has a degree of leprosy which represents the exposure of our human limitations.


    That thing that nothing else fixes in your life except the power of God. There are things in your life that cannot be altered except by divine intervention.

    What is yours and how do you plan on fixing this? Do you have people in your life who can point you to the solution that you've been looking for?


    You need people in your life who would not run away from your leprosy and you need people in your life who are not just fascinated with you at your best but who can handle you at your worst.

    Maybe someone needs to stop today and ask God for the right alliance and the right people who would help build with you and bring you into the best of God for your life.


    Have a blessed day!

    5 min
  • TIME WILL TELL
    The hour is dark
    And it's hard to see
    What you are doing
    Here in the ruins
    And where this will lead
    Oh,
    but I know
    That down through the years
    I'll look back on this moment
    And see your hand on it
    And know you were here
    1 Samuel chapter 17 and we've been considering the magnificent battle between David and Goliath
    And I know that when you read 1 Samuel 17
    and you read of David killing Goliath you're intrigued by the boy, David - his courage,
    his covenant with God, his shepherd heart
    and his timely victory but what we don't realize a lot of time is that it was for this moment that Naomi lost her sons and her husband.
    Her daughter-in-law remained loyal to her and followed her and served her God also and after 10 years Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem
    and if all these didn't happen
    she wouldn't have given birth to Obed
    who gave birth to their grandchild Jesse
    and who gave birth to David
    what I'm saying is that it took generations
    to get David on the stage at the right time
    and God has been planning this moment
    and God has been setting up this moment
    for generations before David showed up
    and sometimes you come into a moment
    that God has set up for you
    but all you see is the moment
    but God sees the entire process that led you here
    listen friends,
    providence is how God sets up purposes in time
    it is providence that brings about the collision between destiny and time
    and if David had not obeyed his father
    and showed up that morning at the battleground
    he would have missed the moment that God had been setting up for four generations
    preparation is not something you do
    because there's an announcement of purpose
    Your preparation for greatness and for destiny is in your daily routines
    Do you have the habit of showing up just like David
    Or do you give excuses for errands?
    Can you see the divine in your everyday life?
    Think about 2 Kings 3 verse 11 - the Bible says Jehoshaphat asked, is there no prophet of the Lord here through whom we may inquire of the Lord? And one of his servants replied to the King of Israel that there's Elisha the son of Saphat who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah the prophet
    you can imagine that Elisha's confirmation
    and validation of the anointing was found in the things that he did daily before that moment
    I look at David killing Goliath
    and I realize that all the questions of Naomi
    were answered in that moment of David's victory
    I mean it didn't make sense
    Naomi would probably have asked
    why did I lose my sons?
    why did I lose my husband?
    and possibly it made no sense
    but you see providence makes sense of the things that makes no sense
    and I hope that the next time you say that time will tell
    you mean we will understand God's will better and better
    as time goes on
    friends,
    this morning
    you may have just walked into something
    God has been setting up for generations
    and all he asks of you
    is to show up
    because time will tell
    Have a blessed day friends.
    5 min
  • LOVE ME DOWN
    First Samuel Chapter 17 Verse 28 - But when David's oldest brother Eliab heard David talking to the men, he was angry.
    And what are you doing around here anyway?
    He demanded.
    What about those few sheep you're supposed to be taking care of?
    I know about your pride and deceit.
    You just want to see the battle.
    Hmm.
    Now this is David who came into the battlefield as a delivery boy, just being faithful to his father's instructions.
    And David, although anointed and although God's providence had arranged this moment
    for David, because hey,
    it was just another battle for the children of Israel.
    It was just another battle for Goliath.
    It was just another day for David.
    But in God's plan, this is the day that God has made.
    And this was the day that David was going to take a giant step into his purpose and his assignment.
    Friends sometimes fear has a face and it's a face that you recognize, one that you are endeared to.
    And being loved is a great feeling, but be careful to discern when those who love you
    greatly start to love you down.
    David's brother was speaking out of good intentions.
    Possibly he had heard about Joseph and his brothers.
    And sometimes the faces dear to you can speak words that facilitate your insecurity,
    your inadequacy, and Satan doesn't need to attack your calling.
    He just needs to influence what you believe you are able to do, even with your awareness of your call.
    So you are anointed, but with an identity crisis.
    And so closing your ears to the external voices, but remaining true to what God has revealed,
    the voices that you hear will feed your faith or feed your fear.
    Listen to me, man's rejection holds no weight against God's acceptance.
    And God is not looking at the size of your faith. He's looking at the strength of it.
    God must be the strength of your life.
    And so God wants you to accept His word as the highest authority in your life so that
    you will prioritize your covenant relationship with him over every other relationship.
    Sometimes the people who love you greatly can begin to love you down.
    You must be careful enough to discern when that begins to happen.
    Have a blessed day friends.
    4 min
  • Not Just Another Day

    You call me strong and courageous when I don't feel like I am

    You could have turned me away but you chose me instead

    You say that I'm gonna make it


    First Samuel chapter 17 we read about David and we see how David woke up very early in the morning

    and decided to go meet his brothers and be his father's delivery boy to his brothers

    and David had been very resourceful in the family keeping the sheep and possibly spent most of his

    time with the sheep and then uses the opportunity to enjoy fellowship with God and David had no idea

    that by the end of that day he would have cut off the head of a giant that had terrorized

    God's people for 40 days.

    I mean he had showed up at the battlefield as a delivery boy

    but he had no idea what else God had in mind and I believe that there are some people who have

    started their day already with no idea of how it is going to end because it is in God's nature to step into what you call ordinary

    and some say it's just another day at work,

    just another day at my store,

    just another day in my ministry,

    just another day with my family but God likes to

    interrupt in your experience what you have called normal so that you can taste of the super imposing of supernatural design.

    Friends little things matter.

    God is looking at the things you think

    do not matter and do not count.

    David wasn't asked to go and fight he was asked to go and deliver

    something to eat to those who were at the battleground watching the giant.

    The one who had the capacity and the covenant to slay the giant brought food for those who all they could do was to watch the giant.

    This is not just another day in your life this is the day the Lord has made

    and David's commitment to the little things was God preparing him for greatness.

    You will never be ready for great opportunities if you overlook the small things.

    The small things are bigger than you think.

    I mean he walked into the battlefield as a delivery boy although he was anointed a king.

    Samuel never even told him why he anointed him.

    He would have prepared better if he knew he was

    coming to fight.

    His weapons were found somewhere around the battlefield but his heart had been

    trained far before the day of the battle.

    By my God I shall run through a troop.


    Friends, there is no bad weather there is only bad dressing and the same is true for life.

    There are no bad seasons, you should be more concerned about your preparation for what is coming.

    Your giants are coming

    is your heart ready?

    Have a blessed day friends.

    4 min
  • Burdens

    It don't seem right,

    black and white

    And I'm struggling with a war in me

    And honestly,

    it's crippling

    My heart longs to run to you

    When darkness all around me

    I just wanna see

    Where your,

    where your,

    where your heart is

    When desires leave me empty

    I just wanna be

    Where your,

    where your,

    where your heart is


    Philippians chapter 2 verse 13 in the amplified classic version of the Bible

    It says not in your own strength, for it is God who is all the while

    Effectually at work in you, energizing and creating in you

    The power and desire both to will and to work

    His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight


    Friends, there are words that we use many times in expressing spiritual realities that are difficult for people to relate with

    And one of them is the word burdens

    And many times you hear people say,

    oh, I have a burden in my heart

    Oh, the spirit of the Lord has laid this burden on my heart

    And a burden is a motive placed in your heart by God

    And that motive sometimes comes as a weight

    And it has to be expressed, if it is not expressed, it will fade away

    And then you cannot be trusted with divine motives


    And what a burden is basically is that you are filled in your heart and in your mind to see something done by God

    And many times we begin to use our own mind

    And the strength of our own zeal to try to make these things happen

    Moses had a burden for the children of Israel

    And he tried to carry it out in his own zeal

    But he killed someone

    He became a murderer

    He became a murderer until he found a ground of fellowship with God

    Such that he could understand how God wanted to carry out the desire and the budding that he had placed in his heart


    Friend, the fire of passion can sometimes burn the passionate

    Don't run into trouble trying to pursue burdens

    It is God who walks in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure

    So the strength of your zeal is human error

    And God who gave you the desire has a way that he wants that thing done

    He has a way he wants to accomplish it

    And sometimes we get a bad reputation for wanting to do good

    You must learn how to manage your desires by checking how God wants this thing done

    It is not enough to just have a burden

    You must find the ground of fellowship to understand how God wants it done

    Have a blessed day friends!

    4 min
  • The Giver is Wiser

    1 Samuel chapter 18 - the Bible says that Saul was very angry at the song he was displeased and

    because they had credited David with tens of thousands and he thought with me they've only credited me with only thousands what more can he get but the kingdom

    and from that day the Bible says Saul kept a close eye on David.

    Friends, I've realized that we become dissatisfied because a lot of times

    we're focusing on the gift we have been given in comparison with what someone else has and that takes our eyes away from the giver of the gift.

    Saul became disturbed because David was chanted through the streets as the anointed one

    but you see David's anointing didn't mean Saul was not anointed

    don't be blinded by someone else's gift that you don't see that the giver of the gift has also given you something.


    Think about it, Jesus chose the boat of Simon and He didn't mean that the other boat was useless

    if you read further you realize how useful the other boat was

    it represented partnership and collaboration in the harvest of souls

    lost people must be saved, saved people must be pastored.

    pastored people must be trained, trained people must be sent

    and everyone has their place functioning in their gift and there's a place for you.


    Some people are wounded for a lifetime because of the injury caused by comparison

    they measure their value by what they have received as gifts but

    guess what the giver is wiser.


    We sometimes desire what we can't handle just because we have seen it with someone we perceive are like us

    if you realize that the giver is wiser, you'll be glad that you have

    what you have, I tell you because what you have is relevant and it's relevant in God's eyes

    but sometimes is not relevant in your eyes because you're seeing the seed while God is looking at the harvest

    you see a seed, God sees the tree that produces more seeds that produces more trees

    and sometimes we throw the seed away because we prayed for a tree and this seed doesn't match our expectations but the vineyard that you prayed for can be in the seed that you're rejecting.


    God is a giver of small things but his small gifts have bigger effect and you need to realize that all that the harvest is, is the result of the seed

    don't shout about the harvest and shy away from the seed

    the enemy may not even be after your harvest, he may just be after the seed

    so be careful what you throw away, be careful who you throw away

    Be careful how you look at small beginnings.


    Friends, it started with Abraham, Isaac passed it on, Jacob multiplied it

    God looks at the harvest while sometimes you look at the seed. Be careful how you see what is with you

    Have a blessed day friends!

    5 min
  • Abide

    For my waking breath For my daily breath

    I depend on You I depend on You

    For the sun to rise For my sleep at night

    I depend on You Yes,

    I depend on You


    John 15 in verse 1 Jesus says I'm the true vine and my father is the vine dresser

    and He goes in verse 4 He says remain in me and I in you

    and just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine

    so neither can you unless you remain in me

    and in verse 7 Jesus says if you remain in me and my words remain in you

    ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you

    He says in verse 8 that my father is glorified by this that you bear much fruit

    and so prove to be my disciples.

    Friends our roles are defined. We are nourished by God when we abide in Christ.

    Abiding is holding on to the one who has life for your life supply

    recognizing that there is life in no other place but in Christ

    and God wants you to bear fruit but he wants you to bear His fruit.

    God walks all in all so abiding in Christ is the way that the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit in you

    the qualities Christ wants to produce in us comes in us and out of us by communion with Christ

    and then we come into a greater harvest I mean Jesus says that you will bear much fruit

    and later he says that your fruit will abide

    sounds like a continuous ongoing increasing fruitfulness

    Never negotiate on fellowship with God

    the goal is not frequently it is unseasonally

    Friends, the world is after your connection to your life supply

    it is an infiltration and an attack on the mind to begin to contemplate being in control

    because we wither quickly when we fight for control

    the Bible says abide Jesus said keep my words and remain in my will

    you can't abide in Christ if Christ isn't Christ to you

    human efforts will not produce the nature of Christ

    we don't produce fruit by self-discipline

    discipline is futility without abiding in Christ

    even with knowing what is good and what is right

    the power to do so requires a force within

    and many may know what to do but lack the power to do what is right

    Jesus said let my words abide in you so nothing shifts you

    I mean you rest in the ability and authority and the certainty of God's word

    so your needs can shift you and set you up to pursue things outside the principles of scriptures.

    Think about it, long before you were born

    God made a promise. God doesn't need to write a new scripture for your new need

    His promises are older than your problems and your needs

    there's nothing more than scriptures

    and we must banish extra-scriptural practices and tendencies

    and submit to his word and restore in our hearts the superintendence of the word of God.

    Abide in me and I in you

    My Father is the vinedresser

    I am the true vine, you are the branch

    our roles are defined.


    Have a blessed day friends!


    I say the truth and the lie

    you're the well that never runs dry

    I'm the branch and you are the vine

    draw me close and teach me to abide

    5 min
  • Unpopular

    When this life of trials tests my faith I set my hope on Jesus

    When the questions calm and doubts remain I set my hope on Jesus

    For the deepest wounds that time won't heal There's a joy that runs still deeper

    There's a truth that's more than all I feel I set my hope on Jesus


    Exodus 23 verses 2 - You shall not follow the crowd in doing evil Nor shall you testify in a dispute

    So as to join together with the crowd in order to pervert justice

    God doesn't rule by popular vote God rules by His voice

    And His voice for us is His word

    So no matter how many people stand against God's word God's word remains right

    So don't let pressure make you deny the lordship of the word of God

    The biggest threat I've seen today is not a secular culture or a secular society

    It is a compromising church

    I mean churches that are compromising on solid biblical doctrines and truth

    And this eventually results in raising a group of people professing to be devoted followers of Christ

    But with the dangerous potential of turning away from the truth

    John chapter 3 verse 16 and 17 the Bible says

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son

    So that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life

    For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world

    But so that the world might be saved through Him

    So God is not trying to take over the systems of the world

    God wants men saved

    So God's purpose for sending His Son to die for mankind is to save men


    And so Paul admonishes in Philippians chapter 1 verse 27

    That no matter what is happening around you only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ

    So that whether I come and see you or remain absent

    I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind

    Striving together for the faith of the gospel


    Friend,

    the grace of God doesn't lead us to embrace sin as a culture

    The intention of God is that if you are in Christ through the salvation of your soul

    Then hell is in your past

    But outside Christ,

    hell is in your future

    And anyone who is not born again will one day wish that he was not born at all


    Never change the written word or the tone of it to sound accepted or popular

    Have a blessed day friends!


    I set my hope on Jesus

    Though this heart of mine is prone to stray

    Give me grace enough to finish

    Until I worship on that final day

    I set my hope on Jesus

    I set my hope on Jesus

    By rock my only trust

    You set His heart upon me first

    I set my hope on Jesus

    5 min
  • Frenemies of Christ

    I set my eyes on what I cannot see

    The hope of living right in front of me

    Oh I've left the world behind

    Now Jesus you are mine

    How can it be?

    Your death means I'm alive

    James 4.4 in the message translation says you're cheating on God if all you want is your own way

    Fletting with the world every chance you get,

    you end up enemies of God and His way

    And do you suppose that God doesn't care?

    I love how the passion translation also puts it

    It says you have become spiritual adulterers who are having an affair,

    an unholy relationship with the world

    Don't you know that flirting with the world's values places you at odds with God?

    Whoever chooses to be the world's friend makes himself God's enemy

    Friendship with the world is about value systems

    The values of the world and the values of Christ are never in agreement and are never the same

    How we think,

    where we go,

    how we do life are never in agreement with the world

    And so when you adopt the values of the world into your life,

    it hinders you from being a bold witness for Christ

    Friends,

    our morality is not the gospel and it doesn't save men

    But it gives us stronger grounds to preach the gospel

    Our values either hinder the gospel or enhances the preaching of it

    Now you need to understand - God has called us to godly lives

    But you see,

    a godly life is not a moral life

    It includes morality but it is not just morality

    The word godly is a confluence of two words,

    god-like

    And god-like is not only moral,

    God is morally excellent but he is also excellent in all things

    So you know a godly man not just by his morality but by his god-likeness in all things

    And you're either like him or not like him

    But you cannot be a part of him and not be like him

    Friends,

    the world is very deliberate about its agenda

    And the agenda of the world is to conform us

    And conformity is to get people who are at variance with values and systems to accept and adopt your values and systems through pressure

    And the pressure in the world comes with majority, popularity and diversity

    Majority because everyone is doing it

    Popularity because this is the popular thing now and the truth is this,

    much of what is popular is not right

    In the agenda of the world,

    deception and indoctrination will be publicized and amplified through the media

    So a lot of things will be popular

    And diversity because it is not just happening in one place,

    it's happening everywhere

    But hey,

    our systems and our values are different because they are of Christ

    Never conform to this world

    Be transformed by the renewal of your mind through the Word to live in the standards and values of Christ

    Have a blessed day friends.

    5 min

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