WATCHMEN ARISE (Joel 3:9)

 Walls, Gates and Street Watchmen

Watchmen have scheduled of times and places of responsibility.  

 “And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone. And the watchman cried and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace and drew near.” ‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭18‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

 “The watchmen that go about the city found me: To whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?” ‭‭Song of Solomon‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

  In ancient times, watchmen played distinct roles. Those on the walls were responsible for spotting potential threats from a distance, those at the gates-controlled access, and those within the city monitored internal activities and security. Each had specific duties to ensure the safety of the community. 

Do you know your watch time, area of responsibility? This is important because the Holy Spirit aligns us with heavenly host who usually join us when we are at our duty place of prayer and time. The inspired words of Dr Luke wrote. 

  ”a devout man, fearing God with all his house, giving many alms to the people, and praying to God continually. This man saw in a vision clearly, at about the ninth hour of the day, the Angel of God entering to him and saying to him: "Cornelius!" And he, gazing at him, was seized by fear, and he said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him: "Your prayers and your almsgiving have ascended as a memorial in the sight of God.“ ‭‭Acts‬ ‭10‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭CPDV‬‬ 

Another example is when Jesus was strengthened by an angelic watcher in Gethsemane while watching. 

Let us again read the experience of Daniel. 

” And while I was still speaking and praying and confessing my sins, and the sins of my people, Israel, and offering my prayers in the sight of my God, on behalf of the holy mountain of my God, “ ‭‭Daniel‬ ‭9‬:‭20‬ ‭CPDV‬‬ 

Discipline 

Watching and intercession require spiritual stamina, endurance, self-control and wisdom. Our Father will always make these available when we ask him. 

Wisdom is necessary to redeem time, manage resources and overcome the hidden snares and traps of the enemy. 

Self-control takes inner strength and wisdom. Sleep, distractions, physical and spiritual weaknesses are key forces we will confront but wisdom is always available to see us through. The greatest danger to a territory is when the watchmen are not in shape as highlighted below. 

His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand they all look to their own way, everyone for his gain, from his quarter.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭56‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭KJV‬‬  

Authority of Watchmen  

Watchmen are called and authorize by God to watch, observe, decree, blow trumpet for others to hear, shift things into place and birth the purposes of God. They can release warnings and groanings of the spirit to bring restoration. 

 “And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone. And the watchman cried and told the king. And the king said, “if he is alone, there are good tidings in his mouth. And he came apace and drew near.” 

 “So, thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore, thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭33‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

The Night  

The scriptures elaborate profusely on the night as a season when the enemy operates primarily because it is a time of relaxation and sleep for me. 

  ” For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. “1Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV 

  ” But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. “Matthew 

‭‭ Besides, the heavenly messages are easily received by men because of the little distraction level. The night is therefore a common time for visions, encounters, visitations and dreams. 

  It will be right to say that nights are important watch time for watchmen as corroborated by Prophet Isaiah and the disciples of Jesus who keep watching hours. 

  “So, thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore, thou shalt hear the word at my mouth and warn them for me.” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭33‬:‭7‬ ‭kjv 

  “And he cried, A lion: My Lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭21‬:‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

 “The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, ‘the morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭21‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

 Training and Equipment </b>

Teaching is the release of essential information in the classroom, pulpit or informal places. Training in the other hand involves demonstration by the trainer and real practice by the trainee or disciple with the opportunity to make mistakes and be corrected, thereby developing expertise. It is important to note that God weaves a message into our life through. 

  God takes us through experiences that serves as training programs to build strength, endurance, flexibility, discipline and skills in the use of different weapons as soldiers of Christ to enables us fight and win. 

In physical and spiritual warfare, training and equipping are crucial in warfare and they can directly impact the effectiveness of soldiers. A well-trained soldiers possess the skills and discipline needed for strategic execution and use of proper equipment which enhances their capabilities and survivability on the battlefield. Both elements contribute to a force's overall readiness and success in combat. Let us look at few inspirational quotes of notable Bible Christian Solders to open our understanding. 

” Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: “‭‭Psalm‬ ‭144‬:‭1‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

 ” He teaches my hands to wear, so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms. “ ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭18‬:‭34‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

 

  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole amour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬-‭18‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

  In our journey as believers, we are marching towards Zion, the city of the living God and we must overcome the dark forces regularly assigned by our adversaries to confront us and hinder us through delay, distractions, afflictions, obstruction and corruption. To do this, we must be equipped.  

  ” Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. “ ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

” This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightiest war a good warfare; “‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

” For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: “ ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭3‬ ‭KJV‬ 

” No man that warmth entangled himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. “‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

  David 

David is an icon in spiritual warfare and leadership. He was first taught to walk and be shepherd by the Lord. He learnt how to be guided by the rod of God and comforted by his staff. This qualifies him for the first level anointing that taught his fingers to fight and war by which he defeated the Bear, Lion Goliath. 

 The training continued in the Palace of Saul and when he was pursued by Saul by Saul. David spoke of a few of his learning points in the Scriptures. 

” Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: “ ‭Psalm‬ ‭144‬:‭1‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

 ” I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go I will guide thee with my eye. “Psalm‬ ‭32‬:‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel Spake to me, He that rule. 

over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. “ 

  PAUL 

Apostle Paul was a soldier of the Lord and the scripture recorded Archippus as a fellow soldier.  

Philemon 1:2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house: 

 Paul as a soldier of Christ was equipped with the breastplate of faith and love with sword of the spirit and arrow s of truth.  He at the end of his ministry on earth affirmed that he has fought a good fight and that the Lord will reward him adequately with a crown. Paul fought and overcame discouragement, affliction, persecutions, flesh, devils and the systems of this world, He prayed in the spirit more than those around and endure hardship as a good soldier of Christ, rejoicing in hope. 

 ” But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. “ ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

  Paul exhorts us to ‘’Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. “ ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

Rick Joyner wrote in his book titled “The call’ on the characteristics of the victorious army. ‘In this third army, I was surprised that there were only two ranks—generals and privates. Only a few had a piece of armor on, and I did not see any weapons except dummy weapons which were carried by the generals. The generals flaunted these dummy weapons as if having them made the officers special, but even those in the ranks could tell that the weapons were not real. This was sad because it was obvious that those in the ranks desperately wanted to find someone who was real whom they could follow.  

There did not seem to be any ambition except among the generals. This was not because of selflessness as in the first army, but because there was so little caring. I thought that at least the ambition present in the second group. could be much better than the confusion that prevailed in this group. The generals here seemed to be more intent on walking about themselves and fighting with one another, which the little groups around the banners were constantly doing. I could then see that the battles within the ranks were the cause of the great sweeping, erratic changes of directions that this group would make from time to time.  

As I looked at the millions in the last group, I felt that even with their great numbers, they did not actually add strength to the army, but rather weakened it. In a real battle, they would be much more of a liability than an asset.  

Just sustaining them with food and protection would cost more in resources than any value they could add to the army’s ability to fight. I thought that a private in the first or second group would be worth more than many generals.  

From the third. I could not understand why the first groups even allowed this group to tag along behind them.  They obviously were not true soldiers”. 

 ” Thus, saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teaches thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. “‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭48‬:‭17‬ ‭KJV‬‬ 

To be continued

PREPARE WAR (Joel 3:9) (1)

Introduction 

Conflicts, warfare and victories are part of our journey as believers and this year will not be an exception, in fact, we expect intense conflict and resistance at different levels, but the victories will also be resounding and great. This season is bringing us as individuals and nations to the valley of decision and our choices will determine where the pendulum will go, victory or defeat. In warfare, there are certain things we must not be ignorant of to position ourselves victories. These things will be the subject of this message. 

The Command 

The military high command typically refers to the highest-ranking officers responsible for making strategic decisions and overseeing military operations. It includes top military leaders such as generals, admirals, and other high-ranking officials who play key roles in formulating and executing military strategies. What is critical to us is to understand your position, responsibility and roles in the assignment you have been given. 

We must also understand ranking in the assignment and relate to it appropriately. As soldiers of Christ, we must respond to deployments and stay relevant in the kingdom. In the church of Jesus Christ, it is important to return, acknowledge and honor the Holy Ghost. We must continually listen to him and learn his ways because our degree of victory is proportional to our tendency to act independent of him.

 Listening and Hearing 

The first layer of training in any warfare is communication and a critical aspect of this is listening and watching, to hear and decode signals from the high command. The Holy Ghost seeks to communicate with us his warnings, instructions, strategies, postings through different means including encrypted words and signs. A critical discipline is the ability to listen and discern the signals, read the maps and compass all of which are essential in keeping us in the supply lines, protecting us and making us overcome. Daniel in chapter 11 verse 32 of his book wrote, ‘” And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. “ ‭‭ 

Situational awareness 

Situational awareness is the perception and understanding of relevant information regarding one's surroundings, allowing for effective decision-making and response to changing circumstances. It's crucial in various fields, such as aviation, military operations, and emergency response. Apostle Paul corroborated this when he advised us to be vigilant and sober since our adversary, the devil, is seeking a careless person to overcome. The first level of failure is to be ignorant as to the nature and elements of your environment. 

The Battle of Midway during World War II is often cited as a significant example where situational awareness played a crucial role. The Japanese forces lost due to a combination of codebreaking by the Allies and effective situational awareness, allowing them to anticipate and counter the Japanese plans. Things are not always the way they appear; and we need to be close to the Holy Spirit who is able to reveal the true nature of things no matter how hidden they may be. 

We as God’s people limit ourselves when we do not allow the Holy Spirit to have full control. One of the main reasons for the revelatory gifts is to improve our capacity to discern what the enemy is planning and forestall it as well as to know what the Father God is doing that may not be apparent and cooperate with it. 

Situational awareness comes through careful observation in the physical and in the spirit. It is time for prophets, watchmen, intercessors and all believers to wake up to bring situational awareness to the nations and avert avoidable tragedy.

Watchmen and "Espirit de Corp” 

The success or failure of spiritual or even battles can be affected greatly by Espionage which is a critical way to enhance situational awareness. Espionage is the practice of obtaining confidential or secret information from heavenly councils relating to the secret or plan of Satan against our land or people. It often involves spying or intelligence-gathering activities.

In military contexts, intelligence agencies or units are typically responsible for espionage. Examples include the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) in the United States or MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service) in the United Kingdom. Military intelligence units within armed forces also engage in espionage to gather information critical to national security.

 A good example of this is found in the book of 2 kings 6:12 , Elisha was obtained information from heaven and giving it to the King of Israel enabling him and his army to escape the ambush of the Syrians army. And one of his servants said: "By no means, my Lord the king! Rather it is the prophet Elisha, who is in Israel, who is revealing to the king of Israel every word whatsoever that you will speak in your conclave.

 2 king 6:12‭” I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their Peace, day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, “.

 ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭62‬:‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬ A more recent example is Cindy Jacob who told the Leaders of Guatemala the future threat of the communist invaders and the solution to it. 

 To be continued

I MUST CHANGE

I MUST CHANGE This is not my best therefore I must change God's will for me is to be fully like Jesus, therefore I must change. I must change I am on assignment therefore I must change. I have picked some bad habit from my evironment that is now hindering me, therefore, I must change. My negatives behaviour is affecting my parents and friends and I must change. Grace is available for me in Christ to change therefore I must change. I need to make some changes in my life to step into my future glory so I must change. Remaining the way I am will limit me so I must change. My call is to be beautiful and glorious therefore I must change. Although God loves me the way I am but my wrong habits hurts him and his creation therefore I must change . To make my spouse and my children, I must change I receive grace to identify areas where I need to change. I undo all my bad records and habits for my change. I loosed all the chains of my wrong habit for my change. I have changed and I am changing. #Change# http://demolakinyemi.blogspot com #path of life publications#

PRINCIPLES OF THE KINGDOM

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he will not defile himself with

The portion of the king’s meet

Nor with the wine which he drank ( Daniel 1;6)

Every Kingdom is known by specific set of values and principles that forms the basis of the constitution and the lifestyle of the people of that community. The Babylonian Empire representing the world system have values and principles which is symbolized by the “meat” and “ wine” refer to in the book of Daniel,. Just as the” meat” and the “wine”  drives the body and soul of men,  values and principles drives a nation or a kingdom.

Sons of God are to overcome the temptation to operate by the worldly principles of Babylon. They will be schooled and disciplined in the principles and values of the kingdom of God. In God's kingdom, wealth, material things, titles and silver or gold are regarded as corruptible mundane and are therefore considered worthless by eternal standard. Just as Daniel refused to be defiled with the portion of the kings meat and his wine. Children of God must arise to reject the subtle and corrupt principles of living which are being taught by the teachers of Babylon. We must endeavor to vomit even the values that we have subconsciously absorbed into our hearts as we interact with the truth of God’s word.

Jesus clearly mentioned in his messages in the gospels that the worth of a man is not in what he has and this is an eternal position of the King of the Kingdom of heaven which should be taken seriously.

Operating or imbibing values of the world [babylonish]  system is therefore to be considered as adulterous and this represent the hallmark of the harlot church (God’s people that are out of the way)  as it is written in the book of revelation  17:2   “….. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth  were made drunk with  the wine of her fornication”

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls,  having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness……” Rev17:4

The cup in the hands of this harlot should be an issue of concern to us as it  represents the ministry of abominable and filthy values obtained through her friendliness (fornication) with the world). To overcome this cup, the sons of God who will be overcomers  must be disciplined in the principles and values of the kingdom of God and be discernible to contrary principles as evil communication corrupts good manners and friendliness with the world is enmity with God. Let no man be carried away with the impressive Gold (riches, wealth, grace   given by God) , precious stones (morals), pearls( religious duties)  or even the purple (sense of importance ,glory and royal beauty) with which this harlot woman is decked. This is because the scarlet robe representing sin has pushed the woman off tangent from her true nature and path to become a worshiper of things instead of a worshiper of God

Let us now begin to compare the values of these two opposing kingdoms and study the beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

True Pearls	Reward	Meaning	Opposite
Poor in spirit	They will possess the kingdom of heaven	Dissatisfied with the condition of one’s soul, having a strong sense of need for more of God	Arrogant & Know it all spirit characterized by poor reading/listening habits, not taking notes. Which may be caused by success in some areas of your life. Critical and judgemental spirit
Meek	Inherit the earth	Teachable, readiness to listen, learn and take correction	Incorrigible and stubborn/unteachable heart necessitated by your restlessness, ignorance, being competitive and or pride.
Sober and mournful heart	Comforted with answers	Having a burden before God  for the state of others or the gap between experience and promise	Greedy, covetous, desperate, bored, vain, care free & pleasure loving, sometimes necessitated by not wanting to be responsible, love of pleasures and selfishness.
Purity of heart	See and experienced God	Having the mind of Christ, having a forgiven, loving heart	Corrupt mind & imagination. Filthy & wicked heart. Sometimes necessitated by hurts, lust and ignorance.
Merciful heart	Obtain Mercy	Showing understanding, forgiving, compassionate, considerate, sensitive and selflessness.	Unforgiving, mean resentful, bitter & Cruel heart, sometimes necessitated by repeated offences, painful experiences of the past.
Hunger & Thirsty for Righteousness-	They shall be filled with all of God.	Strong love and desire  for truth, justice, sense of fairness.	Forgetfulness, poor concentration, poor assimilation, talkativeness. No heart cry except for things. Sometimes necessitated by worldly enticements, deceitfulness of riches.

The characteristics  described above are the attitudes we are called to manifest. This is the wavelength we are called to function in and it  is to the extent that we function in this dimension that we are in the kingdom. The level of the operations of these principles in our life  is also a measure of how much of God we have.

Overcoming All Things 2

At the center of man’s drive is his desire for things. This propensity started from the time of the fall when the spirit of man fell and was shut in into the realm of  things. Man lost consciousness of the invisible realm of God and is now submerged in the realm his physical senses. He is dominated and ruled from the outside and led by the lust  or desire for things that are good in his sight, things that satisfies his ego and his feelings .

 

The emerging overcomers must therefore gain victory over the things in the world which the First Adam and his wife were not able to overcome. Here the lamentation of Eve and Adam.

Genesis 3:6

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh)

And that it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eye)

And a  tree to be desired to make one wise (pride of life)

She took of the fruit and did eat and also gave

to her husband with her and he did eat

 

Apostle John therefore warn us of this mystery of iniquity and admonished us not to love the things that are in the world (the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life) and the love of the things in the world makes it impossible for us to love the Father. It is therefore a fact that all the beguiling activity of the devil revolve round the desire for things propelled by the lust that enter through the eyes or the lust that enters into the soul through the fleshly desires or even the ego.

 

All the activity of the traducer (devil) is therefore  centered around keeping men preoccupied with ‘ Things” which are corruptible and subject to destruction by moth  or theft by men.

Herein lies the distinction between the “gentiles nature and preoccupation” and the preoccupation of the seekers of God’s kingdom” who are pressing forward to overcome all things and inherit all things.

Here the admonition of our Lord in the book of Matthew 5;32

 

For after all these THINGS do the gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these THINGS

But ye seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness

and all these THINGS  shall be added  unto you

 

Our call is therefore to grow up in faith beyond the  distraction of things, even beyond the need centered existence, beyond the need dominated messages and even beyond the elementary faith for things into the “Faith of God”   rising above the  faith of “the birds of the  air” and the faith of “the lilies of the value’  who have no worries about things to wear or things to eat or any physical need whatsoever but rejoices in the Fatherhood of God who has an arrangement in place to take care of his creations.

We must overcome and rise above this need centered dimension.

 

Ademola  Akinyemi

OVERCOMING THE CORRUPTION OF POLITICS

A people will emerge on the surface of the earth and in the mist of the church who will overcome all things.

This over comers will be armed with the finishing faith and will by this overcome the world including all that is in it-the lust of the flesh, the pride of life and the lust of the eyes.  By this they will be qualified to inherit all things including fullness of live and immortality with which the nations will be governed.

Part of the things which we  must  overcome  is the spirit of politics with its varying degree of corruption. The influence of this spirit brings hatred, bitterness, even strife and war as we have seen in history.  Conflicts of ideology led to the emergence of Adolf Hitler and the world war 11. The spirit of politics in the world is rooted in the desire of man to protect self-interest  and must be tamed by the love of God which is just and considerate.

Various nations govern the spirit of politics by  laws which if respected often stabilizes the polity although this does not deal with the matters of the heart. Best friends, families and business partners have separated because of politics and his tendency to corrupt with bitterness.

Several years ago, one of our politician in Northern Nigeria came up with the a principle of practicing politics without bitterness, a principle rooted in a godly desire to overcome the corruption of politics and the desperation for power. Good as this is, it has its limit if we do not allow the truth and the spirit of Christ to give us the capacity for actualization.

Jesus said in First  Corinthians thirteen that we weigh nothing under God if we operate outside the heart of love and it does not matter how sacrificial we are. This is to say that we must not go outside the boundaries of love notwithstanding our persuasion . The spirit of politicking often brings with it rudeness, cursing , riots and  murder and those who seek life must be poised to overcome these things .

The spirit of politics traps men and overcome them in a web which imprisoned the souls of men with an iron like grip and its subtlety serpentine in nature but its destruction is massive. For pilgrims seeking God, it is very distractive and divisive hence it remains an enemy to overcome.

The disciple of Jesus in his days were not left out in the confrontation with this spirit as the Roman government in their iron like political dominance ruled  over Israel and the nations.

Hear their quest for liberty as they queried the master after his resurrection before his ascension to glory.

Acts 1:

Will you at this time overthrow the Roman empire and allow us to be free and in government.

Read  the answer of Jesus.

                                                                                      

·         Do not let this worry you. God has time and seasons for everything. Just seek the Holy Ghost and his power which the father has promised you, to bring you into true liberty and victory.

The counsel of God to us this time around is similar.  We are to seek intimacy with the Holy Spirit.  We are to seek the  power and the  government of God over our life  and our God will bring us into true life and put down all dominion of evil. The kingdom of God (which is the government of God) starts within us like a leaven and  fill us with the love of God, spreading  to our homes and families and nations.