Philippians 3:10
ZOC Chairman Obrey Mupezeni
Chaplaincy Office
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
— Philippians 3:10 KJVReference: Two Ways of Knowing God by Prof. E. H. Guti
Theme: The Kingdom of God
Key Teachings
- Having a big God is having everything, no matter the situation.
- When we receive Jesus, we begin to see the good things, the dividends of the Kingdom of God. For us to have them, we have to understand what God is saying in our lives.
- Most Christians suffer from an identity crisis. We suffer because we fail to understand who we are and realize the weapons we are given through the Kingdom.
- When we are connected to God, we see and identify things clearly.
Page 4: "When you know God by merely studying, you don't experience the goodness that is in Him; you don't taste His sweetness..."
Two Ways of Knowing God
- We know God through studying.
- We know God through revelation.
- There is a sweetness in God which is only experienced by those who know Him through revelation and have encounters with Him.
- Sometimes as children of God, we suffer because we fail to realize the authority that we have in God's Kingdom.
Page 11 - I Press Towards the Goal of the Upward Calling: "I will, and my prayer is, that all the members of my church should know and enjoy the Kingdom of God and experience the inheritance which Jesus suffered for."
- Paul understood that in order to acquire certain things in life, he had to acquire a certain knowledge and rise above the knowledge he had. That's why, after 30 years of encountering God, Paul still wanted to know and understand God and the power of the resurrection.
Page 7 - Do You Know Your God: "The knowledge that we have governs us; it controls us."
- Our level of knowing God determines our level of encountering Him.
Two Ways of Knowing God, Page 23: "The way we see ourselves is what we are going to be."
Page 25: "Unless we see ourselves the way God sees us, we are not going to prosper in our lives."
- We need to understand that it is God who equips us. (Numbers 13:29, 14:30)
- We must intimately know Christ.
- Fellowship means to have companionship which is beyond partnership.
- We should have a relationship with Christ which is beyond companionship, beyond what anyone knows.
- God created us to fellowship with Him, just like how He would fellowship with Adam.
- There are people who are children of God but don't have access to some of the things in His Kingdom because they don't fellowship with God.
- Our understanding of Christ separates us.
How Do We Fellowship With God?
- Worshipping and Praising Him (John 4:23-24): For us to be connected to God, we need to give some praise and worship. Worshipping God is honoring Him for what He has done and will do in our lives.
- Obedience (Romans 4:3): Sometimes obedience makes you look like a fool. As children of God, we mustn't question His principles and things He has spoken in our lives. Obedience is the highest level at which God tests His people. Abraham obeyed God when he was asked to sacrifice his son, and he was counted for his righteousness. Righteousness makes us go before the Lord with confidence.
- Reading the Word of God (Psalms 119:105, Joshua 1:8): We have to meditate upon the Word. Page 9 - Integrity of God's Word: "Sometimes we take the word of God for granted even though it has all that we need." Deliverance, prosperity, good grades (excellency) are in the word of God.
- A Lifestyle of Prayer: African Apostle by Gayle D. Erwin: "Prayer is an intense experience for Guti that one can only understand by sharing that prayer time with him, for he prays with a firm belief that God is present and fully listening." The response of God is determined by the time of fellowship you spend with Him.
- When we put God in His place as a Father and Ruler, we fellowship with Him.
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Benefits of Knowing and Understanding God
- We do exploits (Daniel 11:32): We do extraordinary things which are beyond human understanding and imagination.
- We don't walk by sight but we walk by faith (Numbers 14:6-9): To the world, seeing is believing. BUT, to us children of God, believing is seeing.
- We speak and declare, and they come into existence: "When this ministry was small, I used to say this ministry will grow like Catholic." — Prof. E. H. Guti. Baba Guti understood His God, and what he spoke came to pass. We mustn't allow conditions to determine our future.
- You walk in His presence (Exodus 33:15, Psalms 90): When you understand God, you understand His presence, what the Spirit is saying to you, and what the scriptures say about you.
Back cover of 'Respect that brings Godliness' by Prof. E. H. Guti: "Almost everyone has somewhere to turn to for advice. In times of sickness we seek the advice of a doctor; in legal matters we seek the advice of a lawyer. But there are some things in which man does not have the answer. To whom shall we turn?"
