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If you are a parent, and your child comes to you and makes a request of you, something they greatly desire and it is within your power to provide it and it is exactly what you have always wanted to give your child. You have a choice but what would hold you back? That’s right – nothing. What do you think can constrain God’s choice? Same as natural man – His Father’s heart. Listen to what the scriptures tell us about our Father’s heart. Jeremiah 29:11 in the Amplified version -  For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. You may say, Ayo, that is the Old Testament. Listen to what Jesus Himself had to say:  Luke 12:32: “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. The NASB translation says - “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. 

This three-letter word - YES is the most powerful word for a heart of obedience. In 1 Samuel 15:22 the prophet Samuel stressed the importance of obedience over a sacrifice to King Saul. The NLT translation states: But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. God will rather have obedience than sacrifice. Yes is the response of a surrendered heart; a heart that not only accepts Jesus as Saviour but has also made Him Lord. 

What does it mean to be that person that God can count on to carry forward that mandate and mantle of reconciling the world back to Him? Romans 10:13-15 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

This is the final episode of the series and I encourage you to listen to the past episodes and share them with your community of faith. I believe it is a timely message and a wake-up call to us as the body of Christ. I will not recap as I typically do but will pick up from where I stopped on the last podcast, which was the reminder that God has called us to be priests and kings who reign in life. To reign in life, we will have to embrace the thinking that allows us to truly reign in life. The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 that ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he’ – your imagination or hope or expectation prepares your future.

There is a law of compromise – if you bow you burn; if you don’t bow, you don’t burn. This is from the book of Daniel and the account of the three Hebrew boys who refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s image. Because they refused to bow, they experienced the miraculous. They all knew God; they did not just know of him. They were thrown into the fire; all three of them then a fourth man showed up. Who was this fourth man in the fire? Jesus. When you face persecution and refuse to compromise, Jesus will be in the fire with you and He will bring you through. Like the three Hebrew boys, not even the smell of smoke will be on you. You will live victoriously. 

In the Acts of the Apostles or the Acts of the Holy Spirit in the church, the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. Not the Apostles; the disciples. These were the everyday people like you and me. They did not mean Christian to be their last name just as it is not Jesus’ last name. He was not born to Mary and Joseph Christ. The word ‘Christ’ told of who Jesus is, the Anointed One and His Anointing. Christians meant the Christ-like ones. What did the people of Antioch see in these early believers that caused them to link them to Jesus? Acts 11:19-27 provides us with some clues. These people were persecuted, displaced from their homes, living in foreign lands - sojourners, but they would not be silenced. They were bold risk-takers, stepped out of the norm to reach gentiles and they were dominion minded. 

This is the hour of the Church. We need to make it our finest hours. By way of a quick recap, in the book of Revelation 2:14 - 15 Jesus warned the Church against the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. I explained that the doctrine of Balaam or the counsel that Balaam gave to the King of Moab who was seeking to destroy Israel was to entice Israel into compromise by enticing them with the Moabite women and to live with idol worshippers. The result was the destruction of 24,000 of the men of Israel by a plague. It was not what was outside of them that destroyed them, it was what they were brewing inside of themselves. It was who Israel kept company with what they looked at, how they entertained themselves.

In the book of Revelations, Jesus appeared to John the beloved on the Island of Patmos and spoke to him of the condition of seven early churches. One of them was the church at Pergamum. This is what he said to that church in Revelation 2:14 - 15 - But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

People say we have been talking about the last days for a long time. 2 Peter 3:3-4 says that scoffers will come in the last days and will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” And they are right. We have been talking about the last days for a long time. This is because it began over 2,000 years ago in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost and the Church was officially born. Peter said in Acts 2 v16 that this (the coming of the Holy Spirit) was a fulfilment of the prophesy of the Prophet Joel that ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people; your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

We cannot get to experience this personal Pentecost unless we first know the Holy Spirit as the Great Revelator. Why? Because we can only walk in the power of what we have revelation of. Once we have revelation of the Word of God, the Spirit of God will back us. The Holy Spirit’s raw material is the Word. For example, He will show you things to come and bring things to your remembrance but the things or the Word that you have meditated on because the Bible says that He does not speak of Himself. The Holy Spirit works in each of our lives through the Word of God. Motivational talks are good and has its place and I listen to motivational talks, but they cannot replace the Word of God. Only the Word contains the anointing that destroys the yoke. Only the Word does the Holy Spirit confirm. If you remove the Word, you remove the activity of the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. Have you made this personal to you?

Names are about our identity. Names are about who we are or you can say, we take on the identity of our names. And in the realm of the spirit, names are vital. It’s just like when you are called a Christian. It does not mean that you go to church or that you check off your religion on a form. That may be the popular, secular meaning today but this was not the meaning of the word Christian at the time of its origin. 

Maybe you have been standing in faith for a situation in your life, maybe it has persisted for a long time and you are feeling worn out from the waiting and the wondering. I have good news for you; I have the gospel for you – and believe me it is truly good news. According to the Word of God, in 2 Peter 1:3, you and I already have all things that pertain to life and to godliness. We don’t have to fight for it. We receive it by faith; we take it; we take the harvest of all the Jesus did. 

Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:20 NASB

Even in mega rich households there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay; a vessel’s usefulness defines its true value. Even though their functions differ, each vessel is equally important. Realize your individual value and stop discrediting yourself! You are indispensable for your Master’s use; He knows exactly what He has in you; be ready for any good work. - 2 Timothy 2:20 (Mirror Translation)

The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 that ‘as a man thinks in his heart so is he’ and in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we are to ‘cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalt itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ’. When you read these two scriptures together it becomes clear that the decision to win or lose in life is determined in our thinking and in our imagination. It is determined by what we choose to believe.  

God will not ask of us what He has not strengthened and prepared us to do. The Bible says in Romans 5:5 that the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts. Why? Because love is the distinguishing factor or Who God is. And we were made in His likeness and in His image. If God is Love, then love indeed is the measure of the believer.

I am pretty certain that you like everyone else in the world has been watching as events have unfolded all over the world in 2020. From the pandemic to racial tension, to political unrest, the stories abound. I have heard many opinions expressed and theories including conspiracy theories. Emotions are heightened and people are not holding back. Princes and paupers alike have assumed positions and opinions, and everyone seems intractable in those opinions. Social media has taken what could have been individual conversations and amplified them worldwide. The conversations and debates are seemingly endless and those that hold back on their thoughts are the exception. If your opinion differs from that of the party or parties you are talking to, heaven help you. Friends have parted ways, families have been divided, neighbors have become enemies. In my lifetime, I have never seen the world so divided and people so strongly opposed to one another and we are seeing the same depth of polarization in the body of Christ.

When I choose to be a perfectionist, it becomes a rejection of God and how He has designed for He and I to relate in this relationship. God desires that I depend on Him fully for all things while perfectionism has me depending on myself and being the captain of the boat of my life. 

Our life purpose always starts with knowing God, then discovering His specific plan for our lives.  To know God is not just about our salvation experience. The new birth is not only life-changing but also a relationship that should lead to an amazing intimate fellowship and friendship. Just like marriage is not just the wedding and the wedding ceremony is only the beginning of marriage, so also is it between us and our Father God. The new birth should create in each of us not just curiosity but a deep seated hunger to know our Father.