Technology and Anti-Christ, What do you think?

As a Minister of Jesus Christ, people keep coming to me day after day with a very disturbing and thought provoking questions. One of those questions centers on technology and religion. Some of these people are of the belief that technological advance is pointing to the arrival of the Anti-christ--that the anti-christ will ride on the back of technology to establish a one-world order and government. For instance, almost everything you have to do now requires your bio-metrics, your bio-metric data are been banked for proper identification, whether you know it or not! What is your opinion and what is your stand?

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE KINGDOM

The Kingdom of our God is governed and run by three basic principles; namely, Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Spirit as we see in the passage quoted below.

 "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things [is] acceptable to God and approved by men" - Rom 14:17-18.

These three basic Principles can further be expatiated to include other equally important principles. However, every other principle of the Kingdom of God stems from these three. What really amazes me about these principles is their relevance in my relationship with God and my relationship with men. It is clearly revealed from the word of God that if I live by these principles, I will be acceptable to God and be approved by men. This is mind blowing! 

WHAT IS RIGHTEOUSNESS?

What I found to be a major problem among believers is assumption. Sometimes, because of the high usage of some words, they soon become too familiar, and as a result, we lose the power and the blessings of those words. We have heard the word 'Righteousness' over and over again that we don't take heed to the life of it. In most cases, what we have is the letter that kills; but the spirit that gives life is far from our possession.

The most common understanding of righteousness is, 'a right standing with God', righteousness that is bestowed on us as a result of faith in Christ Jesus. This is an imputed righteousness (a gift) - Rom 5:17. Imputed righteousness is good and great, because without it we will not be able to stand before God. This righteousness that gives us a standing before God is also called positional righteousness.

However, the righteousness that makes us acceptable to God and approved by men has got to be more than this positional righteousness! As many as are mature, who have become skillful in the word of righteousness; there is the need to build upon our positional righteousness. We must take righteousness from positional level to a practical level. There are many who claim to be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (1 Cor.5:21) who are far from practical righteousness; their actions and lifestyles are full of unrighteousness. Some have even become so depraved that they indulge in stuffs that should not even be mentioned among unbelievers.

Please meditate on the following passages of the Bible, for they buttress the point I'm making.

 "And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him." - 1 John 2:28-29

 “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” – 1 John 3:7

Thank God that we are positionally righteous, but we must not bring shame on the name of the Lord through our unrighteous acts. Truly we have been declared righteous by God because we have confessed and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but we must know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” – 1 Cor.6:9-11

So we see from God’s word that righteousness is not just a positional thing, it is a doing thing. It therefore follows that those who have been declared righteous by God through faith the blood of Jesus must learn the practice of righteousness lest they incur the wrath of God.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,” – Rom.1:18

BEING BORN AGAIN IS NOT ENOUGH!

This may sound so scary to you but it is the truth! Thank God I’m born again, but it is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end. It is required of those who are born again that their lives should ultimately please God. Christianity is not all talk, it is all walk. People who do not understand this truth end up as mere professors of faith; they profess so much with their mouth but their lifestyle continues to deny the lordship of Christ.

“They profess to know God, but by their actions they disown Him; they are detestable, disobedient, and useless for anything good” – Titus 1:16 (Williams NT).

It is possible for someone to be born again and his or her experiences are still the same with those who are not even born again at all! But I think if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new ?This I have discovered: old things will still remain with anyone who is in Christ but refuses to renew his or her mind.

As a matter of fact, someone can be born again and yet daily live a life that is hostile to God! You may be born again, but as long as you retain a carnal mind, your thoughts will always be clashing with the law of God and consequently, your actions. A carnal mind is not subject to the law of God; this is why a lot of born again people still live contrary to the ways of God.

CARNAL MIND MAKES YOU PRONE TO DEVIL’S CONTROL

 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those [who live] according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded [is] death, but to be spiritually minded [is] life and peace. Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” – Rom8:5-8

By definition, a carnal mind is a mind that is ruled and influenced by the principles of this world as against the principles of God’s kingdom. In a nutshell, it is the devil’s workshop! Carnal mindedness does not mean you are not born again; rather, it means you are born again, but you are still thinking and feeling much like unbelievers.

If you have a carnal mind, you will yield more to the devil than you yield to God. Even though you are born again, yet a carnal mind can make you an easy prey to the devil, since a carnal mind is hostile to God and His law. Each time your carnal mind moves you to break God’s law, the serpent gains access to your life—whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent (Ecc 10:8). God’s law is like a wall of protection around us.

BORN AGIN BUT SPIRITUALLY FRUSTRATED!

This is one of the reason many who are born again do not enjoy the things that should freely follow after their salvation. Bible talks about good things that accompany salvation, “But, beloved, though we thus speak, we are persuaded that there are better things for you, things that accompany salvation.” – Heb. 6: 9 (TMB). How can I be born again, and yet my mind will be putting me at loggerheads with God? To enjoy all that Christ has to offer us, we must decisively aim at having a spiritual mind. Devil is at home in a carnal mind, but God is only at home in a spiritual mind.

However, a spiritual mind is not gotten instantly as salvation. Salvation is a gift receivable on confessing Christ as the Lord and Savior; but spiritual mind is not a gift like salvation. Spiritual mind is worked out with the help of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8: 13), spiritual mind is cultivated through daily renewing your mind by the Word of God.

Carnal mind is the reason many born again people still lead a defeated life; you can be born again and still share the woes of those who do not know God. Keep renewing your mind and you will be surprised at the quality life of God that will be at your disposal—to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

CHANGE THAT THINKING!

Actions are not accidental; actions are parented by thoughts. If your thought-life is polluted, your actual life will be polluted. If your thought-life is crooked, your actual life will be crooked. In order to affect life in a more permanent way, then our thought-life must be reformed. This is why the bible says that we should not conform to the thinking system of this world; rather, we must be transformed into the kind of person God wants us to be by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2).

Many times we are frustrated with ourselves; the reason is because there is always a disparity with who we are now and the person we ought to be. In order to bridge the gap between whom we are now and who we ought to be, there must be a paradigm shift. This simply means a mental shift from low level thinking to high level thinking. God said in Isaiah 55:9,

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

There will never be a new you if there is never a new mindset. God is the most holy, most high, most powerful because of His thoughts. His thoughts are called high thoughts. To get on the high side of life without any sense of arrogance, then begin to replace those low-level thinking with high thoughts of God. Fortunately for us, high thoughts of God are in His Word, called the Bible; so they are accessible.

If you are born again, you have the high life of God in you; however, you may not see the expression of this God-kind of life until you begin to take responsibility for your thoughts. You must begin to determine what kind of thought you will permit to run in your heart. You must begin to consciously reprogram your thinking by replacing the low-level-human thinking with the high thoughts of God.

I have seen many people who are born again but are far from expressing God-kind of life. The reason is because, though they are born again, but their minds are not renewed; they still think much like sinners and worldly people.

Thoughts are very powerful; if they are good, they produce good life; and if they are bad, they produce a bad life—a life that is far from the original intention of God our Creator.

THE BREAKTHROUGH FAITH

“And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." …………………… He said to the paralytic, 11 "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" -  Mark 2:1-12

This story is one of my classics on faith that defies all odds and breaks through. The way of faith is not an easy way especially to a carnal man. This is why I believe the way of faith is never prescribed to a carnal person but to a spiritual person—the just or the righteous shall live by faith. To the just, I mean those who have been justified freely by the blood of Jesus, there is no other way; it is either faith-way or no-way at all!

From this passage, it is established that faith recognizes the fact of the problem, it doesn’t deny the fact of the problem; the only difference is that the breakthrough faith is aggressive enough not to accept the facts as final; it accepts the facts as subject to change. The breakthrough faith accepts the word of God as the final authority to which all situations submit especially when the force of faith is applied. Faith is a supernatural force with a creative and subjugating power.

NO BARRIER TO FAITH

The action of the four men who carried the paralytic appears weird and provocative to a natural or carnal man; nevertheless, their action pleased God! Breaking through the roof to bring their friend to the presence of Jesus might have incurred the wrath of the landlord; but Jesus called it faith, “When Jesus saw their faith”. Now this is the crux of this story; they needed a miracle, and their faith moved them in the direction of God, being undaunted by the crowd-barrier and roof-barrier; they broke through all to God’s Presence where the answer to their problem is.

BREAKTHROUGH FAITH IS ONLY MINDFUL OF GOD

This is one of the qualities of a breakthrough faith; it is neither mindful of self nor what others will think or say, it is only mindful of God. Breakthrough faith doesn’t seek to please self or others; it only seeks to please God. Once God is pleased, the miracle is received. When it comes to faith that breaks through, what I feel is irrelevant, what others feel, think, or say is of no consequence either; what really matters is what God says. God is never ashamed to honor this kind of faith.

One of the factors that are destroying our faith-life is what men will feel, think, or say. Won’t they think I have gone nuts? Won’t they think I have gone berserk? The day we wake up to the reality of faith that seeks to please and honor God alone; our faith will no longer crawl anymore, it will begin to soar and the supernatural will become a commonplace in our lives. If your faith is not irritating natural and carnal men yet, it is not a faith to be reckoned with; it is not a breakthrough faith yet. If you have not been called names on account of your faith, it is no faith yet. If you have not been disdained on account of your faith as Eli the priest despised Hannah and mistook her for a drunk because of her bizarre prayer posture; am afraid, your faith may not have spiritual momentum to breakthrough.

To break through the obstacles of life or the attacks of the devil on your life, you must be resolute in your heart never to mind your feelings or intellect, or better put, your senses. At the same time, you must never mind what people feel, think, or say; set your face like a flint only to please God by your faith actions. When you break through by your faith, it is the same people who mock you that will celebrate you.

As you do this, I see your faith break through and your mockers become your cheer group in Jesus name. Amen.

HOPE IN GOD

 “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”  Ps 42:5

There are times when life seems to make no sense, when nothing seems to add up; at such times we are most vulnerable to despair, despondency, frustration, and before you know it, depression has set in. At such times, unless God comes around to get us on His own revelatory frequency and open our eyes to the big picture, we will be miserable and the devil will have a field day harassing us over the things that God has already concluded, settled and finished.  (….the works were finished from the foundation of the world- Heb 4:3). The major reason we become hopeless most of the times is our poor or wrong perception; when we cannot see what God sees, we get into self-pity and from self-pity to depression.

HOPE IS THE ANCHOR

When we lose hope, we become like a ship that has reached the harbor but it is not anchored. Such a ship will always be at the mercy of the waves of the seas, tossed about and restless. Bible describes hope as the anchor for the soul (This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil - Heb 6:19).

HOPE RELEASES ENERGY

Hope infuses and injects life and spiritual energy necessary to bring the invisible into this material realm. However, hope is not possible where you have not connected to God’s own frequency, to see as He sees. It has been established that vision modifies behavior—what you keep seeing will affect your thinking, what you think affects your feeling, and your feeling ultimately affects your behavior.

Therefore, if your hope is weak, it is as a result of weak vision. If you are hopeless, it is because you have been seeing a wrong picture that the devil, the enemy of your soul wants you to see. There is no how you will see from God’s perspective and not have a living hope. Hope is a powerful force produced by vision. Connect back on God’s frequency, for I’m sure that your dream will not become a nightmare, it will be fulfilled. Your vision is not a mere imagination, it is born of God; and hear this, “whatever is born of God overcomes the world” 1 John 5:4

WRONG PICTURE KILLS HOPE

They showed Israel the garment of Joseph, soaked in the blood of animal as an evidence to show that his son had been mauled by a wild beast. As a result of this false evidence (vision), Israel lost hope and lived in despondency for several years. Devil made him to be sad when it was baseless to do so. Devil made him to mourn over a child he should rejoice over. Imagine what devastation a false mental and spiritual picture can bring to your soul! You don’t have to lose hope because of what Satan is showing you about your life and destiny, because it is not true, it is false! Tune in to God’s frequency today and bounce back to life.

Hopelessness is one of the major dragon-headed evil this generation is attacked with day after day. If ever there is any crime, you can trace it to hopelessness. Suicide is like a normal evil this generation has had to put up with, divorce rate even among the children of God is assuming an alarming proportion. All these and other evils are traceable to the fact that someone somewhere has lost hope; he or she couldn’t see meaning in the whole scenario of life anymore.

There is no place where you can get an accurate and authentic picture of your future except in the word of God. Bible is full of graphics and images of your destiny. I dare you to behold it continually—behold it long enough and it is stamped on your mind permanently.

This is why I believe this is the time to preach this gospel of hope to this highly harassed and depressed generation. People have lost touch with the Source of hope (God) and are seeking for hope in things that can never give hope. Our God is called the God of hope.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”- Rom 15:13-14

From this beautiful passage above, we see that there can never be joy and peace where there is no hope. The next time you see a joy-less or peace-less person, just go straight to the root—the hope is under attack.

Your situation is not as hopeless as Satan painted it. You can still pick up the broken pieces of your life and hand them over to the Master—the Potter will help you put it together again and make of your life a masterpiece that will be celebrated all over the world! Yield to the Holy Spirit today, He will give you the power to abound in hope.

Keep abounding in hope.