APOSTLES ARE CHANGE AGENTS AND NOT TITLE HOLDERS!

The truth of the matter is this; an apostle, just like every other ministry gift (5-fold ministries), is not a title; it is an office with a function. It is a gift that possesses certain attributes and functionalities.

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.” Eph 4:11-12 NLT (emphasis mine)

 "And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?" - 1 Cor 12:28-30 (emphasis mine)

And unless those attributes and functional signs are there, anybody's titular claim to the office of an apostle is spurious! Some naive or funny people easily take apostolic glory and honor upon themselves with no understanding whatsoever of the responsibilities and job description of the office of an apostle. They take the title but you can never see the character of an apostle in their lives. They keep causing confusion and friction in the body of Christ because they're out of their place.

“But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches.” – 1Cor 7:17 NKJV
“Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called” – 1Cor 7:20 NKJV

They know nothing about the sufferings of an apostle. The signs of an apostle are alien to them, yet they are not afraid to lay claim to the dreaded and awesome office of an apostle. Apostles are change agents. These charlatans have not known that you don't need more than one apostle in a nation to cause spiritual, social, and economic revolutions. But we have thousands of self-styled apostles in a region and no revolution at all! I think there is the need to investigate into that. God only needed Brother Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ to cause global and continental revolutions. Think about that! Aside from the finished work of Christ on the cross, the entire gentile world owes their righteousness and spiritual blessings to that true apostle, even Paul! Don’t get me wrong here, I am not saying God cannot bless a nation with more than one apostles. The point I am making is this: true apostles don’t go around with the tag, their works speak for them!

Holy brothers and sisters, let us abide in our callings from God and produce the corresponding fruits of our individual callings. Let us stop breaking ranks!

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God  If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Pet 4: 10-11

When you leave your calling, you begin to transgress and infringe on other people’s territory of assignments. And of course the results of that are confusion and frictions in the body. Remember, God will only reward you for what He called you to do that you are doing. And He will judge you based on what He gave you, and not what He did not give you.

If there is the need for it, I may have to write a follow up on the signs of an apostle. This is important so you can receive true apostles and shut your door against charlatans and impostors.
If this has blessed you, please share it with others. God bless you.

REIGNING IN LIFE

REIGNING IN LIFE

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” – Rom6:14

When God made man in His image and after His likeness, one of the blessings bestowed upon man was dominion—ability to rule and be master over life! Unfortunately, Satan conned man out of his dominion blessing by causing man to fall. But thanks to God! What the first Adam lost, the second and the last Adam restored. What the first Adam failed to do, the last Adam succeeded to do.

Before Jesus came, men have lived under the dominion of sin, with a few exceptions of men like Enoch who walked with God, Joseph, and Daniel. All men who lived under the law lived under the dominion of sin. It was not their fault really but the limitation imposed on them by the dispensation to which they belonged—dispensation of law. For it is written that law made nothing perfect (Heb 9:17). God never designed law to make anybody perfect. Law was given to remind man of the fall; law brings sin to the forefront! For without law, there would never have been any knowledge of sin. So we see that law gives strength to sin.

“The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.” – 1Cor 15:56

So, to break the strength, the power, and the cruel dominion of sin, the law must be out of the way. For it has been given to those who are under the law to be under the dominion of sin. On the other hand, it has been given to those who live under grace to have dominion over sin (Rom6:14). Therefore, it is an aberration for sin to have dominion over those who are under grace.

“For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh” – Rom8:3

So we see that the law failed, so also those who lived under it. If the law had not failed, there would not have been any need for Jesus! But unfortunately, there are many who claimed to be under grace that are still mastered by sin. Now something is wrong with such claim! A close examination of such people will reveal that they are still under the law—they are still functioning with the Old Testament paradigm! They have not embraced the fullness of the grace of our Lord Jesus.

It is important to know this; while the law demanded so much but it gave no strength to do. Grace on the other hand, demanded much more than the law but gives the strength to do. Halleluyah! So, to break free from the dominion of sin, you must submit under grace. It takes the abundance of grace to reign in life (Rom5:17). To reign means to have dominion. If you have not gained freedom from sin, don’t even talk about reigning in life. To reign in life, you must have dominion over sin—that is what Jesus offers! The choice is yours today. You may choose to live under the law and be under the dominion of sin every other day of your life. Or choose to be under grace and reign in life.

We should not think this message is for sinners; on the contrary, it is for saints who are still living under the law. God bless you!

IN ALL THINGS GIVE THANKS!

IN ALL THINGS GIVE THANKS

When realities and expectations are the same, there is a sense of fulfillment; invariably, sense of fulfillment fills us with gladness. Every human being is made happy whenever progress happens! That is the way God made us. So, to a large extent, we can safely deduce that a man’s sense of happiness is in direct proportion to his sense of progress. When set goals are being achieved, visions are being realized, and dreams are being fulfilled. When there is no miscarriage of vision, no abortion of purpose, and dreams are not becoming nightmares; joy, gladness, and happiness will be the order of the day!  All the conditions above cannot but give a man a sense of fulfillment and ultimately make him happy. Success is sweet and pleasant especially when you succeed in the right thing—I mean succeeding in the reason for which you were born! I know that succeeding in the purpose for which we were born does not happen overnight; it is success in daily and short term goals that culminates in success in destiny.

 12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; That our daughters may be as pillars, Sculptured in palace style;
 13 That our barns may be full, Supplying all kinds of produce; That our sheep may bring forth thousands And ten thousands in our fields;
 14 That our oxen may be well-laden; That there be no breaking in or going out; That there be no outcry in our streets.
 15 Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD! Psalm 144:12-15 (NKJV)

People who are in the conditions and state described above will easily praise God, give Him thanks, and be greatly encouraged and motivated to dream more and have new visions.

TEMPTATIONS TO WATCH FOR

However, if your conditions in life right now are nothing but the opposite of the conditions described above; you may fall into some temptations. You are most vulnerable to discouragement, hopelessness, envy, jealousy, critical and judgmental spirit, moodiness, and the worst of all, unthankfulness.

My intention for writing this is not to justify our failures and shortcomings; rather my intention is to encourage and let us see that though we might have failed to achieve certain goals, and things might not have really happened as expected, yet that has not made us failures. God is not through with you, so don’t write yourself off and give up. Truly, there may be a number of reasons for failure; but that is not my focus in this message.

Even when we fail in anything we set to do, to have, or to accomplish; we must still have right and positive attitudes or else we will become darkened and vain in our thinking. And one of the positive attitudes we need to possess is thankfulness to God. Thankfulness to God opens you up to God’s grace and favor to succeed in life. I’m not saying you should be celebrating your failures; investigate into your failures as they happen, make corrections and adjustments that are necessary, and move on. But if you become unthankful because you fail, your mind will become darkened and you will be grounded—unable to move forward anymore!

“because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” – Rom1: 21 (NKJV)

“Thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live”.  1Thes5:22 (MSG)

I love this! Thank God no matter what happens. This may be a difficult thing for a natural and carnal man to do—to thank God when expectations are not matched with realities. A natural and carnal man will react, agitate, complain, murmur against God, and be frustrated. However, there is a way God wants those who belong to Christ to live in adversity and failure—that is thankfulness!

THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS

Jesus demonstrated thankfulness at the tomb of Lazarus! He didn’t go there to celebrate death, rather, He went there to teach us that God is able to make all things (including our failures, disappointments, and all the negatives) to work together for our good provided we possess right attitudes. Provided we love God enough to thank Him even when things are going awry! Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me”. He said this even when Lazarus was still dead and stinking in the tomb. What an attitude of faith and confidence in God! Thankfulness is a demonstration of living faith and confidence in God’s Person and ability to turn unpalatable situation around for our good.

Don’t ever believe the lies of the devil; he loves to paints bad pictures of your situation, and makes it appear hopeless and irredeemable. Remember what devil spoke to Patriarch Job through his own wife, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die” – Job 2:9. Don’t curse God no matter what happens. If you curse God you will truly die; but if you bless God you will live and tell the story of God’s faithfulness.

Let us learn how to give thanks to God in all things and at all times, and praise our way out of logjams and setbacks of life. We can learn a lot about thanking and praising God in adversity from this short prophetic poem and psalm of Prophet Habakkuk.

17 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls;
 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
 19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. Hab.3:17-19

Dear friend, as you cultivate this positive attitude of thanking God all through life, I see you succeeding where you have failed before, I see your sorrow turned to joy, your mourning turned to dancing, your lack turned to abundance; I see you moving forward and thanking God in Jesus mighty name. Amen!

If this message blesses you, first give thanks to God, then give us your feedback, and forward the same message to your friends, families, and enemies.

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.