Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: Revelation Hour (RH)
Date: Saturday, 5th November 2022
As believers, if one is not careful, we can mistake the respect that comes from old age for spiritual growth. We can place ourselves in positions where we expect accolades and become offended if we are not accorded such. Our determination rather would be to let evil spirits have respect for us more than for our fellow humans. The people evil spirits have regard for are those who have learned, by the mercies of God, to deny their abilities in the flesh.
One of the things we must trust God for is that as our company in the word of righteousness gets bigger, the enormity of the outward show of the work will not grow bigger than the stature within us. It is important for us to have this heart state because of the physical/outward glory that is currently exuding in the ministry. We can mistake the growth of the company at large for our individual spiritual development.
Although we find that abilities are springing up amongst us, we ought to prioritise our spiritual growth. What we celebrate in the temple of God, more than anything, is grace. Some of the things we do as a service in the temple require natural abilities, but we must not confuse it with grace or substitute it for spiritual development otherwise, we will become cast away at the end of the day.
“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” (Luke 13:24). The essence of the whole work of salvation is to make us able to enter the kingdom. We do not automatically have this ability when we become born again; it is the thoughts of Christ that give us this ability. There are certain abilities that must be given to us so that we can prosper where the Lord would have us prosper.
Jesus said He will build His church (Matt. 16:18), but He will need our cooperation to do so, especially when we will be a component in the building. He will need us to lend our will in the raising of that temple, but we often do not do this because of our abilities in the flesh. Sometimes, what we love is an ability in the flesh.
The first death is a program that makes men have the ability to recognise a problem and find a solution for it outside of God; it is an ability that makes God irrelevant to men. Sin is a life outside of God. Adam never knew this manner of life till he ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Immediately he ate of the fruit, God became irrelevant to him. A common saying in our society today is that “You can be anything you want to be '', but that thought is traceable to Genesis 3 where Satan gave man the ability known as first death.
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. [7] And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” (Gen. 3:6-7). The sewing of the fig leaves was a pivotal moment in the history of humanity. It is from there man started becoming independent of God; he developed an ability to make choices outside of God. The thing called “self” is something Satan put in everyone but its removal from man is called ‘salvation’.
Jesus Christ was enabled by God, so He had abilities. But He showed us a pattern of how a spiritual man should handle abilities. These abilities cut across everything we can do, including some of the things we can do “spiritually”. Jesus was someone who was wise enough not to place His abilities above His spiritual development. He prioritised instructions more than the abilities He had, even from God. The ability to discern between the two is a hallmark of carrying the weight of glory. This is because the weight of glory is not for shining or showing off; we ought to be very comfortable with that. Satan has given men all kinds of abilities so that we do not prioritise obedience.
We have come to a time where there is a great prosperity of embodying graces but it is at this time that Satan is the most dangerous to as many as might want to be puffed up in their hearts, by reason of these graces. Such men might think they have gotten all that they need, and that there is nothing more. But despite everything Jesus had in the days of His flesh, He knew there was more. He laid down the abilities that even spirits recognised. This obedience leads to components being added to your members; this will then make you relevant in the spirit.
When we find these abilities manifesting in our personal lives, we must have wisdom to know that there is still more. We must know that this is not glory. We must be in a state of hunger, even when there is an abundance of graces. As we keep journeying, we also need to constantly access ourselves. It is possible for someone to subtly slip into depending on his brethren instead of the Lord. God will use people to meet our needs, but when we begin to rely on people rather than on God, it may result in offences. As the work (in the ministry) becomes bigger, we will begin to see abilities and tendencies that are ‘wolf-like’ within us. But it is also in such times that those tendencies can also be removed. This will be possible based on our heart dispositions.
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (John 5:30). Although Jesus had many abilities, He knew that the voice of the Father was more potent than His ability to do things. As such, He always waited for the Father. The Lord has helped us to a great extent, but we should get to the point where He would be free enough to scatter our arrangements. We should get to a point where even when He does this, it would not affect our spiritual development or our love walk. It was because Jesus got to this point that God was free enough to tell Him to die on the cross. We will still come into many more abilities, but our disposition should be such that we would still allow God to move freely in spite of them.
The adversary plots to lay a snare ahead of us, but the joy we have is that our Jesus is far ahead of him. Jesus is able to take us to the end of our journey, therefore, we ought to be so light on our inside that we do not hold onto whatsoever is not God’s weight of glory.
Whenever we find mercy to obey God, things are added to us for our development. Amidst every opportunity to serve, we should seek substances that can be added to our person much more than the position/role/rank we serve in. The Lord designed every service point as opportunities to help us grow. Such positions have only run their full cycle when we grow within their capacity and have been added to, in our souls. This is the point where our souls have become more spiritual. By this, an ability for entrance will be added to one in the spirit.
“For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins…” (Heb. 5:1). Glory does not only mean “shining”; it is an understanding and a judgement that pertains only to God. These judgments pertaining to God are the things of glory that should be made of relevance to us. Jesus was raised to prioritise the things pertaining to God above the things pertaining to man. He placed premium on those things above His life. It is in the season of glory that these things will be unveiled to us in their true essence.
The things that pertain to God are not celebrated when one is still carnal or occupied by natural abilities or strengths. It takes becoming spiritual to appreciate that kind of provision, for it is not celebrated in the world. When you become more godly, men will not celebrate you. The Bible says “...he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man” (1 Cor. 2:15). To judge means to discern but the men of this world will not be able to predict such a man. The default state of man however lusts after being validated by men.
God needs to deliver us from our love for applause. People often use this as a substitution for spiritual development but the only relevance we should long for is that of the spirit, and it is achieved by obeying the commandments that are brought to us this season. We must prioritise spiritual development above every other thing, including our responsibilities and ambitions. Our ambitions and aspirations should border on spiritual maturity. If we prioritise growth in the spirit, we will become more useful to God.
Blessings!
Summary
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We should prioritize our spiritual growth over our natural abilities. We should also trust God that the work He is doing externally and around us will not be greater than the work He is doing within us. Satan has given men all kinds of abilities, so that we do not prioritise obedience. But while Jesus was on earth, He showed us a pattern of how a spiritual man should handle our abilities as men.
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Jesus wants to build His Church (Matt. 16:18), but He will need our cooperation to do so, especially because we would be components of that building. But we often do not lend our will to Him because of our abilities in the flesh. The Lord has helped us to a great extent, but we should get to the point where He would be free enough to scatter our arrangements.
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Whenever we find mercy to obey God, things are added to us for our development. Amidst every opportunity to serve, we should seek substances that can be added to our person much more than the roles we serve in.
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The things that pertain to God are not celebrated when one is still carnal or occupied by natural abilities or strengths. It takes becoming spiritual to appreciate that kind of provision, for it is not celebrated in the world.
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God needs to deliver us from our love for applause. People often use this as a substitution for spiritual development but the only relevance we should long for is that of the spirit, and it is achieved by obeying the commandments.