Date: Friday, 13th August 2021
Ministering: Reverend Mrs. Magaret Oko
The ministry God has called us into is the ministry of death; there is nothing comely about it. It only takes the people who have decided to die at the feet of Jesus to stand for the gospel. God has called us into a ministry of dying and sowing our lives; because only when a seed is sown will there be fruits.
There is a dealing that is presently upon the house but it depends on how people are willing to yield to it. God is going to ask us for an account of all the labour of our parents over us. We should have a desire not to miss the target.
"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Gen. 3:1) In the garden of Eden, God purposely planted all the trees he planted; and these trees were volume of books that carried the revelation of God. As man parttook of these trees, he was meant to be exposed to the knowledge of God. However, man was looking out for the shortest cut; because the learning of those trees was going to take a long time
The method of the devil has not changed. It has remained the same, which is to always undermine what God is doing in our lives. He always changes what the Lord is saying and presents his own version. Therefore, we should always refrain from having arguments with the devil; he will always win. While the devil always poses statements that are true, his statements do not match the One who is the Truth (Jesus Christ).
The sign of godlessness is lack of hunger and thirst - when humans are full of themselves, and their exploits are like that of the workers of iniquity that Jesus rejected (Matt. 7:23). We should not stop on this journey or be discouraged because it is too long. The journey requires sacrifices and true sacrifices are always unpleasant. No one smiles while offering up a sacrifice. At a certain time, the Lord used me to selflessly serve unappreciative men. Every landmark on this journey requires sacrifices; and without these sacrifices, we would not be able to distinguish good from evil. It is at these landmarks where we sacrifice ourselves that God opens Himself up to us.
Iniquity is not born in ignorance unlike sin that is born in ignorance. Iniquity is born out of choice or conscious decision. He has put before us life and death and we are being encouraged to choose life and live (Deut. 30:19).
"For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Heb. 5:13-14) A place of discernment is given to those who are mature. Such men are those who have gotten to a place where they endure even when it is not pleasant; such men stand by faith in the face of contradictions. We must stand up against the testament of the world which lays down standards about how our lives should go. This is a place of waiting (Isa 40:31), where we remain in a place as long as the Lord has instructed. We ought to be like Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego who will trust God even in the face of adversity (Dan. 3:16-18).
The best thing we can have as believers is to die in the will of God. God wants us to die to self. It is God who quantifies a man’s ministry. Men may pity a man who has suffered and died, but he may have pleased God or even be rewarded; that same God is waiting to reward us. Therefore, we must choose to remain and die at our posts.
We should not be afraid of suffering (Heb. 2:15). Jesus has come to set us free from fear. God knows how to turn around the shame that the enemy wants to drown us in. The only thing that matters is what God has proposed to do in our lives. There is a purpose for which we are kept alive till date. We can do many things but if it is not according to the book that is written about us (Heb. 10:7), we may miss it.
If we run away from what it takes to enter this life, we would remain only preachers and not partakers. It takes sacrifice to fully partake of this life the Lord has prescribed for us. Some men have given themselves to be burnt, but not according to the will. We must ask what the will of God is. God is encouraging us at this time because what He wants to do is great; yet not everyone will partake of it. This is because not everyone is prepared for what it takes to partake of it.
God is calling on us to be able to read in between the lines and hear what He is saying now. Jesus’ death for our sins was only a final death that was preceded by several other deaths. If He did not die the other deaths, He would not have been able to die on the cross. One of such points of death was when He obeyed and stayed put, instead of hurriedly going to save His friend who had died (Jn. 11:3-4).
We should allow patience to work out its perfection in us when we’re being confronted by the devil (Heb. 6:12). This perfection will make us open to receive the wisdom that God will give; that which is designed to overcome the devil. We should be grateful for the privilege to hear these things; we are only hearing them because God has a purpose and in our gratitude, He would open the door to us.
A place of ungratefulness is a place the devil has built his endless pit. When we stop being grateful, lust slips in. The Lord has surrounded us with witnesses whose lives let us know that we can go through fire and water and still be kept. Peradventure we drown in such circumstances, we should be rest assured; our blessedness is in our doing the will of God.
Many of the people who the enemy uses as examples for us are people who have actually fulfilled their destinies. Stephen fulfilled his own destiny by being stoned to death. That may not be our own portion, but if it is, we should know that the Lord will not forsake us; the place of priority is in doing the will of God.
Closing Charge by Reverend Kayode Oyegoke
There is a life that only God knows how to keep, and He is teaching and conferring on us this life by instructions. Real death is obeying God’s Word while we are alive. Jesus did not run back from the shame; instead, He despised it. We should find grace to do the same.