DEVELOPING EARS THAT HEAR

So far in this series, we've learnt that God speaks and we can hear.

Lovers of God have been given eyes to see with spiritual discernment and ears to hear from God.
Proverbs 20:12 TPT

As long as you are a part of the body of Christ, the bride He is coming for, you've been inbuilt with eyes that see beyond the physical. You discern things spiritually

You've been built with ears that hear not only what people around you are saying but what God is saying to you

And I keep hammering on us believing this part first.

If you doubt that it is not for you, you will not be able to function in that area

Your sight is hindered by your belief

God speaks to us ✅✅✅

Now that we know and are certain we have a hearing ear, how do we develop it?

First, let's see How God speaks to us

We've talked about this a lot of times but for the sake of this teaching, I will list all briefly

Ways God speaks in the bible

1. The scriptures
This is the first, primary and safest hearing of God for our lives. We find God speaking in the bible through scriptures written before then. God's word is true always, it stands forever. Even after looking at other ways God speaks, we must come back to that which is written.

2. Impulses and Urges

The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness,
Mark 1:12 NLT

Jesus was compelled, He had a strong urge/impulse to go to the wilderness.

God communicates with us this way. We just feel a strong urge to do something. Recently I was in a down phase. I couldn't pray that week and I was just begging the Holy Spirit, please give me strength to pray. Help me

That same week, a couple of people reached out to me. "Hi Remi, good evening. I just wanted to let you know I'm praying for you"

"Hello mama. How are you doing? I've been feeling this strong urge to pray for you"

"Fine girl. Hope you know I'm praying for you?"


"Good morning ma. God has been impressing it on my heart to pray for you since this week began. I also felt a strong urge to reach out and let you know that an altar of prayer is being raised on your behalf"

Note that I did not speak to any of these people about anything. In fact one of them, last time I spoke to her was last year.

This was God communicating with them by laying Urges upon these people to pray.

Sometimes, certain people/things just keep popping up in our hearts and we just feel the urge to pray for them. It is important that we do not neglect this urge.

Usually, it is God speaking to us and using us to meet a need.

Also God communicating with these people on my behalf was Him communicating with me too.
After they all reached out, I suddenly found strength and started praying.

My personal prayer usually has nothing personal in it except my alone moment with God, it's filled with intercession. When I was down, I felt bad that I am always praying for people and now I can't pray for myself.

But God reaching out to these people was a reminder to me that as I'm interceding on behalf of others, even people I don't know are interceding on my behalf.

Immediately, I picked up and was strengthened.

If we get Urges and we are not sure what to do, ask God.

" Lord, I keep feeling this strong impulse concerning this person/thing. I'm not sure what I'm being asked to do. Lord please, help me hear you clearly concerning this"

He will reveal further surely. Never neglect the urge.

3. Our Conscience

The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.
1 Timothy 1:5 NLT


Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.
1 Timothy 1:19 NLT

Sometimes, we make certain decisions and our conscience starts telling us it is wrong or how better we should do it.

Now, while God might speak this way, it is tricky. Our Conscience must constantly be renewed by the spirit and the word.

That's why when people do certain things, we say they don't have conscience.

They actually do have. Conscience is a person's moral sense of right and wrong.
sense of right and wrong vary according to individuals and the morals they uphold.

So it is important that the morals upheld is in accordance with the word and guidance by the spirit

Question - Remii oo what if after asking u get an answer "No " and the urge still what should we do?

God will not give you an urge to pray for someone and give a NO as an answer.

If you get a no, probably the direction of your question.
Maybe you are asking what to pray for the person and God is saying give the person money 😊.


All still points back to a hearing problem in communication. Ask God


4. The voice of the Holy Spirit

Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you.
Acts of the Apostles 10:19 NLT

The spirit is so often the voice of God to us. He speaks and it comes into our soul where we discern what is said.

5. Your natural thought Process.
Sometimes the voice of the spirit doesn't come as a voice unto our thoughts, it comes as part of our thoughts. Like we just think something and we know this is not from us

6. Other People
God speaks to us through other people. We need to be open, listening and spiritually alert at all times.
He uses prophecy to speak to us through other people.

Sometimes it's in the messages we listen to, the movies we watch. Don't know if we've ever seen a movie and it feels like God is addressing you directly

Sometimes I'm just on YouTube and a random message pops us and I know it is God that made that message pop up

Sometimes it is on social media. Someone posts something on their own o, without attaching any meaning to it but you see it and know it is you God is speaking to.

Sometimes it's in passing conversations. You are walking or doing your thing and people are gisting their own, but the message is for you.

7. Visions, Dreams, Pictures
God speaks prophetically through all of these. Some people go into a trance while some of us have these experiences with God while awake, very consciously. The latter takes a lot of spiritual alertness usually, from my experience.

8. Angelic Visitations
God speaks to us through angels. We can see this in the book of acts. I personally have had this experience a couple times. Infact, I rushed to write everything down that day.
I slept off and it continued as a dream. His angels are ministering spirits

9. Nature, Animals, Object
All of creation constantly declare the glory of God and His works. This means one thing, they speak. God speaks to us through them. He used a donkey to speak to Balaam and objects to bring messages to others. To see and hear God in all of these things and ways, our spirits must be awake and listening

10. Situations
Certain things happen around us or in our lives but they come with a message from God.
When things happen (good or bad in the physical), it is important to ask God.
"Are you saying something to me Lord?"
"Is there a message in this for me?"

11. Peace
Let your heart be always guided by the peace of the Anointed One, who called you to peace as part of his one body. And always be thankful.
Colossians 3:15 TPT

God's peace is a guide, it directs us in the way we should go.

I believe this is also like our conscience. We must first subject our minds to renewal by the word and spirit.

Some wicked people have peace 😭

God will speak through whatever He wishes, the sick, the poor, the rich, the hale and hearty. He can use anyone.

Before we move on, can we share other ways we hear God that have not been mentioned

Sumi - Through songs,one on one,through someone,scripture ,situations (good and bad)
The night before I cut ma fingers in the grinding machine. That evening I had a strong urge to worship an pray. I remember I told God to use me as a way of showing his glory wherever I find myself and that may  his goodness an love be seen through me always

The next day bam I cut ma fingers and in normal situations pples fingers never come out as a whole and in other circumstances their hand or arm is cut off. BT he showed his glory through me once again. I was in awe

Uju - Through relationship
You may have thought you have found the right person,then something happens..you lose the person you thought you love,you ask for forgiveness... Then you remember this is how you are to GOD ,you claim you love HIM yet you fall astray to sin and you get back up and ask HIM for forgiveness,HE is trying to tell us we can do better,Amen

Remi - I should share mine

While I have experienced all the ways listed above, not all of them are constant or primary.

It's not everyday I have angels visiting and talking.
I hardly get messages through animals, I don't even look at animals for long.
I run when I see dogs 😂😂
So if God tries to speak through a dog, ah trouble.

God knows I won't hear anything if He speaks through animals directly
(except in a vision, pictures or as objects)

If they have to open their mouth to speak, I doubt my hearing ears will be in close proximity to hear anything. Cos I'd have ran since

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Because God wants us to really hear Him, He is mindful of us too.
He reaches out to us through ways He is certain we can hear and know it is Him.

If the way we hear is limiting, He starts from there still. As we continue to listen to Him, He strengthens us and sharpens our ears to hear through other means too.

Imagine that it is only dream God can speak through. If you don't sleep, you won't hear anything

How do we know it is God and not other voices?

We spoke about the other voices that we might hear along the way.

Now we talk on how to discern and know when it is God speaking

1. Scripture
Like I keep saying, this is number one guide.
God's word is His honor, character and integrity. He cannot speak against His word.
If what you hear is not in accordance with His word, then it is not Him. Discard.

2. Nature of the voice we hear

But the wisdom from above is always pure, filled with peace, considerate and teachable. It is filled with love and never displays prejudice or hypocrisy in any form
James (Jacob) 3:17 TPT

It is pure, has no mischief to it. Attest to the character of God.

Peace: when God speaks He calms our soul. He doesn't compound our problems. We are at peace on the inside.

The nature of the voice of God is conderate, gentle.
He is not harsh towards us.

His voice comes to us teachable. It doesn't manipulate us. His voice is full of mercy. It doesn't condemn or Judge. It never displays prejudice. It is unwavering, the same always. Consistent in character. No hypocrisy in it.

Finally His voice is full of good fruit.
God will never ask us to do anything that is of the flesh.
Check the fruit that will be brought forth from what you hear or receive, does it align with the character of God?

If your spirit abi mind keeps telling you to quarrel with someone, you know that's not of God.
If you dreamt that you saw money in your office, took it and became the richest man in africa, then the next day you actually see that exact amount of money

It is Not God.

You don't take the money

Don't carry office money home and say God already told you in the dream o. It is stealing. That is not a fruit of the spirit.

3. Surround yourself with trusted people
It is important that we have men who are devoted to God around us. In learning to discern, we should surround ourselves with such people.
If we are finding it difficult to ascertain or discern what is being said, we should reach out to them.

Eli knew it was God speaking cos He was used to hearing so He could direct Samuel

Also note that sometimes these people might not see anything concerning that situation when you meet them.
Doesn't mean they are bad or less spiritual.

So go back to God and listen

Developing Hearing ears

Now that we know how He speaks and ways to know it is Him, how do we develop a lifestyle of Hearing Him often and coming to a knowledge of His voice

1. Believe that you can hear
I've been hammering on this cos it is important.
All that we are in Christ is edged on belief.
If we do not believe that we can, then we won't.
It doesn't matter if you've tried listening before and you did not.
We walk by faith not by sight.
Put whatever your experience is away.
Scripture already says you can hear, is your experience greater than the word of God?

2. Value Hearing God
 We see during the transfiguration, God's voice instructing the 3 (Peter, James and John) and in extension us, this is my beloved son, Listen to Him, Hear Him. We must take this word as it is for us.
We are to yearn for God's voice and be eager to hear what He has to say

To develop our ears, we must be intentional. It doesn't happen by mistake

Knowing God's voice is something we should be deliberate about and this will mean us taking necessary steps and being more attentive spiritually

Make room. Away from the business, set a time ti just listen to God daily.

Do it even if it doesn't work the first time or it didn't before. Keep going

Value God's voice.

If you do not see a need to hear God, you will not see a need to wait when you don't hear at first

3. Consistent Time in God's Presence
Make sure to spend uninterrupted time with God. Not one today then next time is next year.
As we consistently stay in His presence, we become more sensitive to His voice.
If you do not hear today, continue tomorrow, don't stop.
It will get to a point, your mind will quiet.
It will get used to you being still and stop roaming.

4. Spend time Feeding in the word
As we focus on the word more and more, we give Him more room to speak. We open our ears more.
I'm not talking about you reading what we post on Word Alive while watching Big brother at the same time.

We taking time to meditate on the word. Alone with the word, alone with God

As you read, don't be fast or in a hurry.

Learn to quiet your soul and listen inwardly.

Take note of where His presence is resting as you read.

Are you being led to focus on a particular word?

Pray as you read, ponder and listen.

Also know that alone with the word is alone with God.
in The beginning was the word...... And the word was God

Know that you are with God. Be conscious of this fact. This is not novel or story book you are reading.

4. Learn to listen through the day
God doesn't just speak when we open the bible. He speaks while we are at work and during other activities. Stay connected inwardly. He will speak to us outside of church and prayer time, in different ways and about different things

This is what Brother Paul called the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it).
2 Corinthians 13:14 AMPC

What are you sharing together with the spirit? The thoughts of God

He speaks God's thoughts to us actively.
He shares ancient mysteries.
He reveals secrets

First, we listen

5. Obedience

Don’t just listen to the Word of Truth and not respond to it, for that is the essence of self-deception. So always let his Word become like poetry written and fulfilled by your life!
James (Jacob) 1:22 TPT

When all we set to do is hear for hearing sake, we deceive ourselves. We might as well not listen.
To obey is first to listen but with full/total submission and proceed to do.

Those who really love me are the ones who not only know my commands but also obey them. My Father will love such people, and I will love them. I will make myself known to them.”
John 14:21 ERV


It doesn't just stop at hearing, we should obey. Obedience produces greater intimacy.

It also works vice versa. The more we fellowship (truly), the more obedient we become.

The more we are obedient to what we hear, increase in fellowship occurs

We also hear Him more clearly

We will see that most people discard the voice of God through prophets or even prophecy because the people who bring it do not walk in accordance with God's commandment.

Also, if we want to continue living a certain lifestyle and God's word that we hear speaks against it, we might unconsciously shut our ears from hearing since it's not saying what we want

Let us pray

Thank you Father for your word and all we've learnt tonight.

Help us to pay attention to you as we step into this week. Open our ears to hear all you have to say.
We are spiritually alert and we obey all we hear.
This week, We hear you even in ways we did not know you could speak before.
We pray that we are obedient to you Lord, we do not crave the benefits of living with you while discarding the commitments that produce these benefits/fruit.


Amen

GOD'S PLAN ARE BLESSED

1. When God guides, He provides
What God directs, He protects.
Blessings untold are waiting for you,
As God guides and directs the things that you do.

2. Trust in the Lord with your heart, I say,
You will hear His voice, "This is the way."
Desires from Him, they will come,
Your heart bears witness, this is the one.


3. Vision accomplished, desire achieved,
Results of a heart, willing to believe.
God's plans unfolding as a dream in the night
Your acceptance guarantees His power and might.

4. The struggle is over, the battle is done,
When you've waited in prayer, to hear from the son.
His voice is clear, the captain has spoken,
'Go forward now! - the enemy's power is broken!'

5. Rest - for you a way of life.
Gone are the days of worry and strife
You've come to the place of knowing His way,
God's plans are blessed, for you to believe and obey

Today, with this confession as a guide (it was actually shared as a poem or so, not as a confession but it became by confession), we will be talking on God's plan with the reminder that His plans are indeed blessed

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV

Sometimes we are in doubt of the plans of God for us, but here is a reassurance from God. He is very sure of the plans He has for us, He knows definitely that they've not changed.

They are of Good and not evil. They are blessed and aimed towards a future filled with Hope

 We all know that truly God's plans are blessed. We know our papa loves us so much. This is so easy to agree with when things are going well and visible in accordance with what we know about God's plans for us individually

But what happens when everything is not looking like the plan and it is repeatedly so.

The vision we've been given and our current realities are so much far apart.

We are even beginning to question if we are truly running with the right vision or we missed something along the line

you've just been diagnosed of this life threatening disease and it's changing your whole life

You got to work last week only to meet a dismissal letter

Your parents' health just went from 100-0. You might need to crowd fund to take care of them. Chances of survival are still slim

You've been searching for a job tirelessly, yet nothing

So much debt hanging on your neck but inside the plan that you've been told God has for you, you are the one lending to nations

Your friends have progressed in life/left you behind  and it seems like everyone is deserting you

You and rejection mails have been 5 and 6 for a while

The partner you've been praying with for years just worked out on your relationship

For someone, the Lord has said do xyz. You've been so faithful to it but it looks like nothing is coming from it.

You wrote down the vision. You are sure you heard it clearly.

You've been running by it but things keep going wrong.

You take 1 step forward and it feels like a win only for something to happen and drag you 10 steps backwards

Any spiritually minded person sees you and immediately they tell you: you are such a great person. God's plans for you are amazing. He will use you so much for His glory

It's sweet to hear but you've heard it so many times, it is becoming tiring. For decades, messages like this have come but nothing has come out of it.

Truly, life has a way of throwing challenges, so much that we are trusting o but we are not really trusting.

We are "frustratedly trusting"

Don't know if anyone can picture this or understand what I mean

I can relate to these things.

I've been here a lot of times

I get really tired and I'm wondering, when exactly will this thing happen

Especially when it feels like I'm close to something and everything scatters. I look at the vision and I wonder again, did I miss anything?

Because at this point, local man is tired.

I don't know where you fall in all of these. I don't know what is going on in your life. But the Lord has sent me to you, He has sent me to me. He says His plans are blessed, they truly are, even with all of these plenty challenges.

I'm reminded of Joseph. At 17, he dreamt of becoming king. He was sure of the vision, so sure that He even told it to his brothers. It took 22 years for this dream to come to pass (His brothers coming to bow before him).

First, he had to be a slave then next a prisoner.

This was not in the outline he received.

All he saw was his family  bowing before him.

I wonder if Joseph ever thought of his dream  while in prison. How did it make him feel? How much of an irony that'd have been.

Some things happen to me and I'm just there like, God we didn't discuss this part. Is this one supposed to be part of the t & c too cos I'm tired.

God's plans are blessed

Let's look at the story of Daniel briefly. The King had gathered young men in the city to learn the language of the Chaldeans. Daniel and his friends were part of these young men.

(Daniel 1:17).

If we read the chapter fully, we see that God gave Daniel and his friends special ability that others learning did not have.

In the second year of the King's reign, he started having dreams.

None of the Chaldeans and wise men the king was training people to be like could tell him his dream or interpret.

But Daniel and his friends prayed to God who revealed to them.

This led to Daniel becoming the Chief Magi. He was to train all magis in the reading of stars, interpretations, dreams, vision etc since the wise men and Chaldeans were not up to the task

Daniel began a new "school" sort of for training magis (of course he'd have done it as God wished)

600 years before Christ but all of these was a setup towards the acknowledgement of Christ as king and the visitation of the magis. Magis trained in the ways Daniel had laid down would someday see a star in the sky and know exactly what it means.

They'd leave all and come in fulfillment of scripture to bow before the one born king.

Did Daniel know this? No!

Was it part of God's plan? Yes

We see that truly God's plans are blessed and even they span over time.

When God guides, He provides

 What God directs, He protects.

Blessings untold are waiting for you,

As God guides and directs the things that you do.

When God guides, He provides

We see the story of Abraham. God asked him to satisfy his only son, Isaac. Abraham didn't question, not because he was not sad but he had been in God's plan for a while. He had walked in it and he understood that there were blessings in it no matter how absurd the instruction is. No matter what the next step took from him. He knew that regardless, God had a plan and whatever it was it'd be to his advantage.

Then Abraham noticed a ram whose horns were caught in a bush. So Abraham went and took the ram. He offered it, instead of his son, as a sacrifice to God. So Abraham gave that place a name, “The Lord Provides.” Even today people say, “On the mountain of the Lord, he will give us what we need.”

Genesis 22:13‭-‬14 ERV

The ram was not provided at the point where Abraham got the instruction. He was already on the move when the ram came.

He did not know who was bringing it before time. Abraham was not busy trying to figure it out. He went out with the instruction.

Also, I believe the ram had been there before Abraham got to the place.

He just did not see it. The bible says "Then Abraham noticed a ram.. "

I don't know what God has asked you to do and probably it is looking like there is no resources.

God has told you xyz but no provision to accomplish

Know this: On the mountain of the Lord (Inside the plan of the Lord), there will SURELY be provisions

The Lord will give all that you need, when you need it

(not one minute late)

When God directs, He protects.

We see that Elisha was following God's direction. Even the people benefited from the protection that came from following God's directions

But the man of God sent a message to the king of Israel. Elisha said, “Be careful! Don’t go by that place, because the Aramean soldiers are hiding there!”  The king of Israel sent a message to his men at the place that the man of God warned him about. And the king of Israel saved quite a few men.

2 Kings 6:9‭-‬10 ERV

Because of the directions God gave Elisha, the king of Haram sent an army to surround and kill him.

But God protected Elisha still

Elisha’s servant got up early that morning. When he went outside, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?”  Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the army that fights for Aram.”  Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, I ask you, open my servant’s eyes so that he can see.” The Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and the servant saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. They were all around Elisha.

2 Kings 6:15‭-‬17 ERV

Sometimes, we are like these servants, crying : "Lord, what shall we do"

But the Lord is telling us to look around, we are protected

For the remaining days of this year, our eyes are opened to God's protection that is always around us.

Amen

Trust in the Lord with your heart, I say,

You will hear His voice, "This is the way."

Desires from Him, they will come,

Your heart bears witness, this is the one.

Like Abraham, put all your trust in God. Knowing that He will provide, that He will lead, guide and direct

Knowing that truly the vision is for an appointed time. Though it tarries, surely it will come to pass.

Though everything happening is not looking like the vision, trust that God's plans are truly blessed

March 2018, the Holy spirit showed me something.

I was sitting on a stool, no handle or place to rest my back.

The stool was placed at the edge of a cliff.

The Cliff was very high, like really high and tiny.

All around it, deep waters.

Then the Spirit told me to rest my back.

Me: on what?

He told me to lean backwards

On what?

I'm already so scared sitting on that cliff, now I should lean completely as if there was a chair I'm relaxing on?

I'm going to fall inside the deep waters, that was certain.

I couldn't even look down properly cos I was scared. Now I should lean.

Then the Spirit told me, that this is what it is to depend on God, trust in His word and know that His love will not let me fall inside that water waiting to swallow

This is what it means to trust.

You know that leaning is the end of you but you also know that the one you lean on will not allow such end

It is very difficult to allow ourselves fall back with hope that someone will come and hold us.

From personal experience, I've come to know our trusting in God is our last resort

Like we've tried other cards that didn't work and it's just the God option left. Just like the woman with the issue of blood, she had exhausted all resources before Jesus. 12 years of carrying that problem.

Sometimes, we prolong some phases inside of this blessed plan of God for our lives, because we refuse to trust completely.

Our realities, natural senses, situations etc tilt us to walk by sight.

But you see God's plan, as blessed as it is, human sight cannot catch a glimpse of the process..

It takes trusting the one that gave the plan

Ignore your reality

Ignore the doctor's report

Forget the economy and absence of "provision"

Leave yourself at the complete mercy of God.

It's sweet to talk about o but very difficult. I know this because the decision to trust is daily. Even I sometimes forget to.

I know I'm to trust God but a problem comes up and I'm worried. I'm springing into action trying to fix or work it out.

Hmmm. God's plans are blessed but you need to trust Him to work it out. And you will hear Him when you do. He will show you the way. You will be certain of the steps to take.

I will leave verse 3 & 4 for us and jump to the last.

This is the most beautiful part of this confession for me. 

Rest - for you a way of life.

I changed the you on the paper at some point to "me".

When we learn to believe that truly the plans of God for us are blessed, that He will provide, protect and all we need do is trust, we experience peace.

We come to a place of rest.

Gone are the days of worry and strife

We are not worrying or struggling, not because there is nothing to worry about but because we are at the complete mercy of God.

The plan does not belong to me. If it looks like it is not working? The owner of the plan should do the worrying 😁

You've come to the place of knowing His way,

And when we stay here, we already have expo. It becomes easier. Struggles are no longer struggles. We are almost cruising through it all.

People will look at you and wonder how you have it all together but you know you don't have it all together, only God does.

God's plans are blessed, for you to believe and obey

Hmmmm..

Indeed, God has plans for you. God has plans for me.

And they are really blessed plans

Regardless of circumstances, please believe this. Never ever doubt it

Life will tell you otherwise o. Things will not make sense but don't ever doubt

God's plans are blessed, first for you to believe then obey the instructions He gives.

If you do not believe and obey, you can't walk with the plan talk less of enjoying the blessings from it.

I will like us to google William Cowper. This man had life deal with him seriously. He was heavily depressed. Nothing made sense to him. He had experience a whole lot of pain, a whole  lot. Life had no meaning. He became a believer through John Newton (author of amazing Grace) and it was John who encouraged him to write poems to be Sung by the church.

God moves in mysterious ways was written by William Cowper. He didn't write this song when everything became rosy.

If we look at this hymn from the pain Cowper was going through, just maybe we will understand the hymn better.

(funny enough, my dad sent same hymn to me 2 days ago)

“God Moves in a Mysterious Way” by William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform; he plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines, of never-failing skill; he fashions up his bright designs, and works his sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, the clouds that you much dread, are big with mercy and will break in blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace; behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan his work in vain; God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain.

The verse 4 says to judge not the Lord by feeble sense

The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours. Your ways are not like mine.  Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8‭-‬9 ERV

Whatever is going on in your life, God's purposes will ripen very fast. Don't forget to trust God's plan and His wisdom to see it through.

God's plans are blessed. He is the interpreter of His plans and He will make it plain.

Let us Pray

Spirit of the Living God, we thank you for teaching us so much in such little time. 

Lord, we thank you for your blessed plans concerning our lives.

We thank you because we know that despite all that might be going on, we are safe inside of your plans.

Help us to always knows this

Help us to trust in you be at your complete mercy.

Help us to follow your lead and rest in your promises.

Help is to never forget that truly we are inside of your blessed plan

Amen

I BELIEVE

As an Anglican, I grew up reciting the creed every Sunday. Same as almost all things I was taught growing up, I didn't understand the full implications of the creed I proclaimed every Sunday at that time.

Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

Every Sunday of reciting this and it took a while for it to hit me.

Same with Psalm 23, most of us knew it since we were kids but some Christians are yet to understand fully what we are saying when we read these things

Today, if you ask me to introduce myself, I will most likely mention I'm a believer..
This will be part of my description of me. I believe most Christians will also

"Oh! My name is Olúrèmí, I'm 19 and the most beautiful person you know. I'm a believer in Christ Jesus"


Sounds so sweet and cliché

I've come to realize most people don't exactly know what they are saying when they tag themselves believers.

 Tonight, we will be talking on I BELIEVE.

What exactly does it mean to be a believer, in Christ Jesus?

Our opening scripture is John 3:16.

This is one of our earliest study of believing growing up as Christians.

John 3:16 "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

John.3.16 - For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

The AMPC

Trust, cling, rely on.

To cling is to hold on to something strongly

To have a strong dependence on something/someone

Every Christian is familiar with this particular scripture.

Most tend to read or translate this verse as :
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that everyone who recognises and believe He is saviour will never perish but have life everlasting. The word believe used here means more than simply agreeing that Jesus, is truly saviour.

I believe that Donald trump is the president of the US, does that mean I believe in Him?

I believe and accept Paul Biya is the president of Cameroon, does that mean I believe in Him or accept him as my own president? No.

If we go by this analogy, even the devil believes

Let's read Mark 1:24 - “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Here is what demons had to say.

I know who you are

You are the Holy one of God!

If the devil knows and accepts that truly Christ is the son of God and this doesn't equal salvation to him, then it doesn't for us.

Knowledge and acceptance that Christ is the son of God is not all that our belief entails

This is where it begins though

Another instance is in the miraculous feeding of 5000 (John 6:5-13)

After the people saw the sign, the verse 14 says :
"After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.'"

This is in reference to the old testament's foretelling of the coming of Christ

These people even planned to crown him king (that's how much they recognized who he was) but Jesus left quietly.

The next day, they sought christ out.
They had to cross to the other side of the lake sef to find Jesus

They found him and a conversation ensued between them (we can read the full chapter for understanding)

This came up in their conversation:

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”  Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
John 6:28‭-‬29 NIV

They already believed Christ was sent from God.

Christ's reply here shows that though the statement above is true, it is not what is required.
They had to believe IN the one that was sent

After all the explanations, long story short, this happened:

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
John 6:66 NIV

They believed Christ was the Messiah sent from God but they did not believe or accept fully His words. Don't know if the picture is getting clearer

For many people, the concept of their belief is like accepting an applications terms and condition (without reading or knowing it). Just scroll down straight and click the I accept part. All I care about is my need for the software. For most, all they care about is to sha be counted as those who are saved. So let's just head over to the I agree part of the contract

Doesn't work this way.

Suppose a person of weight, let's say 100kg, sees people walking on a bridge made of tiny ropes.
Even some other people of weight are passing through. And this person believes that he can pass and the tiny ropes won't break or give way. He even goes ahead to tell other people of weight to pass.

How do we know he truly believes he can pass and nothing will happen?.

When he actually walks across it! When he walks his talks!

Another instance,

I believe Seun can finish 10kg of rice at once. I make mouth to everybody on Word Alive

"Ehn? Seun? I trust him die. E go chop am finish. Person wey fit chop dead body. Forget. Na my guy. I know wetin u dey talk. E sure me dieeeeee"

I'm not merely bluffing, i do truly believe Seun can finish the food

Usually, what goes on next is action.
Not action to make me believe
Action produced from my believe

I will put money down for the rice or bet sef

 If Bimbo says
 "ah! Remi you are lying. How can Seun finish 10kg rice? Oya buy the rice let's see"

And my reply is refusal to buy the rice. Everyone on Word Alive automatically assumes I don't believe what I'm saying myself


Do we get what I'm trying to point at?

I'm trying to use as much relatable terms as possible

Believing IN someone brings a special kind of stanning.

Look at those that believe in the ministry of Pastor Chris, most actually model his dress style.

Look at Kim Kardashian stans, they are getting surgeries to look like her.

We tend to model the lives of those we truly Stan and believe in. We tend to obey such people (Bey hive as example here)

Take note of these words, Follow, model, obey

Let's open to Acts 16:30-31

Acts 16:30-31 New International Version (NIV)

30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

This is the jailer asking Paul, what must I do to be saved.

Believe IN the LORD JESUS Christ

It is really this simple.

Believe IN Christ (Saviour), who is also Lord (Master) and you are saved.

A lot of us like Christ as Savior but not as Lord. There is a problem here

Trust that Jesus is truly saviour makes us rely on His death as the full payment for the debt of sin
This further translates into us depending on His own resurrection as the guarantee, that we would also be raised

And because we totally depend on Him up till life eternal, we follow His every lead as our Lord and Master

This is a brief sum up of I believe


The direct implication of I believe is that my believe is trust and dependence in what He has already done. To depend is to let Him lead

Christ is saviour - Fact!

I believe that Christ is my Saviour is me embracing the fact of Christ being saviour and all that it entails

Seeing Christ for who He really is. Embracing all that we see and allowing Him lead us in His path.

If we say we believe:

1. First, we truly know that Christ is Saviour

2. We accept Him as our own saviour and Lord

3. We accept His words and obey

4. We appropriate His works and rely on it completely.

5. We follow His lead

All of these produces the very character of Christ in us. Apostle Paul defines Faith, the one that saves as a decision to not trust in ones own works but rather in Christ who justifies us.

Our dear brother James, explains this (Saving Faith) further:

My brothers and sisters, if a person claims to have faith but does nothing, that faith is worth nothing. Faith like that cannot save anyone. It is the same with faith. If it is just faith and nothing more—if it doesn’t do anything—it is dead.
James 2:14‭, ‬17 ERV

But someone might object and say, “One person has faith and another person has works.” Go ahead then and prove to me that you have faith without works and I will show you faith by my works as proof that I believe.
James (Jacob) 2:18 TPT

The author of Hebrews also had this to say:

And after being proven perfect in this way he has now become the source of eternal salvation to all those who listen to him and obey.
Hebrews 5:9 TPT

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Luke 6:46 NIV


Christ explaining what it meant to say He is Lord

Let's note that this doesn't mean we have to do to be saved


Rather that, our faith in Christ, that truly He saves us, produces these things, naturally.

If I want to know the man that believes in Jesus, how? It's in His obedience to Jesus. I don't know this by His words but by what his belief produces.

Do you believe?

If your answer is yes, then this is what it means for you:

You believe in who Jesus is (Saviour and Lord)

You trust in all what Jesus has done and rely on it completely

You obey Jesus and follow His lead

For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.
Ephesians 2:8‭-‬9 TPT

I will end with this reminder, that it is only Christ who saves. not how good we are or the good works that we do.


But our belief in Him and all He has done for us

THE FINISHED WORKS OF CHRIST

When he had sipped the sour wine, he said, “It is finished, my bride!” Then he bowed his head and surrendered his spirit to God.
John 19:30 TPT

John.19.28 - Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures he said, "I am thirsty." 

 John.19.29 - A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 


 John.19.30 - When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. .NLT

[8:16 PM, 4/21/2019] Iya Kekere: Let's start from verse 28.

Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished

But Jesus had not died so what was accomplished?

How was it all finished when He had not entered the Grave or resurrected?

The purpose of His life was death
He lived to die

His whole life was orchestrated towards His death

And Him defeating the grave.

The life He lived determined the outcome in the grave.

Jesus already won before He entered the Grave.

He knew this before He died

He had passed. He had checked all

Everything was accomplished.

All the wrath and judgement of sin was now upon Him.

He had become the target

He was set

For Him to carry this wrath, He had to be blameless

He had to die with it, as the price


Then rise as The Christ, the one who truly lived blameless

In verse 30, He goes on to say It is Finished, Bride

I like the TPT for this.

When he had sipped the sour wine, he said, “It is finished, my bride!” Then he bowed his head and surrendered his spirit to God.
John 19:30 TPT

Who is the bride?

In those days, when you marry a woman into a family, she stops belonging to her old family

She stops identifying with her old family.

It is what they share in her new family (husband's house), that now belongs to her

She is entitled to it fully

Dear bride, it is finished.
You can pack your load in
Papers have been signed fully.
It is finished

IT IS FINISHED!!!

What exactly finished?  Is it His suffering?  Or the world's suffering?  What exactly happened or transpired on the cross that led to this statement? Did Jesus do all that needed to be done? Do we have a part to play?  So many questions rising from this

To be able to answer all of these questions and know exactly what FINISHED,  we have to look at all that transpired on the cross THROUGH the eyes of God.

How did God see all of these?

What finished in His own eyes as He looked at Jesus give up His soul?


The story of the cross isn't just about Jesus dying,  it meant something to God and until we understand what it meant to God,  we will never fully understand what it does for us.

I will be dividing these works of Christ into 3 major parts as I've come to understand it over the years.

- ATONEMENT 
On the cross,  Jesus became a means of appeasement/propitiation. More like He became the appeasement itself.

I'm reminded of a phrase my pastor used to say back home in Yoruba (Ohun si ni etutu fun ese wa).  Jesus was a means of satisfying a requirement.
He satisfied perfectly the requirement for the debt we righteously owe God.

So many would say that God is a loving God and doesn't need our sorry to forgive us BUT God is more than loving,  He is a RIGHTEOUS GOD.  Righteousness ALWAYS demands a recompensation,  hence God sending His son Jesus to die as a recompense.

Now when Jesus said IT IS FINISHED,  He meant not only am I a recompense for your sins,  God is COMPLETELY appeased and satisfied.

For every time you are accused before the judge, do you know the verdict?

Not Guilty

The only way you are declared guilty is if Christ was not price enough

For the man in Christ, even when you ere, never forget this YOU ARE NOT GUILTY

It's like a package in a box.
The box standing as the package.
The box is what is being seen by all

And definitely what will be judged by all

As long as Christ paid in full, then you know the verdict

Never let the enemy call you who you are not. Never let the enemy declare you guilty, he is not the judge.

Whatever it is you have done, whatever it is you will even do in the future, the man in Christ comes out Not guilty always

Someone already became punishment for that sin.
He paid the price in full.

You can't be punished twice

There is no sin so great that was missed out on the cross

Every time the enemy accuses you, just look at him and say:.....that meins...

He will wait and get tired for that guilty pronouncement

2 people cannot be declared guilty and sentenced twice over one sin.


- REDEMPTION

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"—
Galatians 3:13 ESV

To redeem is to buy or pay off,  to release by paying a price

This has been on my mind since morning.

Jesus, the curse

So many Christians thinking they are still bound by whatever curse it is in their families

Then when you explain, someone tells you
Ah, you don't know what my forefathers did
In my family, they die early

In my lineage, all the first girls don't give birth

Bla bla bla

Don't you understand what happened on the cross?

Don't you understand that you were bought at a price?

Those ties were cut as you died with Christ

Are you saying your family/generational curse is more potent than the blessing of Abraham?

Don't you know you now belong to the bloodline of Christ?

We will have to render the blessing of Abraham useless, the price Christ paid not enough. This is the only way any family curse will stand for the man in Christ.

The next time you hear anyone talking about this, clear them please.

Tell them whose bloodline you belong to

If a man buys a Slave from his master and pays the price in full. Is the slave entitled to 10 lashes of cane apportioned to slaves of that master?

No

Because he is not part of them anymore.

There is a thing with knowing and also killing fear.

Some of us already know these things but there is fear

Everybody in your family married after 40.

You are getting close to 30 and no man, in your mind you are thinking already, What if?

There should be no fear concerning this. No iota of doubt about where you belong to

(for game of thrones lover)

When Daenerys shouted to the unsullied to kill all the Masters in the city, they obeyed immediately.

Their former master told them to stop but they didn't listen to him. You know why? The Dragon mother paid their price already

Stop acting like Jesus is still owing debt. He paid it all

Another part to redemption,


This curse Christ released us from is not just the curse from "our village people" as many Africans would like to interprete,  rather He gave us IMMUNITY and COMPLETELY  released us from the curse of the law brought upon us all by sin.  A price was paid to give us immunity,  not to the devil but to God as demanded by His righteous government

(The sweet part is,  it is the very person man sinned against/violated that also looked for a way to clear the sins)

So yes,  we are COMPLETELY redeemed and all our sins atoned for.

Don't ever think that a curse is active in your life due to any situation.

Don't ever!

Always remember whose family you belong to

- RECONCILIATION

that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV

In other words, it was through the Anointed One that God was shepherding the world, not even keeping records of their transgressions, and he has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation to God.
2 Corinthians 5:19 TPT

I'd like us to take note of this phrase;  "Not counting their trespasses against them".
Not keeping records

That is one of the things Jesus finished.  God does not see iniquity in us.  When He looks at me,  He sees me as He sees Jesus

God in Christ reconciled us to Himself.  At the point of the death of Jesus,  a new relationship was opened.  God brought us back to the original plan which is to have fellowship with man

 The work of RECONCILIATION was also FINISHED on the cross.

 This simply means,  God doesn't give little or move closer to us based on how much we move closer to Him.  He doesn't meet us halfway
Or get closer as we do.

(He doesn't run away from us.
"I will never leave nor forsake you" was established in this contract)


Rather we as humans are the ones that run far from  Him,  doing things our own way,  thereby working against ALL  God has given to us by that which Christ FINISHED on the cross

So Nothing like God is far away from me as a believer.  CHRIST ALREADY PAID THE PRICE IN FULL so God cannot move away from me

IT IS FINISHED; 
He became an ATONEMENT for our sins (completely appeasing God)  thereby REDEEMING us fully from the curse of the law and RECONCILING us totally to God

It is finished

This was not a tired cry but a victory shout.
Jesus was happy saying that.

When you hear It is finished, remember He paid in full

He paid a price for the law to be shattered

For that table to be broken

He paid a full price for your freedom from self/sin

He paid a full price for God's satisfaction in you and justice

He paid a full price to render the devil utterly powerless.


This is important.
A lot of us still ascribe certain powers to the enemy. That is why when people do things, they say it is the devil. This is to mean that the power was more than them so they couldn't control themselves

Big, fat lie

The devil is powerless before you that is in Christ. Stop giving him power he doesn't have

All that Christ finished is not  based on how much we work for God or love Him. But it is only accessible to those who Believe in it. And in Him

So YES,  We are healed,  the devil is already a defeated foe,  we've been delivered (from the authority of Satan and the kingdom of darkness)

We've been redeemed so Satan (SIN)  has no dominion over us anymore

We ALL have authority over Satan. He already canceled our debt/sin (not because we are good or act right). 

He HAD Mercy on us already over 2000 years ago!

GLORY!!!

Jesus already PAID THE FULL PRICE.  All we have to do is accept and believe so we can collect receipt for that which He paid for

God wants us to see the truth and stand in the light of that which has already been done so we can go forth in power

Most times we wait on God to do something,  sorry He HAS ALREADY DONE IT

I can't wait to walk with God in Heaven and chill


But God already brought Heaven to Earth and is walking with as many that believe and accept all that Christ did

We were Reconciled: Fellowship

Emmanuel - God with Us.
Even God couldn't wait for us to come to Heaven to walk and talk with Him,  He made a way.
That's one of the things Jesus completed on the cross.  God is now with me
I can gist with Him and talk with Him

What Christ finished on the cross already says I am NOT a Sinner.  I have DOMINION over sin

Now this brings us to a very important part,  Christ DID ALL does this mean I don't have a part?

Now if I have dominion over sin and I constantly continue to sin thereby making Sin to have more power,  have I truly accepted or believed what Christ FINISHED?

Am I not indirectly saying Christ did not finish or complete well? Am I not saying He was not price enough?

Probably we need to crucify Him extra so everything can be finished

This brings us to 2 more points

THE PRESENT

THE CONTINUOUS

When we become born again,  it is our spirit that dies and gets reborn,  our body and soul remain

THE PRESENT

This is provision of Grace as an enabler, flowing from that which Christ already FINISHED

We have to deliberately put off the old behavior and God knew we can't do this on our own,  so He gave GRACE and we have to choose/accept this Grace ourselves.

God has already done all that needs to be done,  it is our response to that which He did that will determine how much we receive

We have life in full but we will never know how "full" it is if we do not live it

If you accept all,  you receive all

- God has done everything so I can do as I like❌
- I need to do a lot/work fully so God can do all for me ❌

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22‭-‬24 NIV


God already created a new self for us all.  He did that 2000 years ago.  And He has been waiting for us to put on this new self.

When we become born again,  there was a permanent change in our spirit and it is only when we reject Christ that we go back to status quo

We received an ongoing river of grace to help us be more like Him.  And this is not automatic (we are not robots).  Hence we have to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice (daily,  every moment as we live), we have to cooperate with Grace

Don't forget that is is not automatic,  so please don't beat yourself over it or see yourself as less of a Christian.  Just keep cooperating with the Grace made available,  you won't know when you will stop all.

THE FUTURE

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:11‭-‬13

This is the goal; maturity in the knowledge of God,  manifesting His spiritual completeness in us

It's a continuous process. Till we die actually, we keep growing in Him. We are to put our faith and rest in that which Christ has finished

We are to put our faith and accept the resulting River of Grace that already flows over our lives

We are to put our faith in the continual supply of this Grace until we come to the fullness of Christ

Never forget all Christ did for you. Never!

Walk in it

Live it!

SPIRITUAL VULNERABILITY AND SINCERITY

A lot of people see vulnerability as a bad thing cos when we are vulnerable we are at risk of being hurt the most. We see it as us giving allowance for people to hurt us.

But being vulnerable goes beyond this.

Vulnerability is the core of all true emotions and feelings

It is us taking the risk to expose ourselves emotionally, allowing ourselves feel truly, being willing to expose our truth, being willing to allow ourselves be seen just as we are without fear or shame of the reality of who we are

There is something about exposing our truths, usually they are shameful, scary, they are things we'd rather not open up about

A lot of us pretend to be all that we are not and this happens for so long that we live in denial of our reality.

We start thinking ourselves to be all we are not

To be vulnerable is to be exposed without wanting to cover up, holding nothing back.

Ready to face the (our) truths that confront us in this place.

It is the courage and strength to see ourselves as we really are even as we depend on God's Grace in becoming all that we've been called as

To be vulnerable is to strip ourselves, to let loose our guard.

It is in the place of vulnerability that we share our brokenness in order to display the  surpassing power and sufficiency of Christ and the gospel.

It is in this place of vulnerability that we are transformed increasingly into the likeness of Christ

Let me break it down,
To be vulnerable is to accept your weakness enough that it points us to the sufficiency of Jesus and our strength in Him - "We cannot accept strength if we do know that we are weak"

Vulnerability in itself is not what is bad, it is what we see when we are vulnerable that we usually don't like

Why are we talking about Spiritual Vulnerability and Sincerity?


It is a big part of our Christian life though most people don't know

Especially for those of us that have grown to a certain stage in our spiritual walk

We do not know how to be children anymore before God.

We can't believe that with all of our knowledge, we still did certain things so we cover up or pretend those things didn't happen

Sometimes we give excuses for those things

We forget in these moments that we actually do not have any strength to do the right thing

We forget that Christ is our sufficiency and especially in days as these, we should hold on to Him

We forget that we are open before God, nothing is hidden and He still loves us regardless.

Instead, we form hard guy, hard guy

We lose our spiritual fervor. We realize we've not been praying, though we still hear from God and get revelations whenever we study but we know there is no fellowship.

We can't just accept "a whole us" is going through this, so we pretend as if all is well

And when we speak with people, we lie about our spiritual lives too. This one comes very easy

We do not open up, Not to God, not to humans or communities we belong to

Same with when Christians make mistakes/sin

We shield ourselves

We hide in our weakness instead of baring and allowing Christ be our strength

Looking back now, I just wonder

Did I really think God wasn't aware? Like who was I deceiving?

What was I protecting or hiding?

Hebrews  4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Gen 3:9 God called to the Man: "Where are you?"

10 He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."


11 God said, "Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?"

Not one thing is hidden from God. Not even our thoughts

Imagine going to a doctor and lying you have fibroid when it is pregnancy

Does that stop the pregnancy from growing?

If you insist from now till next year that it is fibroid, does it change the baby to blood clots

Pretending that pregnancy is fibroid  does not change the pregnancy is fibroid

Man had sinned

And the first instinct was to run into hiding.

Sin always wants to be covered.

Of course it is shameful and the enemy uses this as a tool to help us cover it well

But we are not doing is covering it, we are actually hiding in it.

Now look at God's reaction to sin from the verse we shared.

While sin is saying hide me, hide me

God is calling out, Where are you?

He really is not seeing your lust issue. He is not seeing your anger issue. He sees beyond that


Because of Christ's covering, He sees Him in you. And though He knows all that you think you are hiding, He is not focused on that. His Where are you? is not to beat you up for all you've done wrong

God is calling us to stop trying to cover our sins cos that's a failed attempt even before we start

He is calling us to Christ as our covering Garment


There is a reason Adam and Eve still hid after covering themselves with fig, the fig was not enough covering.

Even the hiding place they found did not take away the feeling of embarrassment and shame


Christ is our only hiding place

When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable. We see how our lost condition. But God confronts us with something so much better, the truth of who we are in Him


It's like me coming to Nonso that I don't have clothes. All I have to wear is rag. (Note that Nonso has bags of expensive clothes in my name). He will not shout at me for wearing rags.

He will show me the clothes that belong to me

These are your clothes, the belong to you. Put them on

He will help me put them on

I will leave better than I came, with expensive designer wears instead of the rags I came with.

I leave knowing I am much more than I thought I was

Back to Adam, If Adam's response to God's call was Sincerity, we might not be here to be honest.

Adam refused vulnerability and Sincerity and that itself is a sin problem.

When we try to cover up, pretend or make excuses for our sins, we allow ourselves wallow deeper in sin

Some of us take this to our secret place. The place of prayer, which should be the place we open up to God totally, where we hold nothing back. Like even God is not holding anything back o.

Some of us hide there too


The secret place is no place for secrets. Whoever comes to God must come with a plain heart, ready to bare it all. I don't call my friend, Precious, to meet me at a secret place only to end up telling her lies.

Does that make sense?

Is that friendship?

God knows us. He sees our darkest parts even more than we do. He understands us more than anyone else, more than we do ourselves. So what is there to hide?

If God already sees all, why do I still have to be vulnerable and sincere? Can't He just fix all without us talking or going over this?

God knowing those dark areas is not an invitation to shine His light in the darkness.

Without us opening up, His light will be meeting a shielded wall.

We have to come before Him plainly.

Judas had a stealing problem, more like not contented. Though He saw Jesus daily, that problem wasn't fixed. Of course Jesus knew Judas' problem

Judas pretended. I'm sure he acted like he really loved people and wanted to help from the purse he was keeping. He refused to admit or give that part of him up.

How can Judas, that went with other disciples to cast demons come out to say he touches the offering he is keeping?

How?

He rather kept that dark part and it consumed him

God wants us to pour our hearts to Him

This secret brought a certain kind of closeness I can't explain to my prayer life.

Am I liking a boy and I don't really like the way my thoughts are drifting? Bet I'm telling God in prayers.

You'd actually think I was talking to My girls

Sometimes I get tired of praying and I just struggle and struggle cos I must pray. I go back to God. I really can't do this on my own.

I've learnt to never be ashamed before God.

To lay it all bare.

Have you noticed this, when you discuss something secret with your friend, it redirects your relationship. It feels like it opens them to you also. Everyone starts pouring out their hearts

I've seen this play out in my prayer life. I tell God the darkest secrets I have and He shares deep secrets I'd never have known with me.

Secrets about Him
Secrets about Me.
Me in Him
My identity in Him

And I'm just there like, so this is who I am.

Like this is really who I am?.

When we open up to God sincerely, He responds by opening up to us also. We tell Him a secret, He reveals a secret (revelational truth) about Himself or our identity in Him.

Being sincere and vulnerable before God is not spiritual weakness, it comes from a place of trust and deep intimacy.

Knowing we can tell God anything and we will leave the secret place better than we came.

God wants us to be like little children with Him, wanting to share every area and aspect of our lives with Him.

 God wants us to gist with Him about everything as we do with our most intimate friends. Sweet part, He also wants to reciprocate this gesture.

In pouring out our hearts (all of it), we establish intimacy.

Make the decision to open up to God sincerely (in every area), like a baby, in loving abandonement. Be vulnerable and sincere before Him. Allow Him draw you close to Him, Lifting your burdens, covering you with a cloak of comfort and pulling you into His warm embraces.

Psalms  62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Our out your heart longings. Pause in His presence and just pour it all out

God is the safest place! Don't be afraid of what you will be revealing in vulnerability. He is safe

Trust Him at all times.

Allow yourself to be vulnerable at all times

Come as a child at all times (as that is what we really are)

When we refuse to be vulnerable, it is not usually fear that God is not safe. Sometimes it is pride
Some other times, it is shame. That shame of seeing ourselves as we are

But you want to know how Safe God is, He doesn't even allow us feel that shame when we come to Him.

Christ becomes our covering

He doesn't shame us or go over our mistakes 100 times

He clothes us with the Christ Garment

If you are finding it difficult to pray, speak with another Christian. Pray together with them

My friends and I do this always. Things people would never believe anyone of us can do, the day it happens, no hiding.

We come open.
We pray together
Encourage ourselves with the word.

I keep shouting accountability here, it is because it has helped me greatly.

I don't know how to hide myself o.

Here is to you all

I really do not know what you are struggling with, but I want you to know that God is a safe place. Don't be scared to be vulnerable with Him

I pray for everyone that this teaching is not just read and pass for us.
That we make efforts to do this, the enemy doesn't succeed in tricking us into hiding.

I pray that the revelational truths that hit us change our lives forever and even those that meet us.

Amen

REPENTANCE

We will be talking on REPENTANCE today and our teaching will be interactive

A lot of us have heard: Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand
Some of us even use it.
What really does repentance mean to us?
A change of heart after the realization that one is wrong.

Wikipedia defines it as the process of reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition towards past, and *this is accompanied by commitment to change for the better*

I love this so much.

Repentance is not just me checking my actions to see if they align with God's word.
It is not just me feeling bad for those actions
But rather making efforts to change and being commited to this decision

Let's read Matthew 3:1-2

When it was the right time, John the Baptizer began telling people a message from God. This was out in the desert area of Judea. John said, “Change your hearts and lives, because God’s kingdom is now very near. ” 
Matthew 3:1‭-‬2 ERV 

John's message was a call to repentance.
Like I said, repentance is not being sorry about your mistakes.
It is okay to feel sorry but don't stop there

Repentance is not a feelings word but an action word.

It is a charge

A charge to make a change of  heart/direction.

Now I want to ask, Is Repentance something we must do before we come to Christ?

It's a YES and NO.
Repentance is totality of what coming to God looks like

Repentance is the first call to Christ.
First from John, Jesus, Paul and even the disciples when they were sent.

Another thing about John's message, He didn't say You are a sinner, so you must change your ways.


It says: Change your ways because the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand
Our repentance is a response to the message that the kingdom of heaven is here.

Another thing, the call to repentance is not a suggestion.
Everytime it was mentioned, it was (is) a command.

Turn away!
Stop what you are doing!
Change!

In the old testament when people repent, we see them tearing their clothes, tearing down idolatrous statues

Is Repentance only for unbelievers? Nope Everybody



Great.

The call to repentance is for everyone.
If we do not see anything wrong or a need to change, then we cannot change.

You can't turn back unless there is a Conviction you are moving the wrong way.

So if we as Christians do not constantly check ourselves, we might keep doing certain things the wrong way

So we can basically say, one of the first step to repentance is laying that sin bare, keeping it in the open.

Do we remember when Prophet Nathan came to David after he sinned?

Repentance didn't happen until that sin was brought open and acknowledged by David.

So before we can be delivered from something, we must first undeceive ourselves


You cannot stop watching porn if you do not treat it as the sin that it is

You cannot stop lying if you take it as just and it's not really a big deal

And this is why I keep hammering on Christians covering or hiding their sins.

It makes it harder to stop.

We should always check ourselves for spiritual fervor, faithfulness, alertness, love, obedience, purity and growth.

.
Our spirits should always search diligently if there is anything we need to repent of (change or turn away from doing)

God has a purpose not just for you or me as a person but for US.

And when I say us , I mean God and I, you and God

It's a partnership

And partnership calls for responsibility on our end

Call your sins in the worst possible terms, exactly how bad it is so you know why you need to stay away from them.

As Christians, we should master the art of repentance.
We should be quick to it

Don't argue or try to defend your shortcoming.

Especially when we are faced with the truth of the word of God.
This one pierces so much
Let's allow it change us
Don't run away from it

I believe Christians should focus very much on iniquities.
A lot of us feel because we don't commit fornication, steal or we are not gay, we are better

You see all those faults hidden in subtle areas of iniquities, they are worse

You see even pastors and leaders guilty of them and this is because most people don't know.

Pride, covetousness, envy, unbelief, rebellion, selfishness, overambition

All these things in their littlest form are as dangerous as the "worse sin" you can ever think of.

Some of us don't know we are proud
A whole lot of knowledgeable Christians are actually but we don't know.

Always Wanting what others have in a self seeking manner.
You see a Pastor healing the sick and you want to heal too, not because of the sick o but also because of how that will make you feel or people revere you

These little little things, are Big.

They shouldn't be overlooked

We should acknowledge them as what they are

Repentance is not to focus on sin or kill ourselves over it

When you notice and acknowledge, what is next?

Repentance

And making a conscious effort to change

Yes, you make changes.

But on our own, we will struggle
So here we are back to God

Fix your gaze upon Him, see Him in the beauty of His Holiness
When you gaze long enough, you See your true reflection in God

You see all what He has called you to be in Him

When we fix our gaze on God, we see God's unconditional acceptance of us. We see His wish, dedication and commitment in making us just like Him.

Then our lives start reflecting all that we see gazing upon Him

*The Call to repentance is the call to fix our Gaze upon God*

To be conscious of how He sees us, of His Grace, His changing power and love

Let us pray.
Thank you Father for your word.
We pray that you reveal to us those subtle areas we need to repent and change from.

Help us to keep our gaze fixed on you always
To be conscious of your Grace.

Amen