Friday, June 17, 2011

THE SUPERNATURAL VS. THE NATURAL


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!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

REFUSE TO COMPROMISE


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!