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!

GOOD COURAGE

The English dictionary defines courage as the quality of being brave: the ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action. I think this is a good picture of courage. My attention is particularly drawn to the expression without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action. I believe courage is not the absence of the feelings of fear but the ignoring of the feelings of fear to do what has to be done and to be undeterred by opposing circumstances. Joyce Meyer puts it this way: “do it afraid.” Courage has to do with a lot of risk-taking. Without risk, there would be no need for courage. Whatever you need courage to accomplish is spelt R.I.S.K. Is faith a risk? No. Faith is the lifestyle of the righteous ones – the New Creation in Christ (Rom.1:18-17). The more we know God intimately, the more we grow in our trust for Him, the more we can take any risk for Him knowing fully well and being persuaded that He’s with us. Praise God! Let’s look at courage from a spiritual perspective. Courage is the act of taking a bold action inspired by an influence higher than the individual involved. Different spirits inspire people to take courageous actions or risks. But my focus is on the influence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in helping us take giant strides in the fulfilment of the various purposes of God for our lives. Real courage is born of the Spirit in our spirit – that daring spirit that wouldn’t turn back in spite of opposing factors. This happens when we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit in our inner man (Eph. 3:16). One of the first things the Holy Spirit helps the believer do in this regards is enabling Him build unshakable trust in the Lord. Believe me, you can’t walk with God without trust. It takes courage to step out and do what the Lord has called you to do even when people don’t believe or agree with you. It takes courage to stand alone. It takes courage to stay out of the crowd. One thing that inspires me about risk-taking is how God is so honoured by the risks we are willing to take for His sake. And He always rewards it. In Mark 8:35, the Lord Jesus made a striking statement: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” In other words, the Lord is saying that taking courageous actions (or risks) for His sake and for the Gospel are the only worthy reasons. In Acts 15:26 we read a comment made about Paul and Silas. It says “men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NKJ). Whenever I read through this text, I can’t but pause and ponder on it. What can we risk or courageously do for the Name of Christ? Have you ever thought about what would have happened if Jesus had shied away from the cross? What would have happened if Jesus had doubted the possibility of rising on the third day and so decided not to die for our sins again? I’ve found out that every man (or woman) who is doing great things for the Lord is familiar with courageous activities because the Lord always stretches us from our familiar grounds to places where we must learn to trust and depend on Him absolutely. If you must walk with God then you must get ready for adventures! In the Scriptures, almost everywhere the word ‘courage’ is used, it is qualified with the word ‘good’. Moses says to Joshua: “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” (Deut.31:6). The Lord said this to Joshua after the death of Moses: “Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:6,9). Good courage. Not all courage is good courage. Courage in itself could be good or bad depending on who or what is inspiring it. If your courage is inspired by the Spirit of God, then it’s good courage but if it is inspired by the flesh or the devil, then it is bad courage. Someone could be accomplishing good things with bad courage. The philosophy “the end justifies the means” doesn’t just seem to work with God. We must always ask ourselves: “what is the motivation behind this.” Don’t waste your time and energy! You’d also observe that the words ‘courage’ and ‘fear’ are always put side by side. They are not of the same bunch – they are opposite forces! We must understand that fear is not just an emotion. Fear is an emotion inspired by a spirit – the spirit of fear (2Tim.1:7). God created man to be fearless, but fear came with the fall. Adam then started becoming (unhealthily) afraid of God, the animals, nature and other things he was given dominion over. Today the world is full of fears – fear control a lot of decisions and actions – especially the fear of death and the unknown. This should be different with the New Man in Christ. Understand, just as faith creates the right atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to operate, fear creates the right atmosphere for the devil to work effectively. We must therefore, resist fear anytime it shows up. Let our courageous actions aim solely at honouring the Lord. I remember few years ago when I started out in ministry. One day, I was once talking with my good friend, Emma, when I confidently said to him (as though I was making an announcement to the world) “I am not afraid of making mistakes! I trust the Holy Spirit’s leading and even if I miss it I know He would help me out!” Friends, I never knew the power of those words until I got a little deeper into Kingdom service and I noticed how the Holy Spirit reminds me of those words from time to time and uses them to inspire me to venture new, uncommon and unusual things for the Lord. Unknown to me, courage to venture anything was birthed in me that very day. The Bible is full of men and women of courage; in fact, Hebrews 11 chronicles most of these courageous acts. Now the spotlight is on you. What are you going to courageously stand for in this generation? The Lord needs more believers demonstrating the courage of the Spirit in these days, men who would step out and stand out no matter what it takes. It all begins with knowing that you have nothing to lose but everything to gain. Be of good courage!

THE GREATER GLORY

If you are reading this article right now, I want you to know that it’s not by chance. The Lord ordered your steps rightly. The Lord is getting us ready for an unprecedented manifestation of His glory, such a manifestation never seen before since Church history. This year will usher in this greater manifestation. Why this article? You see, the knowledge of the glory of God always precedes the manifestation of the glory of God. Habakkuk 2:14 clearly tells us prophetically that “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” O I love this! The knowledge always comes to us first because without the knowledge we wouldn’t understand the manifestation. Without the knowledge we wouldn’t know how to handle or function in the light of the manifestation. The knowledge comes to help us understand the purpose of the manifestation so that we can take good advantage of it. There are different levels of the manifestations of the glory of God. Reading through the Old Testament, we see that God manifested Himself in different measures at different times. There was a level of glory the Old Covenant folks could handle and there were levels of glory they couldn’t handle considering their unredeemed state. The Lord didn’t allow them have access to these higher levels of glory because they weren’t ready for them. Take Moses for instance. In Exodus 33, when Moses pleaded with the Lord, asking the Lord to show him His glory, the Lord said this to him “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:19-23). There are certain things we must observe from this Scripture. First, we see that the goodness of God is not the glory of God. Now the goodness is very good and sometimes comes as the result of the manifestation of the glory, but there’s much more. A lot of believers are satisfied with the goodness and have remained at that level. I call that cheap satisfaction. We also see that the glory of God is the face of God, meaning that the glory of God is God Himself – His identity, it’s all that He is and has. His very essence! But then, if Moses had seen the fullness of that glory He would have dropped dead. And so the manifestation of God’s glory to Moses was limited. However, we, the New Creation, have the fullness of the glory of God in the Person of Christ! Colossians 1:26,27 tells us “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” Today the glory lives in every saints in the Person of Christ! Now, see this: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD, should shine unto them…For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.” (2 Corinthian 4:4,6). Two things here: First, Christ is the image of God (Hebrews 1:1-3). Secondly, the glory of God is in the face of Jesus Christ. Remember, Jesus Christ is God-made-flesh. This means that the face of God which is the glory of God, which Moses couldn’t look upon else he died has now been revealed to us, the New Creations, in the Person of Christ. Question: How do we now behold His face? Answer: By looking into the Word. Jesus Christ is the Word (John 1:1,14). 2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us “But we all, with open face [remember, Moses’ face had to be covered. But we see with open (uncover) face but are not dead rather are changed from one level of glory to another!] beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Praise God! So whenever you look into the Word you are looking into the face of Jesus Christ (the glory of God) and as you do, something tangible is happening to you – You are being changed from one level of glory to a greater one! And the ultimate glory is that which we would experience when we meet with Jesus Christ face to face (1Pet.5:1). Hallelujah! In January, when the Lord spoke to me about this, I could barely contain myself. And the Lord emphatically said that this greater manifestation was going to start this year – 2013! Saints, the day has dawned upon us when we shall see a higher version of the Book of Acts happen. Acts 19:11,12 tells us “And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” You see, the book of Acts of the Apostles is the account of the Church at infancy. But the Church has come of age. Wigglesworth rightly said, the book of Acts of the Apostles was written because the Apostles acted. We must step out with the full consciousness of the glory of God upon us and present the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ with power! We must take the intuitive. It’s time to spread the glory around. The glory of God is God Himself in manifestation. I’m talking about a moment where even babes in Christ would move from street to street manifesting the glory everywhere, being witnesses of the living Jesus! I believe in the prophecy: “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” The prophetic Word in Haggai 2:6-9 tells us that God will shake the nations with His glory in an unprecedented way and will fill His present day house (us) with His glory and would even prosper us financially in a big way so that we can take the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Zechariah 1:17). The manifestation of the glory would affect the Church financially also. Never forget: The purpose of the greater glory is to bring in a greater harvest of souls into the Kingdom. Get ready for the glory invasion!