You are not your need!

You my friend are not your need but rather you are God's gift for this hour! Something needs to break in your mentality so that this can sink in. I ask The Lord to touch you now as you read this and speak to your soul.

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" 2 Corinthians 4:7

You my friend are that earthen vessel where God has placed His treasure - His Holy Spirit. God has chosen to dwell in you not just with you but IN you. Therefore I submit to you today that you can not be reduced to a need.

I once said I would share a little bit about my getting married if I felt it would bless someone, well this is probably going to be it! I got married at ~39. 

I remember years before, hearing Rev Patrick preach a message about the Shunammite woman, the Word of God hit me - Jesus said the words that I speak THEY ARE SPIRIT AND THEY ARE LIFE. I had never heard the Shunammitte woman taught like that before. The message he preached was simple: this woman didn't focus on her need - pls read the passage (2 Kings 4: 8-37), Elisha had been passing through and she perceived that he was a prophet,she decided to do something to make him comfortable, in deciding to do that she was in essence making a contribution to God's kingdom - God's agenda, not only did she do that, when Elisha asked her if she needed anything - she said she needed nothing, this woman was definitely NOT her need, it was Gehazi who jumped in and said to Elisha that she had no son and that her husband had gotten on in age.  

Here I was over 30 and still single and I was not being told there was something wrong with my faith, that I was not believing hard enough that's why I didn't have what I wanted, this was new to me! That day God unlocked something in my thinking, He began a process...

I remember some time after that lying on my bed, I had been reading the parable of the sower, some things had just happened that had shaken the body of Christ and whilst I lay there meditating on those things and the parable I had just read (Matthew 13), I felt like I heard The Lord say to me: if you keep focusing on your need, you will just perish!

Previously the order of the day for me was: moan and moan, chat with other friends - even christian friends - moping around discussing how difficult it was to meet good men, the right kind of guy, failed attempts, we rarely even thought about standing together to pray about it, we just moaned most of the time. 

I realized that God wanted to take me beyond my need, He needed me to see myself beyond that and any other need. He reordered my life and placed valuable mentor-ship in my life and started me on a journey of discovery. He had need for me in His house, in His presence, in simply getting lost in  the passion of Him, serving Him, chasing Him, following His agenda, so much so that I often forgot that I had a need. I learnt that I could triumph in my singleness and live a life filled with pure joy from the greatest pleasure which is just belonging to Him - the pleasure of being His. 

He started to show me and to teach me to pursue instead intimacy with Him; not just good works, my focus became finding out what was on God's heart, listening for his heartbeat and making it mine, letting Him show me what HIS Kingdom agenda was and running with it (Thine Kingdom come, Thine will be done on earth as it is done in Heaven) and in that place I found my freedom! You can be a christian who pays their tithes, serves in a ministry in church but still so bogged down by the cares of this life - so much that your capacity to love on Him has been eroded because you have learnt erroneously to make your problem your focus just like I did.

Revelations 2: 2-5
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 

Did I meet up with friends and sometimes talk about botched introductions to guys who just weren't ready or just not right for me - yes I did but this time I could truly in my heart laugh it off. Every introduction or blind date I was set up on did not all start working out just like that but it didn't really matter, I could truly say so, they didn't have the power to slow me down - I just kept moving because His truth had set me free! I also learnt that it was okay to go out and have a pizza or some fillet mignon or good jollof rice & dodo (whatever rocks your boat) in between doing that thing called life and let my hair down and just relax, alongside with prayer and hiding in God's presence.

It was in the middle of doing all this, that the Lord came to me at the ripe old age of 36 and told me in a dream that He would visit me at 38! I thought to myself did He really say 38, maybe He meant I would meet the guy now at 36 or at 37, give us some time to date and then we would get married at 38! Surely! I am sure He was smiling up there knowing His daughter's planning and analysis mind at the time. 

Anyways time passed, I continued trusting Him, I hit 38 and lo and behold I met my husband :-) And to show how considerate God is, things didn't take that long, we were married within a year, in fact a month short of my 39th Birthday we were married on my Rev Patrick - my small papa's front porch in the USA before 5 witnesses before the big bang wedding celebration which followed some months into my 39th year. 

What am I really trying to say here: keep going for Jesus! Make Him your focus, your goal, as long as you can still sit up or breathe - worship Him, press hard after Him, follow the path of intimacy with Him. Don't just become a church freak - become a JESUS freak! Go out and preach the gospel, go out there and minister to others, let God use you to pray with others, be a vessel of a word of knowledge for somebody, pray for the body of Christ, pray for revival - just by listening to His heartbeat, spending time in His presence - you will begin to know where He needs you to add value, because you are the value that He has prepared for this hour!

2nd Corinthians 4:7-12
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Paul had gone through a lot of challenges. He went further to say to the Corinthians death is working in me so that life can work through you - he died to his own needs so that God could be glorified through him for the benefit of the Corinthians, he died to his own agenda so that he could live out Christ's agenda.

And you will also find that when you seek out God's kingdom and righteousness, He will NOT forget you. But you have to seek His kingdom and righteousness FIRST (FOREMOST) and THEN all things shall be truly added on to you. (see Matthew 6:33).

I remember going to prayer meeting because I wanted to join in praying for nations - I had heard about this particular group who were hungry for God and seeking His plans and purposes so I joined their prayer meetings, there God met me in so many ways on a personal level related to my needs even though that was not why I went there. I just wanted to experience more of Him and align myself with what He was doing. I wanted the fire of His presence! Some months before I met my husband, three women at the meeting saw a vision of angels coming into the meeting room with wedding rings and saw me go up and pick one, (3 people saw the same thing) not long after that my husband arrived into my life and we were making wedding plans! I didn't go there because I wanted to get married, I went there because I wanted more of Jesus and Jesus met me there with messages confirming what He had already told me before that He would visit me at 38, releasing me into my marriage and giving much needed additional wisdom and direction.

Am I saying, not to pray at all about your needs - No, that's not what I am saying but I am telling you today that you are bigger than your need. I am simply just sharing my experiences with you in the light of His word to give you some useful nuggets which have done me well and I trust will do you well if you apply them.

You will have less stress in life when you pass your burden to Jesus in exchange for His yoke - He said Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 

Exchange your singular burden to include His agenda at the fore front, stop letting your need dominate you, your thoughts, your life or the way that you see yourself. To carry a burden is singular - something you carry on your back or head or hands, to yoke is different - a yoke is plural in the sense that it holds two. Oxen are yoked in twos to plough the field. Jesus is saying come and join your neck with mine!


Picture of a yoke

You can not function properly from a position of need/weakness but rather from a position of strength which is Jesus.

After the Lord opened my eyes and I started to learn to yoke myself with Him, He taught me how to fight better and I am still learning all the time, but this time - I am not the captain, my need is not the captain - He is and I follow His command and lessons.

This means that I am not saying you will stop praying for your needs entirely but He will teach you and lead you how best to pray and go about things, He will even send messengers to you in due season as you continue alongside Him. Some may be messengers with gifts of healing, some may be sent to help you to address certain strong holds in your life, some may come with words of wisdom or correction on why you are failing at certain things etc and sometimes the Holy Spirit will speak to you directly on these things. When you and I are rightly positioned with Him, a lot of these things will happen easily.

I still prayed about my needs. I still went to prayer meetings where singles were being prayed for if God led me to, I still came out when singles were asked to come out for prayers during church/fellowship and I did still pray in my personal time, but better still I had learnt that there were things that God had designed me to do which needed doing so much that they were not to wait until I got out of singleness!

Next I think we will share on learning to multi task - like the children of God when they rebuild the walls in the book of Nehemiah, as I think it ties in nicely into this.

I got married!

"When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any business; he shall be free at home one year and shall cheer his wife whom he has taken." Deuteronomy 24:5

Well, the above is kind of what I did... Hence I haven't really written on the blog this year.

I got married last Saturday! Well, one of our many wedding ceremonies :-) we'd already been to the registry in Oct, got joined before the Lord in the US over the summer, with two meet-the-family ceremonies in between but we finally had the big wedding celebration last Thursday & Saturday where friends and family came in from all over to celebrate with us.

My husband's name is Wale Olutunbi and he is a great saxophonist for Jesus, he also plays the piano and used to sing in the choir as boy, he's still got that singing voice, so he's a very musical man; but above all, he loves the Lord and loves me:-)

I'll try to tell you a bit about how we met and the journey thus far someday, if it will encourage someone else along the way and describe the faithfulness of My Father.

It's time now for me to get back to ministry full on. My Father has been so kind as to let me get on with the business of marrying but He did let me know I was to get back to it as soon as we were done with the wedding. He expressly said so to me, I do love Him for His attention to detail, His heart because He knew I needed the time off so He let me have it and supported me ALL THE WAY!

I'll tell you one day in detail about the miracle that happened on a day I was very tired during all of the hustle and bustle of this year, the Lord actually sent an angel to rub my back! How marvellous is that, this was love, such love, indeed I have known the Father's love for me!

Both my personal life and work life have been extremely busy this year, work sent me to a few places this year including Asia - gorgeous Singapore, though I was stuck in the office most of the time covering 2 time zones :-) and I also did considerable travelling on the personal side.

I tell you , it is unbelievable how much planning goes into a single day and I had 2 big events, 1 mini one and 2 other little ones - 3 of which involved considerable planning.

So friends, it's been a busy year but the most important thing all through this year is this:

I have known the Father's love for me...

The Lord would take me through a no of schools, when I was young and immature, not that I have attained now, I used to say to Him: won't you cut me some slack? and throw childish tantrums ~ when I was a child I thought like a child, I spoke like a child - that sort of thing.

I remember working in a job I hated once and couldn't get another - I turned to the Lord one day and said please just let me go! I knew it was Him keeping me there... but u c He had to, there are some schools you will need to go through so that you can be built up to be able to fulfil the purpose of God in your life. Schools required to attain some level of maturity, character formation, tenacity. I am still very much a work in progress and am constantly in school! My small papa Pastor Patrick Odigie said something "character is required to sustain the gift".

In the same vein that we go through schools where hard lessons are taught, there are seasons where like any good Father, the Lord Himself will celebrate you. Remember, He will always fulfil His promises for your life. You may not know how or when but you must know Him that He never fails, His love never fails and that He is indeed a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Fall in love with Jesus, it's the best thing I have ever done.

Lara Olutunbi :-)

 

Understanding God backwards...

Psalm 131
My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore. 

I love I love this Psalm... Can I say again how I love this Psalm!

Let me tell you why I love it, I love it because it stills me; it steadies me, like a lullaby sung over a baby in a rocking chair soothing the baby to sleep - this is a lullaby to my soul. When things don't seem to be working the way I expect them to, when impatience comes knocking at my door - I am learning to let Psalm 131 get the door for me.

There are times when you know you are in the right place, on the right track, on course of the plan which God gave you but the territory to which which you have been sent is tough.

Exodus 5 vs 22-23 "So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all"

That was Moses with the Lord, after Pharoah had heaped even more hardship on the people of Israel because they had asked to go and sacrifice to the Lord. Sound familiar anyone? You have just arrived in the city where God sent you, it's your first month on the job He gave you or your first day on the ministry He asked you to begin - and all of a sudden they've cut the lights in the new church office, there's a colleague that has just been transferred to your department who doesn't seem to like you very much and the new neighbours did not roll out the drums to welcome you, actually they seemed rather put out to have a new face about.

The Lord continues the conversation with Moses and this is what He says:

Exodus 6 vs 1 -3 "Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land." And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD.   I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them"

Now you will see what I shall do with you in this new city... you will see what I shall do on your new job... you will see what I shall do with you in the new ministry.

What I have just done in the last sentence is apply Exodus 6 to "your" circumstance. That, I believe is what God wants to do, if He has sent you - there are times where that requires for you to be still - to place your hope in the Lord, to stand and remain standing to see God's salvation in your situation despite what appears to be opposition and resistance to your success in what He has sent you to do.

There is one simple thing which I have learnt to do and this was something Pastor Patrick taught me, He asked me once "what was the last thing God said to you? Go back to that..." If God has not said something new, go back to the last thing He said to you, didn't He tell you this was it and has He said its time to leave yet? If the answer is no, then friend where are you going, who are you going with??

God is not wishy washy, willy nilly, He doesn't change His mind on a whim or as per circumstance, He is very focused on His assignment. If you read further - Exodus 3 vs 4 - 8, you will see how God refers over and over again to His convenant with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. The Lord had not changed the last thing that He said, He made a convenant, had an assignment and He was committed to keeping it, same way He is committed to keeping every promise and fulfilling every assignment He has given us.

God said something in Exodus 6:3 - He said they knew me as their sufficiency - God Almighty - the literal translation from Hebrew is "in-El Who sufficies". He is saying you have known me up on till now as the Great Provider, the Strong One, the One sufficient to provide, but now again you will see another dimension of Me as The Lord that is Master of all - Jehovah - Yahweh.

In Nigerian Pidgin English there is a term we use called "Oga". It is a term which depicts the one in charge - in control. There is also a song that we sing which goes "Jesus na You be Oga" translates "Jesus it is You that is Master". I woke up this morning with that song on my heart...

They say hind sight is 20/20. I remember coming to a point in my life and reflecting back on some experiences I had some ten years ago and saying 'now I see why God let me walk through that path, if I had gone the other way I wouldn't have learnt this or learnt that, I had to go through A so I could get to B... I had to go through C so I could handle Y' I got a sense of understanding what God had been doing from the beginning of the matter - only when I got to the end of the matter; Sometimes you will only understand Him backwards....

He has the blue print of life so He can see what you can not see - so don't concern yourself with matters too great for you. Don't suppose to know more than Him because ermm... you don't.

Wean yourself, train yourself to be content with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God as your guide. God is it time to move on - we move, is it time to chill here - we chill.

Lamentations 3:24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

Be content in this "But He knows the way that I take..." Job 23:10a. God is not oblivous to our challenges, struggles or the paths that we take.

We used the following analogy on our prayerline: God's vision is like a "helicopter" vision compared to our "foot-wagon" vision, His ways are higher than your ways and so He can see much further than you.

God was saying in Exodus 6 that He is Lord of Pharoah, Lord over circumstances, Lord over cities, governments, neighbours, colleagues, jobs - He is the God who fulfills mandates. God who keeps convenants, God who completes assignments. The God to whom everything will bow, as He lines things up to work together for your good & to fulfill His purpose.

God allowed Pharoah's heart to be hardened so that He could judge Egypt with great judgements for all the wickedness they had exacted on Israel, that Israel would come out with great spoil from the Egyptians, that He would glorify His name Yahweh and that Israel would know Him as THE LORD.

There are times when you wonder but Lord You could do this in a twinkling of an eye - If we look at Exodus 9: 15-16 - we realise that God is also aware of that fact and He makes a note of it. The Lord's ways are not our ways - He wanted to bring Israel out with great judgement on their hard task master, He wanted to show His power and proclaim His name through that experience. He made Moses great amongst the Egyptians, causing them to fear the God of the Israelites which made Egypt to be favourably disposed toward Israel such that Israel could spoil them. Checkmate! 

Exodus 9: 15-16 "For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go."  

God is the Master Chess Player and He has all the best moves!

Exodus 7: 4-5 “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.“When Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments.“The  Egyptians shall know that I am THE LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.”

Exodus 11:3 The LORD made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people.

Exodus 12:36 And the Lord had given the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Exodus 3: 21-22 “And I will make the Egyptians favourably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbour and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

I find it soothing just reading Psalm 131 and meditating on it - when anxities threathen, when impatience comes calling, when circumstances disappoint...

I am sorry I have been away...

I haven't blogged in a wee while... Been a hectic 6 months plus... First I moved and didnt have broadband internet for about 3 months, when it did come it had a habit of going off till I finally had to switch to an upgraded service which hopefully should be more reliable plus along the way I did get busy with that thing called "life" but hey, I am back! Although this is part of the thing called life too but I guess you know what I mean when I say life happened!

Well, I just wanted to give a shout out... Hopefully somebody out there missed me X! Well, I missed me - I missed writing...

I wanted to share something that I read today from Living Truth's facebook page titled the truth about Jesus & I quote Charles Price - who happens to be one of my favourite Bible teachers in the whole wide world :)

 "The Truth about Jesus

Jesus is the exact portrayal of what human beings are intended to be.

‘If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’ (John 14:7)

Major Ian Thomas was the biggest influence on my own Christian life. He used to say that Jesus Christ is the truth about God and He is the truth about humanity. He is the truth about God because He is the truth about humanity –because humanity was created to portray the truth about God. That is what is meant to have been created in the image of God. You look at humanity and you see what God is like. That was what human beings were like before the Fall.

Jesus Christ is described as the ‘second man’ and the ‘last Adam’ (1 Corinthians 15:45-47). He was born a genuine human being; not as we are in our fallen state but as God intended humanity to be when He first created Adam. He was never for one moment less than God but He lived His life on earth as though He was never more than a man. He demonstrated what true humanity is like by living out of the triple disposition of love for His Father, obedience to His Father and dependence on His Father.

Ultimate truth about God and truth about humanity is expressed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the expression of the moral character of God and the barometer against which all claims to truth must be measured. Any ideas we may hold on to that are not expressed in the person of Jesus are at fault. He, as ‘the truth, ’ is the final measuring stick of all things.

Lord, I’m grateful for the truth revealed in Jesus Christ. Help me to live according to that truth"

Stay blessed friends!

Heaven is still watching...

When I heard the man of God say 'Heaven is watching', it jolted me. He said Heaven is watching to see how much we really believe God's promises. He went on to illustrate that the demonstration of our faith will be shown by our actions... what do our actions say to heaven? 

Does my action say Father, I trust you completely with my future. Does my action say, it may not be the way I planned it but I have absolute peace and trust because my heart is stayed on you, so I am beyond fretting about timing now or how things will take shape, you have my absolute confidence. Does my action say, if there is one thing I know about you it is that you are faithful, the circumstances may not be lining up but God You will come through for me. Will I meet with You everyday for the rest of my life because I trust you and I am in fellowship, covenant and relationship with You. Will I tell You every time it bothers me that I judge You faithful, will I fall on my knees consistently and begin to thank You for what I already believe You are going to do, will I begin to ask You to prepare me in advance to be able to handle the blessing and fulfillment of Your word that is coming.

'Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised' Hebrews 11:11

My friend Mo the other day pointed this out to me - judging God faithful. What is the value that we place, that I place, that you place, on God's integrity. To judge someone faithful is to mean that based on the character and the strength of who that person is they will do what they've said.  A lot of young parents love to drop off their kids with the grandparents because they know they will be loved and cared for, they trust their parents... in that regard they have judged them faithful.

My understanding really started to open up that God watches to see if indeed I have judged Him faithful, do I really believe, what does my action say? my attitude? am I speaking with Him about the issue constantly - wheter it is to assure Him that I trust Him that He is still on the case, or to thank Him in advance, or to ask Him to prepare me so that when the opportunity comes I recognise it and when the blessing comes I am equipped to deal with it both mentally and physically. Consistency... do you judge Him faithful? How consistent am I... what does my consistency say about me? Have I set the Lord always before me. 'I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.' Psalm 16:8 To set God always before you means consistency... steadfastness... on an issue, in ur prayer life, in your decisions.

There are so many times that we say yes we believe for one thing or the other but deep down we know we don't, we just can't see how it can happen, we are disgruntled, we are put out, we are weary, we are downright discouraged. It is then that we need to come up higher in our walk with God, come up higher... come up higher in the Holy Spirit.

We need to come up higher to the place of judging Him faithful...

And here are some of the things I have been learning about that...

Jesus said I have many things to tell you but you can not bear them now, when the Holy Spirit comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you into all truth. A lot of times we become discouraged, it is because we are not bearing the promises of God in the Holy Spirit... that is in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

That is why the baptism of the Holy Spirit is PARAMOUNT for every bible believing christian and the gift of an unknown tongue, praying in the Holy Spirit is important for our personal edification.

The bible says 'He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself...' 1 Cor 14:4a

Pastor Agu taught on this the other day and opened my eyes to so much understanding...

He explained the greek word described to mean 'to build a super structure', I went and looked it up on scripture4all Greek to English translation, the word used was translated as 'home building'. When we pray in the spirit we are being edified, we are being built up, being translated to becoming superlative, the Holy Spirit builds us up to receive what God has for us. Your faith or understanding of a situation might be shaky initially but as you open up to God and tell Him what you are dealing with, asking the Holy Spirit to pray for you and begin to pray in the Spirit, as you continue to be steadfast in prayer, you will begin to receive that superlative ability to come to the same understanding that Heaven has about your situation, your faith begins to stand, shakiness starts to fade. Jude said in verse 20 'But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost'

You YET beLOVED to-THE HOLIEST OF YOU BELIEF ON-HOME-BUILDING selves IN spirit HOLY praying

ye yet beloved to-the most holy of ye faith  building up yourselves in spirit holy praying

The above are the two literal Greek to English translations from scripture4all, the same translation of home building is used in both Jude and I Corinthians 14. The words translated to home building are 'epoikodomountes' & 'oikodomei'  respectively.

 

Paul said 'I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:' 1 Corinthians 14:18. Because of the controversy that has been around the understanding of some of 1 Corinthians 14, I feel people have often missed the point. Paul said he speaks in tongues more than all of them Corinthian people, he did not mean that he was speaking a much more celestial language than they were, we all speak according to the same spirit as He gives utterance, he meant that he spent more time praying in the spirit in tongues in his closet than them all. Paul, the man who gave us half of the New Testament Bible by the Holy Spirit, prayed in tongues so much that he could say he spoke in tongues more than the Corinthians. Simple as that big bro Paulo was a major "skabasha" in his bedroom, on his personal retreats, thats one of the reasons he was so effective, full of faith and courage.

Releasing faith, moving from a place of fear to faith can be done in prayer, in the bedroom, on your knees before God, praying in the Spirit, building yourself up on your most Holy faith... this is what I am learning.

 

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you." John 16: 12-15

Heaven is watching...

"Heaven is watching" the preacher's words jarred through my thoughts and resonated with me, it reminded me of what my grandmother had said to me. "Demilade" she'd said, "your heart is too big and I worry about you, when choosing a spouse -  promise me that you will watch closely before letting your heart go, that you will be observant - to judge first who is worthy of you - with a heart equally as big as yours"; And I had tried to live by that motto especially in recent times, I think I know now what my responses to Dipo & Boye will be. Dipo and Boye, two men who happened to both be in my life at the same time asking the same thing, both wanted me to say yes to being more than friends and consider a relationship with marriage in view.

Boye... a cardiothoracic-surgeon, Oxbridge trained like I was, our fathers had been at school together, our parents had introduced us and needless to say for them it was a match made in heaven. Boye was good looking, tall, slender, an impeccable dresser, rather easy on the eyes, had that whole Boris Kodjoe thing going on and had the Oxford tlit to his voice, well spoken and well mannered. He'd taken me out to Claridges for my birthday and made sure we'd called mummy, he let her know he was looking out for me, that I wasn't alone on my birthday. He called regularly for a busy surgeon, almost every other day to say hello. He'd invited me as his date for the annual cardiothoracic-surgeons' ball at the Dorchester, Kemi had said that was a total sign of my 'wifey' status, I'd met some of his work colleagues, it was an absolutely grand affair... plus all the good they were doing in the world saving lives. He was an exteremly intelligent man, went to university at 15 plus, already a consultant and visiting surgeon at teaching hospitals in the UK, US & Australia, at 36 that was a considerable achievement and everyone said what a fine mind he had. We moved in the same circles, it was an easy transition hanging out together socially...

Dipo... Dipo... Dipo, we were both project managers on the same program running parallel projects, he was man's man in a no of ways, average height, slightly stocky, slightly rugged with the cutest dimples ever, he had more of the Taye Diggs look, a Cranfield man - engineer turned investment bank project manager. For my birthday he'd got me the Anya Hirschman glitter clutch I'd been eyeballing the last time we'd been at House of Fraser during lunch, I'd said I'd wait for it to go on sale in January but He'd slipped it into my desk drawer on my birthday. He'd been there when I had foot surgery, groceries and take out in hand, quite unannounced, rang me up 5 mins before and said he was in the area and if it was ok he stopped by to see how I was doing. He'd joked about how he'd worried I'd starve to death, cooking up a storm of a week's supply of jollof rice, spiced chicken and efo, he'd also taught me how to make microwave eba all in the same afternoon - to save me standing on my feet for too long... all the while joking that he just felt like showing off his culinary skills, I think I knew better than that or was starting to... The same way he'd turned up at my doorstep the day after my sister had gone off to the US for her masters program and taken me bowling to cheer me up, he knew how close we were. He teased me whenever he called and my voice was muffled because I had been crying from watching a movie but tried to pass it off as a regular cold. He admired me insistently and was always very attentive whenever we were together.

I had been watching these two men for some time now and my decision was made, good enough my project was rounding off and I had already accepted an offer at a different bank, that would sort out the issue of Dipo and I working together.

Dipo - the man who seemed to know me inside out, despite the tough exterior I put up at work, we worked in a cut throat investment banking environment, there were deadlines to be met and deliverables we had to enforce across our teams, with high maintenance investment bankers to please. He saw through all that, He knew when I was hurting even when I tried to hide it, he made a note of things I liked and his heart was huge; Raised by a single mom, he'd put his brother through university. He was kind and also driven, most importantly he feared God, Dipo couldn't hurt a fly. Boye hmmm you couldn't really fault Boye, he did all the right things but I noticed how he never really remembered anything special or important to me except those "official" good boyfriend type things you had to do to tick the boxes, how his eyes glazed over anytime I tried to discuss my work, how his phone calls only managed to last for not more than 2 mins, he didn't even remember I was going in for surgery and then pretended that he did, his work and his opinions always seemed more important than anything I had to say; I always got a sense that I never quite had his full attention, like the other day we went out to the Kemi's party, his eyes kept darting all over the place, scoping like a predator and I knew if I wasn't with him, it probably would have been a different story. He didn't know my story, all he knew was 'I fitted the bill' but Dipo, he knew my story, he knew the stuff that made me up. Boye had no real depth neither did I really matter enough to him, I was his audience whilst he wanted always to be my stage.

Yes the preacher had a point, if I can watch these two men and weigh in the balances their actions, surely the Lord must do the same.... after all didn't He say He looks at our hearts not the lip service that we may pay but the heart and the corresponding actions that demonstrate our hearts.... Paul said I will show you my faith by my works...Grandma was right, now I had found a man with a heart that matched and understood mine & I his...

The above story is fiction, my name is not Demilade and there are no two men called Dipo and Boye vying for my attention at the moment... but I wanted to get your attention. The only reality in it was that I did hear a preacher say 'Heaven is watching' and he challenged something in me and taught me a thing or two... which I hope to share in the next blog.

I shall become a tree...

Luke 13: 18-21
Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches. Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?  It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

The Lord showed me that the garden and the dough signifies the child of God. I know this because in John 14:23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." & Luke 17:21b says "the kingdom of God is within you" NKJ, the literal Greek to English translation of the scripture is "the kingdom of the God inside of you is" http://www.scripture4all.org/

The text above from Luke 13 has a two fold meaning for me, the Holy Spirit showed me that I could take a stand based on that particular scripture and believe God in the face of doubt or opposition. Whenever doubt rises on the inside of us causing us to want to shrink back, telling us that we will never get there, that our beginnings are small, that we don't amount to much spiritually, this is what the Lord says in return: You will get there though your beginnings are small and you started off as a little mustard seed of faith in Him, you will become a tree where others can and will perch drawing on His strength within you. This is the confidence we have as we serve and continue to seek Him. I felt God's encouragement & comfort when I read this text in a very real sense, enabling me overcome doubts & opposition.

Here comes the second part on how we become trees: the woman in the parable takes some yeast and she mixes it till it is worked all through the dough. The yeast is the kingship of God that is His authority over us. As we make way for His will in our lives, His authority & sovereign rule leading, guiding, working in and through us, permeating the whole of our lives, allowing Him to spread through every area of our lives, holding nothing back, then like dough which rises because of the yeast applied & kneaded all through the flour, we too will rise becoming the trees we are called to be. The key to this is we stop compartmentalizing our lives from God, wherein we let God in only so far, but beyond a certain point He is not allowed in to rule & have authority.

I learnt something once, I discovered the sovereignty of God. That if He rules in our lives, we don't tell God what to do, He tells us what to do, we depend on Him. We find out what His will is on a matter then we seek it, not the other way round. When we don't know what His will is, we ask Him to guide us and trust Him to lead us to it. We also have the word of God which shows us what His general will for all of us is.

Simon Peter was afraid once when He looked at His own humanity I can't do this ...but Jesus said don't be afraid see Luke 5: 8-11. This same Simon Peter leaving everything & following Jesus, walking in the power of God's strength went on to turn the world upside down!

Pickin

Me dey hungry
Me dey skinny
Me look, me look, me look, me no find food chop

Me dey hungry
Me dey skinny
E b like say I dey die..

D wicked d fly master
Everytime e dey come to dey pollute d food
Me belle e dey pain me every time I eat am

I stop

Me take me d eye look up
Me say me Daddy I dey hungry o ..no let me die
He send me d manna
He send me d sparrow bring me d seed
He send me d good aunty and d good uncle
Dem help me plant d garden

Ah I don chop again
E be like say dem pour fresh water for me body
Me body dey cool eh like so
I no die again

D friend of me e come visit me
E tell me say I dey look rosy O
Me dey blush for inside me brown skin ae
Me dey smile say na me Daddy O
Me Daddy no leave me

Even E send me d sparrow and make d manna to fall
But E tell me say me must to water d seed wey d sparrow give me
Me must to no keep d manna make e stale
But me go wait Him give me d fresh manna every day
Me must to bring meself come d place wey Him go put d fresh manna every day

Me must to plant d garden & dress am
Me must to remove all dem weed dem even d one wey I like d colour
Some dem weed dem fine ae! Like flower decorate d garden
But Daddy say weed na weed
Daddy say add d fertilizer every day, gather d seed wey scatter for d road
And drive all d birds dem commot wey wan steal d seed

So d garden go grow, make e dey gimme plenty plenty d fruit
Dis wey me Daddy tell me

Even though me Daddy don go for d distant land....far far away
Me still dey hear Him voice

Him voice na like d cool evening breeze after d hot Saro sun don finish hammer me
Me Daddy - Him Spirit no leave me

Are you HUNGRY??

This is for the hungry, the poor & the sober. If you are full, rich & laughing, then it's really not for you. See Luke 6 vs 20-26

When I listened to Leonard Ravenhill like I was telling my friend Mo I wept...fell on my knees before the Lord and wept, I didn't go to bed till about 2.00 a.m. that morning. It is as simple as that: I wept. Want to know one of the things that leave me speechless? This is it ...when a man speaks and I hear the very heart of God. I also said to Mo: he is very extreme - he seems to hate TV & what nots. Mo remembered a pamphlet he had written which she had back in our school days (sometime in the 80s probably), it had a picture of a man with his feet on a couch watching TV and written across the pamphlet was the phrase we wrestle NOT! ...get it? It means we do nothing ..the giant sleeps ..coasting through and it is still happening today.

We have designed our own agendas and set our own priorities, who are we lifting up? Is it Jesus? Or is it the by products of serving Jesus? "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed." John 6:26-27

Jesus said "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me" John 12:32

Leonard Ravenhill speaks truth ...what he is against: is us being distracted from Christ as our No. 1 priority, from spending time with God in the prayer closet knowing God and anything that will seperate us from the presence of God in-dwelling & moving within us. Jesus spoke a lot about priorities - see Luke 9 vs 57-62 and it's still the same Jesus, He has n't changed.

The Lord had asked us for one thing and one thing only on our prayer line, He had asked for our hearts and the same night He led me to the video below. Jesus is after your heart as well as mine. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength Mark 12:30

Leonard Ravenhill was a man who pointed us to Christ, to learn to pray and cultivate the presence of God so that our lifes can be changed. We can not change the world when HE hasn't changed us yet and we don't carry HIS presence. We can only change when we spend time before God like Moses. When Moses came out from being in the presence of God, the reflection of the Lord on him was so strong. Exodus 34:30 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.

I like something Mr Ravenhill said: that you can not explain God to people because people have to experience Him. The interview is almost 2hr long so it's not the microwave type thing, this is baking ...real cooking. You know the kind of teaching like when Paul preached so long that Eutychus fell asleep ..see Acts 20 vs 7-12

All quotes except the Bible passages below are Leonard RavenHill's and they are life changing.

The question isn't were you challenged. The question is were you changed?" Isaiah 29:13 "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men"

“My main ambition in life is to be on the devil’s most wanted list.” Acts 19:15 "And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

•  Most Christians pray to be blest, few pray to be broken.
• There is a cost in discipleship-- God has no basement-bargain blessings.
• If Christ isn't worth everything you have, He isn't worth anything you have.
• You can’t develop character by reading books. You develop it from conflict.
• The law of spiritual progress goes like this: Process then crisis, followed by a process then crisis, ad infinitum.
• The Christian has every right to tell God he wants to be a saint, but the Christian has no right to tell God how to make him one.
• If a million people smiled on me while I knew God frowned on me, I would not be happy. But if God smiled on me while a million people frowned on me, I would not be unhappy.
• No man ever did, or ever will do God a favor - God does all the favors.
• God owed us nothing - He gave us everything pertaining to life and godliness in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"You see, today we try to organize. We try to get a bunch of people together. God never did that. God takes individual men. He takes Moses to the backside of the desert. John the Baptist was in the wilderness until the day of his showing forth. Jesus, the Son of God who had left the Glory, spent thirty years in training to minister! John Baptist thirty years in training. The apostle Paul at least thirty years. Moses at least forty years; and we want to go to Bible School six months and come out like a super prophet! It’s the time factor that kills most of us. Tell me how much time you spend alone with God and I will tell you how spiritual you are."

I urge you to read the sermon on the website:  http://www.ravenhill.org/weeping1.htm and listen to the interview below.

    

Many pastors criticize me for taking the Gospel so seriously. But do they really think that on Judgment Day, Christ will chastise me, saying, 'Leonard, you took Me too seriously'? Leonard Ravenhill 1907-1994

The burden....

I noticed the president was bothered about something. You could see it written all over his face that he was weighing something in his mind, the outcome of which seemed to concern him terribly. Being a member of his staff and well, me just being me, I went up to him and asked what was on his mind that concerned him so. Somehow I found myself sitting on a chair across from him, he was also seated. He said he would have to demote some people and this obviously bothered him. I shrugged saying something along the lines of well, life happens to us all. I wasn't feeling particularly generous, I still hadn't forgotten the financial tsunami that was 2009 and a few other events here & there. I for one had taken more than my fair share for Team Lara, therefore couldn't get into the sympathy groove much, more so I didn't recall seeing a sympathy envoy at my side when I was going through! I was learning that life was tough, that you take the good & the bad with it!

Then Mr President proceeded to speak with me in the way that only one person could...he went along the lines of not so Lara, when a, b, c & d happened I had your back. He took me through a no of events, showing how I had been protected although others lost their positions. Nepotism I hear someone say? Perhaps or I was just a really good worker he didn't want to loose. I took my leave at the end of our little chat headed for bed but not till I did one last thing; because I knew I was leaving him there, mulling over his thoughts still. I turned around and said to him....you have to take the bad with the good, when bad things happen, just think about the good things, they make up for them. He looked up at me and smiled, the warmest, deepest & most sincere smile, there was so much love in that smile and you would have thought I had just said the most profound thing in the world and made his day. Odd, this relationship with my boss right? Well, he treats me just like his child, I guess it helps that I sleep in the same bedroom as his daughters. I got into bed, the girls were already asleep so I turned in for my beauty sleep.

I woke up ...from my dream and realised that it had been the Lord. There is only one person who looks at me like that, face full of love & compassion, strong but yet meek, no condemnation ...this wasn't the first time I had encountered Him. Yes, it was nepotism and I hadn't really said anything profound that he did not already know but perhaps I had mirrored exactly what He needed me to learn and He simply loves and delights in me because I am precious in His sight. 

I got up out of  bed, went up to the living room and somehow managed to dose off again on the couch. Then I heard someone call my name. I was expecting a friend of mine to drop off her kids that morning so that she could go to an appointment, she couldn't really afford to be late and I was conscious of that fact. I thought she must be at the door calling but I just couldn't get out of sleep despite how hard I tried to rouse myself. When I saw that that wasn't working, I decided to call in the big guns, I said Holy Spirit help me wake up, I don't want my friend to be stuck outside with the kids. Immediately I woke up, I looked at the time, it said something like 3.58A.M, it wasn't my friend who had been calling me. Yet I knew that I had distinctively heard my name, I was a little concerned at this point I must confess. Reluctant to go downstairs, I started to pray and as I was praying it dawned on me that it was the Lord calling, so I decided to respond like Samuel ....Yes Lord, open my ears and my heart, speak to me, what would you like to say to me, what would you have me do...something along those lines.

Three days earlier I had decided to wait on the Lord in prayer and fasting to seek His face, and now I had found it. The thing was though where I had my attention focused was not what the Lord had come to talk to me about, he did address directly some things that had been on my mind which I had acted out in the dream but He had come to share His heart with me....His agenda.

Over the months the Lord started to open my eyes to a number of things, through wonderful people He had placed in my life and through His word; I understood that I had to re-align some of my focus and the reason I am sharing this, is to urge you to do the same.

I learnt something from a precious man of God when he shared with us a revelation about the Shunamite woman and urged us to follow after her example. Here was a woman whose husband was advanced in age and they did not have a child, when Elisha passed by, she made a decision to make his journeys more comfortable and when she was asked what he could do for her, she didn't think to ask for anything, she didn't even think to ask for a child. Some might say, she didn't believe it was possible any longer...perhaps. But it is quite clear though that it was not the foremost thing on her mind, it wasn't her focus, rather she honoured God by honouring Elisha ...one would call that busy with the Lord's business. She was not consumed with or dominated by the need in her life (2 Kings 4).

The Lord once said to the Pharisees (Matthew 23) that they had neglected the weightier matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness and had gotten carried away with self indulgence, straining out a gnat (fly) - they had swallowed a camel ..rather counterproductive, don't you think? I mean look at the sheer disparity in size. He admonished them to clean the cup from the inside and not just the outside - which was where they had their focus.

When the Lord came, the rest of Israel could not recognise Him because they looked for an earthly liberation from Rome rather than eternal life & deliverance from sin, they chose to stay in darkness because the life of compromise was easier and their eyes were focused only on an earthly agenda. They could not understand a crucified Christ. That is why the gospel is said to be as foolishness to those who are perishing because you can not attain it by earthly wisdom, the cross comes hand in glove with the glory. "but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles" I Corinthians 1:23

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Two things.... Paul was pointing to in Philippians 3:10....the power of his resurrection which is the glory and the participation of his sufferings which is the cross. Which is why Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." (Matthew 16 vs 24)

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me Philippians 3:11. He poured out his life because Christ meant more to him than his own life or agenda. His life was a love song to the Lord, this was demonstrated by how he lived and what his priorities were. This was a man who died to self, he said I die daily..daily! (I Corinthians 15:31) Everyday he places Paul on the altar before God and rises up in Christ. That is the cross and the resurrection: he dies to live, he dies to the flesh so that he can rise to life in the Spirit. Lord help me to die daily!

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. Philippians 3:17-19

I've had to take a long look at my priorities, I urge you to do the same. Are you stumbling at the cross? That part of your faith which requires you to crucify your own agenda? Is this an offence to you? Or do you rather ignore it completely, telling yourself that it's all about the glory and seek the glory only?

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 4:17). What does the kingdom of God mean to us? Is the agenda of our life driven by the Holy Spirit or fueled solely by our flesh?

The burden I saw on the Lord's heart was people ...souls within the Church languishing due to misplaced priorities and ultimately souls unsaved outside of the Church. "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" 1 Peter 4:18

Revelations 1 to 3 - I urge you to read it, we as a Church need to see where we hold parrallels with the 7 churches of the revelation and address the issues identified there.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Acts of the Apostles et al...how did they do it?

I have been going through the book of Acts lately and wanted to share some of the things I came across.

I just finished reading chapter 20 and something struck me about Paul's journey....how Paul perserved....he went through so many cities and in almost all he faced opposition. By chapter 20, he was on his way to Jerusalem despite so many prophecies that great hardship awaited him there. I couldn't help getting teary eyed when he told the Ephesian elders that he wouldn't see their faces again. I couldn't help feeling exhausted when in Acts 19 vs 29 Paul's travelling companions were seized and sad when Paul was stoned, dragged and left for dead (Acts 14 vs 19).

However as I went through his journey I saw a man relentless...pushing...perserving against all odds even death...(Acts 19 vs 21) he was in so much of a hurry to go to Jerusalem and then Rome (where he is believed to have died) that he didn't stop at Ephesus again but rather asked the elders to meet him at Miletus where he was sailing past (Acts 20 vs 16), that urgent was his walk even to death. For Paul, it was this: I must finish the race, I will complete my assignment, Christ has sent me into the world as herald to carry His gospel, to win souls - souls - souls...that was Paul's burden, that was his goal. To the Ephesians he said "Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God." Acts 20 vs 26 -27..a statement from a man confident that he had fulfilled his assignment to the Ephesians.

Peter, James, Stephen...we see in the earlier chapters of Acts being persecuted, James & Stephen killed. They kept going against opposition and the word that was opposed kept flourishing, God confirming with signs & miracles. How did they keep going....how?

That my friend is the question.....

• The Holy Spirit was with them (Acts 1:8, Acts 2:4 & John 14:17)
• When harassed, they gathered together & prayed earnestly to God (Acts 12)
• When in chains, they prayed & sang hymns to God (Acts 16:25)
• They worshipped & fasted, spending time in fellowship with God (Acts 13:2)
• They prayed & fasted, committing their ways to God (Acts 13:3, Acts 14:23)
• They received visions, directions & encouragement from the Lord (Acts 18:9, Acts 16:9, Acts 16:7)

These may all seem like basic things, which we know but sometimes we do need to be reminded of them and in some cases, maybe we don't know...how to get through obstacles, harassment, develop a close relationship with the Lord, cultivate the atmosphere that allows Him to speak to us, how to not give up...my goal is that now we do....atleast we have a starting point.

The Holy Spirit is the legal helper (advocate) and friend who walks alongside us to further our best interests. Parakletos is the Greek word used to describe the Holy Spirit, I searched to find which best translates what Parakletos means, it is translated as a friend who is called to walk along side you to act as an advocate for you to further your best interest. For me a light bulb came on, so..the issue that I have been banging my head about not knowing what to do with it, I actually have the most powerful live in lawyer who can help me pray the best way forward, who with the same power that raised Christ from the dead can help me see to it that the best solution is realised and it doesnt actually end up in a mess or failure.

Our best interests include that Christ is formed in us, that we can go out in power and tell somebody else about Jesus, that our lives tell somebody about Jesus, that we can discern truth & hear what the Lord is saying to us, that we can enjoy fellowship with God.

John 16 vs 12-13 "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

Acts 1 vs 8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

John 4 vs 23-24 "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

The Holy Spirit is Christ living inside you, He is the best friend you can ever have. Let's welcome the Holy Spirit of God into our lives. Pls click on the link below to listen to a song I'd like to share with you, invite Him with all your heart to walk with you, to rain down on you, to help you to discern and fulfill God's purpose for your life. You are not just some random person but fearfully and wonderfully made, with a purpose in mind by your Father in heaven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-SI_HRWooA

How do you listen....

Luke 8 vs 18 "Therefore consider carefully how you listen......

There are four ways one can listen:

1.
Hearing the word but having it stolen from our hearts. When we hear but the devil comes in and steals what we have heard. He steals by telling us that God's word is a lie, tells us that it's not applicable to reality..to our life, that it won't make a difference, they are just words - they don't matter - so much so that we don't believe the word we heard anymore, sometimes we can't even remember what it is that we heard.

2.
Hearing the word with gladness because it looks like it's all "gonna be hunky dorey" from here on. A seamless transaction....until the seams start to show and things aren't going quite well. The season changes and it looks like we are all out of season, the relationship takes the form of a seasonal one...seasonal faith. We bail out of those trials that are meant to prove us...certify us, build us up & cause us to bear fruit.

3.
We hear the word but fail to weed out thorns in our lifes, the thorns grow along side the word so much so that they literally choke the word out of our lives. We fail to set the right priorities so the word fails to reach maturity in our lives...we fail to mature. Yes, we fail to mature when we are consumed by anxieties, riches & gratifications of the course of this life.  The literal English translation from the Greek  is "ones-hearing and under anxieties and riches and gratifications of the livelihood going are being together choked and not are finish carrying'. Notice the word under, in this situation the cares of this life sit on the top of the word that we hear and notice not are finish carrying - do not finish.

4.
Then comes the best way to hear which consists of hearing the word, retaining the word,  persevering with a noble and good heart till we bear fruit. The Greek literally translates to 'heart ideal and good'.

 Luke 8 vs 11-15
"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

I urge you to read all of verses 4 to 19.

The parable is not simply a list of the 4 different reactions that an individual can have to the message of salvation. First, Jesus tells the parable to a large crowd of people; the interpretation of the parable however He gives to His disciples and leaves them with an admonishment - asking them to apply careful consideration to the way they receive the word; teaching us that we have control over how the word of God is received in our lives. By turning to His disciples with the interpretation and an admonishment, He confirms that the word is meant for believers and not just a list of four different reactions, rather an ongoing lesson of life applicable to every day living.

Regarding Method 1

When the devil comes to steal the word from us, we can resist his robbery. He goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom to devour, we must not be ignorant of his devices, being vigilant to resist doubting the strength and validity of the power of God's words to us, recognising that unbelief is a method of thievery employed by the devil. We can resist Him by subjecting ourselves to God's authority & His word....Lord I believe you, Lord I believe in Your process. James 4 vs 7 "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Obedience works hand in hand with faith. The literal translation from the Greek of James 4:7 is "Ye-may- be-being-under-set then to-the God with-stand-ye to the thru-caster (the adversary) and he-shall-be-fleeing from you" ...being under-set to God i.e. subject to God (obedient to God) withstand the adversary. Think about how make shift dams are created, you set up the sand bags & properly position them so that they can resist the floods; without that, there is no resistance from the flood....first thing is to position yourself under God's authority and remaining in that form, you can resist your enemy.

How do we address Method 2

In this world you will have trouble....John 16 vs 33

Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me....Luke 7 vs 23 (NIV)

And blessed (happy--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, apart from outward conditions--and to be envied) is he who takes no offense in Me and who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to stumble [whatever may occur]....Luke 7 vs 23 (Amplified)

The translation in the amplified bible encaptulates the essence of how we should react to testing, trials and tribulations. Happy with life...relishing in the joy and satisfaction of knowing God and having a special place in His heart. There is a season of testing, there are times when things are not always easy, don't let anyone tell you any different, you will have to go out of this world to avoid difficulties. However one thing we are promised through these periods is peace (not as the world defines peace)....inner peace, more so we can take courage and comfort in the fact that our life is Christ, if we have Him and nothing else - it is enough.

Philippians 1 vs 20b-21 ".....so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain"  Note the word magnified.

Now Method 3

Life's worries....riches....pleasures....and by this we don't mature. When the quest for these become life, when our life's happiness consists in these things, maturity is still far away. When the Lord opened my eyes to the meaning of this verse, my eyes popped, I realised that when I define my life by these measures I will never reach maturity. When the worries and the race for these things fill our hearts they will literally choke the life of Christ out of us, that living water will be cut off, the seed in us will not be watered, we will stop growing and never yield fruit. The Lord counsels us (in Matthew 6 vs 25 -34) to be anxious for nothing, anxiety about zero. He made it clear that life is more than these things, to live is not what you will wear, where you will live, what career you will have or who you will marry, to live is one and only one thing Christ. He also comforted us further to say look I know you need these things, I know but seek first My kingdom and My righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. The literal translation to English from the Greek for the word translated first is before-most. On the fore front...before-most of your heart, your mind, your actions, let Christ be. Spiritual maturity is defined when your life consists of Christ, not when the goals of this life are at the top of your heart, heading your priority list and Christ is somewhere underneath. One day if you let them they will so blossom, explode and choke Christ out of you, and you will find that you have lost your way. So we have to prune our hearts, prune our lives and remove the thorns..any care that wants to over take your life - lay it aside, every anxiety that is consuming you weed it out, you already have life and that life is Christ...not this or that....not a land mark or status quo.....be careful how you listen.

Method 4 is beautiful, it defines the ideal heart that bears fruit & this is how we are to live

An ideal and good heart is one that mirrors Christ...He said learn from Me, learn My ways and these are My ways...I am meek, I am lowly in heart, I live life humble to the will of My Father, what He tells me to do I do, I do not expend My own will for the Son can do nothing of Himself except what He sees the Father doing, I don't have airs about Me, I know that of Me I can do nothing so I humble Myself accordingly, before God I am humble, before men I am humble...though I was rich yet I became poor.

When we hear the word, we retain it...RETAIN...keep it...hide it in our hearts... believe it...meditate on it... we obey it...we PERSEVERE - let us run with endurance the race that is set before us - we endure - it is by this perseverance that we can bear fruit, it means there is something to persevere against....whatever it takes Lord I am getting there - no matter what I face Lord, I still believe You - where next are we going, I am up for it Lord...we submit....we LIVE it - No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. When the world sees you, let them see Me...Me the light in you...my mother and brothers are those who hear My words and put them into practise..."it is not a personal thing"...so that those who come in can see the light.

Acts 4 vs 13 "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus"

Christ is to be lived in you not hidden...Christian - Christ in you...He lives in you...He works through you... He walks the streets through you - walks the earth through you.

"Hmm, she reminds me of someone...who??...you know that man....yes, the one from Galilee!"

How to listen is something the Lord has been teaching me about recently, I hope you find it equally enlightening, God Bless.


I have used www.scripture4all.org for the Greek - English Interlinear Bible Translations.