Call To Solemn Assembly - Tough Times Require Tough decisions & Actions

Joel 1: 14 “Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. Bring the elders and all the people of the land into the temple of the Lord your God, and cry out to Him here.”

It time to sound the trumpet for ourselves and call ourselves or members to a solemn assembly. We are in very difficult or tough times indeed; challenges in every area of life - social, economic, religious and so on, and this is in almost every nation. To pretend like one has not noticed is to lie to one’s self because it is in our faces. These are definitely perilous times. There is only one hiding place - under the shadow of The Almighty. People leave home as they would normally, but some never return because they were murdered. Reports of mass murders, kidnapping are rife and in our part of the world, ritual killing is so common these days so that stories about the shedding of human blood now seem normal. Hardly a day passes that we don’t wake up to the news of some killing in some part of the world or the other. Things that were linked with uneducated and/or uncivilized societies are now a normal part of our world and perpetuated by highly educated people. This is not normal. It is all demonic and vile; instigated by satan whose agenda has always been to rule both mankind and the world and take as many as possible to hell. Sometimes, it feels like rapture has happened and we missed it but God forbid that it should be the case. Believers cannot continue like people who do not understand the times and as such do not know what we ought to do. We do not need any special gift of discernment to know what we ought we to do. It is time to draw closer to God and yield to Him so that He can reign in and through us.  

1 Chronicles 12: 32 “From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.”

2 Corinthians 2: 11bamp “To keep satan from getting the advantage over us: fro we are not ignorant of his wiles and intentions.”

We cannot continue like we did in the past. Times have changed; nothing is like it was and to pretend like they are, is to lie to ourselves. We must wake up to the reality of our times. We must make definite choices and our choices must tell of whom we have elected to serve. It is time for those who elect to serve God to make their stance obvious; so obvious that no one who knows us is confused about whom we serve. These present times make no room for dilly dallying; we must walk in The Truth so that we may be who we ought to be and rightly positioned to do what we ought to do. If indeed God is our God then we have to begin to live in Him. There is no doubt that living in Him is warfare. Standing for Christ gets tougher by the day; the host of hell is obviously working assiduously to populate hell but we must resist the devil. It is time to expend energy resisting him instead of fighting over issues that mean nothing.  Let us cease to waste the grace that God gives for us to stand and go forward in Him on silly things. There is no time like this to put on the whole armor of God that He may through us demonstrate His power. We can’t be effective just preaching the word of God and not living it. We must take up to the challenge of living according to the faith that we proclaim. There is no doubt that rapture is nearer now than when we first believed so we need to be circumspect. We must be wise enough to stop paying lip service to loving Christ.

1 Corinthians 4: 20 “For the kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.”

1 John 5: 19 “We know that we are children of God and that the world around is under the control of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God, and he is eternal life.”

The world is unaware of this truth that is revealed to us. This unawareness makes it impossible for them to understand what believers understand concerning God and even the times that we are in; we who understand must do what we need to do. We act like we are too busy to do the needful but a time is coming when it will be too late to do it and yet all the money one has accrued from all the busyness will mean nothing. It is time to fall on our knees, cry out to our God for ourselves and nation and take a stance for Him also.  We must stop seeking entertainment in church but instead fellowship together and with our God as we gather unto Him. We can’t afford to be like the virgins who forgot to put oil in their lamps because the bridegroom took a while coming. We are in a fight and very fierce one. The weapons we have for this fight are not carnal so we need to take on our spiritual weapons for a battle that must be fought in the spirit so we can increase our chances of partaking in the victory that Christ won for us. Don’t wait for someone else to call you to order; please call yourself or members to order.

It’s Just For A While; It Will Pass Because ‘He’ Says So

Are you are waiting on God for what we know He will do because He says He will but life appears to be at a standstill, or even worse, appears to be regressing, then you are the reason for this blog. Be assured that God will do what He has said He will do notwithstanding circumstances. You just think nothing is happening because your eyes have not been opened yet to see what He is doing or where your deliverance will come from. Don’t spend time or expend energy trying to figure it out or looking out for the signs that you expect because He doesn’t need a process to keep His promise; He sometimes does things suddenly. After all Hagai didn’t see the well until He opened her eyes. Be assured - He that promised keeps His word and therein is our comfort. Nature tells unspoken stories about God; indeed creation declares His glory so that if we carefully observe nature, we may gain wisdom.

Hebrews 10: 35 – 37 “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.”

Romans 1: 20 “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

So one day, two young trees were in what seemed to be a very intense discussion. The old tree watched them for a while and realized that whilst one was really amused, the other appeared to be getting increasingly angry so deciding that it was time to step in so as to prevent a fight, it asked what they were discussing. It turned out they were talking about a tree who had been a blessing to many other trees and children in the past but was suffering a massive setback that seemed to have buried it. The tree had, in the past, blossomed very nicely and provided shade for man as well as other trees that needed shade to grow. Everything just seemed to have gone wrong for this tree and no matter how hard it tried, it just seemed to get worse. It seemed like its glory had departed; yet it was a tree that represented God doing its best to see the will of God established on earth just like you are.

Psalm 105: 19 “Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.”

The amused tree saw no reason to assist the troubled tree; it was confident that this was the beginning of its own rise to stardom. It all along felt that it was not noticed because of the presence of the troubled tree forgetting that it did nothing to assist anyone or trees; and that not because the troubled tree was in the way. ’ It did not have all the flowers neither could it have provided all the shade the troubled tree had and provided in the past. It forgot also that with God, everyone can shine so that one person’s shine won’t prevent another’s because God called us all ‘heads. It thought the troubled tree’s death worked its good but it wasn’t so; it could not see God working and orchestrating things so that whether or not the troubled tree died or lived had nothing to do with it fulfilling its own destiny. It paid too much attention to the troubled tree instead of God and still did. Whilst the angry young tree was offended because it thought the troubled tree deserved support for all it had done for them and several others in the past.

Romans 1: 28 – 29 “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.”

The old tree was quiet for a while; then swayed from side to side for a while and then spoke. It explained that there was nothing wrong with the troubled tree except that God was refining it and it needed to be taken out for a short while so the process would be easier and faster that it may be used for greater glory in the future. Also, that though the weather was harsh and other ingredients were scarce; it seemed worse with the troubled tree only because God was at work in its life accomplishing His purpose before the season passes and everything change for good again. No season last forever except God says so and we know that He has said this one too will pass. No matter how harsh the climate may seem; if God has said it will pass then it will, no matter how bad it may seem to anyone. It is for different reasons that we are impacted differently; it all depends on what God chooses to do. Though it appears toughest for you and it looks like you have reached a dead end, you will end well because He said so.  You will yet shine brighter.

Malachi 3: 3 “He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord.”

Take A Stand Please – Christ Side is The Right One

With all the commotion going on in the world today including the part of the world where I reside, people are desperate for stability and/or security though most of them don’t know what they really are searching for. This search drives such people into various things; some evil, like cults, yet some head off to churches whilst others seek solace in different relationships including even marriage. At the end of day, none of these offer the true security they long for. So many such people rush out of these things in which they seek security just the same way they rushed into them. Everyone, believer and unbeliever alike, desires some form of stability and a sense of security but this can only be found in Christ whom most people turn away from in their quest for true stability because He comes across as too simple to provide all of these.

1 Corinthians 15: 58 “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is useless.

Psalm 18: 2 “I love the Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Saviour; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me and my place of safety.”

Since this Truth which provides stability is Christ, it takes having and knowing Him to manifest truth and stability. Christ desires to manifest His nature in and through those in whom He lives. Believers therefore, ought to be the solution for all the insecurity and/or instability. The answer the world desires should be found with us but it is not and this gap leaves the world in even more chaos than anyone could ever imagine. Believers now admire the world (and maybe even more than unbelievers who have since found that it is empty), and are trying desperately to be like the world so that we are unable to be the answer the world needs. We are so unstable that we are on all sides and no sides. We are mostly, ourselves, emotionally unstable; seeking to please everyone, we displease God, lose sight of who we really are and stand for nothing especially not for Christ who we are saved to please. How can we then be dependable and stable? Christ desires so much to express Himself through us but are we vessels made ready for the Master’s use? We all have an active part to play in making ourselves ready.

Micah 6: 8 “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Even in little matters we have no stance. We love to identify with the “winning side” and not even the true winner - Jesus Christ. If the winning side shifts we shift with it making ourselves silly and unstable whilst God wants us to take His side; a side that wins ultimately and forever. One of the challenges with standing for Christ today is that people often feel pressured to take a side whenever there is a dispute or disagreement and God’s stance often appears to leave one nowhere or in the middle because He deals with the issues whilst loving the parties. He takes no side but His. Yet with almost every argument the one question people seem to ask or think is ‘whose side are you on?’ and the Lord’s side is not on their minds when they ask this question. Truth is not exclusive so it may leave us accepting a few things from each side and not totally agreeing with any side but man wants one to pick a side. The Truth often has no side; He is unchanging, stable and secure and expects parties to align with His thoughts. The world is hurting and healing can only come from God through His Son Jesus Christ who is also His word. Nothing birth in our flesh can heal; at best it can only provide temporary relief. The Truth however, heals and that could be a process or instant. Sometimes, to heal a wound we need to dig deep and clean it out and only then can healing begin; healing in such instances is a process.

Joshua 5: 13b – 14 “Joshua went up to him and demanded, ‘Are you friend or foe?’ ‘Neither one, he replied. ‘I am the commander of the Lord’s army.”

Hebrews 4: 12 “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two- edged, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

Truth sometimes seems to inflict pain and short-sighted people only see the pain and not purpose; but He is solution and the yearning of man’s heart. Good people cannot meet this yearning of man; only God people can. Though it takes courage to stand for God, believers and especially our leaders need to find the courage which Christ makes available. Remember that courage is not the absence of fear but grace to do what God would do despite fear. It is time to take our place. The world yearns for what God has put in us. True and lasting comfort is based on truth; not emotions.

Romans 8: 19amp “For (even the whole world) creation (all nature) awaits expectantly and longs earnestly for God’s sons to be made known (waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship).

You Are Who God Says You Are

It is so important for us as believers to remind ourselves of who we are especially in these present times when identity crisis is becoming a big problem in the world and unfortunately, in the church as well. There is an urgent and compelling need to frequently remind one’s self of who one truly is otherwise one will be defined by several wrong things and/or people. It ought not to be so. Sadly, we also ruin generations coming by giving them wrong parameters for determining who they are. Many children are ruined in their minds because of this; we need to confront ourselves and fix our issues so we don’t ruin others. As believers, when generations coming after us act out our own mistakes, we just blame it all on spiritual influences flowing down family lines but it is not always correct. It is not always that these problems are passed on spiritually especially not in most matters concerning identity crisis. We often pass on wrong parameters thereby crippling their own ability to correctly determine who they are and the identity problem is passed on. We are quick to judge who we are based on our status, background and/or office; but the truth is we are who we are despite all of these factors. We have to effectively blend who we are individually with what is required of our various roles as God lifts us so that though these factors would impact on how we carry ourselves but not to the extent that they determine who we are and that notwithstanding how high or low the role, status or background be seem.    

Isaiah 44: 21b “I, the Lord made you, and I will not forget you.”

Psalm 139: 13 – 16 “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”

Isaiah 64: 8 “And yet, O lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand.”

God puts so much into fashioning us that we should be deeply convinced about who we are in the core of our being where God deals with us, all our transformation takes place and who we are is determined. We must remind ourselves of this consistently, again because change is inevitable with our God. Though such changes are ultimately for our greater good, they sometimes appear to take us low albeit only for a season. So if one already defined themselves by a particular role, such changes may open them up to pain and serious identity crisis. Our God keeps changing things; for He alone is unchanging. He takes beggars from dung hills and causes them to sit with princes and when he does that the beggar’s status in life is changed. You may insult the person and call them names but all that won’t change the person’s new reality; for God has chosen to lift them up. However, the beggar who has defined themselves by that role may continue to see themselves as such and think everyone sees them the same way especially those who know their past. The truth however, is that even when they were begging, God did not see them as beggars but as persons He formed and they were always normal beings in their core. This is also true of those in “high roles” and this includes even ministers of the gospels. It is for this reason that many get so desperate they hold unto roles so hard that without intending to, they do a lot of evil just to keep the roles. Unfortunately, in refusing to let go, many have also terminated their destiny journey themselves. You are not your title; indeed you may be much more than that. No title or position is good enough to define you; you are who He formed.

Psalm 75: 7amp “But God is judge! He puts down one and lifts up another.”

God took Ruth, a poor and unbelieving lady, saved her soul and made her who was more or less a beggar, sit with princes. The one who came to the field as beggar ended up owner by reason of marriage to Boaz. God changed her story so much she entered the lineage of Jesus. Clearly, Boaz saw the core of her being from her actions. If any of the staff who dropped stuff for her to glean continued to see her as beggar that would be their problem. Her big challenge would be who she saw when she looked at herself. God knows that He is able to do this so He places us in any family confident that inspite of our family backgrounds, we can be who He formed us to be and as successful as is written concerning us. We limit ourselves by tying ourselves to these external factors. Determining who one is using these wrong parameters is ruing a number of believers and has led some far away from Christ. The truth is that the temptation to do that is strong especially when you find people who don’t know who you really are reminding you of who they think you ought to be based on all these wrong parameters; but we owe it to ourselves and to generations coming after us to fight to hold on to God who formed us, knows who we truly are and our purpose. Let us be mindful of that fact that we are who we are by God’s grace so we don’t take it for granted. God worked to put us together.

1 Corinthians 15: 10a amp “But by the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not (found to be) for nothing (fruitless and without effect).”

He Gives Joy Instead Of Mourning

The world’s economy is obviously not the way we would like it to be and the situation in my Country may be worse than in most places. Many of us, believers and unbelievers alike are greatly troubled and rightly so; the more we pray the worse it seems to be getting and though we know that God is working everything for our good, it still is bad and many lives have been turned upside down. People, believers and unbelievers alike, have been impacted yet we must not allow who we are or even our posture to be determined by what we are going through. Thank God for Jesus Christ who always causes us to triumph in every situation and has made us more than conquerors so that we are never a sad people but a people filled with joy unexplainable that flows endlessly from within us. But for the presence of God in us, most of us would be sad for the challenges that life currently throws at us consistently but it requires some deliberateness to maintain the right posture. We must learn to laugh as well as maintain the right attitude of mind despite all that is going on. God wants to be who describes us all the time and He made us much bigger than whatever difficult circumstances we may face at every point in time. It doesn’t need to change for us to see God.

Psalm 112: 1 “Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.”

1 Peter 1: 8 “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him: and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.”

The sad reality though, is that many of us have been greatly impacted these very disturbing issues and we are letting go of our faith. Of course the challenges are in our faces but we need to be on top of the issues. Most of us have been so adversely affected that we have become really sour and bitter; so much so that we allow us to be described by how we feel. Reality is that we go through several different experiences (good and bad) in life but it is not wise to be so affected by these things that we are described by either. We are who God says we are and how wonderful it is to know have Him always, such a strong defense and an unwavering ally. People tend to think that life must be really perfect for those who don’t wear their challenges as a cloak but they forget that we all have the right to decide what we want to be in every situation. God has empowered us to be who we choose to be. We must remember that we are more than conquerors. We can choose to be Ruth instead of Naomi and we have been empowered to live the path we choose. Never be deceived; it is not for lack of challenges that some appear to be sane. God is that perfect ally who always ensures we are in charge and rule despite the storms of life but we must lean on Him. We have to remember to cast our cares. Storms are a reality of life and it could be anything including challenging economy.

Psalm 112: 7 - 8 “they do not fear bad news: they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their woes triumphantly.”

Reality is that there is a command of blessings over every believer’s life. The fact that we are blessed is a positional thing. As long as one is in Christ, He is blessed in every sense of the word and the manifestation of these blessings get more intense as long as the believer keeps getting more deeply rooted in Him. When Naomi returned to her home land, she was a bitter woman. She had let the challenges of life affect her so much that they charted the course of her life. Her major life’s decisions appeared to have been heavily impacted by what was going on around her and in her life. There is no doubt that terrible things happened but we must hold on to life and not allow ourselves get burnt. When it was tough in Israel, Naomi left and went where life seemed better but she suffered even more loss. It got worse where she went so again she made a decision to return to her home land. It was so bad and she so bitter that she told people to call her ‘bitter’ as she was indeed bitter but thank God Ruth refused to be dragged into the bitterness drama. Ruth was focused on living and living under the control of this God that Naomi had introduced her to. It could not have been easy especially when the person she lived with seemed to have lost hope and no longer found strength in that God. Salvation is indeed personal. No matter how close we may be to anyone, including even the persons who introduced us to Christ, whether or not they are our parents, we must find our own personal relationship with Him.

Psalm 112: 4 “Light shines in darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.”

The sad thing about naming one’s self by the challenges in their lives, is that they just get really sad and even loose hope ending up totally disappointed. It is like prophesying evil over one’s own life. Like Naomi’s situation, some of us have allowed all the pain and bitterness eat so deep in our hearts that we struggle even with seeing the light that already started to shine. It was so bad for Naomi that even when her people greeted her with a lot of excitement, she didn’t see or feel what they did. When we choose to see all what we are going through, we inflict more pain on ourselves and frustrate the people around us. Let us look beyond what we see to what we don’t yet see which will soon begin to unravel in the physical. That which we don’t yet see is more real than we think. God will not leave us without help so please let us expect that help and keep our hopes alive.

Romans 8: 25 “But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.”

Insecurities – Another Destroyer Of Destinies

There is no doubt that the strategy of the enemy is changing to match the present times; which isn’t surprising since he has never acted stupid. Also working really hard to achieve his purpose – to steal, kill and destroy, he is constantly strategizing and re-strategizing. The bible says we must not be unaware of the methods of the enemy so that we know what to do. One tool with which he is holding people back and destroying destinies around my geographical location at least, is ‘Insecurity’. This is a sensitive topic for many but it is one we must face before it becomes a deadly epidemic destroying both the insecure persons, people around them and the body of Christ in general. We currently pretend like it is not that bad. Ignoring the problems it creates, we act like it is a manageable evil; yet, it is fast creeping upon us, ruining believers and holding them back from fulfilling their destinies. It reminds me of the way the church handled the “gay matter.” The church seemed to wish it away pretending like it was not in our face until it appears to have become an epidemic even in the church. As every disorder in the lives of believers can be fixed by God, so it is with the matter of insecurities. Let us not pretend like nothing can be done about it. For not only is God Healer, the blood of Jesus has healing power. I believe God strongly desires to tackle this issue amongst believers because it is the root cause of a lot of evil in our lives and in our midst, inconsequential as it may seem. You don’t need to be a believer to know that it is a destiny destroyer.

 

 

2 Corinthians 5: 17 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.”

 

Alongside several other meanings, the dictionary describes it as lacking stability or self-confidence; plagued by anxiety, fear or feeling of been inadequately guarded or protected. One thing was clear from the various definitions I found, it is a kind of un-wellness of the mind that only the word of God which reaches deep down into man can heal and certainly heals if we let Him. When we come to Christ, we sometimes come with a lot of baggage and some more than others, because of the lives we lived while we were still sinners. We were children of disobedience under the control of the devil whom we lived to please as we pleased our flesh which is under his control; but now are we new creations and the old nature is passed away. Insecurities is some of that ugly nature we come to Christ with which has to pass away; for it is not befitting of our new status and should not be celebrated but destroyed. The one thing God says about the old nature is that it be killed but we seem to be doing the exact opposite and sometimes, brethren make it harder to feel the need to destroy it since they keep telling people that it is okay and all in the name of love. Insecurity in the lives of believers makes satan somewhat redundant because the insecure believer does for themselves what satan would have liked to do. Unwittingly fast forwarding his agenda, insecure believers make themselves tools in satan’s hands for the destruction of not just themselves but other believers to whom he may not have had access if he wasn’t working through such persons. Such persons work very craftily to manipulate everyone’s life. If we continue like this, we are setting ourselves up for hell because we will only manifest wickedness and every evil work.   

 

Ephesians 5: 17 “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

 

Ephesians 4: 17 -18 & 20 – 22a “With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the gentiles do, for they are helplessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. . . But this isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old nature and your former way of life”

 

The consequences of remaining insecure are too devastating both to the insecure individual and the church. As my Pastor, Seye Kosoko, often says, the consequences of one’s action remain the same whether or not they were intended.” Such insecure persons always argue that they never intended harm; very often seeing themselves as victims so they never do a sincere self - examination and thereby miss out on some of the awesome privileges laid out for every child of God. In whatever form it manifest, whether it be jealousy, envy, pride and self-exaltation, low self –esteem and so on, it is the same thing and destroying lives whilst wreaking havoc in the church. Some others feel that they had genuine intentions, and they may be right, but insecurities thwart the implementation. There is no excuse that makes insecurities excusable. If making heaven is important to us, as it should be, then we must deal with this because the fruit of it is sin. Please be not deceived and remember that there is a deliverer and Healer in the midst of God’s people. His name is Jesus Christ. He washes away all the past and restores all our lost esteem and gives us the right to be called “The King’s Child.” It is time to deal with ourselves. This is not the nature of God. We can’t draw close to God and not have His nature. There is power in the word of God to bring healing; for soundness of mind is a promise of God to every believer.

 

Proverbs 28: 1b “but the godly are as bold as lions.”

 

2 Timothy 1: 7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.

 

Psalm 119: 133 “Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by evil.”

 

Enife Atobiloye said ‘Boldness comes from a sound mind and sound mind comes from the presence of God’ and I add “and the word of God.” This statement must be correct because the one with whom we spend time will impact on us and there is no barrier to The Word of God. It reaches deep down to spirit, soul, joints and even marrows to bring about healing that we may be made whole. Wholeness starts from inside and spills to the outside. We must insist on driving out this evil seed that has crept into our lives and church. This very terrible seed that is eating into and destroying lives. What is the point if after having lived the life of a believer, one ends up in hell. Nothing that would take a believer to hell should be celebrated no matter how nice the English word for such things sound.

 

Jesus Is No More Enough

Recently, in the course of a conversation with my Pastor and His wife, Pastor Lanre Kosoko, she said something that struck a chord in me. She said ‘the way believers act today, it is almost as if we think Christ is not enough’ and it has stayed with me. Indeed, I feel like we think God was not smart enough in making Christ just the way He is – Jesus Christ. It is almost like Him just as He is, is no longer enough to be all that He is so that we feel a need to make up for the inadequacy we see. We try to make Him look the way we think He ought to be in these present times so that people can think of Him “highly enough” to accept Him. We forget that the ways of God would normally look foolish in the eyes of man and God is well aware of that yet He worked things like that. Can the created redefine ‘The creator’?  We often try so hard to make Him acceptable that we compromise several aspects of the word of God. People, around where I live, argue that if more people must come to Christ, then people have to be given a ‘soft landing’ to Christianity. Are we suggesting that this life is a burden? Any ‘soft landing’ that compromises the word of God probably leads people elsewhere and not to Christ our Saviour.  Unfortunately, the Word of God is greatly compromised in our times; our gospel is largely ours; put together by our intellect. Pastor Femi Monehin once said and I agree, that “God is not a product of my thinking or philosophy.” He is not a product of any one’s thinking or philosophy. He is God in Three Persons and He is enough for us.

 

1 Corinthians 1: 21a & 23a “For after in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God ... But we preach Christ crucified.”

 

It is the belief of many in these present times, that the intellect of man is more powerful than ever before which said argument is not my focus here, but even if it were true, God has never pretended like He planned to satisfy our intellect. He clearly says that the life that He gives is like a river that flows from within and flows forever. It does not directly feed the intellect. The true gospel is not powerless; it accomplishes its purpose because it is the word of God which is what the world needs. The world needs the healing that only Christ can provide – It is healing that reaches deep down to the soul and spirit of man. There is an insatiable quest for God; a hunger and deep yearning by people who may not even be aware of what they hunger for. Unfortunately, believers do not think highly of what He appears to be and in trying to make Him look better, we are preaching a gospel that is unable to satisfy the world’s yearning. Our intellect is unable to bring anyone to God through Christ; only Christ can do that. Sadly, not even our looks can bring people to Christ. It takes the quickening of one’s spirit-man for Him to become a believer and only the word of God has that quickening power. And until a man’s spirit comes alive, He is not born again. God is a Spirit who can only be worshipped in the Spirit. That hunger can only be quenched by His Spirit.

 

John 14: 6 “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the to the Father except through me”

 

Isaiah 55: 11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it.”

 

It is indeed vain for any man to think that they can describe God in an improved way. The mere thought that any man can better articulate who He is than He has done Himself is vain. Moreover, it is my firm belief that the world is tired of an empty Christianity. The world wants more than the glamour that we seem to only give these days. The glamour is good, but the world knows that they need much more than that. The flesh is unable to meet the need; for it profits nothing. Until we ourselves realize that Jesus Christ is enough, we will never make Him Lord in our lives which is His desire. Until He is Lord in your life, how can you effectively tell another to make Him Lord in their own lives? It is time to get real that we may preach Christ. He is the Redeemer and none other. Sometimes, it is merely the desire to have other people follow us that leads to a little shifting from the Truth. Unlike John the Baptist, we struggle to point people to ourselves because somewhere deep down, we need them to follow us. Unwittingly, a number of us have made more followers for ourselves than we have The Master. As we point people to Jesus and they receive life, Jesus works in us to prepare us for leadership His way. As we follow Him, people will look to us to show them to follow Him. There is only one Lord and His name is Jesus Christ.

Ecclesiastes 3: 14 “And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.”