Many believers are suffering; not because Christ has not paid the price for them but because they are ignorant of what their heritage is in Christ. That is why the Bible says "my people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge". You can"t become better in your spiritual knowledge if you don"t do anything to improve on it. And if you are not better, you will become bitter when the challenges of life start rolling in. If you say you will not make a choice; that is a choice already and whether you like it or not, whatever choice you make in turn makes you.There is no neutrality in the realm of the spirit; you are either for G.o.d or for the devil. And incidentally, the devil does not wait for your approval; he usurps authority and barges in to any vacant heart to occupy and dominate. That is why you must be in the atmosphere of copious anointing of the power of G.o.d for your spiritual benefit.
G.o.d is not a G.o.d of casualties; He knows everything. He is omnipresent; not because He is no longer in heaven but because He is all-present by His spirit. G.o.d is everywhere; in beer parlour, in harlots" houses and even in h.e.l.l! Though G.o.d is present in all these places, He is not working there but He sees all things and He allows many things. G.o.d can"t be nervous by circ.u.mstances we consider as negative; His thoughts are always awesome.
Many times we think of today based on yesterday but we don"t know anything about tomorrow. Government of different nations have budgets to take care of eventualities but there is no eventual thing that comes to G.o.d which is beyond His control; that is the G.o.d I am writing about. The G.o.d that has no equal, whose thoughts are profound that none can fathom, a G.o.d whose words cannot change. He speaks today what will happen in the end and it is so.
G.o.d told the serpent in the Garden of Eden that the seed of the woman will bruise its head and no force of darkness could stop the Messiah from coming to the world to conquer the devil. G.o.d"s words are final; nothing can stop it. G.o.d"s voice is powerful; it breaks the cedars in the forest and it carries weight; when He speaks, it happens. His words are His thoughts.
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not thither, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11
Even the devil trembles at the word of G.o.d but the amazing thing is that G.o.d wants His word in your mouth to be as powerful as His word in His own mouth. G.o.d can be enjoyed and we all have access to Him, as long as we are His. As a matter of fact, G.o.d desires to have people who will be as He is; believer who will be kings and priests to rule and dominate here on earth. I pray you will take advantage of this divine offer.
Some treat G.o.d as one of them. No, G.o.d is not one of them; He is the real and only G.o.d. G.o.d doesn"t start looking for solutions when problems come; He already has several solutions, even before the problem comes. He does not run helter-skelter looking for answers when there is trouble. G.o.d speaks what He has already finished; He doesn"t speak what He has not concluded in the spirit realm.
I have made thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believed, even G.o.d, who quickens the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Romans 4:17
That was what G.o.d did for Abraham. G.o.d promised to make Abraham a father of nations even at the old age of 75. G.o.d speaks something into existence even when the thing is not physically there. Is G.o.d then telling a lie? No! He is simply speaking from His perspective.
When you walk the road G.o.d has planned for you, you are sure of His presence. No matter how rough things may look in the physical, when you walk in the road G.o.d has planned for you, all things begin to work for your advantage. The place of divine placement is the place of effortless triumph.
Man can build without G.o.d but G.o.d will not supervise whatever you are building without His approval. That is why it is important to discover Him and know His plans for you before embarking on any project. G.o.d has a road prepared for you and you must be ready to walk that road before you can have an all-round success.
And it came to pa.s.s, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
Genesis 19:17
Because of G.o.d"s mercy, Lot escaped the judgement of the land of Sodom. Two angels were sent to take Lot out of Sodom to a safe place. But Lot preferred being rational than obeying divine instruction; he loved having things done his own way. G.o.d, can I express myself? Can I make my point clear on this issue?
Before you can enjoy the road G.o.d has prepared for you, you must be willing to submit totally to His will; don"t come before G.o.d as if you are wiser, as if G.o.d and His ways are archaic. Embrace G.o.d"s will completely and you will enjoy the blessings that follow.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of G.o.d, they are the sons of G.o.d.
Romans 8:14
When you are led by the spirit of G.o.d, your life will witness absolute peace. Learn to rest in the bosom of the El-Shaddai to allow Him to take you to where He has planned for you.
And Lot said unto them, oh not so my Lord. Behold now, thy servant has found grace in thy sight...I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: let me escape thither, and my soul shall live.
Genesis 19:18-20
If there is evil on the mountain that could kill Lot or any member of his family, would G.o.d have told him to go there? How could G.o.d deliver Lot from a divine judgment in Sodom, yet, he says there is evil where G.o.d is leading him? Many of us behave as if G.o.d is wicked, as if G.o.d is not educated enough to know the best for us.
That was what King David did when the ark of G.o.d was to be brought to the city. By ordinance, the ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests but David saw it as being old-fashioned for men to be carrying the ark on their shoulders; so he ordered that a new cart should be made for the ark so that the cart would be pushed. In the process of pushing the ark on the cart, the wheel of the cart hit a stone and the ark was about to fall. Innocent Uzzah died because he wanted to save the ark from falling.
G.o.d"s commandment was that the ark should not be touched; and there is no exemption to that. This is a lesson for us that even though it is good to seek the Lord; we must also desire to seek Him the right way. You can"t a.s.sume you will do things your own way because G.o.d is not modern.
G.o.d has a perfect will for your life because He knows the future more than you know your past. Lot said he doesn"t want to go to the mountain where G.o.d led him because evil beasts are there. Though Lot had the privilege of divine escape, but he neglected the road mapped for him.
When G.o.d has spoken and a man chooses to go his own way, he can get killed by the enemy and G.o.d will not be blamed; because he left the place of his covering. If I were to be G.o.d, I would have told Lot "Lot, you have started again, that was how you separated from Abraham your uncle and went to Sodom because the land looked good at a distance. Do you want to kill yourself?" But hear G.o.d"s reply to Lot"s request:
...I have accepted thee concerning this thing also....
Genesis 19:21
Many times, the enemy deceives us that doing the will of G.o.d is impossible and wicked of G.o.d to have asked us to do that. The devil makes us believe that our own will is superior to G.o.d"s will. Because Lot has decided to go into the permissive will of G.o.d, something evil happened to him; he lost his wife in the process. And today, the only remembrance of Lot on earth is the monument of the pillar of his wife; all because he refused to go the way G.o.d planned for him.
The wife of Lot became a symbol of divine judgment; she was told not to look back but she did. Why did the woman who heard the divine instruction look back? What did she want that made her neglect G.o.d"s command? It is possibly because they were used to following their own way.
The reason for the death of Lot"s wife and the temptation that befell the daughters of Lot was because the head of the home did not care about the will of G.o.d; but promoted his will above G.o.d"s will. These were the same daughters that lived holy and pure in Sodom, a land full of sin and all sorts of abominable practices.
If the woman had been alive, Lot wouldn"t have slept with his two daughters; Lot would have also been a great nation because G.o.d loved Lot also...that was why G.o.d gave him escape. How can you think G.o.d will take you thus far and abandon you? How do you believe the lie of the devil that G.o.d will lift you only to bring you down?
When the wife of Lot died, the children felt lonely until they made their father commit incest with them; to produce two nations that are cursed and destroyed before G.o.d. All because of a man who will always promote his will above G.o.d"s will. On the long run, was Lot able to stay where he ran to? Let"s see:
And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
Genesis 19:30
Lot got to Zoar to find out that he could not stay in Zoar. Eventually, Lot went to the mountain, but he had already lost his wife. The devil that worked on the wife to make her look back to become a pillar of salt also worked on the children to make them commit incest with their father; an abomination they didn"t commit even when they were in the land of Sodom. It was all because their father walked in the permissive will of G.o.d.
There is nothing G.o.d does not know about our lives; don"t let your mind and the wrong things you have heard over the years affect your acceptance of G.o.d"s will for your life. Let the word of G.o.d change your mentality because a man is as rich as his mind.
You will sometimes wonder why bad things often happen to good people. How do bad things happen to people who look good? It is because they have not settled down to ask G.o.d what His plans are for their lives; despite their goodness. May you discover the road G.o.d has prepared for you.
When G.o.d allowed Lot to go to Zoar, He knew what was ahead of Lot; G.o.d knew the temptation Lot"s wife would face which she would not be able to overcome and would die in the process. Even though Lot was righteous, G.o.d still permitted Lot to go the way he wanted to go; having rejected G.o.d"s own way/plan for his life. G.o.d"s permissive will is not equal to G.o.d"s perfect will for your life; may you understand this and know G.o.d so much that you will avoid the path of self-will and destruction.
In I Samuel 8, the Israelites came to Samuel to ask for a king because the children of Prophet Samuel were taking bribe. But they did not accuse themselves of giving bribe; after all, there cannot be a receiver without a giver. If the children of Samuel were guilty of receiving bribe, then the people were also guilty of giving bribe.
The elders of Israel demanded for a king to rule them; they said they wanted to be like other nations and Samuel was grieved. G.o.d had to console Samuel that the people had not rejected Samuel but Him, their Jehovah G.o.d who brought them out of the land of slavery. Therefore, G.o.d permitted them to have a king; He even chose the king for them, even though it was not His perfect will for them.
What do you do when someone has already made up his mind? What will a parent do when the child comes only to inform the parent when he/she has already printed an invitation card to get married? What could the parents of Samson do when he had already made up his mind to marry an unbeliever? There are many things people are doing that looks normal but G.o.d is not involved. The fact that G.o.d said Samuel should hearken to the voice of the people did not mean G.o.d approved their behaviour.
The Israelites rejected G.o.d and they walked in G.o.d"s allowable/permissive will, not G.o.d"s perfect will for their lives. No wonder the Bible admonishes us in the book of Colossians to understand the will of G.o.d.
For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
Colossians 1:9
The way the people of the world think is different from the way G.o.d thinks but it is only by walking in G.o.d"s way that safety is guaranteed. Apostle Paul was a man who was once injurious to the gospel; he persecuted the Body of Christ and wasted it. But when he discovered the will of G.o.d, nothing could stop him from the road G.o.d mapped out for him. Paul did not allow any persecution to hinder him from going the road G.o.d has planned for him; even when it looked dangerous and risky.
In Acts 14, he was beaten to the extent that they thought he was dead and he was drawn outside the city. Even when he woke up, he was not deterred; he still continued his ministry.
Having being saved and bought from the kingdom of the devil to G.o.d"s kingdom with the blood of His dear Son, you are no longer your own; you are G.o.d"s.
Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13-14
There is something about the will of G.o.d that works more than prayers. When you are in the centre of G.o.d"s will, everything begins to work out well for you. In 1st Kings 18, Elijah challenged Baal worshippers. With the simple prayer he prayed, fire came down and it was heard all over the land. G.o.d honoured the prayer of Elijah because he was in the centre of G.o.d"s will. When you are in the centre of G.o.d"s will, you will become bolder; and the bolder you are, the more you get positive result.
..Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord G.o.d of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me oh Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord G.o.d, and that thou hast turned their hearts back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell....
1st Kings 18:36-38
The secret of Elijah"s result was not because he prayed any special or long prayer but it was because he was in the centre of G.o.d"s will.
Another critical dimension of G.o.d"s will that I want to discuss is well-doing.
For so is the will of G.o.d, that with well-doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.
1st Peter 2:15
As long as you make progress on earth, there will be foolish men around you. Foolish men are in the world but with well-doing, you will silence them. Note it that when people start to persecute and criticise you because you live by faith, your natural response is to want to strike back. Yes, that is what we all want to do; to give them a taste of their own medicine; to show them you are not stupid. But do you know that your word will simply add fuel to their fire? And they will criticise and persecute you harder and louder.
Don"t waste your time explaining to fools, when you are in the centre of G.o.d"s will. Don"t allow their evil words to stop you; be unstoppable; don"t let the devil stop you on your road to greatness. Because of his dream, Joseph was hated by his brothers and sold into slavery and because he chose the path of being righteous, he got to the prison. But if Joseph had stopped being good, because of all these, he would have died a common prisoner. The man he did a favour even forgot him after gaining his freedom; until one day, his dream spoke. As you venture to do what is right, may your dream speak in Jesus name, Amen.
According to the above scripture, there is a way to silence the adversary; it is not by defending yourself or arguing with them but by continuing doing the good work G.o.d has called you to do. Religious establishment criticized Jesus hardly, but Jesus never fought back. In Acts 10:38, the ministry of Jesus was given in a summary:
How G.o.d anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for G.o.d was with him.
Acts 10:38
Be like Jesus and keep on blessing people; keep praying for the sick to get whole, show favour to all, bless and help the needy. That will make the devil angry because he couldn"t make you ineffective. The devil wants you to quit, but if you quit, you have made him win over you. If you refuse to quit, the palace is waiting for you, then you would have driven the devil mad. Silence the ignorant criticisms of people by continuing to do good and by continuing to live by faith. When their foolish words have stopped, you will still be standing strong, unstoppable.
2000 years have gone, where are the enemies of Jesus? They have all gone to oblivion but Jesus still remains the champion all over the world. The enemies didn"t know the death of Jesus is not a termination but a transition. Many "Jesuses" have come today with the anointing of Jesus, to continue where Jesus stopped; because He refused to stop doing good. When your enemies can"t beat you, they will find a way to join you; they will one day, bow down to your G.o.d.
If you want to wait for people"s approval before you take a step of faith, it would be too late for you. There are many who will want to discourage you, they will give you several people that failed just like you; they will paint a picture of no likelihood of success; they will give you several reasons why it is not unusual to resign to fate.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to G.o.d must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him
Heb 11:6.
Follow the Lord"s leading. No matter how unappealing His way is, there is always safety there.