The Past and the Prophetic Utterance
[ Preached by Pastor Kenneth Chin at Acts Botswana on 1 February 2018 ]
This message was shared during the coming of Acts Botswana’s 6th Anniversary.
God wants His people to deal with the past so that they can be ready for the future. Do not be caught up in the sight of rubble, ashes, soot, and burnt bricks. Burnt stones can be used by the Chief Cornerstone to rebuild His Sanctuary.
God wants to rebuild every part of our lives.
Read | Genesis 1:1-26
God revealed something to me about the number – six.
The number six is known to be a Biblical representation of man. It was on the sixth day that He created man and woman. And as men and women of God, the Bible says that:
1. We are God’s creation
2. We are made in His image
3. We are created to dominate
4. Our purpose is to have dominion over all creation
5. We are created to bear fruit
6. His will for our lives is to multiply
To accomplish His purpose in our lives, God desires to break down the walls of our sin-nature as men and build us up again.
The Old: Burnt Stones
Read | 2 Samuel 6:3-10
When Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God, God was unhappy because he was not sanctified yet he tried to reach out to the Holy God. Like Uzzah, we may have even made accidental mistakes out of our hearts’ desires.
You may still be living in guilt, shame, and disappointment but God is not angry anymore. Christ was bruised for your iniquities and slain for your sins.
Read | Joshua 6:3-10
How many of you are ready for your hindered walls to fall flat? The day is coming when we will shout in encouragement! God’s people sang around the walls of Jericho with trumpets on the 7th day. When God is done with the work He is doing in us, everyone will sing in jubilation!
The Rebuilding: Brick by Brick
Read | 2 Samuel 6:12-15
King David got back the Ark from Obed-Edom and carried it according to the Lord’s command.
The Bible says that after every six steps, they stopped to offer a sacrifice unto God. David was saying, “God, I am only a man, I need You. After six steps, I will stop to remember You, I need Your grace and mercy, and I will not move on without You.”
May we remember today that we need God. May we stop to remember who we are and who God is.
The New: Living Stones
Read | John 2:1-12
Like the good wine at the wedding, the best is yet to come. God has kept the best for last. The Bible speaks about the purification of our sin, which leads to our perfection.
Fill God in your heart to the brim and miracles will begin to happen.
Fill yourself up with the written Word of God. Look no longer at the waterpots with sadness and guilt because the greatest miracle is already here!
Read | John 4:1-42
This woman went out to get water and met Jesus who promised her the whole fountain of life-giving water. She went out and told the whole village about this living water and this man. And just like her, you are about to bring the whole city to the Lord in Jesus’ name!
He is on a mission to mend the broken, make the ugly beautiful, and to fill the void of loneliness. God does not discard the old, He uses the burnt stones to rebuild!
#decadeoflegacy2030
Written by Writer’s Ink Botswana
Edited by Ivy Wambaa & Hailey Chung
