There is a marked difference between individuals that mentally assent to God’s promise and individuals who possess the faith of God for their challenges. Mental assent is characterised by the inability to obtain practical solutions for the challenges of everyday life. However, individuals that possess the faith of God (concerning His promise to them) always have their inner eyes opened to see practical strategies for obtaining these promises. God directly communicates these strategies from the Scriptures to them. He breathes life on the written Word and the Word becomes flesh in their situations. It is of utmost importance that believers consistently receive and live by God’s daily directives. Failure to do so results in unproductivity. When such unproductivity becomes the norm, it could result in such individuals becoming desperate and believing strange doctrines and delving into cultic practices.
The willingness to believe in or to pursue strange gods usually stems from deferred hopes…,’ Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life (Prov 13:12 KJV). In order to maintain faith in the integrity of God’s Word, it is therefore important that all believers learn how to produce results with practical strategies from the Word. The first of these strategies is the knowledge that no claim can be laid to any promise that has not been given to the believer by God. This totally eradicates the presence of envy and covetousness in believers. It leaves no room for individuals attempting to use God’s Word for manifestations that they have seen in other people’s lives. Each faith project must be authentic. It must be in line with God’s plan for each individual. This is because the faith of God always backs His assignments. It is not designed to be utilised for personal ambition and lusts rather faith is a tool to be used to fulfil heaven’s agenda on earth. God’s commitment to produce a certain degree of manifestation becomes the basis of genuine faith.
Unbelief can therefore be described as lack of faith in God’s specific promise to you. This type of unbelief can also be described as un-persuadableness. There are two types of unbelief sheer ignorance and un-persuadeableness. Sheer ignorance is the result of a lack of the knowledge of God’s will for you. Un-persuadableness however, does not stem out of ignorance of God’s Word but out of an unwillingness to have faith in a specific Word or promise of God. Belief in a specific commitment of God was exhibited by Abraham, ‘Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be (Romans 4:18 KJV). Consequently, God was able to perform what He promised because Abraham cooperated with Him through the exercise of his faith.
In the same vein, believers ought to wait on God for His promises. Once those promises are given they have the responsibility to exercise their faith, even if it is against all apparent odds and evidence. With such an exercise is the victory that our faith that is certain.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
From Hope to Faith
We should never allow the material world overshadow our spiritual faculties. Jesus, though easily touched by the feelings of our infirmities (Heb 4:15), admonished us to hold on to our spiritual realities through our confession, ‘For by thy words thou shall be justified, and by thy words thou shall be condemned.’ (Matt 12:37). We should hold on to these confessions regardless of the circumstances we are faced with. This is because they stem from the infallible truth of God’s Word.
Prayer is not a substitute for the law of confession. The two principles are separate and distinct although they are complimentary. The confessions you make before praying are the spiritual substance you carry with you into prayers. Just like Abraham and other founding fathers realised, these words take you from the realm of hope into the realm of faith. When they had no faith these giants of faith maintained their word of hope. They maintained their rejoicing and confessions of hope until it became a confession of faith.
For each of them, this process started out as a confession of hope. Even when they were calling those things that be not as they were, it was still literarily a confession of hope in the spirit. Their patience and consistency kept them at it until revelation dawned and their hope was substantiated. Spiritually, you cannot convert your hope to faith by simply changing the words you speak. It is not simply a play of words. These words must be infused with power. They must be substantiated before they can effect any change in your environment. This substance is imparted to them when revelation dawns in your soul concerning the subject matter.
The key to receiving this revelation is steadfastness i.e. consistency even when everything around you appears to be in chaos. It means concentrating on the promise until your concentration leads to perception. It does not mean slothfulness, but keenly following them who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Heb 6:12). When you enter the veil and begin to focus on the particular issue, light begins to flood your mind. If you maintain this focus, every detail of that dream will be imparted to you. The entrance of this strategic information will infuse your words with energy. Then, when you speak these power packed words, the circumstances in your environment will align themselves until your dream is actualized.
Prayer is not a substitute for the law of confession. The two principles are separate and distinct although they are complimentary. The confessions you make before praying are the spiritual substance you carry with you into prayers. Just like Abraham and other founding fathers realised, these words take you from the realm of hope into the realm of faith. When they had no faith these giants of faith maintained their word of hope. They maintained their rejoicing and confessions of hope until it became a confession of faith.
For each of them, this process started out as a confession of hope. Even when they were calling those things that be not as they were, it was still literarily a confession of hope in the spirit. Their patience and consistency kept them at it until revelation dawned and their hope was substantiated. Spiritually, you cannot convert your hope to faith by simply changing the words you speak. It is not simply a play of words. These words must be infused with power. They must be substantiated before they can effect any change in your environment. This substance is imparted to them when revelation dawns in your soul concerning the subject matter.
The key to receiving this revelation is steadfastness i.e. consistency even when everything around you appears to be in chaos. It means concentrating on the promise until your concentration leads to perception. It does not mean slothfulness, but keenly following them who through faith and patience inherit the promises (Heb 6:12). When you enter the veil and begin to focus on the particular issue, light begins to flood your mind. If you maintain this focus, every detail of that dream will be imparted to you. The entrance of this strategic information will infuse your words with energy. Then, when you speak these power packed words, the circumstances in your environment will align themselves until your dream is actualized.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Substance vs. Shadow 2
When Jesus talked about insufficient labourers for the plenteous harvest in Matt 9: 37-38, He was referring to people involved with the substance of their dreams and not its shadow. Jesus was talking about people who were involved in the same creative process that He was. He was not referring to people expending physical energy in the pursuit of acquiring material possessions, but to those involved in bringing His kingdom to bear on the earth. They know that genuine results can only be gotten through the express will of the eternal God. So, rather than join the multitude in futile pursuits, they sit still until they have accessed the knowledge of His will. They do not take any step on the outside until they have entered into the rest of God on any matter.
It has been said that the combined wealth of the world’s seven richest men is enough to wipe out poverty from 2.5 billion lives. It is very clear that these seven men cannot possibly be involved in more physical labour than the 2.5 billion people combined. However, there are certain principles that they put to work which has fetched them such enormous results. Consequently, these kind of results gives its custodians the capacity to cause tremendous impact in their environment. Wealthy people know that true wealth can only be gotten when you become attuned to the thought of God for each dispensation. They all take out time to make contact with the thoughts that they believe the ‘Infinite Intelligence’ has put inside them. It is only after making contact with these thoughts that they step out to execute.
The effect of this productive insight is that millions (and possibly billions) of lives are positively impacted. These individuals are themselves transformed in the process. Material possessions, which represent the shadow of their pursuits, are effortlessly bestowed on such people. On the whole, they live fulfilling and enriched lives because they know the secret of productivity (i.e. align your activities with the will of the ‘Infinite Intelligence’ for your generation).
Colossians 2:8-9, 1719 says, ‘Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. . . Which are a shadow of things to come And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. This same passage in Colossians 2 verse 17 categorically states that the substance is Christ. The evidence that you are involved with the substance of your vision is the productivity and increase that evolves as a result, thus showing the evident increase of God in your life.
However if you are operating in the shadow reality, you will be just like the individuals that kept going through the motion of activities (Heb 10:1) erroneously believing that this would bring about the materialisation of the good things they wanted. What this indicates is that, it is possible for a person to be continuously involved in religious activities without corresponding results in their lives. This religious mindset was what Jesus addressed when He rebuked Martha for being involved in many activities whilst neglecting the only needful thing. On the other hand he commended Mary for doing the needful i.e. sitting still at the feet of the Master waiting for His instructions. I will stand upon my watch, and set myself upon the tower, and watch to see what He will say unto me (Hab 2:1).
From the Desk of Pastor Poju
It has been said that the combined wealth of the world’s seven richest men is enough to wipe out poverty from 2.5 billion lives. It is very clear that these seven men cannot possibly be involved in more physical labour than the 2.5 billion people combined. However, there are certain principles that they put to work which has fetched them such enormous results. Consequently, these kind of results gives its custodians the capacity to cause tremendous impact in their environment. Wealthy people know that true wealth can only be gotten when you become attuned to the thought of God for each dispensation. They all take out time to make contact with the thoughts that they believe the ‘Infinite Intelligence’ has put inside them. It is only after making contact with these thoughts that they step out to execute.
The effect of this productive insight is that millions (and possibly billions) of lives are positively impacted. These individuals are themselves transformed in the process. Material possessions, which represent the shadow of their pursuits, are effortlessly bestowed on such people. On the whole, they live fulfilling and enriched lives because they know the secret of productivity (i.e. align your activities with the will of the ‘Infinite Intelligence’ for your generation).
Colossians 2:8-9, 1719 says, ‘Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. . . Which are a shadow of things to come And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. This same passage in Colossians 2 verse 17 categorically states that the substance is Christ. The evidence that you are involved with the substance of your vision is the productivity and increase that evolves as a result, thus showing the evident increase of God in your life.
However if you are operating in the shadow reality, you will be just like the individuals that kept going through the motion of activities (Heb 10:1) erroneously believing that this would bring about the materialisation of the good things they wanted. What this indicates is that, it is possible for a person to be continuously involved in religious activities without corresponding results in their lives. This religious mindset was what Jesus addressed when He rebuked Martha for being involved in many activities whilst neglecting the only needful thing. On the other hand he commended Mary for doing the needful i.e. sitting still at the feet of the Master waiting for His instructions. I will stand upon my watch, and set myself upon the tower, and watch to see what He will say unto me (Hab 2:1).
From the Desk of Pastor Poju
Programming your Subconscious
Subconscious programming is not necessarily always negative. An individual’s life could also be positively programmed. One truth that holds true in either case is that the subconscious always governs an individual’s life. This is the reason why some highly successful individuals may find it difficult to articulate the major factor that contributed to their success.
Due to the vital role that the subconscious programme plays in believers’ lives, God is particular about the state of that part of a person’s being. He is totally unsupportive of processes that do not pay sufficient attention to the state of an individual’s subconscious programme. This is because such processes only breed hypocrisy and hypocrisy can never take an individual into the inner court. This inner court (the Holy of Holies), typifies the place of intimate fellowship with God. It also represents the place where God’s glory is made manifest. Only people who have yielded to the character-building processes of God partake of the pleasure of His presence. This was what Paul talked about in Hebrews 13:10,’We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.’ The ‘altar’ in this verse refers to the presence of God while the ‘tabernacle’ refers to the flesh or fleshly desires. Thus, this verse can be translated to mean that spirit-tending believers have a level of access to God’s presence that fleshly believers do not.
The process that leads to this re-programming is not one that people are willing to undergo. This is because once an individual partakes of the baptism of the Holy Ghost (or once he decides to rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading) he will definitely be led into wilderness phases. This fact held true even in the life of Jesus when He was led into the wilderness after the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
In order to play a game of fairness, (and we serve a just God), we are required to ‘be eager …to present ourselves to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analysing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skilfully teaching] the Word of Truth’ (2 Tim 2:15). To this end, we need to submit to the leading of God’s Spirit because that is what qualifies us as sons in God’s kingdom. Only sons can partake of the inheritance of the kingdom… That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all (Gal 4:1).
Due to the vital role that the subconscious programme plays in believers’ lives, God is particular about the state of that part of a person’s being. He is totally unsupportive of processes that do not pay sufficient attention to the state of an individual’s subconscious programme. This is because such processes only breed hypocrisy and hypocrisy can never take an individual into the inner court. This inner court (the Holy of Holies), typifies the place of intimate fellowship with God. It also represents the place where God’s glory is made manifest. Only people who have yielded to the character-building processes of God partake of the pleasure of His presence. This was what Paul talked about in Hebrews 13:10,’We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.’ The ‘altar’ in this verse refers to the presence of God while the ‘tabernacle’ refers to the flesh or fleshly desires. Thus, this verse can be translated to mean that spirit-tending believers have a level of access to God’s presence that fleshly believers do not.
The process that leads to this re-programming is not one that people are willing to undergo. This is because once an individual partakes of the baptism of the Holy Ghost (or once he decides to rely on the Holy Spirit’s leading) he will definitely be led into wilderness phases. This fact held true even in the life of Jesus when He was led into the wilderness after the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
In order to play a game of fairness, (and we serve a just God), we are required to ‘be eager …to present ourselves to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analysing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skilfully teaching] the Word of Truth’ (2 Tim 2:15). To this end, we need to submit to the leading of God’s Spirit because that is what qualifies us as sons in God’s kingdom. Only sons can partake of the inheritance of the kingdom… That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all (Gal 4:1).
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