Desire Must Be Within Limits… Limits of The Word

As we get older, we learn new things and that is as it should be; it gets worrisome though when somethings happen that make one feel like it’s still a whole lot of learning ahead at a point in one’s life when it may seem wrong to be referred to as “young”. You know when you feel like you amassed so much knowledge from the school called life and there is little left to learn and then some things happen that make you feel like all your knowledge is yet little; but it is not so. So, did you ever hear the phrase “the grass always looks greener on the other side?” Well, it is mostly true though a number of people argue that it isn’t. Reality though, is that it isn’t always greener.  This is my point, greener or not, it isn’t your side. Just as an aside, if you do crossover to that green side, it may not be as green as you thought and even if it is, since it isn’t yours, you may not be so effective at caring for it and as a result, kill it. To lust after things that are not yours is bad. In my own words, lust is desire or longing uncontrolled. We can appreciate things without wanting it for our self. It’s okay for someone other than us to enjoy great goodness.

Ecclesiastes 6: 9 “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things are meaningless-like chasing the wind.”

Anything that lures us away from “living in today” and in our reality is wrong. As long as we keep wanting another’s, we don’t live; we remain unfulfilled at the end of each day, also losing that day’s testimonies. Indeed, that day feels worse because our desire is for something other than what we have. Whilst we dream about tomorrow focused on God who perfects our tomorrows, we must live each day trusting God to perfect all that will make our tomorrow what it should be. Desire is not in itself bad, but it can be dangerous if not contained. It can make one long for what belongs to another so desperately that they will do everything possible to get it; and very unmindful of how it impacts on the owner and/or that it may ultimately impact on them negatively. Desire can indeed, make us thieves. It has led to adultery, fornication, armed robbery, and several other ills including even divorce. Interestingly, after wrecking homes to satisfy longings, many have found that “the grass was not really green” after all. Unfortunately, many believers have become tools in satan’s hands because of this strong desire to own “the greener grass that’s not theirs.” We must limit our desire to only what God allows and then live daily, choosing to enjoy God’s goodness despite even bad experiences we may have had in that day.

James 1: 14 “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

Proverbs 27: 20 “Just as death and destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied.”

The only way to enjoy every day is to know that despite what one sees, reality is the word of God. We must look beyond what pretends to be reality to true reality. Instead of seeing and longing for other people’s “greener pasture”, we must see and long for what God says about us which is written and hidden in Him; heading in the same direction with a deep conviction that we won’t attain without Him. As long as our eyes and/or focus are in the right place, it will be hard to fall into things like envy, jealousy and such evil likes. Unfortunately, we often lose sight of God, replacing Him with what He has given someone else and then letting the desire for it consume us instead of our desire for God. Whilst it is true that God is not seen because He is Spirit, He is revealed in His word. It is sad that we don’t mediate on The Word of God enough to trust Him. We fear to trust The Word but we forget that it is through that same Word that we are saved. If the word of God is powerful enough to birth that change that salvation brings in any man, then the same word must have power to do every other thing He says He will do. Salvation re-creates a man which no one has achieved. This word is more than mere letters; He lives. God has chosen to do all things including creation through Him and only through Him can our desire be controlled.

James 1: 18 “He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true Word. And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession.”

Philippians 2: 13 “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”

Some Lies That Lure Believers – Reject Them

Have you ever heard the phrase - “what will be, will be”? It is a very commonly used phrase and even amongst believers. Around where I live, it is a way of saying whatever happens in one’s life is meant to happen so one should just accept it and move on. In a manner of speaking, it is saying everything that happens was predetermined by God and as a result, should be accepted and allowed to play out completely. Some people argue that it is soothing to believe that God is orchestrating everything especially in very difficult circumstances. Such people argue that it makes it easier to endure such adverse circumstances. Though this belief may help some people feel better, it is one of those statements that shade the truth that should move one forward. It is another trick of the enemy to lure us into accepting everything he throws at us causing us to suffer untold loss which God never ordained. It’s a belief that permits satan’s plan to unfold fully in lives while they watch, deceived that they are helpless to do anything about it since it was destined to happen. We don’t have to take everything life throws us; we are to resist the devil who is really the one doing the throwing but he hides behind “life” whilst working craftily to orchestrate one’s frustration using “life”. Whatever we accept is accepted even if it was not destined by God to happen to us; but if we reject it, we are resisting the devil and he must flee.

 

Ephesians 2: 2 “You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world. Obeying the devil-the commander of the powers in the unseen world.”

John 4: 7 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

At other times, we make bad choices that have consequences which would not have occurred if we had made the right decisions. Even then, the consequences do not have to unfold completely. If we take responsibility for our wrongdoings, turning to our God for mercy, He knows how to and will work good for us out of every such situation. To sit back and do nothing but allow the consequences of a bad decision play out completely is to open one’s self up to whatever life throws at them and this, without any form of succor when we have God who is always willing to help and just waiting for us to call on Him. Making a bad decision does not mean one was destined to make that bad decision like satan would have us to believe; it is another trick to make one give up instead of fighting the ‘good fight of faith’. The only thing destined to happen in the believer’s life is what God had promised would happen. Only the Word of God must be allowed to run our lives; and this is how to live a fulfilled life, which is a life yielded to God through Jesus and shining brightly with His light. Unfortunately, no one can live a fulfilled life and shining, if they do not lose their lives. Only the Son of God gives that life and it is only to the extent that we let go of ours that we can experience the fullness of life that He gives.

John 12: 25 “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.”

1 John 12: 25 “whoever has the son has life; whoever does not have God’s son does not have life. Conclusion.”

Luke 9: 24 “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up

The devil is so desperate to mess up lives that he goes to great lengths to achieve His purpose. He uses everything; attempting to make life really difficult for everyone. As we know, whatever he is in charge of becomes a tool for destruction in his hands. He is in charge on earth as the prince of the power of the air; a role he uses craftily to accomplish his purpose. He goes around always trying to destroy one person or the other. He even attempts to lure us into granting every whim of our flesh pretending like that is “the good life” when it isn’t. Deceived or defeated people have phrases like “they need to enjoy their lives”, in their attempt to make a case for themselves. Meanwhile, unknown to them, not only are they not ‘enjoying life’, they have opened themselves up as bait to the enemy. Such people unwittingly reject true life and waste their God given opportunities. There is always grace from God to help in times of need and the bible does say the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet so that we are not helpless like we like to make out when we do satan’s bidding. Samson was one such man who unwittingly rejected God choosing to fulfill the desires of His flesh instead and he ended up losing his life. This thing referred to as “life”, around where I live, is not the true life. True life is only given by God and is hidden in His Son; satan does not understand it nor does he understand the way of this life and cannot give it. We can counter that life offered or controlled by satan with true life.   

John 14: 6a “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

John 10: 10 “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose isto give them a rich and satisfying life.”

Spending Time With God – A valuable Exercise

After living the life of a believer in Christ for a while, there is the tendency to carry on with life as usual; like we lived when we were controlled by the devil. Those were the times when we were deceived into thinking we were in control and living our lives the way we wanted when indeed satan was in charge. This could happen to anyone especially long time believers; because after a while, it is easy to fall back to one’s old ways without meaning to especially when one feels like they are doing all they have always done as believers. We assume we are still yielded to and drawing strength from God but are really not. We are instead, again supposedly, ‘doing what we want to do’ living satan in-charge without the intention to do so. We may still ‘talk the talk’ or seem to ‘walk the walk’ even without studying the scripture, because we have studied the bible enough to know a lot but the cord is broken. It might take a while for people to notice that there is a ‘disconnect’ but it will eventually become apparent if we don’t do anything about it. To be yielded to Him requires spending time with Him. To make it look like spending alone with Him is not a must, is another trick of satan to lure us away from God because He knows the end of that route. God made us to rely on Him. There is no doubt that He has to remain actively a part of our lives. He wants to through us, impact the world. How can we establish His government on earth without Him? Jesus Christ the son of God, spent several alone times with God though He was God Himself. We have to keep connecting to keep the relationship and give Him room to operate on earth.

 

John 15: 4 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

We deceive ourselves when we assume that our relationship with God is intact though we are not connecting as we should. If we consistently don’t spend that time alone with Him and away from everyone and everything else, we are slowly severing our relationship with Him. This is that time when we fellowship with Him to the exclusion of everyone and thing; where He becomes the central focus as we fellowship with Him. It is in this period that we actively rub minds with Him (i.e. speak to Him and listen to hear Him speak also) so that He is able to influence our thinking making us more like Him. Becoming more like Him is something that happens in the mind; it is not physical for God is a Spirit: but the more we think like Him, the more we talk like Him and the more we are ‘Him’ on earth. It is also in this time alone with Him that we commit our plans to Him so that He can then direct our steps; correcting our error and chastising us if there is a need to. As they say ‘whoever gets your ear speaks into your life and is a major influence to you: does God have your ear? When to identify His voice as we first start to hear it in during our time alone with Him. It just makes it easier to then identify it in the midst of a lot of voices or noise.

Mathew 6: 6 “But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray toy our Father in private.”

2 Corinthians 3: 18 “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord who is the Spirit-makes us more and more like him as we changed into His glorious image.”

We cannot forget that we have an enemy whose work it is to stop us from going forward in life as believers. He will do any and everything to ensure that we fail. He knows the source of our strength and is smart enough to know that anyone cut off from their life supply source will eventually lose strength and die. It would be silly of us to be deceived into thinking he is not smart. He is well aware that we cannot survive without our source of life and strength so he knows that if he succeeds in luring a believer from their source, no matter how solid they are as believers, they are bound to eventually die. Do not fall for that bait of his that tells us that what we often refer to as ‘quiet time’ or ‘alone time’ with God, is obsolete. This age old tradition which is gradually fading away cannot be overemphasized for every believer. We need to draw close to God to receive strength from Him whose strength is in His quickened or living Word who is also His Son. One cannot be compelled to make this time for God; even God will not compel us. It is a decision one makes and we have to be deliberate about it because there are often several other genuine things that compete for this time but we will find that it is easier to live if we make this time. Now more than ever before, we need to draw close to God who will in turn, draw closer to us. He that goes around seeking whom he will destroy, will do anything to keep us from drawing close. He gets his way and completes his assignment when we remain disconnected from God. ‘Quiet or alone time’ may sound too silly, ordinary and irrelevant in these times; but remember that God works through simple things to confound the wise. He releases power in simpilicty.

1 Peter 5: 8 “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

James 4: 7 & 8 “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you.”

Be Aware Of Satan’s Tricks Pt 2 - The Deceitfulness of Riches

Unfortunately, we are engaged in warfare with an enemy that knows the scriptures, though he prefers to use it against us, and as a result knows the promises of God to us as contained therein. As the bible says, God prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. Our table of promises which reveals God’s goodness for us is laid out before Him. So he tries, using different tricks, to make it impossible for us to get all that has been laid out for us on that table. Some of his tricks are really obvious and others not so obvious. So God warns us to watch for the tricks so we are can fulfill our destiny. Satan has always used our desires against us by manipulating the word of God giving us good reasons to be lured away from God by these desires of our flesh. He tried it with Jesus and failed yet he continues to try with us and must fail too hence God prepares us; putting us on notice so that we are always on guard.

 

1 Peter 5: 8 “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

 

James 1: 14 “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

 

A lot of us have a strong desire to be rich which would ordinarily be understandable especially because no one likes the look of poverty. We desire money to the point, and even beyond, where we want for nothing; but sadly, man is insatiable so that we never get to this point. It is always a point in the future for man, believers and unbelievers alike. The more money we have, the stronger our desire for more. This desire pushes some to work so hard that they toil. In my Country for example, there is no such thing as engaging in a vocation for passion; most of us do what we do because we need to make a lot of money and fast too but with minimal effort; and this could be any vocation ranging from trading to pastoring and even more. We are so desperate to ‘make money’ that this desire guides most of our decisions including even our choice of church to fellowship because we fellowship to network or learn another godly principle that unlocks yet another door to more money. Ah! I forgot to mention, we pay our tithes too but not because it pleases God, for that is the last thing on our minds; but only because we must keep the devourer away from our purse as well as have God open the windows of heaven and pour so much money upon us, that we don’t have room enough to receive. We live on and build our lives around this love and/or desire for money which, according to scriptures, is the root of evil.

 

1 Timothy 6: 10 “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”

 

This craving or insatiable desire for money, not the money, is the root of a lot of evil. We need money no doubt but when it drives most of or all our actions and decisions, then we have a problem which satan can capitalize on to work against us luring us out of God’s secret place and into his trap to destroy us, whilst promising us even more money all the way - deceitfulness of riches. A sad reality of life is that money can deceive anyone even mature believers and this includes even Pastors. Money keeps luring one; lying to that one is not rich yet but on the way there though they already are. It is an attitude of mind that is consistently desperate to have more money, struggling to attain to a level of wealth that is imaginary and as a result, unattainable. It lies that if they had a little more money, then they would be rich; an endless pursuit that leaves one always seeking that ‘little more’ money - saving for the rainy day, and then for the children and for the children’s rainy day and so on. Or it could put some others in competition with another who is unaware of and not in competition with them. Unfortunately, as such persons begin to think they are closing ranks with their competition, the competition appears to make major leaps. This goes on endlessly so that one is forever needing to be rich and never able to enjoy the benefit of contentment. Satan has succeeded in luring many away using this trick.

 

Mathew 13: 22KJV “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”

 

Mathew 13: 22NLT “The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.”

 

Money also promises a life that only God can give and satan knows that; so that as soon as we buy into this lie, we start chasing money with a view to getting that ‘supposed good life’ which only God gives and satan’s job is done. Anyone caught in this race is toiling, albeit innocently, because they are driven by the devil who is wasting their strength and time, which amounts to their life; pretending like they will get something at the end of the day. Moreover, it leaves them with very little or no time for God who gives this life which money deceitfully promises and can’t give.  Please note that whenever we get too busy for God, it is time to stop so we don’t lose everything. It’s only a matter of time before one loses what God gives, if they leave Him. We must remind ourselves that promotion comes from God who gives power to make wealth and blesses with a blessing that makes rich. To truly succeed, we must keep our eyes on God which requires a deliberateness regarding our focus.

 

Mathew 6: 24 – 25 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life- whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?”

Be Aware Of Satan’s Tricks Pt 1 - Is Your Light Shining?

Anyone who suggests or thinks that we live in a ‘satan free’ world deceives themselves. Whilst we don’t live our lives guided by what he says or does, we ought to be aware of his existence and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit who unveils his many tricks to us so that we can respond appropriately. It is important to observe that because we were under the control of the enemy, he knows a lot about us and as a result often attempts to ruin us via our weaknesses and this, notwithstanding that the weaknesses may not in themselves be bad. As times change, it appears satan’s strategy also gets more refined. Whilst seeming really subtle, it is more potent now than ever before. Sad also is the fact that more believers unwittingly yielding themselves for use by him against other believers making it easier to attack the church. We must be very careful and spiritually aware. This is not to say we should become spooky but we ought to be well informed so that we are equipped to deal as we live our daily lives focused on God. Satan’s many attempts in the believers life could be likened to ‘side shows’ which we deal with as we move on but they are not our focus. God already told us that satan exist who will keep attempting to ruin us with a view to ensuring that we live for him here on earth and end up in hell. No one can live for satan and be a light; and this, notwithstanding the number of times they are in church.

Mathew 5: 13 - 16 “You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

I think we may have misconstrued ‘good deeds’, as in scripture above, to mean ‘good overtures’ but it must be more than that because the unbelievers do those same ‘good overtures’ and yet they don’t shine as light. So there must be more to our good deeds that makes them shine. I have realized that though these “acts of kindness” or what I call “good overtures” are good, and we must be kind because as we know kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and an attribute of love; however, it takes much more for these acts to constitute the good deeds that shine. These deeds shine because of the life of God from which they are birth. Without the life of God, these deeds have no life and without life, they cannot constitute light. We cannot be so generous and yet be so full of wickedness and assume that our acts of kindness will constitute light. We cannot be so giving and yet so envious and lacking in contentment and then assume that we are living righteous lives. We must be honest with ourselves; it is time for some simple truth telling. The good deeds do not constitute light just because we are believers; they must be born of a righteous life so that they shine. The life is the light; and that life is the life of God. This is what demarcates the believer from the unbeliever. This is the light that chases darkness out. These dishonest means are not the right means to make our light shine. Sometimes our light goes out and we don’t even notice because we are still carrying on like believers.

John 1: 4 – 5 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

1 John 1: 5b “God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all.”

One thing I have observed from scriptures though is that a man may catch God’s attention with what I refer to as ‘good overtures’. God may then choose to fill such people with His life so that they can become light. We cannot afford to be deceived by the enemy. God is not as interested in the deeds as He is in the quality of the deeds. We don’t fight to make the quality right for Him; it is a result of an indwelling presence of God. Jesus said He only did His Father’s will here on earth but is that what we do? It is so easy to be deceived into thinking that one is on the right path just because they are focused on their good acts and so don’t realize that they no longer have the indwelling presence of God. Good acts are not the hallmark of the believer but a believer does ‘good’. The devil also knows this and also that man is so full of self that he loves to be called good so he lures us into this life without Christ but full of seemingly ‘good deeds”. It is therefore, incumbent upon us to check that our good deeds are born of the righteous life; for this is what counts and causes men to give God glory. Jesus is the light of the world and when we attempt ‘good’ by ourselves, we may appear to want to be light despite all our good intention. With all the best intentions in the world, we must be careful not to attempt to take the place of our Redeemer which is what satan wants us to do and has always wanted to do himself. If we choose Christ every time we make decisions, then we won’t have to walk in darkness.

John 8: 12 “Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads you’.”

Do Not Give Up - Let Your Hearts Be Stayed On The Lord

There is no difficulty we face that has never occurred and will not occur again if Jesus tarries. The real challenge we face, whether as individuals, organizations, nations and/or governments, is not the difficulty itself; it is knowing what to do to resolve the problem. Resolving challenges would often require mental effort and/or a struggle which we often refer to as war. We as believers must remember that our warfare as well as the weapons are spiritual and this is not without reason. According to the word of God, which is truth, everything in life starts from the spiritual realm and that includes challenges. So that real life challenges must be resolved in that realm from where they originate which is deeper than the physical, for them to be resolved permanently. Challenges instigated by satan are spiritual, no matter how ordinary they may seem, and should be resolved spiritually; the victory in the spirit then trickles to the physical making it easy to resolve them physically.

 

2 Corinthians 4: 18 “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

So one of the strategies of the devil against believers to prevent us from having these difficulties resolved, is to ensure that we fix our gaze on the things that we can see and in doing that we rely on the same things for resolution of our difficulties ensuring thereby, that they are never fully resolved. The spiritual realm is the only place where we are assured of permanent victory. All we do there is enforce the victory Christ already won thereby settling our victory if we fight right. So satan does everything possible to prevent us from fighting right. If we fight in the physical, we don’t fight right because we fight on the wrong turf. We must be mindful of satan’s devices. He does any and every thing to destroy our faith in God and His power/ability to resolve the issues that pertain to us which was already resolved by God when Christ won the victory over satan. Whenever we think God is not interested in resolving or is too slow to resolve our issues, then we resort to working it out ourselves placing us at a disadvantage. Reliance on the flesh as opposed to leaning on God, does not resolve matters permanently and that notwithstanding whether they be personal or they concern a people.

Isaiah 36: 6 “If you lean on Egypt, it will be like a reed that splinters beneath your weight and pierces your hand.”

Satan makes sure to spread all the terrible or vicious stories making the good things God does look small whilst magnifying our challenges so that it looks like God is doing nothing, which is not true. The strategy is to kill the faith of the hearers which he sometimes works slowly to achieve. His pace of work never changes his purpose. Some such information has such strong capacity to kill faith, it even paralyzes the listeners and prevents them from doing their own part for the establishment of the will of God on earth. The information may not be lies outright; they may even appear true but not God’s counsel for the situation and such is the challenge of believers in my Country concerning our Country so that if we must go forward we have to insist on the establishment of God’s will. This vicious information dissemination must be turned around so it works for us and our Country just like Rahab did. We have to choose what we make of all that we hear. Satan has used this method severally and this is one of those times when it must fail. We must, like Rahab, use all the negative information we hear to facilitate the establishment of the will of God in our Country. We have to insist on doing what needs to be done that God’s will be stablished in our lives and Country. We have to make the evil provoke us to do good for God. We must work against satan’s purpose especially because like Sennacherib when he was sent by his master to discourage Israel, the devil wants us to feel defeated before we fight so we don’t fight. Of course when Hezekiah heard all Sennacherib said, his faith failed but thank God he went to the house of God where his faith was built up again.

Isaiah 36: 12 “But Sennacherib’s chief of staff replied, ‘do you think my master sent this message only to you and your master? He wants all the people to hear it, for when we put this city under siege, they will all suffer along with you.”

Rahab heard all the bad news but chose the path that worked the establishment of God’s will. Whilst others in her city were ‘gisting’ about the fact that Israel would over run Jericho, she was working to ensure that the information she had, worked good for her and she tapped into another life – a life in God, and worked for the establishment of His purpose. She chose to believe that even in that situation of doom, good would come for her and her family. She believed so much that she took the risk of hiding the spies which could have worked against her. She trusted enough to side with God, a God that she had never known but had only heard of. She believed enough to take the chance, using her position on the wall for God. Are you using your own position for God or self? She could have given the men up and maybe gained recognition of her government but she chose God’s side. What side have you chosen? God found in Rahab, a vessel that was clean and ready for the master’s use; are you ready for His use?  

Are You Establishing His Government? – Time to ‘Occupy’

Luke 19: 13KJV “And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, occupy till I come.”

Believers are so distracted in our times. We are so carried away with things that don’t matter that we can’t seem to focus. We expend too much energy trying to be ‘right’ and in the process, leave out the important things. If we just remain who we are, which is much easier, we will be well positioned to gain the things God ordained for us as well as ‘occupy’ until He comes. For example whilst social media appears to steal the time of a number of believers around where I live, unbelievers seem to use it wisely and even earning income from it as they unwittingly push satan’s agenda thinking it is theirs with a deliberateness that one cannot but envy. We can’t waste most of our time and energy and yet “occupy till Christ returns. I wonder – do we really believe that He will return? Whilst it is true that our mind strays and we sometimes stray with it, we cannot continue like that. The price we pay for straying is too high. It is time to take charge of our minds with the help of the Holy Spirit and ensure that we are fulfilling our assignment wherever we find ourselves including whatever jobs we find ourselves doing. Every believer is on assignment wherever they find themselves; a point Christ buttressed in one of His parables as he explained to His disciples that the Kingdom of God would come, though not immediately, so they had to “occupy” on earth until He returns. We are His disciples today and so the instruction to ‘occupy’ is to us as we await His return. If we know that we ought to occupy, our decisions may be different. When He returns, what returns will He get on His investment in you?

Luke 19: 11b “he told them a parable to correct the impression that the Kingdom of god would begin right away.”

Luke 19: 13 – 14 “Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying invest this for me while I am gone. But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, we do not want him to be our king.”

To occupy speaks of filling up and/or gaining full attention of something or someone. Jesus Christ left us an instruction to occupy though we all know that He is not the most popular of Kings on earth just like the king in the parable. The world hates Him; indeed, there have always been and still are people who would give their lives to ensure that He is not King. It started with satan who is, unfortunately, in charge in many lives as a result of which he is in charge in several places since he rules through these people in whose lives he is in control and who believe in him wrongfully accepting his lordship. It is in the midst of such people that Jesus Christ demands that we turn around His investment in us. We are to take over in every area of life, socially, economically and so on. We are to set the trend and establish His government where we are. He has not asked us to physically take over established governments but that we establish His government spiritually. Every believer, especially in my Country, need to ask ourselves – are we turning around His investment in us? What are you doing with that job/business you have? Are you taking control for Christ establishing His government instead of the devil’s agenda or are you driven by personal ambition? To occupy is not to become a problem to the establishment but to take over ‘in the Spirit’ so that the God unto whom we are yielded is then in charge and this manifest in the physical. The bible tells us that our warfare and the weapons thereof are not carnal. We don’t force people to accept our faith, we let them hear about and experience it and then leave them to respond. When we occupy, God is in charge. Remember Naaman’s maid? She was not the boss but was in charge spiritually in the home where she served yet she did not seek to nor have to overthrow her boss to be in charge. She knew who she was and ensured that satan was not allowed to reign in her sphere of influence. She knew that though she was a maid, God had entrusted her with destinies of people and she was determined not to fail. Who is in charge in your area of influence? Some believers just want to be righteous and not ‘occupy’, that is dangerous; for their fate may be that of the servant in the parable who did nothing with the money he was given and had a problem with Christ.

Luke 19: 20 -22 “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with . . . you wicked servant! The king roared. Your own words condemn you . . . then the king ordered, take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.”

Esther almost suffered the same faith as the servant who lost all his money but for Mordecai. Initially, although she remained righteous and Jewish in the Kings palace, she did not ‘occupy’. It was not until her uncle reminded her of the reason God put her in the palace that she remembered she there ultimately for the establishment of God’s purpose. She had forgotten that she was more than just a wonderful wife and bearer of children but that she had the destiny of a people/nation in her hands. She was there as God’s battle axe to ‘occupy’. It is never too late to start as long as one starts. Esther had been in the palace for a while but she finally occupied. We fight to occupy on our knees and in the place of prayer as we prepare for the responsibilities that will follow in the physical. We will be required to do something as Esther and her people were required to act. Please listen for instructions from the Holy Spirit and obey. God wants to through us take over wherever we are; indeed that is why you are there. You can’t take charge physically when you are not in charge spiritually. Remember that the spiritual is more real than the physical. What one has not gotten in the spirit, they cannot own in the physical. Is Christ government enthroned in your life? You can’t enthrone that government if It is not enthroned in your life. Don’t just impose; take it in the spirit so that it comes easily in the physical.