RHEMA From Heaven

Matthew 16:24 says “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]”.

Just as in the natural terms and conditions apply to whatever engagement or assignment you may find yourself, the same principle applies in the pursuit or in following Jesus.
When it comes to following the Lord, the terms and conditions applicable is for one to deny him or her self.

Self denial is when you selflessly give yourself to God. This involves giving up on your pleasure, time and all that belongs to you in order to love and to follow the Lord.
Without self denial it will be impossible to serve and follow the Lord.

Denying yourself may be seen as costly but that is the only way we can follow the Lord. You see, there is nothing like costless Christianity. You must sacrifice your comfort to follow God.

The Bible teaches how the disciples of Jesus left all they had and followed him. Some left their wealth, occupations and families. In fact, they left all. See Luke 18:28 “Peter said, “Look, we have left all [things-homes, families, businesses] and followed You.”

Do not be self centered. Be zealous to respond to God’s call to follow. All that you are and posses is but for a moment. But God will perpetually reward you for your diligent art of following. Don’t deny God in any way, you just follow.

Read: Luke 9:23 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”.

Study: Acts 20:22-24

No one who has made it in life today and still progessing can say that things turned out better at once. No! It will be within the context and moment of time. This is what process is basically about.

One dictionary defines process as a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. Process will also mean the procedures and the happenings that you go through to arrive at your destination.

The Bible explains this truth with the example of how a grain of wheat turns into a big harvest.
John 12:24 says “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone [just one grain, never more]. But if it dies, it produces much grain and yields a harvest “.
Before the great harvest, the grain goes through a process. It falls to the ground, it dies, it remains alone, before it brings forth harvest.

So to make it sound more agricultural, you sow a seed, it gets buried under the earth that no one sees what is even happening. With time it sprouts out as a young shoot, grows to the stage of flowering, it bears fruit and this fruit also takes time to ripe, before it will be ready for harvest.

This is what process is all about. You don’t become great in a day. No matter the promises of God concerning your life, you must allow process to refine, and turn you into what God has for you.
*Never think for one moment that, you can use short cuts to arrive at any glorious destination.*
Your greatness tomorrow might be dependent on you serving someone today, sacrificing in many things, respecting someone, honouring someone, overcoming temptations and challenges, and above all obeying God.

This is what process is all about. And in the fulness of time, you will stand out.

Read: Psalm 105:19 “Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him”

Study: Psalm 105:17-22

One enemy to your success and progress in life is discouragement. Irrespective of who you are, you will be faced with situations and challenges that kind of sups courage from you. Some of the situations may be life threatening,that gets you into self-pity, not making you want to talk to anybody.It may also make you antagonistic towards everyone. But the word for you today is learn to encourage yourself.

You see, it is not bad to depend on others to encourage you. You can get back on your feet and continue on your destiny path when people encourage you. But this is not always the situation. Most of the times you will get to a point in life where your cheer leaders and your encouragers will be lost in motion. That’s when you must learn to stand on your feet. That’s when you must learn to encourage yourself.

You see, people who once encouraged you, believed that you can arrive at the destination God has for you. They believed in the word concerning you. But I think you must believe more in what has been said about you than your cheer leaders. Thus when situations get tough, you must encourage yourself. You may cry, you may feel abandoned, you may lose interest in giving your views, but you got to encourage yourself to be on course. These are some of the hidden happenings in the “PROCESS” walkway of life.

The bible tells how David, the mighty man of valor, the killer of Goliath was once discouraged in life when the Amalakites attacked his town in his absence and took away all their goodies. This left the warrior and his mighty men in tears. “So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep” (1 Samuel 30:4). Nonetheless, he got back on his feet when he encouraged himself in the Lord.

Don’t throw in the towel because life seems bad and things are falling apart now. Talk to yourself to press on. Talk to yourself to fight back. And above everything know that God is with you and you are not alone.

Read: “David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God”. (1 Samuel 30:6)

Study: Philipians 4:13

2 Corinthians 6: 17 says “Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you”. You see no better sentence or phrase can simply explain or drive home the understanding to this scripture than “STAND OUT”.

As Christians we are called by God to stand out. Our calling to stand out is a call to separation from this present world that places no premium on godly virtues. It is no doubt today that the world is getting out of order in terms of standards. But as a Christian, you are here to uphold to biblical standards.

God demands that you stand out in all sphere of life. It is for this same reason that you are called the light of the world. Thus, you have a mandate to display godliness as an example to this world dominated by sin. (1 Timothy 4:12)

You must stand out and maintain God’s standards when it comes to the matters of sexual purity. Sex must be within the confines of marriage with the opposite sex. Anything aside this is a sin and an abomination to God, so stand out.

Another area where you must stand out is in the area of being honest. Don’t misrepresent dishonesty for “smartness”. Today honesty is running of the church and in our families. But Christians are supposed to be the keepers of the truth. Hence if you are a Christian, you must always make honesty your hallmark. Irrespective of the situation or circumstances, don’t compromise on the truth. Don’t fail in this area.

You see, conforming to the world and its standards won’t make you stand out. Dare to be different! Dare to stand out and stand up for godliness!!

Read: Romans 12:1-2 (PHILLIPS) “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity”.

Study: Daniel 1:8-20

2 Peter 3:18 says “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen”. Growing or growth is a sign of progress. As Christians, God expects us to grow from one level to another. Although there are many areas that the believer can and must grow, some areas are core and growth in these areas precipitates the growth in others.

One of such core areas where the Christian must grow is in the knowledge of our Lord and savior. Growth in this area makes you understand and appreciate the finish work of Christ Jesus on the earth. When you grow in the knowledge of Jesus, you will never succumb to the fears and threats of the devil because you will come to know that he (the devil) is a defeated enemy.

But growing, whether in the natural or in spiritual things is not unplanned or accidental. To grow, you must be on proper diet and also give yourself to reasonable exercise. That’s how your growth can be made evident. But just going about life daily and eating just anything may not necessarily bring the growth you desire or the growth that can match your age or level in life.

So for you to grow in the knowledge of Jesus, you must consciously put yourself on the diet of God’s word. You must study why Jesus came to the earth, what he came to accomplish for man, and what he is still doing for man. You must also study about the name Jesus, the blood of Jesus and the righteousness that is given through faith in Jesus Christ. Not only that, you must put to work what you get from your study. This is how to grow.

You see, your knowledge in these areas is what will make you reign on earth. Don’t be a Christian that is malnourished in the knowledge of Christ. Plan to grow, work to grow and constantly do what the word reveals and you will have a bliss in your walk with God.

Read: 1 Peter 2:2 “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby”

Study: Colossians 1:9-10

Psalm 69:9 “for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me”.

One of the things that must characterize your life as a believer in these last days is “zeal”. In fact, not just any zeal but zeal for the Lord and the things of God. This was the force with which Jesus walked on the earth aside many others. He was fully consumed and carried such a great burden for the Lord that even death and reproaches from the critics of his days couldn’t stand.

Zeal is the great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. Thus to be zealous is to be passionate, fervent, ardent, committed, dedicated, enthusiastic, and wholehearted. These are the very words God or people must use to describe your action towards God and everything that pertains to the Kingdom of God. Anything short of this shows that you are not full of zeal.

You see, if you are zealous for the Lord you can’t hide it. It will and must burn in you like fire. That’s when you can move from one spiritual meeting to other without being forced or persuaded and take upon yourself the work of the Lord and do it wholeheartedly. When you are consumed with zeal for God, you don’t need any further persuasion from men to do something for God or go the extra mile in what you are doing for him.

Your zeal for God, must be seen in your personal worship life, obedience to the Lord, service to the Lord and in your giving to the Lord. Last but not the least, when you are zealous for the Lord you won’t act against the things of God or stand and see things go wrong in the house of God.
Consider your heart, and look at what zeal has consumed you. Is it a zeal for God or something else?

There is no middle ground when it comes to being zealous for the Lord. But all hope is not lost if you are not yet consumed by zeal for God, pray that the zeal of the Lord will consume you. Also make moves as the Spirit of the Lord leads you, and associate with people who are passionate for God. This is how to get to the “zealous for God lane.

Read: Numbers 25:11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal”

Study: Numbers 25:1-11

Grace is the undeserved favour that God bestows on man. It also refers to the kindness of God that we receive.
Grace has more to do with what God does for us, and it is sometimes irrespective of who we are, what we do, and the situation or circumstance we find ourselves. When it comes to grace, “God freely extends himself to people to bless them” one author said.

As a Christian it is important to know you have grace or have received grace. To be alive and still move on in life, despite your short comings in your walk with God is nothing but grace at work. This is not to say that, we are using grace as a licence to sin or to live carelessly but the word says “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more”.

You see, if not for the grace of God, no one would be saved. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8 that “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”. So the fact that you are a believer shows you have received grace. John 1:16 says “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”

This is to tell you that, God has without any shadow of doubt made a provision for everyone in this world to be saved and become the person he wants them to be. Not knowing this grace is available and not capitalizing on it to one’s advantage is the reason many people are still unsaved or living unfilled lives.

Paul the Apostle of many achievements attributed his greatness and notability to the grace that was at work in him. To him, the grace bestowed on him made him work par excellence. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Never for one moment think you don’t have grace. It is rather available and in measures that you have not and can not exhaust,since Christ Jesus has not returned to rapture his own. Make use of God’s grace.

You can also increase or grow in the grace of God. The word of God, is full of “grace”. As you read it daily and practice it, you are conditioning yourself to operate in higher realms of grace.

Read: Acts 20:32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified”

Study: 2Peter 3:17-18

Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep His commandment: for this is the whole duty of man”

To fear God is to have great respect and reverence for God. It involves treating everything that is of God “sacred”.
When you live with the fear of God in your heart, you hold in high esteem everything that belongs to God.

You see, walking in the fear of God must be your hall mark as a Christian. Nothing must make you compromise on that.

Anyone who claims to be a Christian and does not have a deep respect or reverence for the things of God is going nowhere.
2 Corinthians 7:1 says “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”
You see, all that you do as a Christian must be governed by the fear of God, whether it pertains to your body (which is natural) or to your spirit (which is spiritual).

You see, when people fear God, it translates to how they care for and also handle the things of God. They don’t take spiritual meetings or Church services for granted.
Not only that, they don’t abuse their bodies or cause others to do so by either influencing them with immorality and any lascivious activities.
Because when you fear God, you don’t go contrary to his word or you are not bent on disobeying him irrespective of the situation you face.

Fearing God is not an alternative to the Christian. It is a must. Omit it and you will be omitted divinely.
Your whole duty as a believer is to fear God. There is no middle ground. Remember that, it is either you fear God or you don’t. Don’t deceive yourself.

Read: Acts 9:31 “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied”.

Study: Deuteronomy 5:29

The call to serve God as a minister of the gospel is a call to a position of special honor. This is a special privilege from God. People in this honorable calling are known as “men of God”, since their mandate is solely from God.

Nonetheless, although this calling is honorable and unique, some people have intruded the space to become self acclaimed “men of God” without God’s mandate.

You see, a man of God is a man sent from God. He is God’s special representative, one whom God has personally chosen and sent. He is one with a particular message from God to a particular people of God’s choosing.

The sixth chapter of the first letter Paul wrote to Timothy, he clearly outlined certain characteristics by which we may identify who a man of God is.
1 Timothy 6:3-6 first and foremost reveals that, someone who is a man of God does not teach any doctrine that is contrary to that of Christ, and his message must also promote godliness and righteousness.

Secondly, a man of God, does not involve himself in controversial issues, that promotes envy, quarrels and jealousy in the body of Christ.

Thirdly, a man of God is also someone who does not see or use the ministry as a source of money making business or a profitable venture.

The last but not the least in knowing who a man of God is that, the man of God must in all respect show virtues that are consistent with the nature and character of Christ.

You see, it is important that you understand this truth about the man of God so that you can escape from evil and wicked men who camouflage themselves with the title “man of God”.

Remember that, anyone who is a man of God will lead you to God, by the way he teaches you repentance, faith towards God and above all, the way to heaven.

Read: Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

Study: 1 Timothy 6:3-15

Everyone desires to succeed in life. But whether you will succeed or fail is a choice. You see, success is a combination of many factors such as preparation, opportunities, etc. But the principal factor for success is wisdom.

Wisdom has many definitions. Yet the simplest will be doing the right thing, at the right time, and at the right place.

The bible says that
“If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength; *but wisdom [to sharpen the axe] helps him succeed [with less effort].”* (Ecclesiastes 10:10)
Hence, when wisdom is operational in your life, you would save yourself a great deal of labour, and prevent a great deal of danger.

You see, not operating in wisdom is one reason why many people fail in life. As a matter of fact when you don’t apply wisdom to the things you do, success will forever remain an illusion.
That is why you must seek to acquire and apply wisdom.

God is the giver of wisdom. Thus don’t live your Christian life void of it. You need it to make the most out of life.

Read: Proverbs 9:11-12
“Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life. If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you score wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.”

Study: Proverbs 3:13-23