YOUR LATTER END SHALL BE GREATER

There is no doubt in my mind that it is every believer’s portion to have their latter days greater than the former. Apart from the fact that it is written, the life of Christ is a great testimony to that. Indeed Christ was most powerful at His death. As believers, we get better and better here on earth and then we are finally released into glory. What can be greater than glory?

Proverbs 4: 18 “The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day”

Just like Job, we are bound to go through difficulties from time to time. Sometimes we attract the difficulties ourselves by being disobedient to the word of God but it is sometimes because God has allowed them to bring us to a better place. At other times, it is just life and life will happen to anyone. Like I said in one of my past blogs, life is tough; and no one is protected from the toughness as long as they are alive but the great thing about being a believer is the fact of God being with us as we go through and come out at a much place. He has promised to be with us through the circumstances and situations that life presents us with.

Ecclesiastes 9: 2KJV “All things happen alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked”

Indeed just the fact of the ups and downs of life is enough to let us know that it is tough. Have you ever been on one of those roller coaster rides? I haven’t but I have spoken to adults who have and confirmed that the roller coaster experience is fun after one has landed safely and are on their feet. The greater challenge for us as believers is God’s expectation of how you ought to carry yourself whilst you are on this rollercoaster called life. You and I are so used to doing what we want when and how we want that we end up messing up so badly in the course of life that we end up having our latter end worse than our beginning.

Our great problem is that a lot of us hate the word denial or even worse is our hatred for discipline. We have grown up allowed to do whatever we want to do when we want to do it so that we now have difficulties obeying God. We hate to hear the truth of God that compels us to give up a bit of who we think we are and so, lose a whole lot more. The truth is God always appears to be asking for a pound of your flesh. That must have been some of Job’s thoughts when God told him to pray for his friends but God must have been helping him with character formation because He did not need him praying for his friends to do what He wanted to do in his life.

Please recall that these were the same friends who disappointed him terribly in his difficult time. Indeed by the end of his travail, he was really tired of and very disappointed at them: he was hurt too. They had said a lot of things that he did not know they ever thought about him. A lot of us would have refused, like spoilt children, to pray for them; and bear in mind that God could see Job’s heart and check the sincerity of his prayer. That was one act of obedience and it released his greater blessings. What are you willing do that your latter end may be greater than you have ever seen or imagined?

IGNORANCE IS STUPIDITY AND NOT BLISS

Have you ever heard the saying “ignorance is bliss!” or “what you don’t know will not hurt you”? Both of them are wrong. Truth, what you don’t know can hurt you terribly and indeed ignorance is hardly bliss. Indeed it is only bliss when we are ignorant of bad things. Even in law, ignorance is not an excuse for doing wrong so that it then is your responsibility to find out what is right and to do it. The position is the same in the bible. Where then did those sayings originate? Might I suggest – hell!

1 Corinthians 14: 20 “Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.”

The truth about life is that ignorance will cost you and me dearly; hence the bible admonishes us to get wisdom and also understanding. We need to study to show ourselves approved workmen rightly dividing the word of God. It is our individual responsibility to ensure that we acquire knowledge and when it relates to God, revelation knowledge. Nobody owes it to you to make you aware. If you choose to continue in ignorance then there is nothing anybody can do for you.

Proverbs 1: 22 “How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded?”

In all that we are asking God for, the bible admonishes that wisdom and understanding are things we must get. If we have all we desire and yet are lacking in wisdom and understanding, we have a major problem. Wisdom is the proper application of knowledge so that you need knowledge to be wise. If knowledge is not properly applied then it becomes stupidity which is why the bible admonishes that we be workmen that rightly divide the word of God. Wrong application of knowledge may be just as bad as “ignorant bliss” or even worse.

Proverbs 1: 32 “For simpletons turn away from me-to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency. But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”

God gave you and I brains apart from putting His Spirit in us through which He gives us inspiration. When we are lazy and refuse to use all the resources He has provided, we are unable to make wise decisions. If our information is shallow or non-existent, our decisions will be based on wrong premise. By so doing, a lot of us have ruined our lives and families. Ignorance has led us to make wrong decisions that have taken us completely off God’s chosen path for our lives and yet we say “ignorance is bliss”.

Proverbs 2: 9-11 “Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you, understanding will keep you safe.”

Please make a decision today, to step out of ignorance. We must not be unaware of the devices of the enemy for knowledge is power and when properly applied, it takes us to the place of dominion.

A GOLD MINE WAITING TO BE EXPLORED – SEEKING COUNSEL

God is very deliberate about what He does. He is very skilled and also pays attention to details. He knows all things and ensures that no one person knows everything so that we would not only have to depend on one another but would all have to depend on Him. I guess if one person knows all things, then he might as well be God. One of the things that make God who He is is the fact that He knows all things. No man knows all things; for no man is able to tell the end from the beginning.

1 Corinthians 13: 9-“For we know in part and we prophesy in part.”

Since nobody knows all things, we would have to learn from one another and most of all from God. This is the reason we all need counsel from time to time. The bible does say “in the multitude of counsel, there is safety”. Seeking counsel helps us learn from other people’s experiences so that we can avoid some pitfalls of life. Also, the things God has shared with a mentor, He expects you to learn from them and not to come seeking the same information from Him. However, our challenge often is with the choice of counselor and whether or not we ourselves are “in the spirit” as we listen so as to discern anything the enemy might slip in if he finds opportunity to.  

Psalm 1:1-2a “blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord.” 

We must be very careful where we go for counsel. Your counselor does not have to be your best friend, family or parent. Indeed, sometimes they are the worst people to receive counsel from; because they love you too much to see clearly in any situation that concerns you. It is best to choose a counselor that fears God, is mature in the things of God, pays attention to details and is not often beclouded by emotions. Maturity in the things of God is very important for a counselor. There are things that God allows us glean from experience.

2 Chronicles 10: 6 “Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, saying, how do you advise me to answer these people?”

Of course we know Rehoboam rejected their counsel and instead went for the counsel of his friends as a result of which he paid a very costly price. Whilst you are receiving counsel, the onus is still on you to ensure that you accept only what aligns with the call of God on your life. I know the office to which God has called me so if I am being counseled by an evangelist for example; I must be able tell when He begins to interpret what God expects of me in relation to the call of God on His own life. It was Rehoboam who lost a portion of his kingdom and not the counselors.

As counselors, we must be able to set aside our emotions and counsel according to the word and will of God for the counselee’s life. We must recognize that God does not want the person to be like you so you need to tap into the mind of God so you can accurately interpret God’s counsel for each person as you counsel. Remember you will give an account to God for every counsel that you give.

BEAUTY OUT OF PAIN

I don’t know who I am writing for today but I want you to know that God loves you too much to leave you in your comfort zone hence this experience. He wants you to know that He is able to step in and stop any experience that will destroy you. If He doesn’t stop it, it is because it won’t kill you. He made you and has you in the palm of His hand; He knows what you can handle. He wants you to know that He is right there with you though He is silent.

Psalm 23: 4 “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me.”

After several years of being a believer, I had gone through several different experiences and thought I had experienced the worst of the dealings of God in a man’s life until a few years ago when God was determined to take me out of my comfort zone for a greater course. It was an experience that tested the very core of my life and faith. I lost my job (a job I held for 13years), my friends (those with whom I went into the house of God), meanwhile the cold hands of death had taken the man I had come to see as father since I lost my own father. Unfortunately, this was all intertwined with my place of worship (my safe heaven) and I had to quit that too. I was a persona non grata and I saw the frailty of man even at his most anointed. Though God had prepared me for it, all the preparation seemed very inadequate as I went through this difficult time which seemed endless at the time.

2 Corinthians 4: 7-8 “we now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

Now I thank God for that experience and truly appreciate everyone that was used one way or the other to accomplish God’s purpose at the time. How else could I have come to where I am today? It is not about where I am today but the fact that I am better positioned for the greater walk ahead of me. God is “the way maker”; He made a way for me out of a situation I thought had trapped me. The devil had it neatly tied together but He brought me out and into another level just like He’s doing for you.

Psalm 66: 10-12 “You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. You have captured us in your net and laid the burden of slavery on our backs. Then you put a leader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”

You may right now be in a situation that looks like a maze, please don’t try to figure it out because you can’t; you will only frustrate yourself. Just set your eyes on Him knowing that those that put their trust in Him shall never be put to shame. I know the pain you feel right now is real but rejoice for the joy that is set before you. Honestly, the end is closer now than ever before. At the end of it all, you will like what you have become.

Hebrews 12: 1b- 2 “And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross disregarding its shame. Now He’s seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

ARE YOU STILL IN THE FAITH

I just listened to a sermon by Billy Graham, the old time preacher. Honestly, at the end of it I prayed the sinner’s prayer along with the rest of the people. The bible does talk about perilous times; these are perilous times. Walking with God today is tough; maybe tougher than it was. Warfare is at a heightened level and so many soldiers are dying in the battle field. What is so scary is the fact that the warfare is very subtle. Clearly, it is not the way it was in times past: for example, our enemy comes wearing nice suits, talking super spiritual these days. You may never identify him or his workings if you are “in the flesh”. It is sad because slowly but surely he is drawing more of us into the level of the flesh and causing us to lose battles of life at that level where we are ill equipped to war since the weapons of our warfare are spiritual and spiritually empowered. We need to be discerning.

2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 “we are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle the keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish all disobedience.”

Reality is that if you do not win the battle within yourself, you cannot win the external battles? Are you fully obedient? The battle within is getting more intense and fierce than it has ever been, though more subtle, because self is being exalted like never before. It is easiest for satan if he can fan our weaknesses so that it destroys us; that way he need not waste his limited resources on us. We must consistently search our hearts and our lives instead of always seeing those that want to attack or do us harm. If we are led by the Holy Ghost, obeying the word of God, no enemy will successfully attack us. 

When I was a young believer, born again believers lived right and were never afraid to face the enemy as long as God led them. It is not so any longer; we run from the enemy. Run is the wise thing to do if one is ill equipped but that is not the life of the believer the bible describes. The devil ought to flee from us as we resist him and not the other way round. I am not by any means suggesting that we are to fight every battle but we must be led by the Spirit of God. Our faith is not powerless but we have rendered it so by our faithlessness, misinterpretation of the scriptures and our lifestyle. We must begin to walk by the Spirit otherwise Christianity will be made to look like a joke. We ourselves must take the word of God seriously; if we don’t who will? If we believe there is power in the word, then we must demonstrate that belief.

1 Corinthians 10: 12 “therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

It is time to turn the search light on in our lives. Are you slowly and unconsciously rewriting the gospel to accommodate your opinion? Have un-forgiveness, pride, fear, unbelief and any other evil work taken root in you? These things are easy to identify in another but you want to check your life? It is time to turn the search light on in our own lives. We can’t continue with this powerless gospel. You can make that decision to realign or rededicate your life today even in the privacy of your home. It is time to start again so that we do not make “the word of God of none effect”.