Man's Adversary

The Story of Man’s Adversary

Something I have learned over the years is that not many people have a clear understanding of the character and attitude of God. You will see the men of old in the Bible attributing bad occurrences to being acts of God. Job for example after losing his family and belongings said, God took his possessions away (Job 1:21b). Another scenario is in the cases of barren women where the word used is that God shut their wombs (Gen. 16:2a; 30:2; 1Sam.1:5b). But does God really do such things that hurt man? The people of old did not have a full revelation of God (Heb.11:40) they had a very scanty knowledge of what God did and what He did not do. They mostly acknowledged every single event to God – whether it was good or bad. However, it is in Christ that we see the full revelation and explanation of God. You see, every character, personality and attribute of God is expressed in Christ (Col.2:9). In Christ, the mystery of God is solved (Col.2:2)! God is good! He cannot and has never done bad!!! He is Light! He cannot generate darkness! He is Love! He can never hate! This is who our God is (John10:10b; James1:17b; 1John1:5 and 4:8).

Jesus stirs up our minds in Matt. 7:16-18 and Luke 6:43 towards thinking in the right way by asking the rhetoric: ‘can a good tree bear bad fruits?’ You see God cannot do both good and evil, He has to be just one (James 3:12), and we know that God is good. God is never the source of bad things. So where do the evil things that we experience in our time come from; the famine, war, hunger, floods, drought, lack of basic amenities – food, clothes & shelter – and death? We have established they aren’t from God, so are they all random occurrences? Scriptures enlightens us by showing us the two culprits for the present status of the world and of humans. The second culprit is man (fallen man), for we see in Romans that it was man that allowed sin into the world (Rom.5:12) & with sin came the absence of life (death, decay & expiry to all created things Rom.8:20). However, the prime & first culprit is Satan, as Jesus says: ‘he was a man-slayer from the beginning’ John8:44b. So who exactly is this number one enemy of man?

Lucifer _ Devil: You see the devil is the main opponent of man, but where did he come from, how did he become our opponent and why is he our opponent?

We know all things were created by God and they were created good; but things changed based on choices. The creature known as the devil wasn’t made by God to be the devil. In fact, the creature God made was called the morning star-Lucifer (Is.14:12). This creature was an angel – in particular he was a cherub (Eze.28:14b). He was made to the highest perfection and beauty and was well adorned (Eze.28:12, 13 and 15). The creature God made was beautiful and made to walk in perfection and wisdom. Being an angel, we know God made him as a spirit – a ministering spirit (Heb. 1:7&14 and Psalm 104:4). He was made to minister to man as angels were created by God for this purpose. Truthfully, Eze.28:13a suggests the man whom Lucifer was made to minister to; Lucifer was placed in Eden – God’s own planted garden!!! The only other creature we know that was in Eden to whom angels were created to minister was Adam and with him Eve (the first man Gen.2:8).

Something however happened to the creature Lucifer; he was alright and good just as God had created him until the day when sin entered him (Eze.28:15b). As soon as sin entered him, he was corrupted (Eze.28:16) and no longer was he the beautiful minister to man – Lucifer, rather he became a father of lies – Satan (John8:44). So what exactly happened to him, since Jesus said he did not abide in the truth (meaning that he once was in the truth)?

The answer again lies in the Scriptures. Eze.28:17a expatiates Lucifer’s heart became proud because of his beauty! The source of the corruption of the good creature which God made was pride. How / why did he become proud? Well, the devil was so beautiful that in the whole of the Old Testament Scriptures, he was the only angel described with that much adornment! The issue however was that there was another creature in the ‘picture’ – Man, and God had made man to be the Apogee of all creation; as David says: ‘The only creature higher than man is Elohyim’ Psalm8:4-5. So here was beautiful, wise and well adorned Lucifer created to minister to another creature, an authoritative spirit – man! Lucifer’s self-opinion of his own beauty became his downfall.

How did Lucifer fall? Isaiah14 explains what the pride in Lucifer’s heart caused him to think certain thoughts. Vs.13-14 details what he planned to do. He desired in his heart (vs.13a) to: ascend to heaven (meaning he was not in heaven before he had this thought), he wanted authority (a throne), he wanted to be higher than all other creation, he wanted to be like God (vs.14b). Now did he accomplish all his desires? (Permit me to smile here!) Actually, the answer is: yes. The devil got all that He desired! How? Not by carrying out a coup d'état to overthrow God. Because that is hilarious and impossible! [All it would have taken for God to deal with the devil – if it was a coup d'état – will have been to think a thought in which Lucifer was never created]. God is Omnipresent – God is everywhere, to think of overthrowing God, must mean that you have at least the same omnipresent character. So how did the devil achieve his desire? He turned to the only creature that had the authority he desired and which also looked like God!!! Lucifer turned to man (Gen.3). For God made man in God’s image and God also made man to be a spirit with authority to rule (Gen.1:26-30).

Lucifer corrupted his God-given wisdom by applying the wisdom to deceive the woman-Eve (Gen.3:1-6; 2Cor.11:3 & 1Tim.2:14). He lied by telling the woman (already made in God’s image) that she needed to do an extra work to become made in God’s image vs. 4-6 of Gen.3. The serpent in Gen.3 was the devil as corroborated in Rev.12:9. Satan deceived Eve; however for Adam, he did not deceive Adam rather Adam chose to forsake God’s word (Gen.2:17; Rom.5:19). Eve’s eyes we not opened to see into the physical world until Adam disobeyed (Gen.3:6-7a; 1Tim.2:14). As soon as Adam disobeyed God’s word, and instead obeyed fallen Lucifer, Satan achieved his goal & desire. Man – the authoritative spirit had handed over his liberty and allegiance to the devil (Rom.6:16a). By this the devil became man’s master and no longer was God man’s master. Man had become cut off from direct access to God; instead the devil had taken over man’s position.

The devil, a fallen angel who ought never to have had an authority to rule now became the ruler over all the domain God had commanded man to rule over. This is confirmed in Jude1:9, when Michael (an angel & therefore a ministering spirit) wanted to take Moses’ body, he could not just take Moses’ body from his old mate –fallen Lucifer. He needed the only authority higher than the stolen one which Lucifer now had. Michael used the Lord’s authority. After man fell, only God’s authority could deal with Satan as seen in Zech.3:1-3 and Job2:1-7. Things have changed now though, since Christ has died and risen (Philip.2:9-10). This is why Matt.28:18 is a most important declaration; authority was returned to man, via the man – Christ Jesus (1Tim2:5). & not just the old earthly authority which Adam had before he fell, rather man in Christ now has GOD’S OWN AUTHORITY!!! Whao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lucifer wasn’t the only angel who fell, for Peter and Jude enlighten us (2Pet.2:4; Jude1:6). The devil was a sinner from the first day of his change into being Satan; He steals, kills, destroys, lies, accuses and opposes men and he walks about looking for any man who will be his victim; but God has cut out our work for us. You see God is not just our Judge He is also our Defender!!! God also has armed us good and proper (Eph.6:13-16), so we are not ignorant of the way the devil thinks and schemes (2Cor.2:11b). We are the enforcers of the victory which Christ has wrought for us (1John4:4; Rom.8:37 and 1John5:4)! GLORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Created to Be and Live Like Him...

I once attended a Bible Study class where the following question was asked, “Is God glorified through manmade creatures?” What the teacher meant was creatures such as the Mount Rushmore, the Egyptian Pyramid, etc. The general agreement in that Bible Study was that God wasn’t glorified in those things because God did not make them by Himself. That dazzled me; although, I did not speak up. I preferred to listen to everyone’s thoughts, and besides, I wasn’t as confident in the Word as I am now. But I remember thinking that that is definitely not right. I believe God is glorified through the magnificent works of man. I believe God is proud of His creatures for the works we do. I mean, how wouldn’t He be? He made us in His image – to be like Him. Genesis 2:7 says He breathe into us. That is, we have God in us. If we can’t do great things, then we aren’t acting like our Father. I believe man’s amazing creatures point directly to God. 

Think of it this way: We can carve faces in rocks; and with limited technology, fix blocks together to build a world’s masterpiece; make a paradise out of a desert in Dubai; and erect structures on the moon, etc. If man (saints and sinners) can do all these and more, imagine what God our Master Creator can do. Contrary to the opinion of my co-Bible students that evening, I believe all man’s beautiful creations point back to the awesomeness of God. And if the natural man can do all these, imagine what the spiritual man, who has God living in him, can do. 

Understanding that we are indeed the image of the All-sovereign God should take every believer from the level of “cannot” to that of “can-do-all-things”. 

You can live a holy life. Why? Because you were created to be like God who is ever holy. You are His reflection and the more you behold Him (through the Word), the more you resemble and act like Him – 2^nd Corinthians 3:18. 

You can do all things. Why? Because there is nothing impossible with God – Luke 1:37. When Jesus sent His disciples out on a mission trip in Luke 9:1-2, he told them to share the word and “heal” people. He didn’t tell them to ask God to heal the sick. He told them to go and heal the sick – because we were made in the image of God. 

Right before Jesus ascended, He said, “All authority has been given unto me…” (Matthew 28:18-19). Then He continued and said what that authority should help Him do… Oh, did I say “help Him”? Sorry, I meant “help us” do. So Jesus was given authority, but He didn’t need that authority anymore. He was ascending to heaven and He didn’t need it in heaven, He gave it to us (Luke 10:19) to – teach all nations, baptize people, heal the sick, cast out devils, to trample upon snakes and scorpions, etc. (Mark 16:17-18). Being made in God’s image implies that there is nothing that you cannot do. 

Being made in God’s image also means that we are His representatives – His ambassadors (2Cor.5:20). God gave all He has to us (Jesus), so we are all He now has on this earth. We are His hands and feet. We can speak on His behalf (as He leads). We can live like Him to the extent that people think we are Him. The disciples in Acts 4:13 displayed so much knowledge and confidence that people just knew that they must’ve been with Jesus – there was no other reasonable explanation. The day I met Kunle, I just knew He was a believer. I needed no introductions. Mind you, we all wore the same things that day, NYSC uniform/khakis; so it wasn’t his dressing. He just had a Jesus glow radiating from Him. I guess He had looked so much into that glass and was being changed greatly into God’s glorious image beyond his spirit, but now in character. 

Understanding that we were made in God’s image should take us from the level of the ordinary to that of the extraordinary. Ye are gods. Psalm 82:6. You can decree. You can possess. You have dominion. You can do all things – ALL things. If nothing is impossible with God, nothing is impossible with you. 

And let me tell you a secret: the reason why the devil hates man so much is because we were created in God’s image and He was not. He was an angel of God before his fall. Angels are spirits and are very powerful, but they were not created in the image of God. Imagine how horrible Lucifer would have felt because of that? (Anyway, we’ll learn more about this adversary next time on this series). 

From now on, I challenge us all walk in the light of this fact – that we were created in the image of God. So, there should be no more limitations and no more intimidation from the devil. We are gods.

Who Is Man?

Today, man hopes to be able in the future create a robot with artificial intelligence; but can you imagine if the robots in future start creating stuffs by themselves with absolutely no input from anybody (as in, you get home and a robot cooks for you without your programming it to do so). Of course you know that a robot can’t create by itself let alone do things by itself, without a man first creating the robot. Same way with everything in nature; the very beauty and essence of every living (plants, animals, bacteria etc.) and non-living (air, ocean, land, planets, stars, galaxies, the universe) thing points to the fact that intelligence was involved in their creation and existence.

Take this into consideration as an example, if the gravitational force that exists on earth today were to increase by just a tiny bit, then every single man will be crushed into the earth, and if the force were to decrease, we will all float away into the empty, airless and vacuum blue sky. So is the very good and conducive gravity which we experience a thing of chance? As humans on this planet with free will and the ability to choose what we want and how we want to live, did this happen just by-the-way and coincidentally? Did man come into existence by the order of the survival and selection of the fittest? Our ability to talk, reason, understand, manufacture, empathise, study, rule and dominate, did it just happen to be or is it all part of a plan? I know you will have an answer, mine is illustrated in an analogy: ‘for man not to have come into existence via an intelligent Being will also mean the Lego toys that you played with while younger simply metamorphosed from the thermostat raw material plastic with no contribution from the intelligent makers –humans’. So who exactly is man, what is our source and origin?

So who is man?...

Where you come from, your upbringing and your past experiences will influence your answer to the question above. A man with a scientific upbringing will easily say man is an evolutionary by-product of primates (apes), someone with a free-moral upbringing may say: ‘I don’t care who man is’ or ‘I don’t know’. An atheist will easily quote philosophies to justify his/her opinion; an individual with a religious background will say man was created by a deity. Today, kindly consider the intelligence, the conscience and consciousness of man, the creativity and love which we are capable of expressing. Then you understand that man came from an intelligent source. The best answer for this question will however come from the source of man.

You see, man was made and created by God!!! Are you surprised or do you feel scornful? Well you can’t change this truth, just like a BMW vehicle can’t change its mind to say it was made by a KFC food company. Genesis 1:27 says God created man! The idea of man’s existence came from God, the execution is from God and the continuity of man today is also due to God. Before man was created, God had a plan for man; vs.26 of this Scripture says God’s intent was for man to:

·         Exist in the image and semblance of God.

·         Rule over the earth and everything on the earth.

So who is man, well God’s answer is this: man is a creature (in fact, the only creature) made in God’s image. When man came into existence, man was shaped and fashioned to look like God. This is very interesting because we therefore have to look further, not to man but to God to see and know who man is! The answer to the question of who man is therefore leads to the question: ‘Who is God?

Jesus Christ actually answered this question very fundamentally in John 4:24. You see, God is a spirit, i.e. God is a Spiritual Being/Entity. Therefore, it follows that man also is a spirit, why? Simply because man was created in the image of God, even to look like God. So God is a spirit and He created man as a spirit, but that ain’t all, there is still more information to be gleaned. So we know, God is a spirit and man is a spirit; but Psalm 104:4 and Hebrews 1:7 also introduce us to another class of beings: angels too are spirits. God made angels to be spirits. Hebrews1:14 gives further clarification on what category of spirit all angels are, they are made by God to be ministering spirits. So what sort of spirit is God? For whatever category of Spirit God is, the same applies to man (as man was made in the likeness of God!!!)

Psalm 62:11 explains that God owns all power, Romans 13:1 reinforces this by saying all authority belongs to God and Jeremiah 32:27 proclaims the Lordship of God over all. So Dear Reader, God is a Domineering Spirit i.e an Authoritative Spirit. Daniel 2:21 further expatiates that God is a Ruling Spirit. Therefore we are not surprised to see in Genesis 1:26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 that God made man to be a spirit that: dominates, subdues and rules. This is what it means to be made in the image of God! So God fashioned man to be the only creatures in the very class and status of God – Domineering Spirits!!! (by the way this status of man changed after man fell, but we will talk on this in the future topics). Psalm 24:1 and Psalm 115:16 explain that God gave man the earth for man to dominate on it (… so this ought to begin answering your question on why bad things happen on earth; but we will also talk more on this subject hopefully in the near future). This is the way God made the first man.

Living in an age where people were still trying to understand who God is, Elihu, a friend of Job declared that there is a spirit located inside man (Job 32:8). However, with the better illumination provided by the spirit of God, now that Christ has died, resurrected and ascended (Romans 8:34 and John 14:26), we know that the spirit is not just in man, rather that man is that spirit and man has a soul while we live in this body as a tent and covering for the spirit to function in (Hebrews 4:12). Our next discuss on this matter will be to look at who God is and how man mirror’s His image.

A New Series Coming Up...

Hey Guys,

Have you ever wondered where man came from? Why we act the way we do. What exactly it means to be made in the image of God. How death feels like; or How it'll be in Heaven or in hell? Why the devil is after man and not after animals. Who is greater - angels or humans? What is the difference between the spirit and the soul? and on and on...

Yeah those are questions that I've considered and sought answers for, and some, I'm still seeking answers to. GOD has been faithful to open my eyes to some of them, and that's why I will like to share them with y'all on this blog.
 
Kunle and I will be going through a special series on MAN this year, and we would like you to ride with us on this. Kunle is more knowledgeable on this topic than I am, so I'll let him lead, while we all learn :).

To make it easier for you to follow this series, there is a section on the right pane of the blog page that is solely dedicated to this series. So, you can always go there anytime to click on the topic you'd like to read.

Thank you so much for being great readers and followers. Your comments inspire me to keep going. 

God bless you.

He Was Worth More

I don’t know if I was the only one that wondered why Jesus sent the devils in the Gadarene ex-demoniac into a herd of swine. I mean, I always felt some sorta pity for the owners of those swine. I often wondered, “Couldn’t Jesus have sent the demons straight out into the sea, or into some ants, or into a bunch of insignificant animal whose loss wouldn’t hurt people? Why did He have to allow the loss of the source of some people’s livelihood just to set one man free?” I’m hoping I’m not the only one who’s reasoned like this.

Recently, at an event, while waiting for the organizers to get started, I pulled out my little Bible and opened to Mark 5 – the same story. As I read, I began again pondering on why Jesus had to let such waste happen. This time, rather than subtly judging my glorious King, who’s always right and is blessed forever… amen, I pondered to get answers. As faithful as He always is, He answered and said, “His soul was worth more.” I realized at that moment that Jesus allowed that to happen because He needed to make a point. If you look closely at verse 13, after it was mentioned that the swine “ran violently” into the sea, the Bible was careful to add in parenthesis that the herd of swine was about two thousand. That information wasn’t relevant, we would think; except that it was. If you think about it, two thousand pigs aren’t cheap today. Then imagine that they would have been even more expensive 2000+ years ago. The loss of those pigs was a lot of money gone down the drain. That day, Jesus had a number of onlookers around Him, and what He did proved to them that not only did He have authority over demons, but also that that supposed mad man was treasure to Him and Jesus would give anything to have him delivered from Satan’s grip. Jesus and His disciples were chased out of town, but the man was free and saved.

I don’t know if you’ve ever wondered what it took Jesus to save you. We all know of His ultimate sacrifice for all men. That was a great sacrifice and cannot be compared to any other. But what extra thing did it take Jesus to “bring you out” from that grip of sin and Satan. Some of us quickly forget, and so toy with sin or take Him for granted, or refuse to share His love with others.

One day, in College Station TX, I went out evangelizing on campus with a wonderful woman of God. (I’ll call her Anna for the sake of anonymity). We got into a building and encountered a young lady like us who was relaxing in a common room. As we spoke to her about our faith, we mentioned that it is only in Jesus that one can find salvation. She seemed puzzled, and maybe, upset at what we had said, and honestly, we couldn’t get through to her beyond that, but if I remember well enough, we got her number. As we left, Anna said, “I’ve told her the truth and it’s a pity she doesn’t like it, but her salvation is more important to me than my friendship with her.” Of course, that struck me. Many times, we try to protect our friendships, try to not-offend anybody, try to not be overbearing, or as someone called me, a nuisance to people of other beliefs. We pat ourselves on the back hoping God understands: “you know, I’ve been friends with such and such for years, it’ll be wrong for me to just throw my beliefs in his/her face… yadiyadiyah.” If we’d allow God to speak, I think He’ll ask a question, “So, is it better he/she ends up in hell?”

To Jesus, like that ex-demoniac, you are worth more than anything else in the world. That’s why He left His glory high up in Heaven and came down to this dilapidated earth to die for you and I. If you think about it very well, it probably cost you the loss of a friendship, a job, family ties, etc. to be free from sin and Satan. You may not know but it probably cost some people around you abstinence from food and lots of prayers before you saw the light. I heard about a woman who fasted and prayed every Friday for seven years so that an Islamic chief in her neighborhood would see the light and come to Jesus. Thankfully, he eventually did. Different people, different story…

The point, however, is in view of these great and practical demonstrations of God’s love, what is your response? You see, God still depends on you to show His love to the unsaved. We are His hands and feet on this earth. We are all He has on this earth. Will you continue to ignore that lost soul that you meet every day or will you proclaim and expound God’s care and loving-kindness to that friend, relative, work colleague, neighbor or boss? At times, just one more word is needed for a man to believe in Jesus. We all know that some unbelievers test God in prayer, wanting God to do something physical before they believe. My dear friends, we are the physical witnesses to the Invisible God. Let us go show the world that Jesus – man’s One and only Savior is alive and that they are worth more to Him than anything else in the world.

HEARING GOD

            Ever wondered if God speaks at all? Like, is God just in heaven, enjoying with the angels worshipping Him; such that He is so far away for Him to hear you or even speak to you? Does God care enough to have time to listen to all you have to say? My dear you have to understand that the reason you can speak is because God speaks, and you can only listen because God listens; after all, you are made in God’s image. God does love talking and speaking (i.e. communicating) with us – men. So how does God speak and how can we ensure we hear Him speak.

            You see previously, God has spoken with the audible voice. Check out the Israelites, they heard God speak audibly from Mount Sinai. Ask Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Isaiah and the other Prophets, they did hear God’s voice. Friends consider this: ‘does God have a preferred way of speaking?’ Remember the discourse between Jesus and the woman at the well in Samaria, Jesus said God does not enjoy being worshipped in physical temples; so our Father does have a preference. One thing that links all the ways God spoke to man after the fall of Adam is this: they heard God from outside. The voice of God had to be audible to them because though they related with God, God was still external to them. God’s presence lived in buildings, arcs and stones in that period. So something physical needed to be involved for them to hear God.

            Jesus enlightens us on how to hear Dad very clearly. Three times in the ministry of Jesus, we see written that God spoke audibly. At His baptism, God’s audible voice came to John the Baptist: (John1:32-33; Matt.3:17; Note: John and Matthew’s Gospel explain and make us understand the accounts of Jesus’ baptism in Mark & Luke. The person that saw the spirit descending on Jesus was not the crowd gathered around but John). It follows then that the voice spoken was not to Jesus, but to John who needed to see and hear to believe in his heart and afterwards proclaim: John1:36. Again at the transfiguration, the voice of God came physically to Peter, James and John, not to Jesus, nor the prophet and the law-giver who were with Him. Finally when Jesus prayed in John 12:28-30, the audible voice from God, came not for Jesus but for the people who were gathered around. So, how did Jesus hear God during His prayer? We know Jesus heard God when He prayed; in fact Jesus was always in prayer and always hearing God. John 12:49 confirms that every word Jesus said was gotten in the place of communion with our Father! Again when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He didn’t start praying, rather he continued in prayer; to understand see John 11:41b. Jesus had already conversed with God within Himself before He spoke those words and God had also responded; hence He said thanks to God for all the men around to hear (vs.42).

            So again, how did Jesus hear God? Jesus answers first by telling the woman at the well in Samaria: ‘God is a Spirit, and He prefers to be worshipped in spirit’. That is the place of communion – hearing and speaking – with God that God prefers most. Know this, that man is a spirit, and has a soul (the mind for thinking & emotional components for expression) and man lives in the body. So the real you is the spirit; you don’t have a spirit, my dear friend, you are a spirit. Hence God said, let us make man in our image; and God is a? ……. So the utmost place of God communing with His sons is within. The best way to hear God is to hear God speak to the spirit that you are; to use ehm ehm ‘unspiritual English’: it is to hear God speak to your spirit. This is the core of the sheep hearing and knowing the voice of the shepherd (John 10:27&4b). How do I know this is the most excellent way of God speaking to us now? Well, Romans 8:16 clarifies that the place where we receive the witness and confirmation that we are actually God’s sons is in our spirits, not in our minds or bodies; the mind and body takes time to catch onto this knowledge. Again, Philip’s experience with the Ethiopian man, the spirit spoke to Philip to minister to the man (Acts 8:29). How did God speak? By the spirit of course and therefore, how do you think that Philip heard? Through his …….. Also, Peter heard God speak via the agency of his spirit communing with God’s spirit (Acts 10:19). So dear friends you want to hear God’s voice frequently? Don’t just yearn to hear a physical audible voice with your ears, rather allow yourself to be trained to recognise when God talks to your spirit, for there ain’t anything physical about this. This is why Peter said faith is involved when we have not seen Jesus yet we believe in Him (1Peter 1:8); same way faith is involved when you have not seen God and you hear him speak to you in the spirit. After all, speaking with God and hearing God speak – prayer, is part of the components of worship; & God is to be worshipped in spirit and in truth.

            Joel speaks of the ways God speaks to us today (Joel2:28). God still speaks today in dreams and visions. So my dear, understand that God does speak in diverse ways, but when it comes to the place of 1 Thess. 5:17 where you are to pray as a believer without any interruption, and the place of Luke18:1 where you are to pray always, without stopping then you’ve gotta hear God as frequently as Jesus did as illustrated in john 12:49 (NIV). So God does speak, He is speaking and he will keep on speaking, you simply have to be aware that your spirit can actually hear God and already does hear God. When you become aware of this, your mind will start to get the words of God that your spirit hears. Dear friends, this is but a minute tip of the iceberg in the teaching of hearing God speak, so after reading this if you do have questions or objections, please feel free to bring it up.

Live In The Promises

I told y’all that last year was so challenging for me, and I promised to share about it with y’all from December 25^th. But I changed my mind. I think rehearsing stories of woe is a display of unbelief. I’m sorry if you were disappointed.

About two weeks or so ago, I posted something on my Facebook wall about me being a priceless jewel that only priceless people can possess. In response to that, a very wonderful and dear friend called me and said, “I like your post on Facebook, I just wish I could say the same thing for myself.” Of course, she was going through some things and needed someone to talk to. Later that day, we spoke at length, I counseled her, assured her of God’s love for her, and she felt much better. However, when we were hanging out two days later, she still continued to speak in unbelief. She wouldn’t stop, until I jokingly told her to move far from me so her unbelief doesn’t rub off on me. You know what? I forgive her, I forgive me, and God forgives us all, including you. That was 2014. This is 2015. In 2015, we’re all going to act, everyday, like the Word is true. We don’t have to cajole God into fulfilling His promises. We don’t have to coax Him, nag, and pull the hem of His garment like a little child does when he/she wants something from mommy. We don’t have to do acrobatics praying to God for Him to perform what He said He’ll do. I’ve always said it, there are some prayers believers should not pray – e.g. God, please bless me. It is not a believer’s prayer. It’s a promise (Ephesians 1:3, 2^nd Peter 1:3).

In Nigeria, at the close of service in most of our churches, we share the grace in unison, quoting two powerful Bible scriptures – 2^nd Corinthians 13:14 and Psalm 23:6. One day, while sharing grace, it dawned on me that we all recite these words from memory but many of us do not live it. Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Those were originally the words of King David, and those are definitely not words of a confused person. Believers should never be confused or be in doubt of the Word of God. It is yea and amen. It must surely (certainly, definitely, assuredly, undoubtedly) come to pass – 2^nd Corinthians 1:20. Imagine if everyone who shares grace with those words every time actually believe what they say; I bet being a pastor will be more attractive than it is right now. (Can I hear all the pastors here say “Amen” to that? Lol.)

One day, about eight years ago, I was in a place in my life where I needed to feel the arms of Jesus wrapping me from heaven. As I stood in front of the registrar’s office at the University of Ghana about to hand in my withdrawal letter with no other University admission in view, I heard the words, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” At that time, I knew there was a verse like that in the Bible (Hebrews 13:5), but I didn’t know where it was, and for many years, I didn’t even care to know, because I wanted to always believe that those words were for me alone. I took those words and sailed with them into another world. When I got to the United States a few months later to continue my education, compared to where I was coming from, it seemed as if I’d been thrown into a boot camp of learning with no prior warning. Everyone knows that all work and no play makes Jack an American, not a dull boy. Through it all, though, I held on to those very words I heard that day at the registrar’s office. God didn’t lie. He never left me. He never forsook me. (He still hasn’t). He gave me way more than I expected. From a student who couldn’t make the fairly cheap cut into medical school, I became one who graduated Summa Cum Laude (First Class). His promises are true. Never let go of them.

He also said in Jeremiah 29:11 that He thinks about us; and that His thoughts towards us are thoughts of peace and not of evil to give us an expected end. I usually remember and speak out these words when I’m in great confusion – confusion that makes me cry pitifully. Amidst tears, He’ll remind me of those words, and I’ll say them out. I love the New Living Translation version that says, “… to give us a future and a hope.” While meditating on this verse, I realized that in this version, “future” comes before “hope”. To me, this means that when I arrive that future or promise God has for me, it doesn’t end there; there is still hope ahead. I mean, we don’t hope for the present or for we have; we hope for what is ahead. So it means that wherever God is taking me to isn’t the end of His plans towards me. Until I enter into everlasting rest with Him (which is what our greatest hope is), I keep on moving ahead – a future, a hope. Hallelujah!

Life is full of challenges. And God never promises us a smooth ride. There are bumps, potholes, sharp bends, and dangerous alleys in this journey, and that’s why Jesus said He has overcome the world for us (John 16:33). It’s a journey that will end safely if we hang on to the words of Jesus. In 2015, there will be many challenges. There will be times you’ll want to give up. Like the disciples in Mark 4:36-41, you’ll want to ask God if He doesn’t care that you perish. But, hold on! Hang on to His promises. He doesn’t lie (Numbers 23:19). One of His promises at times like these is found in Isaiah 43:2-3a (NLT) – “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you (or, kindle upon you). For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Brothers and sisters, can we just believe His words? They’re powerful, faithful and true, and if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is LORD, they are definitely for you.

In 2015, there is no need to be afraid of death either, because Psalm 91 is for you. When Ebola found its way into Nigeria last year, and precisely, into the very city in which I live, I held on to Psalm 91. I love the last verse – “With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:16 KJV). I cannot die in 2015, and I don’t have to pray about it. It’s a promise. It’s done, and I have received it. Full stop.

This year when you face challenges, speak the word. God said His words will never go back to Him void (Isaiah 55:11); so it means whether or not we hold on to His promises, they will still fulfill purpose. They are for us anyway, so why waste it? They are true and powerful and they work (Hebrews 4:12). And that’s why the devil works sooo hard to keep us away from the Bible. He knows that if all Christians know their rights in Christ, then he is in big trouble. I want to put the devil in big trouble even before his time is up, and I’d like y’all to join me in doing that starting from this year. (You know you can’t do that without studying your Bible regularly, right? *wink*)

Don’t worry about anything. God loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). He is with you. He said He’ll calm your fears with His love and rejoice over you with joyful singing (Zephaniah 3:17). Wow, such love! When things are not going your way, trust God. His thoughts and ways are waaay higher than yours, and believe me, He wants your good more than you want your good, so why not chill and relax in His everlasting arms of love and strength. It’s easier said than done, I know – but just do it. Trust Him to help you. He won’t put you to shame.

In 2015, bask in His love, and live in His promises.

Happy New Year!