INTIMACY WITH GOD

I grew up in a day when people’s hearts were deeply longing for something more and higher than this physical, material world. Many believers in Christ had a seemingly unquenchable hunger to know the Lord more in a deeper way. This desire was clearly evident by the kind of songs sung in Churches, the kind of prayers prayed in our prayer meetings, the kind of sermons preached, and the kind of fellowship among the brethren. The prayer meetings were packed with spiritually hungry hearts – people with ardent desire for God. But when you juxtapose those days and these days, one would want to ask ‘what’s gone wrong?’ Today, it seems our hunger for God has been cheaply satisfied with physical substances. Our songs are more focused on our physical needs than our need for the Lord, our selfish agendas come first in our prayer meetings, the sermons are regulated by the laws of demand and supply, altar calls for salvation seem not to be the priority of the day and the conversation among brethren is clouded by other selfish desires. Whatever had gone wrong, we earnestly pray that there be a restoration to the Divine order in Jesus’ Name! Intimacy with God doesn’t just happen, it is built overtime. Intimacy with God is a personal thing just as it is with every other relationship. The more mature we become as believers the richer our fellowship with God becomes if we are truly cultivating it. There are things that don’t just happen to us in life, we make them happen. The decision to develop intimacy with God is the second most important decision we’d have to make in life. The first most important decision is to receive Jesus Christ as our only Saviour and Lord because there can’t be any fellowship or intimacy without a relationship – that’s the foundation for everything else. However, fellowship is the life of every relationship. To develop intimacy with God (just as it is with anyone else), we must spend quality time and attention on Him. What you spend the most of your time on or give the most of your attention to really tell your definition of value. You can’t say that God is the number one in your life and you don’t spend quality time with Him. You can’t give God the leftovers of your time or other things and claim to have Him as the number one in your life. The Lord says in 1Samuel 2:30 “...for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” Honouring the Lord is based on the principle of the first and the best. It simply means that if we truly honour the Lord, He must come first in our lives and He must get the best of our everything! And when we’re not honouring the Lord this way, we’re simply despising Him – there are no middle grounds! We must stop those things that stop our advancement in developing our intimacy with God, those things that seem to want to take the first place in our lives instead of God. We must fight anything that wants to come between us and the Lord. Yes! It’s worth fighting for. It is very important you know that if you must go deeper in God, it can’t just happen with the time of the day you set aside for prayer. He must occupy your every thought, action, word etc. 24 hours of the day! You must be saturated with the consciousness of His presence. You must involve the Lord in every single thing you’re involved with. You must care about what He has to say concerning what you do. Your every decision must stem from your fellowship with Him. This helps you live from within, uninhibited by external forces! This helps you to easily hear when He speaks to you at any time. God is always speaking and only those who care to listen hear what He’s saying, just like tuning to a radio station. In Psalm 42:7, the psalmist, by the Spirit of God, expresses a very powerful dimension to our intimacy with God. He says “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.” This helps us see that it is not the Lord who decides how deep we go with Him. We decide! It means that it’s up to us to decide how deep our intimacy with the Lord would be. The depth of our hunger or desire for the Lord will determine the depth of the fullness of God we’d receive and that is why we are all at different levels in our spiritual experiences. People always want to put all the responsibility on God forgetting that God gave man the responsibility to choose and He’ll never do that for any man. When you see a man who has decided to value intimacy with God in his life you’ll know. God decides to honour that man with the tangible manifestation of His presence. There’s something about that man who carries the presence of the I AM Himself. That man cannot be hidden and the Lord honours him with His tangible presence in order to set him apart from other men and to also draw men to Himself through him. It is the Holy Spirit who brings us into intimacy with God! Without the Holy Spirit just forget about it. Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit, expresses this in the benediction of his second epistle to the Corinthian Church: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” (2Cor.13:14). It is the Holy Spirit who brings us into that oneness with Divinity. The Holy Spirit is God Himself and He ushers us into and sustains in that divine fellowship. Praise God! Thank God, the Lord Jesus says He’d abide with us forever (John 14:16). Intimacy with God begins with our earnest desire to know God more. The Holy Spirit stirs up that holy desire in our hearts but we must respond accordingly to make it happen. Many a times we don’t respond to the desires the Holy Spirit stirs up in us and so we lose out on the experiences He intended for us to have. We must learn to respond. We must learn to yield to Him. Therefore, to sustain the development of our intimacy with the Lord, we must nurture our hunger for the Lord. Never allow anything to steal away your hunger – your ardent desire for God and His Kingdom. It’s really a great experience when everything that comes to you in life stems from your intimacy with the Lord. This makes you safe and secure because you now see God as your Source for everything including the smallest details of your life. This is one thing that will help us live unspotted by the world. Our hunger for God swallows up our hunger for the world and its evil pleasures.

TRUE VS. FALSE RELIGION

A while ago, while teaching the Word in a meeting, I said “Christianity is not a religion” supposing that was already a well known and understood expression but was amazed as a lady couldn’t help but responded immediately “then, what’s it?” That really got my attention because so many times we make certain assumptions that are detrimental. A lot of people, even Christians, have been thrown into confusion by that expression. I also grew up with the view that Christianity was a religion and even when I started hearing from certain ministers of the Gospel that it isn’t a religion I believed but didn’t really get it until I started studying the Word for myself. Today, there’s so much talk about how Christianity is not a religion and this has put a lot of people into confusion as to what then it really is. This ought to be properly explained. According to the dictionary, the word ‘religion’ simply refers to the belief in the existence of a god who is in control of a thing or things. Based on this definition, the world sees every form of belief in a god, whoever he or it may be, as a kind of religion and so they say there are so many religions in the world and they go ahead to name them including Christianity. So in dealing with the world (e.g. filling a form or legal documents etc.), we can go by their definition of religion. But then, we must be careful about using the dictionary to define spiritual things. Dictionaries are written by men. However, when you study the Bible critically you see that there’s more to Christianity than just being one of the groups of people who believe in a ‘god’ just like every other groups believe in their own god. You see, religion actually came into existence after the fall. After the first man, Adam, fell, he lost his spiritual consciousness as a result of spiritual death and gradually men started searching for ways to satisfy their desire for the presence of God in their lives. But now man was being controlled by his senses instead of his spirit because he died in spirit (was separated from God. Death means separation). Now man wanted to feel, see, touch and relate with God in a tangible way. And this is the same reason we still have idol worshippers of different kinds today. Now, it is impossible for those who are outside Christ to understand this but we who are in Christ, having been enlightened by the Spirit of Truth, can have an understanding on the matter. The word ‘religion’ or ‘religious’ appear only 7 times in the entire Bible. 4 times used in relation to Judaism and 3 times to express God’s view on the subject. God’s definition of religion is found in James 1:26-27. It says “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” Christianity is not a religion but there is a religion (devotion) that is practiced in Christianity. It would be wrong to use a part to define a whole. The fact that there is a religion we practice in Christianity doesn’t make Christianity a religion any more than having a baseball pitch in a school makes the whole school a baseball pitch. Now, if there is a pure religion then there are impure religions. If there is an undefiled religion then there are defiled religions. We equally see the definition of impure and defiled religion in 2Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” False religion has two dimensions. The first is man’s effort to reach God when God has already reached out to man, that is, not accepting God’s solution – Jesus Christ. And so they have various methods, traditions, and figures (idols and other stuff) which they believe they could use as a medium in their efforts to reach that ‘unknown God’ somewhere. This is found among the unsaved people of the world. The second dimension of false religion is found among nominal Christians. They have the form of godliness but deny the power thereof. These can pray but never expect God to actually answer, they pray as a form of ritual. They go to Church just because they are ‘supposed’ to go to Church, they don’t really expect anything. They lack the influence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This dimension deals with stubborn ignorance. Apostle Paul, by the Spirit, describes this in Col. 2:20-23. So then, what is Christianity if it is not a religion? Well, no-one can really understand why Christianity is not a religion until they first understand what Christianity really is. Christianity is Christ Himself, living and expressing Himself on earth through a surrendered man (or woman). Christianity is defined explicitly in Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” When you come to Christ you cease to exist, it is now Christ living and expressing Himself in and through you because God wants more Christ-like sons on the earth, Jesus Christ being the pattern-Son (See Romans 8:29). Whenever you think of Christianity, the question you must always ask yourself is why did Jesus come? For what purpose? Why was it important that He came? Jesus didn’t come and die for the world just to give the world another religion or a superior one – the world already had a lot of them. Jesus didn’t only bring reality as the answer to the endless search of man for God but He Himself was and is The Reality (John 1:17; John 14:6). The word ‘truth’ in those Scriptures actually means ‘reality’. If Jesus came as God’s answer to humanity’s search for the true and living God through religion, then He must have come with something superior to religion. That’s why whenever anyone gets born again the search ends – he’s found the reality. Understand that every man born into this world is naturally in search of reality. That’s the reason for philosophy, science, religion etc. These are man’s way of searching for reality. You can study for yourself to see how Apostle Paul handled the subject of religion in Acts 17:16-34. Christianity is not a religion. It is not, has never been and would never be a religion. The Bible is not a religious book; it’s the Book of Reality. Christianity is not a religion; it’s a living relationship with the Living God – the sole Creator of Heaven and earth. Religion has never saved anyone! Religion has never imparted eternal life to any soul but Christ came to save the world and to give men eternal life. Praise God! According to the Bible, religion is what we do and not what we are. As we, Christians, practice the pure and undefiled religion we must always remember that our focus is Christ Himself!

MOMENTUM

With the passing on of Dr. T.L. Osborn, Oral Roberts, Kenneth E. Hagin and the likes, I’ve been compelled to observe the trend of the Christian faith and to ask what Christianity would be like in the next 50 years from now should the Lord tarry. Closely observing the up-coming generation, there’s so much to say. When you study the Scriptures carefully you’d discover that God has always been interested in posterity. Whatever God does, He doesn’t just do for a generation, but wants it passed on to the next generation and to the next and to the next and to the next onward. His works are eternal. His dealings with men are also eternal. He’s indeed the King Eternal. Praise God! God always sees things differently from the way men see them. For instance, when Esau and Jacob were still in their mother’s womb God said to Rebekah “...Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;...” (Gen. 25:23). He spoke of the children as nations. Men look at people as just individuals but when God sees a man, He sees a nation; He sees a generation and generations unborn. And that is why His dealings with men many a times could be misunderstood. Men only know about the here and now but God is Omniscient, He sees the mega picture. Praise God! God’s dealings with men are progressive. Many things that seem to be new to our generation had long started as a seed in a previous generation. And many things the Lord is doing today among us are just seeds for future generations. It is very important we get this right. You see, if we must really walk with God effectively we must upgrade our minds to become generation-thinkers because that’s how He thinks and two cannot walk together except they be in agreement (Amos 3:3). This is the reason we can’t go far in God with the ‘me and mine’ kind of thinking. Therefore, understanding the progressive workings of God among men helps us see our roles in sustaining God’s purposes in and through us. For instance, we see these progressive workings of God between the Moses and Joshua generations. In Moses’ generation, the sea had to be divided before the Israelites could cross over (the sense realm) while in Joshua’s generation, the priests had to first stepped into the water before the sea was parted (Faith realm). In Moses’ generation they ate manna & Quail (Babes) but in Joshua’s generation manna ceased, they sowed and harvested (Maturity). Moses’ generation was a civilian generation while Joshua’s generation was a Militant generation. Moses’ generation describes the infant Church while Joshua’s generation describes the matured Church. This is very instructive! Today, we are a New Generation. A New Breed. A New Specie of God’s creation (2Cor.5:17). 1Peter 2:9 says “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;...” The Moses and Joshua generations were only types and shadows but we have come into the real thing. Praise God! However, it takes spiritual momentum for these progressive workings to be passed on from one generation to the other. What is Momentum? Momentum is strength or force gained by motion. Something that is preserved alive for a long time. That means for us to preserve alive (not dead) and transfer what the Lord is doing in and through us in this generation to the next generation, we must be actively in motion in order to maintain the force of these dealings. The best picture that comes to mind is the relay race – that simply describes momentum! We don’t have to hand down dead things to up-coming generations as has been the case for generations. I don’t really know why, but God has ordained it that many of the things that must be passed on to future generations are at the mercy of men like you and me, not angels or even Himself. He has ordained it so! In the Book of Judges we read of a generation of Israelites that did not know a thing about the God of Israel. What happened? How did that come about? A generation had broken the link! (Judges 2:7,10). A while ago, while listening to Bill Johnson, I was so stirred by his emphasis that revival was never meant to die off but to be sustained and passed on to the next generation, but unfortunately, most of the revivals we’ve experienced end up in the tomb because they lacked momentum. They are not sustained for several reasons but all point to ignorance or selfishness. God meant whatever He does on earth to outlast generations. He wants His works to be passed on from one generation to another. Revivals where never meant to cease. Every new outpouring of the Holy Spirit ought to be built on the previous ones because the Lord is building up His Church and every level is important in it. Ignorance of this truth has, possibly, done more harm to the Church than any other thing. Take the Holiness and Prosperity movements for instance. The Holiness movement preceded the Prosperity movement. But when the Prosperity movement came, instead of the Church to build it on the existing Holiness movement, it seemed to replace it. But both are so vital to the purposes of God here on earth. Actually, movements are about the Holy Spirit awakening the Church to vital truths that have been neglected or haven’t been properly emphasized by the saints. And it is sometimes a reawakening. This doesn’t mean we build camps where the Lord intends for us to just walk through. One of the things that have weakened momentums is selfishness. Take a look at this: Prophet Isaiah had just declared God’s Judgement on King Hezekiah’s household in the future because of King Hezekiah’s error, and this is what King Hezekiah has to say: “... Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.” (See Isaiah 39:6-8). The Psalmist prayed a heartfelt prayer that cannot be overlooked, not even for a moment. In Psalm 71:17-18 he prayed: “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.” Also in Psalm 145:4, he declares: “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.” . Prov.13:22 tells us “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children:...” Inheritance here doesn’t just refer to physical things, but to eternal virtues and verities. It’s time we began asking ourselves what we are handing down or transferring to the up-coming generations because we shall be asked! Grace!

FAITHFULNESS

As the coming of the Lord draws nearer, there seems to be a continuous need for faithful men and women. The Lord continues to look for faithful men (permit me to use ‘men’ in the generic) to whom He could entrust His eternal purposes. He’s looking for men who are consistent not only because of, but also in spite of whatever happens. However, it appears that the level of faithfulness and commitment to the high calling in Christ keeps deteriorating by the day. We seem to be more committed to our desires than to the Lord’s desire. Our prayers are focused on what we want. Our time is spent in carrying out our activities while God takes the leftovers. Of course, we can always come up with several excuses why we do so. But I think these all have to do with our value system. It has to do with what we have defined to be more valuable and deserving of our pursuit in life. Many have been overcome by the need to respond to the pressures or pleasures of this world. I think from time to time we need to revisit 2Timothy 3:1-5. It’s so instructive, especially in these times. The need for faithful men keeps increasing all over the world because the rate of unfaithfulness among men keeps increasing also. It is so interesting to know that not only the Lord Jesus Christ is searching for faithful men; men are also on the lookout for faithful men everywhere. I am yet to see a company that is searching for unfaithful men to employ. No one dares that. Why? Because unfaithful men can’t keep things. They can’t hold things together. Things just fall off their hands. They are slack, inconsistent and undependable. There seems to be shortage in the availability of faithful men. Hysterically, even unfaithful men are searching for faithful men. Sounds funny, doesn’t it? In His message to the angel of the Church in Smyrna, the Lord Jesus had this to say: “...be thou faithful unto death,” (Rev. 2:10). I believe the Master is saying these same words to the Church today. The Lord is serious about faithfulness. One phrase the Lord Jesus never gets tired of telling you and me today is: “Be Faithful.” Why? Because there can be no completion of any work without faithfulness. Faithfulness is the reason a house is built and completed. The labourer puts one block upon the other and before you know it, it’s a house! It’s the same with the Christian. As we remain faithful to Jesus and the Heavenly Vision, we are being built up one step at a time. The moment we stop being faithful it’s like removing the previously laid blocks to start afresh. Hence, the need for faithfulness – consistency. When we are unfaithful we harm ourselves. With time God replaces unfaithful men. His work must prosper! Faithfulness means consistency in doing a particular thing. In another sense, faithfulness also means to be full of faith! Faithfulness doesn’t just happen to us. Remember, it’s one of the content of the fruit of the spirit. Every Born Again Believer has faithfulness in his or her spirit. But just like every other fruit it must be cultivated. It’s just like the fruit of love. Romans 5:5 tells us that the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit but still not every believer is walking in love today. Just as walking in love is a decision, being faithful is also a decision. The Master asks us to be faithful because we can be. Praise God! A faithful man must have first made a decision and then the action follows. “A faithful man shall abound [stay] with blessings” (Prov.28:20). Blessings would not destroy a faithful man. He would know how to manage the blessed life. Sometimes success destroys people more than failure does because so many people don’t know how to manage success. It takes more to manage success than it takes to manage failure. Every Christian is both a son and a servant of God. I’ve heard a number of preachers say that we are not servants but sons of God. I even believed that and functioned with it for a while. But when you carefully study the Scriptures you’d discover that we are both. In relationship we are sons but in service we are servants. That is not a demotion but a promotion. It’s a privilege to be a servant of the Most High God. The worth of every servant is determined by who his master is. A servant is simply one who serves. Let’s keep it simple. The word ‘minister’ means servant. To administer means to serve. We must be very careful not to read things into Scriptures. We must let the Scriptures define things for us! The purpose of Christian maturity is to take up Kingdom responsibilities and to be faithful, dependable, excellent and effective at it! You don’t treat the Lord’s work with slackness. God’s work deserves the best – better than we give to our businesses. Our God is excellent and He deserves our best! Faithfulness is a requirement in serving the Lord! The Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate standard and definition of everything good and perfect. We see the height of faithfulness in Him: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8). Praise God He’s still the same Jesus! Today you’re still saved (if you are born again) because Jesus Christ is still the same today! Being the same doesn’t mean not making improvements. Jesus is perfect and doesn’t need improvement but we need improvements. However, being the same means consistency and advancement in doing the right thing. The Lord only commits things into the hands of faithful men. In serving the Lord, faithfulness is a requirement (1Cor. 4:2). Apostle Paul said to Timothy: “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (2Tim.2:2). When you read the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:14-30 you’d see that it’s more about faithfulness than it is about the volume of work done. God always rewards faithfulness. So how do we stay faithful before the Lord? Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit tells us. We see that in his instruction to Timothy: “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.” (2 Tim 1:14). Commit yourself and your service to the Kingdom totally to the Holy Spirit and yield to Him always. You must recognize the place of the Holy Spirit in your life daily if you must live faithfully before the Lord. The Word of God tells us “...Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Zech.4:6). That’s it. So, BE FAITHFUL!

NO LIMITS WITH GOD

I dare you to bring up a ‘mountain’ that faith in God cannot crush! God is God. Man is man. God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. He is capable of doing just what He says! Evangelist R.W. Schambach, of blessed memory, puts it this way: “You don’t have a problem; all you need is faith in God!” Glory to God! Humans are used to limitations. The natural man thinks limitations, impossibilities, restrictions, boundaries, I can’t, I can’t, and I can’t! It’s only natural for the human being to think like that. We even find ourselves often saying things like: “well, you know that I’m only human and so I can’t do so and so.” That’s simply just being human – it’s normal to humans! But the Lord, Jesus Christ, brought about something totally different. Speaking to His disciples – and to us by extension – in Mark 10:27, He says “...With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” This is so amazing! Many of us have gotten so used to this portion of Scriptures that it has become just a mere quote. Lately, the Lord challenged me to ponder on this verse again, again and again; and I was so shaken by what this stirred up in my spirit. I encourage you to do the same and see what the Lord would do in and through you. A critical observation of the Words of the Master in Mark 10:27 bring to us something so significant. The phrases ‘with men’ and ‘with God’ are so significant here. As humans we are overcome and overwhelmed by impossibilities. Even when we get the support of other men we are still faced with the impossible because men are just so limited. We are even compelled to attach the ‘Ltd’ stuff on our company and business names. That’s how far it can go with humans. In the end the best of human is still human no matter how many humans are involved. And that is why we can’t trust in or depend on men. Many people really mean well when they promise you things but they end up disappointing you, we tag that ‘human factor’. They suddenly got to their human limits and even to them it’s a surprise that they failed you. That’s about what goes on with men. But with God it’s totally different! The Word of God tells us in Ephesians 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” Praise God! God is unlimited. But there’s something the Spirit wants us to understand here (Can you handle this?): If we are with men we are limited no matter how many of them are involved. But if we are with God we become unlimited too! The more of the ‘with Godness’ (please permit that) we have, the more unlimited we become here in this world! This is mind-blowing! Being with the unlimited God puts us over in life. This is not just cheap-talking, it’s the truth. It’s time we sincerely ask ourselves who we’ve been with. Amazingly, some people have been with themselves. They are or want to be self-sufficient. They feel God has failed them and they’ve encountered several disappointments from men and so have decided not to trust or depend on anyone, even God Himself. It’s so unfortunate! So what does it mean to be with God or with men? Very simple! You are with whomever you depend or rely on. Being with in this context refers to total dependence or reliance. Being with God is the ultimate and that’s the reason this word is coming to you at this time. Who have you been with all the while? You might need to make that all important adjustment right away because it affects every aspect of your life – spirit, soul and body. This is not to say you go about doubting every human being on earth. There is a kind of [limited] trust or faith you can put on a human being that has proven himself/herself to be trustworthy (but still allow for disappointments because it’s normal with men). However, in our dealings with God we spend all our faith and lavish all our hope on Him because He’s ever faithful. I love what Numbers 23:19 says. In fact, a preacher once said this is the most important verse of the whole Bible because if this is not true we can’t believe anything else in the Bible. We can understand why he said so when we read it. It says: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Friends, if this is true (and of course it is) everything else in the Bible is true! Man started needing miracles after the fall because initially God wanted His man to live in the miraculous naturally. He wanted Adam, and every man born on earth, to have a life style of the miraculous, a culture of the miraculous. But the fall (sin) interrupted that plan and placed man in a position where he has to think of miracles as something he should expect to receive once in a while. However, the good news is that Christ also restored the culture of the miraculous during His redemptive work. Today, the New Creation can expect to live naturally in the Supernatural. But this must begin with the renewal of our minds in this regards. We must awaken to it. We must realise personally that it is true. It must come to us as a personal revelation from the Holy Spirit and we must live in the consciousness of this truth before we would begin to see the manifestation. It’s time we release our faith for this and begin to expect to manifest the miraculous power of God naturally. We must expect it to be our natural experience because we are with God – not with men! So what is God’s limit? What is God’s maximum? What is God’s boundary? The Lord Himself tells us “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jer.32:27). The Lord Himself said to Abraham “...Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Gen. 18:14). The Lord Himself said to Moses “...Has the LORD'S arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.” (Num.11:23). What should be our response to this? We must declare like Jeremiah: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.” (Jer. 32:17). Glory to God! Can a man place a limit on God? Well, God cannot be put in a box. We cannot place a limit on Him or His Omnipotence but we can limit what He can do in and through our lives. It’s really up to us. Doubt and unbelief bring limits but faith in God, in His Word and ability to perform takes the limits off! So, take the limits off God and experience the limitless God! Blessings!

JESUS UNLIMITED

How much of Jesus do you really want in your life? So many Christians need just a handful, some just a litre and some others just about 20 litres (Please permit my expression. Jesus cannot be measured by such means, He’s a Person). However, there are those who need ALL of Jesus. Alvin Slaughter’s song “He’s all I need” readily comes to mind. Jesus keeps becoming all we really need till we have all of Him manifested to, in and through us. Just as the inspired Psalmist says in Psalm 42:7 “Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me.” The depth of our hunger for the Lord Jesus Christ would determine the depth of His Person and Influence we experience in our lives. It’s really up to us! How deep is your desire for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself? We live in a generation where many things are competing for the place and need of Jesus Christ in our lives. The devil wants to replace our hunger for Jesus with things that don’t even outlast our life span on earth. Years ago, I heard a preacher ask this question while teaching on prayer and it affected me so deeply and I want to ask you that very same simple question today: “If you receive all your heartfelt desires that you’ve been asking God for in prayer would you still need God?” When Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, prayed for the Ephesians Church, he prayed “to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Eph. 3:19). The Holy Spirit is emphasizing something so deep here. Jesus Christ is the fullness of God! Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians further explains this. “For it pleased the Father that in Him [Christ] all the fullness should dwell, and by Him [Christ] to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him [Christ], whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Col. 1:19-20). Also we see another amazing truth in chapter 2 of Colossians: “For in Him [Christ] dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him [Christ], who is the head of all principality and power.” (Col.2:9-10). Praise God! The whole idea behind the fullness of God is about experiencing the Person and Influence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the fullness of God! Many Christians have been born again for so many years but have never truly met this Jesus Christ of the New Birth through fellowship. They haven’t met this God-Man who so loved us and washed us in His own blood (Rev.1:5). They know so much about religion but have never encountered The Reality Himself. My heart reaches out to such with the longings of the Holy Spirit. How He wants to reveal Jesus Christ to us! No-one on earth has experienced Jesus enough. When you think you’ve come to that place, all of a sudden you see a deeper dimension and you see how so far behind you are compared to where you’re headed. But we just keep pressing into Him because that’s the only way to get there. Jesus made a very clear statement on how to get into this fullness in the Gospel of St. John. He says “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21). Praise God! What commandment was Jesus talking about? He was referring to the New (love) Commandment for the New Creation which He gave them in the previous chapter (John 13:34-35). Now, did you notice the connection between Eph.3:19 and John 14:21? It’s a love deal! Walking in the Agape-love of God is the key! And what’s more? The love of God has already been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom.5:5). So all we really need to do is to yield to the Holy Spirit and as we do, He’d reveal Jesus to us. That’s why He came (John 16:14). Glory to God! A baby Christian would want Jesus because of what he can get from Him or what He would do for him. Well, that’s alright for a start. However, the more we truly mature in Christ (I technically didn’t say the longer we are in Christ because there are many old but immature Christians. They’ve been born again for so long but still immature. It’s so unfortunate!), the more we see that the Person of Jesus is what we really want. I have used the word ‘want’ in place of ‘need’ on purpose because it’s one thing to know what you really need but it’s a higher thing to want what you really need. That’s a higher position which is brought about by maturity. So people who just know that they need Jesus may just need Him to meet their needs but people who want Jesus have seen Him to be their one and only desire. Precious Holy Spirit, please bring us to this place. We want to experience the fullness of God – Jesus Christ Himself! The Lord Jesus Christ said “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” (Matt.5:6). When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, our desire is for Jesus Christ Himself. The Word of God tells us that Christ has been made unto us Righteousness (1Cor.1:30). He is Righteousness personified. I’ve heard it often said that if you have Jesus you have everything. That’s so true. However, I don’t think we have really come to understand that expression. When we come to know the reality of the Person of Jesus Christ, we would begin to see that He is everything we truly desired. His fullness is the fullness of life, joy, peace, happiness, prosperity, safety, success etc. However, when we focus on these things instead of Him, we become limited in every way. It’s like putting the cart before the horse – you’re simply going no way! In conclusion, Romans 8:29 tells us: “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.” God wants many sons (not just children) and Jesus Christ is the Son-Pattern and He wants us to look to Jesus. This should be the number 1 priority of every born again believer. We should desire what God desires for us. It is possible to have the fullness of God here on earth. If not, why did the Spirit inspired Paul to pray it for the saints? It’s time to press into the fullness of God. It’s Jesus Christ Unlimited!

SACRIFICE

Whenever you see something appear so excellent, outstanding or thriving so much, just understand that sacrifices have been made to see that happen; someone has deprived himself of something – time, comfort, resources etc to see that happen. It’s always that way! Things don’t just happen by themselves. Sacrifice is the act of consciously depriving ones’ self of a given interest, pleasure or substance with the goal of benefiting someone, a people or a cause. If it is actually an act of sacrifice, then it must cost you something. We see the Lord Jesus Christ as the perfect example of this. His sacrifice is the perfect definition of the word ‘sacrifice’ by all standards. Jesus declares in John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.” Also in Matthew 20:28 He said “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (NKJ). What a declaration! Sacrifice always precedes extraordinary progress. Sacrifice brings us to the place where we not only do something because of but in spite of the conditions. God so loved the world and made the greatest sacrifice ever to restore man to His perfect state of being and even much more. He ‘gave up’ His Only begotten Son [Jesus Christ] to see this happen. Today we’re all eternally changed because of that great sacrifice! Sacrifice doesn’t just happen, there’s always a motivation behind it – good or bad, tangible or intangible. So, what was the motive or motivation behind Jesus’ acceptance to come into the earth in human form in order to pay that awesome price for our redemption? We see that in Hebrews 12:3 “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (NKJ). So what was the joy set before Jesus? It was the joy of the New Creation. It was the joy of seeing humanity restored to the Father and the Divine plan set in motion again. It was the joy of seeing many sons brought into glory. Praise God! Sacrifice could be both good or bad, depending on the subject in question. On the negative note, someone might want to gain the whole world at the detriment of his own soul. And the Lord Jesus says that there is no profit in that. He says “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). The law of sacrifice is just like the law of gravity. It’s a universal law – it works for both the saved and the unsaved alike. And unfortunately, it appears as though the world takes advantage of this principle more than the saints. The principle has always been thus: The more the martyrs the more the harvest. This is the same for every religion or cause human beings stand for. When someone dies for a cause, it breeds a harvest of unusual passion for that cause and that cause thrives. When people see that you can go any length for a particular cause, even to the point of dying for it, they pay attention to that. Sacrifices get people’s attention quickly! In the Scripture, we have the story of how when the Israelites went out for battle and the opposing nation’s (Moab) king, seeing that they were greatly overwhelmed by the Israelites because the battle was fierce against them, sacrificed his son (who was to succeed him as king) and the Bible clearly stated “and there was a great indignation” (2King 3:27). Today, Christians shy away from making even little sacrifices for the cause of Christ. We don’t want persecutions to touch us at all. We even pray against them and if they eventually happen we begin to question God’s goodness. This has to stop! In the early Church it was so different. They expected persecutions because they knew that if this Gospel must be preached then sacrifices must be made and these sacrifices are born out of love and not out of compulsion. If we are going to win a lost world back to God then we must make sacrifices. We must deprive ourselves of something. Salvation is not just free, It is free at the expense of Someone (Jesus Christ) Who paid for it with His own precious Blood. The Gospel is absolutely free, but sacrifices have to be made to take it to the unreached places of the earth. Today there are so many unreached mission fields in remote areas – villages, slums, rural areas etc. but we would rather crowd ourselves in the cities because of comfort, no-one wants to make sacrifices. We make excuses like: no hotels there, no good roads, no airports, no security etc. How long are we going to continue like this? If the Master must see the travail of His soul and be satisfied, then somebody must make some sacrifices! And many a times the Lord is not demanding much from us – just little adjustments here and there in our flamboyant lifestyle. When the Apostles where persecuted (harassed and flogged) for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they went away rejoicing that they’ve been counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name of Jesus (Acts 5:41). What manner of men were these? Paul and Barnabas were described as “men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 15:25,26). Today, a lot of believers give excuses about restricted areas while we are doing nothing about the open areas. May God help us! Let me close with this: Martin Luther King Jr., in his last speech he delivered the night before his assassination, he said “I don’t know what would happen to me now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead, but it doesn’t matter to me now because I’ve been to the mountain top, I won’t mind. Like anybody else, I would like to live a long life, longevity has its place, but I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go to the mountain, and I’ve looked over and have seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy tonight. I’m not fearing any man. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” Paul, the Apostle, said “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.” (Acts 20:24, NKJ). So what are you going to do with this? Do you see the need? Act now. Grace!