HEAVEN GETS RICHER!

Heaven gets richer as a hero of faith, the greatest woman in my life, a committed Ministry Partner with Life Commission Ministry (My Mum: Rev. Mrs. Josephine C. Okoye) goes home to be with Jesus last Monday (April 9). Indeed death has lost its power! Eternity is real. Thank God for the Hope we have in Christ. Amen!

WHERE ARE THE YOUNG FOLKS?

Young people are very instrumental to the plan and purposes of God here on earth. All through Scriptures, we see strength attributed to young people. Young people are strong. Young people are energetic. Young people are very zealous and passionate. However, it is always the case of young people either using this strength-treasure to either advance a righteous cause or an evil one. When a man is full of energy and zeal, he wants to do something; he wants to exercise his abilities. The Word of God tells us that “The glory of young men [is] their strength: and the beauty of old men [is] the gray head.” (Proverbs 20:29).

The famous king of Israel, Solomon, gave a heart striking admonition and caution to young people in Ecclesiastes 12:1-14 (I pray you take some time to study it today, it’s so important you do). Verse 1 of that portion of Scripture says: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;” We are instructed to remember the Lord in the days of our youth because the evil days are coming fast. Because the years are drawing near. Because there would come a time when we can not do what we can do now. This is a very important admonition. Please think about it for a moment.

In my endeavours, I have often had the privilege of coming across a lot of aged people and having some time with them. I have noticed that, unfortunately, it is difficult to find one of them without regrets. Most of the time their regrets stem from the fact that they never utilized the opportunities of their youths. Now they wish they could do more but they can barely do much. Time has gone and they are trying to catch up. This is sad. I feel so emotional as I write this. Today I see a lot of aged people going into missions and serious kingdom service but very few youths are involved and I am forced to ask this vital question: WHERE ARE THE YOUNG PEOPLE? Destiny is a force that has a pull on everyone. We must respond to the call of our destinies in God. Time is ticking fast. If we don’t spend our youthful energy in earnest service to the Lord today, when are we going to do so? We must be mindful of the fact that a man can only be a youth once in a life time – just once.

I once heard a preacher explain how that when a man is young, he can both see (have dreams) and run (pursue them), but when he starts aging, this dual abilities reduce till it gets to the point where he can only see but can’t run, can’t pursue what he sees. Are we rightly spending or wasting our youthful season. We must be mindful that the youthful stage of life has a lot of distractions that we must contend with on purpose if we must make unhindered advancement in life. We must fight for this. We either fight or lose.

There is a prophetic Word for the young people in Joel 2. The Prophet Joel, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares “…your young men shall see visions:” (Joel 2:28). I believe this is the day for the fulfilment of this prophecy. I believe these are the days for the manifestation of more visionary youths. I see the Holy Spirit stirring up young people all over the world for unquantifiable Kingdom impact. It has already begun. In many parts of the world we are seeing many young people arising and stepping into their destinies in God, doing amazing and mind blowing things in honour of the Master. Don’t be left out. Stop everything that stops you from properly maximizing your youthful days. When you do this, you’ll rejoice and be so fulfilled at old age, mentoring the next generation. This is how it ought to be. Glory to God!

THE THRONE OF GRACE

What would you do if you knew there was a place where you could find anything – I mean anything – you both need and want in life? Guess what? There is such a place. Now this is for real! The Word of God tells us in Hebrews 4:14-16: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [our] profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” The throne of grace is not just an abstract imagination. It’s a real place, a place in God. It is a place where you get everything for free from admission to content. The Throne of Grace is a please you can approach from any location, no need for travels. But it is so unfortunate that we have not been able to truly see this place as our source of hope and comfort. We seem to struggle so hard through life exploring every human, man-made options only to approach this place when we have lost all. Joyce Meyer rightly said “prayer should not be our last resort but our first response.” When we pray on time we deal with situations headlong. We stop certain progressions of the situation and put it under control.

The big thing about The Throne of Grace is that we have been given express invitation through the blood of Jesus. Every blood-washed believer has free access into the Throne room. We are asked not just to come but to come boldly. This is exciting! So why don’t believers seem to respond to this gracious opportunity? Why do we rather struggle in our own limited efforts? The truth is that the devil will do everything possible to ensure that he keeps you from coming to the Throne of Grace. He can use guilt, doubt, feelings etc. to keep you from approaching that place of prayer. Any praying Christian would tell you that the place of prayer is the place of strength and safety. This is actually the reason the devil would do everything possible to stop you from dropping to your knees. The devil hates praying Saints. He doesn’t mind you being fully engaged with activities – even Kingdom activities – but not prayer. But, you see, when activities are carried out in a praying atmosphere, the devilish forces are put off, their weapons become counterproductive. Our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, was a praying man while on earth. He lived a life of prayer. Mark 1:35 always inspires me. It says: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” It is truly impossible for anyone to make it through these times without prayer. The devil fights your prayer life personally because that is your power house!

Prayer is fellowship. Prayer is the fellowship or communication with God that stabilizes our lives here on earth. Prayer helps us align with God’s plans and purposes for our lives. Prayer is joining forces with God to see His Kingdom come and His will done on earth as it is in heaven. It is dangerous to only pray when you feel like praying. We pray whether we feel like it or not. We pray when things are good or bad. We pray when we experience success or failure. Prayerlessness is powerlessness. Prayerlessness is the greatest weakness of all. When we don’t pray we become a prey to the enemy. We can’t afford to lose our grounds. When we don’t pray, we operate at the same level with the devil – the level of the senses and the devil is highly experienced at this level. It should deeply concern you when your prayer life is inconsistent. It is a risky place to be. God cannot help a prayerless person. Prayer is the link – it’s the lifeline – of Heaven. You must cry out to God in earnest trust for His help in your prayer life. Never be silent about prayerlessness. It is deadly! A prayerless life is a life disconnected from power!

According to Hebrews 4:16, whenever we approach the Throne of Grace we find 2 things; mercy and grace to help in time of need. Scripturally, Mercy speaks of God’s love and compassion. Grace can be defined in 3 ways: unmerited favour, Divine empowerment, Manifesting The Blessing. At what better time are mercy and grace more needed in our lives than now? You see, a single day on earth without God’s mercy and grace is enough to bring our lives to a halt, a place of disaster and destruction. We are daily preserved by God’s mercy and grace. This is why prayer ought to and must be an everyday, every hour, every moment thing. Mercy and Grace are 2 things we need on a daily bases. We daily need mercy and grace more than we need water. We daily need mercy and grace more than we need air. We daily need mercy and grace more than we need food. So you see why it is dangerous and so costly to live a prayerless life? At The Throne of Grace, we not only find mercy and grace for ourselves but we find mercy and grace to also help others in their times of need. This is the place of intercession. When we come to the place of intercession, it means that we have gone a step further, beyond ourselves, to reach others in need. That’s the place God wants to bring us to.

The Holy Spirit helps our prayer life if we let Him. It is the Holy Spirit who always inspires us to pray. If the Holy Spirit is active in your life, there would never be a day that He wouldn’t remind you to pray. The Word of God tells us that it is the Holy Spirit who helps our prayer life (see Romans 8:26-28). The Holy Spirit quickens our hearts to call upon the Lord. A Christian experiences prayerlessness when he/she has a prolonged habit of ignoring the voice and nudging of The Holy Spirit to pray. That is why I believe, just as Pastor Benny Hinn says, that prayerlessness is a sin. We must repent of prayerlessness. Prayerlessness doesn’t happen by accident. Prayerlessness has a voice. Whenever a person is prayerless, he is simply saying: “God, I can do this or that without you.” That’s not a good place to be. It’s a place of misery and gracelessness. The Holy Spirit bids you to come to the Throne of Grace today!

THE RESISTANCE

All over the world, God is staging up a resistance that would withstand the wickedness of the devil and his agents in these last days. God is not silent about what is going on all over the world. He is not surprised either because they are the signs of the times we are in. God uses men to stand against the devices of the wicked one. Isaiah 59:19 says “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” The word standard here speaks of the resistance against the devices of the adversary. The Spirit of the Lord raises us a standard through the militant believers whom have submitted themselves to be equipped for spiritual warfare.

The Word of God tells us in James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Lately, I’ve been so blessed and inspired by Evangelist Ben Cerullo’s take on this portion of Scripture which he brands ‘The Resistance’. James 4:7 speaks of both personal revival and spiritual warfare. But one comes first before the other. We must first submit ourselves to God before we can effectively carry out spiritual warfare to claim souls and territories stolen by the adversary – the devil. This is something every believer must be mindful of. The believer is a warrior. When we submit to God, resisting the devil is never a problem. In fact, when we submit to God, we not only resist the devil, we become God’s resistance against all the wiles of the devil. The Lord says to us in Jeremiah 51:20 “Thou [art] my battle axe [and] weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;” It is time for us to awake from slumber and take our place in God’s end-time agenda. It is time to stand up and take action! God wants to display His might through us to all the nations of the world.

God was speaking to Jeremiah and to us in extension when He said, in Jeremiah 1:10 “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” God has set us over the nations. In other words, God has put us in charge of His earth to establish Divine order in it. Yes, He wants to do it through us – His battle axe! This is not the time to fret and withdraw, but the time to press on into the destiny that God has for us. This is the time to go over to the frontlines and enforce the victory of Christ over the enemy, thereby rescuing destinies from the grip of the devil. In the Kingdom we don’t fight to get the victory. No! Jesus has already won the victory for us. We fight to enforce the victory that belongs to us and choke the devil out of our way. We fight from the stand point of victory. Glory to God! 1 Cor. 15:57 says “But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

It is also important that we understand the enemy we wrestle against and the weapon that has been made available to us in Christ. These are clearly spelt out in the following Scriptures: Eph. 6:10-18 tells us “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” And 2Cor. 10:3-6 further says “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” Every believer must engage in this spiritual warfare. Evangelist Ben says “you either fight or die.”

Daniel 11:32b says “but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do [exploits].” The number one key is knowing God. Not just knowing about God but know God for real, having a vital one-on-one relationship and knowledge of Him. Secondly, in order to stand firm before and after spiritual warfare, as instructed by Jim Goll, we must have no common grounds with the enemy. Jesus says in John 14:30 “for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” God bless you!

HOW TO ACCESS GRACE

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

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

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!