Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Meeting: Anamnesis 2022 – Day 2 Morning Session
Date: Thursday, 8th December 2022
Speaker 2: Pastor Clay Kamma-Odunze
“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession” (Heb. 4:14). We are getting to the point where God is helping us to know what the duty or vocation of a man is. We are getting to know what originally was in God's heart when He planted man in Eden.
The enemy invaded and turned man from that profession in order to propagate his own profession, which is death or disobedience. Satan gains prominence when we engage in this ministry of death. Satan rolls out sin to mankind via its laws and commandments in order to give the reward of death to men. Every ministry has a target. There was a target in the heart of Satan when he gave us his ministry. What Satan shows to us may appear glorious but they are false (Rom. 6:23).
Death is a work created by Satan. His desire is to achieve prominence, to the end that he would have a legal ground to delay the judgement that awaits him. We help Satan to buy time when we give attendance to his ministry (disobedience), even as believers. In order to bring an end to his ministry, we must look up to see what God is saying in this season.
“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not…” (2 Corin. 4:1). This is the ministry of glory, and the target of this ministry is eternal glory. Our focus should be the glory that God desires to give. Satan also presents a glory that is attached to his ministry. Although this glory looks good to man, it is the glory of death. Any ministry that produces glory that does not last and is not after the order of eternity is not from God.
Satan projects a glory around an activity to lure us into pursuing such as our mission. Even in church, we use God as an endorsement to achieve Satan’s goals in our lives. In this recent time, God is set to unveil to us what exactly is the glory that is in the ministry of God and not in the ministry of death (2 Corin. 3:7-9).
If we are not careful, we will be hearing about these things of glory but might not see the glory in it and it is because of the veil that Satan is casting. The conversation of glory is not in the beauty of what man sees or considers as glory. A man can have a church, labour so much and still link this glory to what is the reward of death. It is possible to preach or minister the word of righteousness and still have death in view as a reward.
By reason of the words coming from the ministry of glory, the Lord is revealing hidden things of dishonesty in our hearts. The primary work of every believer, whether a minister or a listener, is to allow God to reveal the things of dishonesty. This is so that we would not handle the word of God with craftiness.
“but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Corinth. 4:2). This is also a ministry of conscience. We must be sincere to God. Much more, ministers of the gospel should trust God not to stand to minister in their own strength. Rather, we should be like Paul who always appears in weakness so that our faith can stand in the demonstration of the power of God. Also, it will be so that at the end, no flesh would gain glory. We must receive the weight of the ministry of God’s glory.
We must focus on glory so much that it would move us to pray. The entrance into glory is by mercy and we must understand that Satan will bring anything to distract us from seeking glory. Jesus is imploring us to focus on the ministry of glory because Satan is also very focused on distracting many. While on earth, Jesus kept on laboring to inherit the glory. Satan was also after Jesus so that He would not fulfill glory and so, he tempted Him with the glories of this world.
Satan has invented different shades of glory to distract man from the original glory. There is a glory Satan has tied around having a big ministry so that ministers of the gospel would miss out on the real glory. Satan goes in every way to make us shift our gaze from seeking the glory of God. Satan can raise issues around us to discourage us from pursuing after the glory of God. It is Satan who makes us compare ourselves with others so that we can distrust God and not cooperate with the dealings of the Spirit over our lives.
We must be diligent to stay in the way of God. The way to glory is not the way that seems right to man. The way of a man looks good, but the end is death (Psa. 16:25). Death does not appear to men as something having two horns and is scary. Rather, it appears as something good, but it hinders us from the glory of God
Every man has the tendency to lay down his or her life, but we only do so for what we think is glorious. Satan has blinded many eyes to only see the wrong glory he projects, and so they lay down their life for such. Satan's glory is a veil, it is a glory that is fading away. When we see the glory of God as rewarding, we would change our commitments. If we see the joy and the glory of God, we will easily lay down our lives. It is difficult to lay down our lives and despise the shame Satan has put around seeking God if we do not see the glory ahead.
Though many are hearing these words, we are not yet at our best because we have not yet discerned the glory as we ought. Many retrogress from their commitment to church because they are not being given the opportunity to have the things they seek (such as fame and popularity). We are known in heaven by the obedience we carry out and not by the platforms we minister on or our proximity to men of God.
Heaven does not award us by our proximity to servants of God or our punctuality in meetings but by the measure of obedience we give to the things we are hearing. The sons of Sceva were attendants of Paul's ministry. They thought the name of Jesus could answer to them but they did not know that the name answered to the stature that had been raised in Paul. The level of authority we can wield in the spirit is not just about mentioning the name of Jesus, it is about the configuration in our souls. Spirits, whether good or fallen ones, know us by the spiritual stature we have acquired in our souls. The demons saw that the name of Jesus was not configured in the sons of Sceva and so they pounced on them. They were carrying the name of a negative kingdom and were not recognized by the name of Jesus.
Satan makes the glory of God unattractive, painting it with shame. We must desire that this glory be opened to us if we can discern it as we ought to. This will help us to promptly obey when we are commanded.
"Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way" (Psalm 119:36-37). Covetousness is what is driving every man, and it springs from Mammon. There is a life of glory that covetousness would bring its attendants into. It depends on what we are looking for. The conversation of covetousness ends in vanity. Vanity is a life and Jesus said we must beware of covetousness (Luke 12:15).
Man is laboring in covetousness because of the glory it attracts. However, we must understand that this glory will never make us ascend to God. We have an escape from this life if we learn the way of truth. We must trust God to see the truth and allow the veil to be taken away. The first work that would be done in our souls to remove the veil is to build Christ in our souls. The curriculum of Christ is to remove the veil that would not make us see the beauty of God's holiness. The doctrine of Christ would take away our double-mindedness so that we can seek the Lord with a single heart. It is only Christ that can see the glory (Col. 1:27).
Anyone less than Christ would only behold lesser glories of this world. Only Christ can look to the real glory which is of God. As we receive mercy, we would see the glory of God and gain entrance into the things that are being spoken over us. The evidence of the efficacy of the words we are receiving is seen in our conversation. What is being said can be made manifest. We do not yet have a complete understanding of God’s glory, but we start by believing it. As we yield to the first call, we would journey to the place of harvest.
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinth. 4:6). There are two categories of people here. The first category are the apostles that God is shining the light through. It is not everyone that would see this light at first but the Lord is granting some to see it first. This is what would bring the harvest at the end. Everyone who has the privilege to hear this message now should commit themselves to it because the future of those who are outside is dependent on our response.
God’s glory is not meant to be a slogan, it must be a conversation. God wants to raise us a city that He can set on a hill. The life on the hill is a glorious life. God wants to make manifest the beauty of the glory of His life.
Rounding Off: Reverend Kayode Oyegoke
Death is something that would engage a man unknowingly and would hinder him from seeking God. No family on earth is guiltless of death. It is possible for even ministers of the gospel to serve death fully. The ministrations we have received are things that are hidden in plain sight but are needed for our progress.
Many become uncomfortable in church when the service gets longer than usual. This is because they are in a hurry to go and continue their worldly business. We have received mercy as a company; that is why we should not faint. We cannot deny death without mercy.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jer. 29:11). There is a worldly expected end that every man is concerned about which is informed by death. Some people move from church to church when they are not meeting up with their worldly expected end. Death is what suggests to ministers of the gospel to mix the truth with other things. The world has a definition for a church that is making it – such definitions were crafted by the god of this world.
There is a thin line between church and doing ministry. Many ministers are not part of the church but they are doing ministry. A minister might not be changing but the flocks under him are changing. This is because the minister is not part of the church also. Every minister should be in the church first before undertaking the ministry. Ministry is not the vocation; the vocation is our heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1). Sometimes, ministry can be the manner that the Lord would want to use for a man to attain the heavenly calling.
Our concern must be our change and spiritual growth. We are getting closer to the heavenly call. Death is a terrible thing; it makes some men transfer their worldly career into church when they become converted. God must help the church. We must seek to gain mastery of the season over us.
The doctrine of Satan has been embedded as a way of life; it is taught to us everywhere. It is easily recognizable and so, Satan has set expectations for men. Some uncles have expectations for their relative who is a pastor because of the worldly definition of a pastor that the god of this world has laid out.
Ministry is a task of holiness. Ministers must not succumb to pressure. We must not be under duress. Satan lay burdens on people so that they would not be able to seek God. Satan is seeking that we should burn our soul’s fuel/blood for vanity. We must be ruthless with this world to disobey Satan to the core. We must be able to resist pressure because Satan has designed a system to make man die at all costs.
“and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:15). This fear of death are expectations that death has put in the souls of men. Death means a departure from God. We must not have an attachment to this world. There is a culture and discipline seen even in our daddy Hagin. We must not allow Satan to laden us with undue responsibility. We must not kill ourselves to meet the expectations of the world or pressure from family and friends. We must be free from fears to look for God. There is no time. Everyone who sincerely looks for God would be fed.
For those who have sincere challenges, we should trust God for them to be solved. However, we must learn to rejoice. We must not allow the lack of money, raiment, or food to bother us or make us unhappy. We must rejoice always and believe that our heavenly Father knows and cares for us (Matt. 6:25-33).
Ministers must come to the place of rest, seeking God and only Him. The greatest reward of a minister is the pleasure He gives to God, and it is much more than his duty to men. Ministers of the gospel must not pour their energy on men and neglect seeking God. Ministry is not in the crowd but in giving pleasure to God.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinth. 3:18). The ministry is the glory. The glory of the Lord is the ministry. Ministry is to behold the glory and inherit glory. The ministry of a man is to keep looking at the mirror. The mirror or the Spirit of the Lord is what God has provided for our perfect liberty and as we are beholding, we are changing.
The ministrations we are receiving are building mirrors in our souls. The glass is being formed in us such that we have something to keep looking at or beholding even after we leave meetings and go to our different homes. We would thereby be changing from glory to glory. Changing is continual, we are being changed from a person who has acquired death. Death would lose its pang. As we change, we would come closer and closer till we arrive at the glory of God.
Summary
1. (Hebrews 4:14). The enemy invaded and turned man from that profession in order to propagate his own profession, which is death or disobedience. Satan gains prominence when we engage in this ministry of death. Satan rolls out sin to mankind via its laws and commandments in order to give the reward of death to men. What Satan shows to us may appear glorious but they are false (Rom. 6:23).
2. Death is a work created by Satan. His desire is to achieve prominence, to the end that he would have a legal ground to delay the judgement that awaits him. We help Satan to buy time when we give attendance to his ministry (disobedience), even as believers. In order to bring an end to his ministry, we must look up to see what God is saying in this season.
3. Satan has invented different shades of glory to distract man from the original glory. There is a glory Satan has tied around having a big ministry so that ministers of the gospel would miss out on the real glory. Satan goes in every way to make us shift our gaze from seeking the glory of God. Satan can raise issues around us to discourage us from pursuing after the glory of God. It is Satan who makes us compare ourselves with others so that we can distrust God and not cooperate with the dealings of the Spirit over our lives.
4. We must be diligent to stay in the way of God. The way to glory is not the way that seems right to man. The way of a man looks good, but the end is death (Psa. 16:25). Death does not appear to men as something having two horns and is scary. Rather, it appears as something good, but it hinders us from the glory of God
5. Satan has blinded many eyes to only see the wrong glory he projects, and so they lay down their life for such. Satan's glory is a veil, it is a glory that is fading away. When we see the glory of God as rewarding, we would change our commitments. If we see the joy and the glory of God, we will easily lay down our lives. It is difficult to lay down our lives and despise the shame Satan has put around seeking God if we do not see the glory ahead.
6. The first work that would be done in our souls to remove Satan's veil is to build Christ in our souls. The curriculum of Christ is to remove the veil that would not make us see the beauty of God's holiness. The doctrine of Christ would take away our double-mindedness so that we can seek the Lord with a single heart. It is only one who has become Christ that can see the glory of God (Col. 1:27).
Blessings!