ALL-NEW WEBSITE!

Hello Friends, please checkout my all-new website and be blessed! Visit www.lifecommission.org and get inspired for life!

THE GLORY IS HERE!

Have you ever walked into an unfamiliar room that was dark and couldn’t just figure out where the switch that turns on the light was? You knew there was electricity in that room but just couldn’t find the switch to turn it on. The fact that you didn’t feel electricity wasn’t enough proof that there was no electricity there because you knew there was! It really had nothing to do with feelings but it had everything to do with reality. This is same with the glory of God! The glory of God had been on the earth ever since God created the earth in Genesis. Man fell short of that glory in Adam when he sinned (Romans 3:23). However, the coming of Jesus Christ into the earth was the return of the full glory of God and it’s been on earth ever since. Praise God! The Scripture tells us in Isaiah 60 “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.” (vs.1). Notice it’s in present tense. It clearly indicates that this is not in the future but in the now. It says: “...for thy light IS come, and the glory of the LORD IS risen upon thee.” This doesn’t appear to be a prophecy, but a call to action and a notification of what’s happening right now. To the then Israelites it was a prophecy but to us it is a present tense reality. Praise God! It goes on to say “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.” Praise God! Here’s something else you must observe: the Light comes first before the glory is risen. This is very instructive. Habakkuk 2:14 confirms this truth. It says “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” Light signifies knowledge, understanding, revelation, insight etc. The Word of God tells us in Psalm 119:130 thus “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” The light signifies the knowledge of God’s Word. The knowledge of the glory always precedes the manifestation of the glory. We only experience the glory when the light comes on and we can only have the light come on when we give ourselves to the Word of God. Therefore, if you want to see the glory, get to the Word! The glory and the Word are already here but not everyone is experiencing them because it’s a decision – not automatic. This then means that when we experience the glory is up to each one of us individually. It’s good news to know that we can decide when to experience the glory of God! All through the Scriptures the Word and the glory are always linked to each other. We also see that is Isaiah 40:5. “And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” It tells us that the glory shall be revealed because the Lord has spoken. So, we are seeing something because He has said something. Praise God! What then is glory? Glory means manifestation, a showing forth, splendour, a display, etc. The glory of God means the manifestation of the Person and Presence of God in a tangible form. The glory of God is the very essence of God. It is the weight of God! It is not just a cloud. Yes, it could manifest in form of a cloud just as it could in any other form. In the Old Testament, we had much of its manifestations in the form of a cloud but that is not all there is to God’s manifestation! Generally, the glory of God is the manifestation of God and there are different levels of that glory. There is the general glory of God which can be seen by every human – saved or unsaved, believing or unbelieving. The Scripture talks about this in Romans 1:19-20. However, as believers, there is the glory of God we can experience here on earth and there are diverse degrees to its manifestation. Then there is the degree of the glory of God we can’t experience here on earth – it’s reserved for us when we get to heaven, our human bodies can’t contain that kind. It’s so unfortunate that the devil has deceived so many believers into believing that the entire glory experience is reserved for heaven. This has resulted in making many believers content with living void of the glory of God here on earth. Isaiah 60:1 and 2 explicitly shows us that the glory of the LORD IS risen upon us and that it shall be SEEN upon us – not in heaven but here on earth. Verse 3 goes on to tell us that this glory shall be visible to the mortal gentiles and kings who would equally respond to it! Now, someone might ask, if the glory of God is here on earth today, why is everyone not experiencing it? It’s same as asking if Jesus died for the whole world why is everyone not yet saved? Remember, the fact that I don’t feel electricity doesn’t negate the presence of electricity. Apart from not having the light turned on, as we saw earlier, another reason why many don’t experience the glory of God is found in the Words of the Master in John 11:40 and it’s still linked to the Word of God. He says: “...Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” So we see that it’s because not everyone is connecting to it. Faith is the connector! When we function in faith we’re connected to it but we are disconnected from it when we are in unbelief. It’s pretty much like turning on or off an electric switch! It’s a decision. Observe from that verse the phrases: ‘wouldest believe’ and ’shouldest see’ These are clear indications that faith is a decision and that when we choose to walk in faith seeing the glory is both inevitable and automatic! Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve made up my mind to experience all there is of the glory of God available to the believer here on earth! In Isaiah 60:1, the Lord stirs us up to something. He tells us to arise! Notice that verse says “Arise, shine...”. It doesn’t say ‘arise and shine’. This is to say that when we obey the Lord to arise, we’d shine automatically. Why because our light has already come and the glory of the LORD is already reason upon us. In other words, the stage has been set already; all that is left is for you to arise. The Lord is simply asking us to arise to the occasion. So will you arise? All creation is waiting for you to arise now. Can’t you see the problems in the world and how that men are looking for solutions everywhere? The unfortunate thing is that if you don’t arise, you become part of the problem. God help us! Be challenged by the words of Deborah the Prophetess in Judges 5:7. It’s time to arise. It’s time to shine. The greater glory is here!

TIME

As the year comes to a close, there is so much rush. Everyone is in haste to catch up with time. There are things we believe must be done this year and time is running out on us. Everyone is at different levels in meeting the target. In moments like this, sometimes you want to ask: “What have we been doing all the while, when there was still enough time?” The answer to this question could be as numerous as the number of people attempting to answer it. However, one thing is a common denominator – we all have 24 hours each in a day and we spend them differently based on our priorities – our definition of value. God lives in the world of eternity, we live in the world of time. Though God lives in eternity, so long as the earth remains, time is very important to Him. While the Lord Jesus Christ was on earth He made a striking statement in John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” He worked with the consciousness that He didn’t have all the time – time was in limited supply. He further said “…Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.” (John 11:9,10). Time is more valuable than a lot of people think. Time is more precious and valuable than money. When your time on earth is up, no matter how much you own, you can’t pay for an extra time because time is more valuable than money. This is why God gave every human being 24 hours per day – no one has it more and no one has it less. 24 hours for everyone – rich or poor. With this in mind, everyone has the chance of deciding what his life turns out to become since we all have equal supply of time. Sometimes the use of time could be the difference between wealth and penury. Everyone has a chance; it’s just about how we use our daily supply of 24 hours. Every human being on earth has a generous supply of 24 hours from God and how we spend them decides and defines our experiences here on earth and ultimately in eternity. So, what are you spending your time on? Are you spending with eternity in view? We spend time just in the same way we spend money. In Economics, we are told that man’s needs are unlimited but his resources are limited. Many a times we think of these only in terms of money or other tangible materials but this also refers to time. Imagine, we all have 24 hours per day and so many things are calling for our attention but because we have limited time, we only choose what we ‘think’ are of more priority to us and that is why what a man spends his time on tells so much about his person and his value system just the same way it is with money. We must understand that when we spend time; we are actually spending our lives. On the other hand, when we waste time, we are actually wasting our lives. This is very important! This is the reason the Word of God admonishes us “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:15-17). Our purposes in life are connected to time. When a man is ignorant of God’s will for his life, he becomes a major time waster. When a man is not focusing on the will of God for his life, he becomes a major time waster. In life, not everything should get your attention. Select what you spend your time on just in the same way you do with your other limited resources. The real value of your time is greatly defined by what you spend it on. It appears as though the devil is taking advantage of technological advancement today to find more ways of wasting our time. Some people are good at wasting other people’s time. We must avoid time wasters in our lives such as sin, excess media, useless relationships/conversations, procrastination, excuses, laziness, purposeless living etc. – We haven’t got all the time! There’s a time to every purpose under the heaven says Ecclesiastes 3:1. Lateness today seems to be a norm in our society. You hear things like “I was just 5 minutes late” as though it doesn’t mean anything. Some organisations – even Churches – have a culture of lateness. They schedule a meeting for 5pm but it kicks off at 6pm or even 6:30pm and this accounts for the reason a lot of people go to some meetings late – they don’t take their time seriously. In fact some organisations have even made it a culture that in their planning when they schedule a meeting, it starts one hour later to allow for lateness. This is so unfortunate because this borders on the integrity of the organisation or the person involved. One of the virtues of the spirit of excellence is punctuality or proper time management. The Psalmist prayed a passionate prayer in Psalm 90:12 he prayed: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” May this prayer be answered in our lives in Jesus’ Name. Amen! Here are Top 5 things that earnestly worth our time (Not exhaustive): 1. Intimacy with God – The Word, Prayer and meditation (Time with God is the most invested time). 2. Purpose in Life (Which must lead us to become daily soul winners for Jesus – it’s a must!). 3. Time with our family basically, then other relatives/friends 4. Business (Develop skills, capacity, know more about your trade, ideas, profit etc) – Romans 12:11 5. Time to rest (No matter how busy you are, if you must be effective, you must find the time to rest). What do you want your life to be like in the next few years? Now is the time to decide. When time is used rightly it pays off well. Time ought to be invested. When we spend it well it is invested and when we waste it it is lost forever. What we make out of our 24 hours per day decides our experience in life. Hence, what we do with our every second, minute, hour and day counts greatly. This then makes it up to us and not up to God. God gave man the power of decision, we must use it rightly. God doesn’t give every human being the same amount of resources but the same amount of time of the day because time is the denominator on earth. Consider the parable of the talents – different capitals, but the same amount of time. May God help us to maximize our time on earth and to finish our task before the night shows up. Grace!

THE NEW DNA

What happens when a man comes to Jesus Christ? What really happened when we responded to the call to come to the Lord Jesus Christ? What did we receive when we came to Christ that made us a New Creation? Was it a new or superior religion, character, culture, idea, tradition etc.? Well, I don’t think so! Something absolutely amazing happened to us when we came to Christ. Something happened that made us so different. Something extraordinary happened to us – noticed or unnoticed but sure! We received a new nature that redefined every single thing about our lives! We received a new DNA, that’s right, a new DNA! 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 defines that so perfectly to us. It says “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;” This is the moment that redefined everything. This is where it all begins. Praise God! The DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of a man deals with the entirety of his life. It deals with the source of his life. It deals with his origin. The DNA of a person determines the property of his person (what he has in him and why he is the way he is). It deals with the blueprint handed down from one generation to another. However, this ceases to be when a man is born again. The New Man in Christ is absolutely different from the natural man. When a man is born again he is also genetically reborn, He is born of God. God becomes his Father! The New Birth changes his entire identity! This may sound too good to be true, but it's true nonetheless. The Scripture shows this truth so clearly (See John 1:12-13, 1John 4:4, John 3:3-6, 1Cor.5:17-18). This thing must come to you as a revelation for you to truly function in it. When this truth comes home in the heart of any sick person, that sickness has come to an end. You see, as long as you remain ignorant of who and what you have become by coming into Christ, the devil would keep having a field day in your life. As a New Creation in Christ, you must register this in your heart because that’s exactly what happened in your life. If the Scripture is true then this is not an exception. The Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35)! As a New Creation, everything that should be permitted in your life must be OF GOD. 1Corinthians 5:18 speaks so clearly of the new genetic properties of the New Creation in Christ: “And ALL things are OF GOD, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ…” Praise God! Therefore, anything that is not OF GOD should never be given a legal permit in your life. Refuse to accommodate it! You become responsible for what stays or doesn't. It's up to you! What's in our (The New Creation's) DNA? Salvation and all that accompanies it, such as eternal life, health, love, righteousness, holiness, the anointing, prosperity, excellence, success, blessings etc. Praise God! And what's not in our DNA? Just the very opposite. We don't have sin in our DNA, no sickness, disease, death, hatred, poverty, curses etc. So when you find any of these negatives attaching themselves to you, you shake them off in the Name of Jesus Christ! Yes that's your job. We've got Heaven's backing! See what Matthew 18:18 says "Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this." (Msg). Whooosh! I've got a shout in my spirit. This is the Master Himself talking. Hallelujah! So, no more talks like 'I got diabetes from my dad' or 'I picked up this anger problem from my mum' or all such downward talks. What's vital now is that NOW YOU ARE A NEW CREATION WITH A NEW DNA! The old is gone and the new has come! That was then and this is now! That was true when you were still in the world but now you're in Christ. You've come into a new place. It's a different place where you function with a new nature - the divine nature! It is very important that we observe that these OF GOD properties that are in us are inside forces and not external. The DNA of a natural man is the internal forces that govern him and produces the external experiences. So it is too with the New Creation with the New DNA. It’s on the inside of us. It’s the unseen forces which makes us who we really are. So, for instance, whenever you see the manifestation of sickness in your body, you don’t have to start running all over the place in search of help. All you need do is look inward – into your spirit – and draw Divine health from the Divine deposits inside of you. This you can also do with any of the negatives of the devil that shows up in your life. With this New DNA we’re eternally covered. Nothing can stand us. Praise God! Always be conscious of the fact that it’s not outside of you but on the inside of you (1John 4:4). The inside forces are always stronger than the outside forces and that’s why the Word of God admonishes us to guard our heart with all diligence for out of it flows the issues (forces) of life! Prov.4:23. Therefore, as New Creations, we must keep beholding. The word ‘behold’ is an old English word which means to see or look upon. According 2Cor.5:17, we must consciously see (behold) that all things have become new. This is very vital. This could be the difference between living like a New Creation or like the old man. Many Christians today, though born again, are still living under the dominance of the devil through those outside forces simply because they have not beheld or are not beholding. Note that beholding is an everyday responsibility. That’s why we study the Word daily – to keep beholding what God has made us and given to us in Christ. Beholding makes all the difference in our Christian experience! A lot of Christians are not beholding and so they still find themselves struggling with ancestral curses. They haven’t come to terms with Col.1:13 which says “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” It matters what you set your eyes on, even as a Christian. I’m so concerned about the fact that Christians who are not beholding may be suffering from the same effects of sin the world is suffering from even though they’ve already been delivered from the power and effects of sin. So how do we behold? We behold by searching the Scriptures to know what’s in our new DNA and what’s not! The Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit was given to us to help us know those things that have been freely given to us (2Cor.2:12). Glory to God!

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!