THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

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

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!

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REPORT FROM CATCH THE FLAME CONFERENCE, NIGER STATE.

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

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

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

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!