The word of God should be greatly esteemed above any other thing. However, many believers do not have this attitude. God exalts His word more than His name (Ps. 138:2). In heaven, the word is also given the first place. Unfortunately, not everyone gives regard to God’s precepts. Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin is an example of a man who possessed the same attitude as David, in having great regards for precepts. This is an ancient attitude and a character of the Spirit. It comes on a believer by the impartation of the Holy Ghost. A believer who would be whole and complete must have regard for the precepts and ways of the Lord. Precepts, judgement, righteousness, statutes, and loving kindness are all embedded in the word.
“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” (Ps. 119:130). This verse can be used to explain the understanding of Christ, but it can also be used at the level of God's testimony. It is the simple that is granted understanding. The precepts of the Lord should be regarded highly. Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin once said that the reason why his ministry and that of T.L Osborne thrived was because their ministries were built on the word of God, and not on encounters and miracles. They stuck with the word of God and because of this, Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin progressed in understanding. He always put the word first – it was his slogan. He fought evil spirits to stay on the word. He was also very detailed in his manner of approach to the word and would not do anything contrary to it. He did not worry over anything because the word says not to worry (Matt. 6:25). Anyone who seeks to put the Word of God first in his/her life and affairs will be tested.
A lot of damage is done when ministers move away from the truth of the word. Many move to motivation and do not stay with the discipline of the word because of its tests and trials. Many are tempted not to stay in the word because they have wrong heart states, which are not consistent with the hope of the gospel. Such hearts are after the gain and future, which they envisage that the word will create for them. They want wealth and the profit of having large audiences, therefore, they cannot endure trials. When a man strays away from the word, he starts looking to achieve what his wrong heart desires. A natural mind is a mind that desires gain, but he needs to be delivered from the spirit of gain to continue in the word. Anyone with the desire for gain and quick profit cannot do well with the hope of the gospel. Unfortunately, so many turn away from the word because of these desires.
Many ministers cannot endure the discipline of the word and are usually discouraged. There are things that are prevalent in different regions of our nation (the North, West, South and East), and they are posed against the ministry of the word. Sadly, the attitudes of many ministers are for natural gain and success. This is one of the things that has also affected the ministry of the word in America. Many came into the ministry to make gain, especially in the early eighties and nineties. However, this was not the attitude of ministers many years back.
What can turn a heart is the preaching of Christ and the everlasting gospel. The breakthrough in the seventies was majorly in the areas of repentance from dead works and going to heaven. This gave many believers joy. Ministers who pursue the truth of the gospel possess a holy kind of aura, but many do not possess this sweet fragrance anymore because they have contaminated the word of God. Even believers of old, who consecrated themselves to the word of God had this. They might not have had a lot of clothes, but they were pure. They rejoiced in the light of the new birth and took it seriously because something was on them. It was not their dos and don’ts that kept them, but the saintly nature which they had within. This was the source of the holy aura around them.
Their purity was in that they were not serving in the ministry for gain. They were committed to the word wholeheartedly. Many yielded their resources to the ministry. However, after a while, that season/advent passed and spirits that have more strength than those things landed on earth. This is why believers need to keep moving forward spiritually. In Nigeria today, people are stronger than the message that is currently being preached in the body of Christ. As such, God has to move us forward. The tide of evil spirits is rising against Christ's revelation, therefore, God is moving us faster into everlasting life. Satan is not happy with the spoils we have made from Christ, so he is weaving attacks against it.
Satan is already moving against the revelation of Christ. He is moving in the body of Christ against the mystery of Faith. As such, God is teaching us at the heights by raising the tides of the word on the earth. Our prayer should be for the word to prevail, like it did at Ephesus and remained for some time, even after Paul left them physically (Acts 19:20). It is only the word that will prevail over the work of the wicked one, therefore, we must be people who are given to it. Heaven loves such people. We must not be a generation who seek encounters because they can train one in a manner, which satan can hijack. This can then cause such a person to slip in the spirit.
The word is given for our stability because evil spirits know and understand ways and precepts. Oftentimes, when evil spirits want to kick a man off the path of righteousness, they raise his level of encounters more than his knowledge of precepts. However, encounters can be duplicated and can deceive a man. Therefore, they must all be judged by the word. You must stay on the word because you have to prove spirits. God gave the Nazarenes a commandment to neither cut their hair with razor nor drink strong drink because the anointing of the Spirit usually behaves in the same manner as wine (Num. 6:3-5). As such, he can mistaken the anointing for the intoxication of the wine. A spirit man can be offered another cup and be trapped in it because the anointing behaves in the same way as that cup.
Angels are not just precepts; they are also ways. Evil spirits can always replicate every encounter, therefore, we must be careful. A believer needs to be rooted in the word because if he goes on with the manner of the spirit alone, he will undermine the word. This is however a deception of spirits because they tempt men to think that encounters are weightier than scriptures. One needs to be meek to stay on scriptures or precepts. It is not the Holy Ghost that causes a man to have too much spiritual encounters, without the knowledge of the word. One must also not be on the word so much and forget the way of the Lord. There must be a balance of both the manner of the spirit and precepts in a man.
Evil spirits can make a person twist scripture. Therefore, we are keenly instructed to stay on the word, for many encounters are still coming. The whole book of Revelation was about an encounter; it was about a vision. Apostle John had that prophetic ministration because he had great stability in the Word. God will not give us certain encounters when we do not have stability in the word because such a person will not be firm enough when exposed to the floodgates of encounters. We must not be so arrogant to think that we cannot fall. Many have the pride of perfection and think that they cannot sin because they do not have evident faults on the external. The word inculcates an attitude that trembles at the word in the soul. The whole book of Psalms 119 is a work/thesis of the testimony containing laws, precepts, judgement.
"If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? [12] For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law." (Hebrews 7:11-12). The Jews do not believe that their priesthood has been changed, but according to this letter of Paul, it has. The whole of Hebrews 7 is a discuss of the High Priest. The law of the Old Testament is an everlasting law because God told them that their covenant would be everlasting (Num. 25:12-13).
"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." (John 3:16). The Lord’s intention is for us to have everlasting life. What God has been heralding from time is the proclamation of everlasting life. He desires that the praise of the church should spring from everlasting to everlasting and should not just be about going to heaven. Many have been limited in their journey towards God because of wrong interpretations of His intention.
Phinehas made an atonement and reconciliation for the children of Israel because he was zealous for His God (Num. 25:11). Aaron was anointed with the same anointing as his sons. His anointing was of the everlasting priesthood. Therefore, God chose Phinehas for an everlasting priesthood (Num. 25:13). This calling is not just a generational thing but a calling into a place – the everlasting realm. The everlasting realm is God’s choice for anyone who would show an everlasting sign. There is an everlasting sign; those who can receive everlasting life must show this sign. Aaron could no longer use his rod because it budded; it bore almond fruit. Almond means righteousness. The Melchizedek priesthood is higher than the Aaronic priesthood. Therefore, Aaron was not qualified to use the budded rod because he was not yet an abiding priest. If Aaron had persisted, he would have become like Moses who did not need to kill rams and goats to enter the Holiest of All.
Life Everlasting is the covenant of the Holy of Holies. An everlasting man is a man of the Holy of Holies. Moses did not need a tent to access this realm because he was already made before the tent came. He was raised after the pattern of an everlasting covenant. When Moses was going to Egypt, he was already an everlasting man. Anyone who has come into the everlasting realm is a god, therefore, God sent a god to Pharaoh. When they got to Egypt, Moses did not even speak. Aaron was his spokesman. This was because Moses had gotten to a place where he lost all his identity. As such, God could take all the glory. Moses was fully made, just like our Lord Jesus.
Our Lord Jesus was an everlasting Man. He was even capable of doing more miracles than Moses did. He had the power to control things in this earthly realm, based on His stand in the spirit. He has the key to answering prayers because He is everlasting. God cannot refuse such a man, therefore, anything He says comes to pass. He had connections and realities with the Father. He had the wisdom of the right words to say in every situation. He was also discerning and knew how to overcome every temptation.
When the priesthood was changed, the law was changed. Jesus was raised an everlasting Man, though He still had to be perfected. When He was perfected, He became the Author of eternal salvation to all who obeyed Him (Heb. 5:9). When God says that a thing is everlasting, it means it will take an everlasting power to turn it. The law was called Moses, and it has priests that were ordained and referred to as everlasting. If there is a change of the law, then there must be a change in the priesthood (Heb. 7:12).
When the bible uses the words "Thy law", it refers to the most holy. When a person is coming to the law, he will be trained with the law and adapted into it. The law is referred to as "Thy word". Therefore, David was writing about the characteristics of the everlasting material. God will not give His word to just anyone, He will only give it when He is sure you can handle it. The fathers of old were everlasting because they followed the order of Melchizedek, who was an abiding son.
God chose Eden for Himself and planted a tree there. This means that God could plant everlasting life. God did not just drive Adam away from the garden, He also drove him away from Eden. However, He was still expecting Adam and Eve to change. Therefore, He gave the opportunity for an everlasting life. You cannot come to this terrain without the everlasting word, everlasting testimony, everlasting commandment, or the everlasting gospel.
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12). This word of God is not just the letter, but the sword of the Spirit. It is a particular rod which can be seen, heard, and known. God is giving you this tool because it is powerful. This word of God is the word of His testimony. Your soul must be pierced so that you can have understanding. The sword must tear you. This word is called the everlasting word and we must have it. The essence of the power in this word is to divide you, so that you can be God's sons. This word is what Jesus received and it is a genetic manner by which God can operate. This is the word with which the High Priest will deal with you. If you do not have an everlasting nature, you will not do well with the High Priest.
To hold something in the context of the spiritual does not mean to just handle it physically. The word is life; Jesus did not just preach this, but He lived it (John 6:63). When the word is coming to us, law is coming. You will have the covenant when you have the word. Jesus came to condemn sin in the world. God wants us to have and live Everlasting Life. The earth was not made for just any kind of flesh. Doing the life of God means doing Everlasting Life. It is possible for a soul to be in Heaven, but he may not have everlasting life. God will therefore deal with falsehood in us. When you make a covenant with everlasting life, you become strong enough to break any other agreement.
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