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HOW TO ACCESS GRACE

2012-02-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

The grace of God is for everyone but unfortunately not everyone is experiencing it. The Christian life is a journey in grace but a lot of Christians are still living in unnecessary struggles and hard labour. The grace of God is one theme that continues to resound all through the redemptive process of mankind. All that we have in Christ is a function of grace. Grace is such a powerful force that cannot be ignored in the Christian walk. Any Christianity without grace is no Christianity at all. In the New Covenant, God does everything in grace. If grace is such a strong force, why then are so many Christians still living graceless lives? I believe it is because there is little or a perverted understanding of grace. Men have defined grace based on their own human and limited understanding. They have limited the influence of grace upon their lives because they have placed a limit where God hasn’t. You see, we can’t limit God but we can limit Him in our individual lives because He determined that everything that will ever happen to us as individuals would be based on our choices. This is why a Christian can still be sick, poor, defeated etc. even though God has made every provision for him to live beyond them. God has made every provision available to the New Creation absolutely by grace. Scripturally, Grace can be defined in 3 ways; unmerited favour – receiving what we do not deserve; Divine empowerment – the Anointing; and the outward working of an inward ability – Manifesting The Blessing. John 1:16 says “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” Grace has been given. The question then is have you received God’s grace? The problem is on the receiving side.

Let’s start with salvation – the entry point. It all begins with receiving God’s saving grace. Ephesians 2:8 & 9 say “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Salvation is indeed a free gift. The grace for salvation is free. We are saved by grace through faith and faith is also a free gift. Everything is free! No sinner will go to hell if he can understand this. It is unfortunate that sinners who will spend eternity in hell will discover that they didn’t have to go there because God had done everything about their salvation. The Word of God says in Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,” But it is unfortunate that even though that saving grace has appeared to all men, not all men have seen it because the god of this world (the devil) has blinded their eyes (see 2 Cor. 4:4). It is important we note that the devil fights every manifestation of grace. All the devil ever does is kill, still and destroy (John 10:10a). So everyone who is saved today has seen, accessed and experienced that saving grace. Just as it is with salvation so it is with everything that God has made available to the believer in Christ. Understand that the devil doesn’t give up on us when we received salvation; he tries continually to keep us from functioning in all the full measures of God’s grace. This is why we must learn to access God’s grace in the different areas of our lives. Salvation is therefore, the entry into the world of grace in God!

Our words play a major role in receiving God’s grace. When we make the Word of God our words, function in God’s grace becomes a daily experience. The Word of God is the capsule of God’s grace. Acts 20:32 says “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” When we receive the Word of God we receive grace. When we speak the Word of God we speak grace. When we act on the Word of God we are functioning in grace. When we release the Word of God we’re releasing grace. See how easy it is to access grace? The grace of God is so essential that we need it every single day we live on earth. There is no limit to the grace of God – His grace is sufficient (surplus) for us. We can’t have too much of it. We can’t outgrow it. Romans 5:17 makes it so clear. It says “For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)” Observe, it didn’t say we who have been given abundance of grace but rather it says we which receive abundance of grace. That grace has already been given. It is now up to us to receive the measure we desire. It’s a question of how much grace you can receive. While some folks receive little of it some others receive the abundance of it. The amount of grace we receive and experience is up to us, not God! It also says that through the abundance of grace we receive, we reign in life by one. Jesus Christ. Wow! You can’t walk in grace and live a beggarly life. Do you know that receiving grace can just be as easy as saying “Lord, I receive grace to do so and so in Jesus’ Name” or “Lord, I receive more grace in Jesus’ Name” or “the grace of God is multiplied to me. I receive an abundance of grace in Jesus’ Name.” Sure the Lord honours this. It is that easy. I’m a witness to this. Every time I do it I just function in unusual (Divine) ability and good things just show up in amazing ways. I have enjoyed this for a long time. When you function in grace you place a demand on God’s ability, not yours. Whenever you have difficulty doing something that ought to be done e.g. soul winning, just receive grace and act and watch God manifest in an amazing way. The truth is that some of the people you call great men because of the genuinely amazing things they do are just ordinary men functioning in grace. It’s about God’s grace, no boasting!

We also access grace by praying with the spirit or praying in other tongues. Heb. 4:9 & 10 shows us that we can live in God’s rest (Also see Ps. 127:1,2). Living in God’s rest means living in God’s grace. Now see Isaiah 28:11,12: “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This [is] the rest [wherewith] ye may cause the weary to rest; and this [is] the refreshing:….” You see that? When we speak in other tongues of pray with the spirit, we rest – we release and receive grace. Receive grace in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

WHERE FAITH AND PATIENCE MEET

2012-01-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

How long can you wait on the Lord? How long is long enough? Well, time has a way of proving a man. Time has a way of proving a thing. Time has a way of revealing to us the actual state of our hearts. The genuineness of our faith is based on how long we can wait without questioning God’s ability. If you can’t wait on the Lord in absolute trust after making your request in prayer, then your faith is not active – it’s weak. Patience is the proof that you really trust God. Hebrews 6:12 tells us “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” One thing that is always missing when we are being taught about faith is the link between faith and patience. A message that addresses faith without showing the link between faith and patience is not only lopsided, but also produces weak believers who lack persistence. Your faith is not perfect without patience. In other words, patience is the perfection of our faith. Patience keeps hope alive while faith is at work.

No one really likes to wait. Everyone would rather go for a quick fix. It is really not easy to wait, but when dealing with the Lord, we must learn to wait. Waiting on the Lord speaks of brokenness and total dependence on Him. We learn a lot when we wait. So why do we have to wait for so long sometimes before we see the manifestation of what we asked the Lord in prayer? The answer to this is two fold. First, because we don’t wait long enough in the place of prayer to hear what the Lord has to say about the matter. This makes us to wait as a consequence for our impatience in the place of prayer. Secondly, Because God is a Father and not a prayer answering machine. God knows what we really need and when we really need it just like our earthly fathers do. God is not just interested in you having your desires met; He is also interested in you enjoying it. There are people who, as soon as their desires are granted by the Lord, walk away from Him. They simply lose out on God’s presence and big plan for their lives. This class of people simply have quick satisfaction and can’t see the bigger picture – they’re spiritually immature. So God is interested in meeting our needs while He concurrently wants to grow us into maturity.

Patience is highly connected to spiritual maturity. It’s an act of true worship. It is a major mark of those who really know God, not just for what He can do but also for who He is. Mature Christians know God. They know that He never fails. They know that though it tarries, it will surely show up. They might not know the when and how of it but they know the Who they have trusted. Life in Christ is such an amazing adventure. So, whenever we ask the Lord for a need and we do not get a quick result (after being sure that we are in faith and are walking in holiness before the Lord), it is an opportunity to grow into maturity. Dr. Joyce Meyer said something I will never forget. She said “Patience is not just about waiting. Patience is waiting with the right attitude.” It is really not just about the waiting as it is about how we wait. At the end of the day, after we have seen the manifestation, we’d then realise that not only did the situation change, we also changed! That’s the goal!

Hebrews 10:35-36 say “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” In James 1:3-4 we read “Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Be encouraged today. Blessings!

THE SPIRIT OF GRACE

2012-01-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

Few days ago, while studying the Book of Hebrews, the Lord opened my eyes to the phrase ‘the Spirit of grace’ in Hebrews 10:29. I had often read and even preached on this portion of Scripture. But I never saw it in the light of this revelation. I never really understood what it meant in essence for the Holy Spirit to be called the Spirit of grace. I never really considered His association with grace. What a exciting moment I had when the Lord opened my eyes to see by revelation what it meant.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace. That means the Holy Spirit is personally responsible for administering the manifold dimensions of God’s grace released through Jesus Christ to everyone on earth. The Holy Spirit is the One Who sees to it that your life is full of grace. He ensures it. He takes personal responsibility for it. He looks out for opportunities to impart grace to anyone in need of it. The Holy Spirit Himself is gracious – full of grace. The Holy Spirit is the only Person who knows everything about you – your weaknesses, short comings, sins, faults, deficiencies etc. – but still identifies with you as a friend. He never gives up on you. He stands by you to help you stand firm. He comforts you when you’re hurting. He takes personal responsibility for your welfare. This is amazing! The lack of the influence of the Holy Spirit in your life is the lack of grace in your life. The ministry of the Holy Spirit to the Believer and non believer is the ministry of grace. If we sin, He helps us draw near to the Lord for His forgiveness and He helps us repent instead of running away from the Lord. The Holy Spirit helps us receive the fullness of God’s grace. John 1:16 says “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.” But all these would only happen if you let Him. He never forces Himself on anyone.

So what is Grace? Grace is so vast that I will attempt to give just three Scriptural definitions of grace:

1. Grace is Unmerited favour – receiving what we do not deserve.
2. Grace is Divine empowerment – the Anointing
3. Grace is The outward working of an inward ability – Manifesting The Blessing.

Anywhere you see the word ‘grace’ in Scripture, you equally see the activity of the Holy Spirit. I discovered that grace is the biggest thing God can give to a man here on earth. We are saved by grace and still keep on receiving grace in our daily Christian life. The Lord never runs short of grace and we can never survive on earth without grace just as much as we can never get to a point in life where we wouldn’t need grace anymore. In II Cor. 12:9, the Lord said to Paul “…My grace is sufficient for thee…” The word ‘sufficient’ here means ‘surplus’. That means God’s grace was all Paul needed even in His desperate moment. Many believers do not know how to receive more grace from the Lord. Many believers don’t experience grace in their daily walk. Many believers simply live a graceless life. All these happen when we don’t invest in our fellowship with the Spirit of grace. We need grace to love, we need grace to serve, we need grace to minister to the Lord and to men, we need grace to relate with people, we need grace to live the Christian life, we need grace to win the lost, we need grace to pray, etc. When we lack the understanding of the grace supplied to us by the Spirit of grace, we end up struggling in our own limited human effort. Ain’t you tired of struggling? Ain’t you tired of living a life of trying to make everything work? Ain’t you tired of living a life void of grace? This is the time to identify with the Spirit of grace. He has a ministry in your life. Make room for Him. Let Him take the wheel. Surrender totally to Him because He knows your past, present and future – He knows the way to your destination!

Whenever I think of what is happening all over the world and how the Lord’s coming is at hand, I thank God that I have the Holy Spirit. I am comforted by the knowledge of His presence in my life. This is because no one can live right in this last days and corrupt age without the help of the Holy Spirit. No! This is the worst time to trust in your human ability. My hope of not missing heaven is not in my good works but in the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life because He is my standby! He’d see to it that I stand strong and firm till the Lord arrives. Glory to God! The Holy Spirit cares for you and wants to minister God’s grace released by Christ into your life. He wants to invade your life with grace. Zachariah 4:6 says “…This [is] the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel (you and me), saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

The Lord says this is our Season of Grace. Well, this could sound familiar and ordinary because we are so use to the word ‘grace’. However, I believe this is a deeper dimension. We are going to experience, in reality, the wonders of God’s grace starting from this very year, even now! It is not just the year of grace but The Season of Grace for us. The Lord works in times and seasons not clocks and calendars. Psalms 102:13 says “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.” II Corinthians 9:8 says “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:” It’s a season of rest for us. We have come into our rest and we have ceased from our labours! It is called the rest of faith. Glory to God! HAPPY NEW SEASON!

THE CALL

2011-12-17T05:19:00.000-08:00

The call of Abraham was a type of the call to the Christian life. Genesis 12:1 says “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:” I believe these instructions are clearly spelt out. It’s a call to a life of consecration to God and to His divine purposes. But unfortunately, there is a lot of compromise in our response to the call today. It is very common to find believers who want to mix earthly culture with their Christian life. I believe this is because these believers have not really understood that Christianity is a call that entails leaving and cleaving – just like marriage. You see, there can’t be a mix of the both! I’m yet to see a culture on earth that doesn’t have a demonic influence in it. 2 Cor. 4:4 tells us that the devil is the god of the system presently operating here on earth. It says “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” The devil tries to influence everything on earth, but as New Creation in Christ, we must stand out and refuse to bow or condescend to his influence.

The Word of God clearly tells us in Philippians 3:20 “…our citizenship is in heaven…” (NIV). In the Kingdom of God, dual citizenship is illegal. Some believers still cling tightly to their earthly descent to the point that the Heavenly citizenship has no reflection or expression in their lives. 1 Peter 2:9,10 makes it so clear that “But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” also we see in 2 Corinthians 5:17,18 “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things [are] of God…” The Christian life is a call to a new identity – entirely! John 1:12,13 says “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

This is not to say we should have nothing to do with our earthly relatives. But if we claim to follow the foot steps of Jesus, then we must ask ourselves intelligent questions like: what was the place of earthly culture in the life of Jesus during His earth walk? When we ask the Holy Spirit questions like this and upon critical research, we would easily put things in the right perspective. Then we can follow in Jesus’ steps. If not we would miss it greatly. It’s about total consecration to God and His eternal purposes on earth – nothing else!

IN THE NAME OF JESUS

2011-12-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

I bring you a seasoned Word from the heart of the Master to your very heart. I believe that the greatest gift a man can ever receive on earth is the gift of access to the Name of Jesus. This gift is obtained at the new birth i.e. when you become born again. At the new birth the seeker uses the Name of Jesus for the first time and this introduces him or her to a world of possibilities, a place where everything is possible through that Name called JESUS. God has given the New Creature the power of attorney to use the Name of Jesus. Glory to God! I believe Christmas should be a celebration of Jesus Himself, the salvation that He brought to the world and the gift of His awesome Name. The Name of Jesus is a defence (Prov. 18:10). The Name of Jesus is a place of authority and power. The Name of Jesus is the hope of the believer. The Name of Jesus is access. The Name of Jesus is the key that unlocks the unlimited resources of Heaven. The Name of Jesus is God’s greatest revelation of Himself. The Name of Jesus is all the Names of Jehovah and their benefits combined in one – all in one! Hallelujah! With the Name of Jesus in our hearts and on our lips we become armed and dangerous, too hot for the adversary to handle. It is the Name of Jesus that makes the New Creature endangered specie. The New Creature in Christ is not only to use the Name of Jesus to claim things or to get things done but he is primarily designed to live in and by that Name.

Now take a look at this, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. Did you see that? The first emphasis of the Archangel Gabriel about the Baby-Son (Jesus) Who was to be birthed by Mary was the Name and the Name is directly linked to the salvation of mankind. A name is that which describes the character of a person or thing. The Name Jesus means ‘saviour’, the same meaning for the Word Joshua or Yeshua in Hebrew. Every New Creature was baptized into the Name of Jesus at the point of salvation (Matthew 28:19). I hear the Holy Spirit say that the reason this is so, is because the moment that salvation connection is made through any man, woman, boy or girl, all the resources of heaven is at the disposal of the one who got saved. This is to say that salvation is the door that introduces us to all that God is and has. Through salvation, a new relationship is birthed and by virtue of that relationship, all that God has now belong to the believer. Salvation is the door that leads to an eternal experience in God. God now becomes your Father. The word ‘father’ means source. The Father then becomes responsible for us. This all happens because of the Name of Jesus. Peter understood this revelation and spoke these words to the people in Acts 4:12: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” This is the time to let the world know about this. The world need help, it is searching everywhere. Never has the Gospel been more relevant than at this moment. The world needs to know that there is salvation in no other than in the Name of JESUS. We dare not be silent at this moment. We must speak out. This is our season, this is our time.

Every believer in Jesus Christ ought to use the Name of Jesus Christ every single day we live. We ought to undo the works of the devil in the lives of people every where we go through that powerful Name. We must be conscious of that Name every moment just the way we are conscious of our senses. We do this through meditation on the Name. Think on that Name. Ponder on the power of that Name, let the Holy Spirit flood your spirit with the Wonders and realities of that Name. Then you can do as Peter did in Acts 3. “Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:6). Peter was conscious of what he had to give in this situation. It is so good to know that even if you don’t have money in your pocket you can get things done through faith in the Name of Jesus! This makes us unlimited. Glory to God! It doesn’t matter what and what and what we don’t have. What is most important is what we have – the Name, that awesome Name of Jesus. Hey, it’s time for us to start giving what we have – the Name of Jesus! Philemon 6 helps us to understand that the communication (expression) of our faith will be more effective by acknowledging the things that we have in Christ Jesus. I want you to observe what Peter said to the crowd that gathered to see what has happened “And when Peter saw [it], he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?... the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus… And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (Vs. 12,13 & 16)! I believe that the Church is yet to understand how powerful we are with the Name of Jesus in our hearts and on our lips.

Please prayerfully consider these Words. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [Phil.2:9-11]. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him…And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” [Col.3:17,23].
“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].” [John 14:13,14]. “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” [John 16:23]. “Blessed [be] he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.” [Psalm 118:26].

My prayer for you today is that the Holy Spirit will flood your heart with light along this line. I pray that every limitation you have ever known will give way as you begin to use the Name of Jesus by revelation. Please give someone the gift of introducing him/her to the Name of Jesus this Christmas season. Make your season count for the glory of God! I pray that you have a blessed Christmas and an exceptional New Year!

LIFE DIGEST - VOL. 12

2011-12-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

This is fresh & real! Get inspired to live as God has ordained for you. Check out the 12th Edition of LIFE DIGEST. Read great articles from Dr. E.W. Kenyon, Dr. T. L. Osborn, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, Evangelist David Hathaway and from Billy Graham’s Ministry. Just click on this link: http://www.lifecommissionministry.org/WebPDF/ld12.pdf to open and download the PDF version. I pray it blesses you!

FIRE FIGHTERS

2011-11-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

The Word of God tells us “but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” (Jude 23, NKJV). The first thing I want you to note here is that before you can go on fire rescue, you must be sure that you’re fireproof, meaning that you must ensure that you are not putting on or holding anything that can be burnt. This is very important and significant in the realm of the spirit just as it is in the physical. Sin is flammable and before we can do what the opening Scripture says, we must be sure that we take this caution! We must live right before God so that we can be useful to Him in helping the lost out of the flame of destruction and redirecting them to the path of life. The Word of God also shows us in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 that there are things that are flammable and things that are not. Please take out time to check that out today!

When dealing with fires, we have this sense of urgency. Those in the fire service understand this too well, that any delay in responding to a fire outbreak spells disaster or loss. Fire is wild! As a soul winner, you are likened to a fire fighter. There are certain people the Lord will show you who you will know are surely on their way to damnation – hell – and don’t even know it. You will need to fight for their lives in earnest intercession and, as surely as the Lord leads, you must speak to them. When the Lord sends us to pray on behalf of a lost soul or to speak to them for Him, He expects immediate action. God wants us to approach soul winning with the urgency of fire. It’s about life and death. A life is at stake and something must be done immediately.

Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, in his classic ‘Evangelism by Fire’ described delay in taking the Gospel to the unsaved as a fire fighter who is informed about a fire outbreak, instead of acting immediately, decides to shave before going to quench the fire. It is unfortunate that that’s really how many believers approach the preaching of the Gospel. We must think differently. We must change our approach to the Great Commission. The way that leads to destruction is a wide road and many blindly follow that road. We can’t afford to watch them get into the eternal flames of destruction. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to do something urgent! Let’s have them saved for the glory of God! Great shall be our reward. God bless you!

SPIRITUAL HUNGER

2011-11-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

There’s a longing in the heart of every man (or woman) for God whether he acknowledges it or not. Also, deep down in the heart of every believer is a desire to know God the more. Man was created for God and he must only find full satisfaction in God. There is a place in the heart of every many that only God can fill – nothing else! When Jesus was teaching on the mount in Matthew 5, the first thing He said was “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 5:3). By the phrase ‘poor in spirit’ Jesus was referring to those who see or acknowledge their need for God. Everyone needs God but not everyone acknowledges their need for God. That’s why today we have Atheists and folks who tag themselves as ‘Godless’. Further in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6). Righteousness means right standing with God. So Jesus was still dealing with the same issue but in a different dimension. When the Lord fills your present hunger and thirst for Him, it only means that you should step up into a higher level of hunger and thirst for Him. It is progressive. As long as you are on earth, you will never get to the point where you have it all.

I believe one of the worse things that can happen to a human being here on earth is to live a whole life time without the divine influence. Also, one of the worst things that can happen to a believer here on earth is for him to lose his hunger for God. We can never get to a place where we have enough of God. We just keep needing Him every single day we live and every single moment we breathe here on earth. The Psalmist says “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.” (Psalm 42:1-2,7). Spiritual hunger is the inspiration for spiritual advancement. Something’s got to keep you going! If a man is not hungry for something, there won’t be any form of urgency in his life or pursuit. It is hunger for accomplishment that drives a man to pursue his dreams. It’s a desire for success that causes a student burn the night candles. It’s a desire for money that causes a man to work so hard especially where there are incentives and a good reward system.

The Holy Spirit is the One who stirs up a spiritual hunger in the hearts of people. Even though this spiritual hunger is birthed by the Holy Ghost in the heart of every believer in Jesus Christ, it has to be nurtured by the believer. Smith Wigglesworth was a man who had a great understanding of what spiritual hunger was. I came across some of his sermons compiled in a book titled: ‘Cry of The Spirit’, and was so amazed at how deep this man was hungry for God and His manifestation. His major hunger was to know God in reality. His knowledge of God sparked up an unusual flow of the supernatural from His life. Spiritual hunger is the key to walking in the Supernatural. When you become so hungry for the Lord, it stirs up the manifestation of His personality in and through you. Your hunger for the Lord will spur you to seek for the Lord earnestly, not because He is missing but because you want to know more of Him. It’s just like the Psalmist says: “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” Psalm 63:1-8.

A major indication of your hunger for God and the things of the Spirit is seen in the way you desire God’s Word and your response to what It says. What physical food means to a hunger body is exactly what the Word of God means to the human spirit. Your spiritual hunger is displayed by your ardent desire for the Word of God. I believe every real Word from the Lord must end up stirring an ardent desire or hunger for God in the hearts of the hearers. We can’t know enough of the Lord. Our desire to know Him more and more will spur us to price the knowledge of Him above all else. Paul says: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:7,8,10-14

Spiritual hunger drives us to go the extra mile for the Lord. Spiritual hunger keeps us longing for more of the Lord every single moment of our lives. Spiritual hunger brings us to that point where nothing else can satisfy us but the ultimate – the Lord Himself. Spiritual hunger helps us activate the flow of the Supernatural in our lives. A man who is spiritually hungry never settles for anything spiritually substandard. One of the ways the devil successfully keeps a lot of believers in a state of lukewarmness is through quick satisfaction. He makes them believe that they have arrived. It is time to let go of anything that makes you let go of the Lord. We must keep laying hold of the Lord. If it means fasting and praying, if it means locking up yourself for days, if it means crying out loud to the Lord, what ever it is you can do to revive your hunger for the Lord, please do and the Lord will rain upon you afresh. The Holy Spirit brings revival to the life of the believer and helps him lives a revived life – always alive towards God. Spiritual hunger keeps a man humble before God, because he always sees his need for the Lord. I believe that one of the things that will sustain us and help us stay unadulterated with the filthiness of this world in these last days is spiritual hunger. I pray that the Lord will stir up in you a new and undying passion and desire for Him that will cause you to go deeper in the Lord and be useful for Him in His end-time harvest. Amen!

MISSION TO DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

2011-11-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

It was a Supernatural venture! From our departure to our return was absolutely Supernatural – nothing else! We (the team) felt so honoured to have the Lord work in us and through us in the manner He did. It was an experience of the power of God to be remembered eternally. We can’t forget this one in a jiffy.

On the Day 1 of our Mission to Delta State, Nigeria, we held ‘Catch the Flame’ Conference (our believers’ conference which is aimed at stirring up the revival fire of the Holy Ghost in their hearts which will enable them to plunge into the harvest field of the Lord to reap the ripe harvest of souls) at the Ogwashi-Uku Community Town hall. It was a great Holy Ghost experience. We preached the Word of God powerfully by the enabling power of the Holy Ghost. 10 Souls were saved and about the same number were filled with the Holy Ghost. The Lord honoured us with an awesome atmosphere of the Holy Ghost. It was just there in the air. We all enjoyed and soaked in His manifest presence. We’ve never experienced it like it before. Thank God it is the beginning of a new dimension for us. The impact of this meeting was so strong that the attendees were requesting for the Gospel tracts we made available for the conference. Truly, we’ve never given out Gospel Tracts like we did during this event in any other event. We made it clear that we weren’t just going to Delta State to hold an event but to spark up a flame that will continue burning and will spread all over the place. Thank God, that was exactly what was done in the Name of the Lord.

On the Day 2, we left for Otibio Community in Delta State where we were to have an evangelistic outreach. On our arrival to Otibio community, we met with the Christian Association of Nigeria’s (CAN) Chairman in the community. He received us with great joy and we had a brief talk with him on our mission in the community. We immediately launched out into the harvest for a great haul. We went from house to house, business locations, open and hidden places alike – wherever the souls were. We distributed Tract booklets, Devotionals, little Bibles, etc as we declared the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There was a Word for just everyone – the aged, men, women, youths, teenagers, boys, girls, children – everyone! There was such an awakening and a sudden awareness of the Lord brought about by the Holy Spirit in the community as was revealed through certain experiences and encounters we had from various people we ministered to. The people of this community are so hungry for the Word. It appears that a lot of them only understand Christianity as a religion and nothing else. But by the utterance of the Holy Ghost we bore witness to the living Jesus. When we were through with our evangelistic outreach, we dropped copies of our evangelistic believers’ Tract titled ‘Urgency!’ with the CAN Chairman to be distributed to the Churches in that community, this tract is meant to inspire the saints to becoming passionate and effective soul winners. We also dropped copies of Gospel tracts to enhance their soul winning ventures. We were told that nothing of such had ever happened in Otibio Community prior to this time. The people received the Word with great joy and excitement. By the time we were leaving Otibio, there was great joy in the city!

Please, pray for the people of Otibio and Delta State as a whole that they will continually experience the power of the Gospel and the influence of the Holy Spirit.

INDEBTEDNESS

2011-10-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

Do you know that every single day you are alive on earth, you owe at least someone the preaching of the Gospel? That’s right. For every day you wake up and discover that you’re still on planet earth and still breathing, you’re a debtor! The earlier we understand this, the more fruitful and productive we’ll become here on earth. In Romans 1:14–17, Paul made an amazing declaration towards the Gospel mandate. He says “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” (NKJV). Paul was simply saying “I’m owing everyone the Gospel.” Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, Himself was also compelled by this sense of indebtedness during His life and ministry on earth. Mark 1:38 says “But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.” (NKJV). Paul, by divine revelation, understood the heart of Jesus in reality and function in it.

I noticed that whenever the Lord lays it upon my heart or stirs up my heart towards reaching out with the Gospel to any land or community, I often feel this sense of indebtedness towards that community until I actually preach the Gospel to them. I just literarily feel that I owe them something that I must pay. And after I have preached the Gospel to them, no matter their response to it – whether positive or negative – I experience an unusual outburst of joy within me as though I had just paid a heavy debt. I believe it is the Holy Spirit who creates this sense on indebtedness in us to enable us fulfil our part in the Gospel mandate. The truth is that we’re going to give account to Jesus on that great day when we stand before Him. He will ask us about how faithful we have been to the task He gave us and how obedient we have been to His instructions. Every believer has been entrusted with the supreme task of preaching the Gospel to everyone who will listen. We owe the world the Gospel!

If the Body of Christ will faithfully play her role of taking the Gospel (Good news) of the Kingdom of God everywhere just like the journalist spreads the daily news, there’s going to be an amazing spread of the Gospel all over the world in a short time. We must be faithful to the Master because we love Him and because we love and care about the people He has sent us to. How true are the Holy Ghost-inspired words of Paul the Apostle: “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” (1 Cor. 9:16,17,19). Also in Acts 20:26 Paul says “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.” Are you free from the blood of your neighbour, friend, colleague, etc? Have you preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them? PREACH THE WORD!

LIVING A LIFE OF INFLUENCE

2011-10-08T07:43:00.001-07:00

Influence is the effect what we do have on other people especially those connected to us in one way or the other. Relationships or associations spread the chain of influence. In every relationship the law of influence is at work. That’s why we must watch out for wrong influencers. Dr. John C. Maxwell says ‘leadership is influence’. Leadership is another vehicle by which influence spreads. We might not all be leaders in that sense but every believer is a leader in one way or the other. In fact everyone is a leader in the area he or she excels. We are either influencing or being influenced. Influence could be direct or indirect. There are so many people today who are being influenced directly or indirectly without being aware of it. It appears influence is subtle a times. It could be silent but yet strong. It may take some time to build up, but then it becomes so glaring. Influence is about ordinary people doing extraordinary things – living extraordinary lives! It’s about doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way! Jesus Christ is our perfect example of a life of influence.

The influence of the Holy Spirit is the greatest influence in the world. The Holy Spirit is the One who makes the Saints people of influence through living the Kingdom life and the preaching of the Gospel. To be a great Kingdom influences on earth, we must not be people who only preach the Gospel but don’t live the Kingdom life or live the Kingdom life but don’t preach the Gospel. The two must be in place for a life of influence to become a reality. This was what made John the Baptist so different. John the Baptist was a great man – the greatest man born of a woman (Matthew 11:11). It is true because Jesus said so. For so many years, I’ve be thinking about John the Baptist. What made him so great? Why was he so different? How could city people be so stirred by the words of this man that they left the cites and made their way for the wilderness? I thought it should be vice versa! What amazed me most was that John the Baptist never performed a single miracle (John 10:41), but he was a wonder. He so commanded the attention of the whole nation to the point that even the authorities wanted to know who he was and everyone sought for his counsel. Wow! I want you to catch the spirit of this piece. Jesus said about John the Baptist that he was a burning and a shining light (John 5:35). What a life! I believe John’s secret was in his understanding the way of the Holy Spirit and how to yield to Him. In fact John was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb! Can you beat that? I tell you, if you listen to the Holy Spirit, He will make you an influence.

You don’t need to have money before you can become an influence. You don’t need to be popular before you can become an influence. You don’t need to go to school before you can become an influence. You don’t need to be the president of a nation before you can become an influence. Just be different! Do things differently. Influence is about making a difference. (Daniel 1:8). Through influence, kings can be brought into subjection. Small people can shake kingdoms through influence as in the case of Daniel. You can’t help but be different when you walk with the Holy Spirit. I also considered the life of a great man of our time – Billy Graham. Mr. Graham has made so much difference in the world that it is almost impossible for him not to be known in any nation. What made him so different? Why did he have such a command in America and other parts of the world? Of course, there are many preachers who do the same things he does but why is he so different? I was amazed when I discovered from one of Kathryn Kuhlman’s writings that Billy Graham doesn’t function in the power gifts (healing, miracles & special faith). I wondered how he commanded such great attention – I don’t think it’s by human efforts.

Jesus said a lot about influence. He taught that influence could start out as a seed but no sooner does it produce an amazing harvest (Matthew 13:33). This applies to both positive and negative influences. Jesus also taught that believers are the light, salt and yeast of the world (Matt. 5:13-16; 13:33). You can’t be ignorant of the absence of salt in a meal. You can’t be ignorant of the absence of light in a room. You can’t be ignorant of the presence of yeast in a loaf of bread. This simply means that Jesus never expected believers to live secret lives or to live as secret disciples. In fact He said “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). It is time for this dark world to see the marvellous light we bear! John 1:5 says “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Before Jesus ascended into heaven, His last words were “But ye shall receive power [the ability to influence], after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses [influencers] unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). This was exactly what Jesus did during His ministry on earth. Apostle Peter said this of Him “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38). This is influence! I believe Jesus’ prayer life played a great role in establishing His influence upon men everywhere He went (See Mark 1:35). We must learn from the Master – He’s our perfect example!

In a nut shell, the Great Commission Jesus gave to the Church is to go into the entire world, [Business, Religious, Academic, Fashion, Sport etc worlds] and influence the people with the Kingdom life by both living the Kingdom life and preaching the Good News of the Kingdom. I make bold to say, until the world start being influenced by the Kingdom life that we possess as believers, we are far from fulfilling the Great Commission! The Gospel is the power [influence] of God that brings people to the point of salvation. Living for the Gospel is simply living a life of Kingdom influence. A man of influence cannot hide and cannot be hidden because he’s so different. If the difference between us and the world cannot be easily identified, then we’re not really influencing the world. It is time for Believers everywhere to begin to take the divine influence into every place we find ourselves – that’s why we’re there. It appears we’re too quiet about this Gospel. We must be noisy about the Gospel because everyone everywhere must hear it. We can’t afford to fail the Master. Let’s shout it out on the housetop, in the market place, in our neighbourhood…everywhere that Jesus Christ is the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life. With this message we can influence the world and in turn become men and women of influence! Let God use you to display Himself to the world!

THE FRUIT OF GENTLENESS

2011-09-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

The Greek word for gentleness as used in Galatians 5:22 is: ‘Chrestotes’ it means moral excellence (in character & demeanour (Outward behaviour: somebody's behaviour, manner, or appearance, especially as it reflects on character). To be gentle means to be discreet, prudent, compelled by wisdom (not just knowledge), knowing what to do and how to do it at all times. It also means to be sober (thoughtful). It really takes the Holy Spirit to be gentle. In one word, gentleness means wisdom (See James 3:13-18, NLT). Ultimately, being gentle means actively walking in the Wisdom of God – not just having it, but actively walking in it.

“Ladies and gentlemen” is an official way we address an audience both formally and informally. It’s quiet ridiculous to address a crowd as gentle people. Calling everyone gentle could just be as funny as calling everyone wise! The world’s definition of gentleness is totally different from the Bible’s just like it is with the word ‘love’. We must be very careful about using the dictionary to define spiritual things. The closest definition of gentleness, out of all other definitions given by the dictionary is having a gracious and honourable manner [Manner of life, lifestyle].

Gentleness is not quietness or taciturnity even though they could be virtues of a gentle person. A gentle man is known by the results he produces. You don’t know gentleness by just outward display – but result! Real gentleness starts from the heart and then reflects on the outside. Even though Gentleness doesn’t mean quietness, it has a lot to do with how we use our words. A gentle man is conscious of his use of words (James 3:2; 1:19; Col. 4:6).

WHO IS A GENTLE PERSON? – Gentleness can be identified (Philippians 4:5).
1. One who is born again (Every saint has the fruit of gentleness. We just need to grow in it).
2. One who has received The Holy Spirit, yields to Him and walks with Him.
3. A person who walks in practical wisdom – Prudence. He’s driven by the force of wisdom (Phil. 4:5, NKJV)
4. A person who has strength of character – the entire fruit of the spirit is the character of the Christian.
5. A person who always knows what to do in every situation – He’s never stuck! (Col.1:9-11).
6. A person who has control over his life by controlling his tongue (James 3).
7. A person who maintains a disciplined prayer life – His stability comes from his fellowship with the Lord.

Jesus Christ is our perfect example of a gentle life just as in all other fruit of the spirit.

AREAS OF FOCUS IN DEVELOPING THE FRUIT OF GENTLENESS
1. Words: Col. 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (NKJV).
2. Actions: Philip. 4:5 says “Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.” (NKJV). A gentleman always thinks before acting and not vice versa.
3. Understanding: Eph. 5:17 “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
4. Time Mastery: A gentle man never goes late for an event because he has mastered the use of his time.
5. Value: A gentle man understands true value and so doesn’t waste his time, energy or resources on things that don’t produce value.
6. Discernment: A gentleman is always discerning. He knows what to do at all time since he’s always keen to the voice of the Spirit.
7. Integrity: A gentleman or woman is known for doing what is right (doing the Word) no matter the cost.

The more gentle you become, the lesser the mistakes you make – Gentleness is Christian maturity! The strength of a gentleman is in how keen he is to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit. How we need to be gentle in the world and time we live in today. It will change everything about us!

How do we grow the fruit of gentleness in our lives?
1. By knowing and yielding to the Holy Spirit!
2. Always pray Col. 1:9-11 for yourself. Also spend time praying in the Holy Ghost – it keeps your spirit keen.
3. Consciously cultivate it by doing the Word.
4. Develop a conscious of it by confessing it daily. E.g. “I’m walking in gentleness today in the Name of Jesus.”

“Do not let your adornment be merely outward--arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel--rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” 1Peter 3:3,4 (NKJV).

DEFINING MOMENTS

2011-09-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Today, I write to talk to you about something very vital, helpful and urgent. I pray you dedicate some minutes of your time to read this piece. It will bless you big, I promise you!

From time to time, in our lives, it becomes so necessary to halt on the activities, rush, noise, etc. in order to listen to our selves, define our values again in the light of God’s Word and so make informed decisions. And as simple as this may seem, it is what defines who we are and who we would eventually turn out to be in life. Defining moments are those moments we set aside to call things what they really are and see things the way they truly are. The Word of God tells us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? --unless indeed you are disqualified.” (NKJV). You see, decisions are so vital to us daily that we just make them, sometimes without even premeditating on their consequences. Every decision has its consequence – what it delivers in return – whether good or bad. Most of the time, the state in which we were when we made a decision determines the quality of decision we make and the consequences thereof. For us as Believers in Jesus Christ, this is very important because if we can learn to listen to our spirit man, we would foresee certain things and events and as a result make informed decisions by the Help of the Holy Spirit who resides in us.

The Lord Jesus had defining moments during His time on earth. He always had moments when He was just alone with the Father – different from His time of prayer and study. I believe He virtually drew His strengthen from those moments that He had to stay away from the crowd to listen to His heart and the heart of the Father. Having defining moments is not an option for people who want to step into the fullness of God’s plans and purpose for their lives. It brings about an unusually focus, direction and progress. There was something about the life of Jesus on earth. He was a wonder to everyone He came in contact with. He had a word for everyone He met. He had a solution for every problem He encountered. He was always on top of circumstances. He was simply in charge! When men met Him, they were changed. Just something about His life! But of course, these things did not just happen. They happened because He cared enough to step out from the crowd from time to time to get things straight. Friends, you know as much as I do that this world is a noisy place – full of distraction – and if we’re not careful we’d lose what we’ve got in a bid to achieve much. Before the Lord Jesus went to the cross, He had a defining moment at the Garden of Gethsemane where He settled it once and for all that He will fulfil His purpose – the death on the cross – no matter what! Jesus is not just the Son of God but He is the pattern-Son of God. We must follow His example to please the Father.

In order to get the best out of our defining moments, we must ensure that the following are considered during defining moment:

1. Check your motives – why do you do what you do, are you a ‘man pleaser’ or a God pleaser? Are you doing things for love sake or for selfish reasons?
2. Ask yourself the right questions.
3. Be sincere with yourself – just tell yourself the truth about you even if it hurts.
4. Give yourself a sincere evaluation of how far you’ve gone in fulfilling God’s dream (purpose) for your life on earth.
5. Be sure you’re alone with the Holy Spirit.
6. Just think, write and pray – nothing else! You might also want to fast during those moments. Please do, it will help greatly!
7. It is so important you pray in preparation for those moments because God must be involved in it if it must be worth the while.

With these things rightly in place, you’re sure to always come out a different and better person than you went in. The Word of God actually says that we should judge ourselves so that we will not be judged (1Cor. 11:31) and that is one of the things defining moments will help us to do. Note, it didn’t say for us to condemn ourselves but to judge (discern, evaluate or weigh) ourselves. So when we do it properly, it improves the quality of our lives and service to God.

How often should we have defining moments? This could be done as often as possible especially when at the point of making major decisions that affect our lives. For instance, Jesus had it just before going to the cross, Abraham had it before taking Isaac to the mountain to sacrifice him in obedience to God, Jacob had it before going to meet (reconcile with) his brother – Esau. For me, apart from other times I set aside to re-define things in my life, I find my birthdays the best days for it. Reality dawns on me the most on that day of the year. I ask myself questions like “having spent so and so years on earth, what’s my life really worth for the Lord and His Kingdom? Am I really fulfilling purpose on a daily basis?” etc. I know it doesn’t have to be the same for you but whatever time it is, be sure to get the best out of it. I believe that the Lord gets the best of our attention and speaks to us during defining moments. In fact, one thing you’ll never miss during defining moments is the voice of God! The Holy Spirit will speak expressly to you if you’re sincere and open to Him!

There is one thing we must do which would enable us to have the right definition in life on a daily basis. This all important thing is seen in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ during His time here on earth. We see that in Mark 1:35 which says “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” (NKJV). If we would simply get ourselves to do this everyday, everyday will be purposeful, fulfilling and well maximized to the glory of God. Friend, let’s not waste our time here on earth. Everyday, hour, minute, second, micro second matter and must matter to us as they matter to the Father. Hope this helps. Blessings!

THE MIRACLE OF SALVATION

2011-08-18T05:27:00.001-07:00

From time to time, in my evangelistic ventures, I come across a lot of people who want to or even try to reason out the salvation that we’ve got in Christ Jesus. They want to understand with their mind why they should be born again. They want to reason out facts and figures that would convince them beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus Christ is what He claims to be. I’ve thought about this matter over and over again and sometimes even come to the conclusion that they have the right to have this information in order to accept the Lord Jesus. But one day after the Holy Spirit ministered to me deeply during a moment of contemplation on the Word, I could only come up with one thing: The whole idea about salvation is a miracle! Everything about the Christian life is simply supernatural! It is impossible for the unrenewed mind to grasp spiritual or supernatural things. How can you explain that God has a Son having not married? How can you explain the fact that a virgin could give birth to a holy child without sin or any defect? How can you explain that the Almighty Holy Ghost tabernacles in the body of a human being? Please stop the search and accept the Truth (Reality) from God’s Word and simply live! We that are saved may be able to narrate how we got saved (our salvation experience) but can never explain why we got saved! The Holy Spirit worked on our hearts to show us the need to be saved, that’s all we can tell. This is the reason why those looking for reasons to be saved might never get saved and may end up dying in their sin and go to hell to spend eternity with the devil who has given them the reason to embark on an endless and unrealistic quest. It’s too expensive a thing to do. How unfortunate! I don’t want to go to hell because I am a profession who wouldn’t accept the Truth until I understand it. Sometimes school too could be a problem! We can know too much to accept the basics and simplicity of things to our own hurt.

One thing every believer must understand is that the successful work of evangelism can never be accomplished through logic but in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord never sent us to convince the world of anything. We were sent to preach – declare, announce, proclaim, shout out – the Gospel (Good news of the Kingdom) to a dying world and to leave the conviction to the Holy Spirit. It is very important you understand this because if you don’t, the work of evangelism will continue to be a mystery to you. Someone said to me the other day “I have become scared of evangelising lately.” As I talked with this fellow, I discovered that he was already stepping out of the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was trying to understand the Gospel through philosophy! You see, we live in an age when people want to attempt to explain everything logically even spiritual things which could only be received in the spirit. This becomes an obstacle and leads to delusion and deception.

I Peter 3:15 says “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” This doesn’t mean that you should try to logically explain the Gospel to people. Notice, it says for you to sanctify the Lord in your heart which means that you must have a personal conviction of the Lord and His workings in your life as you expose yourself to His Word having been saved. Then it says for you to prepare yourself to explain to every man that asks you the reason for your HOPE. Notice again that it didn’t say ‘a reason for your believing in Jesus.’ But it says ‘a reason for your hope’ which means, having been saved, as you study the Word you’d be able to see through the eyes of the Spirit the hope we have in Christ just like Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian Church (See Eph. 1:15-18). We must prepare ourselves – on purpose – to tell the world the Hope we have in Christ. That hope is only in Christ. Glory to God! The world is hopeless and helpless without Christ. This should concern the saint and push us to reach out passionately to a dying world. The Lord has given to the Church a Gospel that contains the Hope that the world needs. Yes, real hope is encapsulated in the Gospel we preach! We must shout it on the roof top – all over the world – that there is hope in no other but Christ Jesus who suffered and died for the sins of the world! This is good news to the hopeless. This is good news to the helpless. This is good news to the disillusioned. Glory to God! We’ve got the message of hope for the world. This is the message that produces the miracle of salvation to all who receive it! It’s the message that works. That’s why we must, of necessity, declare it with excitement and everything inside us! That’s why we must intercede for the lost with every passion in our hearts knowing that until they receive this message of hope, it cannot work for them. They don’t need to stay out there wondering what it is all about. They need to come into the fold to understand what this thing is all about. They will be eternally changed by this miracle-producing Gospel of Hope in Christ Jesus! PREACH THE WORD!

THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

2011-08-03T09:11:00.001-07:00

We are a people of prophecy! The Lord is pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh in an unprecedented way all over the world just as He promised long ago. We are seeing prophecies fulfilled, without any questions, before our very eyes. What a day we live in! The Holy Ghost is simply taking over everything and everywhere! Are you in the flow yet? The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is for everyone – Believers and non-believers alike! It is important you understand that. This outpouring is for all but it will have different effects in the lives of these 2 classes of beings – The Believer and non-believer.

What is the outpouring of the Spirit? Please understand that this is different from the ‘down pouring’ of the Holy Spirit. The down pouring of the Holy Spirit refers to His arrival on earth which has already happened as we see in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit came on that very day and has been on earth ever since then – He hasn’t gone back! The Holy Spirit is very much in the earth NOW! The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit refers to the spread of the influence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit didn’t just come for the Disciples or the believers at the Upper Room. He came to fill the whole earth! You see, the Holy Spirit is everywhere but He is not manifesting everywhere. He only manifests where He is welcome and reverenced. But He wants to manifest everywhere! Thank God, we’ve got a prophecy to that effect. We’re seeing more of His manifestations everyday! When the Holy Spirit is poured out there would be Divine order, salvation, the miraculous, restoration and a lot more! The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit always precedes the flow of the Supernatural. The Outpouring simplifies the task of taking the Gospel into all the nations of the world! Remember, “…Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6). The Gospel we’ve be called to preach is not in Words alone but in the demonstration of the Holy Ghost and power! (I Cor. 4:20).

The Lord declared His intention to flood the earth with His Spirit through the Prophet Joel in the Old Covenant Book of Joel 2:28,29,32 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.” (NKJV). This is amazing! Let me briefly describe from this Scripture The Effects of the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit:

1. “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” – To prophesy here means to declare or preach with power. That means believers will declare the Word of God with an unusual flow of the Anointing of the Holy Spirit (1Thess. 1:5).
2. “Your old men shall dream dreams” – Of course, you know this is not referring to dreaming at night. It means old folks would hope for more. They won’t let go until all their dreams are accomplished. They’d finish well and strong!
3. “Your young men shall see visions.” – That means young men (and women) would get a vision for their lives. They’d simply be purpose-driven. They would not just be ambitious about anything but about God’s world vision.
4. “whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.” – This refers to the unsaved! The outpouring of the Holy Spirit will result in their coming to know The Lord as Lord and Saviour – A great harvest of Souls everywhere! Isaiah 59:19 says “Then at last they will respect and glorify the name of the Lord throughout the world. For he will come like a flood tide driven by the breath of the Lord.” (NLT).
5. “For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance” – This means that the Church will focus on the Gospel and in reaching the world for the Lord. The Church will simply become the House of Salvation. Hallelujah!

It would be impossible for all these things to happen without the Outpouring of the Spirit. Isaiah 32:15-17 says “Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.” We can see that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be the biggest event before the coming of the Lord. I want you to understand that all these things are already happening in the earth, it is only increasing on a daily basis. Those who walk with the Holy Spirit, always yielding to Him, will be at the fore front of these prophetic manifestations.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit produces a holy flame in the life of the Believer. The flame is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in and through a believer that produces a burning passion (love) for the lost and the desire to reach out to them! The Holy Spirit is the source of the flame! The outpouring of the Spirit will also produce an unusual hunger for God in the hearts of the saints. It will produce revival in the lives of believers. The Outpouring of the Spirit is not for fun, to feel good or have some goose bumps – it’s for the harvest! It is simply for a Jesus revolution! It brings a revelation of Jesus everywhere! We can ask for it in prayer for a particular area or for a person or group of persons and we must act in faith to see it happen!

I want to emphasize the fact that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will produced a renewed spirit of evangelism among Believers with Supernatural manifestation to bear proof of the Gospel we preach. It is intended to multiply the impact of Jesus Christ on earth. What do you think would happen if there are 100 Jesuses in your town? We’d simply run the devil out of business! The Holy Ghost wants to duplicate Jesus Christ everywhere and right now He’s working at it, preparing men and women like you and me. Are you ready for this? Romans 8:19 says “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” (KJV). There is just one more word for you – MANIFEST THE SPIRIT!

“Is it not yet a very little while Till Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, And the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.” (Isaiah 29:17,18. NKJV).

THE WONDERFUL LIFE

2011-07-19T06:26:00.001-07:00

The Word of God clearly tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” This is simply amazing. It appears as though the Church is yet to fully comprehend this passage of Scripture. We seem not to be living in the fullness of it. Understand this Saint, the life we have in Christ is not an ordinary life. No! It’s not. The above Scripture tells us that we became new beings – and of course with a new life – when we got born again. If this is true – and of course it is – what kind of life did we receive at the new birth? What kind of life was imparted into our spirit then? See, it is so important we catch this Saint, because the quality of life we live as believers will be in proportion to the revelation of God’s Word we’ve received into our spirit!

By virtue of our new birth in Christ, we received the very life of God. Can you handle this? At the new birth, God imparted to our spirit the very life He possesses. In the Greek, this life is called ‘zoe’ meaning The God-kind of life. Another meaning for this term is eternal life. Understand that this doesn’t just have to do with longetivity of life. This actually refers to the quality of life that God has. The amazing thing about this kind of life is that it changes the nature of the man who has received it entirely. When we received that life, we received the full package of God into our spirit. This zoe-life of God contains the righteousness of God which we receive and then become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We can simply call the zoe-life of God ‘the divine package’ because it has all the benefits of salvation contained in it – all in one. This is God’s biggest and best offer ever! Glory to God! So the child of God is a possessor of the fullness of God. That is why we’re told in Colossians 2:10 “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” The new creature lacks nothing! We’re complete in Christ even though we are still growing into that fullness, but we are already what God has made us to be!

The zoe-life is not an ordinary life. It’s a higher life! It’s the Supernatural life. It’s the extraordinary life. It’s the unusual life. Romans 5:17 tells us that we reign in the realm of this life through Jesus Christ! In this realm of life ignorance cannot survive because Christ has become our wisdom. We don’t learn wisdom, it is imparted to us by the Holy Spirit (Of course, you know there’s another kind of wisdom which belongs to the world – not of God). Wisdom is a spirit! It is one of the seven spirits of God as revealed in Isaiah 11:1-2 [Also see Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5]. The Seven spirits of God are actually the full [seven-fold] operation or manifestation of the Holy Spirit (There are no seven other spirits. It is actually the same Holy Spirit operating or manifesting in seven dimensions which display the fullness of God. If you have the Holy Spirit you have them but you must consciously yield to the Holy Spirit in these areas to manifest them).

The zoe-life is a journey in grace. It’s a life that moves by the wind of the Holy Spirit. It is a life that is anchored on and operates by the Word. It is also called the wonderful life! When you have this life you walk in love naturally, you simply become a wonder to the world. This is why Jesus came. He came to give us the wonderful life – the same quality of life He has. He said in John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” NIV renders the phrase ‘more abundantly’ as ‘in its fullness’ which fully expresses what Jesus meant. This God-kind of life is governed by love – the agape-love of God! I’m so passionate about this subject because this is what I’ve been divinely ordained to share all over the world – to tell the world about the wonderful life in Christ! To receive this life, YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN!

Life Digest - Volume 11

2011-07-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Download the 11th Edition of Life Digest. It is simply inspiring, enriching and uplifting I promise you. Read inspiring articles from Evangelist Bonnke, Dr. E.W Kenyon, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda and lots more! Just Click this link to download: http://www.lifecommissionministry.org/WebPDF/ld11.pdf you can also

copy the link to your browser.

REPORT FROM CATCH THE FLAME CONFERENCE, NIGER STATE.

2011-07-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

It is simply just the beginning of something big. Though starting in a little way, it was just an inspiration or a spark up of the continual flow of the Holy Flame from the Lord upon His people all over the world. Tagged “Catch The Flame” Conference, the event is a divine initiative from the Lord to David on 9th December, 2009. The Lord inspired Him to start holding believers’ conferences alongside the ministry crusades he holds with the team. The event is designed to stir up the hearts of the believers towards flowing with the Holy Spirit in the area of evangelism, thereby spreading the influence of the Holy Spirit. “Catch The Flame” Conference, Niger State, Nigeria held on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th of June 2011 was the first step of faith towards carrying out this divine mandate. It is was a 2-Day, 3 sessions event. As it is well known, Life Commission Ministry exists strictly for the purpose of winning the lost and inspiring the saints to do the same. The conference is in line with the vision of the ministry.

On Friday 24th, the first day of the conference, David spoke on the outpouring of the Spirit. According to him, the Holy Spirit instructed him to build an altar of salvation on the first night of the event which he did. He explained the urgent need for men to get saved all over the world and that the Holy Spirit wants to set men aflame to enable them go everywhere and preach the Gospel with power and fervour. Journeying through 1Kings 16 through 18, he explained how the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal relates to the present world situation and the need for more men like Elijah who would challenge the status quo.

On Saturday 25th, during the Ministers and Church Workers’ conference, David taught on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, explaining why they seem not to be in operation in many Churches today and how we can get them to start operation in our Churches again. It was a moment of insight and revelation as this resulted into a moment of passionate prayer. In the evening, the people came with real expectations to receive the fire of God in their lives. David briefly shared on what he titled: The Supernatural Labourers. Reading from Matthew 9:35-37, he emphasized that God is not looking for just teachers of the Word or just preachers of the Word or just healing ministers. But in order to get the job done properly, God is looking for labourers after the kind of Jesus – Supernatural labourers – who would teach, preach and heal – all three! He challenged the people that all God is looking for is available vessels who would be willing to go and do whatever God wants done. With this he led the people into receiving the Holy Ghost and fire. The fire of God simply fell on the people as they prayed and cried out to the Lord.

Though it was a believers’ conference, we had 14 people make a commitment to Jesus as Saviour and Lord of their lives for the 2 nights. Hallelujah! The Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the area requested that we returned to repeat the event on a larger scale. We know that the impact of this event will remain in Niger State, Nigeria. The event was immediately followed by Strategic Evangelism Training (SET), a one week training done by the ministry to teach people the basics of soul winning.

ACCORDING TO PATTERN

2011-07-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

God has a pattern – a blueprint – for whatever He does. It is our responsibility to enquire of Him the pattern for whatever He asks us to do. This then means that God is not just concerned about getting a task done but also about how the task is accomplished. This is worth considering if you desire to walk with God successfully. Is your life presently according to God’s pattern or first, have you discovered God’s pattern for your life? The reason there seems to be so much confusion and disorder in the body of Christ today is that men and women no longer seek to follow God’s pattern in accomplishing His purposes for their lives. This is unfortunate. It is important we understand that success in any divine task is not determined by how gigantic or glamorous it is but in how much of it fits into God’s pattern. God’s Pattern is His standard.

In giving Moses the blueprint for the construction of the Tabernacle of Witness, the Lord instructed him thus, “And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” (Exodus 25:40, NKJV). God told Moses to see to it that he built the tabernacle according to specifications. It seems to me that God cares about the very details of our lives. You know, some times we are tempted to think that the Lord only cares about the ‘spiritual things’ of our lives. But it is so clear that if by virtue of the New Birth we now belong to the Lord, then it means that He has total possession of us and if He has total possession of us, it then means that He has a pattern on how our lives should be run – physically, spiritually, mentally, financially, academically, socially etc. God is not careless about His property! 1 Corinthians 6:20 says “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” (NKJV). Think on this for a moment.

Are you building according God’s pattern – God’s standard? One thing is certain, just like a man can reject a building if the builders refuse to build according to his desired plan, pattern or specifications, so also God will reject every building, thing or life that doesn’t correspond with His pattern. God will not accept anything less. He would not be satisfied with sub-standards. 1 Corinthians 3:11 tells us that “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (NKJV). Jesus is our pattern for life. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world not just for the salvation of souls but also as a pattern-Son for all other sons of He’s who would be produced by virtue of the finished work of Christ. No wonder Apostle Paul, by the Spirit, tells us in Romans 8:29 that “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (NKJV). This clearly tells us that God wants us to pattern our lives after His Son, Jesus Christ – not any man! Many people make men their pattern and when those men fall, they also fall. God doesn’t want us to go about making men our pattern. Men are limited and fallible. He wants Jesus alone to be our pattern – our focus! Who are you patterning your life after?

When we start building our lives according to God’s pattern, we’d suddenly discover that there is no need or grounds for competition. Success in life is all about doing the will of God for our lives and being satisfied with it. Please, get this straight: Jesus is God’s pattern for our lives. Also the Word of God is God’s pattern for our lives. But then there is God’s specific pattern for our lives which we can only uncover by revelation or divine encounter. This is very important because, in as much as we are all meant to live according to the Word of God and to look to Jesus as our supreme pattern for life, God has called us to different areas of service which we must particularly ask Him to reveal to us. God has shaped us for a particular assignment. He has designed us to fit into His specific purposes for our lives and until we discover it, we can’t properly build according to His pattern. Hence, the need for prayer!

Just as God said to Moses, “And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” (Exodus 25:40, NKJV), we must understand that the pattern for our lives can only be revealed to us on the mountain. So does it mean that we must go to a mountain to get the pattern for our lives? No! The word ‘mountain’ is a symbol of prayer. It is also a symbol of divine encounter. That is to say that we get the blue print for our lives by enquiring of the Lord in the place of prayer. We get it by revelation. We don’t figure it out with our heads. You see, when we stand before the Lord on that day of judgement, Jesus will only be concerned about what God designed us to do and not just anything. We must all give account to Jesus of our stewardship with regards to what God wanted us to do. So we can see that it is a very serious matter and we must do whatever it takes to get the proper design or pattern for our lives. It is worth spending time in the place of prayer to know and understand God’s pattern for our lives.

The role of the Holy Spirit in helping us know, understand and build according to God’s pattern cannot be over emphasized. We must depend on the Holy Spirit to be sure that we are building according to God’s pattern. It is not enough to know God’s pattern for our lives. It is also important that we walk with the Holy Spirit to ensure that we build daily – everyday! – according to that pattern. That means the Holy Spirit helps us maintain a life that follows God’s pattern consistently. He helps us stay with it. As long as we depend on the Holy Spirit, we can’t get it wrong. God sent the Holy Spirit to us, the saints, to help us know His mind. 1 Corinthians 2: 9-10 says “But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (NKJV). God always reveals His mind to us through the Holy Spirit. That means if you don’t have the Holy Spirit, you are limited in life and there is no way you can know, understand and build according to God’s pattern. The Holy Spirit has come to help us build according to God’s pattern. Jesus, in John 16:13 said “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (NKJV). So if you’re born again and don’t have the Holy Spirit, invite Him into your life by a simple prayer to the Father in the Name of Jesus, asking Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit and He will! Don’t live another day without the Holy Spirit. Let Him help you build according to God’s pattern!

THE SUPERNATURAL VS. THE NATURAL

2011-06-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

There is the natural way of doing things. There is equally the Supernatural way of doing things. When we do things in the natural, we do it in the flesh. When we do things in the Supernatural we do it in the Spirit. Man is a spirit being and God designed him to operate in the Supernatural naturally. The distortion of this plan came as a result of the fall but that has been taken care of in the New Creation produced by Christ in His redemptive work. He restored man to the original plan. When we do things through the natural means, we are limited to the human ability. When we do things the Supernatural way, we simply employ the ability of the Omnipotent Father God. It is actually a choice for us to employ the natural or the Supernatural means of getting things done. There is indeed the Supernatural dimension to all aspects of life. We have employed the natural way of doing things for so long that we seem to be aliens to the Supernatural life. Whatever is birthed through the natural means will eventually hunt us. You can verify this from an Abraham who chose a natural option to produce an Ishmael. Today you know as much as I do that the Ishmaelites (hope you understand?) are the greatest human problem we have and it is prophetic. It’s time to start walking in the Supernatural – the realm where we really belong.

To be born again means to be born into the Supernatural realm where everything is ‘of God’! Every New Creature have been dipped into the Supernatural. Just as fishes don’t struggle to swim, we don’t struggle to manifest the Supernatural life. We live in it naturally. Someone may ask “if that is the case, why then is the Supernatural manifestation so scarce?” Well, that is why you are reading this piece. Many Believes don’t know that the Supernatural power of God is already upon them. They have not stepped into it. They have not put it to work. They have not placed a demand on the Anointing. They have not approached it as the way of life. They are surprised when they see a preacher manifest it. If only they can understand, if only they can see it for themselves in the Word, if only they will begin to live in the consciousness of it and put it to work every single day of their lives, they would be amazed at how much power is available to them in Christ. They will simply live the Supernatural life naturally!

The Holy Spirit came to help the Church step into the Supernatural life. One of the major reasons why we seem not to see much of the Supernatural in and through the Church of today is because we have not yielded to the Holy Spirit in the area of world evangelism, especially in reaching those in our neighbourhood, places of work and activities. The power of God will only manifest for the purpose for which it was meant. We don’t work in the Supernatural just to feel spiritually high, get some goose bumps, and go for picnics. It is for serious business. It is for establishing the Kingdom of God in the hearts of men whereever we find ourselves. The Holy Spirit who imparts eternal life to those we minister the Word too is always ready to bring the miracles to manifestation whenever we dare to step into it. It is the most Supernatural thing to have souls saved – become possessors of eternal life. If God can do this through us then there is nothing else that He cannot accomplish through us.

Consider these Scriptural quotes below. These are just few examples of the differences between the natural and Supernatural ways of doing things in our daily walk with God and their consequences:

“Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (Jeremiah. 17:5-8, NKJV),

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-7, NKJV).

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16, NKJV).

Simply, walking in the spirit is walking in the Supernatural and walking in the flesh is walking in the natural. The former is unlimited while the latter is limited. You choice where to operate! Choose the Supernatural and flow with the Holy Spirit!

REFUSE TO COMPROMISE

2011-06-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest challenges of Christianity today is compromise. We live in a time when compromise is just about everywhere. So many believers are wakened by the compromises of those they look up to as ‘Giants of the Faith’. It appears the standard is dropping rapidly. So many things are creeping into the Church today that were previously never to be mentioned in Church. So many things are done in the name of being relevant to the world. The rate at which we compromise on our stand for Christ is so amazing and, I believe, gets Heaven’s attention. Today, many unsaved folks believe that there is no difference between the saved and the unsaved since there is virtually no visible line of demarcation between the both – there seems to be no boundaries. The devil is busy fighting leading ministers, throwing all sort of assaults at them to make sure he lowers the standard of the Christian life and make other saints believe it is impossible to live perfectly before God. The reason the devil fights ministers of the Gospel is because whenever anyone of them falls, the Christian standard drops in the eyes of men and this produces a harvest of compromise among many believers who say things like “if so-and-so will fall into this, then who am I not to fall…” It’s unfortunate.

What is compromise? The word ‘Comprise’ means so many things like agreement, acceptance, exposure to danger or disgrace among others. But for the purpose of this discourse, I go with the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition that says Compromise means “to weaken a belief, standard etc by adapting it.” I want you to understand that before there is ever a compromise, there is first a standard. Compromise is questioning the truth. Compromise is altering the truth. Compromise is dropping the standard of excellence due to prevailing circumstances or difficulties in life. Compromise exists at different levels. The word ‘compromise’ is not negative in itself. It could be negative or positive depending on the direction it goes and what is compromised upon. There are positive compromises and equally negative compromises. Years ago, there was a clear-cut difference between what was a sinful act and what was a righteous act. But today, it seems we have to do some deliberations and discussions to find out what is right and wrong. I believe something is wrong somewhere. There is a need for a restoration to the divine order. It is clear that the devil is releasing his worst missiles of evil upon the earth because he knows his time is short. The most unfortunate thing is that so many Christians who were zealously serving the Lord have simply walked away from the faith, giving heed to deceptive and lying spirits. The Lord Jesus Christ, during His earthly ministry, warned against such things in the last days and here we are in the centre of it.

The Word of God is the Believer’s standard for living. It is our principle for living and anything done to violate what it talks about is termed ‘compromise’. Compromise starts when a person begins to question what he already knows is right. For instance you know it is right to go to Church, but then you begin to ask questions like “does it really matter if I don’t go to Church? After all going to Church doesn’t take one to heaven…” you’re already in the midst of compromise. When the devil aims at destroying a believer, he tries to get him to stand alone – away from other believers. When you compromise on the Word of God, it means you’re trying to reduce God to your human standard. And you know as much as I do that God will not and is not about to drop His standard for any one or any reason. II Timothy 2:19 says “Yet God's solid foundation stands unmoved, bearing this inscription, <"The Lord knows those who really belong to Him."> And this also, <"Let every one who names the Name of the Lord renounce all wickedness."” (WNT). Standard is another word for foundation.

As a believer, every single day, you will face the temptation to compromise in one area or the other of your life. The devil already knows that since you’re born again, you’re determined to stick to the Lord all your life and will never want to consider renouncing your faith, so the only way he tries to come in is by tempting you daily to compromise on what God’s Word declares. The devil hasn’t changed his strategies, he only modifies them. He’d say words like “did God really say…?” You see, it is very important that you understand that one day we shall all stand face to face with God – the Judge of all the earth, He is going to judge us personally. His judgement will not be based on your standard or what you think, but He will judge us according to His own perfect standard. God has a standard. I Corinthians 3:11 says “For no other foundation [standard] can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (NLT). Never make any man or human being your standard because if they fall, you fall too! Making men your standard makes compromise inevitable. Let Jesus be your standard for life. “looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of [our] faith…” (Heb. 12:2, ASV).

The antidote to compromise in these last days is to purpose in your heart not to accept anything less than God’s standard and trust the Holy Spirit to help you remain faithful to the Lord. This is exactly how Daniel handled the wave of compromise in His days. While the other Israelites were saying “How shall we sing the LORD'S song In a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4; NKJV), the Word of God tells us that “…Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself…” (Daniel1:8; NKJV). In Daniel chapter three, the three Hebrew boys said ‘we will not bow to anything but God.’ So what are you saying today? I believe that no one ever goes to Heaven by mistake. You go to Heaven on purpose. You must be determined to serve the Lord in spite of the opposing trend in the world. In fact we must set a new trend for the world to follow – The Kingdom trend! We are in the world but we don’t belong to its system. The world system is governed by the devil and we dare not bow to his flawed standards. If we bow we burn! We belong to a different system! We can’t be fooled. We know who we are (1John 4:4)! We are only pilgrims and sojourners here on earth. In Christ alone we stand and overcome the world (2 Cor. 4:4, 1John 2:15-17; 1John 5:4,5)!

As I write this, I’m so conscious of the fact that so many people have compromised on their visions and dreams in life because they no longer see the possibility of it coming to pass. It appears as though it will all end in their imaginations and so they have dropped the standard. They now believe God for at least anything that is reasonable enough. They have simply reduced God to their standard. Romans 12:2 tells us “And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (ASV). Trust is Christ. Refuse to bow!

NO MORE DEPRESSION!

2011-05-16T00:46:00.000-07:00

Depression is of the devil, it is a result of the influence of the devil on the mind of an individual. One who is depressed is pessimistic, disheartened and loses value for life even to the point of desiring to end it. I strongly believe that there is a spirit of depression that, if or when given an opportunity, influences the minds of people. I always count it a privilege to share my experience on how the Lord delivered me from depression. You know, I once experienced depression to such an extent that I laid in bed as though I was physically sick. My body was ok but my mind was terribly in trouble because of the war that was raging in there. The devil came with various thoughts of the sins I had committed in the past and started bugging me with them, telling me that my sins were not yet forgiven me and that I had to do something before the Lord could forgive me of them.

Some how I knew the truth about the matter because I grew up hearing that God forgives us our sins through Jesus Christ if we confessed them to Him (1John 1:9). But for some reasons I started considering what the devil was saying to me and that was where my problem started. I never believed that I would one day in my life contemplate suicide. But I did. I thought to myself; why not just end this pain once and for all? But thanks be to God, in the midst of the darkness, Jesus (the Light) walked in! It was a miracle. When I got healed of it, I made up my mind that I would never live another day of my life under the yoke of depression and that I would never watch anybody within my sphere of influence go through the pains and pangs of depression.

I really don’t know what makes you depressed, but one thing is sure, God has a solution for it in His Word. Here are few lessons I learned from my experience:

1. Depression comes when the Word of God is only in the head and not in the heart – when there is no personal conviction.
2. The devil, if allowed, can have a very strong influence on your mind even if you are born again.
3. There’s a spirit responsible for depression and it operates through negative thoughts. When you stop thinking about the things that make you depressed, you stop that depression.
4. Consciously meditating (thinking) on the Word of God keeps you from the path to depression. You don’t just stop thinking about the evil thought but you START thinking the right thoughts (the Word of God) because your mind can never be idle – at every point in time you are thinking about something.
5. Every thought is a seed that would eventually produce a fruit.
6. Whatever you meditate upon is magnified in your life naturally. As a man thinks in his heart so is he.
7. You have the power to choose what to think on – you are responsible for your thought life. You can’t stop evil thoughts from coming to your mind but you can refuse to think (meditate or ponder) on them.
8. When evil thoughts persist, pray in the Holy Ghost – your heaven language (you must be baptised in the Holy Ghost to do this).

Philippians 4:8 tells us exact what kind of thoughts to permit in our lives as Believers. It says: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.” (NKJV). This is powerful! This is how it works. Glory to God!

A PRAYER FOR YOU!
Father in the Name of Jesus, I thank You for these ones who are reading, thank You for Your great plans for their lives. I pray that You strengthen them by Your Spirit to walk in Your Word and be perfected in it. I pray that You empower them to think the right thoughts and be free from the influence of depression. Right now I come against every satanic influence over their lives in form of depression or whatever it may be in the Name of Jesus. I declare them free indeed because Your Son – Jesus Christ – has purchased their freedom and made them free. Thank you Father for this in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

THE PEACE MAKERS

2011-05-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

What you’re about to read has the potency of changing your status eternally. If you read this closely and allow the Holy Spirit to work on your heart, it will be impossible for your life to remain unaltered. In Matthew 5:9 the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.” (NKJV). How I love the New Living Translation’s rendering of this Scripture. It says “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” Who was Jesus referring to as the peace makers or those who work for peace? Was He referring to those who go to war in order to establish peace? Was He referring to those who settle fights and quarrels at local level? Or was he referring to those the world give the ‘Peace Ambassador’s award’? Well, Jesus must have had something different in mind. Understanding the kind of peace He was talking about will give us a clue on the kind of peace makers he was referring to.

The Prophet Isaiah, in prophesying the coming of the Messiah, said this about Him: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6,7; NKJV). Well, time will fail me to explain this portion of Scripture in details. But I want you to observe the underscored phrases and see that Jesus was actually referring to a peace that had to do with the Kingdom of God (The reign of God on earth and in the hearts of men). The Lord Jesus Christ, in His discourse with Nicodemus in John chapter 3, explains that except a man be born again he cannot experience (see or enter) the Kingdom of God – the reign of God (John 3:3,5). The Book of Luke 2:13,14 tells us that when Jesus was born, Angels and a great heavenly host rocked heaven with these words in singing “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (NKJV). The coming of Jesus Christ to the earth was the arrival of peace and with that peace comes good will. That peace was going to unveil the good will of God for man. Man was going to have a new experience because the peace of God has come to earth. Glory to God!

The Peace Makers Jesus was referring to certainly are not necessarily the police force, the military or quarrel settlers. The peace makers are those saints who have taken on the Great Commission as a life style. They live solely for this cause. They are the soul winners. They have personalized the heavenly vision. They are the true ambassadors of the unshakable Kingdom. Whatever they do in life, they put the heavenly vision at the fore front. They can’t live a day without telling someone about the peace that Jesus brought to the earth. They are the ones the Father considers as mature sons (Matthew 5:9b). They are the ones who understand they have been called to the ministry of reconciliation and have been given the Word of reconciliation! They understand their role in forcefully advancing the Kingdom of God. Unlike what you might think about peace makers, these guys are radical with their message of peace. They may look cool, calm and collected but in reality they are hot, armed and dangerous. They are heaven’s work force – ever pleasing the Father. They are on heaven’s pay role – never can they be paid by men. They understand the demands of the Father and they understand the urgency of the task. These folks never give up in their bid to be obedient to the heavenly vision despite the odds. They pray like warriors – ever fighting for the souls of the lost. They easily get heaven’s attention. They are tough and are terrorists to the kingdom of darkness. The devil aims at these ones – they are his target. They wreck havoc in his kingdom. He wants to get rid of them but the more he tries to destroy them, the more they reproduce themselves – they simply multiply.

The Peace Makers Jesus was referring to are those who live for the sole purpose of connecting men back to God through Jesus Christ by preaching the Gospel of Peace. The Gospel we’re called to preach is the Gospel of peace – the Gospel of reconciliation. Everything about the Gospel is PEACE, PEACE, PEACE. The Book of Ephesians shows us that the redemptive work of Christ was a work of peace. Ephesians 2:12-22 is such a wealth of the Peace work of Christ and what it means to us. Jesus Christ made peace through the cross of His death. Hence, a new definition of peace. Peace is no longer just the absence of wars, calmness of heart and mind or quietness in the home. All these could be the effects of peace but not the main substance. Peace simple means connecting with God through Jesus Christ His Son. In John 14:27 Jesus said something so profound. He said “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (NKJV). The disciples will later discover that the peace Jesus was talking about was not just the calmness of mind but something deeper, something that He was going to die for, letting His blood spill on the evil soil of the earth. “What manner of man is this?” They will say once again.

The Gospel we’ve been called to preach is a peace Gospel. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 shows us that. It says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.” (NKJV). Reconciliation speaks of peace. There is something else I want you to observe. Just as the Lord was telling us that we who are in Christ are New Creations, He is simultaneously telling us that we’ve got the ministry and the Word of reconciliation and that we are heaven’s Peace Ambassadors if we engage in this peace mandate. That’s good news for me and you! Ephesians 6:15 tells us that “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” (NKJV). This implies that if you are not an active soul winner, you are not fully equipped for the fight of faith because the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace is a part of the armour of God and the Lord admonishes us to “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (NKJV). Are you a Peace Maker?

THE EFFECT OF RIGHTEOUNESS

2011-04-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

Few days from now, Christians all over the world would be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is indeed the greatest experience in the universe as we see that in the resurrection God made the greatest display of His power. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that man can now be a partaker of the divine nature. Man can now possess the zoe-life of God. Man can now stand perfect before God through Jesus Christ because he is now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. The power of sin had been broken. Man can now live above the elements of this world. The dominion of man has been restored and man is free again! Glory to God!

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, everything was good, beautiful, sound and in perfect order until sin made it’s way into the world. Suddenly everything became hostile, wild and aggressive. The once friendly animals suddenly became harmful; the still waters suddenly began roaring with the tendency to drown. The firmament became tensed. Everything that once supported man began fighting him. Man had fallen and darkness is everywhere. Man had lost his dominion over the earth. He had become helpless and defenceless. He had broken the hedge and the serpent had beaten. He had navigated from possessing everything to possessing nothing. The laws of the universe is now working against him and had suddenly become unruly to him. He had begun inhaling and exhaling evil and his heart had taken a dimension of progressive wickedness. Man had lost control over everything and even himself. What a blow sin had dealt to man. Now a cruel ruler has taken over man’s place of dominion. Satan had now become the god of this world – a place originally made for man. The same thing happens when sin steps into any man’s life. It’s always the same story. This is not a set up to magnify sin or its ability. It is just to let you know how the world became the mess it is today.

The effects of sin was everywhere. No wonder the first thing that was said about Jesus’ function on earth is “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21, NKJV). Thank God for Jesus Christ! The Bible also tells us in 1John 3:8 “…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (NKJV). Thank God Jesus came to deal with the sin problem and to restore man to his original position. When Jesus stepped in, light stepped into the world again. When Jesus stepped in, darkness disappeared – it couldn’t stand the dazzling light of the Light of the world. When Jesus stepped in, a world of darkness and confusion was suddenly illumined with the inextinguishable light (John 1:4,5). God’s remedy for the sin problem was Jesus. Jesus paid the price. He did it through the cross. He did it by shedding His precious, sinless Blood. He did it by becoming man’s perfect substitute, thereby, taking man’s place – suffering and dying on his behalf. Now 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us something amazing, it says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (NKJV). O what a sacrifice. What a treasure we’ve got in Christ Jesus. Now everyone who is born again have become new creatures possessing and becoming the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

Now I want you to know that the effect of righteousness is more powerful than the effect of sin. Sin can’t stand righteousness just as darkness can never stand the light! Rom. 5:17 says “For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (NKJV). Glory to God! This is staggering!

The devil fears the believer who understands righteousness! Righteousness through Christ is the greatest force in the universe. The devil will do anything to keep the believer ignorant of it and filled with dead works. The man who understands righteousness in Christ will live the zoe-life of God naturally. He becomes a threat to the kingdom of darkness. O what a day it was when Christ became the Righteousness of the Believer. A perfect righteousness gift was imparted to the believer at the new birth – not a progressive one but a perfect one – perfected by the Son of God Himself. Friend, The effect of righteousness is equally seen in Isaiah 32:17 “The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” (NKJV). This season let’s celebrate and enjoy the effects of righteousness and let the world know about the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ alone. Happy Resurrection!

SUPERNATURAL LABOURERS

2011-04-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

I was studying St. Matthew’s Gospel chapter 9 the other day and when I got to verses 35 through 38, the Holy opened my eyes to something so amazing. Something I had never seen before. Something that was revolutionary. Something that got me so stunned that my only response was tears. I’ve been reading this passage for a long time but never noticed what exactly the Lord wanted me to see. O how it blessed me. Let’s read it together from the New Living Translation of the Bible:

“Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And wherever he went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness. He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.” (Matthew 9:35-38, NLT).

The Holy Spirit made it so clear to me that Jesus was particular about the kind of labourers He asked His disciples to pray the Father to send into the harvest field. What kind of labourers was Jesus asking for? What kind of labourers were fitting for the great harvest? Jesus asked His disciples to pray the Father – the Lord of the harvest – to send in labourers of His kind. Supernatural labourers who would do exactly the kind of labour He was doing in the harvest field. What kind of labour was Jesus doing in the harvest field? We see it in verse 35 “Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And wherever he went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness.” He was not only preaching. He was not only teaching. He was not only healing the sick. He was teaching, preaching and healing – all three! The problem is that we have never connected verse 35 to 36-38. We always start from 36-38 and begin to talk about the harvest. What a limitation. No! To get the harvest into the Father’s ban, we must do it the way Jesus did it – we must do the three! Jesus was not just talking about preachers but labourers after His kind – teaching, preaching and healing! O how we need this in a world full of unbelief, sickness, darkness and distress. When we teach, we impart the knowledge of the Word. When we preach, we announce or advertise the Kingdom of God. When we heal, we display the power of the Kingdom! Doesn’t the world need all three? Imagine what the world would be like if we have many labourers after this kind. Think about having Jesus mulitiplied and sent into all the world. That’s it! We’d run the devil out of business!

Jesus linked Heaven and earth during His earthly ministry – that’s the supernatural! (John 1:51, NLT). We His co-labourers should do the same! Faith is the link between the natural and the Supernatural! It all starts from simply accepting and believing this. No wonder in John 14:12 Jesus said to His disciples and to us in extension, “"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (NKJV). I strongly believe there’s a reason you are reading this piece right now. There’s going to be a spark up of the Supernatural in your life – get ready! God wants to use you to accomplish great things for His Kingdom. God wants all His children to walk in the Supernatural. He desires it for us more than we could ever desire it for ourselves. He knows that we’d have multiplied impact when the Supernatural is in operation in our lives. What would bring the crowd? The Supernatural! It simplifies the task and multiplies the result and impact.

If you are not doing the three, you won’t be as effective as you should. It’s time to get hungry for it! Tell the Lord, I want to continue the ministry of Jesus here on earth. I want to be the kind of labourer Jesus wants into the harvest field. “O Lord, we want all three!”. When you read Matt. 28:19 and Mark 16:15-18, you’d see that that is what the Great Commission is all about – all three! Nothing else will do. Let the spirit of supplication rise in you now as you read this piece. Be inspired now to pray for the Church – the body of Christ to arise and take on the divine responsibility given us by the Master – to teach, preach and heal the whole world. I believe that the Holy Spirit will manifest Himself like never before as we step out in faith. We shall experience more of His outpouring in all the nations of the earth. But we must act first. We must move. We must take the initiative! Mark 16:20 says “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.” That is how it works. Smith Wigglesworth, of blessed memory, will always say “Acts of the Apostles was written because the Apostle acted.” The Holy Spirit lives (resides) inside the Believer – you and me! The move of the Church is the move of the Holy Spirit. Let’s take Him to the nations. He will speak through us, teach through us, preach through us and heal through us, glorifying Jesus everywhere! Become a Supernatural labourer today!

PONDER ON THESE: Matthew 10:7-8 “And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Luke 4:18,19 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Acts 10:38 “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
Zach. 4:6 “…Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.”

REFUSE TO COMPLAIN!

2011-03-16T04:45:00.000-07:00

Lately, I walked into a hospital to agree in prayer with some sick folks and I was so changed by what I saw. I began to think about the goodness of God in my life. Many a times we take things for granted. God is just merciful and faithful.

It’s so amazing how so many times we slip into the realm of complaining without even thinking of it because we are so used to it. Many Believers don’t pray, they simply complain on their knees and think they have prayed. They say words like “Lord, why do I have to wait for this long?”, “Lord, when would you come to my aid, can’t you see how much I have suffered this thing?” and so on. God responds to faith and not complaints or tears. Complaining is never the will of God for His children. In fact it a sin to complain! For the Israelite, complaining made a 40 days journey that of 40 years and they [those who complained] even died not seeing the Promised Land. Complaining never pleases the Father. It makes us do stupid things. It starts in the mind and ends on the lips. It all begins when we refuse to think of and be thankful for what the Lord has done but meditate on what has not yet been done.

Always overcome the temptation to complain because it’s a sin. Worrying and complaining are identical twins they both produce doubt – the enemy of faith. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6, NKJV). We must fight these from our lives with all earnestness. How do we do that? Simple! Always think of things to be thankful for. Don’t just set your attention on things yet to be achieved. We have the power to choose our thoughts (Phil. 4:8). For every one reason the devil gives you to complain, you must give yourself a hundred and one reasons to be thankful to the Lord! Thanksgiving turns your prayer requests into a praise report. Thanksgiving gives you a shout in your spirit! Never let the devil steal your shout – it’s your note of victory!

When you forget the goodness of God, you tempt and limit Him in your life (Ps 103:1-7; 78:40-43). I strongly believe that Psalm 103 can help you live a thankful life everyday. There’s so much to be thankful for. We can’t thank Him enough. The thankful life is the victorious life! For the thankful one, miracles happen everyday! He lives the wonderful life (Ps 71:7). The life of ‘what manner of man is this?’ The Christian life is the wonderful life – a life of unending springs of wonders! Don’t be perturbed by the present mishaps in the world. Jesus says for us to look up in moments like this (Luke 21:28). Hope this edifies you. Blessings!

LITTLE BEGINNINGS

2011-03-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

Many folks lack the courage to start small. They want to start big but unfortunately they end up accomplishing nothing. Most of the time over-ambition and pride gets in the way of people and make them despise starting small. They think about what people may say or think of them. Well, if you must walk with the Lord, you must think differently. Zechariah 4:10 declares “For who hath despised the day of small things?...” Saint, only a fool despises the days of little beginnings. I will never forget the Parable a Minister once spoke over my life and ministry a couple of years ago. He just quoted Matt. 13:31-32 which says: “…"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, "which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."” (NKJV). Ever since that day, I’ve always walked with that consciousness and remained thankful to God for the privilege of starting small and watching things grow. The things of the Kingdom always start small and grow. We can’t afford to escape the process of growth. No cutting corners in the Kingdom of God! As we go through the process, there are many lessons that we must learn along the way, these lessons are divine and customized for us based on what we are called to do. We can’t do away with process (experience) if we must do things God’s way. Take a look at the life of Joseph, one of the Patriarchs, he had a big dream of royalty and leadership but his initial story was that of servitude, slavery and mistreatments. We later see that all these things were to prepare him for the throne. We can’t afford to appear at the top crude. We’ve got to be refined and the process is not any easy.

As it is often said, only the grave is built starting from the top to the bottom. Dr. Oral Robert, of blessed memory, always talked about the seed principle. He taught that everything starts with a seed. It could be seed-ideas, seed-time, seed-money, seed-faith etc. Seeds are small. Every seed is a potential fruit. It’s just a matter of time. So, it’s ok to have a big vision but be humble enough to start small. Starting small is the seed for finishing great. This generation seek avenues to ‘fast-track’ things. No one wants to go through the normal process. We’ve got to learn the art of starting small, be faithful at doing small things and watch them grow. In my knowledge of what a divine vision is all about, I see that God never gives any man the whole picture of the vision at the onset. Why? Because He wants us to walk step by step with Him all along. If He ever gives us all the details at once, we’d run off and make a big mess of it. God is looking for sons and daughters through whom He would birth His purpose on the earth. People who don’t mind waiting on the Lord as He works in and through them. People who manifest the fruit of patience. People who are willing to walk at the same pace with God – not hasty folks.

One thing about the Kingdom of God is that, though it starts small but it is ever progressive! It doesn’t get stuck in the rut. It doesn’t remain small – it spreads like wild fire. It starts like a mustard seed but it advances to become a great tree where the birds of the air can come and nest. This is what it’s all about. It’s ok to start small but it’s a tragedy to remain small. Paul, speaking to Timothy – his son in the faith – said “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.” (2 Tim. 4:15, NKJV). Paul, by the Spirit of God, was simply telling Timothy – and us in extension – that progress is not automatic. But there are things that one must do to experience constant progress. Paul explains that if we meditate on that thing – vision, dreams, goals etc – ever so often, and give ourselves entirely and unreserved to it (i.e. focus), it is impossible for us not to make progress, in others words, visible progress is inevitable! Progress cannot be hidden just as failure cannot be hidden – they are so visible. Sometimes the reason we don’t experience progress could be that we don’t stick with things for too long, we easily give up, give in and compromise.

I have come across so many people who seem to be static in life and as peculiar as each of their challenges are, one thing is common among many of them, they refuse to start small. They refuse to start with what they have. They have big dreams but they refuse to start out with small things. How unfortunate. The person who wants to be a world evangelist who goes to the nations declaring the Gospel shouldn’t mind preaching to a soul on the street, in his neighbourhood, in the work place, in a car etc. at least one soul at a time. When God sees your faithfulness and passion with few souls, He’d let you reach a crowd. He’s the One who promotes. The great Evangelists Benny Hinn, Billy Graham and Reinhard Bonnke and the likes equally had little and humble beginnings but today the story is different. Your dream is only a seed for your future – it’s got to be worked out to produce a harvest! Here’s the idea: Think big but start small. It’s a divine principle! Authentic and durable success always starts small. Starting from the top could be suicidal. If God could start great things in small ways even though He could as well get anything done at the snap of His finger, why shouldn’t we learn the art of starting small and watching ourselves grow? There is something about being a part of the process of growth. It’s exciting! Isaac was all God needed to produce a whole nation – Israel. Jesus was all God needed to produce a whole new race called The New Creatures – the twice born men! There is virtually nothing too small to be a starting capital. And as long as God’s hand is on it, growth is inevitable!

There are so many lessons we must learn in this life and every level we get to serves a purpose. Every step on the ladder is very crucial to the next one. So if success must not only be obtained but also sustained, we must learn to start small and go through the process of growth. David and Moses were both faithful shepherds of sheep before they became shepherds of people. Some of Jesus’ first disciples were first fishers of fish before they become fishers of men. Sometimes we might have to first learn the art of following before we become true leaders. We might have to first learn to serve before we can be served. Honestly, it takes real humility and courage to start small. Do not seek to impress people, go for a lasting success – start small and make progress. It’s just a matter of time! If growth must be experienced, then we can’t escape starting small. According to the Kingdom, if you can’t handle small things, then you can’t equally handle great things. Faithfulness in little things guarantees faithfulness in great things. If you’re too big to handle small things, then you’re too small to handle big things! If God can’t commit small things into your hands then how would He commit great things into your hands – selah!

What is that dream in your heart, start doing something about it today. That is the aim of this piece. That is what this reading encounter is all about. That is why I have written this thing. Get inspired! Let the Kingdom of God reproduce itself in that thing that you are doing and enjoy God’s best as He takes you from one level of glory to another! Blessings!

THEY BOTH LAUGHED

2011-02-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

I used to think only Sarah laughed in unbelief when God reassured her of still giving birth at her old age. But it came to my awareness lately that Abraham also laughed in unbelief. In fact he laughed first before Sarah followed suit (See Gen.17:17-19 & Gen. 18:11-15). Genesis 17:17-19 says “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" And Abraham said to God, "Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!" Then God said: "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.” (NKJV). Abrahams laugh was a big one. The Bible tells us that he fell on his face and laughed! That’s big laugh, it sounds like he had a laughing session of doubt. Doesn’t it? Sarah had long passed menopause, and here God is still saying she’d have a child. They didn’t laugh because it was funny but because they doubted. They had stretched their faith to the elastic limit. But what strikes me most is the fact that even Abraham – the father of faith – laughed in unbelief. We hardly hear that Abraham laughed in unbelief. No, we wouldn’t mention that. Abraham is taken to be the superman while Sarah’s laugh is always our instance for unbelief and doubt because we think Abraham was such a perfect man who had a perfect faith.

Abraham believed God quite alright but he never had a perfect faith all the time. God always made up for his deficiencies as He does for us today. Well, their laughter didn’t stop God. He didn’t give up on His plan even though they laughed in doubt. If we must possess a perfect faith before getting God’s attention then I wonder who will ever get His attention. God always gives us the opportunity to start out and grow in faith. The more results we get by using our faith, the more we are encouraged to use it and the stronger it becomes. We must grow in faith! Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah 90 years old when they had their first baby – can you beat that? Well, how long have you waited? If God kept His words to Abraham, He sure would keep His Words concerning you if you remain in faith and wait patiently. Patience is not just waiting, it is waiting with the right attitude says Joyce Meyer. Real faith is built on the knowledge of God and His Word. The bases of faith is to know who God actually is and then what He says would mean much to you.

It might seem as though time is gone and there is no more hope of seeing that promise come to pass, God still wants you to hold on to His Word. He is ever faithful – He never lies to anyone. If He says it, He’d surely make it good. The Scripture declares “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Heb 6:12 (NKJV). Notice, it didn’t just say faith but it says FAITH and PATIENCE. We need the both to be stable until the promised good is delivered unto us in the natural. We have an assurance from the Lord Himself in Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”

The truth is, God never expects perfect faith f

rom us before doing things in or through us. He just expects a child-like trust. Sometimes we know too much to doubt but children don’t know that much – they easily trust! Most times God promises us things that make us laugh because of the inability of our minds to comprehend or accommodate them. God is bigger than our minds! Has God promised you something that made you laugh lately? Well, if you don’t have such promises from God, perhaps you are still dealing with the small things of life. If you walk with God, most of the time He gives you visions that make you laugh and sometimes in order to keep from doubting you may just try not to think about it much but just keep saying “Lord, I believe you anyhow.” Just trust God anyhow. You don’t need to know how He’s going to do it. Just trust Him all the way. He is faithful!

LET GOD MAKE YOU

2011-02-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

No man ever comes to God and goes back the same. When we come to God in total surrender of our lives, tremendous change is inevitable. The Word of God declares in Matthew 4:19 “And he [Jesus] saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Want to be made in life? Follow Jesus! – that’s all it takes. All through the New Testament, we see men who where simply nobodies, nonentities but when they came to Jesus He made them significant. They came as minuses but they left Him pluses! He placed value on their lives. Think about His twelve disciples (apart from Judas Iscariot who gave in to the devil and walked away from the Lord ending up in a suicide), they were common people – fishermen, tax collectors, laymen. He simply gave them an order consisting of just two words “follow me”. They obeyed. All they did was just follow Him and He made them world changers! They became the wonder of the ages. They became the Apostles of the Lamb, even having a special place at the throne of God and in the Kingdom. It’s so amazing what God can do with a life that is solely committed to following Him. No matter who or what we are here in this world, if God hasn’t made us we’re not made – we’re simply nothing! Jesus says “… for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5b, NKJV). Emptiness is what we get after we’ve done our best to become something void of God’s design! Our significance and usefulness to the Kingdom of God only comes from our following the Master – Jesus Christ.

Many people seek to be self-made. They cut God out of their lives and expect to be made through their academic qualifications, money, status, achievements, titles etc. How dare you disconnect from your source and expect to have it made? It’s really amazing how so many people look to men to be made. How in the world would a man look to a fellow man to be made? Think about the flaws and limitations of a man. Most unfortunate is the fact that many Believers in Christ still look up to men or things to be made. But these have never made anyone. I think apart from the fact that this is a deception from the devil; it is also a function of the wrong definition of what success really is. I believe until we come to a proper understanding and definition of what true success in life is, we can’t attain it. When a man comes to know that success in life is not in what one has but in who one is, it will change everything. Success in life is about discovering and following God’s plans for your life. Success in life is doing the will of God. Success in life means to do and finish what you were born to do – God’s mandate on your life (John 4:34). We must be careful not to let our attention drift from the Lord. We live in a world where people are easily carried away by what they can see and the desire to meet up with men’s expectations of them. People live to impress each other and that is why they are seeking to be self-made or forced to look to things to be made by them. They can’t walk on with the Lord. They feel the Lord is too slow with things. They wind up in depression. How unfortunate!

Following Jesus is a personal thing – absolutely! John 21:19-22 points this out so clearly: “…Then Jesus told him [Peter], “Follow me.” Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them—the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, “Lord, who among us will betray you?” Peter asked Jesus, “What about him, Lord?” Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You follow me.”” (NLT). We can only be sure of ourselves when it comes to following Jesus. We might not be able to judge rightly whether someone else is following Jesus or not but we can be sure about ourselves. Following the Lord has a lot to do with personal conviction. In following the Lord any thing aside focusing our attention on Him is a distraction just as it was with Peter when he asked Jesus about John. God loves to deal with His children on one-on-one bases as though they were the only child He’s got.

Jesus says: “Follow Me.” That’s an instruction! It is either obeyed or disobeyed. There are no middle grounds. There are no assumptions. You are either following the Lord or not following Him – it’s that simple. In obeying that instruction, all you need do is to follow Him! He alone knows the way! In Him there is total security. In Him a glorious future is guaranteed. He wants to make you. You might have given up in life or even lost confidence in yourself. Yes, this is the right time to follow Jesus. There’s still hope – 100% with Jesus on the lead. We often hear terms like “the making of a man” or “the making of a film” What does it mean? There’s always a story behind the glory. There is always the ‘behind the scene’ part of every movie or man. The making of something worthwhile is always never without a process. But too often many only see the glory and never think of the story. When we follow Jesus, it might take some time for us to be made. Sometimes it might seem as though God is too slow with the process. We just want a quick fix. But we must always remember that He knows exactly what He’s up to and at the appointed time He would display us to the world as His finished product. Glory to God! So we must trust God through the process of life. Just trust Him, it’s just a matter of time!

When God makes a man, He’s really made! When God makes a man he can stand anywhere are defend the cause of Christ. When God makes a man, He [God] becomes responsible for his sustenance. Only in Christ are we made. Those who look to men, things or elsewhere to be made are bound to be disappointed. Only God is the original Maker, every other person or thing was made. (John 1:1-4, Gen. 1). So we don’t look to the ‘made’ to be made, rather we look to the Maker to be made. Let God begin the process of working out His plans and purposes for your life. Let God make you! It’s really a choice for us to submit to the Lord to be made. If our motive in life is to honour God with our lives by living for His purpose, then we must let God make us. Our pursuit in life must align with God’s perfect will for us if at all our lives must make Kingdom sense. I don’t want to stand before God on the day of judgement and be told ‘you only lived for yourself.’ No! I want my time and activities on earth to make Kingdom sense. That’s why I must depend on Christ to be made, that’s why I must follow Jesus with all my breath – everything inside of me! I believe this is true for you too. Eccl. 3:11a says: “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” (NKJV). Let God make you!

Prayer: Father in the Name of Jesus, we trust you with our lives. We desire to be made by you. You are our source and we want only that which comes from you. We receive grace to follow you every single day of our lives. Amen.

DO RESOLUTIONS WORK?

2011-01-16T11:23:00.000-08:00

On the first day of January every year, we hear a lot of commitments from people popularly called ‘New Years’ resolutions’. Everyone’s got a new resolution for the year. However, by 31st of January, the resolution is already compromised – defeat and shame is everywhere – and then we wait for the next year to make another New Years’ resolution. When are we really going to get tired of this madness, at least for the fact that it doesn’t just work! The New Year itself has got nothing to offer – it can neither make you better nor worst. It is God who changes the times and seasons. It’s quite amazing that at the end of every year no one dares to mention how far he or she went with their resolutions. It’s so clear that it was just a flop!

Paul the Apostle said in Rom.7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” (NKJV). Resolutions don’t work because they are based on human efforts or will power (the flesh) and no man can conquer himself by mere human will power. Besides, the Lord never receives anything that is of the flesh. If it must glorify God or be acceptable before Him, then it’s got to be by the Holy Spirit. Rom. 8:6,7 read “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (NKJV). Many people fight with various bad habits and addictions to no avail. It takes a higher force to conquer one’s self. It’s the Holy Spirit who releases that force into our lives when we invite Him into the matter.

Friend, the good news is that change is possible! What you need is not a new resolution but a revolution – a radical change! If you are born again, it’s time to ask the Holy Spirit to take over the matter. Let Him destroy the yoke. Today is the best day for it. Isaiah 10:27 says “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” (KJV). Just get into the Word and see that that desired change is possible. See the liberty you have in Christ and appropriate it to yourself for “…'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.” (NKJV) and if you are not born again, YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN! Just read and act on Romans 10:9-10.

THE SUPERNATURAL LIFE

2011-01-05T03:02:00.000-08:00

Are you really hungry for the Supernatural in your life? Do you want to live a life dominated by the influence of the Holy Spirit? It’s possible! The word ‘supernatural’ is derived form two different words ‘super’ meaning beyond and ‘natural’ meaning the sense realm. It simply means ‘beyond the sense realm’. When something which is not normal in this physical world happens, it is said to be supernatural. This refers to the event where the spiritual realm dominates the physical realm or when the activities of the spirit realm become visible in the realm of the natural. A man is said to live the Supernatural life when he has the spiritual factors dominating the physical factors of his life – that’s right, when the recreated human spirit influenced by the Holy Spirit is in charge. When a man has the touch of the supernatural, his life suddenly becomes extraordinary and the miraculous becomes a trend. The Supernatural ought to be the normal experience of the New Creature in Christ. If we dare to believe this and walk in this consciousness, there is not going to exist one impossibility in our lives – no limits! The Born Again child of God has got the zoe-life of God – the Supernatural life. Anything imaginable is possible unto him! “But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."” Mark 10:27 (NKJV). Life in Christ is life in the supernatural!

The Supernatural life simply means life in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the One who manifests the Supernatural world to us. Jesus, speaking in John 16:13 said “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth [reality]…” Thank God He has come. And Zechariah 4:6 says “… 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts.” (NKJV). The Believer in Jesus Christ has been dipped into the supernatural. Everything about the New Creation in Christ is supernatural. The natural life is for the sense-ruled man. We are ruled or controlled by the Holy Spirit of God. It is actually a choice for the Believer in Christ to live the supernatural life or to live as natural (mere) men. The supernatural life is the life dominated by faith in the Word of God. Faith is the link between the natural and the Supernatural worlds! The Words of God are the seed for the supernatural. Walking in the Word is walking in the supernatural. The supernatural speaks of the miraculous!

It is important you understand that when I speak of the Supernatural, I’m talking about the activities of the Holy Spirit and not of evil spirits because the term ‘supernatural’ in general doesn’t only refer to the activities of the Holy Spirit, but also to the activities of the spirit world – positive and negative. But thank God, Jesus is the head over all principalities and powers – that’s good news! We’re not talking about what the devil can do – he’s not a factor! All the devil does is fakes, counterfeits and magic to deceive men, he can’t go any further than that. I’m talking about what our Father God can do. Why go for the counterfeit when you can have the genuine! We’ve got the genuine in Christ! We must be very careful not to be carried away by the spectacular. The spectacular means visible or physical manifestations. The supernatural is always in the spirit even though it is spectacular in manifestation. In fact, we should expect the physical manifestations of the work of the Holy Spirit – we need it! We only need to be very careful because the devil also manifests the spectacular. The Supernatural work of the Holy Spirit appeals to our spirit while the spectacular appeals to our senses. The point is, always see through the eyes of the Spirit and not through the senses lest you be deceived. In these last days we are seeing and we would continue to see the increase of false prophets who use the spectacular as a tool to deceive men. Jesus warned against these fellows in Matthew 24 and we must be very sensitive by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus came to the earth to show us what the New Creation in Christ can accomplish here on earth through the Holy Spirit. We are not to live anything short of the quality of life that Jesus lived while He was on earth. Jesus lived on earth as a man anointed by the Holy Spirit. If you are born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, it means you don’t have any reason to drop the standard or quality of what Jesus did while on earth. In fact, Jesus told His disciples and us (the New Creatures) by extension that we would do greater works. We see that in John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (NKJV). I strongly believe that in these last days, as Believers in Jesus Christ begin to discover who they are in Christ and take there place in the agenda of God, we shall see a multiplied manifestation of the Supernatural like never before. 1Peter 2:9 tells us “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:” (WEB). God keeps searching for available vessels all over the world through whom He can display His mighty power. His purpose is to bring in the great harvest before the end of this age. This is the time for us to step out from the crowd and begin to labour in the Word to understand the Father’s heart and the season which we are in.

The Supernatural will become a trend for us when we make God’s priority our priority. The Church was birthed in fire and it must be sustained by that same holy fire of the Holy Spirit. Make no mistake about this! It’s when we start going into all the world (at least starting from our worlds – our sphere of influence) we would begin to see that long awaited manifestation. Then we would lay hands on the sick and have them recover, then we would cast (kick) out devils, then we would talk with Holy Ghost inspired tongues. But we must GO first! Mark 16:20 says “But they set out, and made the proclamation everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Message by the signs which attended it.” (TCNT). Remember, “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” Romans 8:19. So what are you going to do about this? Manifest!

HOW TO END THE YEAR RIGHT

2010-12-20T07:44:00.001-08:00

So many people don’t know exactly what to do with the last days of a year. Some people seat back and feel sorry for themselves because of the unaccomplished goals and dreams. Some take inventory on how the year was spent. Others even count their successes during the year. Still some ponder on the events of the year – the good, the bad and the ugly. While some of the listed are quite good, I believe there is more to the last days of the year than these.

Let’s take a look at what Jesus did during the last days of events. All through the Gospel of John, we see Jesus reserve the best for the last. In John 2:1-10, we read about the event (wedding ceremony) Jesus attended. Verses 9 & 10 say “…He [the chairman of the occasion] called the bridegroom over and said, "The best wine is always served first. Then after the guests have had plenty, the other wine is served. But you have kept the best until last!” (CEV). Also in John 7:37, we read something amazing that Jesus did on the last day of an important feast (the feast of Tabernacles): “On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, "If you are thirsty, come to me and drink!” (CEV). Jesus literally ends things up with a shout! Think of the fact that prior to these two events; He was faced with ugly circumstances – issues that tend to question His mission and personality – but He chose to end the events with the shouts of victory! It was a matter of choice – He chose to do so.

Why not do it the Jesus way this time? As the days of this year gradually come to an end, achieve more for the Kingdom, win more souls, do more business, do the best of the best and shout aloud His goodness! Don’t let the devil deceive you. Never let anything steal your shout of victory! Your success is not dependent on what you have or have accomplished but on who you are! The extraordinary was the ordinary life style of Jesus. Listen; if folks could predict your next action or the trend of your life, you are living an ordinary life no matter what you think about it.

Friend, make it different this year. Instead of murmuring, complaining or even feeling sorry for your mistakes in the course of the year, why not shout His praise and thank Him for the up coming year – it’s going to be better than this! Besides, anything is still possible between now and 31^st of December. In fact, the Lord gave me a Word along this line few Weeks ago about a special goal I had for the year. He said, “31^st of December will not come if that goal is not achieved.” Here am I today with the goal achieved and in grand style. Glory to God! Please don’t waste the last days of your year – celebrate God’s goodness and faithfulness in your life! What many don’t know is that what they do with the last days of the old year will determine how the new year will be. It’s a spiritual principle! Be wise!

Much love,

HOW WISE MEN CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS

2010-12-02T09:22:00.000-08:00

It was on the cold morning of Friday 25^th December, 2009 when I woke up in a community where I had been awhile for ministry activities. I was new to this community and never knew what Christmas was like or meant to them here. I had woken up that morning as early as when it was still dark only to hear sounds, not of some strange spirits, but of pots, spoons and other kitchen utensils. When I looked through the window, I saw some women with lanterns trying to fix things for the celebration. They’ve been on these same preparations for days and today’s the ‘D day’ and I thought “oh it’s Christmas again”.

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew 2:1, 2, 11.

I know a lot of things have been said about the wise men from the east (both positive and negative things) who came to see and worship Jesus at His birth. So many things have been said about who they were and what they represented by virtue of what they did and what they were known for at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem of Judaea many years ago and all of that. They were also known as ‘magi’ or ‘magos’ in the Greek meaning ‘of foreign origin’. In Hebrew it means ‘oriental scientist’ by implication magicians: sorcerers, wise men. But here’s the point: If the Author of the Scriptures – The Holy Spirit – finds it a thing of worth to include their story and pattern of celebration, I think it is also worthwhile for us to examine them closely and learn from them. Their pattern of celebration was not a ‘spiritual gift’ exclusive to them, it was just common sense! People celebrate foolishly because they don’t use common sense. There is no place for purposeless celebration in Christianity. Why waste time and energy?

Searching for the King

The first thing the wise men did was to search for the King. Salvation for the soul is the core of Christmas – knowing the Celebrant personally. They went in searched for the new-born King. Finding the King should be the number one priority at Christmas. This speaks of salvation from sin – knowing Jesus as your Saviour. Matthew 1:21 says “…and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” When we find the King, we find salvation from sin and the oppression of the devil. Finding the King means finding freedom and all that the King offers. Finding the King also means find a new Lord over your life. It means Jesus will become the new Lord of your life. You’re now free from the old lord – the devil – who put you in bondage and fear. This new Lord will now take you by the hand and lead you into the new place of rest, peace and tranquillity. The Lordship of Jesus means salvation for your spirit, soundness for your soul and health and healing for your body. It means wholeness. The old life of sin is past away and the new life of righteousness has taken over. It’s now a life of purpose. Your divine purpose can now be actualized. If you’re already saved, then it’s the time to celebrate your blood-bought salvation. Are you born again? Have you found the King and Saviour? How can you celebrate who you don’t know?

Worship

The Second thing they did was to worship the King. They didn’t sing some cool songs or hop all over the place. It’s good if we do that anyway. But their worship was based on the conditioning of their hearts. Their hearts were conditioned and ready to do His biddings. Their worship started from believing that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. Faith is of the heart not the head. I tell you, they must have believed that Jesus was the Christ of God. Remember they were wise men; they couldn’t have just come to worship a helpless and unknown babe. They had better things to do than that. They knew this was that holy, prophetic babe of Jehovah! Does God have your heart? Who has it?

They presented valuable gifts

The third thing they did was to present valuable gifts to Him. Value means different things to different people. Get a hundred people together and ask them what their definition of value is, you’re sure to get about a hundred different definitions of value. Everybody has his own definition of value based on his uniqueness. To give someone a valuable gift, you must study what’s his or her definition of value – what is valuable to him. From Scripture, we see that the salvation of souls is the most valuable thing to God as long as this earth remains – soul winning! We all have at one time or the other received gifts we didn’t really value, not because of their monetary value but we simply couldn’t just relate to those gifts in any way. Of course we expressed our gratitude for the kind gesture but we didn’t just need the gift. It is just like reading a book that means nothing to you – no one wants to spend his or her time doing that. It is important to understand what value really is to a person before presenting a gift. This season, let Jesus give value to a life through you. Win the lost this season and always! It is a gift of value to the Lord, for that’s why He came. Is what you’ve been giving to the Lord of any value to Him?

With this, Christmas is more than an event. Your life becomes a lifestyle of celebration when these things are practiced not only on Christmas days but every single day of your life on planet earth! Remember that He whose first coming we celebrate, has a second coming but no longer as a baby born in a manger but as the King of kings and Lord of lords. And also remember that He has given us a mandate to take His glorious life-giving Gospel to the ends of the earth (Mark 16:15-20). May He find you doing so when He comes. His last words before He departed the earth are found in Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” So what will you do with this?

WALK IN THE LIGHT

2010-11-16T13:22:00.000-08:00

My personal moment with the Lord today was centred on the first epistle of St. John. I was so inspired by the Words the Holy Spirit brought to my consciousness. To be precise, 1John 1:7-8 was the highlight. It says “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (NKJV). From this portion of Scripture we can observe the following:

1. If we must walk with God, we must walk in the light.

2. We can’t claim to be in fellowship with the Lord while we walk on in darkness. Light and darkness never co-exist. There is no darkness in God at all.

3. Fellowship is not just about going to Church, it actually means being in tune with God every single moment, every single day!

4. It is not possible to be in the light and in darkness at the same time.

5. Walking in the light doesn’t mean we are perfect people, there might be moments when we miss it with God. But there’s provision for cleansing by the blood of Jesus as long as we are walking in the light. We’re being perfected daily.

6. Walking in the light is a progressive thing. We don’t do it one day and have it made. We walk on in the light till the Master comes for us.

7. Walking in the light simply means walking in the Word of God. It means to be in sync with God. As long as we live a Word-based life, we are walking in the light and are in agreement with the Lord. When we don’t walk in the light of the Word, we are in darkness.

8. Righteousness is light while sin is darkness – they never agree.

This is just a few of the things the Holy Spirit brought to my consciousness today. Hope you got something from it too. It would greatly help if you choose to study the entire Epistle for yourself – just 5 chapters. You’d get the bigger picture. Walk in the light. Blessings!

GRACE

2010-11-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Word of God tells us through Paul’s prayer for the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” (NKJV). It is very vital for us to understand and walk in the realm of grace because in these last days, it takes the grace of God to be sustained and preserved till the coming of Christ. It’s all by grace! Out of the many definitions of the word ‘grace’, I think 3 stand out in actually describing grace by its function. Here they are:

1. Grace is unmerited favour.

2. Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

3. Grace is the outward working of an inward influence or ability.

By these three definitions, you’d see that the Bible from the Book of Genesis to Revelation is the story of Grace at work on earth. Whatever you want to talk about fits into any of these three definitions of God’s Grace. Grace is the only way out of a life of struggles. Grace is better than struggles. When you live in the realm of grace you have entered into your rest – you’ve ceased from your labours! (Hebrews 4:10). The Christian life is a life of grace – total dependence on God’s ability. Prov. 3:5-7 say “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.” (NKJV). If you’ve been struggling to serve God or make things work, it’s time to rest. It’s time to let go and let God. In Zech.4:6-7, we read “So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"'" ” (NKJV). 2 Cor.12:9 says “And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (NKJV).

The fact that grace has been abused by so many and misunderstood to mean licentiousness, doesn’t wave off its importance and essential relevance to us today “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph.2:8, NKJV). Rom.11:6 says “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace…” No one needs a licence to sin – people have always been sinning without a licence. In fact, there is no licence for sin – you won’t ever get one – what is wrong is eternally wrong and what is right is eternally right. One who has truly experienced grace will never want to live another day in sin. Grace is beauty. Grace is value. Grace is clean. Grace is the only remedy to the sin problem (Romans 5:20b). It’s quite amazing sometimes how we try in our own efforts to sustain something (eternal life) that was given to us as a free gift. We must live in and by grace.

The grace of God has many dimensions. Sometimes we tend to want to put all the dimensions in one bag and then wonder why things seem not to be working for us. 2 Cor.9:8 talks about ALL GRACE. It says: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (NKJV). This helps us know that there are many graces in God. There are different kinds of graces e.g. the grace for salvation “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,” (Titus 2:11, NKJV) and Eph.2:8; the grace for Prosperity “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor 8:9, NKJV) etc.

We must receive grace to experience grace. That’s right. All the dimensions of grace have already been given to us by the Lord but they must be consciously received if we must function in them in our day to day living. There is never a place in Scriptures where we are told to ask God to give us grace. No! We are only to receive grace because ALL grace has been given already through the finished work of Christ! “And of His fullness we have all RECEIVED, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16,17; NKJV). Romans 5:17 says “For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who RECEIVE abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)” (NJKV). Little wonder some Christians’ lives are graceful while others seem to be graceless! Grace must be received for it to be experienced. For instance if you are born again, you have simply received the grace of God that brings salvation (Titus 2:11). Even though Jesus died for all, all are not yet saved! The difference between the saved and the unsaved is the receiving of or not receiving of the grace of God that brings salvation. Same goes for the grace for prosperity, healing, service etc. So it is no more the issue of “Lord, give me grace” but that of “I receive grace for… in Jesus’ Name!”

It is also important for you to know that grace can be multiplied. Grace is multiplied through the knowledge of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Pet.1:2 says “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” (KJV). The more we study God’s Word, the more we walk in grace and grow in grace (2 Pet.3:18). The Word of God is the Word of grace. Paul says in Acts 20:32 “"So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (NKJV). So the more of the Word we have in our spirit, the more gracious we become. The more we function in the Word the more we function in grace. The more we take-in the Word the more we grow in grace and are built up. I believe understanding the Fatherhood of God is the basis for living in the realm of grace. I pray that the God of all grace will fill you with more insight so that you can live in the realm of His grace and walk in your predestined places in Christ Jesus. Amen.

THINK ON THESE THINGS

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“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8, NKJV). This is the standard for the thought life of the Believer.

If you know how to worry, then you sure know how to meditate – explains Joyce Meyer

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (NKJV). Simply put: You are your thought!

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” Prov.4:23 (NKJV). The forces of life are in your heart.

Our thoughts are the seeds for our words, our words are the seeds for our actions, our actions are the seeds for our character and our character is the seed for our habits and our habits rule our lives.

You cannot stop the birds from flying over your head but you can stop them from perching over your head. Your mind is like an express way in which all manner of cars ply – both good cars and jalopy cars! You choose which car to board! Control your thoughts!

You counter negative thoughts by speaking the Word while it is raging on your mind – never struggle with thoughts – expel wrong thoughts through God’s Word! Thoughts are altered by words naturally. But the Word of God “…is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (NKJV).

Romans 12:2 (NLT) says “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”

James 1:21 says “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (NKJV). The salvation of our soul – which consists of the mind (intellect), will and emotion – is a process. The battle is in the mind! The mind is the world of our thought life and as a man thinketh so is he! Think right. Think Gods Word and become the manifestation of God’s Word!

RELEASING POWER IN PRAYER

2010-10-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Word of God declares in James 5:16 that “…The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].” (AMP). The King James Version renders it this way: “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (KJV). Not all prayers are effective. Prayer is fellowshipping the Father. Prayer is a divine communication. Just like not every communication is effective, not all prayers are effective. An effective communication is that which conveys or transfers the actual intended information from the sender to the receiver without any form of distortion or misunderstanding and as a result gets the appropriate feedback. An effective prayer is that prayer that gets God’s attention. We don’t need to impress God with great words when we pray. God never listens for our grammatical constructions but He looks at the heart that is calling out to Him. Remember, He already knew what was in our hearts before we approached Him in prayer.

There are qualities that determines the effectiveness of a prayer. It is not in how loud or low your voice is when you pray. We must listen to God’s Word on this matter if we must really get His attention in prayer. The qualities of an effective prayer are spelt out clearly in James 5:16. It indicates that if your prayer must be result oriented, it must be earnest, heartfelt, continued and you must be sure of your righteous stand with God. In all of these, one thing stands out so prominently – Righteousness. Settle it once and for all, if you are born again you are righteous – you’re the righteous one praying! Every New Creature is righteous (2Cor.5:17,18,21). You don’t work for it. It was automatically imputed to you the very moment you confessed Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour. II Cor. 5:21 says “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (NKJV). That is eternally settled in Heaven before the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. You just go ahead and walk in righteousness – live it! Boldness and confidence in prayer stems from our good knowledge and understanding of our righteous stand before the Father. It’s a gift possessed by every New Creature in Christ Jesus (Rom.5:17). Glory to God!

According to James 5:16 (AMP), when we pray this way, we release power! Which power? Power to accomplish what we desire from the Lord. The ‘a’ part of James 5:16 makes it clear that this happens when we intercede for each other. This is how it works. If I start praying for certain people all over the world, maybe for their salvation or healing, I am releasing divine virtue by reason of my connecting to God on their behalf. This power then is transported by assigned angels through the working of the Commander – the Holy Spirit – who bring the answers to the desires of such people for whom I’m interceding. God is never limited by distance. He can work anywhere and at any time because of the prayer of a righteous man – that’s the power of intercession! You’re never wasting your time when you pray in line with the Word. God is more willing to answer your prayer than you are willing to pray. If believers know the power they have on their knees, we would change our approach on how we solve the problems of life. Prayer will then become our first response instead of our last resort. There is really no powerful prayer; we only have Word-based prayer that a powerful God is eager to and answers!

Actually, it is the influence of the Holy Spirit that makes prayer a living thing. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Power! One of His ministries to the Saint is to help make our prayer life very effective. Romans 8:26-28 tell us how: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (NKJV). In prayer, it is our dependence on the Holy Spirit to guide us that makes our prayer life effective. The Holy Spirit makes prayer creative. Never start your prayer time without asking Him to help you pray aright – it would make all the difference! Many people are praying everyday but only few are actually getting results. As long as you prayed to the Father in the Name of Jesus, in faith – not wavering and it is in line with the Word as inspired by the Holy Spirit, never question whether or not the prayer would be answered – you just go ahead thanking the Lord for it until the answers manifests (John 16:23; James 1:6-8; John15:7; Philip. 4:6).

Now we know prayerlessness is a luxury! We can’t afford not to pray. I use to think that prayerlessness was just not having the desire to pray but I once listened to a teaching by Pastor Benny Hinn where he showed from the Scriptures that prayerlessness was a sin. Later on in life, I started realising that prayerlessness was a function of pride even though it was not seen like that by the one who is not praying. In the realm of the spirit, our actions make statements. When we don’t pray, we are simply telling the Lord “I can handle this. You don’t need to come into this matter. I have all it takes to get the job done”. This is really a dangerous place to be. I know this by experience. When you don’t pray, you only accomplish what the natural man can accomplish – nothing extraordinary about your life! You only get to the extent to which sense knowledge can get. I like to declare like the Psalmist: “As for me, I will call upon God, And the LORD shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.” (Psalm 55:16,17 NKJV). Many people want to walk in the Anointing but only very few are willing to spend quality time in the place of prayer. For your life to have power, you must pray! Prayer puts you in sync with the Father God. It produces in you an unusual keenness or sensitivity to the Holy Spirit which enables you to co-operate with the Spirit as he uses you to accomplish the Father’s will. This was the secret of the power-exuding life of Jesus. He understood fellowship with the Father. He spent time with Him.

When we pray in line with God’s Word, we are certain that our prayers are heard. 1 John 5:14,15 say “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (NKJV). Never question your prayer another day! There is power on your knees. Just start making the power connection right away and let it flow!

PEOPLE NEED JESUS

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There has never been a time when people are so desperately in need of Jesus than now – this very moment. If you are quite sensitive to the Holy Spirit you cannot ignore the burden you feel for the lost when you come across them. They sometimes try to put up a front as though to tell you all is well or that they are ok with their lives. They try to make you believe that their money, fame and status in the society are good coverings for them. But their very eyes betray them. When you look into their eyes you see hearts crying out “if there is a God somewhere can He please come to my rescue – I feel so terrible!” What the world really need now is not an invitation to Church. Just make a little unprofessional research and see for yourself. It would amaze you how many ‘twice lost men’ are in our Churches today and still feel that they are dying inside – they are in Church but still Christless. No one has offered them the genuine Gospel of the Kingdom of God. What are we really doing?

I think of certain communities close to us, who have never heard the Name ‘JESUS’, and I ask what shall become their fate on the last day. What shall become of their eternities? I believe that God would ask you and me about certain people whom He had allowed to come our way so that they can have the fair opportunity to hear the Gospel, whom we have ignored or allowed other trivial matters to be the bases of our relationship with them. Saint, men need Jesus – they are gasping for the life that He alone gives. Will you take Jesus to someone? Will you preach the Gospel today? Please do, for the time is short!

WORD IMPARTATION

2010-09-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

The things of God are not just taught, they are caught if at all there must be any result. The art of impartation is what separates the teacher of the Word from the classroom teacher. Physical things are taught but spiritual things are imparted. Impartation always precedes impact. Until there is an impartation of the Word, impact or result is not guaranteed. What in the world is impartation? Impartation is the art of catching the spirit of the Word in a given atmosphere. Now note that I didn’t say it is the act but art. It is an art; it is something we can learn. So many folks think spiritual things just happen of themselves without our involvement but if that were to be the case then the blessings of God would have been manifesting itself in the life of every saint automatically or all sinners would have received eternal life automatically. But you know as much as I do that even though Jesus died for the whole world, millions are still unsaved, so many even die and go to hell. Even though Jesus bore our sicknesses, griefs, pains, poverty etc so many are still living under these yokes. Why is that so? Because we are responsible for what we get in this life. Now, it’s very important that we understand this. Philippians 2:12 says for us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;” (NKJV). You work it out!

The difference between the one who just had the Word and the one who was imparted is that the one who heard the Word was just taught and realized that he now knows better but the one who was imparted caught the spirit of the Word and that Word he received will explode within him, thereby producing deeper revelations and manifold dimensions of that Word. Words that are imparted resound in the spirit of the imparted just like the Psalmist says: “God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God.” (Psalm 62:11. NKJV). Impartation is a great experience; it unveils the richness of the Word of God that has been received. Word impartation takes place in two ways; firstly, when you ask the Holy Spirit to be your Teacher during your personal study of the Word (meditating on the Word is a vital part of the study) and when your are listening to an anointed or a Holy Spirit inspired minister of the Word who is actually speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit. It really matters who teaches you the Word of God and that is why you must take out time to pray for your Pastor or Bible teacher – it’s for your own good.

Prophet Ezekiel tells us: “Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me.” (NKJV). I feel very hot in my spirit as I read this because I experience this often. When you receive the impartation of a Word from the Lord, it burns in your heart as wild fire! Despite how important this is, little or nothing is taught about this divine principle in our Churches. No wonder, the Pastor keeps repeating the same thing over and over again but his congregation would never subscribe for change. They only receive the Word as information just like a student in a classroom considers what he or she is been taught. Impartation is so deep because it brings transformation. It is always as a result of a hungry heart feasting on the Word voraciously. God will always go to any length to fill a hungry heart. It is very easy to feed a hungry man! The book of Acts describes a situation where the hungry hearts of few Gentiles got the Holy Ghost to unconventionally fall on them. Their spiritual hunger was a heavy pull! It says, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.” (NKJV). No wonder Psalm 42:7 says, “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.” (NKJV). The reason why spiritual hunger produces impartation is because only a hungry man has a vacuum that can be filled. A minister says that God never sends anyone empty except those who are full of themselves. A man full of himself or other irrelevant things can take little or nothing from the Lord. This is very important. God easily work with hungry people! Acts 14:8-10 also shows us that when we receive Word impartation, our miracles are guaranteed because faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God! (Romans 10:17).

We use to wonder how the Prophets of old could deliver so long a prophetic message from the Lord to the people. We ask “did they memorize these Divine Words?” Thank God now we know they didn’t. They received the impartation of those prophetic Words which inspired them to speak as the very oracles of the Lord. As ministers of Christ, we must be very careful about sharing Words that have not been first imparted into our spirits because we cannot impart what has not first been imparted into us. Impartation produces doers of the Word because Words that are imparted propel action! Words that are imparted are hardly forgotten, they spring up at the exact moment when they are most needed for action. It is also important for you to note that since the devil has and will always been known for plagiarizing, taking what is of God, perverting and using it to enhance his kingdom in the hearts of men, he also uses impartation in that same manner and that is why we must be careful about what we expose ourselves to. When we expose ourselves to the devil’s stuff, he also brings those evils ideas to us as options when we are in moments of decision to confuse us and misdirect our walk with the Lord. We must not let him do this.

Just like the Anointing of the Holy Spirit is not taught but caught (imparted), that is how the Word of God is imparted to the hungry heart. As I write these words, I’m praying to the Lord to stir up a deeper hunger in your heart for a new Word experience. I desire that greatly too as much as you do. The Word of God has the ability to make us what it talks about. When a man that is nervous receives the impartation of the Word, he suddenly becomes bold and courageous. When an anxious person receives the impartation of the Word, suddenly his troubles become so minute that they seem too insignificant. I submit to you that in there last days, the impartation of every Word from the Lord is not an option but an ultimatum. How we need every Word from the Lord in our spirit, soul and body – everything!

A PRAYER FOR YOU: Father in the Name of Jesus, thank you for unveiling these precious Words to us. I ask that you stir upon the heart of everyone who has read this piece a new hunger for the fullness of Your Word. We need a new experience with Your Word and we receive this with thanksgiving. Amen.

THE JOY OF A SOUL WINNER

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There is a joy that accompanies soul winning. It just happens whenever a soul winner is privileged to lead a soul to Christ. I personally believe that since the hosts of heaven rejoice over the salvation of a soul, God allows the soul winner himself to partake of that great joy! The joy comes from the fact that a soul has been saved and even in the case where the soul winner does not get a positive response from the soul being ministered to, the fact that he is been obedient to the heavenly vision brings joy to his heart because he knows that the Father is pleased! We shall experience the climax of this when we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ on that glorious day!

For me, one of the things that gets me so greatly excited about soul winning is that, when we step out to reach the lost, we are most conscious of our partnership with the Lord. 2 Cor. 6:1 says “We then, as workers together with Him…” (NKJV). You want to get into a deeper experience with the Lord? Then be an active soul winner. There are many things a faithful soul winner never bother praying about, but the Lord ensures them because he is obedient to the heavenly vision – the very heartbeat of the Father God! No wonder Proverbs 11:30 says “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.” (NKJV). Permit me to say that by implication, he who doesn’t win souls is foolish! Just choose where to belong. I have chosen to be wise!

OUR NO.1 JOB

2010-08-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

The Believers’ No.1 job is Soul winning or evangelism as we call it. Why is it the No.1 job? You might be asking. It is the No.1 job simply because it is the very heart of the Father that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. If you look into the heart of the Father, you’d see that the greatest desire He has is to have lost humanity come to conformity to Christ by appropriating the finished work of redemption to themselves. Think of the fact that the Father gave His only begotten Son (Jesus Christ) – the greatest and most painful sacrifice – to save a death-domed world who deserves judgement, but despite that, men ignore, reject or still die without Christ only to spend eternity with the devil in hell in eternal torment and doom known as the second death or eternal death. The price of a thing tells of its true value. If God would give His all for the salvation of the world, then it tells us absolutely that God’s No.1 priority is the Salvation of the lost. I Timothy 2:3,4 say “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (NKJV).

For an instruction to be properly and correctly carried out, it is important that the instruction is well understood. Many people have explained Jesus’ Great Commission to the Church in their own way, but there is a Bible definition of this Divine edict. Let’s look it up for ourselves. Matthew 28:18,19 say “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.” (NKJV). Mark 16:15-18; “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (NKJV). Acts 1:8; “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (NKJV). I believe it is clear enough.

In Summary, we see that the Great Commission is not to be carried out in the four walls of the Church structure but outside where the sinners really are! The word ‘Go’ is a command, not a suggestion and is clear enough for even a layman to comprehend. God doesn’t speak uncertainties or leave people in the dark when He speaks – He speaks in absolutes. It is as a result of people trying to bend the rules that they come up with all manner of non-existing contradictions about an instruction. The word is ‘Go!’ Another thing we must observe is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a Gospel of power and was meant to be preached in the power of the Holy Spirit – not according to man’s wisdom. God never gave the Church a powerless Gospel to preach. Romans 1:16,17 tell us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ itself is – not has – the power of God unto salvation. The great commission entails being a witness – not just a preacher! You become a proof producer of the living Jesus. The Holy Spirit partners with the Saints in winning the lost. Evangelism in the power of the Holy Spirit works anytime, anywhere – even in the most hostile environment. Let’s not accept anything less! Many fail in evangelism because they do it in their own strength! It is entirely a spiritual thing. It takes the power of God to make contact with a person’s spirit when ministering the Word to him. It takes power to heal the sick, cast out devils, preach the Word with boldness and clarity! Acts 10:38 says “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (NKJV). That is the key. For this to be possible, the Holy Spirit must be involved in every aspect of the preparation and performance.

Thirdly, full circle evangelism is exactly what God wants the Church to do. What is full circle evangelism? Full circle evangelism is the act of both preaching the Gospel to a soul, discipling him to the point where he can win another soul, then sending him out to preach the Gospel until he can do the same for another soul and the salvation chain continues till every soul hears the Gospel and have the fair opportunity to make a choice to determine his eternal destiny (Matthew 24:14). Full-circle evangelism is how it works! Jesus’ disciples made disciples who went about making disciples for Jesus. This is spiritual impact multiplication because whoever you impact and disciple to disciple others will keep adding profit to you and even when you die physically, your salvation tree will still be blossoming like Paul’s! This is great kingdom deal Saint! Many people stop at just winning a soul and never care about the spiritual welfare of the soul after that moment of salvation. Some preach to a soul, disciple that soul and stop there, not equipping them to go out (many Churches are guilty of this, they just want membership) or sending the souls out to win and equip another soul. Soul winning is God’s heart beat and should be ours if we are really mature sons who care about the advancement of the Kingdom of our Father God and who care enough for what the Father is so passionate about.

We must not ignore the urgency of this task. Unsaved souls die in their hundreds of thousands everyday with a huge percentage not having heard of Jesus Christ. This should drive us not only to the place of intercession but also to the place of action where we step out with a godly passion for the lost to preach the Gospel to whoever will listen! We as Believers in Jesus, as possessors of the Holy Ghost are Jesus’ voice of eternal life calling out to the spiritually dead to receive eternal life. We are Jesus’ feet going to the nations. We are Jesus’ hands healing the sick, giving to the needy and reaching out to the oppressed. As soon as anyone gets saved, he becomes responsible for the salvation of others. You don’t have to qualify for soul winning. Soul winning is one job you learn on the trade, as you go the Holy Spirit will teach you how to reach different people differently – He’s the Strategist! This is the right time to act. God is seeking men and women who would go out of their way to reach a soul, people who would lay down their selfish ambitions and pursue His vision for the world, people who would make His passion their passion. Are you the one? Let God find you today. It pays! Blessings!

THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD

2010-07-16T08:26:00.001-07:00

While I was studying Ephesians 6 the other day, the Holy Spirit made a very strong emphasis on the word ‘whole’. Ephesians 6:11 says “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (NKJV). Observe the word ‘whole’. The Holy Spirit made it clear that for us to win the fight of faith, none of the armours must be missing – they are all important! It is either we have all, use them and win or we lack one and lose. God gave the Believer the whole armour to live protected in this evil world where we are pilgrims accomplishing His purpose for our lives. The only part of the Believer not covered is the back part which simply implies that the devil was never meant to see our backs – no retreat, no surrender and no backing out! It is a matter of fight or die! You must face him strongly with faith in Jesus Christ and He’s Words, thereby enforcing the victory of Christ on the defeated foe.

Remember that we are not fighting to be victorious. No! We are more than conquerors already even before the fight (Rom. 8:39). We are fighting from the stand point of victory to enforce the victory of Christ on the enemy – the devil – in every areas of our lives. So it means if we are not well armed, we become vulnerable. Even though we are already victorious in Christ, the devil would still take advantage of our unprotected areas to afflict us. You can be sure that the devil is always watching out for our unprotected areas. So we must ensure that we are always fully armed. See, because the Bible says that by Jesus’ stripes you were healed does not mean that the devil wouldn’t try to force sickness on you. You must personally and consciously take God’s Word and stand on it for yourself in spite of the opposing circumstances – that’s the fight of faith! Refuse to back out! Refuse to bow! We win in the Name of the Lord!

DIVINE INSPIRATION

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There are many definitions to the word ‘inspiration’ from the dictionary. But I want to limit the meaning to ‘the divine influence on a human being’ just for the purpose of this article. In a way it also means ‘empowerment’. If you are a bit conversant with Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, you would discover that every person God ever used to accomplish things – either great or little – received divine inspiration. It is most important at this point for me to state that the Holy Spirit is God’s inspiration, influence or empowerment on the earth today to get any worthy task accomplished. Anything outside the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is fake. I’ve tried doing things in moments when I wasn’t inspired to do them; they just looked dry, unreal, powerless and mechanical. I can’t venture to even write an article when I’m not inspired – it just doesn’t work! The Psalmist says: “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” (Psalm 45:1, NKJV). That’s Divine inspiration at work there. Prophet Isaiah says: “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” (Isaiah 50:4, KJV). This is Divine inspiration at work here.

Job 32:8 says “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” (KJV). Take note that man is a spirit being. Then also observe the word “inspiration”, it speaks of the Holy Spirit. The New King James version makes it clearer and particular: “But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.” The Holy Spirit is the Breath of God. (Note: The Holy Spirit is not a thing but a Divine Person. In Scripture He manifests as the breath of God – Job 33:4; John 20:22). Man is a spirit being created in the image of God Who is a Spirit (John 4:24). God breathed creativity into the human spirit – not the mind. God put it there in every man’s spirit from the first man – Adam. To be creative, you need inspiration. But the unfortunate thing is that many people seem to want to get this inspiration for creativity through devilish means (counterfeits) such as drugs, smoking, drinking, etc in order to get high enough to perform. Divine inspiration is in the recreated human spirit and it further affects the mind thereby producing mental ability to do things.

Just as there are two kinds of wisdom according to James 3:14-17, there are also two kinds of inspiration; Divine inspiration and devilish (perverted) inspiration. The difference between Divine inspiration and devilish inspiration is outlined as follows; Divine inspiration enables us to do good works, but devilish inspiration influences the world to do evil things. The saints use that Divine inspiration to glorify God by helping humanity, but the world uses theirs for selfish purposes. The inspiration that comes from the Holy Spirit produces love but that which comes from the devil is built on selfishness. Just as Believers are inspired to give the life of God through preaching the Gospel, unbelievers are inspired by the devil to steal, kill and destroy (Acts 5:20; John 10:10). For instance, terrorism is an inspired venture. No normal human being would want to consciously end his/her life for the valueless cause of destroying other people – one has to be inspired to do that – it is demon-inspired.

Therefore, it matters what you read, watch or listen to because they are inspired by someone either by the Holy Spirit or by the devil. That is why you don’t have to listen to ungodly songs, watch ungodly movies, read ungodly books, have ungodly folks as your role models etc., because they are inspired by the devil who is the god of the system of this world (2Cor. 4:4). Here is the key: whatever doesn’t edify you (build you up) as a Christian has the wrong inspiration and must be discarded. If not, you’d find yourself sowing to the flesh and reaping corruption (Gal.6:8). But when you give your attention to only those things inspired by the Holy Spirit, you’d be sowing to the spirit and reaping the zoe-life of God (Gal. 6:8). So always check the source of the inspiration. So many saints would say things like “I just like the sound and it feels good to listen to it” or “there is nothing wrong about listening to circular music” or “they didn’t really say anything bad in the song.” Whatever the excuse you must remember that there are a lot of Divinely inspired songs that could encourage and build you up. There are many good voices out there but what they communicate are demon-inspired. Don’t let the enemy fool you. Any song not based on the Word of God might sound good but are still likely to communicate the world system (ideology) into you which would make you to dwindle in your walk with the Lord. What the Lord says in Philippians 4:8 about what should be the pattern of our thought-life still applies in helping to determine what we permit into our spirits. It says “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.” (NKJV).

So then, how do we access divine inspiration? As Believers in Christ, we flow with the Holy Spirit when we are yielded to Him. It’s our responsibility to totally trust and depend on His ability to help us in our day to day walk. It is not possible for one who is absolutely yielded to the Holy Spirit to fail. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit emboldens you, it helps you know what to do at ever point in time; enlightens you, gives you spiritual and mental excellence, etc. The Holy Spirit can help you present a speech you never prepared for so articulately such that everyone is amazed at the kind of intelligence you possess. Many saints have testimonies along this line. The Lord Jesus told the disciples and us in extension that we should expect this in Luke 12:11,12 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (NKJV). You can stir up that inspiration from your spirit by spending time in God’s Word (studying and meditating on it), praying in the spirit by the Holy Spirit or speaking in other tongues and by fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the ever present Helper you can always count on. One of the secrets of Jesus’ ministry on earth is DIVINE INSPIRATION. So get inspired!

Word Revival

2010-06-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

I call Psalm 119 (longest Chapter in the Bible) the Chapter of Word Revival. Whenever I to read that whole Chapter, it stirs up in me a new desire for deeper intimacy with the Word of my Father God. It’s so amazing that many people do not like reading that chapter of Scripture because it is a very long one (176 verses). We are, perhaps, too busy to spend that much time in the Word. When we start understanding that the Word of God is the only provision He has made for us to stay whole and deception-free on earth, we would give more attention to the Word. That’s the only way out – no short cuts! It is our responsibility to study the Word enough to be able to build our relationship with God because that is the only language Heaven recognises and the only material with which God works.

In Psalm 119, we see expressions that describe real hunger for Gods precepts, testimonies, statutes, judgements, etc which can be turned into prayers like the Psalmist did. He said: “Revive me according to Your Word” Vs. 25; “Strengthen me according to Your word” Vs. 28; “revive me in Your way” Vs. 37; “Revive me in Your righteousness” Vs. 40; “Revive me according to Your lovingkindness” Vs. 88; “O Lord, revive me according to Your justice.” Vs. 149; “Revive me according to Your Word.” Vs. 154; “Revive me according to Your judgements.” Vs. 156. Verse 100 hits very hard. It says “I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts.” Meaning that the Word of God gives you experiential knowledge (the Greek is ‘ginosko’). You don’t have to practically experience things before you learn them, meaning you can avoid mistakes by simply keeping God’s precepts. The Word gives you an experiential knowledge before you get into matters which makes you successful all the way! ‘The ancients’ here refers to the aged. In the realm of the spirit maturity is not defined by age but by how much one does the Word and the results – proofs – he has to show from doing the Word. I advise that you take out time today to read Psalm 119, I believe the Lord wants to reveal something deeper to you about the relevance of His Word in simplifying your everyday life and making you more productive here on earth. Blessings!

SPEAK LIFE

2010-06-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

If you knew that every word you ever spoke would become a reality, what would you rather speak? What would be your communication? If you knew you could create anything with your words, what would you rather speak? But that’s just the truth. Our words become reality in our sphere; our words created the things that now exist in our sphere. When God created man, He imparted the same word-ability He has in man so that he could continue the creation by calling forth those things that are not from the realm of the spirit into the physical world. So then you might be responsible for the good things or the mess in your life because of the words you have been speaking. The words we speak today create our tomorrow – that’s just how it works! The Word of God tells us in Proverbs 18:21 that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (NKJV). Years ago when I got to see this I changed my communication and made up my mind never to voice out the devils desires to make them a reality in my life. I would rather be silent about a matter than to co-operate with the devil to wreck my life!

The first thing you must understand about words is that there are only two kinds of words; life words and death words. The Words of God are life words. Jesus says, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63). Words from the devil or from our negative experiences are death words. Words work for or against us. In every situation, we are faced with the choice to either speak life or death. It is important to know that every word you say is a tool in the realm of the spirit. When you speak life, you put angels to work on your behalf, but when you speak death, you give the devil a big opportunity to operate in your life. You get exactly what you say (Mark 11:23,24) – you harvest what you sow. Words are powerful seeds and they never die! Words are spiritual! Words are the coin of the realm of the spirit. Words are the seeds for change. If you don’t like what you are getting, change what you are saying! 1 Peter 3:10 says “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:”

Angels respond to The Word when spoken from the mouth of the saints and they see to it. Even so the devil listens for negative words to make them real. If the devil wants to attack a saint easily, all he does is to get him to talk negative so he could have a legal right to carry out his evil works in his life. The devil doesn’t have the ability to torment a saint without his permission. Many folks bind demons in their time of prayers and loose them with their words few minutes after the time of prayer. They bind sickness during prayer, then the next minute you hear them say “I am sick” – they give the devil a legal ground to afflict them. They empower the devil to work against them. They talk wrong and they are wiped! We must avoid dual confessions. When you declare: “by His stripes I am healed”, stay with that confession! Refuse to weaver or stagger at it, maintain the confession, do not cower in the face of opposing circumstances. The question you should ask is: “what informs my confession or communication – The Word or my experiences?” Philemon 6 declares “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Always stand on The Word and make it your response to any situation. It is your responsibility to know what God’s Word says about the various areas of your life. If you are ignorant of The Word, you’d become vulnerable, you’d be limited in your faith confessions because faith begins where the will of God is known. What you say is the communication of your faith. Words build, words destroy!

In Hebrews 3:1, the Word of God tells us that Jesus Christ is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. It says: “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,” (NKJV). What does it mean? It simply means that Jesus Christ Himself is the surety that the confessions of the saints (which line up with His Word) are a reality! Jesus takes our faith confession very personal. We must take this confession thing very seriously – it is everything! We see in Matthew 28:18-19 and Luke 10:18-19 that Jesus gave the Church the authority to act in His stead here on earth. It is important for us to know that there is no other way by which we exercise this power except through our words – faith-filled words! Ecclesiastes 8:4 says “Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” That authority is exercised through our mouth – our words! Revelation 1:6 tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ has made us kings and priests unto God. Whatever you say about your life or situation is your confession about it and that word will stand, it will greatly determine how things would turn out for you. You don’t just say what you see; you say what you want to see. When the Word of God becomes real to us we would see things differently – from God’s perspective. It wouldn’t then matter how things appear in the physical. Romans 10:10 tells us that by our confession of Jesus Christ as the Lord, we are saved. This is the way other heavenly blessings are received, we believe in our hearts and confess what we believe with our mouth then we have it.

We must also be careful about the words that are released from our mouths towards others. James equates good communication with perfection. James 3:2 says “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” Also, Colossians 4:6 admonishes thus: “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” Our words can build or destroy, heal or afflict our hearers. We must think before we speak if we must always maintain good communication with people. I want to leave you with these words from Solomon: “Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?” (Eccl. 5:6). Blessings!

Life Signposts

2010-05-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

I was passing by a Bank the other day and I saw standing signposts with this inscription: “NO PARKING, NO WAITING, NO HAWKING, NO LOITERING, KEEP MOVING!” And I thought to myself “wow! These are the instructions of life” If we keep these instructions in our lives we would be propelled to live in Today and for Tomorrow. In life we must try not to quit or be perturbed by the happenings around us. We must always remember that we are running a race. Time is attached to every thing we do in the Kingdom. Learn to forget the things that are behind and press into what God has for you now and tomorrow (See Philippians 3:13,14). You can never change anything in your past but you can always influence the future. I know you might have incurred much injuries in the course of the race of life but forward is the only option for you. God will heal your wounds as you stay on track. Hebrews 10:35-39 say: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”

TOO BUSY TO COME

2010-05-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

In Luke 14:16-24, we read a very insightful parable given by the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. It was about a certain man who made a great supper and bade many through his servants to “come; for all things are now ready” All he required of them was to COME. Everything was set. All they needed to do was just COME. Few days ago while I was reading this portion of Scripture, the Lord strongly impressed these words in my heart: “TOO BUSY TO COME”. Then He further expounded it in the manner I want to share with you briefly.

The Lord Jesus went on to say that they all with one consent began to make excuses. Here are the excuses they made: “And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” (verses18–20). Jesus carefully chose His Words. He said they made – not gave – excuse. Meaning their excuses were all made up, – not sufficient enough to have kept them from attending the supper. Plainly, it wasn’t really in their hearts to attend. Let me ask you, if you had invited your friends for a celebration which, of course, is a very special one for you (maybe your Birthday, Anniversary, Wedding etc) and they give these kind of excuses, would you find them reasonable enough to have kept your friends from attending? Just A closer look at these excuses, you will discover that they weren’t concrete enough to have kept these people away from attending this great supper – too flimsy! These were things that could wait for a moment without anything actually getting spoilt or negatively affected – just one supper.

Now, here’s the point, 3 categories of people accommodate certain excuses in life which are deadly. You’d do well to see if you are represented here and make necessary adjustments:

 Those too busy to receive Salvation. In the first category, we find sinners who are too busy to be saved. So occupied with vanities that they never give a thought about their eternal destination. So chocked up with activities that they never have the time to go to Church, listen to a Preacher or even read a tract. They are so blind to spiritual realities that they haven’t yet seen the need to consider their eternal destination. These people are too occupied with various activities and ambitions that they think they are ok and don’t need anyone – even Jesus. Some of them have much of the various necessities of life and they feel so satisfied with things and ignore the vacuum calling for their attention while some even try to fill it with worldly pleasures, achievements, good works etc. They are too busy to receive eternal life.

 Those too busy to come into Intimacy with God. In the second category, we find saved and sanctified folks who are too busy to develop a lifestyle of fellowship with the Lord. They have the time for everything else but God in their everyday life. For them, time spent with God is like a waste. They never say so but they act just so. Their time is too precious for the Lord; He can have the leftovers if there are ever any. Joyce Meyer says “if you’re too busy to have time with God then you are too busy”. Having time with the Lord through the study of the Word, Meditation and Prayer are vital ingredients that make for the growth and establishment of the Believer. When we fellowship with the Lord, He helps us connect with His exact purposes for our lives. We then become useful to God here on earth, He then uses us as agents of change – impacting lives and changing destines. The presence of the Lord must never be neglected in our lives. When we fellowship with the Lord, He works in us and through us. We then become fruitful and more effective. Time spent with the Lord is never a waste – it’s a seed! Whatever it costs, be sure to have quality time with the Lord – not leftovers! When we neglect our time with the Lord we show irreverence for His presence. It is like having Jesus sit down on your dining table to feast with you, and because you are in haste, you leave him there and walk away saying “Lord, when I’m back I’d see you”. No true Believer would consciously do such a thing in the physical, but that is exactly what we do when we neglect our time with Him daily. In fact, if Jesus were to physically show up in your house, you’d cancel every appointment for the day and just want to sit with Him all day. This should be our approach to our time with the Lord Jesus daily. He is always present with us in reality. Let’s re-arrange our priorities – first things first!

 Those too busy to make and keep a Commitment. In the third category, they are saved, fellowship with the Lord everyday and are excited about it but do nothing for the Lord and His Kingdom. They are always in the ‘closet with the Lord’. They have accepted the first part of Mark 3:14 “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him” but not the second part: “and that He might send them out to preach,” (NKJV). The Great Commission is God’s number one mandate for ever saint. Many saints claim to love the Lord but are too busy doing so many things that they ignore what matters most to Him – His heart beat. Jesus said in John 14:15 that obedience to His command is the proof that we love Him. His command is for us to take the Good news (Gospel) of His love and life to the world (Mark 16:15-18, John 3:16; 10:10). This ought to be our greatest passion and preoccupation. But we see saints who claim to love God but have no corresponding actions to that effect. They never make a commitment to the Lord to be absolutely obedient to the Heavenly vision. They make no commitments whatsoever to Kingdom matters. In these last days we are seeing so much lack of commitment to the things of God. Remember, one day we shall all stand before The Lord Jesus, our works would be judged on the basis of how obedient we have been to His commands – the Heavenly vision.

We can as well accord all these excuses to the devil’s influence over the minds of people. But we must understand that we always have the choice to make and then become responsible for our decisions. Another trick the devil uses apart from excuses is procrastination – pushing things that ought to be done today into a tomorrow that never comes. We must take our stand against the devils influence and discipline ourselves prayerfully to always put first things first. Accept God’s Salvation, Get into Intimacy with God by spending time with Him and Obey His biddings and you’d experience His fullness!

ALIVE! 2010

2010-04-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had at ‘ALIVE! 2010’. ALIVE! Is an annual event for Believers organised by Zoe World Evangelism Ministry (The Evangelistic Ministry of David C. Okoye) and held on every Good Friday of the year to celebrate the risen and living Jesus, spark up a holy flame for world evangelisation among the saints and make heartfelt intercession for the salvation of souls all over the world! Last year (2009)we held the first one in Jos, Plateau State of Nigeria. It was an awesome start up of this annual event. And this year it was held in Abuja, Nigeria. Indeed it was simply a divine set up by the Holy Spirit. The atmosphere was that of true worship to the risen Christ. The Lord unveiled the Word to us in an immeasurable way which led to a renewed commitment to the Great Commission and a deluge of intercession for the salvation of souls all over the world. It was indeed an extraordinary meeting with the Holy Ghost!

I believer Good Fridays should not only be remembered with Communion services, but it should also be a time to reflect on how faithful we have been to the Heavenly vision. Jesus said if you love me, keep my commandment (John 14:15). Our obedience is THE PROOF of our love for The Master. The Great Commission must be taken more seriously especially in this historic moment when we see Bible prophecy unfold before our very eyes. This, indeed, is a prophetic age and we must not fail our Lord Jesus. This should be our most treasured moment. Now is the time to act. If we delay, we lose! Reflecting on and evaluating our level of obedience to the Supreme mandate – The Great Commission – should be a major highlight of our Easter celebrations. Isaiah 6:8 says “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” This is still the heart cry of the Lord, will you respond today? Please do!

ROOTED AND BUILT UP

2010-04-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

“As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” (Col. 2:6,7 NKJV).

The terms ‘rooted’ and ‘built up’ say something about ‘planting’ and ‘construction’ which give us a good picture of what it really means to abide in Christ. In these last days it would really be impossible for any Christian to thrive in the faith without being rooted and built up in Christ. Many distractions, many storms, many shakings are just all over the place – everywhere! This generation is standing in a very dangerous place. It will be very impossible for this generation to get away with what the previous generations could get away with because the Lord has shown this generation so much for us to play the fool. We are a learned generation full of God’s revelation. A close look at the opening Scripture, you’d notice that the focus is Christ. It says for us to be rooted and built up IN CHRIST JESUS THE LORD. This is awesome.

When we find our roots and foundations in Christ and He becomes our all, then we have it made. But it is equally important for us not to ignore the phrase “The Lord”. That phrase alters our idea of these two verses. It brings to light the fact that being rooted and built up in Christ is founded on the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus Christ is the bases for anyone to be rooted and built up in Christ. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is what follows after the New Birth. It means Jesus Christ becoming your Master, guiding you daily through His Words and Spirit. Many Christians have not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus in their lives in reality even though they confessed it when they received salvation. It is not automatic or a quick fix, it has to do with yielding willing to the Mastery of Christ through His Words and Spirit. There are so many troubles and insecurities in the world today just because men do not know the Person and the Place called Christ.

ROOTED
In Matthew 13, we read about the very familiar parable Jesus gave – The Parable of the Sower. In verses 20 and 21, Jesus describes one of the four categories thus: “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.” (NKJV). We cannot run away from tribulations or persecutions as long as we are still in this world. Nevertheless, what we do during these tribulations or persecutions tell us much about how rooted we are in Christ. Remember that Jesus is the Word made flesh (John1:14). So being rooted in the Word equally means being rooted in Christ. Persecutions and tribulations would always arise from time to time to test our level of ‘rootedness’ So it is really not about professing that we are rooted in Christ just with our lips but what our responses or reactions state during these times. Being rooted in Christ simply means taking in the Word so much that all you do is on the basis of the Word and nothing else. Living in a world that opposes anything that has to do with Jesus Christ, being rooted in Christ is the only way we can make it as true Pilgrims on earth. We just need that support that comes from Christ alone that strengthens and supports us. A tree firmly rooted would outlast the wild wind.

BUILT UP
The Lord Jesus tells us in Luke 6:46-49, “But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” (NKJV). Observe that the emphasis of Jesus was on the doing of the Word. This is what separates the boys from the men. These two builders both came to Jesus, they both heard the Words of Jesus but what actually made the difference was their response to the Words they heard – one acted on the Words he heard, the other didn’t! The results were different too! James tells us that we deceive ourselves when we only hear the Words and do not do what it says (James 1:22). Paul tells us that it is the doers that are justified and not the hearers alone (Romans 2:13). Jesus says why do you call me Lord, Lord without doing what I say? (Luke 6:46). You can practically build your life in Christ by just being a doer of the Word – as simple as that. Let your acting on the Word not be based on how you feel or what you think about it. But let it be on the basis of pure faith knowing whose Words they are.

We can see that Jesus connected both being rooted and built up to the Word. To be rooted and built up in Christ means to be rooted and built up in the Word. The Word is not an element but a Person but we connect with the Person of The Word – Jesus – through the written Word. The more time we spend in the written Word (the Bible) the more of the Living Word we know (John 1:1-4,14).

TRUST GOD

2010-03-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11, KJV). There’s just something about the New Creature in Christ who knows what it means to trust in the Lord. He’s not perturbed by the physical evidence or facts. He knows how it would turn out – good! Romans 8:28 says “And we are conscious that all things are working together for good to those who have love for God, and have been marked out by his purpose.” (BBE). The difference between ‘here’ and ‘there’ is ‘T’ signifying time. There is the ‘there’ of your life. The difference between now and then is process. We must go through processes in life which are the seasons of our making.

At the end of the day, the summary of a life that clings to the Lord relentlessly would be like this: “So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” (Joshua 21:43-45, NKJV). The pains would be swallowed up by the pleasure of fulfilled promises!

REFUSE TO BOW!

2010-03-02T06:28:00.001-08:00

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, "Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18 GNB).

The story of the three Hebrew children in Babylon would continue to be famous because of the spiritual strength and virtue displayed by three Hebrew young men who chose to stand out and firm for what they believe and represent. The fame of the story is not rooted in how popular the story has become over the years but in the fact that these real men chose to absolutely trust and identify with a real God who they have never seen with their optical eyes even in the face of physical and tough conditions. It is so amazing when you look at this age only to see men living without values and firm desires for what they truly claim to be their convictions. We are easily tossed to and fro by the tides of this age like Ephesians 4:14 puts it. We act like the reed instead of the rocks that we claim to be. We bow at every challenge, back out at every fight, become indecisive at the cross roads and stumble at every seeming obstacle just like a driver who enters every pot hole on the road. What is happening to us? I share this piece with a burden for change in my heart. I ask, can we have a repeat of the event documented in Daniel chapter 3 again or something higher in this time when everyone runs away from making a commitment – everyone says ‘why me?’

The opening text is the response of the three Hebrew men to a royal declaration from a then-world-power king. His declaration was voiced by a herald: “You will hear the sound of the trumpets, followed by the playing of oboes, lyres, zithers, and harps; and then all the other instruments will join in. As soon as the music starts, you are to bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Anyone who does not bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” (Daniel 3:5,6 GNB). These guys had guts. They were at the cross roads. They must make a decision and it must be now with no time to think or consider an alternative. They knew their lives were at stake, but they would rather die than to bow. They would rather burn than to bow. They would rather descend into the fiery furnace than to dance to the kings music! It is rightly said that those who don’t mind dying never die. They strongly resisted the pressure of fear! Amidst other virtues which these three Hebrew men possessed, I have highlighted only four. They are:

5. The Knowledge of God: Daniel 11:32 says “And such as violate the covenant he shall pervert and seduce with flatteries, but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].” (AMP). They knew their God and were sure their God knew them even in a foreign and evil land. They didn’t become conformed to the tide in Babylon. They didn’t have an ‘exchange of gods’ kind of life like others did.

6. Identity – They identified themselves as men of The Covenant. Identity is everything. If you don’t know who you are, men would tell you who they think you are and paint a false picture about you until you become nothing more than a people pleaser and a slave of men. When we begin to understand who we are in Christ and the Kingdom from which we have come in reality, it would change everything about us. 1Peter 2:9 says “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God's] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. [Exod. 19:5, 6.]” (AMP). It all starts with identifying who you are. Who are you?

7. Courage – They had guts. Courage is not always the absence of fear. Courage means making a firm decision to ignore your fears in order to do what you have to do. Like Joyce Meyer would say “do it afraid”. Many people you think are courageous would tell you how they handle their fears. The 3 Hebrew men had the courage to be different and to make a difference. Imagine the fact that they were not the only Hebrews in Babylon. There were thousands of them who were equally taken captive. But only three stood out. How about the remaining covenant men? – They bowed unfortunately! It takes courage to be different and to stand out of the crowd for good in a world full of perversion and wickedness where large majority support godlessness.

8. Unconditional Faith (Strong Conviction): The role of faith in an incident like this cannot be down-played upon. Hebrews 11:6 tells us “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” You can perceive the voice of faith from them when they said: "Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18 GNB). A careful look at these three verses, you would see their faith in God, His ability and His supreme will even if He willed for them to burn!

Today we might not all face a physical Nebuchadnezzar, but there are situations and circumstances which set themselves to challenge or threaten our faith and claims in the Lord. We must not give in or give up but stand tall in Christ. Refuse to cower, refuse to bow because God’s on your side! Avoid dual confessions – maintain your confession of faith in God’s Word alone (Heb. 4:14). Never give voice to doubts and fears in your mind. Talk victory all the way! Shout The Word out loud because the shouting side is the winning side. REFUSE TO BOW!

ABC of Abiding In The Word

2010-02-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

Act on the Word
Build everything or decisions of your life on the Word
Confess the Word frequently
Depend on the Word
Exalt the Word above your thoughts always
Feast on the Word daily
Grow in the knowledge of the Word/Give the Word first place in your life.
Hold on to your confession of the Word
Impart the Word into others
Journey in the Word (Search the Scriptures)
Keep the Word in your heart
Look to the Word in expectation of Its manifestation
Minister the Word
Never despise God’s Word
Operate by the Word
Practice the Word daily
Quietly digest the Word into your spirit
Renew your mind with the Word
Still the storms of life with the Word
Testify to the Word
Unite yourself with the Word
Verify issues from the Word
Willingly obey the Word
X-ray your life daily in the Word
Yield to the Word of God
Zap doubt and fears by the Word

CAN YOU RISK IT?

2010-02-01T08:46:00.000-08:00

I get so touched whenever I come across these Words in my Bible: “men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 15:26). These words keep pounding in my heart and I find myself asking this question: “Am I really willing to risk my life for the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ?” No one can risk his life for a cause he has no conviction or value for. All Christian martyrs have this one thing in common: they consider the cause of Christ and the personality of Jesus Christ to be of more value than life itself. Remember, they never lost their lives but gained them – they are possessors of eternal life (the indestructible zoe-life of God) – they just had a transition to the world of eternity. My question to you is this: do you think you have such a value for Jesus Christ and the Gospel that you can risk your life for it? We must always remember the very Words of the Lord Jesus Christ which He spoke in Mark 8:35, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.” (NKJV). To what extent can you go for the Lord Jesus Christ and His cause – the Gospel?

Many say they are shy to present the Gospel to people, they hide under the cover of “I cannot preach” or “God knows I’m too busy to go from house to house” and other kinds of such excuses. Well, when the love and value for Jesus Christ overwhelms a man, all such excuses are laid aside in just a moment. The passion for the lost drives away every excuse about preaching the Gospel. Sometimes we need to remember that much blood was spilled to get the Gospel to us. There were many saints who had to die – lay down their lives – to ensure that this Gospel got into certain communities, nations, cities etc. And most importantly that precious divine blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for the redemption of man. Stories have been told of people who decided to be smuggled into nations through bags of pepper, coffins and other hazardous means in order to take this Gospel message of hope to them. There are others who actually knew what was done to people who preach the Gospel in certain communities but still went ahead driven by the love of God. Some actually escaped the dangers while some were tortured, others killed. Even the Apostle Paul in the Bible rejoiced in his chains because he could use every opportunity to preach to the high and mighties of his days whenever he was arraigned before them for his defence.

Paul the Apostle was one person who truly understood value. He had the right perspective of life. He knew he was on earth for a purpose which he must carry through till it is delivered. He knew time was attached to his purpose on earth and so did everything he could to ensure that his time on earth was never a waste. He took the Gospel as a personal responsibility as though if he didn’t preach it no one else would. Here are some of his words that portrayed his passion for the Lord and the lost: In Philippians 1:20 he said “according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.” (NKJV). Acts 20:24, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (NKJV). Acts 21:12,13 says: “Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, ‘What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’” (NKJV).

I pray that the Lord would awaken our hearts once again to true value so that we would expend our time on earth on things that are of eternal value and where necessary be able to take risks for the Name of Jesus Christ being confident that we have nothing to lose in Christ but rather have everything to gain just as the Apostle Paul said: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21. NKJV).

GOD’S REDEMPTIVE NAMES

2010-01-16T05:46:00.000-08:00

In the Old Covenant, God revealed Himself to His covenant people through Seven Names which showed what was to be the content of the Redemptive work. They are as follows:

1. Jehovah Tsidkenu – The Lord my Righteousness
“In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jeremiah 23:6, NKJV).

2. Jehovah Shammah – The Lord is present with me
"All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE." (Ezekiel 48:35, NKJV).

3. Jehovah Raah (or Rohi) – The Lord my Shepherd
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1, NKJV).

4. Jehovah Rapha – The Lord my Healer
“and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you." (Exodus 15:26, NKJV).

5. Jehovah Jireh – The Lord my Source or Provider
“And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided." (Genesis 22:14, NKJV).

6. Jehovah Shallom – The Lord my Peace
“So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it The-LORD-Is -Peace. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” (Judges 6:20-24, NKJV).

7. Jehovah Nissi – The Lord my Banner (Victory)
“But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.” (Exodus 17:15, NKJV).

He revealed Himself in parts then but today we have His complete revelation in Jesus Christ. If you are born again, these blessings belong to you In Christ. When any child of God awakens to the realities of these Names, he suddenly finds Himself walking in God’s fullness – His Best!

MAKE ROOM FOR THE HOLY GHOST

2010-01-01T06:16:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU! I pray the blessings of newness be yours this season and all through the year in Jesus’ Name. Amen. This is a great year full of possibilities and I believer what I have strongly sensed in my spirit for a while now that we shall know and experience more of the manifestations of the extraordinary and supernatural life from this year onward and it would continue to increase because the Holy Spirit is up to something really big. Please don’t be left out of this. But you must get ready for it. It all starts with knowing the Person of the Holy Spirit and learning to fellowship and yield to Him daily. While Jesus was on earth He so much depended on the Holy Spirit. Knowing how impossible it was to honour the Lord on this defiled earth without the Holy Spirit, He promised to send Him (the Holy Spirit) to everyone who accepts Him (Jesus) as Lord and Saviour. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to Believers in Him when He was about going to the cross. He said these precious Words: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18. NKJV).

The Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ who has the Holy Spirit living inside of him is in a place of advantage. He is not perturbed by the happenings around him because he has a Helper living within him Who tells him what to do always (John 14:17,26; 1 John 4:4). He has an edge in life. But then, what happens when a Believer would not yield to the leading of the Helper or simply ignores Him in his daily pursuits? Very simple! He struggles and labours like every other unsaved, sense-ruled person. All through the Epistles, I can only see two instances where the Saint is asked to labour. Firstly, the Saint is to labour to enter into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:10,11) and this means labouring to get the knowledge of the Word of faith – labouring in the Word. In other words, this speaks of feeding on the Word of God so much that it becomes part of you to the point that you are the walking Word of God. At this stage you have entered in your rest. It’s your seventh day – you cease from your struggles and labours. Secondly, our labour of love is our eternal investment (Hebrews 6:10). This involves everything we go through for Love’s sake; everything we do to please the Lord or to make the lives of people better than we met them. The labour of love is the Greatest Commandment Jesus gave and it summarizes all other laws ever given including the 10 commandments (Matthew 22:37-40, John 13:34,35). Well, these are very good reasons to labour, or what do you think?

A large number of Saints live their lives void of the influence of the Holy Spirit. Many don’t even know that the Holy Spirit has a ministry in their lives and they keep searching elsewhere for directions and wondering why things aren’t functioning fine. We must come to understand that there is a way out of every trouble but until we listen to the Voice of the One Who knows all things we keep getting stock in life. The Holy Spirit wants to be a part of your daily life and He wouldn’t force Himself on any one. You must make the choice to invite Him to be in charge of your entire life. We can avoid some silly mistakes in life by simply listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. Instead of always looking for how to get out of trouble, we can avoid getting into trouble by learning to just listen to the Holy Spirit. Some mistakes can cost us our very lives, so we must avoid them. Jesus said: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 14:26; 16:13, NKJV).

Perhaps, you’ve been struggling alone in all your pursuits; profession, ministry, business, finances, job, relationship etc. it’s time to make room for the Holy Spirit – your Helper – to set things in order. As you listen to His voice, He would give you counsel that can never fail. People who always make consultations with the Holy Spirit before carrying out actions never lose. The only time they lose is when they forget to involve Him. Never be too much in a haste that you forget your Helper and Counsellor, your efforts become futile. How the Holy Spirit longs to help us daily. Proverbs 3:5-7 says it all: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” Also Eccl.10:15 says: “The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.” Start practicing consultations with the Holy Spirit today. He wants to direct your paths. You can never lose with the Holy Ghost! It is time to turn it all over to the Him, let Him lead you into God’s purpose for your life and in the achievement of your dreams and goals from today onward.

David C. Okoye

A REASON TO CELEBRATE

2009-12-05T05:12:00.000-08:00

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10,11

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel [The Incarnation], which being interpreted is, God with us. [Divinity in union with humanity]” Matthew 1:21,23

The word ‘Incarnation’ literally means “in flesh”. The word is used to describe the teaching that God through Jesus Christ of Nazareth has taken on human flesh and become God in human form. The Incarnation is the greatest miracle of the ages! It was the only solution to the sin problem which has brought mischief to the human race through the first man (Adam) and it was the only way for man’s redemption to be on legal grounds. Do you know that you are an incarnation by your identification with Jesus? You are hundred percent spirit and hundred percent human. If you are not, then Jesus was not. You must understand that redemption was based on God’s principle of Justice and the Judge of the whole earth cannot be unjust. The Word tells us that Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of God’s throne (Psalm 89:14). However, by virtue of Jesus becoming our substitute, He became what we were that we may become what He was – this is how the law of substitution operates. The incarnation made Jesus the only qualified person to handle man’s misery. The incarnation is also what makes the Saints the only qualified beings to communicate the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ to the human race. Christianity is the manifestation of the divine life on earth. This is the reason Jesus committed the Great Commission to us and not to angels or to some other beings. What a calling! This is what we celebrate at Christmas. We celebrate Jesus and what He has made us by virtue of His substitutionary work.

There are many ways of celebrating but there is also the love-way to celebrate, and we as the love-children of a love Father-God must celebrate the love-way. As a Christian you don’t try to become what you are already. You don’t try to love because the love of God is already shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5). So then, all you need do is to choose to walk in love. Just as the bird has the ability to fly but chooses when to fly. As love-children we must pass on the Gospel and always remember the poor. Just imagine what men would become if they receive this great Gospel in your mouth and imagine the difference it would make when the poor have something to eat or wear because you are alive. I think it shouldn’t just be during Christmas, it should be a lifestyle. We must ensure that people are thankful to God that we are alive for everyday we live in this world – that's impact!

May this season usher into your life the extra-ordinary manifestation of God’s divine presence
May the anointing of the Spirit cause you to walk in the same direction with the Master
May the Precious Holy Spirit bring excellence and beauty into your life
May the Father-God work on, in and through you to bring hope to hopeless humanity
May Christ be formed in you and may you come to experience the reality of His personality
May you be filled with contagious faith, hope and love in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS & A GREAT NEW YEAR!

With love,

David C. Okoye

ETERNAL LIFE GOSPEL CRUSADE, ZAWAN, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

2009-11-16T07:11:00.001-08:00

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever! He still seeks and saves those that are lost today as ever! We bless the Name of the Lord for His marvellous works in the land of Zawan. Eternal Life Gospel Crusade, Zawan, Plateau State was indeed the answer to the heart cry of many saints there who have made up their minds not to stop storming heaven with continued, heartfelt intercession until their change come.

The meaning of the word ‘Zawan’ is ‘unwanted grass’ which in reality accounts for the spiritual and physical depravity of the community. The land is known for massive drinking and worship of idols. The Crusade Team would bear witness to the fact that we faced no little opposition to get the gospel to that land even from the Churches there. There seemed to be a kind of terrible coldness about the spirituality of the Churches in Zawan. But thanks be to God who had purposed to bring salvation and liberation to the land. On the first day of the Crusade, we had 84 decisions for Christ and 88 on the second day totalling 172 souls for Jesus! But it didn’t end there, by divine instruction; we claimed the entire land for Jesus as strong intercession and prophetic declarations were made over the land.

We had barely finished the day 2 service when a brother informed us that the venue we used for the Crusades was actually the community’s spiritual alter. It was then we recognized how great a deliverance the Lord had brought to Zawan. Not only were souls won, the Churches were also set ablaze with a holy flame to take the whole community one time for Jesus! The present state of Zawan is described in Isaiah 62:4 “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.” The Lord gave us these worlds for the community. The demonic alter has been replaced by the eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ! The Churches in Zawan would never remain the same again as a fresh fire has been kindled in their hearts for the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

HOW TO HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYDAY!

2009-11-05T17:09:00.001-08:00

It’s very common to here people wish each other “have a great day” but we have hardly taken out time to define what really a great day is. Well, I don’t know what your definition of a great day really is. From the Scriptures, I see the following to be what a great day is and how to have a great day:

1. Start everyday with Prayer and the Study of the Word of God – this brings peace, tranquillity & holds the day together. I’m a witness to this.
2. Make up your mind to and really do something in relation to your Purpose in life (Your life assignment) – everyday.
3. Make up your mind to and really live daily for divine love – let someone be happy that you’re alive everyday (evangelise, give out something, help someone, share encouraging words etc).
4. Invest every time of the day in something productive or expedient (an idle man is…).
5. Watch what you say, see or listen to. Avoid places where unhealthy words of fear, failure, strife etc. are spoken. Words are very powerful!
6. Be sure to ‘jist’ or talk with The Holy Spirit moment by moment daily. He’s your Big Friend who cares.
7. End everyday with prayer of thanksgiving to the Father. Let The Lord have your last word as well as your first word.

Now you know th1s. If you practice these daily, things would change – you will change. HAVE A GREAT DAY!
“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24.

YOU NEED THIS NOW!

2009-11-05T17:04:00.000-08:00

Do you know it only takes a choice to determine your eternal destination? Jesus says "... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10). The devil's purpose is to destroy you so that you cannot possess the life Jesus offers you. The choice to remain in the kingdom of the devil or to be transferred to the Kingdom of God is yours. God wants you to come to the side of eternal life and for that to happen, you must choose to accept what He has accomplished through His Son (Jesus Christ) for you. Just pray this prayer sincerely from your heart. It has to be now, please do not procrastinate. Make it NOW!

Dear God, thank you for giving your Son Jesus Christ to die for my salvation making it possible for me to possess eternal life instead of eternal death. I confess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and I believe in my heart that you raised Him from the dead for my justification. I declare that I am saved, I am born again, I have eternal life. I ask that you also fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me connect with your eternal purpose for my life. Thank you Father, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Congratulations! You are now born again. It is important that you get a copy of the Holy Bible, read it and pray everyday to your Heavenly Father and attend a Bible-based Church. You can also get in touch with us, we shall be glad to hear about your salvation.

TIME IS SHORT!

2009-11-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

It’s so amazing how many people live their lives as though life begins and ends in this present world. This world is coming to an end – this isn’t out for debate. The Lord Jesus clearly gives us the signs by which we shall know the end of the age in Matthew 24 and we see this in many portions of the Scriptures prophetically highlighted. “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,” (2 Peter 3:11). The best way to live as Saints of the kingdom of God is by living on earth with eternity in view. This consciousness would help us a great deal. We must always have eternity in view to be able to do things of eternal value. You would agree with me that so often we get carried a way by the cares of this world that we forget what really matters with the Father-God. This ought not to be.

Time is precious, time is opportunity, time is value, time is asset, time is treasure, time is everything! When we leave this earthly world we simply leave the realm of time into the realm of eternity and it is what we do with our time in the world of time that determines our placement in the world of eternity. This is very important and it should get your attention like never before. In the business world, they tell us that time is money, the fire service men would also tell you that delay is dangerous, so would the medical world re-emphasize! Time is God’s gift of value to man. God doesn’t operate in the realm of time and so He sees things differently from men. 2 Peter 3:8 tells us “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” To the sinner, time is hope for salvation and once he misses it, he sinks into the realm of eternal death (2 Peter 3:4, 9). To the Saints, time is opportunity to store up eternal treasures as we spend and are spent in the extension of the Kingdom of God on earth.

The Lord Jesus says in Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” This is the heart beat of the Father-God! We must act for Him in the rescue of lost humanity. Do something about the Gospel of Jesus everyday you live on earth. This is your only opportunity to make history – to let the whole world know that Jesus is alive and well! We must act fast or we lose! Get going now – it's all for Jesus!

Stand with me

2009-10-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

Precious Saint,

Greetings to you in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ.

Please I ask you to stand with me in intercession for my next Crusade. My Team and I would be holding a 2-day Eternal Life Gospel Crusade in Zawan, Plateau State of Nigeria, 30 & 31 this Month.

The word of God declares in Matthew 18:18,19 thus: "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." I believe in prayer, but I believe much more in the God who answers prayers. I also believe much can be accomplish when we lift our voices and call upon the Lord of the harvest over the lost souls desperately gasping for eternal life. I love reading James 5:16b from the Amplified Bible. It says “…The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”

As we intercede together, we are sure that the power of God is made available for these Crusades and it would work in dynamic ways. If you are born again you are the righteous one because God makes us righteous who accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Thank you for seeing the need to stand with me as we reap these great harvests of souls into the bans of the Lord. Let the Lord once again see the travail of His Soul and be satisfied!

God bless you richly,

David C. Okoye

LIVING WORDS: STAY IN FAITH

2009-10-02T11:57:00.000-07:00

“And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
Luke 22:31, 32

The realm of faith is not a place we run in and out at intervals. Christianity is a faith-life, a life of faith. When you are not operating in faith, it is no longer Christianity – it is something else. Maturity in the faith-life is one of the major characteristics of real spirituality. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” and Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38 all declare: “the just shall live by faith” Stay in the faith realm. Faith is not just important to the Christian life; it is the life wire of Christianity. The Christian who would not walk in faith cannot please God for without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).

You can see the importance of faith in our daily walk with God from the prayer of the Lord Jesus for Peter. “…that thy faith fail not:…” You see, faith failure to the spirit is what heart failure is to the body. You must be sure to fan to flames the embers of your faith – never let it quench, it is deadly! The Apostle Paul tells Timothy that many have erred along the faith line and have made shipwreck (1 Timothy 1:19). Faith is more than the tool we use in receiving ‘a miracle’ from the Lord. Faith does something to the recreated human spirit that brings it into perfect harmony with the Father-God through fellowship in the Word. Fellowship with God is on the bases of faith and the Word. Faith is what keeps us on our knees, it is what makes us take heavy doses of the Word, it is what makes us live everyday with joy unspeakable full of the glory of God despite the odds. When we walk in faith, the spirit realm becomes more real to us than the physical world. That is actually what it is because the spirit realm controls the physical and the physical world came from the spiritual. That is why spiritually-minded Saints are not moved by what moves mere men.

We are more useful to God when we actually live the faith-life because God is a faith-God and His children must be faith-children too to operate with Him on a balanced and equal level. It is too costly to live in unbelief and doubt. With the present economic and political situation in the world, it is so easy for fear and doubt to find their way into anyone. But you must always have your shield of faith on to quench every fiery dirt the enemy is throwing – it’s a fight of faith! You’ve got to be alert and faithful to the Word of God. It’s actually a choice to live the faith-dominated life. So choose to stay in faith. I pray for you that your faith fail not in Jesus Name. Amen.

David

Welcome!

2009-10-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welcome to my Blog. I’ve created this blog specially for those who have a deep hunger for God; His Person, Presence and Power. Those who are not satisfied with the basic, elementary and ordinary level. Those who want to dare explore the full potentials of the zoe-life. Those who want to get into a deeper intimacy with God. Those who want to be a part of ensuring that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God spreads like wild fire all over the world. Those who are crazy about God and don’t care about what anyone thinks of them. You’re welcome! In this blog you’d read and view pictures from the perspective of the divine life and it’s influence in this world. Are you desperate for God? Please feel free to drop your questions and comments, they are highly appreciated.

In this blog you shall be reading articles and reports that would encourage and spur you into doing all that is possible to see the Kingdom of God come in your life, family, community and world. Every article will encourage you to live the higher life and be obedient to the heavenly vision.

David