Battle Array: Our Wardrobe - Part 2

(Ephesians 6:13)  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

(Ephesians 6:14)  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

(Ephesians 6:15)  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

The word “Truth” here is the Greek word “alētheia” which simply means “Reality”. Now a belt is what holds a battle suit firmly in place, and is therefore a very vital piece of the armour. If the belt falls off, most of your armour will be loose. That’s why the Belt of Truth is so vital.

Truth means Reality. Reality is that which is Eternal. And that which is Eternal, is that which God has said. In other words, Truth is the Word of God (John 17:17).

Not the word of the Economic system.

Not the word of the Doctor.

Not the word of the Scientist.

Not the word of the Lecturer.

Not the word of the Media.

It doesn’t matter who says what, or by what qualifications they spoke, if it is not founded on the Word of God, IT IS INVALID! It makes no difference whether they were philosophers or so-called “wise men”. Personal life experiences are not a yardstick to measure Truth, and proverbs of grey-haired, pot-bellied, palm wine drinking ‘elders’ and forefathers is at best worldly wisdom; it doesn’t measure up to Truth even though they sound wise. One of such proverbs is: “What an elder sees when he is sitting down, a child cannot see it even if he climbs a palm tree”

Well, if that child is filled with the Holy Ghost, and the elder is not, then the opposite of that statement is TRUE!

“Truth is according to what God says” (Rev. Gabriel Israel).

No wonder the Lord Jesus says to live “by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). As Christians, the ONLY material we should feed on, meditate on, speak, believe, preach and ultimately live by is the Word of God. It doesn’t matter what is obvious; that the X-ray results show that you have a Tumour, or that the lecturer said you failed the course, or that your Bank account is so low, it has even gone into minus, or whatever is evidently going wrong. In the midst of the obvious challenges, we must never be oblivious of the Word of God, and we must reckon it as the ONLY Truth that holds.

However, we must also understand that there is “A Word of God” to the New Creation in Christ, it is the “Word of His Grace” (Acts 20:32). The Law of Moses is in the Bible. The wrath of God revealed through the Prophets is also in the Bible. BUT THOSE WORDS ARE NOT WRITTEN TO THE NEW CREATION. The New Creation doesn’t belong in the Old Testament, and there is a difference between the Old Testament and the Old Testament SECTION of the Bible. The Old Testament refers to the “Law and the Prophets”, and the Old Testament SECTION refers to “Genesis to Malachi”.

The Word of God for the New Creation is that Word that is consistent with God’s plans and purposes in CHRIST JESUS. This is the Belt of Truth, and when you have this belt on, you cannot be deceived.

(Romans 5:17)  For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

That’s pretty straightforward. The Breastplate of Righteousness is a Gift! If you are a believer, you ALREADY HAVE IT! Infact, you cannot be a Christian without having this Gift, because Righteousness is the very Nature of God which you are given when you get born again.

But then it gets bigger!

(2 Corinthians 5:21)  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

You are the very expression and trophy of God’s Righteousness! You have gone past being “Right”; you have become the “Rightness” of God! So, why is Paul asking us to put this on? Aren’t we already Righteousness?

It’s because, putting on the Armour of God means to understand these Truths and meditate on them until they become your everyday consciousness, and forms a mindset in you. When it becomes a mindset, then the armour is on!

So, we are the very display of God’s Righteousness, irrespective of the mistakes we make, or the wrong stuff we may do, it doesn’t change who we are. This is actually where the war is, when you do something wrong and the devil attacks you with guilt and condemnation, then that is when your breastplate of Righteousness will be tested. AND IT WILL STAND.

Those who have this on can never suffer from the devil’s Accusations, Guilt and Condemnation.

(Isaiah 52:7)  How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

This is perhaps the piece of armour that mostly demonstrates the Love of God as well as God’s Number one priority; Soulwinning! This is the responsibility of every believer, and the ultimate reason for the Armour; to effectively advance against and plunder the Kingdom of Darkness, by rescuing souls from the dominion and control of the devil.

Therefore, evangelism shouldn’t always be a planned event where we all gather together to go out and preach the Gospel. That’s why Apostle Paul said “having your foot shod WITH THE PREPARATION of the Gospel of peace…” In other words, we are to ALWAYS be prepared to win a soul, not only when the local assembly announces Evangelism. We can minister in the buses, in the bus stops, during break periods, anywhere and everywhere!

And what are we to preach?

Isaiah 52:7 – Peace, Good tidings of good, Salvation.

Not Condemnation, Judgement or the Wrath of God!

BY THE WAY: The shoes of the Gospel of peace do not have high heels, because soldiers don’t “cat-walk”, they march! We must not be sluggish in our preaching of the Gospel, because the time is short.

Those who have these shoes on are Indispensable; they cannot die anyhow, because God needs them alive to continue to harvest souls!

If y0u are reading this, and you are not born again, I bring you good tidings of good. God is not mad at you, He loves you, and He wants to demonstrate that love to you. You can receive it now, by saying this simple prayer from your heart:

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for your Grace and love. I believe in your eternal sacrifice for my sins and your resurrection for my justification. With faith in my heart, I accept your Lordship of Love over my spirit, soul and body. I receive eternal life into my spirit, even the nature of righteousness. I am now a child of God, born from above. Thank you for saving me, in Jesus Name.

If you prayed this prayer, I pray for you, that you be filled with the Spirit in all fullness, and be guided by His Eternal word, even as you begin your journey of Faith.

Three done. Three to go.

There’s more; Next week.

With Love,

PeeJay

Battle Array: Our Wardrobe - Part 1

Alright. So we began a series last week. Today we continue.

There is a war raging. And I’m not referring to the tension in the Middle East, or the Uprisings in Africa, I’m talking about the War responsible for the wars in the world. As Christians, we must understand that we are at the forefront of the most fierce, most real and most important battle in existence. It’s far fiercer than all of the World wars you read about, or the Star wars you watched on Hollywood; this is a Kingdom war.

Science and all of its foolish wisdom have no answer to this war, because, firstly, they don’t even know it exists! And even if you told them, they wouldn’t believe because “it cannot be scientifically proven!” Well, the Devil is a Liar, but He is not a Lie. He EXISTS. Notice, I didn’t say He’s “alive”, or he “lives”, because JESUS is the ONLY source of life (John 14:6).

The devil has two major ways of destroying people: Deception and Fear. And when deception is fully mature, it becomes Delusion. No scientific instrument or method can detect deception, and that’s why the devil is controlling the minds of men from “behind the scenes” and making it look “natural”. He’s been doing this for thousands of years, and if experience counts for anything, then he’s pretty good at it! If employers can trust individuals who have “years of experience” to deliver, then you can also “trust” the devil to deceive! He is a self-employed, full-time staff with just one job: KILL, STEAL, and DESTROY (John 10:10).

I will talk expressly about the devil in another article.

So, whether the world knows it or not, whether they choose to believe it or not, truth is, we all have a COMMON ENEMY. That’s why the Apostle Peter says “...your adversary, the devil…” (1 Peter 5:8). And because he knows that his judgement is fast approaching, he has accelerated his time-table! But no matter how “fast” the devil thinks he’s moving in his evil, God is an eternity ahead of him in His Grace! Therefore, now, more than ever, is the time to “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

Now, let’s begin to talk about our wardrobe.

(Ephesians 6:11)  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

(Ephesians 6:12)  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

“An Armour is not a night gown (pyjamas), You don’t wear it to sleep!” (Gabriel Israel (Rev.) 2011). Absolutely True!

God wouldn’t ask us to put on an armour for nothing! An armour is not an apron, you don’t cook with it, neither is it a school uniform, you don’t school with it! Think about it, when a military commander announces to his troops “Take up your weapons”, or “Put on your uniforms”, what goes through the mind of the troops? Do they think: “It’s time for coffee?” or “It’s time to see our families?” or “It’s time to sleep?” No. A thousand times No! As soon as they hear that announcement, they know “THIS MEANS WAR!”

Now, God made this “announcement” thousands of years ago because the battle has been raging, even in the time of the Apostles. Notice, He says “Put on the whole armour…” In other words, it is a deliberate decision and consciousness. And he tells us why: “that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”. That’s another way of saying “Brace yourselves, you are on the devil’s hit list!” That’s why God gave us an armour. You must put it on at all times, otherwise, you may just have an “early arrival” in our homeland, and I’m sure the saints will treat you to a warm reception!

And how “high” up your name is on the devil’s hit list depends on your level of assault on the Kingdom of darkness. If you are a frequent soul-winner, demon-caster, dead-raiser, intercessor, or involved in anything that disturbs the Kingdom of darkness, let me announce to you, THE DEVIL IS AFTER YOU! I know certain men who have become the devil’s top priority! And I think that is an absolutely wonderful place to be in! Every believer should be the devil’s headache!

Verse 12 tells us something interesting. It says “we wrestle not against flesh and blood…” This means that humans are NOT the enemies, the battle is not against them, it’s actually for them. Leave your grandmother in the village alone, and stop trying to kill your neighbour’s cat! They are “flesh and blood”; the war is not against them! They may be used by the devil, but that’s what it is; they are being used! Even if you successfully kill them, it doesn’t stop the devil, he’ll just find another person to use! So, how many people are you going to kill before you become “enemy-free”?! 

And if you then become “enemy-free”, how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled which says:  “Thou preparest a table before me in THE PRESENCE OF MINE ENEMIES” (Psalms 23:5). Your enemies are meant to be first-hand witnesses of your progress! Don’t deny them the opportunity to constantly see the Glory of God on you! And besides, it’s more fun eating with people, especially when they are eating your food! Remember, JESUS said, “Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you” (Matthew 5:44). The Christian can NEVER be enemy-free, because the world hates us (John 15:18). But, it DOESN’T MATTER! They are not a factor! Don’t bother or fret about them, because “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

David was a man of war, no king in the Bible killed more enemies than David, and yet He got to a point where he understood that ENEMIES ARE NEEDED!

Who then are our adversaries? “…but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”.

The Apostle breaks it down into four classes:

Principalities,

Powers,

Rulers of the darkness of this world,

Spiritual wickedness in high places.

                                            

They are not all the same; they vary in responsibility and in function. We shall discuss them in a different article.

I understand that people, and sadly, even Ministers of God misconstrue this portion of scripture and then begin to try to “wrestle” against the devil by opening “Deliverance Ministries” and conducting “Deliverance sessions” for God’s people. Most of them have a genuine heart, but they are ignorant.

Listen, the “Deliverance Ministry” is NOT for the Christian! He doesn’t need to be delivered from the devil! He is a NEW CREATURE! (2 Corinthians 5:17) Don’t you get it? We are not a match for the devil and all the cohorts of Hell put together! You must understand the nature of this war. WE ARE NOT FIGHTING FOR VICTORY, WE ARE FIGHTING FROM VICTORY! (1 John 4:4, Romans 8:37). The devil is a defeated foe, He is not “hale and hearty”, we are not trying to beat him, JESUS gave him a thorough whipping! (Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14, 1 John 3:8)

The nature of this war is to rescue the souls of men, whom Jesus legally paid for through his eternal sacrifice, from the rule and oppression of the devil, and vitally deliver them into their inheritance in Christ. This is not a SELFISH war, it’s a SELFLESS war. It’s not about us; it’s about the souls of men, FOR SOULS ARE GOD’S MOST PRIZED POSSESION!

Such is the nature of this war, to reachout to those in darkness, and bring them into the Light of His Grace. That’s why we hold crusades, preach the Gospel, heal the sick, mend the  broken-hearted, release them that are oppressed, raise the dead; these are all battle strategies!

So, it’s battle time; it has long started, and we already have the Victory! You want to share in this victory? Become a soul-winner!

And now if you are not born-again, it’s time to accept the Love of Christ. You can do it right now from your heart, it's a simple prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for your Grace and love. I believe in your eternal sacrifice for my sins and your resurrection for my justification. With faith in my heart, I accept your Lordship of Love over my spirit, soul and body. I receive eternal life into my spirit, even the nature of righteousness. I am now a child of God, born from above. Thank you for saving me, in Jesus Name.

If you prayed this prayer, I pray for you, that you be filled with the Spirit in all fullness, and be guided by His Eternal word, even as you begin your journey of Faith.

The Apostle Paul goes on to list the elements of our wardrobe, namely:

Belt of Truth

Breastplate of Righteousness

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

Shield of Faith

Helmet of Salvation

Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:14-17)

Next week, we will begin to take them apart, piece by piece, showing in details, what they entail.

There’s always MORE.

With Wisdom,

PeeJay

Battle Array: Meet the Militants

There's a popular Christian hymn titled "The Church is marching on". Over the years, we sang it so melodiously, without actually meditating on that phrase. After a while, I had to ask myself a few questions:

Where are we marching to?

Why are we even marching?

Do we have to march? Why can't we just "fly with the wind of the Spirit"?

Well, I found out that ONLY Armed Forces MARCH. The Church is God's Army; Heaven's Ground Forces on the Earth.

"The day you became a Christian, YOU CEASED to be a CIVILIAN, You enrolled in the BARRACKS!" (Gabriel Israel (Rev) 2011).

Your prayer of salvation was your ACCEPTANCE SPEECH! That's why Apostle Paul says to "endure hardness as a good SOLDIER of Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3). Notice He didn't say, "Those of you who are soldiers should endure hardness!" Because the question is not whether or not you are a soldier, It's "what kind of soldier are you?"

BY THE WAY: HARDNESS is NOT the same as HARDSHIP. Hardness refers to DISCIPLINE.

Let me tell you few things about a Soldier. A Soldier has no comfort zone, He had one before he became a soldier, now, he only has war zones. A soldier is one who chooses inconvenience, so as to make others convenient. A soldier is one who puts his life on the line, so that others can have a life-line. A soldier is one who fights to maintain peace, so that others can live in bliss. A soldier doesn't live for himself. Infact, HE DOESN'T HAVE A LIFE OF HIS OWN. It is therefore vital to understand that the life of a Christian is a SELF-LESS one.

But make no mistakes about it; Christians are not "cool and calm people!" We may look cool and calm, but so do Lions until they ROAR! I know there are those who have believed an age-long traditional lie that JESUS was "cool and calm", they say he couldn't hurt a fly, He always took one step before the other and anytime someone stepped on him, He said "Bless you!"

NOT MY JESUS! Read your Bible! Yes, He was Full of Grace and Truth, Love and Compassion, and so are we as Christians, but there's a reason He's called THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH!

At one time, He went to the Temple and found out that money-changers had taken over the place. Jesus didn't preach a sermon, The Bible says He MADE scourges (whips) and used it to DRIVE (eject, pursue, cast out) these guys away! Both man and animal! I mean he overthrew their tables, released the caged animals, and spilled their coins everywhere! Listen, He didn't "pluck" whips, or look for whips, He MADE them! In other words, He took his time, got the "raw materials" required and wove them into a weapon! Jesus MADE A WEAPON! I'm sure the money-changers thought he was practising carpentry until the whips kissed their skin! And of course, you don't drive people out by whispering and smiling to them, Jesus raised his voice, and chased them out from table to table! He must have been so fierce that they all got scared of him and ran leaving their goods! (John 2:14-16, Read this from the Message Bible)

Was it the way He spoke? His words caused controversy! He taught as one having Authority (Matthew 7:29). You know, all of the Prophets of old came and said "Thus saith the Lord". When Jesus came, He said "Verily, Verily, I SAY!" The Prophets spoke FOR the Lord, but Jesus spoke AS the Lord. 

One time, He said to the Jews "Ye are from beneath, I am from Above..." And they replied and said: "Who art thou…" That's the King James English. In modern day English, that would read "Who the Hell do you think you are?!" or "Who you be?"(Nigerian readers ONLY) (John 8:23-25). They were very upset with him. Another time, He said to them: "I am the Living Bread, if any man eats my flesh and drinks my blood, he hath Eternal life…" And they asked themselves: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" I mean, it sounded like cannibalism! They couldn't comprehend him. Infact, many of his disciples were offended by those words and left him! (John 6:51-69). As if that wasn't enough, again He said to them: "Before Abraham was, I AM". This time, they didn't debate with Him, they picked up fine, large stones to stone Him! But Jesus escaped! He had an escape plan! (John 8:58-59). That's some serious militancy!

So, get it! As Christians, we are nice and cozy, cool and calm, exchange pleasantries and niceties on the outside, but LIONS on the inside. We are Rugged in our Faith, Dogged in our Convictions, Militant in Soul-winning, Demon-casters, Sickness-Healers, Money-spenders, Game-changers, World-shakers, Light-beamers, Human principalities, Love-dispensers, Grace-factories, Power-brokers, and sworn rebels to the system of this world because we play by a special, different and elite set of rules! Infact, we are "et-cetera!"

The biggest risk a man could ever take is to take a Christian for granted. He's more dangerous than any terrorist group! The most dangerous specie in existence is the CHRISTIAN WHO KNOWS THAT HE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS! No wonder the Apostle Paul declared; "If ANY man be in Christ, He is a new CREATURE..." (2 Corinthians 5:17). Notice, He didn't say, that man becomes a better, renovated, or edited man, He said "that man" becomes "A NEW CREATURE!" Why?

Because there are four classes of beings on the earth:

Plants

Animals

Humans

And CHRISTIANS! 

It's easy to group Humans and Christians together, because they have the same "physical body", but when that glorious day comes, when Jesus, Our Commander, shall bodily descend from Heaven with a shout, and mortality shall put on immortality, and we shall all be changed; then the world will fully realize, that we were never in the same class with them (1 Corinthians 15:51-54, Romans 8:19, 1 John 3:2).

Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet the MILITANTS.

Finally,

What is their Dress Code? What do they wear? What have they been commanded? How do they conduct warfare? How do they rank? Where is their Barracks? What tactics do they employ?

There’s more. Next week.

Yours Militantly,

PeeJay

Optanomai; The Art of Aphoraō

Just before you conclude that there was a mistake in the Title, remember that English is not the only language. Let's go a little Greek today.

The first word "Optanomai" (also spelt "Optomai") is an Ancient greek word, which being translated into English basically means "to look at, behold, gaze, voluntary observation, inspection". Probably, that's the root word for most of the English "optos" (Optometry, Opticians, etc). The second word "Aphoraō" is another Ancient Greek word, which means "to turn the eyes away from other things, and fix them on something, to consider attentively". Now, you see why Greek was a shorter and better choice for a Title!

We are in a corrupt world, a world that feeds on lust and thrives on pride. No wonder the Apostle John said "...all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life..." (1st John 2:16). It's quite remarkable that he says "ALL". In other words, these principles run the world, and that's why there's no evil-free nation, because no Nation has declared Jesus as Lord. So Jesus doesn't run any Nation except the Church.

As we journey from seconds to minutes, hours, days, weeks and years in this realm of Time, We are constantly beckoned upon by the CARES of this earthly realm, even the LUSTS of this age, always seeking something from us; Our FOCUS and ATTENTION. No wonder, Jesus admonished us against it (Mark 4:19), Apostle Peter emphasized it (1 Peter 5:7), Apostle James reiterated it (James 1:14).

The Truth is, you are going to eventually give your attention to something or someone. The question is, Who? or What? I find so many people are on the sidewalk of life, riddled with questions, saddled with burdens, and manhandled by confusion, and sadly, some of them are Believers in Christ. And the logical response of these people is to FOCUS on the problem and try to solve it. Sooner or later, they discover they are on quicksand, the more they TRY to rise, the deeper into the mess they fall, dangerously stuck in life's quagmire.

Most of them soon give up and come to a fatal conclusion: "God doesn't exist", "God doesn't love me", etc. God always gets the blame, because they were taught that "Heaven helps those who help themselves". And so, they labour, so engrossed in self-effort, trying to "help" themselves, and expecting one "emissary" from Heaven to appear and support their struggle. I even hear young men who have a magnet for their trousers at the mid-line of their intergluteal cleft (their buttocks) which they call sagging, and wear a long chain dangling dangerously close to their scrotal sac, and put on shoes that look like cars, I hear them say "God, bless my hustle!" And they say it with an air of inspiration gotten from those so-called hip-hop stars whom they have as role models. Listen, If you want to struggle and hustle, don't bring God into it, He won't come, and certainly won't bless your hustle! Struggle alone! They also try to "keep it real" by saying "they came from the streets". We all came from the streets, It depends on the type of street, I grew up on streets paved with gold, I'm sorry you grew up in dust and smoke!

I perceive I should laugh now, that was a bit hot. If you are one of those young men, I TRULY love you!

Let's go on. GRACE NEVER SPONSORS STRUGGLE, IT ELIMINATES IT! Heaven doesn't help those who help themselves. Scriptures declare "...Fear not, I WILL HELP YOU." (Isaiah 41:13). Fullstop. You don't need to try to help yourself! GOD DOESN'T NEED YOUR SUPPORT, HE NEEDS YOUR CO-OPERATION. Again it says "...Not by power, nor by might, but by my Spirit..." (Zechariah 4:6). It's that simple. When you choose to help yourself, you automatically disqualify yourself from GRACE. The sacrifice of Jesus is an Eternal testimony that man CAN NEVER help himself, infact, Man didn't even have enough sense to know he needed help. The Truth is, they have DONE all they KNOW to do (self-effort), they haven't done what God SAID to do; they haven't mastered the art of Aphoraō.

The Art of Aphoraō is the key to a Constant, Dynamic and Sure change. It means to turn away from everything else, unto something. The Apostle Paul used it in Hebrews 12:2: "Looking (aphoraō) unto JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith..." In other words, no matter what is going on around, look away from EVERYTHING and EVERYONE ELSE INCLUDING YOURSELF, and look unto JESUS. 

What I'm literally telling you is this, If you desire a change in that situation, don't "optanomai" at the situation, "aphoraō" unto JESUS. It sounds too good to be True, but it is. Let me show you why with just two examples, amongst many.

First, Numbers 21:5-9.

Here is the story. The people of Israel sinned against God, and God allowed fiery serpents to attack them and bite them, and many died, others were wounded, rehearsing for death. Now, that was under the Law, God doesn't have a snake farm, where he dispatches serpents to those that sin today! Otherwise a serpent may be just be tracking you! You know what you did, right? :-) JESUS already took it ALL.

So, the people cried out to Moses, and God told Moses: 

"...Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live" (verse 8). 

Wow! God didn't prescribe medical care or herbal remedy, He said LOOK! And make no mistake; there was medical care available in Israel! But God said, LOOK! Now, the serpent on the pole, was a depiction of Jesus on the Cross, This story was referring to the crucifixion of Jesus that fixed sin and its consequences (John 3:14). And when they looked, they were healed! (Verse 9) They didn't have to treat themselves, they just had to LOOK. The word "beheld" as used in Verse 9, is the Hebrew word "nâbaṭ", which means "to scan, to look intently at".

Second, 1st John 3:1-2.

This is the big one! Verse 2 says: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, FOR WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS"

The only reason why we will be changed is because WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS. The Apostle is talking about a physical change of state, when mortality shall put on immortality, and corruption shall put on incorruption! You must understand, there is something about this JESUS, when we FOCUS on Him, everything about us SUBMITS and CONFORMS to what we see! That why even our clothes can carry the Anointing! I mean, JESUS is the SUM TOTAL of DIVINITY and DEITY. It doesn't get higher than that! He is LORD. Who or What situation could resist His Presence? 

The Bible says at His Presence, Mountains skip like rams! (Psalm 114:4)

When Moses met Him, his calendar stopped, time literally freezed, he didn't know when 40 days passed! (Exodus 24:18, 34:28)

When Prophet Jeremiah met Him, liquid fire was injected into his bones! (Jeremiah 20:9)

When Prophet Isaiah saw Him, he couldn't stand, he cried "Woe unto me, for I am undone" (Isaiah 6:1-7) 

When Apostle Paul encountered him on the way to Damascus, Paul went blind and flat on his face! (Acts 9:1-7)

When Apostle John saw Him, His eyes were as a flame of fire, in His right Hand was seven stars, His voice was as the sound of many waters, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. He is called FAITHFUL and TRUE, His vesture was dipped in blood and his name is The Word of God. On His Vesture and Thigh was engraved "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS".  John fell at his feet, like a dead man! (Revelation 1:15-17, 19:11-16)

HEEEYYY!! THIS JESUS! He is ALL that MATTERS!

That's why you got Born-Again. You had an encounter with the Gospel of JESUS, and as you LOOKED by listening, you were recreated! THIS JESUS! 
That's how you renew your mind; "As we LOOK, we are CHANGED..."(2 Cor. 3:18). THIS JESUS! 
That's why, when He comes again, we will have NEW BODIES, just like His own, because WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS! THIS JESUS!

Pastors, Leaders, Preachers, Parents, If you want your members or your children to be like JESUS, Quit pushing them, Quit trying to beat them into shape, Quit giving them rules and regulations, SHOW THEM JESUS AS HE IS. 

Not as you think He is. 

Not as you have been told He is.

Not as society says He is.

Not as you CHOOSE to believe He is.

Show them THIS JESUS; Full of Grace and Truth, Full of Love and Compassion, Full of Authority and Ability, Full of Power. This is the Focus of this Blog.

If you are not born again, You have got to encounter THIS JESUS. He's too lovely to miss! Life begins when you meet Him. It's time to look to Him for salvation, because there is no name given among men whereby they shall be saved, neither is there salvation in any other, except the name of JESUS (Acts 4:12). You can do it right now from your heart, it's a simple prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for your Grace and love. I believe in your eternal sacrifice for my sins and your resurrection for my justification. With faith in my heart, I accept your Lordship of Love over my spirit, soul and body. I receive eternal life into my spirit, even the nature of righteousness. I am now a child of God, born from above. Thank you for saving me, in Jesus Name.

If you prayed this prayer, I pray for you, that you be filled with the Spirit in all fullness, and be guided by His Eternal word, even as you begin your journey of Faith.

Don't live Horizontally, Live Vertically. Master the Aphoraō.

P.S: All scriptures cited and/or quoted are all in the King James Version. Please study them for yourself, you could use several translations, and let the Spirit of God minister to you.

Yours Gracefully,

PeeJay

Christo-Centric; The Voice of Alexander!

This is NOT my write-up, these are the Anointed words of a Seasoned Teacher of Scripture, a True Friend and brother, a Man of God indeed. PLEASE, Patiently study it over and over again, and when you are done, study it again! You will be transformed; That's a promise.

His name is: Osahon ALEXANDER Idiaghe. Add him on Facebook!

IN DEFENSE OF THE GOSPEL OF GRACE

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: - Eph. 2 vs. 8

A gift is an offering given to someone without any strings attached. The character of a gift is that it is FREE. Free, meaning it has no conditions to be met before receiving it from the side of the person receiving it. If I say I have a gift for a friend and I tell him that before receiving the gift he has to do something for me first, I’ve just messed up the idea of the gift been free. Anything you do to get a gift like paying even the smallest amount of money to get it is no gift at all. That character of being FREE is what makes it a gift!

God’s gift of Salvation is far greater than the gifts human offer to themselves. Agreed, to receive a gift there must be a willingness but it is not so with the matters of Salvation. The spiritually dead man can’t desire (will) the things of God. That is the problem. The human nature by default runs from God (Rom. 3 vs. 10-18). Even the faith needed to receive the gift of Salvation supplied by Grace is also a gift from God (Rom. 12 vs. 3)

If you tell people that Jesus died for ALL the sins of humanity BUT should be very careful not to commit the “unpardonable sin”, then Jesus didn’t die for ALL sins. What you are offering people is not a gift but bondage and confusion. Well did I hear someone asking about the Jewish people Jesus had brawl with about His healings (Matt. 12 vs. 31-32)? Please study the context of that statement. If we now have peace with God through Jesus Christ and the Gospel means “GoodNews” and you are afraid not to commit the “unpardonable sin”, then you don’t understand what Jesus came to do! The only person to have committed the unpardonable sin is the DEAD without Christ! Yes! Those that entered into the eternal realm without Christ. There is no repentance in the grave. Salvation was designed for the living and hope is only valuable in this realm of time. This is why we should at all time keep praying and living a life of witnessing for The LORD. The greatest sin ever committed is the crucifying of the Son of God, yet the same Son said “Father forgive them, for they know not what they have done”(Luke 23:34).

The opening Scripture above has a lot to say about how a man is saved. Traditionally a lot of preachers are fully aware that we are saved NOT because we prayed the sinner’s prayer, neither because we attended Church nor gave to the needy but we are saved purely by God’s grace. It’s His will and desire. It has NOTHING to do with me. As a matter of fact I didn’t beg Him to save me neither did I desire His provision. Actually we were just living our lives and doing our thing not caring if He is “up there” (Rom. 3 vs. 10-12).

Scriptures say we were dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2 vs. 1B). The dead can’t feel, touch, smell, hear and handle spiritual realities because they are foolishness to him (1 Cor. 2 vs. 14) and God’s Salvation is a spiritual reality. This is the sad reality of our state.

Nevertheless the Gospel of Grace has so much heated the spiritual polity of the Church simply because some people believe that the Gospel of Grace is a message of “it doesn’t matter how you live your life for there is grace!” others say “it’s a message from the pit of Hell because it gives people license to sin!”, others vehemently reject it because it has punctured “their ability” as they can’t just imagine God telling them that “My Son has done it all, only believe and receive” and some somehow are found to always quote Romans 6 vs. 1 which says “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? The truth of the matter is that 70% of believers don’t even know the context why Paul asked the question. As a matter of fact it was Paul who was actually quoting what people said after listening to his message.

If people continue in sin, Grace WILL still abound! These entire messages that seem to imply that sin is greater than God and His grace are no messages at all! God is not powerless and handicapped when it is the matter of sin! Sin cannot stop God’s grace. If sin can stop God’s grace, then we are all hopeless and helpless. It takes Grace to stop sin! And not the other way round. Beliefs like “if you stop sinning then God will give you grace” and if you depart from evil then God will bless you” is not biblical! Grace is the blessing. It is what empowers us to live the life of God. 

The truth of the matter is that we don’t understand the power of the sin nature. Sin has kept man under an eternal bondage. The sin nature has its system and thought pattern, those under it can’t think outside the sin nature. It is only spiritual death that terminates it and there is a greater eternal damnation awaiting people if they are not rescued by God Himself!

There is nobody who truly understands the Gospel and its simplicity that will not also believe that the WHOLE Message of the Church is the Gospel of Grace! There is NO other Message for the Church except the Gospel of Grace. Jesus says “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel…… (Mk. 16 vs. 15) God didn’t send some people to preach eschatology, financial prosperity, healing, the anointing, Holy Spirit, Church Growth, the prophetic and the likes. God said preach the Gospel. Brother Paul in the Book of Act spoke of himself declaring the WHOLE counsel of God (Act 20 vs. 27).

Humanity is bankrupt with the pillars of our consciences mixed in the lie of “knowing what is good and evil”; man’s moral fiber has been soiled in sin – an eternally deadly and dreaded disease without any humanistic solution. Man has advanced in science and technology, art, law, and fashion but has not been able to proffer solution to the problem of evil. Sin is a worldwide phenomenon being accepted by all and even those who chose not to call it sin. Every man born into this world through the agency of natural conception is a victim of this disease. This explains why Jesus Christ, being the only man ever born without the agency of another man is unique. Unique in the sense of mission and origin. 

When Jesus said we should preach the Gospel, He actually meant that the Gospel is the ONLY Message that saves, transforms humanity into the true picture of God. It’s a Christo-Centric Message because it centres on Christ – it’s the Message of Christ and Him Crucified – Christ being the eternal thought of the Father. The Message of Grace is not about the life, saying and times of Jesus, it’s about the PERSON of Christ. Buddhism is about the teachings of Buddha, so also all the religions of this world with their founders.

The Gospel of Grace punctures men’s pride. Ever since the fall of man, we have been trying to reach God by “doing something” like good deeds, regular worship attendance, giving, praying five times a day, fasting and many more. These activities are good but it is funny because God calls it dead works because we are trying to use it to get His approval but it can never get it because He has said “for all have sinned and come short of His glory”. That “come short” is the real problem and His holiness demands a complete glory, not half measures, not 99.9% glory but a 100% glory.  

Take a look at the word “holiness”. We have been taught that holiness means separation from sin or separated unto God but my question is this – what is God separated from? Sin? If yes, then where? In Heaven? Because there is no sin in Heaven. God’s holiness is Who He IS, it’s His character. When we talk about God’s perfection we are talking about His holiness. A lot of holiness Christians have reduced His holiness to mean just “separation from sin”. This act is sin itself! God’s holiness does not only demand that we don’t fornicate (even in thought) but that our mind MUST be in its right frame, it demands that we can’t even fall sick because falling sick means that we are coming short (of His glory). 

The Old Testament high priest can’t have bruises on his skin, fever, headache, eczema in his skin, cough and other little diseases otherwise he will die in his ministration onto The LORD. He must be spotless. Only Jesus represented this perfection. The Book of Revelation says no sickness, sin, wickedness, evil thought, anything evil which includes diseases and affliction will enter into Heaven, this is because all these things represent imperfection – this is His holiness. So to tolerate sickness and not tolerate sin, is sin itself!

Grace says God has taken care of all the troubles that sin brought in – only believe and receive by faith. The Gospel is so simple that it is extremely easy to fall from its simplicity. If you study the Book of Acts of the Apostle, you will find Paul and the other Apostles always telling the people to simply believe in Jesus.

A man is not saved by confessing but by believing in his heart – for you are declared righteous by believing in your heart (Rom. 10 vs. 10). The confession that follows is the natural response of what has happened in your heart and find out from Scriptures what it says about the righteous!

Some believe that God has already done it in eternity, so it’s now left for you to finish the race. But checking Scriptures, we discover that this position is anti-Christ. These people who make this claim believe that this “Grace Message produces laziness” because the emphasis is always on Christ and truly that is God’s target – making Christ the epicenter. Grace empowers us in the real sense. Paul did much more than the others and he credited it to God’s Grace (1 Cor. 15 vs. 10). Grace is the only antidote to the yoke and burden of religion (Matt. 11 vs. 28, Act 15 vs. 10)

It’s a normal thing to hear a lot of preaching and warning against the Message of Grace. Going through some congregations, one easily hears something like this – “be careful of those who say you can sin because there is grace”, “be careful of that message that says once saved, always saved it doesn’t matter”, “watch out for those who say God has already forgiven you your past, present and future sins” and a lot more.

There is the reality of all manner of sin in the Church BUT the Gospel of Grace is not responsible for it! Titus 2 vs. 11 – 14 says “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (vs. 12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (13) Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (14)  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

So the revelation of Grace is to empower us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Grace has empowered us to Look for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

This same Grace teaches you that Jesus Christ gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. So it’s Grace that is purifying us, saving us, making us unique and passionate about doing good works while this same Grace is telling us that this same “good works” is not our access into Heaven or His Presence BUT by Himself!

From the above we see that we are not sanctified or purified by our sin confession neither are we redeemed by our good works – its Jesus that is doing it even without our knowing it. This is the definition of the High Priestly Ministry! The High Priest redeems us from all iniquity, and purifies unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works!

I have a question for those who say that the Grace Message gives people license to sin - who gave Adam and Eve license to sin, which “Grace Message” did Cain hear before killing Abel? What about Lamech, the fourth generation son of Cain who killed a man and told his wives Adah and Zillah that “if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly himself shall be avenged seventy and sevenfold” – Gen. 4 vs. 23-24. “Humanly” speaking does it not appear that it was God Who has been giving people license to sin against Him? Imagine God protecting a murderer like Cain and God slaughtering a lamb to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve! We need to know that there is a super-abundance of wickedness in humanity.

However those who vehemently preach against sin love the Church and they want the best for the Body of Christ but still I’ve discovered that many of them don’t understand the Holiness of God. God’s holiness does not demand sin confession but DEATH! I’ve studied the position these guys have taken and how they treat sin and have concluded that these guys don’t understand the holiness of God at all! Adam and Eve died when they sinned against God! His holiness totally detests sin! I have seen how some sin-hating believers vehemently detest homosexuality and lesbianism more than fornication and adultery (pause here and check your own heart if this is not true), even the presence of sin has softened our heart to some certain sins while boiling with anger over some. This act itself is SIN! God’s anger over sin doesn’t waver any day any time.

Someone once told me that these grace preachers cheapens God’s hatred for sin and I told him that it’s you guys that cheapens the Sacrifice of Calvary and grade sin. There is a consistent message about sin from Genesis to Revelation – DEATH! – not confession!

What people don’t understand about the Gospel of Grace is where to put God’s justice and still balance it in the scale of Grace and Mercy. There are some of us that are so God’s justice (judgment) conscious (with a perversion) and there are some who are so God’s love conscious (with a perversion).

How do I mean? Some actually believe that God with punish you for every sin you commit and what they actually have in mind is – “The sins you committed KNOWINGLY” but the holiness of God demands that you pay for your sins and there is no such thing as “knowingly and unknowingly”. You have to be in your right senses to commit sin! It is this kind of belief that denies what Jesus did on the Cross. I am not saying that sin doesn’t breeds death. Sin causes pain, sorrow, it destroys homes, trust, family and friendship and brings sickness (especially unforgiveness).Sin is Sin! When it comes to the issue of sin “innocence” won’t even save you. Mother Eve was deceived 1 Tim. 2 vs. 14 - but she too also collected death! This is the effect of sin and not to be taken to mean the Justice of God. The Justice of God has been satisfied by Jesus Christ – DEATH! We won’t partake of the second death – Now that is Justice served!

Again there are those who say word like “God loves me the way I am. Yes in reality God loves us the way we are, but His love is an affirming and transformational love. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Eternal Life transforms into having an outward manifestation of what is inside. It’s the laboring with birth pangs till Christ is formed in us! That is the working of LOVE! .

The truth is, if the “way you are” is not Kingdom Representation, the work of Love is to Change that outlook. Love liberates and set free! It’s not the perverted kind of God’s love that homosexuals and lesbians are declaring over the television and the internet while remaining in their perverted state.

Grace is not mercy neither is mercy the same thing as Grace. Mercy is receiving the very opposite (consequences) of what you did. If you killed you ought to pay with your life. It’s life for life. Mercy shows up NOT to overlook your sin (for mercy is not the overlooking of sin) but to give the opposite of your sin, and that is life! Remember Justice is crying and shouting that that sin be paid for and the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ is presented, thereby pacifying the claims of Justice while the guilty is declared NOT guilty! – Rom. 8 vs. 31-39. All of these are the provisions of Grace! Again Grace shows up to empower us not to continue in that path of wickedness! Now we can now walk in the newness of life.

Another area where Grace Preachers have been accused of “preaching it doesn’t matter” is the area of forgiveness. How are we forgiven? Is it through our sin confession?

From Genesis to Revelation there is no where scripture says we are saved by confession. John the Baptizer said “behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin (plural) of the world – Jn. 1 vs. 29. Hebrews 9 vs. 22 says ………without shedding of blood is no remission. Under the Old Covenant animals were always killed for sins. This has been very consistent from Genesis to the Cross of Jesus Christ. In Paul’s entire message he always used the past term “forgiven”. (Search it for yourself). The only guy that used “confession of sin” was John in First John chapter one and it is not enough to build a doctrine on, because a word is established in the mouth of two or three witnesses and John here is the ONLY person talking about “sin confession”. Again the Jewish people only confessed their sins once in a year on the Day of Atonement, how much more now that we are now saved through the eternal blood of God’s Son!

Yes our past, present and future sins have been dealt with and paid for. Jesus died for our sins more than two thousand years ago (past), I am in the now (present) and IF (not when) I sin against God, its His Sacrifice that will still speak for me (future). There are many unborn who will come into this earth realm who will definitely hear the Gospel and will believe and receive Him as their Lord and Saviour – that is futuristic! There is no more Sacrifice for sin anymore except to believe and accept that we are “forgiven” like Paul always used it in his epistles.

And now if anyone says “well since Christ has paid it all let me just go ahead and start sinning”, that person never truly encountered Calvary. That is the heart of stone speaking. Every born-again believer has a new heart, the heart of stone has been taken away. The born-again does not look for license to sin rather they have license to rebel against the old nature! They have a revelation of what happened on the Cross of Jesus Christ.

I am yet to meet a believer in Christ who says it doesn’t matter how they live because there is grace. Those looking for excuse for their sin are not believers. The truth is the Church has always been a mixture of all kind of people and to complicate matters we are the ones who call these people Christians simply because they are “faithful in tithes and offerings”, “they are good choristers”, “always faithful in prayer meetings” and the likes. This is not to say that believers don’t fall into sin.

The issue of righteousness is really a big deal! A lot of people have different understanding of righteousness and what it means to be righteous. Some say righteousness means to “do right” but how can you know what is right to do in the sight of God when you are a product of “evil and good”? – This is pure religion. 95% of those who define righteousness as “right doing” are the same people who do right to earn points and right standing with God. There is this air of feeling godly after performing a good act. How can your righteous deeds earn you a right-standing with God when He has declared you to have “come short of His glory”?

The Gospel reveals “the righteousness of God…….” (Rom. 1 vs. 17). The righteousness that the Law couldn’t supply. Righteousness – This is right-standing with God without our own effort. This issue of Righteousness was extensively dealt with by Paul in the Book of Romans. A proper understanding of the Gospel of Grace will settle the issue of the Finished Works of Christ like Heaven, Hell, Holiness, Righteousness, Peace and the likes. 

There are some believers who know they are born-again but are not sure of Heaven – why? - it’s because they were groomed by those who are not also sure of their Salvation, when they preach Bible themes like Salvation, Hell, Heaven, Rapture, and Sin, they put the hearers in a state of not being sure of who they have become and where they are going. But the Gospel presents security and assurance to the hearers. The believer CAN be 100% sure of where they are going!

We have heard enough of condemnation! That message of condemnation is natural! One doesn’t need to be a Christian to hear it. It’s in the office, on the street, in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Baha’i, and all over the world, BUT the Gospel of Jesus Christ is GoodNews! The world is yet to hear it! Let’s understand it! Let us allow the Spirit unveil its beauty to us before we mistakenly become anti-Christ!

Shalom!

Osahon Alexander Idiaghe

(kingdomcomeinc1@gmail.com)