THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS

The matter of forgiveness has been on my mind. Just when I think I am done, God brings me right back to it. I am not thinking it, I am reading a book and it pops up; suddenly it has become a frequent topic on Daystar television which I watch often. Oh! How I wish the preachers could move on to something else but they don’t. I heard Pastor John Hagee say “when you forgive someone, you totally free yourself from the person’s power to control you.” Joyce Meyer says “un-forgiveness is like drinking poison and hoping someone else would die.” Ouch! That is tough. It is time to look through our lives again with a view to ensuring that we have not given too much control over our lives to anyone by not forgiving them.   

So, I am sharing my thoughts today just in case you need to learn something about forgiveness. Who knows, maybe God also wants you to let go of that root of bitterness. Guess what! There is no resurrection life without forgiveness. Un-forgiveness would make it impossible for the word of God to impact our lives and situations so that the life of God cannot be imparted. It creates “a disconnect” between us and the Spirit of God that can only be rebuilt if we forgive. 

Jesus was not exaggerating when He said if you bring a gift to the altar and realize that you have un-forgiveness in your heart, leave it there, go and sort things out before you return to give it. Obviously, un-forgiveness is so powerful that it affects our gifts and makes them unacceptable to God. I wonder - what then happens to all our seeds sown in un-forgiveness for which we are expecting a harvest? It is my humble submission that God did not breathe on the seeds. If it is true that God deals with us from the place of mercy even in blessing us, how shall we then receive anything from God whose mercy is shown to the merciful?

Life is tough, you would understand this statement if you live in Lagos, Nigeria, which is where I live. People get easily frustrated so that things that could easily be resolved become major issues because of frustration we face daily which all happen in quick succession. These things happen so fast that if we don’t learn to ‘let go in forgiveness’ our hearts become calloused making it impossible to receive from God. We then become cynical about everything and everyone.

Sometimes it feels good to indulge one’s self in un-forgiveness; especially when you know that people take you for granted because “they know you, you will forgive.” You just want to show them that you are not so foolish to always forgive but guess what! You have to be “so foolish.” That is why God is so interested in using the foolish so He makes them wise Himself. Forgiveness does not suggest that you don’t learn the lessons God may be teaching through the experience, if any, but forgiveness makes you see the experience in the light of the good things that came out of it.

Forgiveness does not come to man naturally. The seed is planted in us when Christ comes into us but we have to express it. It is not a feeling; it is an act of will. You choose to forgive. You do it over and over again until it becomes second nature to you. We have to be deliberate about learning to forgive. You can’t afford to let someone else interfere with your relationship with God.  Please let us all ask God for grace to forgive.

Don't Rush Ahead of God!

 

There is a sad thing that I have noticed in the body of Christ; everybody wants to do what everybody is doing. Nobody wants to get their own picture from the master artist Himself - God who made all things beautiful. Even worse is the fact that we all seem to be in a hurry so that we don’t want to go through the period when we are prepared for use by God.

Mathew 7: 16b “Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”

A seed does not in one day become a tree. From the day a seed recognizes itself, it knows what tree it shall become but it does not automatically or immediately become that tree. Indeed that seed has to first be buried in earth and to all intents and purposes, die before it then begins to grow. Some seeds need to first be established under the earth before they begin to grow above the soil whilst some others don’t even need to be buried, if you just pour them on the earth, they will begin to germinate. These all depend on what tree it is and its lifespan.

\Mark 4: 28 “first a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grape ripens.”

The same principle applies to us. God puts a gift in us as a seed, it takes ‘process of time’ for it to be useful or come to maturity. We often know, discern or perceive our spiritual gifts long before its maturity (the time when God is ready to use the gift). From the principles we see revealed in the bible and the way God has worked with people, it is apparent that there is a season when God prepares the man to walk in the gift. Many people have run ahead of God; they are walking in the gift without Him so that eventually, they get into trouble and endanger the lives of other people just for lack of maturity in handling the gift. The cost of rushing into these things is high and by the time one realizes, it might have caused irreparable damage. Moses had killed an Egyptian before he realized that it was not his time to be “manifest” as deliverer of his people. The actual job did not require him to kill anyone himself.

There is a season when though you are aware of your gift you are under tutelage, learning and building character as you patiently wait your turn. Elisha had to wait on Elijah, Joshua waited on Moses, the bible was silent concerning Jesus for a good number of years until it was time for him to manifest as the son of God. It was His season of preparation. I guess the enemy always tries to make us manifest before out time but we must restrain ourselves. When it is time, the vision shall speak and when it speaks, it shall be heard. It shall also enrich the life of the believer as does every blessing from God.

We have to stop playing into the hands of the devil. Even the world recognizes that it is best to patiently go through a period of tutelage. Lawyers do it; doctors do it and a number of other people. We can’t afford to ruin our lives by playing into the devil’s hands - rushing ahead of God. With God, the passage to greatness is servanthood. In serving, we build strength of character. Anointing and gifts of the spirit cannot replace ‘strength of character.’

The 'Dead' In Christ

I just returned from a mission trip which lasted only a few days so maybe that is the reason I feel the way I do. I am right now very frustrated with a reality I see in the body of Christ which is the phenomenon of believers in Christ who to all intents and purposes are actually dead. I call them the “dead in Christ.” Please bear with me as I explain.

These are born again believers, living physically but concerning their walk with Christ, totally lifeless. The only reason you know they are born again is because they say so and maybe because you see them go to church regularly on Sundays. Of course if they are a part of my denomination, then they would probably also be in church every Tuesday and Thursday. They talk the talk and may actually “live a seemingly righteous life” but have no fire or enthusiasm in them. Some of them continuously complain about how boring life is in Christ and express their preference for the life sin offers but would probably not cross the line because of the fear of burning in hell fire. These are the people I refer to today as the dead in Christ. There is call from the heavens for such people to begin to live.

Ephesians 5: 14 “Awake o sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.”

How can we take our environment or even nations for Christ without the fire of God burning on the inside of us? The fire is the light in us that illuminates the world for Christ. The fire burns uncontrollably if we let Him because that fire is God and our God is a consuming fire. This fire manifest Himself through us as zeal or enthusiasm but zeal with knowledge. When zeal is not backed by knowledge of the word of God, it eventually dies out or becomes the zeal of the flesh. When that fire burns on the inside of you, anyone that comes in contact with you can tell that there is something about you even when you have not said anything to them about Christ; for the fire cannot be hidden. No wonder God likens us to a city set on the hill and cannot be hidden. We cannot help but affect our environment.

2 Corinthians 9: 2 “infact it was your enthusiasm that stirred up many of the Macedonian believers to begin giving.”

It is time to make the decision to either be hot or cold. Clearly God does not like nor does He respect lukewarm people. Since God is a consuming fire, He is clearly not lukewarm. A consuming fire cannot be lukewarm. This is not about being a worker in church or being ordained as a minister. It is not about appearing very busy for God when in truth we are doing what pleases us. It is time to repent from dead works and let Christ ignite this fire which only He can ignite and keep burning as we yield to Him. This fire helps us win the small battles of our lives as we progress to the bigger ones. It is time to be hot for God; time to evaluate our works - what motivates them? Since we want to please God, let us grant Him His desire/wish.

Revelations 3: 15 “I know all the things you do that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! but since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”

Mind Your Word Count.

Did you know that one of the ways we open up our lives to the devil or give him a major inroad into our lives is when we talk too much? This has nothing to do with being quiet or noisy because there is the tendency to think that quiet people do not make this mistake, it has everything to do with saying just one word more than is required at a particular time or with regard to a particular issue. Just one more word than is required can turn either your life or another person’s life upside down.

Proverbs 10: 19 “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.”

There is no doubt that words have power and a creative ability. They create good or bad. A good word spoken when enough has already been said becomes one word too many and may do more harm than good. When we talk too much sometimes, we reveal things about ourselves that the devil did not know. Moreover, the bible counsels that a fool that does not talk too much may be thought to be wise. Eve in speaking too much as she responded to the serpent, revealed her ignorance and by so doing, armed him with the tool with which he attacked them. That is why we must think faster than we speak.

Proverbs 29: 20 “There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking

In a lot of instances, we talk too much because we feel the need to express our opinion. In my Country, we say “I must speak my mind.” In truth, you don’t always have to speak your mind. I am not by any means suggesting that you lie but you may choose to be quiet. It is of utmost importance that as a people led by the Spirit of God, we allow Him guide us as to when to speak, when to be quiet and also teach us to measure our words. It becomes more serious when we remember that the bible says the words we speak will be called up on judgment day.

Matthew 12: 36 “And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

It is time to begin to measure or audit our words. We must think as we speak and be certain that we are not lured to say more than we should. One thing we must ask ourselves as we speak is this –“do I need to say what I am about to say?” Even if it is just for the purpose of reducing sin, it is worth it reducing the number of our words. Moreover, we end up wasting other peoples’ time and never learning ourselves when we always talk too much because we will not hear others.

James 1: 19 “You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”

When people give us room to talk for as long as we want, it is good to ask ourselves sometimes – “do I really talk sensible things all the time though I talk so much or do the others just let me talk anyway, since I like to talk?” Before you answer, I want you to know that there must be at least one other person in the room that may also be able to talk some sensible things but would rather measure their words.

A 'Word' From God Is Truly Sufficient.

Like you, I have always believed in the integrity of the word of God. I am well aware of the fact that it is impossible for God to lie. I also know that He made all things by His word and upholds them by the word of His power but when I think about life sometimes, it appears there is “a disconnect” between receiving the word and the actual manifestation of the word. This then becomes my good excuse for consistently asking for a confirmation that it is actually God speaking to me. After I have received a word, I seem to want another word and then another word. I hate to say this but underlying all, I have found, is the fear to trust ‘just in case the word fails.’ This same fear has led some of us, in search of a word, to strange places; places where true believers should not be seen.

Even worse is when I have a word and yet I am still fretting. Sometimes, like Gideon, I really would like to put out a fleece. So there is struggle within me because I believe that God does not like us to do that but I really can understand Gideon who put out his fleece twice - One just needs to be very certain. You know, the challenge has been there so long, the difficulties have only gotten tougher and God sends ‘just a word?’ Can’t He do more than that just to help my faith?’

Hebrews 1: 2 “And now in these final days, He has spoken to us through His son. God promised everything to the son as an inheritance, and through the son He created the universe.

God isn’t going to do more than that. He has decided that all we need and will ever need is in His word. In these last days, God will only speak to us through His son who is His word. In that word is the seed that is required to birth in our lives all that God wants to do. I wish we could get Him to change His method but we can’t. A word from God sounds so little in the face of all that we may be going through but in it is power to transform the situation and recreate it for our good. God does as He pleases and it has pleased Him to deal through His word. That is the only tool through whom God does all He does.

John 1: 3 “God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him

If there is going to be a problem, God sends a word to prepare us. In the course of the problem, He sends another word to comfort and strengthen us so. By so doing, He goes through the valley of the shadow of death with us and never leaves nor forsakes us. Indeed, the word helps us access strength to believe Him and to keep going on which is our faith. Who can go round His word?

I don’t know about you but I have resolved to build on my word level so as to get the full benefits of the word. I need to tap into the fullness of faith which only comes from the word. It is time to dig deeper into the word of God. I would like to invite as many as want to, to join with me as we search God’s ‘treasure chest.’