Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: Lekki Soul Centre (LSC)
Date: Wednesday, 5th October 2022
God wants everyone to make progress in the kingdom. Progress in the kingdom is acquiring the life that God has ordained that man should come into. Progress in the kingdom is developing and changing. Our change is tantamount to our drawing nearer to God. So, the way we draw near to God is by changing. The job of the Church is to see to it that men are making progress.
Seeking first the kingdom of God is the project the Church should be engaged in (Matt. 6:32-33). God has an agenda for man, and He has to show us mercy to see this agenda and solely focus on it. The devil is not disturbed by believers being born again but he is more concerned with preventing them from making progress beyond the new birth. When we do not journey beyond the new birth, we do not pose any threat to Satan. The farthest the newborn believer can go is in the privileges of the believer.
Some believers are not aware of the privileges of the new birth because they were not properly taught when they got born again. Teaching has a lot to do in our journeying towards God. There are challenges that come with everlasting life, but a good foundation in the milk of God’s word goes a long way to help. When this foundation is not there, the devil takes advantage of this ignorance to operate in our lives. These things that most ministers have established ministry upon are the foundational privileges of the new creation man.
(Mark 16:17-18). These privileges we have as believers follow them that believe, not them that are matured.. They are the privileges of the young believer. The reason we do not enjoy them is that we were not taught well when we got born again. Some people got born again into things that are not good food for development; some others got born again into some strange teachings that do not have bearing on their growth; some into high reasonings that do not add to their development. These are pieces of evidences that many people’s foundation is faulty.
For example, there is a lack pertaining to repentance towards God as seen in some believers. These are basic things that are learnt at the new birth. The accurate teachings of the elementary principles of the doctrine of Christ are gradually fading out in the Church. However, they should not be forgotten. They are the necessary foundation that should not be taken away from Christians because the name of Jesus will always work.
God has made provision for everything we need. The milk of the word of God helps us to stand our ground on various issues of life. There is a love walk that should be learnt as a result of our exposure to the doctrine of milk. The doctrine of milk washes us from a lot of impurities, reviling, abuse and so on — these are elementary washings. The knowledge of milk should remove the ability for confrontation and abuse— a believer should not have the energy for it.
These things are very necessary and should not be thrown away because of interaction or introduction to the word of righteousness. The foundation should not be uprooted because another thing is to be laid. The foundation is part of your building. The next layer does not nullify the foundation; it becomes part of the building. With growth, higher responsibilities are committed because of an increase in knowledge. Knowledge brings responsibilities to you. It is God that established the foundation and demands that we be exercised in it.
Children are not raised by having Bible study with them; rather there is a need to exercise the conversations of faith for our children to emulate and imbibe.
The doctrine of demons births fear in men. It causes distrust and suspicion even between brethren. When a believer is not established in the fundamentals of the Christian faith, he suspects everything and everyone. Not being grounded in the fundamentals does not allow for faith and love. The Christian journey is a journey of faith. If a man does not believe in the basic principles, he will not be able to believe when righteous revelations come his way. Revelation lays demands on a man’s life.
“Whom shall He teach knowledge? and whom shall He make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.” (Isa. 28:9). The milk of the word of God puts in one a foundation of faith that can make one trust God because faith comes by hearing (Rom. 10:14). By hearing, spiritual substances, even for the natural, are received and such a person is familiar enough with the voice of the Spirit. The doctrine of milk is able to initiate a man to a level of hearing. For a person to be relaxed in the face of adversity, such must have heard a substance that would minister faith to such. Faith is not initiated by man nor is it forced. Faith comes by the word, and this puts an assurance in man.
"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 Cor. 4:2). You cannot renounce hidden things of dishonesty if you do not have a firm background of faith. This scripture speaks of the ministration of everlasting life. A strong foundation of faith makes you faithful. Only God cannot change, and He is the One we should be confident in. To develop a healthy Christian life, your trust must be in God, not in business or salary. It is a training that starts with the milk of God’s word.
We should not give so much attention to demons. It is knowledge that will bring us to this point. Knowledge brings the strength called faith. When one approaches the enemy as one who has not fallen, one will wrestle, struggle and fight at that level. The name of Jesus is enough to resist them. We should deal with them as one who has been destroyed. What defines us in the realm of the spirit is not our gender but substance. Satan is a liar, and anything he says to you is a lie and is out to scare you. The Lord cares about everything about us. God wants us to live in victory.
“Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, Neither is there any divination against Israel: According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!” (Num. 23:23). Anyone that calls our names for enchantments calls it in vain because we are immune against them. We do not need to be big ministers to enjoy these privileges that we have in Christ Jesus; by virtue of being born again (Mark 16:17-18).
There is a need to properly understand these things because the faith of many believers has been crippled by wrong teachings on this topic. If we cannot believe God in this realm, then we will struggle to lay our lives down in the next realms – the doctrines of Christ and everlasting life-- which will take our lives. It is the confidence of God’s presence that makes us able to lay down our lives and let go of vanity. It is a journey from faith to faith (Rom. 1:17). We do not even need to wage war in prayers against occultic powers. We are children of the light. Therefore, we should not even respond to the enchantments of those in darkness. This is a pure milk principle that is meant to put faith in us. Satan has messed up the minds of some Christians with doctrines by oppressing them with wrong spirits. They lack doctrines of faith, coupled with bad characters from these spirits. We should not let Satan mess up our minds. We need to fill our souls with correct doctrine.
As Christians, we have no union with witches and wizards. We do not walk in the same direction as them. Just walking in love separates us from them. We need to know these things; they are milk for newborn babies. We are not supposed to run from demons. Rather, demons are to run from us. Our faiths just need to be boosted by knowledge.
The name of Jesus is for our use: “whatsoever ye ask in My name” (John 14:13). We need to begin to address situations and wrong spirits around us with this name. That is how we take authority. In the realm of demons, the name of Jesus is enough to deal with them. We need to hear the correct thing and know what to do to harness the power in His name (Mark 16:17-18). If we did not fast to speak in tongues, then we do not need to fast to cast out devils.
The Lord is trying to steer us up. These expressions are not meant for only big ministers. For example, the ability to heal often comes with great compassion for the diseased and everyone has a share in this grace.
Blessings!
Summary
1. God wants everyone to make progress in the kingdom. Progress in the kingdom is acquiring the life that God has ordained that man should come into. The job of the Church is to see to it that men are making progress.
2. (Mark 16:17-18). These privileges we have as believers follow them that believe, not them that are matured. The reason we do not enjoy these privileges is that we were not taught well when we got born again.
3. The accurate teachings of the elementary principles of the doctrine of Christ are gradually fading out in the Church. However, they should not be forgotten. They are a necessary foundation that should not be taken away from Christians because the name of Jesus will always work.
4. It is not a demotion to revisit some of these foundational teachings. When these foundations are not properly laid in the soul of a believer, such will struggle in the season of Christ and everlasting life.
5. The doctrine of demons births fear in men. It causes distrust and suspicion even between brethren. When a believer is not established in the fundamentals of the Christian faith, he suspects everything and everyone. Not being grounded in the fundamentals does not allow for faith and love.
6. For a person to be relaxed in the face of adversity, such must have heard a substance that would minister faith to such. Faith is not initiated by man nor is it forced. Faith comes by the word (Rom. 10:17), and this puts an assurance in man.
7. (2 Cor. 4:2). You cannot renounce hidden things of dishonesty if you do not have a firm background of faith. A strong foundation of faith makes you faithful. Only God cannot change, and He is the One we should be confident in. Learning to trust God is a training that starts with the milk of God’s word.
8. The name of Jesus is for our use: “whatsoever ye ask in My name” (John 14:13). We need to begin to address situations and wrong spirits around us with this name. That is how we take authority.