TCA Wed22May24 - Eternity - Ps Belinda Shongwe

The speaker begins by expressing gratitude for a new day and the opportunity to come before God. They mention that God knows what we will need throughout the day and encourage listeners to put God first and seek His guidance. They mention that the Word of God is powerful and will accomplish what it is meant to accomplish in our lives. The speaker introduces Pastor Belinda Shongwe, who will lead them in prayer. Pastor Shongwe acknowledges the opportunity to speak and greets the audience. She then starts talking about the topic of eternity and how God has placed eternity in the hearts of men. She explains that no one can comprehend the plan that God has placed in our hearts, and that this eternity is a deep longing for God that cannot be filled by anything else. She references King Solomon and his realization that even with all his wealth and wisdom, he still felt empty. She emphasizes that only Jesus can fulfill this longing and that God's plan for our lives is already finished, waiting 🌹🌹🌹 🌹🌹🌹 🌹🌹🌹 🌹🌹🌹 There's always something new to know about God. Always something new to be revealed about God in our lives. We thank God that we have been given yet another day to come before God. As we start a day which He knows and we don't know. It's a new day for us. But He has always been here. He knows what we will need along the way. And as we come together we are saying to God, we are putting you first as we start the day. We are giving you the first attention. We are coming before you to say, be our guide through the day. And we thank God as yesterday we were taught by Pastor Kate about God's creation of light at the beginning. And today we continue to listen to the Word of God and pray. And the Bible says His Word never comes and then goes back without accomplishing what it is meant to accomplish. So we believe that even today as we listen to the Word of God, it is going to accomplish different things in our lives because God knows our different needs. He knows different areas where we need His revelation. Join me as we welcome one of our own which is Pastor Belinda Shongwe who is going to lead us today as we come before God in prayer. Over to you Muruti Shongwe. Thank you Mama for giving me the opportunity to speak on this day. Let me say good morning to all the brethren. And surely we will never get enough of God as you echo the word this morning Mama. And I just want to thank the Lord for making it possible for us all to be on this bed this morning and also acknowledge the opportunity given by Apostle Joseph Sutton and you Mama, Pastor Josie for letting me speak to the people of God this morning on the closet altar for encouragement. Brethren, good morning and greetings in Jesus name. And today we will find our scripture reading from Ecclesiastes 3, 9-11. Ecclesiastes 3, 9-11 It reads as follows. What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. He hath made everything beautiful in his time. Also he hath set the world in their heart so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to an end. The Lord bless the reading of this holy news. Brothers and sisters, this morning I just want to encourage us on the issue of eternity. That my topic is on the issue of God has put eternity in men's hearts. And it is only God who can fill the emptiness in men's hearts. All what I will be saying will be revolving around that to say it is God who has put eternity in our hearts. And therefore for us to fill the emptiness in our hearts, it is God himself who can help us do that. So where we have read, it is a book written by Solomon, the King Solomon. And we know that King Solomon was the king of Israel. He is known by being a wise king. And we know he was rich and he was famous. And one of the things he was famous about is that he was saving for about a thousand wives. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. And this background tells us that he is a man, a king who wanted to search for men. And this book was written towards the end of his life. We are listening to the words inspired in Solomon's heart in his old age. Where he said, I looked at the people around. Maybe I think he was looking at the people around his premises where he was staying. And he saw that they were waking up every morning rushing to do their daily work. And he was wondering. And in his old age he started pondering as to what is it that makes these people to labor? What do these people gain? What profit do they gain out of doing this? He's a man who when he wants to eat anything, a chef will come and cater for him. He's a man if he feels that today I don't want to wash myself, a helper can come and assist him. That's why even when he had to marry two wives, he had to go according to his heart's desire. Unfortunately, that made his heart to draw away from God and started looking after other gods like idols of his other wives. So I'm just giving a background to Ecclesiastes to say we are listening to the words spoken by King Solomon where he said, I look at the people that God created, they are travailing, they are laboring, but I ask myself what is it that makes them to profit out of their labor? We must be in that context. And in verse 11 he said, he has made everything beautiful in his time. And he continued to say, also he has set the world in their hearts. Some translations say he has placed eternity in their hearts. So some say he has placed the world like the King James mission. So what is eternity? That which God has placed in the heart of men. Eternity is that which lasts for an age or a long time or is age-long. Eternity is timeless. It operates simultaneously outside of time, inside of time and beyond time when we talk of eternity. It is unending. So when Solomon as he was searching and thinking and being in deep thoughts, he came to this knowledge that God has put eternity in men's hearts. He has put an unending thing. Eternity is timeless. It will never end. It is beyond time. It operates beyond, inside, outside time. That's the reality that Solomon came into being. And this is what the Word of God is telling us today. That God has put eternity in each one of us. And this eternity is put in the heart of men. It is put in our spirit. We know that as believers, when the Word of God speaks of the heart, it speaks of the spirit. It speaks of the real man. So every creation, the people that God has created, God already has put eternity in them. Whether you are a believer or an unbeliever, eternity is in your heart. And this Word is saying to us, because the eternity is put in our heart, it is the thing that God has placed in us, for us to long for Him, to have a longing for Him. And this is the reality that King Solomon has come to, to say God has put eternity in the heart of men. He may be, that's why he is saying, I now see why God has put things beautiful in His time. I like it when it says, in King James, it says, verse 10, verse 11, He has made everything beautiful in His time. Other translations speak of in His time. But I like this one, that the eternity placed in our heart. The plan that God placed in our heart, which we cannot comprehend. It says that God has placed this eternity, but He made it that no one can comprehend that which He has put in our heart. Meaning, you cannot finish God. It is so wide. When you come closer to God, the more wider it becomes. You can't finish the plan of God. You will have to go closer in fellowshipping with Him. Go closer. This eternity in men, which Solomon has realized, he found that, OK, I try to fill this void by going after many wives, thinking that I will get enough. The more I get, the 700 wives, the more I also need to have the concubine 300. And yet I'm still not satisfied. And even in my old age, I can still see that I still have this void. Because that eternity, it is timeless. Timeless. That is the thing that God has placed in men's heart. And in the heart of men, God has placed His plan. And Solomon realized that, Oh, I am an empty old man. With the riches that I have, I remember one time he sacrificed 144,000 animals in one day. He was rich. He had 4,000 stalls of horses. He was a wise person. He had a law. But he was never satisfied. He still had a deep longing. A deep desire. Because without Jesus, this desire will never be closed. And I'm telling us today that when the Word of God says He has placed eternity in us. And He also made sure that His plans we cannot comprehend. It is this thing God made sure that we can't finish Him. And the thing, because we can't finish Him, it is for our good. We have been told previously that we need to pray and if we have prayed and you see that your prayers are not answered, you need also to go to the course of heaven. And even if you went to the course of heaven because some might say, no, I've been told by the prophets that we must go to the course of heaven. Yes! We must go to the course of heaven. But even if now, that challenge or that thing that you desire because it might be good or bad, it might be a challenge or just a desire to be a great business person, to be a millionaire, to reach out that digit of being a billionaire, or to be the greatest educationist, or to be promoted in a particular position, it is that our desires are vast. Even if that thing is still there and you will promise that if you go to the course, our advocate, Jesus, will stand on your behalf, even if for now it is not yet realized. Know that the plan is already finished. Maybe you are left with an hour, maybe you are left with a moment, maybe this is the moment as I'm speaking. Maybe it is in the next 5 years for you to receive that. Maybe it is in the next 10 years. Because eternity cannot be finished. God's plan is within you. It is already finished. He put everything, finished it, and placed us in His plan. So, what the Word of God is saying to us today is encouraging us to say, eternity is placed in our heart. Your plan, the plan about your life is already there. It is already sealed in your heart. And the fact that you have not yet realized it, if you read the same text from this one, it says there is time for this, time for that, time for this, time for that. That's why Solomon is saying, I realize that everything is beautiful in His time. It is waiting for His time, not your time. The Gairo's time of the Lord, the appointed time. Maybe you prayed enough, maybe you interceded enough, maybe you gave a lot, and you are starting to go back and say, why the prophet has spoken? I don't realize this. I'm here to tell you that it is waiting for His time, not for your time. His time, the time of the Lord. That's why the Word of God says, everything is beautiful in His time, not our time. One day Paul said, I had a thorn in the flesh, I prayed to the Lord, and said, Lord, can you take this thorn away from me? He says, I went three times, and inquired, and God said, probably God looked at the place, and He said, no. Paul, know that, that thing that you are suffering, for me in my planet, I peep in into it, as I look in into it, I say, go on, preach the gospel, whether that thorn is still there or not, I say, focus, go on, don't wait there and say, I still have a thorn. We have thorns, brothers and sisters, in our lives. This thorn, some of them are a package, on our roads, to know Him better. And when Paul sees this, he said, God said, my grace, my grace, my grace is sufficient for you. I say to you, brothers and sisters, whatever you are going through, as you continue in this life, God is saying to you, my grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect, in your weakness. For when you are weak, then, you are strong. So, this morning, God is reminding us, never be discouraged. Whatever the devil brings, on your path, to your life, because as of now, as children of God, we have entered the eternal life. We have the eternal life. But that doesn't mean, it is the stop of things. We still have to go through issues. Because, what is more, what is required, it is for us, to know His plan. Let's go to, Deuteronomy 29. 29. Just to encourage you. If this plan, is put in my heart, and we can't comprehend, I cannot come to the end that, OK, God is going to do this now. OK, God is going to do this, in the next 18 hours. If I can't comprehend, what must, what is it that, can help me, to know His plan. Deuteronomy 29.29 says, The secret things belong, to the Lord our God. But the things, which are revealed, and disclosed, belong to us, and to our children, forever. So that we may do all, of the way, of this law. Brothers and sisters, eternity is inside, is inside our heart. There are things, that are a secret to God. Whatever you desire, deep desire, I don't know what is your longing, but this deep desire, it is filled, by God, to Himself, in the heart of men. And, there are secrets, we, we, you might not have, got your final answer, about what you want, but I'm here to tell you, that the secret things, belongs to God. The plan is finished already. The verse says, from the, the beginning to the end, eternity is placed, in the heart of men. But this is the secret of God. And for us to know, the secret, what is it that God has for me today. You have been told, that in Job 38, that you must command your money. In commanding your money, it is to inquire of the Lord. It is to proclaim the word of God. And today we are told here, that, if I go through a challenge, if I, I have, a particular desire, in line with the will of God, but I'm not reaching it. Just know that, eh, eh, eh, you need, the Spirit of God. Because the verse says, the revealed thing, belongs to you. If something is not revealed, like sometimes we, go through as Christians, we, our brothers, our sisters, they die, in a particular death, that you feel, they died prematurely, and whatever. I say to you, if something is not revealed, to you, it is still a secret. If it is revealed, it is for you and your children. Children. I say for us, to know, this day, what God has placed in us. Like the Apostle Joseph has said, in Psalm 139, that God has recorded everything about our lives, in the books of destiny. And for us to know, what is it that is inside, even in line with our desire, we must inquire of the Lord. I will not read other scriptures. Where Jesus said, before I leave, I know, you must wait for the helper. He is the Holy Spirit. He is the revealer of the truth about God. He will reveal to you the secret, of this day, about your life, about your things, about his plans. So, today if we want to know, what is it that is in, our heart, that God has planned. As we navigate, I like it, when other translations say, God has placed the world. For us to navigate the world, in our heart, we need the Spirit of God, to navigate, to show us the secret. That's why at some point, you will dream about, a place or, let me say, you will see that when you walk in a particular street, you feel, no, but I walked in this street, at some point, I don't know, when. It is because, because eternity is inside of you. At some point, you navigated, through the Spirit of God, and you passed through that path. Because everything, is already finished. It is in us. One advertise, it is not inside, it is on top, about Cremora. So I say today, it is inside. It is not on top, it is inside. You don't have to look far. He said, I leave you, with the helper, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, is your compass, today, as you enter. The Holy Spirit, is the one that has the map of land. Whatever you hear, from heaven, He will reveal it to your heart. He will show you that, okay, I can show you in your heart, that you are supposed to go, after this business opportunity. I can show you that today, you are supposed to stay, in this ministry. I can show you today, that you are supposed to start, a ministry. So, it is, the Spirit of God, in our heart today, that is able, to navigate, and show us, what is the secret plan of God, for us, each day. I'm saying to you, brothers and sisters, Paul says in Philippians 3, 10, that, when this longing comes, he says, because, let me say, this longing, in our hearts, which is put by God, it is a benefit, to a child of God. It keeps you going. Once you lose the longing, this desire, you have lost it. Because, if it can't be finished, you can't say, I'm enough, or I've prayed enough, I've done all, I've given all, I have offered all, I have prayed enough, I have fellowshiped enough, now I've done it, I've preached a lot. No. It never ends. Because it's eternity. It's endless. So, I'm saying, all, like Saul, the longing, has moved them closer now to God, to the real thing. The longing, in a child of God, is no longer empty. Because Jesus, in the heart, he has taken the place. When you believe, according to Romans 10, 9 and 10, you receive things. You are no longer empty. To the unbeliever, this eternity that is in the heart of man, it has brought emptiness that is not yet filled. And this emptiness makes people to continue to search for meaning of life. To search for meaning of things. To try to understand. But they will never comprehend without God. That's why, when this person, if he wanted to be rich and wealthy without God, he will try to get a million. God try to get a billion. Try to get trillion. And still the void is not closed. Some go to the point of taking their own life. Because eternity is in the heart of man. It's only God who can fill that longing. And as a child of God, this longing I realized that sometimes it can go wayward. Because when this longing comes for more of Him, the food becomes tasteless. People sometimes become, you don't no longer want to go to other people. You don't no longer want to be with your wife or your children. You just want to be in His presence. And look at the beauty of God and enjoy His presence. And if you don't balance it, that's why some will say, no, this woman went for 40 days fasting, is always fasting and neglecting the husband. It is because when this longing for more of Him is not balanced, sometimes it can go wayward. Because this longing for Him, God placed it for a purpose. It keeps us going until we arrive home. The longing, if you lose the longing as a child of God, you have lost your faith. Because it is the thing that calls us closer to Him. So I'm saying to you today, brothers and sisters, certain things, I have my thing. I will ask the Lord, why are you not doing this thing? God will always remind me. Do you see, Paul? I once said, my grace is sufficient for you. For this issue, I'm saying my grace is sufficient for you. Go on with your Christian work. I don't know why God is saying this to us today. Maybe you prayed a lot and He said, I am so anointed. Maybe you said, I have done this, but still I don't see anything. Maybe the plan is just about to come to pass. You are from Skukuni, now you are still at Luwahome. And you are going to Polokwane. Maybe you are at Luwahome now, you are closer. Don't lose heart. Because God will not just do it because it is for you. The plan is there, He can't change it. It is already there. What He can do, He can make you to endure until His appointed time. His appointed time. Everything is beautiful in the appointed time of God. Once you do it, something which is not beautiful, that's why Solomon says, the void is not closed. With many wives, I didn't get enough. I'm saying to you, brothers and sisters, when they go for polygamous marriages, when they go for other things, it will never get enough. They will still have 7 wives, 10 wives, it will never, the void is filled by God. You will need God. The longing for Him. Oh Lord, Philippians 3.10, that I may know Him and the power that rose Him from the dead. That's the desire. That we may know Him. In this, so that I may know Him. Experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him. Understanding the remarkable wonders of His person. Who pushes out the person of the Holy Spirit. Who understands Him. The revealer of the truth of God. The revealer of the secrets of God. That I may know Him. And wonders of His person more completely and in that same way experience the power of His resurrection. Which overflows and is active in believers. And that I may share the fellowship of His suffering. We need to share the fellowship of His suffering. Not everything will always go our way. At some point we need to share the fellowship of His suffering. That's why God said it is sufficient for me, Paul, for you to go through that door. It is good for you. At some point, you will know why you had to go through that. My grace is sufficient for you. The grace of my suffering. That and that I may share the fellowship of His suffering and by being continually confirmed inwardly into His likeness even to His death, dying as He did. Brothers and sisters, I'm closing the void in our heart. The spirit of God has come each day to show us how to close the void for other things. We are, we have received the eternal life. We have the spirit of God in our lives. We must never envy other gods. We must never envy those that go for fortune tellers, divination, those that go for palm readers, mediums, spiritists, those that speak after the dead. Don't envy that. Don't envy that. You have the spirit of God in your life. He is the compass of your life. You have the best thing in your heart. When the people try to go out to get answers, yours is inside of you. It's inside. You are walking with Him. He is in us. He is with us. The Holy Spirit, the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of our salvation. He is in us. He is with us. He is the spirit of God. He is with us. He wants more. He wants us more. He wants us more. He wants us more. He wants us more. He says, whatever you do when it's in my time, it is beautiful in my time. When you testify in His time, it's beautiful. When you receive Jesus while you are still alive, it's beautiful. It is bad when you want to receive Him when you are dead. You can't. It's no longer beautiful. When it is winter, when you put on the lip my stomach, people will ... ... because it is not beautiful. It's winter and you put on your lip my stomach. When it is summer, it is hot and you are putting on your ... ... It is not beautiful. It is not beautiful. God is saying, let's do things in His time. The time of God is always beautiful. It's always beautiful. I finish saying we search for meaning. We search for knowledge. We search for life and revelation in our relationships, in our work, in our pleasure. But we must know that the secret things belong to God. Everything that is revealed to us, it is for us and our children. Never lose hope. He is there. He is always with you. He loves us so much. That's why He died for us on the cross. And lastly, I say godliness with contentment is a source of great gain. In fact, Timothy said it. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. Godliness with contentment is a great gain. The reason why he was destroyed by wealth is because he didn't have an agenda for wealth. In the annals of history, Solomon goes into the annals of history as the most ungenerous wealthy man. This is what happens when people amass wealth only for pleasure. It destroys them, takes them away from God, and also destroys them personally. They become destroyed. Always, when we go into the world of wealth, we must have an agenda. And the agenda is to finance God's purposes, finance the good causes of life, and so on. If you check Solomon's history, he never financed any good cause. The only time where Solomon was recorded to have given something, it is when he was still a nobody. At Mount Jibreel, when he slaughtered over a thousand cattle, seeking direction and revelation and wisdom. As soon as he got wisdom, he got wealthy, he just started spending the money on himself. And at the end of the day, wealth destroyed him. The second takeaway, again from this wonderful word that we have received here, it is about timing. That in the book of destiny, we've got to get revelation. And when we get revelation, let us implement God's purposes as revealed to us in God's time. Let us implement in God's time. Because if we don't implement in His time, things will time up. Then we begin to do things in our own time, and we begin to struggle. The other takeaway is that we've got to understand that there are things that we don't understand in life. And it happens, it is contradicting scripture, and it is contradicting our desires and what is revealed to us. And if that happens, we must know that in every kingdom there is classified information. Classified information is secrets of government, secrets of kingdoms. So, classify. And what you don't, what God doesn't reveal to us, let's leave it to Him. It's classified information. But let's work on things that are revealed as an inheritance in our lives, and we go on and so on. And to sum it up again, if we know God's will for our lives, and understand what is in the book of destiny, and so on, about our lives, and so on, and we do, we implement that, we live fulfilled lives. We live fulfilled lives. Fulfilled lives, not empty lives, but fulfilled lives. Godliness with fulfillment, with satisfaction, is great gain. And if you know that you are called to finance the kingdom, not to preach, not to intercede, and so on, and you do exactly that as a kingdom financier, you'll be the most satisfied person ever in life. The most happy, the most fulfilled person. If you know that, well, your purpose is just to serve your brethren, even scrub the floors or polish their shoes, and when you do that, you will be the happiest man alive. Fulfilling God's purpose in your life becomes your paradise. Oh, what a word. Hallelujah. Thank God. Thank God for this word. It sort of ties in with almost everything that we've been dealing with for the past weeks, and hearing, and all the sharing. It ties in. I'm blessed. And ladies and gentlemen, be blessed, and have a very good day, and please meditate on what you have just heard, and record these things, sit on it, and apply it to your own personal lives as the Holy Spirit dishes it out. Thank you, Pastor B. Amen. ♪♪ God, we need you. Lord, we pray for you. God, we need you. Daddy, we pray for you. God, we need you. God, we need you. Lord, we pray for you. Lord, we need you. Lord, we pray for you. Lord, God, we need you. More of you, but less of us. Lord, we pray for you. May we decrease as you increase. God, we need more. As the deer pen for the water. So our souls are for you. We pray for more. God, we need more. Would you pour out your Spirit. And let it fall afresh on your people. Let there be more of you in us. God, we need more. As we yield to your purpose. As we yield to your ways. Would you pour afresh on us. God, we need more. Lord, we pray for more. Would you pour afresh on us. Would you pour afresh on us. There's more we want. There's more we ask. There's more. Anybody wants more. Anybody wants more. God, we need more. We pray. We ask with you. Do what you think, God. Something we've never felt before. Something we've never experienced before. We want to see your glory. We want to see your glory. Open yourself, God. Open yourself, God. We pray for more. God, we need more. We pray for more. God, we need more. Lord, we pray for more. God, we need more. We want more. We offer everything we want. Would you fill us, oh God. Would you fill us, oh God. Fill us, oh God. Fill us with more of you. We gotta have more of you. We want to have more of you. Nothing else will do. We gotta have more of you. We want to have more of you. We gotta have more of you. Nothing less will do. Father, we pray. Father, we pray. Father, we pray. We pray. We pray. We pray. We pray. We pray. We pray. We pray. We pray. We pray. I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting. I'll be waiting. We want more of you. We gotta have more of you. We want more of you. Nothing less will do. We want more of you. We want more of you.