Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: Revelation Hour (RH)
Date: Saturday, 2nd April 2022
Ministering: Pastor Iyiola Oyebanjo
Carnality has given man a sense of wrong judgement. The current state of man is not just the fallen man but man who is still falling. From the day man partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, his downward turn has not stopped. This fallen state is where man usually concludes or judges from.
Many things frame men up to make us come to a conclusion upon a matter, and many times, they are not wired around light or life. What informs the decision of the natural man is mostly born out of darkness, for something has wrongly informed us of what is called ‘a future’. When we fetch and use the thoughts from the world of darkness, they can only generate darkness.
“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind…” (Eph. 4:17). The only thing that can be found in or frames the mind of a Gentile is vanity. As such, he cannot think beyond it. However, when we become believers, this manner of life is intercepted by God. What we should rather have is an ambition or quest for the throne.
The strength of sin makes it look like it cannot be stopped or ended in a man’s soul. Sin reigned on earth and because of that, we came into a strong delusion and a wrong conviction that it cannot stop. To a great extent, Satan has succeeded in deluding many to think that some things (including putting an end to sin) are not possible on this side of eternity. However, sin is very weak. The Lord will breed Himself amidst it and destroy it, just like how God raised the man (Moses) who crumbled Pharoah’s civilization under his roof.
We should not assume that the issue of sin cannot stop in this body. God will raise men here on earth to the point where they can destroy whatever infirmity is in their souls. God is not afraid of our infirmities. He desires to bring thoughts from the beginning to man. These thoughts have no beginning or end. As such, they are untraceable for evil spirits. We will be raised to the point where sin would run from us, when it sees us.
There is a beauty in taking thoughts of life. It is difficult for sin to stay in the mind of a man that is taking thoughts of everlasting life and Eternal life. The thoughts of the Gentiles are wrapped in vanity. But when God reveals His thoughts to us, it is so that He can change the thoughts of vanity that we have. We will come to a state where vanity would have been deleted from our minds and our thoughts will be thoughts of life, righteousness, and everlasting life. This is why we need to believe what is being preached to us at these times. We need to come to a place of full assurance of these things.
The reward of a believer is not just to obtain a crown in heaven, the way a natural man relates with a crown. What we are being called to deal with is sin. Sin has an expiry date therefore, we should not take a frame or mindset that settles for anything less than the promise of Eternal Life (Tit. 1:2). It is a promise to as many who are ready to receive it.
We should not judge our progress in the spiritual by the external or by comparing ourselves with our brethren in other assemblies. Jesus has one body (the church); in our spirits, we are one, although our souls have different pastures. We all have the same reward – Eternal life. Whoever chooses to lose his reward by comparing himself with another person is doing himself a great disservice. God has a timing for every man. There is only one thing that matters, and our pursuit should be focused on it. We should be careful not to draw back because of another man’s actions but fight to keep the penny (the measure of life) that we have been given now.
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” (Heb. 3:12). In this season, one of the things that Satan is going to push forth is what is called “an evil heart of unbelief”. This is stronger and bigger than what man thinks it is. Unbelief creates a scenario for one to doubt the authenticity of the word that is being spoken. Unbelief also means deceit.
“He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” (Matt. 13:22). Deceitfulness of riches is different from the deceitfulness of sin. Deceitfulness of riches attacks a Christ company. It is in Christ we talk about riches. There is the antitype of the riches in Christ that Satan will bring to a Christ company for them to leave Christ – this is called deceit. The fearful thing about deceit is that it is so real to man. When Satan wants to deceive us, he brings riches. These riches are not what a natural man calls riches; they are thoughts. In the same way, Christ enters a man through thoughts.
God’s life has to be converted to light to come to man; after it has come to man, he has to relate with that light with understanding. When a man understands this light, he can then convert it to life. What is in our Lord Jesus is life, everlasting and Eternal life, for He has all the fullness of life in Him.
Satan also has a life called the deceitfulness of riches. He is a deceiver par excellence. A man can be in the deceitfulness of riches through religion and will not know about it. When the word of God comes, it cannot stay in him because there are riches that will choke it. A mind can be gentilic – one that is full of vanity because of the deceitfulness of riches. Satan is endowed with riches, and when he gives it to a soul, that soul cannot touch true riches. When Christ is brought to such a soul, he cannot take Christ because he sees Christ as trouble. However, Christ is riches that must display the deceitfulness of riches for it to stay.
“But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13). This deceitfulness of sin is in everlasting life. It is not just the sin of “sin and death”. Deceitfulness of riches can choke a man but the mind has to be put on the 'leash', which is the word of God. This is because every mind on the face of the earth is rich. What makes the mind poor is Christ. If Christ's thoughts are not visiting a mind, then that mind is rich, irrespective of its physical position or status. Deceitfulness of riches fights the Christ company because Christ also has riches.
“Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” (Heb. 11:26). Christ has riches, Egypt (typifying the house of death) also has its riches. When one wants to take a stand for Christ, it may look uncomely and one may be tempted to fight one’s way out of it. It is possible to break free of Christ’s riches. Similarly, a man can also be free from deceitfulness of riches which attacks Christ’s company and gives us negative riches.
We are to use this world and not abuse it. (1 Cor. 7:31). However, we have to be taught how to. This is where Christ's riches come in. Deceitfulness of riches is deceptive because it has to be as real as possible for one to go for it. Satan is a deceiver. Any thought that puts fear in you, that makes you run helter skelter does not have the strain of the life of God. God's thoughts are faith, hope thoughts and charity thoughts. His thoughts will cause a man to be stable, whereas, deceitfulness of riches has the ability to choke the word in a soul.
“Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked…” (Rev. 3:17). Jesus told the church in Laodicea (which was already an everlasting Church) that they had nothing because they had been deceived. Deceitfulness can cause a soul to become hardened.
As light is increasing, the definition of sin is changing. The things that we did not previously consider as sin will now be counted as sin. Sometimes we look at some sin matters; some issues of hell and death, and conclude that they are stronger than us. Scripture says that we should be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48). Jesus got to this point. He had attributes like not knowing how to think evil, for example.
Commandments of everlasting life like loving our enemies and praying for those who despitefully use us (Matt. 5:44) can be likened to the reports of the land (everlasting life). When we are able to keep them, the land will not devour us. These commandments seem insurmountable but these are the zones where deceitfulness of sin and the evil heart of unbelief will begin to set in. When the Lord measures out commandments to us and we do them, we reap life from them.
God has said that everlasting life is our portion. He also said in His word that he that is born of God does not sin (1 Jn. 3:9). It is possible and we must believe it! A man can get to a place where he would not sin anymore because he is born of God. There are commandments that will be brought to us in this season, with the aim of making us like our Father (Matt. 5:48). At the same time, Satan will also come with an evil heart of unbelief. However, God is telling us that we can forgive, even when the hurt is very deep. What is most important is that we gain life.
We must desire to live, for God wants us to live. No matter how strong our sins are or how they have determined that we will not be free from them, we must be guaranteed by the word of God that we will live. This is because the word of God is true. God wants us to do life to the point where no sin will touch our bodies. It was because the body responded to sin that sin could give us wrong judgements and conclusions. However, God wants to raise a people whose judgements will be concluded in righteousness. Their thoughts will be thoughts of heaven and not of the grave (death). God’s words have come to us to raise us up.
We ought to seek what is above (Col. 3:1). A man who seeks things above is an ‘above-man’. A man can also be a ‘beneath-man’. An ‘above-man’ cannot be touched by anything on earth or beneath because the soul of such a man abides in heaven. An example of such a man is our Lord Jesus Christ. While He was walking on earth, He was dwelling in heaven. So also, God wants to take people to the heavenly realm. We should have so much faith in this season that these things are real. Sin has an expiry date; hell and death can also end in a soul.
In this season, we should keep our minds on the leash and keep feeding them with thoughts of life. Do not be tired. A time will come when all that we would ever think of is everlasting life; this is where God is taking us to. These things are possible and they are real. We can love sincerely and not because of any selfish reason. We must also be willing to be open and be vulnerable to our brethren, just like Jesus who does not hide things from God. There is no hiding between Them. We can also get to this point.
The joy of heaven over us is that darkness will be expelled in us and we will be made clean, just as it was done in Jesus. We are part of those whom Jesus will bring to glory (everlasting life and Eternal Life – Heb. 2:10). Therefore, we should keep asking God to help our unbelief and to inject faith into our hearts.