Month: May 2018

Jesus, Our Magnificent Obsession – His Fame

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Jesus, Our Magnificent Obsession – His Fame

Jesus Our Magnificent Obsession

1: His Fame

His fame went throughout all Syria (Matthew 4:24 NKJV)

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matthew 4:23 – 4:24 NKJV)

Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. (Matthew 4:24 NKJV)

Great multitudes followed Him – from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. (Matthew 4:25 NKJV)

Jesus has always been my perfect fascination and obsession even before I got to know Him and His Holy Spirit intimately. I remember when I was young and would constantly think about Him, His ways, His personality and His works. I would imagine myself ministering with Him and the Apostles, going from town to town in His own time and days.

Then I started having visions of Him and the Apostle in heavenly garments and luminous, glorious hair I can not describe. I was very in touch with the supernatural and did not know why. It was much later, that He told me I was called to be an Apostle – an Apostle of love and mercy. He also called me to be an Apostle to a certain church He Says is in the intensive care unit, steeped and buried in idolatry.

I was and I am fascinated with Him because Biblical records of Him, His ways, and His works leave me awed and speechless. The more I read about Him the more I love Him. His life was so Charismatic, magnificent, magnetic, outstanding and enigmatic that He has consistently been named the most famous man that ever lived.

In this Scripture we are told that His fame went throughout all Syria. The more people heard about Him and His miracles, the more they were drawn to Him and His fame was outstanding. This Scripture says that people followed Him. They would hear that He was somewhere ministering and would run to that place with wonder, expectation and excitement.

If I was there in that time, no one would have been able to stop me from being at His presence. I would certainly have been energized into super action. I really like Him and the good thing is that He knows it.

He was famous because He met needs and solved human problems. We were told in Business School that the best marketer is the one that has figured out how to solve problems and meet human needs not the advertiser.

If you advertise a bad product you are wasting time and money, however, if you advertise a good product your reward is outstanding. On the other hand, if you embrace innovation and create a product that meets human needs, especially in an unprecedented way, people will rush to buy that product even without any advertisement.

If we submit ourselves and become vessels of honor, we will become problem solvers and meets needs. Jesus had fame because He was very effective as a minister. He never advertised Himself or craved fame, yet people kept hearing about Him from people He had healed and rushed to Him in thousands.

Every weapon He had was supernatural – He was full of grace, knowledge, truth, humility, wisdom, love, compassion, anointing and power. He knew the necessary weapons and obtained them in the place of fellowship, prayer and obedience.

He kept telling the people He healed not to say anything to anyone, yet somehow, people saw people they knew before who had been lame, blind, deaf or crippled healed and became fascinated. They simply loved Him and ran to Him because they could not help it – He was a mega problem solver and met needs and that made Him magnetic. He still is.

Jesus, our beloved, is indeed a magnificent, magnetic fascination and obsession.

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Putting On The Word

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Putting On The Word

 

Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior (Titus 2:9 – 2:10 ESV)

Putting on the word of God, shows itself and reflects in godly character. Some people think that it only shows in faith and how much faith they have but this Scripture provides great insight. The word of God produces diverse fruits not just one. Faith is only one of the fruits.

When we adorn ourselves in the word of God, we should manifest good acts and works. Love, kindness. faith, patience, hope, gentleness, peace, righteousness, humility and other positive traits and virtues should accompany the word of God that is resident in our lives. In fact, having godly character as described in the Scripture above is summarized as showing ‘all good faith.’

There is faith that shows itself in good works and manifests as holiness and there is the stubborn persistent faith that knows how to pray, trust and obtain favors from God. The two are intertwined and interrelated because one enhances the other. Jesus was a man of mega faith because He Himself said that the father always heard Him.

Before Jesus opened His mouth to present a prayer request, the Father already heard Him and was present to answer His prayer. In the Scripture Jesus said, ‘ you always hear me.’

I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” John 11:42

If you study the life of Jesus closely, you will observe that Jesus was godly, holy and righteous. He had a burning zeal and passion for God and God’s house and was a God pleaser. He was constantly chasing after God, not after faith or how to get His prayers answered. Relationship is very important. He loved God dearly and there was extraordinary, magnetic, powerful, all encompassing love flowing between Him and The Father.

That is how it should be. If we are chasing after methods of how to get blessings and get our prayers answered or how to have the biggest faith in the world, yet we do not care about pleasing God or seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness and make that a number one priority, we become mammon worshipers and idolators.

This is because our heart that was created for loving God and chasing after Him is now panting and lusting after worldly, material, physical goodies that will surely pass away. If we are in the right relationship with God, God will hear our prayers and bless us but if we make favors and blessing take the place of an active, vibrant relationship with God and pleasing God, we are on the wrong lane and need to reverse back into the right lane – pleasing God.

Jesus had all the good qualities and He is our example. So it is vanity to boast about how much we know the word of God or how super our faith is, if we do not combine faith with other attributes expected in a child of God. Faith without works is dead. Faith is super important because without faith it is impossible to please God, however the Bible tells us that love is the greatest.

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. James 2:17

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

We must have mature faith and we must also have mature love, hope, gentleness, patience etc. We must thereby work out our salvation daily by combining all the holy attributes expected of a believer.

Putting on the word means putting on holiness, good fruits, godliness, and all godly attributes including faith, hope and love. May God who started a good work in us complete it in Jesus name.

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In Your Eyes

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In Your Eyes

In your eyes
I see love
I see mercy
I see power

In your eyes
Reside beautiful thoughts
Perfect and pure
Holy and true

In your eyes
Is where we belong
Because
Truth lives there
And truth is our food

I gaze into your eyes
Lost in your thoughts
And words
Learning and leaning
Into your perfect love

I will keep gazing
Into your perfect eyes
Thoughts and words
Until I am transformed
Day by day
Into your image

Jesus,
May I be lost
And found in you

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Guard Your Hearts

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Guard Your Hearts

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Some people see love as weakness and people who love as fools. When you come across such people, be on your guard and be careful. They are programmed to see your love and kindness as foolishness. Give them reasonable distance and do not entrust your heart to them.

They are wired to break hearts, so be very careful. Not everyone should have deep access to your heart. Guard it because from it flows issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

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He Is The Source Of Success

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He Is The Source Of Success

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The Spirit Of The Lord

29: He is the source of success

[ God’s Promise to Zerubbabel ] The angel told me to give Zerubbabel this message from the Lord: “You will succeed, not by military might or by your own strength, but by my spirit. Zechariah 4:6

The Holy Spirit is the only true source of success. Unfortunately, He has been ignored for too long by the Church. He is not active in a lot of Churches. A lot of people just mouth His name but do not recognize Him. People have heard of Him, but do not understand how to have a vital, vibrant, active relationship with Him.

Without having a deep, vibrant relationship with the Lord, we will never know the meaning of success. The wise Christian is the one who goes out of His way to find out how to please the Lord and be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit and practice it. Knowledge is good but knowledge without application will not yield result. We must know the word and also know the Holy Spirit – the Living Word who is the source of the word.

We must get knowledge by reading the Scriptures and we must also effectively apply the knowledge and the end result of Biblical application should be the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Anything else we do while ignoring the Holy Spirit and His presence is vanity. We will go to heaven but we will struggle here on earth and not enjoy Him.

This Scripture clearly tells us that it is only the spirit of God that can guarantee and give us success. Our own strength and tricks will not do it. If we are weak, we must admit to ourselves that we do not know Him intimately. We might know His words partially and we have not experienced the person of the Holy Spirit.

If that is the case, let us tell ourselves the truth and dig harder for the hidden treasure by pressing harder and deeper into Him. Admission should make us seek Him like silver or gold. Without thirst and seeking we won’t experience Him or know great success especially, spiritual success.

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Revelation 21:6

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. Daniel 11:32

Lip service can never replace having a vibrant, active relationship with the Holy Spirit and knowing the reality of His manifest presence. The only way to be effective and successful is by the Spirit Of God – our powerhouse. So it is not by power or might but by the Holy Spirit. The reality of the Holy Spirit is the only true source of joy.

May we know Him intimately and enjoy Him. May His fruits and manifest presence overshadow us.

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He Can Be Received Through Laying Of Hands

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He Can Be Received Through Laying Of Hands

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The Spirit Of The Lord

28: He can be received through laying of hands

Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:17

Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God’s message.Acts 19:6

The Holy Spirit can be received through laying of hands. An anointed vessel can pray for us and lay hands on us to receive the Holy Spirit. We can receive Him depending on the level of anointing upon that vessel and the level of darkness in us. People born with demons and covenanted to darkness require greater anointing than those who have a clean lineage and blood line.

Just as John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb, some people are filled with demons from the womb and it is not their fault. Their blood line was polluted by parents and ancestors who worshipped idols.

And asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Acts 19:2

We must be careful not to allow false prophets lay hands on us. Unfortunately, these day are different from the days of the apostles. There are so many false prophets out there masquerading, disguising and pretending to be apostles of light. There are many wolves in sheeps clothing like Jesus warned us in the Scriptures to expect.

Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Matthew 7:15-20

You must study their doctrines and way of life closely to determine if they are pastors and ministers of Christ or darkness. By their doctrines and fruits you will know them. We must be like the berean believers and compare their teachings with Scriptures. False prophets will always give themselves away by their false teachings, practices and way of life. We also need to have a thorough knowledge of Scriptures in order not to be deceived.

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Acts 17:11

Do not just accept, chew and swallow everything you see and hear – that is spiritual laziness. God gave us intellect and mind and also gave us the word of God. He expects us to use our intellect instead of being docile and lazy in spiritual things. Be of noble Character like the Berean Jews.

Once you determine that an anointed vessel is a true minister of Christ, he can lay hands on you to receive the Holy Spirit. He is God’s gift and our inheritance in Christ. When we receive the Holy Spirit, it becomes easier to obey Christ and please Him. We need Him in greater measures everyday.

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You Cannot Buy Him

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You Cannot Buy Him

The Spirit Of The Lord

28: You cannot buy Him

Simon saw that the Spirit had been given to the believers when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered money to Peter and John, and said, “Give this power to me too, so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:18-19

But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you (Acts 8:20 – 8:22 ESV)

You cannot pay for the Holy Spirit. Simon offered money to Peter and John to receive the Holy Spirit and it was a great evil worthy of harsh judgement. The same mentality is still resident in some insincere believers – unbelieving believers. They offer money to false prophets, pastors and magicians to lock God up, in bottles of water and oil, salt, mantles etc.

They insult God and end up worshipping idols and demons who live in temples made by human hands. God cannot be bought. They believe that the oil and water is the power of God – the Holy Spirit locked up to be used and controlled at will and on demand. They believe that the Holy Spirit lives in the bottle of oil, water or other objects and keep the materials in their rooms or homes to have on demand protection, healing and prosperity.

However, the God who made heaven and earth cannot be bought and sold. On the other hand, demons and idols can be bought and sold like objects.

And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Revelation 22:17 ESV)

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. Acts 17:24

The unbelieving believers still behave like Simon and will receive their due judgement and reward if they do not quickly judge themselves and repent of their great idolatry and evil.

We cannot pay for the Holy Spirit because life resides in Him and He is the author and giver of life and all things. He does not engage in trade by batter. May we constantly honor Him as Lord of life and Lord over all things.

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He Gives Love

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He Gives Love

image1CA8909EB-9FD9-4D9B-8831-5C78A61B2B06The Spirit Of The Lord

27: He gives life

This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to us. Romans 5:5

I urge you, friends, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love that the Spirit gives: join me in praying fervently to God for me. Romans 15:30

The Holy Spirit gives love. The Bible tells us that God is love and His Spirit is full of love. Love is a virtue that is greatly lacking in the world and in mankind because man is naturally selfish and self preserving. It is very difficult for someone who is self focused and self gratifying to have love.

This is because love requires sacrifice and God intentionally made it so. He wants love to cost us something. Love is not easy and it is not cheap. God Himself had to come as Jesus to suffer and show us love and the way to love.

In order to love, we must offer ourselves as living sacrifices and die to the flesh and human nature which loves pleasure and fun. We cannot die to the flesh without the Holy Spirit. He is the one that produces good fruits in us. God poured out His love on us by means of His Holy Spirit. The more we yield to Him and depend on Him, the more His love flows and manifests through us.

It is all by the grace of God. If we try to love by our own effort, we will fall flat on our faces because without Him, we can do nothing and man’s power is of no use as long as love and spirituality is concerned. Even physical power and energy is given by God as a blessing.

Jesus Himself loved by the power of the Holy Spirit when He was on earth. He was constantly filled with the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will manifest hundred fold fruits of love, peace, joy, gentleness etc.

But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Matthew 13:23

He is the one that gives us the ability to love. Even the love that non believers have is from God because He is the author of life and love. Jesus Christ produces love in us by His Holy Spirit so we must cling to Him and His Spirit as Lord.

Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:11

May we cooperate with the Holy Spirit so that we can be filled with His Spirit and in turn be filled with the fruit of love to bless a dying world. May we become effective as Christians instead of failures in love. When we fail in love, we have failed as Christians and are no longer effective.

May we please God always by the love that the Holy Spirit gives. Come Lord Jesus.

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He Makes Men Solve Problems

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He Makes Men Solve Problems

The Spirit Of The Lord

26: He makes men solve problems

But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. ” (Daniel 5:16 ESV)

O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods (Daniel 5:10 – 5:11 ESV)

The Holy Spirit is a problem solver and He makes men solve problems. Jesus was constantly solving problems when He was on earth and He is still solving problems by His Holy Spirit. When He was on earth He said He was only imitating His father and doing what He saw His father, doing.

The Holy Spirit was with Daniel and enabled Him to solve problems. The Spirit of the Holy gods is the Holy Spirit. He is the only Holy one and God because He has life in Himself and does not depend on human flesh and blood to solve problems like idols.

He is the only God that does not use sacrifices to bless. He blesses from the capacity that comes from with Him as the life giver and creator. That is why He solves problems and makes men solve problems. Idols are dead and do not have life so they solve problems by deception. They use trade by barter, magic, tricks, bribes and sacrifices to solve problems.

Daniel was able to interpret the handwriting on the wall because the Holy Spirit was with Him and gave Him that special ability. He effortlessly solved the Kings problem by the power of the Holy Spirit. The prophets, Jesus and the apostles were also empowered to solve problems by the Spirit Of God.

The Holy Spirit makes men solve problems and He is still effective in the world if only we can recognize His power and give Him a chance. If we abide in Him, desire Him and wait upon Him, He will definitely give us wisdom and special gifts and make us problems solvers to our generation.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. Come Holy Spirit. Amen.

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He Helps Us

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He Helps Us

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The Spirit Of The Lord

25: He Helps Us

In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26

The Holy Spirit is also called the helper. He is also the comforter. The Bible says, “weak as we are.” This means that no matter how much we try to forget it, we are weak beings that need help. But where does our help come from? Our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

This realization and reality is what will motivate us to constantly rely on the Lord for help and the Lord on earth is the Holy Spirit. We constantly ignore Him and try to do it on our own but consider this. Would Jesus have promised and sent His Spirit – the Holy Spirit if we could succeed in life and Christian walk without Him. He is our powerhouse and without Him, we can do nothing.

Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” John 16:16

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:17

Jesus promised to come back and be with us as the Holy Spirit. We need Him – His help and His comfort. If we do not desire help and ask for help, we are proud and will not receive help. We must constantly approach the throne of grace to receive help and mercy in time of need

May we realize and confess our absolute need for Him and constantly ask for help until we get to the fullness of grace where great things happen. May great grace be upon us like it was with the apostles. This great grace can only come through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit Of grace.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

As we fellowship with the Holy Spirit and minister to Him in dependence and need. He will reveal Himself fully to us. Come Lord Jesus.

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